Cost - seperate rooms or shared room

Can someone explain the difference? Would it be cheaper to have a family of four(4 adults) staying in one cabin or get two separate rooms? I always thought the cost was by person, not room but it seems as though many people share one room.

It depends on the price per person. Sometimes the price is similar whether you put all 4 people in one room or two. Sometimes it's cheaper to put all 4 in one room, but often if you go down a category or 2 it's cheaper to get 2 rooms. You have to price out all your options and see what makes the most sense for you.

Can someone explain the difference? Would it be cheaper to have a family of four(4 adults) staying in one cabin or get two separate rooms? I always thought the cost was by person, not room but it seems as though many people share one room.

Generally, it's cheaper to have 4 in one stateroom because the price for the 3rd and 4th guest is usually less than the cost for the 1st and 2nd guest. However, there are exceptions, and it's best to price both options on the specific cruise you are considering. Sometimes the cost difference is not great, and the advantage of having 2 bathrooms might help mitigate some of the extra cost of 2 rooms.

We booked two rooms and saved several thousand dollars. Yes we won't be in a suite and in a OV but with the money we saved we were able to book all the excursions we wanted.

Just remember that a ship's cabin is nowhere near the size of a hotel room...so the extra you spend for 2 separate spaces may be quite worth it.

not as many options to put 4 in one cabin; as a result they tend to be the larger suites and thus more money up front for the first 2 occupants.

but 2 smaller cabins can be less expensive and you also get the added bonus of an extra bathroom( unless you really go whole hog and get the 2 Bedroom suites)

I have to agree with those who say it depends on the individual cabin prices. Research the available cabins and prices then decide on the best option for your needs.

I looked at doing a cruise with 3 people once. We originally decided to stay in a JS cabin so we'd be together and have a little more space than a regular balcony. The price was $1400 pp for the first two guests and $700 for the third so $3500 for the cabin. A full suite would have more space but it would cost more money.

After thinking about it some more (3 women - 1 bathroom), we looked at alternatives. We found 2 adjoining E3 balcony cabins for $900 pp. We would have to book two people in 1 cabin and 1 in the other. The single supplement was 100% for that cruise. For $100 more than the JS, the three of us could open the divider and have a larger balcony plus two bathrooms rather than 1.

If we had wanted to save some money, there was an E3 balcony across from a K interior available. The E3 was $900 pp and the K was $700 pp. For $3200 we could have 1 balcony and 1 interior cabin. We'd still have two bathrooms, but we'd have to share a single balcony.

None of us were trying to reach a new C&A level so getting the "double" nights for booking a JS vs. a regular cabins held less appeal to us than having two bathrooms. We ended up switching to two balconies, then my sister couldn't come so it ended up being mom and I in one balcony.

not as many options to put 4 in one cabin; as a result they tend to be the larger suites and thus more money up front for the first 2 occupants.

 

but 2 smaller cabins can be less expensive and you also get the added bonus of an extra bathroom( unless you really go whole hog and get the 2 Bedroom suites)

Agreed, even if the cabins that hold 4 are not suites, they tend to have a higher 1st and 2nd person rate. We have 2 balconies booked for our upcoming cruise, right next to each other. The cabin that can hold 4 is $200 pp more for the 1st two passengers than the cabin that only holds 2. We have 5 sailing so needed at least one cabin that was a bit higher. If we had 4 we could have gotten 2 of the less expensive cabins saving us the $400.

On our upcoming cruise I was trying to book for 5 people. Since it was spring break, there was a serious premium on cabins that could hold 4 people. My best option was to book a balcony and then 2 interior cabins across the hall with only one person in one of those interior cabins. Crazy.

Even if it is a little more expensive to do 2 cabins, just having an extra bathroom is probably worth it. I have no desire to ever sail with 4 people in a regular cabin ever again!