advice for family of 5

[mbrock800]

We've booked a cruise on the Inspiration for November 8th. My husband and I, along with our three small children (3, 5, and 7) will be staying in an inside cabin to save more money to spend on the rest of our cruise.

 

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions on storage ideas? I know we'll be REALLY cramped with all 5 of us in 1 room. Any ideas from you expert cruisers?

[Catrin]

We have cruised with 5 of us in one room.... and also on the Inspiration later this month.

 

a few things...

 

1) Clothes... we try not to pack so much. I do laundry throughout the week. I bring a collapsable mesh laundry basket and keep in the closet.

 

2) Drawers under the sofa. We had these on the Victory and Liberty... not sure about the Inspiration.

 

3)Kids Backpacks. Each kid had a backpack for thier "stuff". This included Gameboys, stuffed animals, books, etc. The Stuff stayed in the backpacks... (except for the animals, who our room steward played with every day).

 

4) Shoes - like clothing, pack minimal. Dinner shoes, flip flops, sneakers. That is it.

 

Good Luck!

Catrin

[seashell36]

I agree with Catrin about packing light. We stayed 4 in an inside room on the Elation. You won't have a sofa - unless they have changed it since we sailed. But, you can store luggage (with any clothes that don't fit in the drawers or hang up) under the beds.

My kids, each kept their stuff in a backpack that was put in the closet when they weren't in the room.

We kept one of the fold down bunks down during the day so the kids could sit on it when we were in the room.

Shoes were put under the hanging space just inside the door. So we didn't trip over someone's shoes.

Just enjoy the trip and your family!

[Purifyer]

We've booked a cruise on the Inspiration for November 8th. My husband and I, along with our three small children (3, 5, and 7) will be staying in an inside cabin to save more money to spend on the rest of our cruise.

 

Does anyone have any advice or suggestions on storage ideas? I know we'll be REALLY cramped with all 5 of us in 1 room. Any ideas from you expert cruisers?

 

You might bring some extra coat hangers. Remember, one one electrical outlet so consider what you are bringing that requires charging. You might want to bring a power strip. The rooms have more storage space than you would think but I agree with the others about backpacks. Also, you won't be spending that much time in the room! lol :D

[Elaine515]

My sister has cruised with her husband, 15 yr old son and 5 yr old twins all in the same cabin. It works...

 

I have always cruised 4 to an inside and it works also.

 

First off, yes, it will be very crowded but you don't spend enough time in the cabin to worry about it.

 

Second, if you have little boys, let them and your husband get ready, dressed and out of the cabin first at night. It takes longer for us girls to get ready and makes it easier if the boys are out of the cabin!!

 

Third, if you think two of the kids can share a bed, or even fit the littlest one in with you guys, don't let the Cabin Steward bring in a cot... that cot makes it very hard at night to walk around or get up and go to the bathroom in the middle of the night...

 

Fourth, and very important, don't overpack.... One pair of pjs is enough, 2 bathing suits for a 5 day is plently...2 maybe 3 pair of shorts with a different shirt each day will work (especially if you plan on doing laundry).

 

Fifth... you can ask the Room Steward to store your luggage somewhere other than your cabin for the week and he'll bring it back to you late afternoon the day before leaving...

 

Sixth... there should be 3 draweres in the dresser. Give each child their own drawer and tell them they are responsible for "their" drawer and their clothes.

You and your husband can use the shelves in the closet!!!

 

Also, don't be afraid to put the kids into the Camp. They'll love it and Mommy and Daddy will love the "adult" time...

 

It will/can/does work and the memories are amazing. Trust me, we have been doing it for years and I wouldn't trade for anything...

[fchoppa]

We just go off the Inspiration with a family of 5. We were in an inside room. My kids are 5, 9,and 11. We did pretty good. We packed everything inside 2 large rolling duffle bags and a garmet bag. I highly suggest the duffle bags. They collapse to nothing and we kept the in a little space above the closet. If we had suit case I really don't know where we whould have put them. the space under the bed is where the railings to the bunks go, and the cot goes there as well. We also kept my sons car seat under the trash barrel under the litttle desk, seemed to work well.

 

Oh also by the second day we had the cot removed and my son (5) just slept in the bed with us. We did really well actually, and did not have many problems. Even survived room service a couple of times for breakfast. :)

 

Have a great vacation!

[myateam]

fchoppa that is good to know, we sailed 4 last year on the holiday with the cot, they have no 5 rooms and it was room enough to go the the bathroom at night. I have boys 12,13,14,15,:o going with me. do you have any photos of the room set-up with the cot:confused:

[ljchris1990]

As I said in a previous post My family of five have done this twice. At the time of our last cruiser together it was myself, DH, DS (16 at time and 6'2), DD (14 at time almost 5'7) and DS (5 at time and short). It was tight fit but by the time we did it the second time we had a system down. The things we learned while doing this was:

 

1) Definitly get an over the door shoe holder. it was awesome for helping with keeping things organized.

 

2) an power strip. A life saver when there two females in the room.

 

3)a digital clock if you go with an inside room. You will need one if you need to get up for any excursion.

 

4) a night light. A must especially for an insider because boy does it get dark!

 

5) packing light is hard as heck especially for 5ppl. We managed to get it down to 5 bags and a small carry on for toiletries our last cruise. We also saved room in our bags by getting trial sized bottles and instead normal or big bottles of our shampoo, shower gel, toothpast, ect ect.

 

6) enjoy you time together while in the room! it was amazing how much fun Dh and I had with our teens and little man while hanging out in our room.

 

I hope this helps you a little.

[trvlqueen]

We also have a family of 5 and have cruised in 2 cabins AND all together in 1 cabin. Either way works fine ... if you're in one cabin, the best gift you can give yourself is to have your DH get ready for dinner, photos, or whatever you plan to do, first, then get the kids ready and send them all away somewhere so you have some private time alone to get ready (and get your sanity back). Makes life much easier to get ready if it's just you (or in our case, it's usually me and my 13yodd left in the cabin to get ready together and dh takes the other 2 up to have a "snack). Keeps everyone's tempers in check as the kids won't get so bored waiting for you, your dh won't snap b/c the kids are bouncing while waiting, and you'll get a little pamper time. A good alternative is to use the shower area in the spa to get ready (shower, hair, makeup) and then just change clothes when you get back down to the room.

 

The most difficult part is having everyone trying to get ready to be somewhere at the same time, but with a little planning it's not so bad ... after all, you'll be on vacation! Have a great time.

[soon to cruise]

We did 5 to a room on the Fantasy this summer. Me, dh, ds (17), dd(13) and another ds 9. It was cozy! LOL My advise to you is pack lite as said above and BRING SOME AIRFRESENER!!!! I sure wish I would have grabbed a can. Lets just say that 17 year old can sure put the food away and you sure pay for it later in that tiny room!!!! LOL

It wasnt bad at all. Bunks were kept down cause kids liked to lay on them and watch tv off and on during the day. It keeps them out from under your feet too if they are up high in the bunks.

[IMSAILING]

Great idea about getting ready in the locker room in the spa

[lincolndog]

We always have four to a room. Great memories. Fun to listen to them talk at night. Pack lightly. I try to bring reversible shorts for my boys, (two days for one. We also bring a small flashlight plus leave the bathroom light on with the door slightly opened. Each child is assigned a shelf or drawer. Last time we cut out the dress shoes. The boys were thrilled. Tennis shoes and flip flops only. I also write down what they are wearing each day and tape it to the door. Saves me a lot of headaches.

[kimmimom]

wil be doing it again in Jan. First cruise they were 2, 6, and 11-all girls. each child had a backpack of toys/books, etc and everything had to be put away as soon as they were done. We had about 5 suitcases (week cruise). The kids used the drawers for their clothes and dh and I used the closet shelves. We then put the suitcases in the closets and under the beds. One suitcause under the bed, we would pull out and put our dirty clothes in. Shoes went in the closet for everyone. We had a great time! can't wait to do it again in jan (kids will be 5, 9, and 14 this time).

[kiraryker]

We will be trying it on the Triumph in a balcony room in March - I am sure it will be a small sacrifice for everyone - but we'll manange because we will be on a CRUISE!!!! I just hope we can keep the room somewhat organized

[crookedhalo]

Just back from Fascination and 4 in an inside room. Had the steward seperate the king bed back into twins and position one under each of the pullmans. This made the floor space in the room much more useable. Also, nested suitcases (we had 4 suitcases and two duffels) inside of each other and slid them under the bed to get them out of the way;) There are only 4 drawers in the vanity. Make sure to take some sort of toiletry holder for the bath. For the record, the four in our cabin were myself, DH, DD (20) and DS (16). DS & DH are both about 5'9" or so and not too terribly small;) DS was very comfortable (other than smacking his head once or twice on the ceiling) on the upper bunk.