Clues for Quads? (how to survive with four people in one cabin)

Sailing March 7 on the Oosterdam, and will be sharing a Large OV with a sister, my mom, and a friend, ages 51 to 87. We all like each other reasonably well now, and I'm hoping we can keep it that way. :)

Tips I've gathered from the CC boards for enjoying a cruise in a well-populated cabin:

 

 

1) You can take showers in the gym: those showers are bigger than the one in the cabin, and they're out of your cabinmate's way.

 

 

2) Get an over-the-door shoe hanger with transparent pouches (or two, one for each side of the bathroom door). When clutter is getting in your way, you can stick in one of the pouches and your cabinmate will be able to find it. Before your stuff turns into clutter and gets in your cabinmates' way, stick it in one of the pouches and then later on you'll be able to find it.

 

 

3) Ask the cabin steward for an egg-crate foam mattress topper for whoever has to sleep on the fold-out sofa. (What happens to this during the day? Does it somehow get folded into the bed, or does the cabin steward whisk it away to some tardis-like storage closet?)

 

Please post any other tips or ideas you might have for getting along while living in each other's pockets. Thanks.

We sail in quads all the time but we are a family with 2 children. I know the OV quad cabins on the R&S class ships the sofa bed does not pull out. Rather the length of the sofa becomes the bed so the egg crate stays put. Our kids, even when teens, have never had an issue with the quality of mattress on the sofa bed. But in our experience, once the sofa has been made into a bed it has never been made back into a sofa during the day. This is not the case with the pull out sofabeds in the balcony cabins. The extra chair usually in the cabin gets removed when 4 are in the cabin. The only seating will be the desk stool which is actually storage too.

 

We have never had storage issues. There is a shell under the sink and shelves behind the mirror in the bathroom. Cosmetic and toiletrie bags stay in their respective bags on the shelf.

 

 

You can each bring a laundry bag and deposit soiled clothes in the bag each evening. This keeps clean and dirty separated. We also use packing cubes. Each member of our family has one for socks and underwear. The cubes go right into the drawers. Our children use the underbed drawers for all their clothes.

 

 

We remove the life jackets from the cupboard and put them under the bed. We tell the stewards and everyone in the cabin where they are. We also take the embarkation bed protectors out of the under bed drawer and put them under the bed. We ask the stewards to remove extra linen from the cabin.

 

 

We bring magnetic clips to hold excursion tickets, itinerary, etc on the wall by the desk. We bring a pad of sticky notes to write notes to each other.

 

 

Somebody will be climbing a ladder to reach the Pullman bed. There is a reading light up there. The bed will be pushed halfway up during the day.

 

 

These are the main points, that I remember anyway. Enjoy your cruise!

Luckily, my 3rd has always been my young son.;) We've never tried to fit in 4 people.

 

 

One of our previous cabins "could" hold 4 - think 2 sets of bunk beds. (I have seen other furniture arrangements for quads, but I have not been in one of those rooms.)

 

 

How are you with schedules?

 

 

I imagine it could be easier if you are willing and able to stagger your waking rituals & going to sleep rituals.

I get up at 3:30 - my husband is still asleep when I leave for work or to stroll around the ship while it is still quiet - so in theory, if you scenario included me, I could be out of the room early allowing the others a bit more space.

 

 

As a consequence of getting up so early & the general over stimulation of a cruise ship, I return to my room rather early in the evening - so I, in theory, could be doing my routine while the others are still out & about.

 

 

All bets are off if you guys are all on the same schedule...

I forgot. You may want to bring some thin hangers. The wooden hangers in the cabin are thick. I find there are never enough of them, even when doubling up (two blouses and a pIr of pants on 1 hanger). So I bring either wire ones from the dry cleaner and leave them behind our some "fuzzy" hangers that keep clothes from slipping off since they are thin.

1 of 4

 

Thanks for the tips re the magnetic clips and fuzzy hangers. As you know, we are only two but I am glad I clicked on this thread.

 

 

I have already started gathering things for our upcoming cruise and was thinking of you today as I pulled out the lovely cosmetic bag you made for me. Good memories.

I've never had four in a cabin but even with three it can get tight, I really can't imagine how two people could sleep comfortably on the pull out couch, it's pretty narrow.

 

At any rate, in addition to using the showers in the gym locate the closest public restrooms - if a roommate is in your bathroom and you've got to go, it's nice to know where it is. Sometimes it's a flight or two up or down to the closest one.

You might want to add small night light if there is a plug in the bathroom which can reduce the need to turn on the full light in the bathroom during the night if someone needs to make a trip. There is often a "shaver outlet" in the bathroom which I assume can also accept a small night light. (Help here, does anyone know for sure?) If not, then a few of those battery "candles" might do the trick just fine too.

 

Since you have to switch the bathroom light on outside the bathroom door, when you open the door that bathroom light can flood into the cabin and maybe wake others up. And make sure everyone has a clear path to the bathroom at night so no one trips in the dark. So you will be getting to know your friends very well ........ but sorting out the bathroom schedules and needs is probably the key to the best way to use a cabin with four adults.

 

 

Good suggestion about the bulky hangers. You can get the thin wire hangers from the stewards, as they also use them in the laundry so they have large supplies floating around the ship. Every pound counts today in your luggage and even those thin hangers can add extra ounces. However, I found the easiest way to unpack is to have all my hanging clothes already on thin wire hangers when they go in the suitcase.

 

Don't overlook if there is a stool at the dressing table, that too will have a lid that comes off and can also provides extra storage - or a great place for dirty laundry.

 

Ear plugs?

Thanks for some good advice. We are doing Alaska in Jul., there'll be four of us in an inside cabin.

Allan

Since you have to switch the bathroom light on outside the bathroom door, when you open the door that bathroom light can flood into the cabin and maybe wake others up.

I don't know if this is true on all of the ships but the last two I was on had a curtain between the main part of the room and the closet/hallway/bathroom area that you could use to block at least some of the light from an open bathroom door.

I don't know if this is true on all of the ships but the last two I was on had a curtain between the main part of the room and the closet/hallway/bathroom area that you could use to block at least some of the light from an open bathroom door.

 

Good reminder. Those curtains also provides a private dressing room area too between the closets and the bathroom.

We've done 20+ cruises in quads. Our daughters started at 5 and 6, and they are now 18 and 19. We have just one rule to preserve the peace: If it's "number one," inside is fine. If it's number two, the public restroom for you!

Really funny you mention this. We were 4 in an OV on the Eurodam. As of four days ago, two were moved to an inside GTY. Then yesterday I upgraded my OV room to a balcony GTY.

 

We did 4 on the Eurodam in a veranda a few years ago and you couldn't walk in that room--and we are very neat. The pullman bunk is over the big bed which made getting up in the middle of the night a problem. One of the kids was sick.

 

So we're two rooms now and the college kids will get the least desirable one while the ones paying (me and hubby) will get the nicer room. Of course I'm playing the GTY lottery but i will have a door to the outside and can deal with a whitewall railing if I get one. Kids are just happy to be on the cruise. We also have a Retreat Cabana so its not like we'll be in those rooms. (Huge group on board, and having just gotten off a Princess cruise with a huge group, I was in my room a whole lot more than normal. I will be in that room if they move their entertainment to an area which the Retreat overlooks.)

 

HAL was very agreeable to upgrading at additional cost even when the cruise is less than 30 days out and waived all penalties.

Four adults sharing one bathroom??? :eek::eek:

 

You are all very courageous!!:D

 

I know that the bathroom could be a problem for me & I could never share it with even three..

Level of modesty required could come into play, could one of you use the sink while one is in the shower? yes, you could shower in locker room, sometimes a shortage of lockers, especially, on a sea day.

1 of 4

 

Thanks for the tips re the magnetic clips and fuzzy hangers. As you know, we are only two but I am glad I clicked on this thread.

 

 

I have already started gathering things for our upcoming cruise and was thinking of you today as I pulled out the lovely cosmetic bag you made for me. Good memories.

 

Glad to help!

 

As for bathroom issues...we have honestly never had an issue. 4 showers before dinner is routine and still no issues. I take the most time to get ready because I have to dry my hair, so I shower first, then the other 3. As the last one is getting dressed for dinner I am finishing my makeup. The shower curtain is not see through so someone can brush their teeth while another is showering.

 

There is a curtain between the cabin and the bathroom so two people can change in privacy at the same time. Whatever works but honestly we have never had any issues...not even raised voices.

 

I get up first and can be in bed first...no problem. I read in bed until others are either awake or back from their evening.

Do a google search on "1958 – Amsterdam quad" and it will take you to photos close to what you are talking about. Look around that site for more photos.

sightcrr

Do a google search on "1958 – Amsterdam quad" and it will take you to photos close to what you are talking about. Look around that site for more photos.

sightcrr

 

That's really not awful if you're neat, however I am really glad I split my quad into two doubles. lol

Ambien. Lots of Ambien. [emoji57]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Are you in a balcony? That will help.

 

See if there are any small bits of furniture that can be stowed away. On Princess we always get rid of a small wooden table that is always in the way.

 

I would consider paying for the unlimited free laundry. Less clutter and you can take fewer clothes.....

SOFA BED LENGTH TRIPPLE/QUAD VERANDAH CABINS VISTA CLASS

 

I have been looking all over this forum for the actual sofa bed length in the Verandah stateroom on the Vista class ships. I have found that in the suites the sofa bed is from armrest to armrest, but I have seen on photo’s that the sofa bed in the regular Verandah staterooms on Vista ships is being folded out in length. So my question is, what is the actual length and is this sufficient for a normal adult male? On pictures that I have located on an undisclosed website that features HAL information, it looks like that the sofa bed is shorter than the regular beds.

 

I hope someone has some information regarding the sofa bed, specifically in the Verandah stateroom on the Vista class ships.

 

Many thanks in advance.

Get a second cabin. Seriously.

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

Please post any other tips or ideas you might have for getting along while living in each other's pockets. Thanks.

SOFA BED LENGTH TRIPPLE/QUAD VERANDAH CABINS VISTA CLASS

 

I have been looking all over this forum for the actual sofa bed length in the Verandah stateroom on the Vista class ships. I have found that in the suites the sofa bed is from armrest to armrest, but I have seen on photo’s that the sofa bed in the regular Verandah staterooms on Vista ships is being folded out in length. So my question is, what is the actual length and is this sufficient for a normal adult male? On pictures that I have located on an undisclosed website that features HAL information, it looks like that the sofa bed is shorter than the regular beds.

 

I hope someone has some information regarding the sofa bed, specifically in the Verandah stateroom on the Vista class ships.

 

Many thanks in advance.

 

Search halfacts for Westerdam 1663. Bed pictures folded out. Looks like a single bed mattress to me. The sofa is more like a loveseat and the mattress folds out towards the desk. There is only a few inches from the end of the bed frame to the desk, not enough for an adult leg. But it is a single bed, not a double.

I should point out that HAL often charges quite a bit more for cabins that take more than two in the oceanview category. We considered bring a third person once, but it turned out that we had to pay almost $1k more to move from a "2-persons max" oceanview cabin to one that could sleep three. In our case, it would have been about the same cost to add an interior cabin for the third person. (I booked close to cruising day, so there were substantial discounts available on certain cabins. This may not be different if booking far in advance.)

 

I understand parents wanting to keep the kids together with them, but for the case of adults you should try for the lowest cost 2-max cabins. Best prices are about 3 weeks before sailing and there some great deals if you are flexible. This is far preferable to cramming four adults in an oceanview cabin and running over to the spa every time you need to use the bathroom.

 

igraf

[Typo correction from previous] This may be different if booking far in advance.

 

igraf

 

 

.

Thanks to all for your helpful replies and excellent tips, especially including those from 1of4, euro cruiser, ols slat, and jhsocal :)

How are you with schedules?

Fortunately, we do have very different schedules: I am a night owl, Sis gets up at 4:30 on weekdays and sleeps in until 7 or 8(!) on weekends/vacation, Mom sleeps 2-5 hours at a time, and Friend varies her patterns on a whim. So that part should work out okay, provided we can avoid constantly waking each other up. :)

 

jhsocal mentioned modesty, which hopefully will not be be too much of a problem for us, one of us having given birth to two of the others, and the fourth being like all of us in being pretty easy-going about these things.

 

I expect the worst risk of "overshare" is going to be with regard to using the toilet. :eek: :o :( :) Although thanks to euro cruiser, I have searched out a public restroom very nearby & just one deck up.

Edited February 17, 2017 by TheAccidentalCruiser