Family of Five

[arby342]

Hi folks - I'm new to this board and to cruising in general, so forgive me ahead of time for any stupid questions and/or etiquette violations.

 

I was hoping to plan a cruise for our family of five for early October 2009 (we'll need that much time to save up for it). My girls will be 8, 12, and 14 at that time. We are hoping for an Eastern or Southern Caribbean agenda, but realistically, we'll probably have to opt for a Western Caribbean out of Galveston or New Orleans. The problem is that the eastern/southerns all leave from South Florida ports (or San Juan), which would necessitate the purchase of 5 plane tickets (ka-Ching!). If we sail out of New Orleans, we could drive there in 10-12 hours from St. Louis and save about $3000 on air fare.

 

I have been looking at 7-day itineraries, but have recently been advised to consider a shorter trip (5-day) for our first cruise. Some recent cruisers told me they thought they would be sick of the boat by the 7th day. That will probably be better for us anyway, because the two older girls only have a one-week break from school in the fall. Combine that with at least two full days of driving, and you'll see that a 7-day cruise might be too ambitious.

 

I have been looking at Royal Caribbean, because they appear to have the best compromise between things to do for the kids and things to do for the adults. I hope to become certified before sailing, so diving would be on the agenda for myself. My kids all love the beach, and wife would enjoy snorkeling. Wife and I might enjoy hiking if kids opted to stay on board in kids club for a port day, but the kids definitely do NOT enjoy long hikes as we do.

 

So let's say we end up on a 5-day Western Caribbean on RCCL out of New Orleans.

 

The problem is, I can't figure out what it's going to cost for cabins. We are only going to be able to do this with careful budgeting and a sharp eye for discounts.

 

I'm assuming we will need to get two adjoining cabins (and that this option will be more affordable than a "family suite", for which I can get NO pricing information on the web). Is it possible to squeeze 5 in a single cabin on RCCL? Other lines? Is a family suite cheaper than two ocean-view cabins? (I have been advised to avoid inside cabins due to their coffin-like atmosphere). Do they even offer adjoining cabins? What discount can I expect for the third, fourth, or (if possible) fifth person in the cabin?

 

One other option, if four can fit in a cabin, is to convince my sister/brother-in-law and niece to go with us, and have my youngest bunk with her cousin (they are close in age). That would be two cabins housing 4 each. Is that more doable? (But now we are coordinating schedules of two families and four schools with the schedule of the Cruise Line. Sounds iffy to me...)

 

Has anyone cruised in a family suite on RCCL recently? What is the cost compared to, say, an outside cabin?

 

What other mistakes am I making here? Any advice is appreciated - the vacation world just is not friendly for a family with more than four members.

[6rugrats]

You are running into some of the same problems we did in pricing and booking a cruise. Once you have five instead of just four family members, the price goes up - a lot! In my research, I found booking two cabins to be much less expensive then a family suite on every cruise line.

 

You cannot put five people into a four person cabin; the cruise line won't allow this and it would be too crowded anyway. You are going to have to go with two cabins. Adjoining cabins are offered, but have you considered one inside and one outside cabin that could be located across the hall from each other? I think that may be something to think about and would keep the price down. I don't think many kids mind an inside cabin and lots of adults like them too. Don't write them off!

 

Sometimes the third and fourth person in a cabin can be as little as $99 a person; just depends on time of year, cruise line and what specials are being offered.

[whale-watcher]

We had a Royal Family Suite on the Enchantment of the Seas, and it was a wonderful cabin. The fare was high for the first two pax, but much lower for each of the kids...we thought the cabin was a good deal, and enjoyed the huge balcony as well.

[wrp96]

The family cabins cannot be booked on the web because they require a minimum of 5 people to book. You will have to talk to a travel agent or call the cruise line directly for pricing on those cabins. Many times they are more expensive than booking 2 connecting cabins (you want connecting cabins, not just adjoining) but do not assume that for your sailing they will be as sometimes they will run deals for 3rd and 4th passengers that make those rooms less expensive (like this weekend).

[boulders]

Look at the prices for cabins for Oct. 2008. They should be not too different from Oct. 2009. The cruise lines will release their Oct. 2009 inventory around March.

 

My personal opinion would be that I would never be bored on a ship. Five days seems awfully short, especially for an all day drive each way. You may be limited, though, in what is sailing out of Galveston or New Orleans. You won't find out which ships are sailing out those ports until March '08.

 

There are several cabin types on RCCL that will fit 5. Not all of them are incredibly expensive. The family oceanview comes to mind. You will have to call RCCL or a TA to price them though. But, since you will be traveling with 4 females, I would suggest connecting cabins so that you have the 2 bathrooms. :p

 

Lots of people book inside cabins. Next up in price is oceanviews, then balconies, then suites. Several of RCCLs ships have promenade rooms which are priced right around insides, but overlook the promenade so that you have something to look at outside your window.

 

Good luck with your planning!

[Karysa]

I agree that a week is better than 5 days and 8 days is better than a week.

Your kids will be at a great age to cruise and I can not imagine that they would be bored. It takes my husband a few days to relax so we don't look for any vacations under a week in length. The other option that some people do is back to back cruises on the same ship or even another cruise line. You could take a 4 day and then another 4 day if they are offered out of Galveston or New Orleans. If it is on the same ship and cabin it makes it easier because you would not have to pack and move, but the entertainment will probably stay the same. The ports may or may not be the same.

Welcome to CC.

Karysa

[fun4family]

It's true, they don't make it easy for a family of 5 to vacation. We are booked in a family oceanview (which will hold up to 6) it has bunkbeds in a separate "room" for our teenage boys and our 8 year old will sleep on the pullout sofa. We did have to call to book it, it is not available online. We'll go in January on the Navigator of the seas. I really wanted a balcony, but it would have cost us more to book 2 adjoining balcony rooms, since you get the 3,4 & 5 person discount. we booked in march and paid 719 for the 1st 2 and 349pp for the kids. (5 day)

Happy planning!

 

40 days & counting!:D

[prttygirlmss]

We took our first cruise in Sept on RCCL The Mariner of The Seas. It was 7 days to the Eastern Caribbean It was myself, DH and 3 kids ages 8,12 and 14.. 7 days was not enough:) My older kids actually came to tears because the cruise was over. NEVER were we bored. I chose this ship because of all the wonderful things they offered. Ice skating, inline skating, mini golf, rock wall and a stop at their private island Coco Cay. This was a great day that cost nothing extra. Lunch is included and as you know a family of 5, lunch can be well over $40.00. We got 2 inside cabins. Of course inside was the cheapest. But, I am glad we did. We only were there to sleep and shower. We were always enjoying the ship. It was also nice to have 2 bathrooms. I would do this again in a heartbeat! I was able to spend the money on the islands we visited. We drove to Port Canaveral from Georgia. We loved it so much we are going on our second cruise next Sept. What ever you choose, you will have fun.

[SaratogaTrunk]

the vacation world just is not friendly for a family with more than four members.

 

We're in the same "boat..." ;)

 

Once you have that third child, two rooms become a necessity. And, with girls, TWO bathrooms almost becomes a necessity (our rule of thumb for any trip longer than a weekend requires two bathrooms).;)

 

This will be our first family cruise-- booking it rather late (Oct. 2007 for an April 2008 sailing), we weren't able to get a Royal Family Suite-- no adjoining cabins were available, either.

 

What we ended up doing was booking a balcony cabin along with an inside cabin, directly across the hall, for our children. They're a bit older than your trio-- they'll be 16, 11.5 and 10 by the time we travel. In all the excitement of planning the trip, my MIL and SIL decided they wanted to join us-- our TA was able to book an inside cabin right next door to the children- not adjoining, but good enough. I've never experienced an inside cabin, so I'm hoping my children won't be too claustrophobic. I can't imagine that they'll be doing much other than sleeping and showering in there!

 

I think you'd be better off calling RCCL directly or consulting with a travel agt. re: the suites and what adjoining rooms are available. The web site doesn't seem to have this info.

 

I think the idea of traveling with your family sounds like fun, if you're able to coordinate it-- our tentative plans, providing all family members enjoy themselves in April, is to travel with my Sis and BIL and do a Panama Canal itinerary.

 

Not sure what to suggest about the travel. We're avoiding the air fare on this trip as we're departing from a port that's only a few hours drive from home.

 

Good luck and have fun planning!!

 

 

[arby342]

Thanks everyone for your information and opinions! I appreciate all of your replies. It doesn't look like RCCL is sailing out of New Orleans - just Galveston. But I certainly won't be afraid of a 7-day sail, based on what I've read here. (Squeezing in 7 days of sailing and two days of driving in a one-week school break might be a challenge, but maybe they can miss a day or two the week before or after). I'm still hoping to do that South Caribbean trip though (better diving for Dad!).

[CanadianTwosome]

I agree with the sentiments about both trip length and inside cabins. We always book inside because, as has been noted, we don't spend any time there other than sleeping, washing, and changing. It's pretty much just your bedroom; I don't know about anyone else, but mine doesn't have a balcony at home! ha ha ha Come to think of it, it doesn't have much of a view, either - and we keep the blinds closed all the time!

 

I can't imagine choosing to take a 'shorter' cruise! Certainly there are reasons to take a five nighter or less... I just don't know any of them. ha ha ha Seriously, I agree with everyone who has assured you that you won't be bored. I don't know who the cruisers are that you've spoken to, but my guess is that their idea of a fun vacation and mine are probably quite different! ha ha ha I have never been bored on a cruise - not at 10, 12, twenty-something, or... well... let's not go there. Suffice to say I haven't been and never expect to be!

 

Enjoy your cruise and prepare to become ADDICTED!! :)

[rebeccalouise]

Don't know what month you are planning to travel but Southwest right now had flights (I used January as an example) for $ 238 Nonstop from St. Louis- Ft. Lauderdale. So don't know where you are getting $ 3000 for airfare for 5.

[arby342]

You're right - I was checking American flights to San Juan, and the fare is around $300 - so its really $1500 for all five of us. Sorry to exaggerate, but that's still a big chunk of change (half of what we spent on our family vacation for this year, in fact).

 

I'm not sure where I came up with the $3000 figure.(?) Somehow I had a $550/seat price in my mind.

[arby342]

My feeling is that the Western Caribbean ports might be less family friendly than the ports on the Eastern or Southern agenda. I'm thinking that the day at the private island (which is only on the Eastern agenda for most lines, right?) would be a blast for the kids. I can't see my kids climbing to the top of a pyramid or hacking their way through a jungle, and I'm afraid of a spring break atmosphere at Cancun,, or extreme poverty elsewhere (though I've never been to Mexico, so I may be off base). Also, I've heard that Jamaica is not so great if you are not in an all-inclusive resort.

 

Any thoughts?

[CanadianTwosome]

When I was a child, we did two cruises that visited Caribbean and South American ports, as well as Panama. Jamaica was on the cruise we took when I was 10. We visited a beautiful garden and did some shopping. I'm not sure what entails a 'family friendly' port, but it's not just about excursions. I remember seeing poverty and encountering beggars on many trips as well, and my mother used the experience to help me understand how fortunate we were.

 

At the very least, pretty much any port you stop at has a beach or other fun activities that don't involve touring historic sites. Things like dolphin encounters (which I highly recommend) are cropping up all over as well. Find some itineraries that work with your dates and departure port of choice, then use the ship's excursion list to get an idea of some of the activities that can be enjoyed at each stop. Talk them over with your family and see what interests everyone, then choose accordingly. I think it's easy to make a mistake by assuming something will not appeal to your family without getting their input. You've got tons of time, enjoy doing the research - you may just end up with your second, third and fourth cruises planned out in advance!! ha ha ha :p

[wrp96]

My feeling is that the Western Caribbean ports might be less family friendly than the ports on the Eastern or Southern agenda. I'm thinking that the day at the private island (which is only on the Eastern agenda for most lines, right?) would be a blast for the kids. I can't see my kids climbing to the top of a pyramid or hacking their way through a jungle, and I'm afraid of a spring break atmosphere at Cancun,, or extreme poverty elsewhere (though I've never been to Mexico, so I may be off base). Also, I've heard that Jamaica is not so great if you are not in an all-inclusive resort.

 

Any thoughts?

 

 

I know that RCCL frequently visits their private island on their Western Caribbean itineraries out of South Florida. I believe Princess does as well. I personally do not like the Western Caribbean, but a lot of families love the Western Caribbean because there are a lot of good water activities in ports like Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

[crusinmama06]

Wecome to the Family board. :D

 

Let me try to address some of the questions you asked. First off, you can price out cabins by going to www.RCCL.com. The only ones you can't price out are the Family Suites that hold 5. You'll have to call them directly for that.

 

Over the weekend, they were having a $99 price for 3rd/4th persons in the cabins on select sailings. I don't know if it ends today or tomorrow. And 50% off deposit.

 

Try www.kayak.com to find the cheapest price on airfare. It compares prices to fly in/out of nearby airports.

 

Generally Western ports aren't family friendly for YOUNG children. And the reason is that most excursions for the Western Carib are for older aged kids (more adventurous excursions). The age limits prevents younger kid from going (as in my family's case). But not in yours. You can take the whole family on most of the excursions offered.

 

My favorite is the Eastern Carib just because I think the beaches are prettier. Not as rocky. And as far as RCCL private islands I would take Coco Cay hands down over Labadee. But sometimes that's not always an option.

 

And to answer the question about being bored in 5 days - HOGWASH...lol. My kids get so upset when we have to leave. Tears flow. My 7 year old was crying when we touched down at the airport because she missed the ship so much. :rolleyes:

[leocruiser]

Arby,

 

We have six in our family and we knew that airfare would be a burden so we planned a cruise out of LA which is 8-9 hours from us. We will spend the night in LA before and after the cruise and we will still not even come close to the cost of airfare. We also booked two inside cabins, and we didn't even ask for adjoining because our travel agent said it would be more costly. (??) But she requested that our cabins be close to each other, which I was ok with cuz our oldest 3 are 14, 13, and 8 and the baby would stay with us anyway. Well, when we called the travel agency with our final payment they had upgraded us for free to the balcony cabins and they were right next to each other! As for the excursions, I am not paying the cruise line to take us, I have researched every port of call and set up my own excursions for way cheaper. We took the kids to Hawaii one year and you would be surprised how many things you can do for free or little cost. Some things we will spring for, like the ATV rides and jetskis, but other than that we will mostly just hang out on the beach or tour the little towns. Yes! Traveling with kids CAN be done on a budget! Good luck! You guys will have tons of fun!

[SweetAngel]

I know you are considering RCCL but I wanted to throw out that Carnival has a few ships that allow five in a room on 5-day trips. These ships leave from Galveston, New Orleans, and Mobile, and would certainly be the least expensive of all options for five people.

 

We traveled five in a room on Carnival Ecstasy (with three pre-teens) and never felt crowded, but we are avid campers, and these rooms offer much more space than your average motor home.

 

Our trip on Ecstasy cost $299 for each adult and $199 for each of the three children. You could take two back to back trips for 10 days and come out cheaper than one trip on RCCL.

[dive-in]

I'm still hoping to do that South Caribbean trip though (better diving for Dad!).

 

Don't let my screen name fool you. I'm not a diver but I've always heard about the great diving in Grand Cayman and Cozumel. Is the southern Caribbean that much better?

 

As a previous post pointed out, Southwest (currently) has non-stops from STL to Ft. Lauderdale. They also have nonstop flights to Tampa, and Orlando (Port Caneveral). Between those ports, I think you'll find plenty of cruising options if you don't drive to the Gulf Coast ports.

 

One thing to consider is rerouting if hurricane is stirring up in the gulf. I'm not sure how easily they avoid it leaving from New Orleans or Galveston. Leaving from the East Coast, you could easily divert to the Eastern Caribbean instead of the Western.

[SelectSys]

... The problem is that the eastern/southerns all leave from South Florida ports (or San Juan), which would necessitate the purchase of 5 plane tickets (ka-Ching!). If we sail out of New Orleans, we could drive there in 10-12 hours from St. Louis and save about $3000 on air fare.

 

I have been looking at 7-day itineraries, but have recently been advised to consider a shorter trip (5-day) for our first cruise. Some recent cruisers told me they thought they would be sick of the boat by the 7th day. ...

 

Combine that with at least two full days of driving, and you'll see that a 7-day cruise might be too ambitious.

 

I have been looking at Royal Caribbean, because they appear to have the best compromise between things to do for the kids and things to do for the adults.

 

...

 

Has anyone cruised in a family suite on RCCL recently? What is the cost compared to, say, an outside cabin?

 

...

 

1) I think you are being too pessimistic regarding airfares. Booking well in advance you should be able to get tickets to South Florida (MIA, FLL) or Orlando for about $250 - $300 / person round trip. The only plus of driving is not having to run the airport security gauntlet and dealing with luggage.

 

2) My kids have never wanted to get off of the ship. Our longest cruise so far is 2 weeks and they still were still ready to go for more.

 

3) RCCL is our favorite line. We have done 4 cruises with them (with another booked) and have been happy each time. It provides the best blend of activities for our family. Our kids will be 13 and 15 on their next cruise and started with RCCL at ages 9 and 11.

 

4) We always book connecting cabins. The second bathroom is a big plus and everyone has enough space. It is certainly more expensive than jamming everyone into a single room but the additional space is well worth it to us.

[arby342]

Thanks so much, everyone, for all of your suggestions!

 

Cruisinmama: thanks for the kayak link - I really like that site. I hadn't found that before.

 

Angel: I will check out Carnival - thanks for the advice. Anybody have advice comparing Carnival with Royal Caribbean, especially with regard to kids programs and activities?

 

Even with airfare at $300/seat, that's $1500 total, which compares to only about $300 in fuel if we drive (unless we have to pay a bunch to park the minivan in Galveston for a week). Still, $1500 is looking pretty good compared to 12 hours of driving with three restless preteen girls. We just finished a road trip to Destin, FL last fall, and we broke that drive up into two days. Still it was exhausting for all of us. I don't relish the thought of arriving in port to catch the boat feeling shagged out after driving for 12 hours, stressed out about the possibility of being late because of a traffic jam and missing the ship, kids crabby, etc, and spending the whole first day of the cruise recovering. Yes, $1500 is starting to sound pretty cheap.

 

It's not that I'm a cheapskate - I'm just not blessed with a large vacation budget. Well, both, really. Broke and cheap!

 

RE: Diving - well, I'm not a diver either - just a wannabe diver at this point. But I've heard that the ABC's of diving are Aruba, Bonaire, and Curacao. My sister and brother-in-law tell me that they didn't like diving in Cozumel (drift diving with strong currents). I have heard that Cayman Island diving is awesome, but that there isn't much else to do there (for the wife and kids). Again, these are second and third hand observations, and as such, possibly quite bogus.

 

But, really, I think any Caribbean cruise would be good, and all in all, Western vs. Eastern vs. Southern is probably a pretty minor consideration for us, having never been anywhere in the Caribbean yet. It will be a new experience, no matter which agenda we choose.

[wrp96]

If you decide to drive, plan to arrive at the port the day before. That way you can rest up in a hotel AND you have given yourself some extra time in case of delays, accidents, etc. Yes, your vacation budget is small but it is worth it to plan a night in a hotel for some piece of mind.

[rebeccalouise]

I have done driving trips- and sometimes they are less stressful than airport trips.

 

Some advice for the driver- make sure that you stop every four hours and have a meal, followed by a nice leisurely walk or some type of site seeing.

 

Take turns driving- no matter how macho your husband is. Men have been known to fall asleep behind the wheel. Switch every four hours.

 

Have a plan of where you are stopping- I always knew where we were going to stop off. I chose quaint towns and made it a learning experience (if this is possible in Texas) and we ate at a diner, as opposed to fast food.

[SweetAngel]

We drove to Galveston 1200 miles, and that worked out pretty well for us, although we were really wiped out the first day of our cruise. The money we saved by driving bought us some great excursions and photos, so it was well worth it. The kids had their gameboys and plenty of activities to keep them entertained on the long drive.

 

Galveston has affordable cruise parking. We used EZ Cruise parking, looked it up online and reserved ahead of time. It was $10 a day.

 

Carnival Ecstasy was the ship we rode out of Galveston that has 5-people rooms. As you can see from my earlier picture, we had an ocean-view. Ecstasy is a charming little ship. Even though it's older, I saw that it made a top 10 list last year of favorite ships (among nine other new ships).

 

I haven't been on RCCL, so I can not give a fair comparison, but it's hard to beat Carnival's prices.