NCL Escape 4 person balcony sofa bed... have I just doomed my entire vacation?

[Adia4ous]

When I booked my upcoming cruise a few months ago, we were all well aware of how very exceptionally tight the fit would be for four adults in the "Family Balcony" cabin we had selected. But now, weeks away from my one week of vacation a year, I have been made aware of a potentially fatal flaw in the plan. The sofa bed...is just a bench with a twin size cushion on it??? How awful is it truly? It looks horrific in the pictures I've stumbled across here. Is there anything I can even do to mitigate the impending disaster at this point??? When we decided to cram 4 people in to 207 sq ft we were doing it so we could afford to go on a vacation we are very willing to make sacrifices to make it happen but...I never thought they wouldnt provide an actual bed!

[rvdnsx]

If it’s a sofa bed then it should fold out to accommodate two people.  If it doesn’t fold out then there must be another bed that pulls out from the ceiling or wall.  No need to worry, if NCL allowed you to book four people into this cabin then there will be accommodations for four, even if they are all adults.

[Two Wheels Only]

 

Your stateroom will look like this. Possibly mirrored left to right depending on if you are port or starboard.

The main bed can split if needed. 

 

Edited January 22, 2020 by Two Wheels Only

[Adia4ous]

The "sofa bed" doesnt pull out, that's what I had assumed would be the case. Not the most comfortable, but totally doable! I know the bed pulls out of the ceiling and the two twins in the room. The problem is the "sofa bed" is a bench with a twin sized cushion on it from the pictures I've found today. It isnt actually a bed at all. I'm at a loss. I'm the youngest in my group by more than 20 years and the plan had been all along that I take the bed that has to be climbed in to...but that was with your understanding of a sofa BED. I cant even think of anything that will work to make it so that whoever gets the padded bench will be able to sleep, much less move the next day and enjoy our vacation...

[Two Wheels Only]

Most people find the sofa-bed to be more comfortable than the pull-man. You can ask for a mattress topper if the sofa-bed is too firm.

 

Thousands of people have slept on an Escape sofa-bed over the years. It won't ruin the vacation (more than likely). 

[KateQ22003]

When you get on board and see your room steward, immediately ask for an egg crate for the sofa bed. You are right; it's not a bed. It's a sofa. Hard as a rock and extremely uncomfortable. 

[ronheg]

I slept on the sofa bed all week last month because i found it more comfortable than my real bed.  Don’t worry.

[hamrag]

6 hours ago, Adia4ous said:

....Is there anything I can even do to mitigate the impending disaster at this point???....

You can cancel.

[BostonGal35]

4 adults in a balcony room concerns me personally not from a bed perspective but from a bathroom perspective.  i could not do it, but many do.  

[Liljo22]

Honestly, you probably just should cancel even if you lose your payment.  If you believe the bed situation doomed your whole vacation, you will be looking for ways to be upset the rest of the way.  Now one bad meal turns into not a single edible item on the ship or one bad staff interaction turns into the most unfriendly staff you have had on a cruise ship.  

[Starry Eyes]

I do understand your concerns about the comfort of a sofa bed.  That said, fold out sofa beds are generally uncomfortable and take up more space in the room (your cabin can not afford to give up any more floor space to a folding bed!).  So, the specially designed sofa will be made into a bed (Stop calling it a bench;  the padding is much thicker than a bench.  Compare it in your mind to a daybed). Many have slept on this on this ship.  It will probably be more comfortable than the Pullman.  Neither will be the bed of your dreams!   Maybe your worries to bathroom space...

Edited January 22, 2020 by Starry Eyes

[mjkacmom]

My 14 and 16 year old daughters shared that bed one night when they got back to th3 cabin and realized the steward didn’t open up the Pullman. We had two cabins in the breakaway, the sofa was slept on with no complaints (teens).

[mattc99]

We had the same layout on the Getaway this month.  My son who is 16 and 6'0 and 185lbs said the sofa was comfortable to sleep on.  If it wasn't comfortable trust me he would have complained all week!! 🙂  My 12 yr old slept on the Pullman above the sofa and also no complaints there.

 

Just give it a shot, I don't think it's as bad as you are imagining.

[JamieLogical]

This "cushion" you keep referring to is the thickness of an actual mattress, though I will say it is pretty firm. As others have suggested, if it is too firm for whichever of you is sleeping there, you can ask your room steward for an egg-create topper for it.

[RedwingHockeyFan]

Add sofa bed to the list of things that can "ruin a cruise".

[Sweetnspicy]

3 minutes ago, RedwingHockeyFan said:

Add sofa bed to the list of things that can "ruin a cruise".

😂

[tef43]

1 hour ago, hamrag said:

You can cancel.

This ^^^^^

 

[funredhead]

Call NCL and see how much it would be to move 2 of the guests to an inside.

[mjkacmom]

2 minutes ago, funredhead said:

Call NCL and see how much it would be to move 2 of the guests to an inside.

The cruise is in a week, they wouldn’t get a refund from the first cabin, the cost would be the same for anyone who wanted to book an inside at this point.

[funredhead]

In the past, we have been able to ‘upgrade’ to 2 cabins for very little. I would call. Just my 2 cents. 

[BirdTravels]

Make sure that the adult assigned to the Pullman does not exceed the weight restriction. 

[Double Jack]

1 hour ago, Liljo22 said:

Honestly, you probably just should cancel even if you lose your payment.  If you believe the bed situation doomed your whole vacation, you will be looking for ways to be upset the rest of the way.  Now one bad meal turns into not a single edible item on the ship or one bad staff interaction turns into the most unfriendly staff you have had on a cruise ship.  

OMG...talk about jumping to conclusions.

 

Sheesh!

[Liljo22]

5 minutes ago, Double Jack said:

OMG...talk about jumping to conclusions.

 

Sheesh!

I was trying to be extra dramatic but look at just about any bad review.  People have a hard time getting over something bad happening.  For example if embarkation is a mess, everything else the rest of the way is under a microscope.  I think it has to do with being confined to one place for a week.  Some people can't handle it.  

[FitchburgWIFamily]

I am not sure I understand the concern over the twin sofa bed.   Its a twin size mattress.   On a frame.   That's what a bed is.  A real bed.  A mattress.  On a frame.   It may be more firm than some people like, but that is how ALL mattresses work.  Some are too firm.  Some are too soft.   There is no one mattress that will be universally deemed as comfortable.

 

Fold out beds, on the other hand, unless topped with a good air mattress are almost universally deemed as uncomfortable.  In order to have a mattress thin enough to fold you sacrifice comfort.   In order to make the bed fold, you end up with hard metal bars that go right across where you want sleep.

 

 

[bluesea777]

10 hours ago, Adia4ous said:

When I booked my upcoming cruise a few months ago, we were all well aware of how very exceptionally tight the fit would be for four adults in the "Family Balcony" cabin we had selected. But now, weeks away from my one week of vacation a year, I have been made aware of a potentially fatal flaw in the plan. The sofa bed...is just a bench with a twin size cushion on it??? How awful is it truly? It looks horrific in the pictures I've stumbled across here. Is there anything I can even do to mitigate the impending disaster at this point??? When we decided to cram 4 people in to 207 sq ft we were doing it so we could afford to go on a vacation we are very willing to make sacrifices to make it happen but...I never thought they wouldnt provide an actual bed!

 

OP, you are on the ESCAPE, and your cabin will have the long couch/settee/sofa that will turn into a twin bed at night, AND a twin bed length Pullman bed that drops down from the ceiling at night. This set-up is on the newer ships: Epic, Breakaway, Getaway, Escape, Bliss, Joy and Encore.

 

So you all will be fine.

 

The "fold-out" sofa beds are on the older ships, namely the jewel class ships Jewel, Jade, Pearl and Gem, and also on other older ships.

 

 

Edited January 22, 2020 by bluesea777