Connecting Room Dilema

[ariannasstuff]

Need some advice from all those of you that cruise with children. I am planning a trip to Europe either this summer or next, and really would like to take a cruise out of Rome(as we will spend time there before the cruise). There are many ships in and out of Rome with various itineraries, however, where I am finding a problem is in finding a ship with connecting rooms. We are a family of five. Our three kids will be 12, 12 and 13. I am not comfortable leaving them in a room by themselves. The only ship that cruises out of Italy with connecting rooms is Royal Caribbean and I am really not thrilled with their ports. I love Princess's itinerary, but no connecting rooms on the Ruby.

 

For those of you that cruise Europe with kids in two cabins, what do you do? I have also looked at HAL(no connecting rooms) and Celebrity(no connecting rooms. Carnival has a nice port line up, but is beginning and ending in Barcelona. Any advice would be appreciated.

[crzgrl66]

Need some advice from all those of you that cruise with children. I am planning a trip to Europe either this summer or next, and really would like to take a cruise out of Rome(as we will spend time there before the cruise). There are many ships in and out of Rome with various itineraries, however, where I am finding a problem is in finding a ship with connecting rooms. We are a family of five. Our three kids will be 12, 12 and 13. I am not comfortable leaving them in a room by themselves. The only ship that cruises out of Italy with connecting rooms is Royal Caribbean and I am really not thrilled with their ports. I love Princess's itinerary, but no connecting rooms on the Ruby.

 

For those of you that cruise Europe with kids in two cabins, what do you do? I have also looked at HAL(no connecting rooms) and Celebrity(no connecting rooms. Carnival has a nice port line up, but is beginning and ending in Barcelona. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

You know your kids best, but at 12 & 13 you could do rooms right next to each other or an inside and a balcony directly across. On our last cruise we had our 15, 9 & 7 year old in an inside room across from us and it worked out fine. We just made sure that they understood that the rules in their room were the same as when our oldest is babysitting. No one is allowed in their room and they have to let us know if they are going anywhere.

[cb at sea]

Yeah...next door or across the (narrow) hallway is fine...they will be closer to you than they are in their bedrooms at home. You "lay down the law" about what they can and can't do...and all will be good!

[Grannycb]

Mariner of the Seas & Navigator of the Seas both have connecting cabins. The program for kids is pretty good on RCI.

[Essiesmom]

HAL Noordam sails from Civitavecchia and has connecting cabins. In particular, they have insides on Main deck that are larger than the other cabins. They are square, and look like they would be smaller, but they are really roomy. Celebrity Equinox also sails from Civ. and has connecting cabins, but not as many as HAL. EM

[junglejane]

We are booked on the Celebrity Equinox from Rome on June 6. Ports are Santorini, Mykonos, Istanbul (overnight), Ephesus, Athens and Naples. We have connecting balcony rooms. We only have two in each room, but it looks to me from the deck plan like one room can sleep 2 and the other has an upper berth and sofa bed so it could sleep 4. There seem to be quite a few connecting rooms on the deck plan. Check it out.:)

 

See this thread for photos and a description of connecting rooms on the Solstice class ships: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=966665

 

Also, on the Solstice class ships on Celebrity (like the Equinox) and the Grand class ships on Princess (like the Ruby) you could do side by side balcony rooms and connect via the balcony partition, even if you don't have rooms with an interior connecting door.

[Onessa]

We did a Celebrity cruise from Rome last November on Solstice in connecting rooms -- on the Solstice there is not a door cut in the middle of the wall of the connecting cabins, there is a secondary exterior door that the crew will engage and then the usual exterior cabin doors become the connection with there being almost a "foyer" having been created between the rooms. All of the S-class have similar cabins. Check with Celebrity's Customer Service to see if any of those rooms would meet your needs.

 

I would have been comfortable with my then 14YO DD (with a responsible like-aged friend or family member) across the hall or next door in a non-connecting situation -- but I was NOT comfortable with her 14YO cousin in a non-attached room (not the most responsible of young ladies! :) )

 

The Med is a great place with teens! Good luck finding an iternerary that suits you and have a great time!

[Camlott]

I love Princess's itinerary, but no connecting rooms on the Ruby.

 

You could always book the Family Suite. It has two bedrooms and two baths. This would let you take your preferred itinerary and room arrangement.

 

[brazilgirl]

Both times we cruised Europe , we booked the Family Suite on Celebrity(M class) , which accomodates 5 . And it has the added benefit of having a huuggge balcony , which was wonderful.

 

I love Celebrity , as do my kids. And they have nice European itineraries.

 

Kim

[junglejane]

You could always book the Family Suite. It has two bedrooms and two baths. This would let you take your preferred itinerary and room arrangement.

 

 

I have stayed in the Family Suite on the Sapphire Princess, which is presumably identical to the Family Suite on the Ruby. Here's a link to my review with photos: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1077929 . It's one thing to receive this as a free upgrade (as I did). But IMHO it would not be worth paying the full suite price for it. The balcony cannot be used when the ship is moving. [Note that I am talking about the Family Suite on the Grand-class Princess ships. I am not talking about the Family Suite on Celebrity which is mentioned by Brazilgirl.]

[bill turcotte]

NCL has connecting rooms . We were just off Celebrity Eclipse . The conecting door was great . They take the two front entry doors and convert it to one door . Its makes the rooms feel like an suite instead of the connecting door being right in the middle of the room .

[Colorado Kat]

Boy, that family suite diagram makes it look wonderful!

[junglejane]

Boy, that family suite diagram makes it look wonderful!

 

I assume you are talking about the Family Suite on certain Princess ships, which is the diagram posted by Camlott. I got it as a complimentary upgrade. My understanding is that, if you book it, you have to pay the suite price for the first four passengers. You do get suite benefits, but it's pretty pricey considering the fact that the balcony is unusable whenever the ship is moving. It would be much cheaper to just book a mini-suite and an inside, which is what you get with the Family Suite. If you're willing to pay suite prices, I would look at another suite that has a usable balcony.

[cantw8togo]

I just have to ask... why is the balcony not usuable when the ship is moving?

[junglejane]

I just have to ask... why is the balcony not usuable when the ship is moving?

 

Take a look at the pictures on my link in post #10. The balcony is as far forward as you can go on Dolphin deck, and has no protection from wind whatsoever. So whenever the ship is moving, it is unbelievably windy. The photos I posted were taken on an especially windy day, but it was very windy every single day. If you search for other reviews of the Family Suite on the Princess board, you'll find many others reporting the same thing. It's one thing to get the Family Suite as a free upgrade, as I did, because the suite perks are nice. But it would not be worth it, IMHO, to pay the suite price for 4 passengers when you can't use the balcony except in port.

[trvlcrzy]

I just have to ask... why is the balcony not usuable when the ship is moving?

 

I haven't been in one of these particular cabins, but I can tell you from experience of being the first forward cabin on another line... the wind is incredibly forceful while the ship is in motion. It is not pleasant to sit on the balcony with the strong winds.

 

On some of the ships I've sailed (Princess), as we walked the outer deck (promenade) and moved forward and climbed the stairs to complete the round trip... the force of the wind made it difficult to walk toward the bow while at sea. After turning past the 'point' of the bow, and the wind practically pushed us toward the aft.

[cantw8togo]

Thanks for the clarification. I hadn't realized that it was so far forward. It is this type of insider info that makes CC so valuable.