Sharing Cabin with Children

[HappySeasAhoy]

I've cruised over 10 times but never with children.  My new girlfriend has two young children (7 & 8).  She has never been on a cruise.  I would like to understand the pros and cons of everyone staying in one cabin vs. two cabins, aside from the cost.  I'm not even sure if its allowed for children of that age.

 

Just the general thought of four people staying in a tiny cabin is a bit off-putting for me, even if it was a suite.  I'm really leaning for the two cabins.

 

I could list out all the things I can think of on my own, but I'd rather just hear from those who have experienced it.  Thanks for your responses.

[Essiesmom]

Have you ever traveled away for a night or two with them, staying in a hotel?  Did you get an extra room for them?  Connecting rooms, with a connecting inside door?  
Depending on cruise line, ship, and type of cabin, those kids may be sharing a pullout couch or upper bunks if the four of you share a cabin.  If you go for two cabins, make sure they have the interior connecting door.  You would have to book one of you in each cabin, and it would depend on the comfort ,even of you and their mom whether they sleep in the second cabin with the door open.  With kids that young I certainly wouldn’t do balcony cabins.  Just my opinion.  EM

[GeezerCouple]

9 minutes ago, HappySeasAhoy said:

I've cruised over 10 times but never with children.  My new girlfriend has two young children (7 & 8).  She has never been on a cruise.  I would like to understand the pros and cons of everyone staying in one cabin vs. two cabins, aside from the cost.  I'm not even sure if its allowed for children of that age.

 

Just the general thought of four people staying in a tiny cabin is a bit off-putting for me, even if it was a suite.  I'm really leaning for the two cabins.

 

I could list out all the things I can think of on my own, but I'd rather just hear from those who have experienced it.  Thanks for your responses.

 

Welcome to CruiseCritic!

Also please see the "Family Cruising" section for more specific discussions:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/28-family-cruises/

 

What is often suggested is to get two INTERNALLY CONNECTING cabins (so one does *not* need to go into the hallway to move between rooms - this is important!).

Register with one adult and one child in each cabin.

 

Once you are on board, you can keep the connecting door open all the time (especially with younger children, etc.), and do what is usually done at home... 2 adults in one bedroom, 2 children in the other.

 

I'd also suggest bringing a bell of some sort and put it on the children's cabin door to the hallway.  Then, IF they try to open it (perhaps in error, perhaps out of curiousity, or ...? 😉 ) you'll hear it, and can go check promptly.

 

There are also some suites where there are either 2 bedrooms (often one very small one for children) plus a real Living Room space, or where the LR can be made up with beds (e.g., sleep sofa).

 

Enjoy!

 

GC

[edinburgher]

3 hours ago, HappySeasAhoy said:

I would like to understand the pros and cons of everyone staying in one cabin vs. two cabins, aside from the cost

Two cabins means double the storage space and  TWO bathrooms instead of one!😀

Edited April 13 by edinburgher

[mjkacmom]

We always gotconnecting balconies with our 5 kids (youngest were 4 on our first cruise, no problem with balconies). 

[MacMadame]

On my last cruise, we brought our two kids, one 8 and one 1 year. We got an inside cabin that slept 4 and it was bigger than any I've been in that slept 2. It was 184 sq. ft. and had a queen bed, a sleeper sofa, and a bunk.

 

We had a great time as we were only in our cabin to change clothes and sleep.

 

ETA this was a Disney Cruise. Not sure if that made a difference in the cabin size.

Edited April 13 by MacMadame

[Noledad77]

For 2 adults and 2 children (who are not toddlers), a balcony room would suffice. If you really want the room to spread out some, I'd agree that the connecting rooms are a good call as well. Our first cruise, we did 2 connecting cabins and that worked out great. Granted, I have 4 kids and not just 2, so my wife was in one with the girls and I was in the other with our boys. Amazingly, I didn't get kicked at all. Hmm...

Whatever you choose, I hope you have a great time!

[ldubs]

We have done an inside cabin with two kids.  It is crowded.  It was fun.   Kind of like camping in a four person tent.   

[SelectSys]

When my kids were young at that age 7 & 9 for us, we got a single large balcony cabin.  As they got older - maybe when the youngest turned 10 - we "graduated" to adjoining rooms.  This was nice as we had more space and another bathroom. Our favorite situation was when we could get an adjoining cabin with one balcony and one ocean view.

Edited April 15 by SelectSys

[wcook]

On 4/13/2024 at 2:36 PM, Essiesmom said:

With kids that young I certainly wouldn’t do balcony cabins.

The great thing about balcony cabins with young kids is you can usually fit a pacnplay on the balcony.