Cruising for 5?

K, I know this question has been asked like a bazillion and ten times, but I couldn't find a straight-up answer.

I'm looking a cruise. There will be 5 of us. Me and 4 kids. Hubby can't come.

For the life of me, I can't find anything reasonably priced. I can't imagine I'm the only 5-member part wanting to take a cruise and not pay an arm and a leg for the 5th member.

Cmon. Pleeeeze people. I could totally use some help. How can I book a cruise for 5 and not pay and arm and a leg?

We are a family of 5 and found the best for us was an interior family cabin on either Carnival Dream or RCCL Freedom of the Seas. You aren't able to usually get 5 person cabin prices online, I had to call each cruise line. If I had it to do over I would find a Travel Agent to do the leg work for me. There are a few other ships that have family staterooms that aren't "suites" which is where the price goes way up. Good Luck :)

We're a family of 5 and I've come to the conclusion that the best thing for everyone's sanity is to book two adjoining rooms. If you choose interior rooms, you should be able to get something reasonable, especially on Carnival.

Highly doubt you will find a regular cabin for five and if you did you would't want to live there long as it would be way too crowded. A family suite is a nice option but could be more expensive than two adjoining rooms. Five is an awkward number for cruising.

We are a family of five. After much research, I found that Carnival was able to provide the best price for our family. I'm not sure about many lines. I had priced out Carnival, NCL, and RCI. I have cruised all three and loved all three. My main concern was comfort without breaking the bank. There ARE cabins that hold five. If you contact Carnival, they should be able to let you know which ships. At the time I was booking, I know Dream had the family cabins. Some older ships that are grandfathered in are able to put five in a cabin, but I imagine it will be kind of tight. When I priced things out for my family and compared the cabin for five versus two cabins, the two cabins won out. Our last cruise, we had two "connecting" cabins. The two bathrooms came in handy when having to get ready for dinner. The Dream has two in the family cabin, but the extra room that the connecting provides was the deciding factor for us. It might not be an issue for you. Oh another thing...somebody from these boards was nice enough to let me know that when I am looking for two cabins, ask for connecting (door opens inside between two cabins) rather than adjoining. It is cheapest to get two inside cabins. It wasn't an option for us because my children are too small to allow them their own cabin. Have a wonderful trip!

Would she be able to book 2 interior rooms being she is the only adult? I thought an adult needs to be booked in each room.

Here is a recent thread you might find something in:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1820208

and another:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1795847&highlight=cabins+for+five

Would she be able to book 2 interior rooms being she is the only adult? I thought an adult needs to be booked in each room.

Yes, I suspect this will be the biggest problem. If dad was going along, they could book 2 cabins with an adult in each, and then rearrange the way they want it once on board. That's what we did when we cruised with my teens... but they were teens so it wasn't an issue putting them in their own cabin. The OP doesn't state the ages of her kids. Perhaps if one is 18+ she can find a way to do it with 2 cabins.

I did this on a recent group with MSC Cruises. The ship had no cabins listed for a capacity of 5, but if one of the guests is under the age of 6 you can sail with all 5 in a cabin for 4. You have to book a cabin that accommodates 4 occupants and agree to release MSC Cruises of any claims or liability. All bookings are subject to capacity control. MSC Cruises has a kids sail free fare so they only paid taxes for the kids.

Would she be able to book 2 interior rooms being she is the only adult? I thought an adult needs to be booked in each room.

Most cruise lines will wave the adult in each room requirement if the cabins are connecting. Royal will even wave the requirement if the cabins are adjacent or directly across the hall from the adult(s) as well. We have done this many times without issue. The key is doing your research to know which lines allow what.

Hi jimrazz6947 i was just wondering if you knew did the 3rd child in the cabin have to pay full adult fare? I see on msc website that up to 2 kids sail free when sharing a cabin with 2 adults so unsure whether the 3rd child would be covered under this policy. I have 3 young kids (6,4 and 3) and would be interested in this option if it meant we could all travel in one cabin at a very affordable rate.

We are a family of 5 (kids were 4, 4, and 3) at time of sailing. We sailed on Carnival Magic's Oceanview family stateroom. It has two bathrooms and was comfortable.

I sailed in one of the family OV rooms on RCI (Navigator) with 5 grandkids. It was a five day cruise and we got a good deal, with the 3-6th at a reduced price.

You will probably have to call most cruise lines to book a room like this; they don't want them to be booked by, say, just two people who want the extra room. In fact, calling (or using a good TA) will help you find out what will work best; family suite, large balcony, two connecting rooms, etc.

This was not a suite, but was considerably larger than a normal with twin(or a queen) beds, a sofa bed and a bunk room. Lots of storage, only one bathroom. It worked out very well.

Carnival for sure has some rooms that hold five, as we have booked for five on there before. Pretty crowded, though.

Would she be able to book 2 interior rooms being she is the only adult? I thought an adult needs to be booked in each room.

I am only going on what I was told when I was researching. I am not certain with any of the lines other than Carnival. When I had finally narrowed it down to Carnival and booked an OV, I was told we had to have an adult in each cabin. I was told by the Carnival rep that if we booked inside, we wouldn't have to have an adult in each cabin. I'm not sure what the logic is behind that. I understand needing an adult in each cabin for security, but not sure what the difference is between an inside and OV. This was also in 2009 and I just booked connecting OV for upcoming cruise. Having an adult in each wasn't a big deal for us, but I can see where it might be a problem for only one adult traveling. I think for something like this, I would be sure to go directly to cruise rep that does the booking.

We are a family of 5 (kids were 4, 4, and 3) at time of sailing. We sailed on Carnival Magic's Oceanview family stateroom. It has two bathrooms and was comfortable.

We were also comfortable with three slightly older children and two adults in a Magic family OV. The Dream and the Breeze have the same type of room. There are also other Carnival ships, including the Sunshine (formerly the Destiny) that allow five in many room types, including insides. That is the cheapest way to sail with five in a room, but the space is tighter than the family OVs and there's no second bathing/dressing area. There are also Carnival ships that allow five in a suite, but this would be much more expensive. I searched the Carnival website for a room for five and looked at each ship that was available to see the type of room and price.

I have also noticed that NCL now makes it possible to book five in a room online. Just like Carnival, the type of room that holds five depends on the particular ship. Some are affordable, while others not so much. RCCL still requires customers to call and check options for more than four in a room.

With 5 on Carnival we cruise Deluxe Ocean View on the larger ships and Grand Suite on the smaller ships (though they do offer Inside & Reg. Ocean View for 5 as well). On the Disney ships, we sailed Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom w/Verandah. All were perfectly fine for us;)