How to distribute our family members?

[Athankfulheart]

We are getting ready to book our Jan 14 cruise and I have a question that I know isn't unique, but I can't find answers to the particulars. Here is a list of the passenger ages. Please help me figure out who should go where, for booking purposes. The last time our children cruised, they were all young and spread over 4 rooms with various adults so this is new for me.

 

Dad

Mom

21yo Girl

20yo Girl

18yo Boy

16yo Boy

13yo Girl

11yo Girl

8yo Boy

7yo Boy

 

 

This is the rooming situation that we would like once on board. I need help in arranging the people for booking purposes. I think my husband and I will have to split and cover 2 cabins as pax 1 with our oldest being pax 1 in the third cabin. What Im unsure of is can we get the people rearrange on board so that the 4 adults get the spa privledges?

 

1)My husband would like to book an inside Spa Cabin for ourselves.

 

2)We would like to book the 2 oldest daughters in an inside spa and bunk the 2 little girls with them. I realize that only the first and second pax have spa privledges.

 

3)Id like to book the 4 boys in one room.

[fergusonvt]

I think that sounds reasonable to me. The only issue I can see if possibly with the 4 boys. Boys of those ages could get a little rowdy when together however you know your children the best.

[cb at sea]

Book it however you have to....you don't have to stay in the rooms in the manner they're booked in! Once onboard, put whoever you want, wherever you want! Customer service will give you the proper keys for everyone! This "adult in each room" thing is for BOOKING only...once onboard, they don't care who sleeps where.

[Athankfulheart]

Book it however you have to....you don't have to stay in the rooms in the manner they're booked in! Once onboard, put whoever you want, wherever you want! Customer service will give you the proper keys for everyone! This "adult in each room" thing is for BOOKING only...once onboard, they don't care who sleeps where.

 

Thank you for your reply. The one question I can't seem to get answered is will this be "official" once we switch keys ? In other words, will we have the 4 adults in Pax 1 and 2 spots for spa privledge purposes ?

[Athankfulheart]

I think that sounds reasonable to me. The only issue I can see if possibly with the 4 boys. Boys of those ages could get a little rowdy when together however you know your children the best.

 

 

 

Thanks :) They are good kids but we are pretty proactive parents as well. We will be checking on their room morning and evening to make sure that they are sticking to some basic rules of order as far as their room is concerned.

[zqvol]

We are getting ready to book our Jan 14 cruise and I have a question that I know isn't unique, but I can't find answers to the particulars. Here is a list of the passenger ages. Please help me figure out who should go where, for booking purposes. The last time our children cruised, they were all young and spread over 4 rooms with various adults so this is new for me.

 

Dad

Mom

21yo Girl

20yo Girl

18yo Boy

16yo Boy

13yo Girl

11yo Girl

8yo Boy

7yo Boy

 

 

This is the rooming situation that we would like once on board. I need help in arranging the people for booking purposes. I think my husband and I will have to split and cover 2 cabins as pax 1 with our oldest being pax 1 in the third cabin. What Im unsure of is can we get the people rearrange on board so that the 4 adults get the spa privledges?

 

1)My husband would like to book an inside Spa Cabin for ourselves.

 

2)We would like to book the 2 oldest daughters in an inside spa and bunk the 2 little girls with them. I realize that only the first and second pax have spa privledges.

 

3)Id like to book the 4 boys in one room.

 

Assuming all of these are your children, you don't have to play the booking game. Call CCL and as long as cabins are close it doesn't matter who is with who, you don't have to play the room switch game at all, you should not have any problem at all with booking just like you want them to be when you get on board.

[my3boysmom]

What fun you are going to have! Such a variety of ages! I can't wait for your review!

[iowagirl411]

Assuming all of these are your children, you don't have to play the booking game. Call CCL and as long as cabins are close it doesn't matter who is with who, you don't have to play the room switch game at all, you should not have any problem at all with booking just like you want them to be when you get on board.

 

Ditto

[bankonus]

I do this all the time. Book rooms close together and no worries. It's when they are on separate decks or far away they make you play the switcharoo game. Have a great cruise!

[Athankfulheart]

Thanks everyone for your advice :)

[tracyanns]

Thank you for your reply. The one question I can't seem to get answered is will this be "official" once we switch keys ? In other words, will we have the 4 adults in Pax 1 and 2 spots for spa privledge purposes ?

 

For the spa priviledges you will get 2 wristbands per cabin, they do not ask for your key card when you go to the spa, just wear the wristband. The younger girls would not be allowed to use those amenities anyway, the amenities included in the spa cabins are adults only, no kids in the pool or sauna or loungers...

[thomarvin]

Easy. Boys in one room. Girls in the other. as the others have said, as long as the kids are near your rooms you can book the kids in the appropriate rooms. With 8 kids it would be very confusing for all involved to switch them all around once onboard.. We are going in Aug and booked my 2 sons (19, 17) and my nephew (23) in the room next to us and had not problem. Have a great cruise.

[Athankfulheart]

For the spa priviledges you will get 2 wristbands per cabin, they do not ask for your key card when you go to the spa, just wear the wristband. The younger girls would not be allowed to use those amenities anyway, the amenities included in the spa cabins are adults only, no kids in the pool or sauna or loungers...

 

Thanks. We did a spa pass the last cruise b/c we were in an aft wrap and for that you have to trade your key - so thats all I knew :) I love my kids, but I dont love TONS of other peoples kids - and thats why I love the spa :D

 

Thank you to everyone for their advice. The TA that is planning this trip was under the impression that only the 22yo would be able to be pax1 and that DH and I would have to split our bookings over 2 cabins and then switch on board. I would LOVE to not have to deal with the confusion of switching back once our vacation has begun.

[jakesnana]

Thanks. We did a spa pass the last cruise b/c we were in an aft wrap and for that you have to trade your key - so thats all I knew :) I love my kids, but I dont love TONS of other peoples kids - and thats why I love the spa :D

 

Thank you to everyone for their advice. The TA that is planning this trip was under the impression that only the 22yo would be able to be pax1 and that DH and I would have to split our bookings over 2 cabins and then switch on board. I would LOVE to not have to deal with the confusion of switching back once our vacation has begun.

 

Time to get a new TA. While some cruise lines require an adult in each cabin, Carnival has had the policy of children next to or across the hall for a long time. We did it back in 2000 with our 2 youngest sons and then again last summer with our 2 oldest grandsons.

[nodogkisses]

Seriously, book the cruise yourself through Carnival and don't use the TA. Book Early Saver and do any possible price drops online yourself, since TA probably wouldn't know about that either (since TA didn't understand booking configurations with kids). With three rooms, you may earn yourself quite a bit of onboard credit. Have a great cruise--sounds like such a fun family.

[maggieworkman]

What ship are you going to book on? I only ask because I wonder what kind of room you are going to get for the boys? Are you going to get them a spa room too? If not, does the ship have regular rooms nearby?

 

I am looking at booking the Splendor for next year and want a spa room for myself and DH but want a regular room for our girls and grandma. But there aren't any regular rooms on the same floor (except 4 1As).

 

Maggie

[helicopter]

Seriously, book the cruise yourself through Carnival and don't use the TA. Book Early Saver and do any possible price drops online yourself, since TA probably wouldn't know about that either (since TA didn't understand booking configurations with kids). With three rooms, you may earn yourself quite a bit of onboard credit. Have a great cruise--sounds like such a fun family.

 

Totally agree:)

[doconner]

Seriously, book the cruise yourself through Carnival and don't use the TA. Book Early Saver and do any possible price drops online yourself, since TA probably wouldn't know about that either (since TA didn't understand booking configurations with kids). With three rooms, you may earn yourself quite a bit of onboard credit. Have a great cruise--sounds like such a fun family.

 

I somewhat disagree. If your current TA isn't offering you any incentives for booking with them, it may be in your interest to look for a different TA. However with a total of 10 passengers bookings, you should be able to find a TA that both understands the booking policy for kids, and also offer you a hefty OBC for booking with them.

 

Booking with Carnival is just as rife with people being given misinformation when they are booking. There was a long post just recently from someone who was told by a Carnival agent that she was booking in at a rate that would be eligible for price drops however she was booking well past the early saver cut off point, and was booked a rate that didn't allow for price drops.

 

To the OP, assuming you are booking the boys into a non spa-interior, be sure to check out the interior with windows on Lido, as they are usually just a few dollars more than a standard interior on a higher deck that isn't a spa.

[katiel53]

For the spa priviledges you will get 2 wristbands per cabin, they do not ask for your key card when you go to the spa, just wear the wristband. The younger girls would not be allowed to use those amenities anyway, the amenities included in the spa cabins are adults only, no kids in the pool or sauna or loungers...

 

I'm sorry to disagree with you but on Dream in February, we had to give our Sea Pass to get the wrist band the first time. There is a list of people who are allowed in the spa. There were no wristbands in the cabin.

 

I know the person at the desk was taking everyone's Sea Pass card as they came in. We weren't there the first day and I doubt that all the Sea Pass cards that were in the file were people who just decided on day 4 to use the spa for the first time. I could be wrong about having to show the SeaPass other days because we didn't go back after that one day.

[thomarvin]

Can someone tell me what a Spa room is?

[tracyanns]

I'm sorry to disagree with you but on Dream in February, we had to give our Sea Pass to get the wrist band the first time. There is a list of people who are allowed in the spa. There were no wristbands in the cabin.

 

I know the person at the desk was taking everyone's Sea Pass card as they came in. We weren't there the first day and I doubt that all the Sea Pass cards that were in the file were people who just decided on day 4 to use the spa for the first time. I could be wrong about having to show the SeaPass other days because we didn't go back after that one day.

 

Perhaps they have changed things since the last 2 times that we have sailed on her. They had a welcome package along with the 2 spa pass bands waiting in our cabin and anytime we went to the spa they never asked anything, we only had to show the wristband...

 

Either way, in this situation it is irrelevant because the 4 people she wants to have access to the spa are the only ones old enough to use it anyway.

[Athankfulheart]

What ship are you going to book on? I only ask because I wonder what kind of room you are going to get for the boys? Are you going to get them a spa room too? If not, does the ship have regular rooms nearby?

 

I am looking at booking the Splendor for next year and want a spa room for myself and DH but want a regular room for our girls and grandma. But there aren't any regular rooms on the same floor (except 4 1As).

 

Maggie

 

 

We are going to sail the Dream Jan 4th 2014. I was looking at the same thing that you mentioned and decided that in order to stay on the same deck, we would have to put the boys into 2 1A's. Its a difference of $300 which makes the spa cabins a wash. We may as well get a cove and 2 insides and buy passes at that point.

 

To further explain why we are using a TA this time..... My MIL is a TA and is putting together a small group cruise as a fundraiser for a non-profit that our family does alot of work for. The non-profit will get $25p cabin plus the cash for the (buy 8 cabins get a person free) deal. We are trying to give our MIL the business as well as help out the organization on this one. I have never used a TA before this and have only dealt directly with the cruise lines for booking. She was also able to save us about $50pp. I need to talk to her about whether the people in the group can book ES and what the pros/cons of ES and Group would be. We are trying to figure this out and at least get deposits in soon.

[Essiesmom]

One of your problems might be that there are only two inside spa cabins that hold four, although there are forward obstructed view cabins for four, and they appear to be larger...No other insides on Panorama Deck hold 4. So it appears you are going to have to pay for a spa cabin for the boys, even though they will not be able to use it due to age (one boy could it interested). EM

[Athankfulheart]

An update to my question:

 

We missed the other quad on the spa deck so this is what we actually did...

 

I called and spoke with PVP and explained the situation. We booked our family this way:

11224 - 21,20,18,16

11228 - Mom and 13

10254 - Dad, 10,8,7

 

PVP said he would provide a letter to show the port agent to have the 13yo (non) spa priv to dad on the lido. When we called the next day to book he changed the story and said they can't do it. We decided to book because we had already missed the 2nd quad cabin on the spa deck and didnt want to lose the one we had left. So this way the 2 oldest (girls) will have the priv from 11224 and they will trade rooms with the 2 little boys ( 8,7) and we will have all boys in 11224. I wound up calling back and upgrading a few days later to 11222 which is across the hallway, so the 13yo girl and my DH will switch once on board which creates a girls cabin on the lido for the 21,20,13 & 10yos. This was the way to have the least number of room trades and also get the spa privledges to the most people. We will plead our case at the port and see if they will give the spa privledges to my DH. If not then we will board and go to GS to switch the rooms. If DH is actually moved to 11222 then he should get the spa priv. If all else fails we will just be prepared to buy him a pass for the week. All in all I think this is going to be a super arrangement for our family.

 

Thanks everyone for your advice :)

[KPfromCT]

We are getting ready to book our Jan 14 cruise and I have a question that I know isn't unique, but I can't find answers to the particulars. Here is a list of the passenger ages. Please help me figure out who should go where, for booking purposes. The last time our children cruised, they were all young and spread over 4 rooms with various adults so this is new for me.

 

Dad

Mom

21yo Girl

20yo Girl

18yo Boy

16yo Boy

13yo Girl

11yo Girl

8yo Boy

7yo Boy

 

 

This is the rooming situation that we would like once on board. I need help in arranging the people for booking purposes. I think my husband and I will have to split and cover 2 cabins as pax 1 with our oldest being pax 1 in the third cabin. What Im unsure of is can we get the people rearrange on board so that the 4 adults get the spa privledges?

 

1)My husband would like to book an inside Spa Cabin for ourselves.

 

2)We would like to book the 2 oldest daughters in an inside spa and bunk the 2 little girls with them. I realize that only the first and second pax have spa privledges.

 

3)Id like to book the 4 boys in one room.

 

These are all of YOUR kids?:eek::eek::eek: This is going to be an EPIC review. Cannot wait!! Hope you all have a wonderful cruise. Enjoy!!!:D:D