Getaway Family of 5 in one state room ! helpful tips needed!!

[Miamilisa]

Hi, hoping that people will share room tips with me as the only way we could afford to take our 3 kids was to take advantage of a family stateroom. We are taking the Getaway in January out of Miami and I am desperately seeking advice for packing and how to use our limited space in the cabin wisely. storage?

thanks!

[cruzsnooze]

Hi, hoping that people will share room tips with me as the only way we could afford to take our 3 kids was to take advantage of a family stateroom. We are taking the Getaway in January out of Miami and I am desperately seeking advice for packing and how to use our limited space in the cabin wisely. storage?

thanks!

 

What family stateroom? If it's the two bedroom one then you're fine. If it's a regular cabin, good luck and I hope you'll still be talking to each other after this cruise.

[candycaramel]

Its not that serious. I traveled with my family of 5 in an inside on carnival. Stuff was everywhere. It was small and crowded but it was a memory to cherish. Hubby kept all his stuff in the suitcase and didn't unpack. the cabin steward came everyday and made beds and freshened the bathroom. Everybody can't and doesn't need to stay in a mega super deluxe private owners haven cabin to have an eenjoyable cruise. Bon voyage.

Edited September 22, 2015 by candycaramel

[mommyto3nj]

We did five in one room on DCL and let me tell you it was crazy, but we are doing it again on the Breakaway in 40 days :) So it couldn't be too bad!

[crp46]

How old are the kids?

 

We did a family balcony room on the Gem 2 years ago and it was fine. However, my kids were 18 and 20 at the time and their schedule was different than ours. We like to get up early and do stuff all day and go to bed after dinner and the shows around 11. They liked to stay up til 2 or 3am and then sleep in until 10. They slept in the twin beds and we slept on the pull out couch.

 

The following year we went on Carnival and they had an inside room and we had an outside room. They spent most their time in our room anyway but for us it was nicer.

 

We leave on Sunday on the Breakaway and again are sharing a room except this time we get the bed and they have bunk beds. They are 21 and 23 now.

 

No matter how messy the rooms gets or how cramped you get, the experience is one you and they will cherish forever.

 

Have a great trip!

[chanthor13]

We are a family of 5 sailing on a family OV room on the Breakaway in a month's time. I think its the same size as on the Getaway.

 

We are old pros as we always stay in one room on cruises. Sometimes, we've been spoiled and managed to snag the large family rooms that Celebrity and RCL reserves for large families. But we've also stayed in small, dark interior staterooms. We've even been complimented by many attendants that we are very tidy. WE ARE NOT TIDY PEOPLE WHEN AT HOME! LOL.

 

The key is to pack light and be organized. The 2 adults are allowed a large suitcase and the kids each have a small carry-on size rolling suitcase. The empty suitcases are stowed under the beds or in the closet. Shoes are kept in the closet when not in use. Dirty laundry gets thrown in one suitcase at a time, makes sense to keep this in the closet or near the bathroom. When full, the dirty laundry suitcase gets stored all the way in, under the bed, and another empty one comes out in rotation. 3 pairs of shoes max per person are allowed.

 

In the early days we would bring one of those over the door organizers for all of our misc crap. Now, I find that we don't have much crap... and there are enough cubbies, shelves and drawers for all the little things.

 

It helps to have different shower schedules, too. The girls like to shower at night and the boys shower in the morning.

 

Good luck.

[dijid]

We've even been complimented by many attendants that we are very tidy. WE ARE NOT TIDY PEOPLE WHEN AT HOME! LOL.

 

The key is to pack light and be organized. The 2 adults are allowed a large suitcase and the kids each have a small carry-on size rolling suitcase. The empty suitcases are stowed under the beds or in the closet. Shoes are kept in the closet when not in use. Dirty laundry gets thrown in one suitcase at a time, makes sense to keep this in the closet or near the bathroom. When full, the dirty laundry suitcase gets stored all the way in, under the bed, and another empty one comes out in rotation. 3 pairs of shoes max per person are allowed.

Good luck.

 

You guys sound like us. Except that we still bring the shoe holder. (Girls and all their lotions and potions and hair stuff...) We've cruised Carnival with all of us in one room and will be doing NCL next year with all of us in an interior on the Sun.

 

If you have someone in your room who snores, you might want to bring ear plugs for everyone else. It seems to be more of a problem in a cruise cabin (vs regular hotel room) because your heads are all just feet away.

 

A power strip is a must if everyone has an electronic device to charge at the same time. Book lights are good for those that wish to read after some have started to go to sleep.

 

Sometimes there are showers in the gym. Boys can use those. Also helps to identify the closest public restroom to your stateroom as soon as you get on board for that "emergency" when someone has to go and a sibling won't let them in.

 

Don't sweat it too much. It's a tight fit, but as long as you plan on spending most of the day in your room, it's not a huge issue.

[Miamilisa]

Thanks

[Miamilisa]

Thanks! It's going to be an adventure but the only way we can afford to do it!

[Miamilisa]

Power strip! Perfect idea!,thanks!

[wilmingtech]

We are a family of 6.

 

Shower in the Gym worked great for Me and my son (7yo). It was a little crazy with the 3 girls and Mom sharing the bathroom.

 

The kids each had a roller bag and lived out of them and stored them under the bed. The adults used the drawers. So they would slide out the bag, take out what they need and slide it back under the bed. Worked great. Just kept a large plastic bag for dirty clothes and that lived in the closet. If the kids left any clothes out they would get thrown in the dirty clothes bag. So the older girls were good about putting things away.

We spent very little time in the room.

 

We did not use a over the door shoe holder but I could see where that may be useful. The kids packed 5 days of clothes (mostly shorts and T-shirts) 2 swimsuits each and a light jacket and 2 pairs of PJs for each of the kids. Plus all the commodities that come along with the girls. We had each brought a pair of sneakers, flip flops and nice shoes.

 

Kept it simple and had a great time. We cruised in February to the Carribean out of Port Canaveral and it did get cold on one or two of the sea days at night.

 

-Sean

[Miamilisa]

We plan on spending our time out of the room most of the time....kids are 10, 12, 16.

thanks!

[Miamilisa]

great suggestions! Thanks Sean.

[luvmylilangels]

Not sure if you saw this video of the cabin:

 

It will give you a nice visual of what to expect.

 

She also did another video of the bathroom here:

[MJSailors]

Wow- five in a cabin!

However, from reading some of the posts,it can be done.

I think it takes flexibility,a positive attitude and cooperation.

Being that NCL has a casual atmosphere for their cruises, I would pack light ,wear outfits more than once and limit shoes, toiletries and gear such as electronic gadgets, sports equipment etc.

Taking plastic trash bags along for dirty clothes and stowing suitcases under the bed can be helpful.

Hope you have a good cruise!

[rogue 35]

We stayed in the Oceanview Family Rooms on Breakaway, should be identical to Getaway. There is a good bit of storage, large closet by the main bed with shelves and hangers. Smaller "coat" closet between the two sleeping areas. some great suggestions above including, storing bags under the bed and bring a power strip.

 

One FYI, limiting # of Shoes is a good idea, but make sure everybody has at least on pair of "closed" toe shoes (i.e. sneakers) if they want to use the ropes course.