Traveling with 3 children

[registrar]

What’s the best way for family of 5

2 adults 3 children 10 8 and 5yrs old to book a cabin on Royal Caribbean??

[sammyg425]

Book two connecting cabins. We do this every time and it’s so nice to have the extra space, two bathrooms, and be able to stay up after the kids go to sleep. For the reservation, Put one adult in each room, and split up the kids - 2 in one room, 1 in the other.

[GeezerCouple]

50 minutes ago, sammyg425 said:

Book two connecting cabins. We do this every time and it’s so nice to have the extra space, two bathrooms, and be able to stay up after the kids go to sleep. For the reservation, Put one adult in each room, and split up the kids - 2 in one room, 1 in the other.

 

Note:  The "sleeping arrangement" here is ONLY for the reservations, as minors can't be "alone".

The ship doesn't do "bed checks" 😉  so once you are on board, set up the sleeping as you wish, and given the ages of the children, yes, get two INTERIOR CONNECTING cabins so you can keep the door between them open.

 

Don't make the mistake (ahem!) of ending up with two *adjacent* cabins... with no "interior connecting doors".

 

Double check the cabins by looking at the deck plans and make *sure* the two that you have are designated as "connecting".

 

Enjoy!
 

GC

[registrar]

Thank you. But can you book connecting with balcony or only interior

[GeezerCouple]

12 minutes ago, registrar said:

Thank you. But can you book connecting with balcony or only interior

I don't understand your question.

 

Needless to say, it depends upon what types of cabins or suites are on that particular ship.

Whatever cabins or suites that are available (not already booked by others) should be available to you, same as for others.

 

??

GC

[mom says]

I don't think GeezerCouple meant interior cabins. I think they were referring to a connecting door on the interior of the cabins. The deck plans will have a symbol that will indicate if 2 side by side cabins have a connecting door.

[GeezerCouple]

2 minutes ago, mom says said:

I don't think GeezerCouple meant interior cabins. I think they were referring to a connecting door on the interior of the cabins. The deck plans will have a symbol that will indicate if 2 side by side cabins have a connecting door.

 

Yes, my point was that you want the connecting doors to be INSIDE both of the cabins. Our one unfortunate experience was with two immediately adjacent rooms (not a cruise, so thankfully it was just a couple of nights) but the the only way to get from one to the other was to go out of one, into the hallway, walk maybe 2-3 feet, and walk back into the other room.  The fact that the two rooms shared a *wall* was obviously of absolutely no use (we don't travel with chain saws or such! 😲 ).

 

Sorry for any misunderstanding.  I don't think I used the terminology of "interior cabin", just "interior connecting" or similar.

This has never come up before, and I've written about this many times, here and elsewhere.  I'll be more clear in the future!

Enjoy your cruise!

 

GC

 

[wcook]

Personally, I think most families are fine with adjacent cabins or even a balcony cabin with inside across the hall. But each family knows what does and doesn’t work for them.  

[Mum2Mercury]

2 hours ago, registrar said:

Thank you. But can you book connecting with balcony or only interior

You can get connecting rooms in pretty much any category:  Interior, Promenade, Oceanview, Balcony or Junior Suite.  Go online and look at the deck plans -- you'll see double-sided arrows indicating the connecting rooms.  DO book as early as possible because the connecting rooms are limited.  

 

I agree that two connecting rooms are the best choice for your family:  connecting rooms'll give you two bathrooms and ample space.  Be SURE though that you're getting CONNECTING rooms, not just ADJACENT rooms.  I wouldn't want to leave children -- especially the 5-year old -- in a room not connected to mine.  

[registrar]

Thank you all!!! Does anyone know approximately how many connecting rooms are on the ships?

[GeezerCouple]

2 minutes ago, registrar said:

Thank you all!!! Does anyone know approximately how many connecting rooms are on the ships?

That would vary with each ship (unless there are identical ships, which do occur sometimes), and also with the size of the ship.

A 6,000 passenger ship probably has many more truly connecting cabins than a ship holding a fraction of that.

 

That's why looking at the deck plans is what you need to do.

 

GC

[registrar]

Do any cabins sleep 5?

[crystalspin]

24 minutes ago, registrar said:

Do any cabins sleep 5?

Yes! I checked a couple (an older and a newer) RCCL ships and both had the Grand Suite - 2BR

 

[registrar]

Thank-you! I’m guessing that’s quite costly!

[crystalspin]

36 minutes ago, registrar said:

Thank-you! I’m guessing that’s quite costly!

Yes probably more than two connecting rooms, even balconies! But I thought to look into your queston. While being pricy, there are probably only one or two on any ship and they probably sell fast.

 

Is there a particular ship you are considering?

Edited March 26 by crystalspin

[registrar]

Not yet

[mjkacmom]

Two bedroom suites tend to be a lot more than connecting balconies (we have 5 kids). There are ships with cabins for 5, you need to call and book early. Maybe use a TA?

[Mum2Mercury]

17 hours ago, registrar said:

Thank you all!!! Does anyone know approximately how many connecting rooms are on the ships?

None of us know what ship you're considering, so we cannot answer that question.  Ships vary widely in terms of size and cabin options. 

 

Google NAME OF SHIP + deck plans, and you'll get your answer, but you'll find that non-connecting rooms outnumber connecting rooms.  You want to go ahead and make your reservations as soon as you know your dates ... while those rooms are still available.

 

Better yet, go online and pretend you're booking ... the computer will show you what rooms are still available for your chosen week. 

16 hours ago, registrar said:

Do any cabins sleep 5?

Yes, but you'll pay less and get two bathrooms by choosing connecting cabins.  

 

Again, be careful to distinguish connecting cabins and adjacent cabins; I personally would want my children to have direct access to me -- adjacent cabins would mean they'd have to go out into the public hallway, then get me to open the locked door.  Connecting cabins give you a direct, unlocked door between your two rooms.  

 

 

 

 

Edited March 27 by Mum2Mercury

[Essiesmom]

Have you considered any other cruise lines?  Carnival’s Dream class and newer have Deluxe OV cabins that have the twin/king, sofa bed, and two uppers.  Also a split bath: two showers, two sinks, one toilet.  EM

[registrar]

Don’t believe carnival cruises are for kids

[crystalspin]

2 hours ago, registrar said:

Don’t believe carnival cruises are for kids

Umm... Carnival markets heavily to families with kids, just avoid spring break and very short "booze cruises" if the party barge atmosphere has you spooked. I think that EM's suggestion sounds ideal; especially as I was a bit worried about the 10yo being the oldest in a room with a balcony door.

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, crystalspin said:

Umm... Carnival markets heavily to families with kids, just avoid spring break and very short "booze cruises" if the party barge atmosphere has you spooked. I think that EM's suggestion sounds ideal; especially as I was a bit worried about the 10yo being the oldest in a room with a balcony door.

 

We had that same concern about a child in a cabin with a balcony door.  We were traveling with children with one toddler, a very active toddler who loved to climb.  Balcony?  OMG!  Mom & Dad might not have been worried, but I would have been sick with worry (my specialty, alas!), and that would have spoiled the trip.

We got them an OV cabin, with what was like a jumbo porthole (rectangular, not a tiny round PH).  Turned out the toddler staked out the nice wide "windowsill" and spent much of his non-sleep cabin time perched there. 🙂 

DH and I had a large suite, and we gave them a key to our suite so they could come and go as they pleased, so their small cabin was really just for sleep and naps anyway.

 

For an older child and a balcony door for one of two interior connecting cabins, can't the door be fully locked by staff, so not even the adults could open it?  If so, then I'd guess no worries about an older child trying to take a quick look on the balcony in the "children's cabin".

 

GC

[nolatravelgirl]

Disney has a deluxe family room that sleeps 5.

[registrar]

Thank you

We are considering Royal Caribbean out of Bayonne next summer 

[Nebr.cruiser]

On 3/26/2024 at 4:20 PM, registrar said:

Do any cabins sleep 5?

We had a family 'suite' on the Navigator of the Seas that slept easily 5--could have been 6..  It was one large room with a queen bed (we could pull a curtain across for privacyd0, another bed and a very small bunkroom.  Only one bath though.

 

We took 7 grandkids on that cruise and also had another balcony cabin.  The four girls and I took the larger cabin, my husband and the three boys the balcony.  Even though there were beds for four, plus me in the large cabin the girls all slept in the bunkroom together-they were ages 5-11--just because it was fun.

 

Even though the big room was not a balcony it had enormous round windows at the front of the ship.  It worked just great for our family.