Pullman bed query with child - rccl did not tell me when reserving room

Hi,

Called recycling 2 months ago as interested in a cruise for us and our 5 year old daughter.

Lady was nice on the phone, and reserved a cabin for me, and I left the call with the impression it had a sofabed.

Paid for, and recently found out that it has a Pullman bed from the roof, not a sofabed, and they aren't recommended for under 6 yr olds, certainly not mentioned.

My query is has anyone had a young child sleep in these beds, and is it completely safe?

I'm not happy with rccl for this confusion and have complained, but they only seem able to offer me an upgrade at a higher price difference than advertised on the website currently. I don't mind paying extra if necessary, but I expect a little movement on their part as I feel it was missold.

Thanks,

Dalcross

The rails are pretty low on the pullmans. I would prefer a sofabed for a child of 5. If you look on the deckplans, you can see which cabins have a sofabed (triangle) vs pullmans * or + (a solid black diamond has both sofabed and pullman in the room)

And btw if it is Royal's recommendation that >6 sleep in a pullman, imo they should change your room.

DS had both of her kids in pullmans on Grandeur in 2007 - they would have been like 3 and 6 at the time. Unless your child is a 'traveler' while sleeping they should be fine (plus what she ran into was they did so much during the day that once put to bed they were out in seconds and stayed that way until morning:D).

Just a word for future - always make sure you have the deck plans available when booking your cabin - that way you can look at the icons for the cabin and make sure it suits your needs.

BTW - I've never seen a restriction on ages for pullmans.

I have heard the >6 recommendation before. Not sure where I saw it.

There is a pullman pic in this link (scroll down). The bottom bed setup may be different depending on the room. http://www.cruisemates.com/forum/royal-caribbean-international/334187-pulman-bed-question.html

What ship?

 

BTW - I've never seen a restriction on ages for pullmans.

I was on Serenade 3 weeks ago with my 6 year old granddaughter. She was thrilled to be able to use the Pullman bed. When pulled down there was a notice that was very easy to read that it was only for those 6 and older.

If you are concerned, one of the adults could always sleep there. My concern would be having her wake up during the night and try to get out of bed.

My Daughter has been sleeping in a top bunk without rails since she was 3. She is now 10 and has never fell out of bed. She much prefers the Pullman beds to the couches. The Pullman beds have a real mattress not a fold out couch mattress with the bar. The Pullman beds have a rail and a ladder. Like another poster said. As soon as she hits the mattress on a cruise, she is out until morning.

I discovered this after the fact too, and only thanks to this site! My son will only be 3yr 4mo when we sail and I did not know connecting cabins only had a chair and not sofas. We have decided we will either put him in bed with us or make him a nice sleeping bag style spot on the floor. I refuse to pay for an upgrade as they can see at booking my child's age and should alert me to the fact that the room had only a Pullman and no sofa.

We have had a 5 yo in a pullman bed on our Disney cruises with no problem. We call her the 'helicopter' because she is all over the bed. She never fell out. I would say though that Disney's pullman has much higher side rails than that photo shows on RCCL. Is it possible to request a rail for the pullman? The reason I ask is Disney has side rails they can put on beds or the sofabed if you request it and I can't for the life of me remember if we had one of those added to the pullman or not.

We also took cushions from around the room and made some extra barricades for her up there. One night she did knock one of the cushions off and that was our warning so we were able to get up and put it back and see where she was at. Fortunately she was in the center of the bed. After two cruises we are pretty comfortable with her using them but we take extra precautions.

As far as RCCL I think they should definitely fix this for you at no cost. Their agent put you in that room and at the time you were not aware of the restrictions on the bed. RCCL themselves made those restrictions and knows the age of your child so they should never allow you to put your child in that bed. I am guessing you didn't push them to give you that exact room. For us our other children are 2 and 10 so we needed 5 beds and only had that one type of room as an option and Disney didn't have a problem with our daughter being in the pullman.

Thanks all.

My main problem is I rang rccl where they recommended a room and said it had a sofabed when I asked about my daughter.

If I booked online myself, fair enough I should do my due diligence, but when sold by the company, direct and they book the room, I think it's on rccl to resolve.

Shame their customer services involve the usual "I'll talk to the supervisor and call back in 2 hours" promises that don't happen, and you need to chase 6 hours later to have to go through whole story again, and still ongoing.....

Thanks all.

My main problem is I rang rccl where they recommended a room and said it had a sofabed when I asked about my daughter.

If I booked online myself, fair enough I should do my due diligence, but when sold by the company, direct and they book the room, I think it's on rccl to resolve.

 

Shame their customer services involve the usual "I'll talk to the supervisor and call back in 2 hours" promises that don't happen, and you need to chase 6 hours later to have to go through whole story again, and still ongoing.....

Sorry this happened to you but this is why I never deal with RC reps. It seems they don't really know and give misinformation. Next time get yourself a good travel agent who can sort through all of this for you and book you into the cabin you want.

I discovered this after the fact too, and only thanks to this site! My son will only be 3yr 4mo when we sail and I did not know connecting cabins only had a chair and not sofas. We have decided we will either put him in bed with us or make him a nice sleeping bag style spot on the floor. I refuse to pay for an upgrade as they can see at booking my child's age and should alert me to the fact that the room had only a Pullman and no sofa.

Some connecting cabins have sofas.......some open up into a bed and some do not. And some just have a chair. I have had connecting cabins with a sofa bed on 5 different ships. Just be careful from now on to book the right type of cabin for you. Get a travel agent who can handle all of this for you. I have found that the reps at RC will tell you anything.

I would say though that Disney's pullman has much higher side rails than that photo shows on RCCL. Is it possible to request a rail for the pullman? The reason I ask is Disney has side rails they can put on beds or the sofabed if you request it and I can't for the life of me remember if we had one of those added to the pullman or not.

The rails may be different on different ships. That's why I asked OP what ship. The picture posted in the link above is from Mariner.

Thanks all.

My main problem is I rang rccl where they recommended a room and said it had a sofabed when I asked about my daughter.

If I booked online myself, fair enough I should do my due diligence, but when sold by the company, direct and they book the room, I think it's on rccl to resolve.

 

Shame their customer services involve the usual "I'll talk to the supervisor and call back in 2 hours" promises that don't happen, and you need to chase 6 hours later to have to go through whole story again, and still ongoing.....

Clearly rci has no idea what they are doing, so wouldn't you want to have the deck plans in front of you on your pc when talking to them

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/findacruise/ships/ship/decks/deck/home.do?shipCode=AD

If you asked for a sofabed and were told that room has a sofabed I would call back and tell the person on the phone that you are not willing to hang up until you have a resolution you are comfortable with.

I would explain that you called the agent to book your cruise and told them that you specifically asked for a sofabed in your room for your child. Then explain to them that they told you that there was a sofabed in that room and found out later that what you were told wasn't true. I would explain to them that you are uncomfortable with your child sleeping in a pullman and even their own safety information explains that your child should NOT be sleeping in one of those beds.

I would explain that until they find you a room with a sofabed at no cost to you that is either in the same category or higher you are not willing to hang up the phone. Ask to speak to a supervisor or another agent if you do not get what you want. You can do this calmly but also stand your ground.

Let's think about this. If a kid actually did role out of a Pullman bed who is going to get hurt? The kid is going to fall about 4 feet on to your bed. 5 year old kid that weighs 50 lbs falls 4 feet onto your bed the force would be 200 ft/lbs. Its going to wake you up, might even crack your rib but its not going to hurt the kid. If you are not in the bed then the kid is just going to fall into the bed. Maybe if the kid could fall onto the floor it would be a slight risk, (6 feet x 50 lbs = 300 ft/lbs. That might break an arm. Compare this risk to what risks you will be taking on the cruise. I bet there are many other events you don't think are risky that have a much higher actual risk than a kid rolling out of a bunk onto a bed.

You could always sleep in the pullman yourself and put the kid in one of the beds.

Hi,

Called recycling 2 months ago as interested in a cruise for us and our 5 year old daughter.

Lady was nice on the phone, and reserved a cabin for me, and I left the call with the impression it had a sofabed.

Paid for, and recently found out that it has a Pullman bed from the roof, not a sofabed, and they aren't recommended for under 6 yr olds, certainly not mentioned.

 

My query is has anyone had a young child sleep in these beds, and is it completely safe?

 

I'm not happy with rccl for this confusion and have complained, but they only seem able to offer me an upgrade at a higher price difference than advertised on the website currently. I don't mind paying extra if necessary, but I expect a little movement on their part as I feel it was missold.

 

Thanks,

Dalcross

Did you not look at the ship floor plan? It clearly says there what the cabins contain; pullman bed, sofa bed or no extra bed. Did you ask the rep when you booked the room what was in the room. I think the problem was yours, not RCL.

Let's think about this. If a kid actually did role out of a Pullman bed who is going to get hurt? The kid is going to fall about 4 feet on to your bed. 5 year old kid that weighs 50 lbs falls 4 feet onto your bed the force would be 200 ft/lbs. Its going to wake you up, might even crack your rib but its not going to hurt the kid. If you are not in the bed then the kid is just going to fall into the bed. Maybe if the kid could fall onto the floor it would be a slight risk, (6 feet x 50 lbs = 300 ft/lbs. That might break an arm. Compare this risk to what risks you will be taking on the cruise. I bet there are many other events you don't think are risky that have a much higher actual risk than a kid rolling out of a bunk onto a bed.

Not all of the pullmans are over a bed. It depends on the ship and cabin. Some of them are directly over a single bed and if you fell off you would land on the floor.

My son rolled off of a mattress that was on the floor when he was 2 and fractured his arm. It depends on how you land.

Let's think about this. If a kid actually did role out of a Pullman bed who is going to get hurt? The kid is going to fall about 4 feet on to your bed. 5 year old kid that weighs 50 lbs falls 4 feet onto your bed the force would be 200 ft/lbs. Its going to wake you up, might even crack your rib but its not going to hurt the kid. If you are not in the bed then the kid is just going to fall into the bed. Maybe if the kid could fall onto the floor it would be a slight risk, (6 feet x 50 lbs = 300 ft/lbs. That might break an arm. Compare this risk to what risks you will be taking on the cruise. I bet there are many other events you don't think are risky that have a much higher actual risk than a kid rolling out of a bunk onto a bed.

It takes less force than that to kill you if it´s not your arm but the head being knocked.:eek:

The issue is not what happens if someone falls out of the pullman or who gets hurt or where they land. The issue is that the RC rep did not have the correct information.

How about just cancelling the cruise(if time permits) and then rebooking the cruise with someone who actually knows what they are doing.

Not all of the pullmans are over a bed. It depends on the ship and cabin. Some of them are directly over a single bed and if you fell off you would land on the floor.

 

My son rolled off of a mattress that was on the floor when he was 2 and fractured his arm. It depends on how you land.

They are that way in a family sweet or in a 4x interior. The balconies and suites they are over the bed.

They are that way in a family sweet or in a 4x interior. The balconies and suites they are over the bed.

Depends which ship. On Allure the pullmans in the balconies are over the sofa.

If the booking rep TOLD you there was a sofabed in the cabin, this can be verified as these calls are recorded in which case you are definitely right in demanding a different cabin. If you merely ASSUMED, that's a different story.

I wasn't aware of the under 6 rule/recommendation. If the rep told you there was a sofa bed, I would call and talk with a manager until someone agreed to switch you to the proper room.

If you end up having to keep the room: Our kids have been sleeping in pullmans on cruise ships since my youngest was three. That first cruise (on CCL), we actually went to the buffet and snatched about 15 trays. We lined them up around the pullman beds. It was like a fortress up there ;)! No one has trays anymore, though, so the second cruise with the kids (on RCCL), we packed 2 bed rails in the bottom of our suitcases (one for each kid). They worked great. The last two cruises the kids have been on (Disney and CCL), they've been ok with just the regular rail (they are 7 and 9 now). You can also purchase an inflatable bed rail-- just google it-- several choices will come up. I have also heard of people pulling the mattress off the pullman and setting it on the floor at night.

As I said before, I would try to get the room switched, if they told you it had a sofa bed when you booked. Good luck.