Booking 2 rooms for a family with toddlers children

[sas80]

Has anyone done this? Book 2 adjoining rooms, one for the kids, one for the adults? Our kids will be 4 and 2 at the time of sailing and the idea is to have them sleep in the other room (adjoining doors open).

 

It would actually be cheaper for us to do this than to put 4 in a balcony room and we are still getting one balcony room, it's a balcony/inside adjoining.

 

Nap time would sure be way easier!

 

We could even nap one in one room and the other in the other room!

 

Thoughts, opinions, experiences?

[s318830]

Yes, We did this on Liberty of the Seas a year and a half ago when DS was 3 and my daughter was 18 months. I brought a baby monitor so that we could hear everything in their room (the doors are really nicely soundproofed) at night, and that even let us close the door after they went to bed and during naps. It was the perfect solution (two bathrooms, more room, a door to open or close, and cheaper than a family cabin or jr suite.

 

I'm planning a cruise with a friend of mine next year with our three kids and we'll do one room for the adults and one room for the kids. When you book it, one adult has to be booked into one room and the other adult in the other. But once on board, you can put the kids in their own room.

 

Do make sure you specify "Connecting" and not just "adjoining" the difference between the two is whether there is a door or not. It doesn't work without a door. :-)

[harryfat1]

Sure, it’s done all the time.

 

Like the other poster said, officially you must have one adult in each cabin, but the cruise line doesn’t care who sleeps where once you are on board. From a logistics point of view, swap the kids cabin key with the “opposite” parent so that you both can have access to both cabins from the outside.

 

Be sure to go online or look at the floor print from hard copy brochures to see there is a “connector” mark between the two cabins so you have assurance that they open in the middle.

[cb at sea]

There should be no problem doing that---the kids will be closer to you than they probably are at home!

[Julienatul]

We are planning to do this when our kids get a bit bigger too. There is only a $100-200 difference between the 1st/2nd and 3rd/4th rate so for a few hundred dollars more we get two rooms....very much worth the investment!! I was told by our travel agent to just book one parent and one child in each cabin since you cant put two minors in one cabin.

[sas80]

We are planning to do this when our kids get a bit bigger too. There is only a $100-200 difference between the 1st/2nd and 3rd/4th rate so for a few hundred dollars more we get two rooms....very much worth the investment!! I was told by our travel agent to just book one parent and one child in each cabin since you cant put two minors in one cabin.

 

Ours ended up being $200 cheaper to book an inside/balcony combo.

 

Thanks for all the info everyone!

 

Yes, they are connceting cabins, not just adjoining. It's a great thing to know that a baby monitor will work, thanks! Yes, we just booked one adult into each room. I'm hoping that the toddler is agreeable enough to let us shut the door when he naps. I wonder if the strange place wont unnerve him. Even if it does, we can always just close the door almost all the way and insert a tennis shoe or something to keep it slightly adjar.

 

Question - does anyone know if it is going to be "do-able" for us to permananently latch the door from the inside the entire week? I want to flip that inside room lock so that no one can get in and the kids couldnt possibly get out. Im assuming that there is an 'inside lock'.

 

I'm thinking that the room steward can use our door to get in and out of the inside room, as far as I am concerned. But then I think about fire safety and what if someone needs to get int he room from the hallway door/the second room cant be accessed from our room for some reason....

 

What do you guys think?

[Essiesmom]

The room steward has a key that will get him in no matter how many of the locks you have on. EM

[kpg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Julienatul

We are planning to do this when our kids get a bit bigger too. There is only a $100-200 difference between the 1st/2nd and 3rd/4th rate so for a few hundred dollars more we get two rooms....very much worth the investment!! I was told by our travel agent to just book one parent and one child in each cabin since you cant put two minors in one cabin.

Ours ended up being $200 cheaper to book an inside/balcony combo.

 

We are looking to book a cruise next year with our 2 children (ages 7 & 4) and I was wondering which cruise you booked with a balcony/adjoining cabin that was cheaper than all being in the same room. THANK YOU FOR ANY INFO YOU CAN PROVIDE!!!

 

Karen

[sas80]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Julienatul

We are planning to do this when our kids get a bit bigger too. There is only a $100-200 difference between the 1st/2nd and 3rd/4th rate so for a few hundred dollars more we get two rooms....very much worth the investment!! I was told by our travel agent to just book one parent and one child in each cabin since you cant put two minors in one cabin.

Ours ended up being $200 cheaper to book an inside/balcony combo.

 

We are looking to book a cruise next year with our 2 children (ages 7 & 4) and I was wondering which cruise you booked with a balcony/adjoining cabin that was cheaper than all being in the same room. THANK YOU FOR ANY INFO YOU CAN PROVIDE!!!

 

Karen

 

For our particular situation we are leaving on the Voyager out of Galveston and there are two balcony/inside room combos on deck 9. It's a D1/L connecting stateroom combo.

 

I checked out the Freedom and they have these same configurations too.

 

Whatever cruise you are looking to do this on, simply scope out the deck plans to see if there are any combos like these.

[ginadc]

Ooh, what a fabulous idea! We were planning to book connecting rooms on the Liberty and I had no idea there were inside/balcony combos. I'm going to let our TA know we would be interested in that--I just assumed they didn't exist. Bargain! (We also have a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old, or they will be almost those ages at sailing.)

[sas80]

Ooh, what a fabulous idea! We were planning to book connecting rooms on the Liberty and I had no idea there were inside/balcony combos. I'm going to let our TA know we would be interested in that--I just assumed they didn't exist. Bargain! (We also have a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old, or they will be almost those ages at sailing.)

 

On the Liberty/Freedom/Independence ships:

 

Deck 9 forward there are D1/F connecting combo's

(D1 is your balcony and F is listed as a "Large Stateroom")

9520/9518 and 9220/9218

 

Deck 9 aft there are D2/L connection combination's

(D2 is your balcony, L is the interior)

9696/9701 and 9306/9401

 

That is it for these types of combo's. They really only work out to be cheaper if pax 1/2 charge for the L is less expensive than the pax 3/4 charge in the D1. But it is always worth a shot to check!

 

If you really want this configuration I would call and make those reservations today. The earlier the better!

[kpg]

I asked for a quote with my travel agent and it seems pretty expensive

 

She told me the balcony is $979 per person with port and tax. The 4c (inside) is $752 per person with port and tax. This quote was for the Carnival Pride in May 2010.

 

Does $3462 seem like a lot to everyone?

 

thanks!

Karen

[sas80]

I asked for a quote with my travel agent and it seems pretty expensive

 

She told me the balcony is $979 per person with port and tax. The 4c (inside) is $752 per person with port and tax. This quote was for the Carnival Pride in May 2010.

 

Does $3462 seem like a lot to everyone?

 

thanks!

Karen

 

Not knowing your exact sailing date I can only consider your situation in theory.

 

May 9, 2010 is booking:

 

4 in a balcony room for $2701.24

or you can book

2 in a balcony room for $1780.62 and the other two in an inside connecting room for $1200.82 = $2981.44 total for the 2 rooms.

 

It is about $200 more to book the balcony/inside combo, but (personally) I

would do it.

 

This same scenario means that 4 people could travel in two inside rooms for about $2400 for the May 9, 2010 booking. That is less than 4 people in a balcony and/or the "2 people in a balcony/2 people in an inside connecting room" situation.

 

I don't know how your TA is arriving at $3700, but I don't know what category you are trying to book in. I just used the default values from the carnival website and did me a mock booking.

 

There are a few balcony/inside connecting staterooms on that ship. Looking at the deck plans I see 6108/6112, 6109/6115, 7106/7108 and 7105/7107 as possibilities.

 

To verify the prices your TA is quoting you simply go to the carnival website and do a mock booking yourself.

[jam82]

I booked a cat 12 and an inside (two people per room) for $200 less than I could have booked four people in a cat 12. Our two minor children are booked in the inside. Last time carnival made me book one adult in each cabin, but not this time. They said that since there was a door it didn't need to be booked with an adult ineach room.

[sas80]

I booked a cat 12 and an inside (two people per room) for $200 less than I could have booked four people in a cat 12. Our two minor children are booked in the inside. Last time carnival made me book one adult in each cabin, but not this time. They said that since there was a door it didn't need to be booked with an adult ineach room.

 

Isn't it amazing the things we can accomplish by just being a little more on the ball? (of course the family boards do help :D)

 

I am definitely checking the 2 room price in the future!

[sjram]

I am not seeing those room combinations (balcony & interior) connecting on the Liberty. The stateroom numbers don't go up that high on the 9th floor. Am I looking in the qrong place? Thank you all for all of your help!

[MrsPete]

I had no idea there were inside/balcony combos.

Royal's larger ships (Freedom, Mariner) only have TWO SETS of these rooms on each ship, so if you want them you'd better watch for your dates and be ready to reserve them the very first day they become available! I don't know why they don't build a few more of these combos -- they could have a two sets near the bow and two sets towards the aft on every floor.

[sas80]

I am not seeing those room combinations (balcony & interior) connecting on the Liberty. The stateroom numbers don't go up that high on the 9th floor. Am I looking in the qrong place? Thank you all for all of your help!

 

well now heck becks.... since when did they start constructing ships in the same class differently!?

 

Liberty:

Deck Ten 1534/1536 is a D1/E1 combo (both balconies)

Deck Nine 9520/9518 and 9220/9218 are a D1/F combos (balcony/oceanview)

Deck Nine 9696/9701 and 9396/9401 D1/L (balcony/inside)

Deck Eight 8518/8520 and 8218/8220 D1/D2 balcony combos

Deck Seven 7703/7707 is a connecting L/N interior combo

[Terpnut]

I know I'm late to this conversation, but I just wanted to say that we have cruised extensively with two small children and have now settled on two connecting staterooms as our standard way of cruising. There is no better way to gain space for four, ensure privacy for mom/dad, AND have TWO bathrooms. In fact, I'd say two connecting staterooms are better than most suites on most ships at double or triple the cost! Only the Royal Family Suite on Voyager-class was better and then only if you snag a deal on it. :)

[upnorthmi]

On the Liberty/Freedom/Independence ships:

 

Deck 9 forward there are D1/F connecting combo's

(D1 is your balcony and F is listed as a "Large Stateroom")

9520/9518 and 9220/9218

 

Deck 9 aft there are D2/L connection combination's

(D2 is your balcony, L is the interior)

9696/9701 and 9306/9401

 

That is it for these types of combo's. They really only work out to be cheaper if pax 1/2 charge for the L is less expensive than the pax 3/4 charge in the D1. But it is always worth a shot to check!

 

If you really want this configuration I would call and make those reservations today. The earlier the better!

 

Does anyone know if I can put 5 in this type of room combination(connecting balcony/interior)? Our kids would be 2, 5, and 7 around the time we are thinking of going on a cruise. The 2 year old would probably be in a crib. Do you think they would allow a crib in these rooms? I love the idea of these types of connecting rooms for families without having to pay for 2 balcony rooms.

[sas80]

Does anyone know if I can put 5 in this type of room combination(connecting balcony/interior)? Our kids would be 2, 5, and 7 around the time we are thinking of going on a cruise. The 2 year old would probably be in a crib. Do you think they would allow a crib in these rooms? I love the idea of these types of connecting rooms for families without having to pay for 2 balcony rooms.

 

It really depends on if either of the rooms says it can accommodate more than 2 people.

 

Take a look at the ship deck plan layout map. If there are any special symbols on either one of the rooms that mean it can accommodate three to four people then, yes, you can do this.

 

Even if the D1 says it accommodates 3 or four people and the L Inside says it only accommodates 2 people, you can just move the crib to the inside room for sleeping.