Kids in their own stateroom

[kelkel2]

Parents with older kids please answer! At what age did you feel like ok my kids can be in their own room. I’d probably book a adjoining room, not one across the hall. And honestly, I’m just price matching and thinking of options, but we’re looking at a summer cruise in the future and dang those prices for the 3rd and 4th person…ouch! So basically 2 balcony rooms wouldn’t really be much more than 1 suite for 4 people. (Sailing Carnival). We’re open to other cruise lines but we really like carnival and feel comfortable there. But at what age did you guys feel like you could have your kids in their own connected room? My twins are 4 currently, so obviously not right now. But it just had me thinking. 

[Woody14]

the first time we did the kids in there own cabin we had adjoining cabins on Celebrity where the cabins connected in the hallway, so you shared an entrance with each having your own cabin once you got through the door the kids were about 10&12.   the next year we did the across the hall thing (balcony for us and inside for them) so they were 11& 13.

[INeedAMaiTai]

I think it all depends on maturity.  If you know they can handle being alone, great!  If you have doubts, probably not the right time.  If you know they will be respectful of the space, room steward, and each other, now is a great time.  

[Itchy&Scratchy]

mine's 11 and we have no plans on having a separate cabin for him.

[itsanita]

On 6/7/2022 at 12:25 PM, Woody14 said:

the first time we did the kids in there own cabin we had adjoining cabins on Celebrity where the cabins connected in the hallway, so you shared an entrance with each having your own cabin once you got through the door the kids were about 10&12.   the next year we did the across the hall thing (balcony for us and inside for them) so they were 11& 13.

 

We are on Celebrity in July to Alaska with 3 grandkids, ages 8,11,13.  We have an adjoining cabin for them.   I have a question about the doors. 

 

So one door to the hallway and then a little foyer and the 2 doors to the cabins?   

 

So can you leave both doors open / unlocked at all times, with only the hall door closed and locked?

Do all keys open the hall door?

 

Thanks for you help, I want to make sure I have access to them at all times.  

[Woody14]

it is a bit hard to see but the brown walls folded out to create 1 door/entrance which both room keys worked on .   you could then leave open or close the individual doors to the cabins.

I am not sure if they have this on all the ships but this was on an S Class ship so if your heading to Alaska there is a good chance

 

[itsanita]

We are on the Solstice, so probably the same.   Perfect!

 

Thanks 

[hazeleyes46]

On 6/9/2022 at 11:40 AM, Itchy&Scratchy said:

mine's 11 and we have no plans on having a separate cabin for him.

As they get older it is harder for everyone to get ready and have the space needed. Also, it is nice to have some "alone" time with your partner if you travel with someone else 🙂

[Itchy&Scratchy]

51 minutes ago, hazeleyes46 said:

As they get older it is harder for everyone to get ready and have the space needed. Also, it is nice to have some "alone" time with your partner if you travel with someone else 🙂

we have plenty of that time alone at home, since both of us work from home and the kid is in school for most of the year. 🙂The cruise is meant for the family to be together, and at 11 he doesn't need to be in a separate cabin.

[hazeleyes46]

3 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

we have plenty of that time alone at home, since both of us work from home and the kid is in school for most of the year. 🙂The cruise is meant for the family to be together, and at 11 he doesn't need to be in a separate cabin.

Ahhh gotcha 🙂

[mjkacmom]

On our first cruise the kids were 4, 4, 6, 9 and 11, we had 2 CONNECTING cabins, and had them for every cruise. It’s really like being in 1 cabin with the connecting door open. That’s how we travelled in hotels too. Even on our last cruise, when the range was 14 - 20, we still liked keeping the door open to check on when and if they came back at night. I remember our 19 year old wandering in in the wee hours without dd20, not cool dude, go back and get her.

[willoL]

On 6/7/2022 at 6:53 AM, kelkel2 said:

Parents with older kids please answer! At what age did you feel like ok my kids can be in their own room. I’d probably book a adjoining room, not one across the hall.

Adjoining cabins where the door opens straight between them? I would do this even with a baby or toddler. More space is better; also, not sharing a bathroom with my *husband* makes my vacation better. I'd tell him he and the kids were assigned the other cabin loo, and mine was the ladies' lounge! 😆

 

With an interior door kept open all night, I see two connected cabins as virtually identical to a hallway at home with kids in their own bedrooms near ours.

 

Our first time in two connected staterooms, mine were 11 and 14 ish, I was (by then) also okay with them shutting the door at night for "privacy." I would still pop in during the day to check they were being tidy, set out dinner outfits, etc. As long as the (interior connection) door could open from either side, even a lower elementary kid could have that much privacy at night if s/he wasn't prone to sleepwalking or waking up too scared to go to the right door to get to mom and dad. (Tip: I travel with a USB rechargeable nightlight and always set it up so my kids could find their way in a strange hotel room.)

 

Across the hall--or anything that would require selecting one correct door from many identical ones in a hallway during a middle-of-the-night-emergency--I would start to consider toward age 12 or middle school, but it would depend (a lot!) upon the individual child. My youngest had nocturnal asthma, so we slept with an ear open to his wheezing until puberty, basically. A ten year old with a mature teenaged sibling might be okay together across the hall, but whether I thought so would be VERY personality dependent.

 

I hope that helps!

 

I can say for sure, I've *never* regretted splurging on more space when traveling with my family, and I took my kids on a fair number of trips without DH (who's much more of a homebody than I am.)

[kelkel2]

2 minutes ago, willoL said:

Adjoining cabins where the door opens straight between them? I would do this even with a baby or toddler. More space is better; also, not sharing a bathroom with my *husband* makes my vacation better. I'd tell him he and the kids were assigned the other cabin loo, and mine was the ladies' lounge! 😆

 

With an interior door kept open all night, I see two connected cabins as virtually identical to a hallway at home with kids in their own bedrooms near ours.

 

Our first time in two connected staterooms, mine were 11 and 14 ish, I was (by then) also okay with them shutting the door at night for "privacy." I would still pop in during the day to check they were being tidy, set out dinner outfits, etc. As long as the (interior connection) door could open from either side, even a lower elementary kid could have that much privacy at night if s/he wasn't prone to sleepwalking or waking up too scared to go to the right door to get to mom and dad. (Tip: I travel with a USB rechargeable nightlight and always set it up so my kids could find their way in a strange hotel room.)

 

Across the hall--or anything that would require selecting one correct door from many identical ones in a hallway during a middle-of-the-night-emergency--I would start to consider toward age 12 or middle school, but it would depend (a lot!) upon the individual child. My youngest had nocturnal asthma, so we slept with an ear open to his wheezing until puberty, basically. A ten year old with a mature teenaged sibling might be okay together across the hall, but whether I thought so would be VERY personality dependent.

 

I hope that helps!

 

I can say for sure, I've *never* regretted splurging on more space when traveling with my family, and I took my kids on a fair number of trips without DH (who's much more of a homebody than I am.)

Hey, thanks! I appreciate the feedback. I kind of agree with the connecting cabin thing. As long as they cannot open the balcony door by themselves, then I won’t worry. But I think our spring break cruise it’s about the same price to book 2 rooms. So I’m seriously considering it. 

[Skippy]

We’ve had connecting rooms on cruises in the past. Our last cruise was in 2018. This time around cause we booked last minute, the kids will be across the hall from us. They are 13 and 11. We trust them both to follow rules as well as check in with us should they want to go do their own thing. 
The extra space is worth it. Plus you get 2 bathrooms. We’re planning to get keys for their room too. We did have to book one adult and one child per cabin though.

[Mum2Mercury]

On 6/17/2022 at 5:22 PM, willoL said:

Adjoining cabins where the door opens straight between them? I would do this even with a baby or toddler.

Agree ... if you can open the door between the two rooms /leave it cracked, it's really no different from having the child in the room with you.  And two rooms is a convenient choice ... two bathrooms, privacy for everyone, a TV for the kids.  

 

UNLESS you're talking about a room with a balcony.  I don't know that I'd want a young child to have access to a balcony out of my line of sight.  Some ships have just a couple balcony rooms connected to inside rooms (obviously, these are "end rooms"), and those few room combinations book fast. 

 

I personally would not put a child of any age across the hall (and teens are children).  Period.  Would not.  You wouldn't know if the child went out without your knowledge.  You wouldn't know if new friends (or strangers) were in the cabin with your child ... and that can become problematic in a hurry; I was a good kid, but more often than I'd like to remember, I followed the crowd and broke the rules.  In case of a real emergency, that second cabin could potentially have a different muster station.  If you have to "fake" the bookings by pretending one adult is in each cabin, something's wrong with the idea. 

Edited July 4, 2022 by Mum2Mercury

[mjkacmom]

1 hour ago, Mum2Mercury said:

Agree ... if you can open the door between the two rooms /leave it cracked, it's really no different from having the child in the room with you.  And two rooms is a convenient choice ... two bathrooms, privacy for everyone, a TV for the kids.  

 

UNLESS you're talking about a room with a balcony.  I don't know that I'd want a young child to have access to a balcony out of my line of sight.  Some ships have just a couple balcony rooms connected to inside rooms (obviously, these are "end rooms"), and those few room combinations book fast. 

 

I personally would not put a child of any age across the hall (and teens are children).  Period.  Would not.  You wouldn't know if the child went out without your knowledge.  You wouldn't know if new friends (or strangers) were in the cabin with your child ... and that can become problematic in a hurry; I was a good kid, but more often than I'd like to remember, I followed the crowd and broke the rules.  In case of a real emergency, that second cabin could potentially have a different muster station.  If you have to "fake" the bookings by pretending one adult is in each cabin, something's wrong with the idea. 

There is a difference between a 13 year old and 17 year old. Kids are our HS head down the shore every Memorial Day weekend and take over a motel as juniors/seniors, and rent houses for prom weekend (my generation did the same). Kids go off to college at 17.

[Mum2Mercury]

1 hour ago, mjkacmom said:

There is a difference between a 13 year old and 17 year old. Kids are our HS head down the shore every Memorial Day weekend and take over a motel as juniors/seniors, and rent houses for prom weekend (my generation did the same). Kids go off to college at 17.

All that is true, but I've known of plenty of problems that come from unchaperoned teens going to the beach alone.   

Most of the kids who go off to college at 17 are just about to turn 18, and they're living in a dorm with support and supervision.  

And as for cruise ships, I'm just saying what I personally would do.  In all likelihood nothing bad would happen, but I'm not willing to take that chance with my kids.  I didn't allow them to stay out as late as the ship curfew either.  

[mjkacmom]

23 minutes ago, Mum2Mercury said:

All that is true, but I've known of plenty of problems that come from unchaperoned teens going to the beach alone.   

Most of the kids who go off to college at 17 are just about to turn 18, and they're living in a dorm with support and supervision.  

And as for cruise ships, I'm just saying what I personally would do.  In all likelihood nothing bad would happen, but I'm not willing to take that chance with my kids.  I didn't allow them to stay out as late as the ship curfew either.  

My 19 year old is currently in a shore house with 11 of her closest friends, her twin brother is heading down tomorrow. Everyone has their own comfort levels. They’ve traveled a lot without parents.

[soozles]

We had our 2 year olds in an adjoining room… didn’t even think twice. Had the connecting door opened up, safety lock for the balcony door, and a mini obstacle course blocking the front door. Didn’t even think twice about it. 

[unrealHeather]

We've done adjoining cabins and also 2 cabins next door.  We book with 1 adult in each cabin and then "switch" when we get on board, but people end up sleeping where they are comfortable.  Kids are tweens now and our next cruise they may end up bunking together.  

[scubaslayer]

At 8 and 10 we shared a balcony room with the kids. It was a tight fir and sometimes we were in each others way or rushing to get everyone showered and ready for dinner after a day at the beach. It wasn't awful and we all had a blast and everyone has asked me to schedule another trip like this again but school, work, COVID and we are just now getting the chance to go with a 13 and 15 year old. We have 2 connecting balcony rooms. The kids thought it was going to be the same as last time and would have been cool with it but are excited to have 2 rooms with 2 bathrooms available, though 13 wishes they didn't have to room with 15.

[Skippy]

Just got back from our cruise and the kids (13 & 11) were across the hall. We got duplicate keys. It worked out well. They did fine on their own. 

[TwinMamainMN]

Our situation complicates matters some, as our daughter needs an accessible room and we are a family of 5. Daughter and twin brother will be almost 15 when we sail over spring break. Youngest son will be 11. We couldn't get side-by-side connecting or even neighboring cabins with an accessible cabin being one of the rooms when we booked a year out. We have an accessible balcony and one across the hall. Parents and daughter in the balcony cabin, and the 2 boys in the interior across the hall. Will also have some ground rules including a curfew time and nobody else in the cabin except parents, sister, or cabin attendant.

[Thetravelmomof2]

We've cruised since our kids were toddlers.  We started with adjoining cabins around 13.  At 16, they could be next door or across the hall.  On a last minute cruise, there were no cabins close to each other and there was a special on 3rd and 4th passengers in the same cabin.  We booked and were pretty sure we'd regret it.  We didn't.  We had two 15 year-olds in our cabin for the week.  We had so many funny things happen and never laughed more.  I was very used to packing up the entire cabin and having my husband set the suitcases outside the door.  I had the girls place outfits on the shelves. However, only left out shoes for me and my husband.  When I gave the cabin one final look before bed, everything looked fine to me.  Next morning, the girls were NOT happy they had to disembark without shoes - OOPS!