Large Family - Booking Rooms Question

[big_schots]

All,

 

 

My brother, a cruise newbie, has tasked me with helping him book a cruise for the summer of 2019.

He wants to take his family (at my suggestion) on the RCCL Liberty of the Seas, out of Galveston.

He can drive down to Galveston the day of, since he lives around 250 miles away from the port. A

local cruise will save him a boatload (pun intended) on travel costs. He has a large family, with 4 children (ages 19, 17, 15, and 12). Well, when I went to price out cruises, I initially had them in 2 rooms of 3 per room. The numbers that came back were staggering. When I priced out 3 rooms (same category), at 2 per room, the final cost was over $1K less than purchasing the 2 (3 person) rooms. The power of supply and demand, I suppose. But, I'm not sure if they will let me have 3 rooms with only 2 adults for those 3 rooms. Can it be done ? I would hope all 3 rooms can be in the same general area, with 2 having a connecting door. The older 2 children, both girls, are very responsible and would be fine sharing a non-connected room. The 2 younger children , both boys, would be better off having their parents within hailing distance. I think having 3 rooms, and giving everyone more space is a great idea. Usually I book online, to collect a little extra OBC, but I don't know if it is possible due to these circumstances. First off, will RCCL allow this arrangement ? If so, do I need to book through the cruise line directly, use a local TA, or is there a special way online ? Any one with prior experience or other suggestions would be greatly appreciated

 

 

Thanks,

Eric

[Clarea]

Royal will let minors in their own stateroom as long as that stateroom is next to or across the hall from the responsible adult. This cannot be done online, it must be called in.

[Ozwidget]

When we booked our 2 rooms online, we had to have an adult in each room - will switch once onboard. As this wont work in your case, you can go through the call centre to arrange.

 

 

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[big_schots]

Royal will let minors in their own stateroom as long as that stateroom is next to or across the hall from the responsible adult. This cannot be done online, it must be called in.

 

Host Clarea,

 

Thanks for such a quick response. When you say it has to be called in, must it be done directly with Royal Caribbean ? At this point, I would be more than happy to pass them off to a TA and be done with it. I would assume a travel agent has the ability to set it all up. My brother wanted me to do it, since I told them about getting a few OBC dollars in the process. Now that I have done all the legwork, I'm hoping that a TA can finish it off. And, if the do or don't get anything extra from the TA, then that is the way it goes.

 

Thanks,

[Love2cruise77]

Host Clarea,

 

Thanks for such a quick response. When you say it has to be called in, must it be done directly with Royal Caribbean ? At this point, I would be more than happy to pass them off to a TA and be done with it. I would assume a travel agent has the ability to set it all up. My brother wanted me to do it, since I told them about getting a few OBC dollars in the process. Now that I have done all the legwork, I'm hoping that a TA can finish it off. And, if the do or don't get anything extra from the TA, then that is the way it goes.

 

Thanks,

 

Yes, a TA can set this up for you. They will call in the information since the online booking system will not allow a minor in the room by themselves. You can definitely get some OBC for booking through the TA too.

[gerif]

Sometimes a TA will tell you it can’t be done because it requires them to make a phone call. You now know better. One plus for booking an adult into each of two rooms would be that you get to bring four bottles of wine. Also if one adult wants a drink package, both do not need to purchase one.

[Biker19]

Now that I have done all the legwork, I'm hoping that a TA can finish it off. ,

 

 

They could still get overwhelmed by the choices and talked into a combination that may not be the best choice. If it were my friends, I would look up the three cabins that make the most sense (use the RCI UK site to see cabin inventory) and give them that to book with the TA.

[HOSKI]

We had a similar issue and found calling ourselves was the best option. I personally would check on the RCI website and find the 3 rooms, book an adult and child each in connecting rooms and the oldest 2 kids right across the hall. Do it soon while inventory is better. We ended up having to switch people around to get ours allowed but we will get extra keys onboard and straighten it out.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

My TA has handled this several times without an issue. Find a good TA and let them stay on hold with RCCL, that's what I do. Even booked two teenagers in a room several cabins down the hallway from parents. Luckily not next to us.

[Russ Lomas]

We have a family of six and have done this very thing several times. As mentioned the kids can be 2 in each cabin as long as it is directly beside or across the hall from the 2 adults. We always get 3 interior cabins in a row when doing this, with the adults in the middle cabin. Also mentioned above, if you put only one adult and one child in each in 2 of the 3 cabins, each adult can take on 2 bottles of wine each. You simply have to stop by guest services after boarding and tell them you are going to put the 2nd adult with the 1st adult in the middle room of the three and move the child to the spot vacated by the adult.

 

 

We have done this numerous times. The last time we did it we save $800 and got the third cabin, not only giving an extra 150 square feet, but also a 3rd washroom (awesome), and it is much better to be able to put the kids down to bed in their own cabins and not worry about lights and noise from the adults. Also good advice to book ASAP to try to get 2 of the 3 rooms with a connecting door so you can check in on the little ones easier as well. Guest services will also provide you with an extra key for each of the kids' rooms so you can check in on them as you like.

[Aggiebuttercup]

You might also want to call and price cabins for 6 people. It can sometimes be cheaper to get one of those rooms (even the suites) with that many people. Liberty has a few really nice OV cabins very far forward on deck 8 (and either 7 or 9) that fit 6.

 

We put 5 in ours - there was a bedroom for the adults, a room with a door that had bunkbeds, and a huge living area with a sofa bed. Each of the three rooms had big windows....and it was only the price of a regular OV! Only one bathroom, unfortunately, but we made use of the spa for showering.

[big_schots]

Thanks all for your helpful replies. The 6 people is one cabin sounds great, but only one bathroom is a huge deal breaker. The poor males would get stuck using the public bathroom the whole trip. The kids are old enough where constant supervision is not necessary. 10 years ago, that would have made better sense, when the kids were elementary age and below. I am going to do some homework, now that my brother has now made a request that he and his wife have a balcony cabin, while the 4 kids are across the hall in 2 (hopefully connecting) inside cabins. We'll see if that works. When he heard that it would be about the same price as 3 ocean view cabins, he said that all would be able to partake in the balcony. Thus, he justified the arrangement that way. I'll figure out the arrangements (cabin wise) then he will contact a local travel agent to finalize the reservations. The travel agent says she will give him a few perks, since he is booking 3 rooms, with a total cost over $7K.