1st Time Cruisers -- Help! We are a family of 5!

[kc&dmom]

I am dreaming of a 7day Disney Cruise in celebration of our 10th anniversary. We are looking at next February or May and plan on taking along our little darlings who will be DD's 8 & 6 and DS 5!

So the big question ----
One Category 4 Room or 2 connecting Category 10 rooms? Hard to believe but we will save around $450 on the two rooms over the Category 4 room. Any advice? This will be our very first time on any cruise. Will we miss not having a verandah?? The extra space and second bath sound handy but I am sort of nervous about the kids have an "escape door" of their own Thanks!

 

[4407mark]

kc&dmom - the verandah is nice and we really enjoy the short amount of time we spent there. DSs, then 8 and 7, enjoyed the view and being able to watch the ship move. If cost is an issue, you won't miss the verandah. There's so much to do and you can always go out on deck (just think of it as a huge verandah). Am not sure about the Magic but I know on the Wonder, we really enjoyed the secret verandah on Deck 7. It's just a small, out of the way place that not many folks know about aal the way aft.

For as little time as you may spend in the room, it may not be worth the extra $$$ - Have a great trip!!!

 

[MindydLeon]

no matter which way you go ... I don't think you can go wrong! Afterall, it is a Disney Cruise!!! I would personally take the Category 4 ... main reason would be the ages of the kids ... I would just prefer sharing the room because of they are still relatively young. Although for an anniversary cruise having some space to yourself seems like it could make the cruise even more MAGICal ... but then again the kids will probably be living at the clubs anyway ... geez ... I'm just no help at all am I? Well the split baths are great and the verandah is definitely a plus ... I guess after all of that, I'm right back where I started ... no matter which way you go ... I don't think you can go wrong! Afterall, it is a Disney Cruise!!!

Oh where, Oh where has the Tag Fairy gone? Oh where, Oh where can she/he be?

 

[hilltopfamily]

I'll add my 2 cents worth....

We are also family of 5 (me, DH, DD 12, DS 9, DD 6) and we had the same question when we booked our first-ever cruise for this summer (booked back in Jan. )

I looked at many threads regarding this, asked lots of questions, and decided on 2 connecting cat. 10's. In regards to the family suite w/veranda, many people wrote about the inaccessability of the veranda when the bed was out for the 5th person (evidently pretty much blocks off entrance/exit to veranda making it unuseable whenever kids sleeping---such as in the morning, nap time, or later in the evening--just the times you would want some quiet time watching the ocean).

Also, decided a 2nd bathroom was A MUST. We could not do without it at home and certainly couldn't on the trip as we will most likely all need to be getting ready at same times. And the additional square feet/room space w/2 rooms seemed like a more relaxing way to spend time, although I realize we likely won't be in our room all that much.

Just my thoughts on the subject, others will feel differently. Hope whatever you decide works best for your family.

 

[eye R.N.]

and been very happy. All you need to do is tell the cabin steward and they will arrange for the connecting door to stay open, so you could hear any escape attempts.

The two bathrooms are a big advantage.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

Are you sure you would only save $450? We saved $2000 booking two category 10 rooms next summer over one category 4. We booked in early April through DU. And we got connecting SPH rooms!
Robin M.

 

[dave&kim]

Our experience with a family of five. We would spend time in the room and I think this was due to the tranquility of the verandah. We would order the fruit and cheese plate from room service and spend some time outside in the evenings with a glass of wine.
More importantly for us the catagory 4 room gave allowed us quick and easy access to deck 9, 10 and the drink station above us without having to use the elevators! All cat 4 rooms are on deck 8. Hope this helps.

 

[tezb]

We are family of 5 and this will be our 3rd cruise. The first 2 cruises we had Cat 4 and our boys were older but ages (15, 13 & 9. It worked fine for us but still crowded at times. Also I would hear my older ones come in late at night and it woke me each time. This time we decided the boys are older/bigger (17, 15, 11) and we are getting 2 rooms...but ours has a verandah and theirs is Cat 11, right across from us. Looking forward to the 2 bathrooms and extra space. Being that your kids are young, the Cat 4 will be fine I think but if you can save a lot of money, I would go w/ that. Either way, you will like it. However, I think if you start out your first cruise w/ 2 rooms, you will not want to ever do the Cat 4...you will be spoiled already.

 

[joyfull]

I decided to check into the additional room in Cat 10. We had a Cat 8 but I decided that if the price was right I would prefer two rooms. My Kidos are 13 and 14 but they are as big as adults. I just couldn't see us packed into one room. It was only going to cost us $80.00 more to get additional room. I booked the two rooms and have had a smile on my face ever since! Every time I think of my hubby and I having our own room I get so happy. When I broke the news to the kids....they cheered! I guess they didn't want to be packed in like sardines either....

 

[fred ferdlap]

We are a family of five, DD12,10 and ds 2.

2 rooms one veranda and one inside across the hall..

2 rooms means 2 showers after returning from the beach/port. 2 TV's at night, 2 bath rooms, 2 closets, 2 sinks.

We keep the little guy with us and use a baby monitor between rooms. Also use the inside cabin for nap time. The little guy goes down and can sleep soundly while we are across the hall listening with the baby monitor. Otherwise he would never get a nap.

We pick deck 5 for low traffic and noise.

 

[kc&dmom]

I think DH and I would probably love the category 4 -- if we were traveling alone. I guess I thought of it like staying onsite at one of the deluxe resorts -- while the kids napped or went to sleep we would sit on the balcony and enjoy. Having to climb over them to get to sleep would sort of defeat the purpose. We've always managed on vacation in one room --- but this time I think we have nothing lose and a few hundred to gain in two rooms.

I think we are a few years away from letting the kids stay across the hall -- but that would be a great solution when our youngest hits about 12. So two connecting inside rooms for us! Thanks for the input!

 

[MFan]

We're a family of 5 (DS6, DD3 & DD2). When we cruised on the 5/10 Western, we booked 2 connecting cat 10s and loved them. One benefit implied but not explicitly mentioned by others is you'll gain private times. Our kids slept in one and we in the other. We brought a baby monitor with us, so after the kids fell asleep at nights, we would close one of the connecting doors temporarily for some private, romantic time.

One caution about those connecting doors. The cabin steward usually provide you with wooden pegs to prop them open. However, if you have little ones like I do, you need to be REALLY careful using them. They are held in place by the tension of the doors. If your little one lean/push against a door for balance as they walk by, the peg will fall out and the door will try to slam shut. I shudder to think what that will do to my DD2 or anyone's fingers that happened to be in the jamb. You should insist that the cabin steward provide you with the type of door stopper that jambs under the door. The kind that you commonly see in offices. They are sloping rubber/wood pieces that jambs between the bottom of the doors and floor/ground. They are much safer and harder to dislodge by little ones (especially if you kick it tightly against the door). Anyways, that's my safety tip for the day...

 

[patches-4]

ANOTHER THING YOU MIGHT USE IS A FOLDED TOWEL OVER THE TOP OF THE DOOR, THEY DID THIS IN THE HOSPITAL RECENTLY OVER THE SUPPLY DOOR SO IT WOULDN'T BANG AT NIGHT. DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOUR KIDS BUT MINE WOULD HAVE TAKEN THE DOORSTOP OUT AND CLOSED THE DOOR JUST FOR THE FUN OF SEING HOW LONG IT TOOK MOM AND DAD TO FIND THEIR EXTRA ROOM KEY AND OPEN THE OTHER DOOR!!!