5 in a cat 5 room?

[mamagoggle]

I am in the midst of planning a cruise for our entire extended family and I noticed when getting a quote on the DCL website that a family of 5 must book a cat 4 or above unless they choose to get 2 lower category staterooms. My brother and sister-in-law will have 3 children ages 7, 5 and 19 months by the time we cruise. The little guy will certainly be easy to fit in a bed with them or a sibling or in a crib. The rest of us were planning on getting cat 5 rooms on Deck 7, but if they have to get a cat 4 room, they won't even be on our deck. Is an infant really considered a "5th" cruiser? Should we book him in the room with Grandma and Grandpa and then let him squeeze in with his own family anyway?

 

[thatmom]

Hi,
We did that with at least two kids in our group. The cabins that only had two each took one child. When we are on the ship they will be with their families. You just need to make sure that they can all be where they want to be at dinner. Our TA handled this for us. Well at least we were told that its all taken care of. I'll let you know when we get back. Seven more days and we board the Ship. Also you have to make sure you get the tips to the right people.
thatmom

 

[reveric]

Hi mamagoogle!

To your question if an infant is really considered a 5th cruiser the answer is yes. DCL definately includes infants in the room totals so if your brothers family all wanted to be booked into one room then they would need to get a category 4.

However you are correct in thinking that one of the children could be booked into a room with grandma and grandpa.

 

[mad4themouse]

Keep in mind that a Cat. 5 is meant for 4 people and will only have 4 lifejackets. If the little guy gets squeezed in with his family instead of staying with Grandma and Grandpa, make sure the life vest gets moved with him and returned to the grandparent's cabin when the cruise is over.

 

[aprilgail2]

Originally posted by mad4themouse
Keep in mind that a Cat. 5 is meant for 4 people and will only have 4 lifejackets.

When we took our Disney cruise last May there were at least 7 life vest in our closet, may have been more but I know we put on the 3 for the drill and there was a stack of them left in our closet still....

 

[CathyCanada]

For safety reasons (lifeboat occupancy), infants are counted as a passenger even though they don't pay voyage fares.

I'm not sure that squeezing him in with the family is a good idea. It will be very tight and it is tight already. Would Grandma and Grandpa object to one of the other kids bunking with them? I'm sure the child won't mind, it would be like a sleepover. You could get connecting rooms so that Mom and Dad are nearby anyway.

Just my 2 cents.
Cathy

 

[mamagoggle]

Thank you for all of your suggestions. I hadn't even thought about life jackets. I'm sure we'll be able to work something out without having to be on separate decks. Sounds like a "sleepover" is the way to go.