5 in a room

[tigerkiss]

Hi, I traveled on the Dawn last year with my hubby and 2 other couples and had the best time ever. Now we are planing a cruise again in 2006. Its our 20th annv. and also our 40th bdays. But we want to take our children also. 13,16,18.

I already priced it for 2 rooms on the spirit and it was well over 4500 for an inside room. Will they let 5 in a room?? The carnival thread had some post about 5 in a room there and we also thought of the carnival legend but my heart would rather do ncl again. So if anyone knows or even did it please let me know. I know it will be tight. But I am willing to be tight for a week then spend more money on another cabin. We wouldnt be in the cabin much anyway.

 

Linda

[johnql]

They allow 5 passengers in the Dawn's AB Penthouse suites.

[newmexicoNita]

Most of the NCL ships have a few cabins that will hold 5, only a few, but take it from me, don't do it!!! Carnival has larger cabins, yet one time I did have a family of 5, about the age of your kids decide to take just one cabin. Did they survive the week? Sure, did they enjoy the cruise, yes, but did they book 5 in a cabin again, NO WAY!! Remember those cabins are a little bigger than NCLs. Are you considering the Dawn again, do you have a time frame that might be a little more flexible than the dates you have checked, have you tried using a good travel agent that specializes in cruising and what catagory are you thinking about? I ask these questions as sometimes the prices do vary. I have had many families that book an outside cabin for mom and dad and an inside, across the hall for the kids. No matter what, please research this closely before trying 5 including 3 teens in one small area with 1 bath. NMNita

[TrinaLC]

The ABs are 2 br, 2 baths, so I assume would work OK, but if price is the consideration not sure that would help.

 

Personally, I can't imagine 5 in 1 room being a vacation. Ever. or 4, and I love my 2 kids! I'd wait to cruise till I could afford 2 rooms or an AB which I haven't seen but sounds like it would work well.

 

My 2 cents.

[TrinaLC]

The ABs are 2 br, 2 baths, so I assume would work OK, but if price is the consideration not sure that would help.

 

Personally, I can't imagine 5 in 1 room being a vacation. Ever. or 4, and I love my 2 kids! I'd wait to cruise till I could afford 2 rooms or an AB which I haven't seen but sounds like it would work well.

 

My 2 cents.

[20YearsBetweenCruises]

I'm trying 5 in room on the Sun next year. I'll have to report back. I know many people say don't do it. But I think it depends on what you think your family can handle. We go camping in a popup. So we have 5 in a small space to sleep & have to walk to the bathhouse for showers and the bathroom! So I think we will be fine with our 5. I'd rather cruise more often then save up for 2 rooms.

[joemedic]

We are also doing 5 in a cabin this winter. I figure that we camp in a tent so a cruise cabin will be fine. Really, how much time do you spend in the cabin? We are not a make up/ hair dryer type of family so I can't imagine too much of a problem of getting ready.

But, we will write about the experience in late December...maybe my laidback attitude will change. ; )

[maurick]

We did 3 in a outside cabin on on first Dawn cruise. 3 beds were wall to wall at night. 4th bed would be a bunk. It was cozy. I don't know where the 5th person would be, unless the cabin is larger. We have also done 4 in a cabin. Was ok when kids were small. Teen years, we started getting ready earlier to get done on time and would leave cabin so one getting ready had privacy.

[karfest]

We had an AB on the Star with our daughters ages 17 & 20. The 2 bedroom 2 bathroom was an ideal situation for us.

 

However, if you want to try 5 in a room- I would suggest bringing a tote bag for the older kids to haul their shampoo, soap, etc to the spa for showers. It will make getting ready a lot less of a hassle.

 

We met a family of 4 who had an inside, the kids were both under 10, and it was very crowded when the beds were open. They survived- but I don't know how!!

[20YearsBetweenCruises]

The room we have reserved on the sun, I has queen bed (or 2 twins that make queen), a pull out couch (for 2) and one of those upper bunks. If you had to make up all the beds everyday and put them back away, it would be a lot of work. But they do that for you. Hopefully, joemedic will have a good report in Dec for me! Joemedic - what ship are you on?

[enjoyscruising]

Hi, I traveled on the Dawn last year with my hubby and 2 other couples and had the best time ever. Now we are planing a cruise again in 2006. Its our 20th annv. and also our 40th bdays. But we want to take our children also. 13,16,18.

I already priced it for 2 rooms on the spirit and it was well over 4500 for an inside room. Will they let 5 in a room?? The carnival thread had some post about 5 in a room there and we also thought of the carnival legend but my heart would rather do ncl again. So if anyone knows or even did it please let me know. I know it will be tight. But I am willing to be tight for a week then spend more money on another cabin. We wouldnt be in the cabin much anyway.

 

Linda

 

Personally, I would not do 5 in one room. I think you may be able to do it though, but there are not many rooms to accomodate that many, so book now if you are set to do it. if you get a choice - be close on the deck to the regular public restrooms (emergencies will arise). great idea about the teens and a tote to go to the spa for showers. in case your cabin has the hair dryer in the bathroom (and I think most do), take your own you can plug in outside the bathroom.

fyi - don't plan on your 18 year old to be able to do the teen program - it only goes to 17 and they were pretty strict about it...wouldn't even allow my 18 year old to be in the smoothie program...but rules are rules I guess.

 

all the best -

[papadave]

The cheapest two cabins might be a better deal than squeezing five people into a suite. You might try ***** to see if anyone can offer you a good deal.

[Glamourgal]

I have thought and thought about this question and I still hesitate to imagine 5 people in the cabin. My husband and I stayed in a balcony cabin on the Legend and we had absolutely no complaints. The cruise was wonderful. We are cruising next year with out 3 adult kids on the Spirit and we are staying in a bal. cabin, they are in a cabin directly across from ours. We also camped in a pop-up with the 5 of us, but for some reason I just can't imagine having 5 in our cabin. The idea of the tote and using the gym showers is a great idea if you do decide to go with 1 cabin. I am sure, no matter what you decide, if you go with an open mind I am sure you will have a great time. Attitude is the key!!! Good Luck and Have a Great Cruise!!

[budgetED]

As NewMexicoNita said, "don't do it"...I've been on Carnival where their inside rooms are about 186 sq ft, compared to 121 sq ft on the NCL Star. My mom, 2 sisters and 2 kids stayed 5 in a room on the larger Carnival room, and were pretty cramped. They had two twin beds, 2 wall beds and a cot...getting around everyone to go the bathroom was an adventure in itself. I like the suggestion to get an outside for the adults and an inside across the hall for the kids if it is withing your budget....otherwise, 2 insides next to each other would suffice.

[shoreguy]

Hi, I traveled on the Dawn last year with my hubby and 2 other couples and had the best time ever. Now we are planing a cruise again in 2006. Its our 20th annv. and also our 40th bdays. But we want to take our children also. 13,16,18.

 

Linda

 

Let me get this right it is 20 years together and 40th bdays - go crazy get two cabins - Either of those events merit a cabin for the two of you. Everyone gets the vacation they want.

 

Save the 5 to a cabin to squeeze in that extra famliy vacation befor the kids are gone.

 

Everyone has earned a little time to themselves :)

[sci-tea]

just returned from the Spirit. On paper for NCL, we had my sisters kids listed in our cabins but she had all 4 in her cabin. They are all under 7 including one in a crib. They had 6 in their cabin but she chose to keep it that way rather than farm them out to us for the nite. I don't know how she did it but they travel a lot.

[karen2cruz]

Just to let you know we did 5 to a cabin last year but it was in a grand suite on RCCL. It was about 390 sf w/o balcony; balcony was 89 sf..... but only one very large bathroom. We were fine. We had plenty of room but could have used that 2nd bathroom. The kids were 13, 16, 18. Had one queen bed, one double sofa bed, and a rollaway that was completely out of sight during the day. Plenty of room to walk around, even at night. Nice large balcony for all 5 of us.

 

AB suite sounds bigger and wonderful, especially with 2 baths. Do what's best for you and have a great cruise.

[bostoncruisegal]

I did 5 in a room on the Norway back when she was in service. It was 5 friends (all 20-year-old girls) and it was tight. 1 double, 1 single and 2 single pull-downs.

 

I would do it together with friends. We were all girls and could dress in front of each other, use the bathroom when one was in the shower, things like that made a difference.

 

I don't know anything about your family, but since they are older, I'm assuming that they would not be comfortable in that environment with you and your husband. (I wouldn't be with my family.)

 

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[tigerkiss]

Hi..Thanks for everyones imput. We are still looking into prices but the thought of stepping over someone to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night doesnt thrill me. We are considering two insides. I am not one to sit in my cabin and watch tv. While on the dawn we used the room to sleep and dress. I like to be on the go all the time. My 18 yr old will be comtempt by the pool, or in the casino since they can gamble at 18 on the ship. She better be bringing her own money..>LOL

Now its deciding on carnival legend or ncl spirt..

 

Linda

[Glamourgal]

I can tell you that I was on the Legend in May and she is a real beauty. We had a wonderful time and if we had to go back and do it all again we would not change a thing. We were in a balcony cabin on the Upper deck. We are scheduled to sail on the Spirit in June with our adult children. Very similar itinerary. If we have half of the fun on the Spirit as we did on the Legend we will be very happy. I wouldn't want to have to choose between the 2 but just do a lot of cruising on this board and it should help you to make up your mind. You may want to go over to the Carnival board to get more news on the Legend. Either way I don't think you can go wrong. From what I hear from those who sailed both is that the only big difference is Free Style versus traditional dining. I think with having our kids with us the Free Style will work better at this time. Best of Luck and have a GREAT time!!