Ultra Spacious Rooms- 6 people experience??

[aac1623]

Hello, we are a family of 6 (hubby, me, 4 kids) and wondering if we can book the ultra spacious rooms for 6 people instead of booking two rooms? I assume I will have to call in vs booking online but wondering anyone's experience with it and how the pricing works if you have done it before? Is it charged like the first two or second two? Hubby and I have cruised before but always left the kids home lol.

[Scoobydobe7]

Hi...not in spacious room but I do have the 2 bedroom suite booked.. You do have to call as royal reservations can only do up to 4 people..so you will have 2 reservation #'s...

I would think and just my opinion, but 2 connecting rooms could be less expensive, plus you would get 2 bathrooms, 2 couches..

[skagen]

We've done the 2 bedroom grand suite (used to be Royal Family Suite if I remember right) a couple of times and it was really nice to have one unit of space, a very big balcony, double points & suite benefits.  I'm guessing it'd be about 50% more than 2 balcony rooms on average.

 

Not cheap, but for what it's worth it's been a really nice room for our family (me, wife, and 3 girls).  If I had a fourth they'd double with the third in the pullout bed that's in the living area.

 

Editing to add that it does require a phone call in for precise pricing though you can often times see the 2 bedroom suite w/ 4 people in search results and kind of extrapolate what it'd be for 2 more guests.

Edited January 3, 2022 by skagen

[Miami Momma]

Family of 4 here...2 adults and 2 kids. We recently started booking 2 connecting balcony rooms. It is cheaper than everyone being in 1 room AND you get 2 bathrooms! Plus, kids can sleep in 1 room and parents in the other. It worked out really well for us. Inside door opens up and so does balcony door so it feels SUPER spacious! I considered the Ultra Spacious room but the 2 bathrooms and showers with 2 little kids is super helpful! Just a thought if you are open to exploring other rooms 🙂 Hope it works out for you!

[DCPIV]

36 minutes ago, Miami Momma said:

Family of 4 here...2 adults and 2 kids. We recently started booking 2 connecting balcony rooms. It is cheaper than everyone being in 1 room AND you get 2 bathrooms! Plus, kids can sleep in 1 room and parents in the other. It worked out really well for us. Inside door opens up and so does balcony door so it feels SUPER spacious! I considered the Ultra Spacious room but the 2 bathrooms and showers with 2 little kids is super helpful! Just a thought if you are open to exploring other rooms 🙂 Hope it works out for you!

 

We did that for a number of years, and it was fantastic.  I don't know how it would work for a total of 6, but it was great for 4.

[zanydoc]

We stayed in the ultra spacious balcony room over Thanksgiving on Allure with 3 adults and one large teenager.  There was plenty of room for 2 more people, especially if they are children. I’m not sure about the logistics for actually booking 6 people...I would call them or your TA. At that time it only cost us $2600 for the 4 of us, which I thought was more than reasonable. 

[adidas5676]

We have an Ultra Spacious OV room booked on Oasis later this year.  It's my husband, myself and 3 young kids.  Should be plenty big for us.  I ended up booking 4 if us in it online and called in to add our 3rd child to the room.  He has a different reservation number but listed in the same room.  The first 2 persons (adults) are normal fare and the remaining persons are a discounted rate.  We booked it during the current promo of 30% off each passenger so it was reasonable.  I'd have waited for a kids sail free promo but who knows when those will return again and I caught a good deal on the dates so I nabbed it.

[Russ Lomas]

Our family of 6 (2 adults and 4 children) have stayed in those family cabins on several ships (both ocean view, promenade view, and panoramic view (before they changed that last one to a "suite" class).  We always enjoyed our stays in those cabins.  Great if you have small children and want to keep an eye on them and want them in the same cabin.  It is also really nice having a huge cabin (non-suite) of double the size of a regular cabin (it feels more like a hotel room than a regular cabin.  If you want some privacy, put the 4 kids in an adjacent cabin and have access through the connecting door.  That way you get 2 bathrooms (which was a godsend with a wife and 4 daughters on formal night).

 

As for pricing, for one cruise I had an ocean view family cabin for 6 booked.  I kept checking prices and a few months later, managed to switch to three two-person cabins (3 washrooms!!) with a total of about 500 square feet opposed to only 350 square feet in the family cabin.  Even better was the fact that I SAVED $400 by taking 3 cabins opposed to a single family cabin.  Family cabins often have a premium price attached to them because they are very limited.

 

If being in the same cabin as your kids is important to you, the family cabin is great if the kids are not too old.  Otherwise, I would recommend 2 or 3 individual cabins if your children are old enough for that.

 

In the end, if you treasure family vacation time together, both choices are a win.

[Vera/Lee]

1 hour ago, Russ Lomas said:

Our family of 6 (2 adults and 4 children) have stayed in those family cabins on several ships (both ocean view, promenade view, and panoramic view (before they changed that last one to a "suite" class).  We always enjoyed our stays in those cabins.  Great if you have small children and want to keep an eye on them and want them in the same cabin.  It is also really nice having a huge cabin (non-suite) of double the size of a regular cabin (it feels more like a hotel room than a regular cabin.  If you want some privacy, put the 4 kids in an adjacent cabin and have access through the connecting door.  That way you get 2 bathrooms (which was a godsend with a wife and 4 daughters on formal night).

 

As for pricing, for one cruise I had an ocean view family cabin for 6 booked.  I kept checking prices and a few months later, managed to switch to three two-person cabins (3 washrooms!!) with a total of about 500 square feet opposed to only 350 square feet in the family cabin.  Even better was the fact that I SAVED $400 by taking 3 cabins opposed to a single family cabin.  Family cabins often have a premium price attached to them because they are very limited.

 

If being in the same cabin as your kids is important to you, the family cabin is great if the kids are not too old.  Otherwise, I would recommend 2 or 3 individual cabins if your children are old enough for that.

 

In the end, if you treasure family vacation time together, both choices are a win.

Hi Russ, Remember me from Anthem? Thanks for speaking to us at GS!

I have a chance to bid on a "Ultra Spacious balcony cabin" on Harmony for my son, his wife and their son. My grandson will be 9 months when we sail. Do you think the lower bunk would work for his age? Thanks! 

[hancock]

52 minutes ago, Vera/Lee said:

Hi Russ, Remember me from Anthem? Thanks for speaking to us at GS!

I have a chance to bid on a "Ultra Spacious balcony cabin" on Harmony for my son, his wife and their son. My grandson will be 9 months when we sail. Do you think the lower bunk would work for his age? Thanks! 

As the grandmother of two little boys....A 9 month old should be in a pack -n-play.  They need to be in confined area to keep out of trouble.

[DevonfromAcme]

You couldn’t pay me any amount of money to share a tiny ship’s cabin bathroom with 5 other people.  All that needs to happen is for someone to eat something that doesn’t agree with them, or pick up noro, and your cruise becomes a living hell. 
 

Get two rooms and two bathrooms. 

[RoyalC]

Six people for one bathroom and shower? 

[CruisingSince1982]

14 hours ago, RoyalC said:

Six people for one bathroom and shower? 

I wont book 3 in one room 😁

[Vera/Lee]

16 hours ago, hancock said:

As the grandmother of two little boys....A 9 month old should be in a pack -n-play.  They need to be in confined area to keep out of trouble.

True! I've heard that Royal will provide a pack-n-play. Is that correct?

[hancock]

20 minutes ago, Vera/Lee said:

True! I've heard that Royal will provide a pack-n-play. Is that correct?

I believe they will.

 
Understand you are better off bringing your own fitted sheets for it.  They use regular sheets that are just tucked in.

 

 

[Vera/Lee]

12 minutes ago, hancock said:

I believe they will.

 
Understand you are better off bringing your own fitted sheets for it.  They use regular sheets that are just tucked in.

 

 

Thank you!

 

[xtremegk]

Is the cabin big enough for 2 adults & 4 kids? Yes. Would it be my first choice to book? No. 

 

Reasons are the same as has been mentioned:

1) One bathroom.

2) Cost -- often connecting OV or balcony rooms are equal or less than the cost of the US cabins.

 

Even with just 1 kid, I've found booking a balcony with connecting interior (2 classes of ship have them) is often cheaper and gives our son a nice dark place to sleep while we have a light or two on and enjoy a nightcap on the balcony.

 

If you go the connected rooms route, just be sure to book early -- only a handful of connecting rooms that sleep 3/4.

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, CruisingSince1982 said:

I wont book 3 in one room 😁

 

My wife has the 6 passenger family OV booked as a solo for the world cruise. 

 

She likes her space😁

[cello56]

21 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

My wife has the 6 passenger family OV booked as a solo for the world cruise. 

 

She likes her space😁

You are going on the world cruise John?

[John&LaLa]

3 minutes ago, cello56 said:

You are going on the world cruise John?

 

Yes, at least that's the plan for now

 

Seperate cabins seemed to be the key

[topnole]

19 hours ago, Vera/Lee said:

Hi Russ, Remember me from Anthem? Thanks for speaking to us at GS!

I have a chance to bid on a "Ultra Spacious balcony cabin" on Harmony for my son, his wife and their son. My grandson will be 9 months when we sail. Do you think the lower bunk would work for his age? Thanks! 

No.  But ultra spacious room will give you the needed space for a pack n play and still be able to move around in your cabin.  Believe me, it would make a massive difference.  

Edited January 4, 2022 by topnole

[Russ Lomas]

23 hours ago, Vera/Lee said:

Hi Russ, Remember me from Anthem? Thanks for speaking to us at GS!

I have a chance to bid on a "Ultra Spacious balcony cabin" on Harmony for my son, his wife and their son. My grandson will be 9 months when we sail. Do you think the lower bunk would work for his age? Thanks! 

You must mean the Odyssey (since we have never sailed on the Anthem).  I do remember meeting a Vera on the Odyssey.  I think we ran into each other in Two70.  The Panoramic Spacious cabin we had on the Freedom was great for space.  The oceanview family cabins we had on another ship was also great for space.  How many people were you looking at putting in that cabin when you sail?  There is usually a pullout in the main area as well for and option to sleep in.  Our daughters loved the small nook with the curtain with the bunkbed in.  They were about 5 years old though at the time.  There is no railing on the side of the lower bunk, but the ladder to the top may stop someone from rolling out.  Is your grandson comfortable in his own "room"?  The privacy is quite nice and he could easily nap there if he is comfortable and that would permit someone else to use the main large portion of the cabin while he is sleeping.  I believe you can also ask for a playpen for sleeping for a child that young, but that would need to go in the main part of the room since it would not fit in where the bunks are located.

[Vera/Lee]

Hi Russ, yes it was Odyssey. Thanks for all of this good information! You hit on the points I need to know. I wondered if the bottom bunk has a railing and if it's close enough to the floor to be safe for him. I watched a video of this cabin and thought the small nook would be great for afternoon naps. We have two balcony cabins for 5 people, but I'm trying to upgrade the 3 of them for more space for the pack-n-play. Thanks again!

[Sosai X]

We have the "spacious outside stateroom" on Jewel, one of the Radiance-class ships.   It's on the 1/29 sailing and it's basically an extra large cabin with a sleeper sofa and a separate tucked-away area with two additional berths.   For me, my wife, and our two young boys, it should be perfect.

[jamon]

John&lala....when is the world cruise starting and how long will you be on it....did I read right that you have separate cabins even though LaLa has the family ov.....