Best cabin(s) for family of four

Friends of ours are planning a first-time cruise on the Escape next summer (2 adults and 2 teens). Price wise, is it better for them to book one cabin for four or to book two separate adjoining cabins. Thoughts, please?

Why not see for yourself? Go over to NCL.com and start looking at prices and doing mock-bookings. See how it all shakes out.

Price-wise, it would almost always be cheaper to stuff 4 people into one cabin. But is that at all desirable for this family?

Check out the O1 family ocean view. It does not have a balcony, obviously, but it is an affordable way to sleep 4-5 fairly comfortably.

That said, they may be able to find connecting or adjacent cabins for less, especially if they are willing to sail in inside or oceanview cabins.

Based on the thread title? H2 DOS deck 17 port side.

Based on cost only? IX interior guarantee.

Also depends upon how cozy the family is. Do they spend much time in the cabin? Can the teens share a bed? I would vote for the 2 bedroom H4 in the Haven. Room to breathe. Two restrooms. Balcony. Pricey, though. Check differences in prices for 2 vs. 4. I'm not sure if the 3/4 guest free promotion applies to the Haven, or if the cabins are normally much cheaper for the 3/4th guest when you are in the Haven. The Escape Haven has the dedicated restaurant and bar area, lower level has courtyard with hot tubs, saunas, pool (think sunning, not swimming), and the upper level has loungers to lay out and a hot tub, so even if you are not in the room, you have amenities that are nice and relaxing.

If everyone is okay with being close together and wants to be out and about amid the crowds, and you would rather save the $$ for shore excursions, etc., then check out the staterooms based upon the ship deck plans. (Look on deck 8 first....) The first time we sailed, we (parents) got a balcony room, with the kids across the hall in an inside cabin. That way, they could come use our balcony, but we weren't all crammed into one cabin.

Friends of ours are planning a first-time cruise on the Escape next summer (2 adults and 2 teens). Price wise, is it better for them to book one cabin for four or to book two separate adjoining cabins. Thoughts, please?

It is definitely cheaper to book just one cabin. But as prior posts stated, there is more to price that may have to be considered.

Also depends upon how cozy the family is. Do they spend much time in the cabin? Can the teens share a bed? I would vote for the 2 bedroom H4 in the Haven. Room to breathe. Two restrooms. Balcony. Pricey, though. Check differences in prices for 2 vs. 4. I'm not sure if the 3/4 guest free promotion applies to the Haven, or if the cabins are normally much cheaper for the 3/4th guest when you are in the Haven. The Escape Haven has the dedicated restaurant and bar area, lower level has courtyard with hot tubs, saunas, pool (think sunning, not swimming), and the upper level has loungers to lay out and a hot tub, so even if you are not in the room, you have amenities that are nice and relaxing.

If everyone is okay with being close together and wants to be out and about amid the crowds, and you would rather save the $$ for shore excursions, etc., then check out the staterooms based upon the ship deck plans. (Look on deck 8 first....) The first time we sailed, we (parents) got a balcony room, with the kids across the hall in an inside cabin. That way, they could come use our balcony, but we weren't all crammed into one cabin.

The 3/4th guest free does apply to the Haven.

It is definitely cheaper to book just one cabin. But as prior posts stated, there is more to price that may have to be considered.

That is true if you are looking at the same level cabin. Obviously 1 is cheaper than 2. But when we were booking our trip, I compared 1 balcony cabin with 2 interior cabins. I figured if we were all crammed in 1 room, we'd need the extra space of the balcony. But if we did 2 rooms, we could go without.

The 2 interior rooms was about $200 cheaper than the one balcony room. (There were no 3rd & 4th guest free promos going on.) Plus, we would have 2 bathrooms and a bit more privacy. And we got the bonus offers for 2 rooms rather than just one.

I'm a bit nervous about the interior cabins, but it was the best option cost and space-wise for us.

Some people do a balcony with an interior across the hall for the teens.

You have to book an adult in each cabin, but you can sleep wherever.

Depends on the ship, cabin type, sailing date. Some times of year the 3rd-4th person rate is about the same as the rate for an indoor cabin & some times they offer 3rd-4th person free. Like Trip said, go to NCL.com & do mock bookings. Or have them do it. Or have them call a travel agent and have them do it.

Friends of ours are planning a first-time cruise on the Escape next summer (2 adults and 2 teens). Price wise, is it better for them to book one cabin for four or to book two separate adjoining cabins. Thoughts, please?

One cabin for 4.:)

2 week long spa passes .:D

With 2 "adult sized" teens, I'd go with 2 cabins. Unless you book a large suite! Cabins are so much smaller than hotel rooms...too tight for me!

We loved the family oceanview cabin on the Escape!! It had lots of extra space, the larger bathroom and tons of extra closet space. We also were a fan of the curtain and 2 tvs!! Lots of great bonuses in that room and it is affordable!

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We had 2 20-somethings and us...old folks. When I ran the numbers, an H4 was actually cheaper than 2 balconies.

The 3/4th guest free does apply to the Haven.

Welcome to CC. That is not correct.

Welcome to CC. That is not correct.

With NCL we have swapped to having two cabins. Works out great, kids can keep their mess in their room. We get some adult time in an uncluttered room. We have also looked at the two bedroom Haven suite... but have not pulled the trigger yet.

Welcome to CC. That is not correct.

Thanks! Glad to be here!

You may be right.

We're (DW & I) booked in the haven for December 2-9 and am taking two friends with us for free. I've yet to do a mock booking with four guests in the Haven and be charged for the 3rd/4th guest. No matter when I do the booking, (and I've been doing mock bookings since April) nor which dates I book, the 3rd/4th guest option is available. I assumed that it was available all the time. Apologies.

I assumed that it was available all the time. Apologies.

No need to apologize. I WISH that it was at all times (my life would be much easier) but it isn't.

I specifically look for 3rd/4th free for my kids. MSC let's them go for free more often than NCL especially in the summer.

Thanks! Glad to be here!

 

You may be right.

 

We're (DW & I) booked in the haven for December 2-9 and am taking two friends with us for free. I've yet to do a mock booking with four guests in the Haven and be charged for the 3rd/4th guest. No matter when I do the booking, (and I've been doing mock bookings since April) nor which dates I book, the 3rd/4th guest option is available. I assumed that it was available all the time. Apologies.

As said, they do offer Haven 3/4 free at times but you have to pay for the taxes and fees. In the old days they offered all guests over the 2nd free at times for rooms that could hold more than 4 (plus taxes and fees).

When doing the mock bookings the NCL site will divide the total price among the number of passengers so you have to drill down to the price details to see the specific pricing for each guest.

We loved our H4 2 bedroom family suite in the Haven. My opinion, but wouldn't do it any other way. Lots of room, 2 bathrooms, bigger balcony and Haven experience. For us it was worth the extra costs over booking 2 balcony rooms. Have a great cruise!

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