Tips for 4 people in a stateroom

[j&b'smommy]

We are a family of 4 staying together in one stateroom. 2 adults and 2 teenagers. Does anyone have any helpful tips to help us with space, storage, timing, etc.

Edited February 4, 2015 by j&b'smommy

[cruisingram1]

We have been using packing cubes for travel lately and it made unpacking really easy on this last cruise. I did not unpack each cube, but took them out and stacked them on the shelves and in the drawers. I would think if each person in the family had different colored cubes, finding each person's shirts etc would be easy and you would not have to dig through stacks of clothes that merge with each other. We used empty cubes for dirty clothes and packing was just as easy as unpacking.

[Madsofa]

I'm sure you will get a lot of advice/tips, but two things we always do is one: to have the little coffee table moved to inside of the closet - this allows more walking space in the cabin and the table acts as another shelf to put clothes on. And the second thing we always bring is one of those plastic shoe organizers. We use this in the bathroom to store/organize all of bathroom stuff -everything from brushes, meds, sunscreen, toothpaste/brushes, etc.

 

We lucked out with our upcoming cruise and took advantage of the original BOGO sale last May (when prices were still really good) and changed our one cabin to two connecting ones for less than the cost of the original. Really looking forward to having two bathrooms.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Edited February 4, 2015 by Madsofa

[tidygirl]

Our family usually leaves our suitcases packed except for clothes that need hung up. We will put one suitcase on the floor of the closet, one on the chair and under the bed. Our last cruise we did unpack some and each of us put what we could in a drawer and put the suitcases under the bed. We shower at night and we just take turns. While I am showering DH will be cleaning contacts, shaving,brushing teeth and I will do my teeth and contacts while he is showering so we save time. We have stayed with 2 young adult kids in our room and most recent just 1. Rooms are small, but we honestly are in our room just to sleep and shower! I have always been the type if we went on vacation I am not sitting in a hotel room watching TV etc I can do that at home! And if the weather is nice I want to be out soaking it all up!

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

It all sounds very cramped and uncomfortable.

Can you not ask for a second cabin for the teenagers ?

 

All that stuff, and the lack of privacy for mom and pops.

Go one, ask at the pursers desk and see will they give you a second cabin for free.

[138east]

Take advantage of the shower and towel facilities in the fitness center locker rooms. It may take a little more time, but will significantly ease the pressure on your cabin bathroom.

[cruiseguy1016]

Our family of 4 booked one cabin several years ago. The biggest issue was getting ready for dinner. What we found worked best was, DS and I would get ready first and leave the cabin. We'd go hang out in a lounge. That left the cabin to DW and DD to get ready without having to trip over the two us.

[KKMurphy2]

It all sounds very cramped and uncomfortable.

Can you not ask for a second cabin for the teenagers ?

 

All that stuff, and the lack of privacy for mom and pops.

Go one, ask at the pursers desk and see will they give you a second cabin for free.

 

Have you honestly heard of anyone getting a cabin for free?

 

Until the kids moved out of the house, we did not have any extra money. We cruised infrequently and in one inside cabin (and that was on ships like Majesty with tiny inside rooms). It worked out fine. The family understood that shower time was limited and it had to be under 5 minutes. You dried off and dressed, and if you needed mirror time, it was in the room. My husband, who needed the least amount of "primping" time, was the last to shower. We never had a problem. I think my kids knew that a cruise was expensive and they were appreciative that they were even able to go on one! No one ever complained!

 

Cramped is a relative term and is great for family bonding. One of our good friends had 10 siblings with one bathroom in the house when he grew up. You will have a great time!

[queenschick9b]

I stayed 4 in a cabin a ton. One recommendation if both the teenagers are girls is to share hair/product stuff. Our issue that drove the males insane was the 15 different bottles of hair stuff on the desk (agree that you do make up and hair outside the bathroom). In our case, those that liked the casino went first because we would then all meet up there before dinner. This tended to coordinate, as the other people tended to stay by the pool longer. We also took advantage of the gym showers and sometimes (this might have been on an X ship) they had real, full size hair dryers.

 

Some of my best memories are being 4 to an inside (and we were all in our 20s for most of them - we weren't kids)

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

We also took advantage of the gym showers and sometimes

 

But vacation time is about fun and romance.

No romance if the kids or teenagers are a foot away from you.

No privacy at all.

You can not have any "Mom and Pop's" time for doing some jiggy.

In my younger days, me and "Pops" were like rabbitts !

Its really about having the bit of fun and romance, and putting your relationship to good use.

 

I think you should reconsider and book an extra cabin, or look for one for free on board.

 

 

 

 

.

Edited February 4, 2015 by P&O Lynn Knickers
lynn is truthful

[dfgf]

Take advantage of the shower and towel facilities in the fitness center locker rooms. It may take a little more time, but will significantly ease the pressure on your cabin bathroom.

 

I came to this thread to give the exact same advice. The showers in the fitness center are significantly larger than what is in the stateroom. There are 4 or 5 of them. Plenty of elbow room and plenty of extra towels.

[dfgf]

I think you should reconsider and book an extra cabin, or look for one for free on board.

 

Sorry, Lynn. There were only 30 free cabins on their cruise and I've booked them all for myself.

[griffy116]

We have been using packing cubes for travel lately and it made unpacking really easy on this last cruise. I did not unpack each cube, but took them out and stacked them on the shelves and in the drawers. I would think if each person in the family had different colored cubes, finding each person's shirts etc would be easy and you would not have to dig through stacks of clothes that merge with each other. We used empty cubes for dirty clothes and packing was just as easy as unpacking.

 

We do this with the big zip-lock bags 2-1/2 to 3 gallon, labeled. We don't take the clothes out of the bags. We wipe the shelf/drawer with an antiseptic wipe and we're good. We also use the tip about putting the coffee table in the closet. Shoes can go on the coffee table and under it. We can't deal with heaps of clothing laying around. If you put the suitcases under the bed, put the dirty clothes into zip-locks and toss into the suitcases as they're used, there's no need for a mess. We carry a few extra wire hangers for the closet and everyone has a few things hanging. We take a couple of magnetic hooks for the wall. They are used for everyone's lanyard or small purse. Put a zip lock with small bills in the top desk/dresser drawer for room service tips and keep the paperwork on the desk drawer to cut down on clutter.We take a mesh basket with the pockets (Bed Bath and Beyond). It's flat to fold in the suitcase, but holds all the bathroom essentials. It sits on the dresser and whoever heads to the bathroom just picks it up and takes it with them. The key is being organized. You can also utilize the showers in the gym and picking a cabin near a public restroom is a HUGE help. Take an air-freshener that hangs from the rear-view mirror in a car and hang it in the bathroom. Take a pair of ear-plugs (snoring roomies). We've done it with 4 women and we had a blast. Set up guidelines and let everyone know they have to clean up as they go.

[LuCruise]

Us too...but our kids are pre-teens. What kind of cabin did you get? We booked a room with a Pullman bed which allows one kid on the pull out sofa and one on the Pullman bed (which comes out from the ceiling or wall).

 

This is our first cruise with the four of us, but I'm thinking of trying to stagger showers so you're not all trying to shower at night for example.

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

Take an air-freshener that hangs from the rear-view mirror in a car and hang it in the bathroom. Take a pair of ear-plugs (snoring roomies). .

 

 

That has convinced me.

 

Hands up, I was wrong, it can be done.

 

 

 

 

 

.

Edited February 4, 2015 by P&O Lynn Knickers

[pennielz]

We just stayed in an inside cabin with 2 teenage boys on Enchantment last month. This is how we handled it.

 

- All suitcases unpacked and under the bed.

- Nothing left lying around on the floors, including shoes.

- Parents dressed for dinner an our early. The boys had the cabin to themselves to shower and change then meet us at the R Bar 15 minutes before dinner.

- Mornings, parents dressed and went for coffee an hour early, waking the boys as we left. We would meet them back in the cabin half hour before excursion.

 

It worked well for us with few issues.

 

 

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[Lazz]

When the ladies are getting changed/ready for anything, GET OUT OF THE ROOM! Things seem to go much faster/easier when I head to the bar or casino while the ladies are showering and getting ready for dinner.

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

It worked well for us with few issues.

 

Thats good to hear.

 

 

Just out of curiosity, was it a financial issue that made you book a cabin for two adults and two teenage boys,

or

is it because of the parental supervision ?

 

I know some folks prefer to share a cabin, and pile them all in, because they dont want to leave the teenagers alone, which is most understandable.

 

People are prepared to put up with the cramped and uncomfortable conditions for the sake of having their kids around them at most times, which can only be a good thing.

 

But I like my comforts, and its *My* vacation.

So its fun, lots of room, and enjoyment.

 

.

 

 

 

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Edited February 4, 2015 by P&O Lynn Knickers
Lynn is lovely

[cruisegirl1]

Can you not ask for a second cabin for the teenagers ?

 

Go one, ask at the pursers desk and see will they give you a second cabin for free.

 

 

I think you should reconsider and book an extra cabin, or look for one for free on board.

.

 

Ask for a free cabin? Really? Hmmm wonder why more people don't do this!

 

Seriously, OP ---- It will be tight, but doable. The best advice I can give is to pack light, keep the room tidy, and take advantage of the showers in the spa/gym. You will also likely need a schedule for getting dressed.

 

I just read about leaving your clothes in the suitcase and putting it under the bed, sort of like using it as a drawer, and I think that is a terrific idea. Sometimes there is bedding under the bed, just you can ask your room attendant to remove it.

 

About 15 years ago we did two high school grads and two moms in one OV cabin. It was tight, but the cruise was only four days. The only rough time was getting ready for formal night. We worked it out with scheduling.

 

Also 20–25 years ago we sailed with our two kids in the same cabin. They were younger, not teenagers, but you still had to consider the limitations of the cabin. Cruising was much more expensive so you didn't get a cabin for the kids. There were also very few balcony cabins, those available were generally out of price range, so you had to make do with what you had. Keeping the room straightened is probably what saved us.

 

M

Good luck and enjoy the family vacation.

[dssking]

We've cruised numerous times with our 2 small children (from ages 3-10) and we didn't find the quarters to be cramped. Inside cabins all the time but made the best of it.

 

We agreed that it was small, however, how much time was spent inside? Not much. Getting ready and sleeping.

 

Lynn, I like your train of thought.

Edited February 4, 2015 by dssking

[MochaJava8125]

I just copy and pasted all of this information. My family of 4 (2- preteen girls) are leaving in 8 days for our very first cruise and I was wondering how we were going to fit.... but here is my thought...we are travelling on the Grandeur which has been hit twice with the Noro... I might call them today and see if anyone is rescheduling so we can upgrade to a larger room...

 

Maybe free rooms will be available if everyone is too afraid to cruise. ;););)

[heatherandfred]

Suppose you get one of those cabins where the toilets don't work! Happened to me in Australia! Got tired of running to the bathroom on a different deck.

 

Next cruise we do, when the boy is a teenager, will be a suite with his own bedroom.

 

 

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[bubba83]

But vacation time is about fun and romance.

No romance if the kids or teenagers are a foot away from you.

No privacy at all.

You can not have any "Mom and Pop's" time for doing some jiggy.

In my younger days, me and "Pops" were like rabbitts !

Its really about having the bit of fun and romance, and putting your relationship to good use.

 

I think you should reconsider and book an extra cabin, or look for one for free on board.

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

You can still have some romance without getting "Jiggy with it"

maybe they want to value the time with their adult kiddos and save the hanky panky for nights at home when their kids are out of the house...family vacations with the kids fall few and far in between once they get married and have their own lives....and there may be some alone time or do not disturb time they can squeeze in there to get jiggy with it if they desire to do so....

but, OP's post wasnt on how to get away with having sex with 4 people int he cabin...

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

I just copy and pasted all of this information.

 

Hope you didnt forget the part about the air freshener from the car :D

 

 

Next cruise we do, when the boy is a teenager, will be a suite with his own bedroom

 

Good on You.

 

 

 

 

When one is on vacation, one has to enjoy oneself and not feel stressed in a sardine can.

 

You and Papa, can wake up in the morning, have a light breakfast delivered to your cabin, and then have some adult time.

 

Not looking at a schedule to see who is in line first for the toilet.

 

Bliss.........................

 

 

Cruising is not the most expensive vacation, and its nice to relax with the family and have some "Private" time too .

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

Edited February 4, 2015 by P&O Lynn Knickers
Lynn is not a rabbitt

[P&O Lynn Knickers]

We are a family of 4 staying together in one stateroom. 2 adults and 2 teenagers. Does anyone have any helpful tips to help us with space' date=' storage, timing, etc[/b'].

 

but, OP's post wasnt on how to get away with having sex with 4 people int he cabin...

 

The OP looked for helpful tips with space, storage, timing, etc.

My contrubution was for timing and etc.

 

 

I did not mention about adult themes with four people in the cabin,

You mentioned it, but I can confirm that it is possible.

 

I have to admit, its been a while, and happened on the Nordic Empress.

Miami to Bahamas on one of those weekend cruises.

 

We did have a great night.

Never met the other couple again, but they were very nice.

 

 

Anyhow, back to the topic. I think a cabin for four adults (mom, Dad and two teenage boys) is cramped and maybe they should reconsider ?

 

 

 

 

.

.

Edited February 4, 2015 by P&O Lynn Knickers