3 People in an S Suite Questions

[jaguarstyper]

We recently booked on the Zuiderdam for October in an aft corner suite. This time we have magnanimously decided to take our 17 year old daughter along with us. In the past, we have always used a cruise as a true getaway from our daily life, including our DD.

That said, Another thread has be thinking.

How do they workout the bedding for a third pax? Is the couch converted to a bed in the evening? Is it converted back to a couch again in the morning? I would certainly hate having it be made into a bed for the entire cruise. How is this handled?

Tim

[lgt]

Your cabin steward will make up the sofa bed when you go to dinner or out in the evening & turn it back into a sofa when you leave in the morning. We have sailed 3 times with our 17 y/o dd and we have all had a great time. Terrific memories as ours will be going off to college next year and we probably won't be sharing as much time with her. You will love the aft corner suite. The view is fantastic. Try and get one on deck 5; they are a little larger than the rest of the aft suites.

[jaguarstyper]

Glad to hear this. We're already booked in 5187 and have already sailed on Zuiderdam in 5186. I agree, we just loved the aft corner suite and its veranda. I really dont think I could be in a normal cabin ever again. We're really looking forward to bringing our daughter this time, pretty much for the same reason. Plus, she has really reached a level of maturity that will allow us to pretty much let her be "on her own" during the cruise. We're cruising with other friends, who are also bringing their 17 year old daughter. I suspect they will have a great time together.

Tim

[doone]

Tim, I have booked 5187 on the Zuiderdam for March 12th. Cannot wait to see this verandah and I have heard its spectacular.

[TylerRose]

We were on the Z this past summer with a teen in third spot. While your loss of privacy won't go unnoticed, the lay out is fine and as described previously. Activites run quite late should she decide to participate and don't begin until the younger tween Club Hal is over! The Z is a real party ship atmospnere and young people seem to love it!

Have fun!

[Sea Island Lady]

I envy you that are taking your 17 year olds. I would love to take my son with us on our Oosterdam cruise in three weeks. I tried to talk DH into delaying the trip for our 17 year olds Spring Break. He said "no", this cruise is for us. DS took a cruise with us and his sisters this past summer. It's a shame, because he will be heading off to college soon and he could have cruised with us for practically nothing. :( Oh well, I'm not paying for the vacation and DH is right that we need a vacation without kids.

Be sure to give your teens some limits on the being out "on their own" time. Curfews, check-ins, etc. will keep them out of trouble and you will have peace of mind, not to mention some restful nights. ;) Most teen activities are over by 1:00 a.m. I know from experience that teens like to just "hang out" after the programs end. Some do fine with this and others get out of hand and create mischief on the ship. :rolleyes:

[ekerr19]

We took our two children (one was a teen) on the Zui, we had an "S" #7053. We had no problems whatsoever, other than the fact that my then 10-yr old was giving tours of the cabin and verandah to some of her new friends!

Since then, we adopted the rule, no other kids in the cabin unless one of us is there as well.

The sofa bed was always made back into a sofa during the day, but a few times DH just folded it up too - it was quite easy.

Our sailing had a lot of kids and teens - they had a great time. We cruised last Spring Break with the kids and we are cruising again this Spring Break, 10 days on the Volendam. We love spending this time with our kids! They will be grown and gone before we know it. Have a great time with you daughter. :)

[jaguarstyper]

Be sure to give your teens some limits on the being out "on their own" time. Curfews, check-ins, etc. will keep them out of trouble and you will have peace of mind, not to mention some restful nights. ;) Most teen activities are over by 1:00 a.m. I know from experience that teens like to just "hang out" after the programs end. Some do fine with this and others get out of hand and create mischief on the ship. :rolleyes:


Of course, this goes without saying. From past experience, our DD is just not the "get out of hand" kind of kid. She's actually pretty shy and quiet. Sometimes, I wish she would get a little out of hand. ;) Now, our friend's 17 year old daughter is quite the opposite and is a real extrovert. Hopefully, they'll balance each other's personalities out. I think they will be fine.

Tim

[ekerr19]

Of course, this goes without saying. From past experience, our DD is just not the "get out of hand" kind of kid. She's actually pretty shy and quiet. Sometimes, I wish she would get a little out of hand. ;) Now, our friend's 17 year old daughter is quite the opposite and is a real extrovert. Hopefully, they'll balance each other's personalities out. I think they will be fine.

Tim

You shouldn't have any problems at all - our kids love the Zui, it's their favorite ship and they made quite a few great friends. They are still in touch via email with several of them. :)

[sail7seas]

When you first meet with your cabin steward, please be sure to tell him you want the bed folded away during the day. We once had neighbors in an adjoining suite who complained loudly their cabin steward left the bed down. When he arrived at their cabin to find out what they were upset about, he simply said: "Sorry, I did not know which you preferred. The last two families who were in this Suite, requested I leave the bed down during the day as they liked to nap. I will be happy to close it up for you".


A misunderstanding that could easily have been avoided. We have to tell that what we want or they cannot know.

[doone]

S7S, I agree, why be loud and, IMHO, rude, you simply need to ask, nicely, and these hard working crew members will do anything they can to please you. Why do some people feel they need to complain so loudly, I find people like this rude. These harding working crew members are good, but to my knowledge, none of them are mind readers.

Simply ask if something isn't the way you would like it, I am sure it can be corrected quickly and without upsetting anyone.

[sail7seas]

Good lesson, Doone. I probably could benefit 'just a bit from it' also.

I do tend to get 'abrupt' sometimes. :(

[doone]

I think we all can learn. Just hearing your experience with the people complaining loudly, made me think as well.

[Sea Island Lady]

We put our own beds away (one a sofa bed and the other a bunk) because they were always in the way when we were trying to get ready in the morning. The steward never said a word, but always had it open and nice and fresh when we came back in after dinner.

From past experience, our DD is just not the "get out of hand" kind of kid. She's actually pretty shy and quiet. Sometimes, I wish she would get a little out of hand.
You have just described my son! He corresponded by email with a girl before a cruise two years ago. Her mother and I got them together via this board. When we met the girl on the ship, we thought she was pretty and nice. Her parents were also.
After spending a day with the girl, our son suddenly stopped hanging out with her. When we questioned him, he told us that she had met a new group of friends and they were all very wild. He didn't feel comfortable with them. We ended up seeing this "group" all over the ship and late into the night. They were way out of hand and I am sure the girls parents didn't know what she was doing. You should have seen some of the outfits she had on. :eek:

[dinscoe68]

We took our two children (one was a teen) on the Zui, we had an "S" #7053. We had no problems whatsoever, other than the fact that my then 10-yr old was giving tours of the cabin and verandah to some of her new friends!

Since then, we adopted the rule, no other kids in the cabin unless one of us is there as well.

The sofa bed was always made back into a sofa during the day, but a few times DH just folded it up too - it was quite easy.

Our sailing had a lot of kids and teens - they had a great time. We cruised last Spring Break with the kids and we are cruising again this Spring Break, 10 days on the Volendam. We love spending this time with our kids! They will be grown and gone before we know it. Have a great time with you daughter. :)

Hi ekerr,

We have your suite on 3/26!!! How did you like it? Location, verandah, etc??? We are very excited. We will have our 10yo son with us.

[ekerr19]

Hi ekerr,

We have your suite on 3/26!!! How did you like it? Location, verandah, etc??? We are very excited. We will have our 10yo son with us.

We loved it! It is a perfect location - close to the Neptune, but not too close. We really liked the layout and the Verandah is heavenly!

Your 10-yr. old will have a great time on the Zui - it is our kids favorite ship.

Our daughter was almost 10 when we were on board. Some of her friends from Club HAL wanted a peek at the Suite - we had to limit the "tours" of the cabin to times when we were actually there. ;)

Have fun & make sure you let us know all about it when you return!

[dinscoe68]

Wonderful!! Thanks! We are so excited!!! I hope our son meets some other kids to play with like yours did.

[cruznon]

WE had 5187 last week on the "O" and our daughter came along and she found the sofa bed to be really comfortable. Lots of room in the suite--even for three.