Someone here has stayed in RCCL Family Stateroom.

[TommyJoe]

Having a heck of a time finding someone with opinions regarding their experience staying in one of RCCL's Cat.FO family oceanview staterooms. I've found plenty of official cruise line pictures and floor plans, but can't find anyone who has actually stayed in one.

 

We're two adults currently booked in Cat. D1 aft cabin on the Radiance of the Seas looking to bring our children along. I just received a quote showing cabin 7004 available for a pretty reasonable price.

 

Previously we stayed all four of us on the same ship in a grand suite, but this time we are trying to save a little money(about $1200 to be exact).

 

Please, if you can, address issues like room layout, views, amenities, noise, and motion.

 

Thanks so much, Joe

[lat1]

Hi Tommy Joe,

 

We had a Family Stateroom and a Royal Family suite on our 10/10 Mariner cruise. The Family Stateroom would be a great alternative to a suite IF, the kids are pretty young. On our trip, two adults and two 18 year old boys (both over 6'2") stayed in this cabin and it worked out great for the most part. The two 18 year old's however were pretty cramped in their sleeping quarters.

 

The cabin is lay out is as follows:

 

As soon as you enter the cabin you have the batheroom on one side and directly across from the bathroom is an area just big enough to hold what resembles a bunkbed. Moving further into the cabin is a couch and then a bed. At the end of the cabin are very large windows that are really very nice.

 

Hope this helps.

[Bucky3]

I don't have a brochure to look at but this sounds like the cabin my relatives (a couple) were in when we sailed from Hawaii on Radiance last year. It was at the very front of the ship on deck 7 as I remember. The cabin had a very large living area with the bed to one side. Off of this space was a closet-like tiny space with bunk beds. I didn't see the bathroom. They really liked this cabin because of all the space. I would not have liked it because the windows were high and you couldn't see out while sitting down. In fact they might have been portholes facing forward. Another thing, they are an older couple and it was a VERY LONG walk to everywhere from that room. Radiance is a big ship! We all loved the ship.

[muffyn]

we did a dock upgrade to the family suite(on the radience) ( cost us $400. to upgrade from a regular balcony)

ours was in the back corner of the ship.

you walk in , straight ahead was a bathroom, looking to the right to the back of the ship was the living room & back balcony.

moving into the room (facing the balcony) to the left (behind the bathroom) was a smaller 2-bed room. it was nice size, with a large closet. to the left side of the suite, was the master bedroom, had a dressing table, and inside the room was its own bathroom with tub.

I thought the suite was real nice, except the bedroom was too far from teh balcony windows to hear the ocean at night. the baclcony coudl get 'windy' at times, since the air seems to whip around the back corners.

[pamrob]

Did the family suite sleep 6 with a sofa? We are booked for a family stateroom next week and I might check into an upgrade at the pier.

[pamrob]

Stayed in the family stateroom the first week of Dec. on VOS. Works very well with young children. We could see out the windows sitting in the chairs. Very large, round windows. Decent space. Only drawback is one bathroom which was ok with young children but could be problematic with older children.

[sorcel]

We stayed in 8200 for the Xmas cruise on NOS.

 

Before choosing we did a little research and found some pctures of the various family staterooms (they all seem different). The first link shows the layout of our cabin.

 

http://www.virtualtoursusa.com/tours/navigatorseas/familybr.htm

 

http://www.americasvacationcenter.com/Cruises/Category_Details.cfm?Category_ID=899&Plan_ID=39

 

When we actually saw the cabin we were pleasantly surprised. Our daughter had her own little room. It didn't have a porthole - but it was large enough with a bunk bed, a cupboard and plenty of room to store suitcases. In the opposite end we had a queen size bed and could draw a curtain to make it more private. Our "room" had plenty of cupboard and drawer space. In between there was a small living room with a sofa bed, and also plenty of cupboard space.

 

I had read previous reviews saying it was a long distance to walk to the dining room. If you are disabled this may be the case - but usually we went to the 5th floor and crossed through the promenade deck which was very enjoyable.

 

I was also worried by the reviews saying that there was a lot of movement high up right at the front - but we didn't have any problems even though the water was a little choppy some of the time.

 

We really debated if we should choose a balcony stateroom or this family room - but we were in no way disappointed. When we wanted to spend some private time outdoors we just went down to deck 4 under the lifeboats and found chairs and stared out in to the sea. There were very few people on deck 4 so there were no disturbances of any kind there.

 

We were very happy with our choice.

[benice]

I'm currently booked in the family stateroom for our family of 4 (2 teenage daughters) but for the same price I could get 2 rooms (1 balc and 1 inside).

Do you think it would be better to get the 2 rooms with 2 bathrooms or is the stateroom really much better? The agent made it sound like it was, but he also told me it had 2 baths, which I just found out isn't so.

 

Any advice?

[dogmama]

Dear Benice,

I struggled with the same question. I have two young children and didn't want them in an outside balcony room even if it was adjoining mine. I ultimatley went for the Grand Suite b/c of the amenities of the Concierge and the Concierge club. I figured if my husband needed a refuge he could escape into the lounge. We are leaving in 2 weeks and I will let you know if it is worth the extra money. (about $1200) I have not found anyone on these threads review the Grand Suite- so I really don't know what to expect. I will keep you posted on our return.

Dogmama

[lorrainesy]

Dear Benice,

 

I say go with the two rooms I bet your daughters would like having their own inside cabin better then shearing a balcony cabin with their parents, besides if they want to use the veranda they can just come use yours. You'll all have a nice cabin and most importantly your privacy. trust me you'll all have a better vacation if you have your own space instead of being on top of one another.

Happy sailing!

Lorraine :)