cruise cabins for four.

[4774Papa]

I have been trying to convince my son and his family (2 adults and 2 kids) to vacation with us on a cruise, likely in the Caribbean.

 

He wants to rent a house near the beach on the NC Outer Banks.   Last time we did that a few years ago, the rent for the house for a week was $4500.   

I told him that we could all do a cruise for about the same money.

 

My wife and I have cruised once with our adult daughter with NCL in an aft balcony.  We managed OK with three in the cabin, but I can't imagine doing a cabin with four persons.

 

If my Son has to get two cabins, then the cost would go up significantly.    We could split the kids and have one in our cabin.

 

Are there any larger cabins on RCL ships that could easily handle four persons?   Would a suite be the only viable option?    Suites would up the price as well.

[PolicromaSol]

Search for "extra spacious ocean view" and see which cabins have that. These have one of the regular "splittable" beds, a sleeper sofa, and bunk beds hidden in a corner for two kids. Some have it all in one room, some have multiple rooms and a very large living space. These rooms aren't considered "suites" even if they have multiple rooms however. Yeah, sorry, don't really have an explanation for that.

[cyntil8ing]

You didn't mention the kids ages, but cruising with two littles isn't that bad, depending on the cabin of course. Here are two examples from our cruises, first a balcony with a pullman and the sofa as a bed, second an inside with two pullmans. Neither were awful, but the kids were small. They're teens now, so we get two cabins.

 

 

 

But honestly, comparing the cost of renting a house to a cruise is simply unfair. The house doesn't come with all your meals, all your entertainment, staff to cook and clean for you, entertainers to well, entertain you, kids clubs to keep the kids busy so the adults can relax, etc. 

 

Not to get all sexist, but I find it's mostly men who make this cost comparison, discounting that renting a house means all the housework continues; it just takes place elsewhere. 

[Kellie in Texas]

We've cruised several times with the four of us in one cabin. Yes, it's crowded but completely do-able. Rule #1 is don't leave your shoes in the middle of the floor.  🙂

[shipgeeks]

We've seen cabins set up like the last photo above, except with the adult bed separated into two twins, under the bunks, to make coming and going easier for all.  The bunks come down from the ceiling.  A deck plan with a notation of "sleeps four" should indicate how many there are.  I believe there are insides and OVs.

[Vacationdreamer<><]

I’ve cruised multiple lines with four to a room and have found it wholly comfortable.  We spend very little time in the stateroom anyway. We’ve always had a room like the first image.  
 

we’ve also done plenty of beach vacations and we firmly prefer the cruises (and they are typically more relaxing and cheaper).

[davekathy]

One bathroom, cramped space, limited closet and drawer space. No thanks. 😲

Edited December 12, 2022 by davekathy

[PolicromaSol]

2 hours ago, Kellie in Texas said:

We've cruised several times with the four of us in one cabin. Yes, it's crowded but completely do-able. Rule #1 is don't leave your shoes in the middle of the floor.  🙂

Why do I get the feeling this rule came from somebody's shoes getting jumped on? LOL

[FamilyCruiserUK]

We had four of us, three asults 1 child in a family inside on Oasis. Lots of room, seperate bunk beds, queen bed and a sofa bed as room can sleep 6. But they book out fast. 

[taglovestocruise]

3 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

I have been trying to convince my son and his family (2 adults and 2 kids) to vacation with us on a cruise, likely in the Caribbean.

 

He wants to rent a house near the beach on the NC Outer Banks.   Last time we did that a few years ago, the rent for the house for a week was $4500.   

I told him that we could all do a cruise for about the same money.

 

My wife and I have cruised once with our adult daughter with NCL in an aft balcony.  We managed OK with three in the cabin, but I can't imagine doing a cabin with four persons.

 

If my Son has to get two cabins, then the cost would go up significantly.    We could split the kids and have one in our cabin.

 

Are there any larger cabins on RCL ships that could easily handle four persons?   Would a suite be the only viable option?    Suites would up the price as well.

Unless he books under a kids sail free promo two cabins with two  are not much more than one cabin with four. 

[Merion_Mom]

I agree with the family/spacious oceanview.  These are generally all the way forward.  Look for them on the deck plans.

[4774Papa]

3 hours ago, cyntil8ing said:

You didn't mention the kids ages, but cruising with two littles isn't that bad, depending on the cabin of course. Here are two examples from our cruises, first a balcony with a pullman and the sofa as a bed, second an inside with two pullmans. Neither were awful, but the kids were small. They're teens now, so we get two cabins.

 

 

 

But honestly, comparing the cost of renting a house to a cruise is simply unfair. The house doesn't come with all your meals, all your entertainment, staff to cook and clean for you, entertainers to well, entertain you, kids clubs to keep the kids busy so the adults can relax, etc. 

 

Not to get all sexist, but I find it's mostly men who make this cost comparison, discounting that renting a house means all the housework continues; it just takes place elsewhere. 

Good point,

I am the one that pays for all our vacations (wife and self) and aware that cruising includes much more than just lodging.  Of course, if you take excursions/tours, then more $$$ can add up.

 

My Son and his wife are still working, of course, they are in their 40s.   We are in our 70s and live on an island in South Georgia near the beach.   We almost never go to the beach unless we have visitors.

Going to a beach house and splitting the cost sees a little like a waste to me, but for a family vacation with  kids, I understand it is a way to relax.   Heck, we relax all the times since we are retired, so when we travel, we want to do more than lay on the beach and read.

 

Still, if he wants to do the beach  house, we will go and enjoy the family company.

[cyntil8ing]

54 minutes ago, 4774Papa said:

Still, if he wants to do the beach  house, we will go and enjoy the family company.

 

Good for you! I miss traveling with my folks. They're both gone now, but we did a handful of cruises together. We had the opposite issue -- they owned a beach house and wanted us to come there. I didn't see it as a vacation because I still had to meal plan, grocery shop, make sure the laundry got done and the dishes were washed (even if I didn't have to do everything myself, I was still "responsible"). It took me years to convince them to cruise, but then they saw the value in it. They even cruised without us a few times.

[4774Papa]

44 minutes ago, cyntil8ing said:

 

Good for you! I miss traveling with my folks. They're both gone now, but we did a handful of cruises together. We had the opposite issue -- they owned a beach house and wanted us to come there. I didn't see it as a vacation because I still had to meal plan, grocery shop, make sure the laundry got done and the dishes were washed (even if I didn't have to do everything myself, I was still "responsible"). It took me years to convince them to cruise, but then they saw the value in it. They even cruised without us a few times.

Interesting, I love travel and have rarely taken a trip that was to stay in one place and chill.

 

Another thing, grandchildren are 8 and 14 and they love the beach.  Yes, they would like cruising, but there is the hassle of driving to a port (some distance away) getting COVID tests for everyone, etc.

[Ashland]

1 hour ago, Merion_Mom said:

I agree with the family/spacious oceanview.  These are generally all the way forward.  Look for them on the deck plans.

Also the Radiance class has a nice two/bdrm/bath that was the old CL. We had extended family in one of those and it was a great cabin with suite perks.

[Ashland]

Just now, 4774Papa said:

Interesting, I love travel and have rarely taken a trip that was to stay in one place and chill.

 

Another thing, grandchildren are 8 and 14 and they love the beach.  Yes, they would like cruising, but there is the hassle of driving to a port (some distance away) getting COVID tests for everyone, etc.

No covid test required any longer.

[4774Papa]

Just now, Ashland said:

No covid test required any longer.

We have a Royal C. transatlantic on Odyssey of the Seas in April 2023 and a COVID test was required.  Has Royal changed the policy or is that just for shorter cruises?

[Ashland]

3 minutes ago, 4774Papa said:

We have a Royal C. transatlantic on Odyssey of the Seas in April 2023 and a COVID test was required.  Has Royal changed the policy or is that just for shorter cruises?

Perhaps the policy is different for the TA's...sorry I was assuming a different itinerary.

[resetjet]

ultra spacious ocean view as well.  Huge cabins on some ships.  

These days its not a ton more to rent 2 rooms with 2 to a room vs 4 in one room.

[Brehede]

Hi - we cruised for a week with 4 (including 2 older teens) in a cabin and it was completely fine, we spent v little time in the cabin.  As someone else mentioned though - I was pricing for this summer and found out that we could get 2 cabins for the same price as 1 - price is a lot more though than summer 2019!

[The Fun Researcher]

Any of those rooms that hold 5 or more are going to be even more costly per person.

 

We've always bit the bullet and gotten two connecting (normally inside) cabins.  Some ships have very few of them so you have to book early or double check before everyone books.

 

By booking two cabins you will be paying full price for all four of them, but if all go in one cabin then typically the 3rd and 4th are each half the cost of the first two persons.

 

The huge benefit of the two connecting rooms is the two full bathrooms, and the overall space feels a lot bigger even though it's just a small connecting door that is open between cabins.

 

Having said that, sleeping four in one cabin wouldn't be a deal breaker for us.  I would do that for sure, but the problem is we're a family of 5 so it wouldn't work anyway and now the kids are older (15, 18, 21)

Dan

[Kellie in Texas]

3 hours ago, PolicromaSol said:

Why do I get the feeling this rule came from somebody's shoes getting jumped on? LOL

Haha, no, it's more to avoid the tripping hazard. 🙂

[lilyhammer]

The family cabins that hold 6 are great options, but there are not that many on each ship and they tend to sell out fast. For a family of 4, I'd recommend looking at 2 cabins (like two inside connecting cabins if price is paramount). Often the price of 2 cabins isn't much more than 1 cabin that holds 4. There are a lot more cabins that hold 2 vs ones that hold 3 and 4, so the 3 and 4 people cabins have a higher MSRP and sell out faster, especially during peak periods.

 

If the kids are little, it's really hard to all stay in one cabin when they go to bed so early. It's much nicer to be able to close the adjoining door and still be able to stay up and enjoy your cabin.

 

If the kids are older, some rooms for 4 just have a sofabed that they need to share and that could be an issue (space wise and whether they want to sleep next to each other).

[ONECRUISER]

10 hours ago, cyntil8ing said:

 

 

 

When we had 2 Pullmans as shown we split the regular/Lower bed making it into 2 Bunk Beds. Lot more room walk around and between this way

Edited December 12, 2022 by ONECRUISER

[nascarcruiser]

7 hours ago, PolicromaSol said:

Why do I get the feeling this rule came from somebody's shoes getting jumped on? LOL

Or tripped over 🤣