family of 5

[tbell27]

Hello all. I was just reading the thread about table seating and saw that many of you, like us, are a family of 5. Do all of you fit in one stateroom or do you have to book 2? In the "real world" we sometimes find it difficult to find hotels that sleep us all in one room (no more CBR). What works on the ships?

thanks

 

[Rock'n Robin]

You will need to book either two rooms at a lower category or one room in a category 4 or higher. Those are the only rooms that hold 5. We booked one last summer on DVC points and it was very nice; however for cash customers many choose to book two connecting category 10 rooms (cat. 11 and 12 do not have connecting rooms) for their families. This also gives you more bathroom space.
This year we all have cat. 6 rooms, but DS is staying in Grandma and Grandpa's room.
Robin M.

 

[kcashner]

It's totally up to you. For a family of 5, you will need at least a Cat. 4. Depending on season and your desires, it is frequently cheaper to book 2 lower cabins. You can choose to have adjoining cabins or across the hall from each other.

The advantage of 2 cabins is that you will double your bathroom space. With 5 people, that can be a nice perk. You will also have more room in 2 category 12s than in one category 4 (ditto any higher cabin.)

That said, you do pay adult rates for the first 2 passengers in any cabin. Depending on age of passengers, etc. it can be nice and cost effective to book one of the suites for a large family. It really is a matter of how much you want to pay for the "space."

 

[val2001]

My sister booked two connecting category 10 rooms for our trip in June. It was cheaper than booking one higher-grade category cabin and this way they'll have 2 bathrooms.

 

[CheapMom]

I wish they would make it easier for a family of 5 to afford the cruise. Once you add that 5th person the price jumps like mad. It would be great if they had an inside cabin that slept 5.
PS: Same thing at WDW- accomodations for 5 are limited.

 

[tbell27]

I totally agree. When we had our last child I was amazed at how often 5 just didn't fit. I was especially disappointed that Disney, the family entertainer did nothing to accomodate 5 at a value price. Now, when going to WDW we stay of grounds. sigh..................

 

[MiaSRN62]

Another family of 5 here that understands the frustration involved with the hotel/travel/cruise industry. We chose two cat 10 connecting for this trip over the cat 4. The cat 4 would have cost us more, but it really wasn't the issue of the money. We wanted more room and the extra bathroom and we're getting it for about $1K less ! My kids are 11, 13 & 17. My 17y ds is adult size---bigger than my dh. I just felt a single cat 4 room would be too cramped. I just didn't feel the verandah was worth that extra amount. It just didn't make financial sense for us---I can think of alot of other ways to spend that $1K.

 

[paulinewdw]

We are bookind in August of 2004, and we booked a Cat 4. I have to admit that we did use our DVC points, so actual cost was not in the formula. My three boys are 13, 9, and 7. But I sure know how difficult it is to book hotel rooms. Last year on the drive down we couldn't find a hotel room for five(no cots available). We ended sleeping in the car in a Walmart parking lot, because DH and I could not drive anymore! This year we bought a portable infale a bed, so we should avoid that problem!

 

[MiaSRN62]

Last year on the drive down we couldn't find a hotel room for five(no cots available). We ended sleeping in the car in a Walmart parking lot, because DH and I could not drive anymore!

Too funny Pauline, because this same thing happened to us this past summer ! We ended up sleeping in a rest stop parking lot in North Carolina. That was a horrible night.....I can't believe how many hotels we stopped at. Either no rooms at all, or the sleeping arrangements weren't adequate. Very frustrating.

 

[hydster]

and find it so hard to take the kids with us anywhere we go because there are not many places equipped to handle 5 people. We did the land/sea and stayed in the Poly. It was a nice room and big enough for the 5 of us but the price was outrageous. On dcl we got the cat 4 stateroom and it felt very cramped and our kids are small. They were 9,7 and 3 at the time of that sailing. After that cruise we had booked an additional 3 days at POR because they have rooms with 2 queen beds and a trundle. Just big enough for our family and not as expensive as Poly or GF. For this cruise we booked the POR again and then we booked 2 connecting cat 8's. I am really excited to have 2 rooms and 2 bathrooms with a door in the middle. Our kids are now 10, 9 and 5 so I think it is about right for them to have a room and us to have another room with the door in between. Having to get 2 rooms usually isnt even a problem it's getting them that connect lately we have had a hard time doing. It really stinks when you add 1 more person to your family and you get almost punished for it.

I totally feel your pain!
Heidi

 

[CheapMom]

Hi Hydster-
I am going on the 3 day cruise and staying in a room you stayed in once 8550- am I right?
Anyway- If we go on the 7 night cruise we will probably book to cat 11 or 12 next door or across from 1 another. We chose the cat 4 on the 3 day cruise because it is our 1st cruise and we are celebrating our anniversary, and connecting cat 10's were only about $300 less. On the 7 day the savings is much greater so we won't do cat 4 again.

 

[hydster]

Yep we stayed in 8550 for the 4 day cruise and swore we'd never do it again. It was tolerable for the 4 day cruise and probably even more so for the 3 day cruise but I couldnt see us there for 7 days. We got the connecting cabins because our kids are so young and we dont feel comfortable with them across the hall but eventually we will do that. We felt really cramped in the family suite and we know why they did the murphy bed like they did but it sure did making going on the balcony in the morning while the kids slept impossible. There wasnt enough space to get around the murphy bed and get the door open without crawling almost literally on top of the bed so we would just sit in bed and wait for the kids to wake up. At least this way we can shut the connecting doors a little bit and watch out the porthole window. It would have been nice to get our room with a balcony and the kids without one but we cant do that just yet with our oldest being only 10.

Hope you have better luck in 8550 than we did!

Heidi

 

[CheapMom]

I saw your complaints about the noise and I did a search on 8550, some people complained that it was noisy and others had no problem- who knows what makes the difference. Anyway, fingers crossed that we will like it. I am not very picky. I don't think any amount of noise could bother me as long as I know for 3 days I don't have to cook, clean or carpool!!!!

 

[hydster]

Cheap---I hope you have a GREAT Experience in that room and hopefully it was just our sailing that was so noisy. Like you I could tolerate it especially for only a few days and it meaning I didnt have to cook either....but I sure hope you have a better experience!

 

[MiaSRN62]

After that cruise we had booked an additional 3 days at POR because they have rooms with 2 queen beds and a trundle. Just big enough for our family and not as expensive as Poly or GF.

Heidi ~
It's actually two double beds, but I'm sure they felt like queen beds after feeling so cramped in your cat 4 on your 4 day cruise .
I agree, that POR is a nice option for a family of 5 with very young kids. But I don't feel a child over the age of 8 would fit very well in the trundle. I agree with alot of you---it's a shame there's nothing less expensive than a deluxe for a family of 5.

 

[mouse5]

Hi We are also a family of 5. We went on the Magic 2 years ago and stayed in cat. 4. I thought it was great. 2 of my kids were not in the room very often but 1 was just 2yrs.old and napped so the balcony was great to sit out on. This year my husband couldn't get out of work during the kids spring break and I got a great FL res. rate , so I decided with only 4 of us I couln't turn down the price. It was so much cheaper to book 1 room in a lower cat. Only now I'll be traveling with 3 kids and no husband. I may be in over my head. I'll be the one at the bar pulling my hair out while everyone else relaxing.

 

[mermaidlady]

We are booked into a cat 4 with the five of us two of the kids will be teens I'm worried now that it will be too cramped. I am also tired of being penalized for having 5. Last time we went to WDW we stayed at the Polynesian and it was great but expensive. The time before we stayed in CBR (before we had baby) and it was almost as nice but a whole lot cheaper

 

[CheapMom]

let's start a petition. we need a resort of our own and they need to build a new ship to accomodate all of us unbridled breeders!!!!

 

[hydster]

unbridled breeders

ROFL

Thankfully for us I guess we are finally bridled and thankfully for our wallets as well! LOL

Heidi

 

[westjones]

I am sure those of you with families of 5 already have researched this, but I have friends that are about to become a family of 5 any minute and they love Disney, so I was thrilled to learn that they would be able to book connecting rooms at Pop Century (and probably the other value resorts as well). Now, I did overhear on our bus to AK someone talking about having a room at Pop Century with 5 people in it (air bed was brought). I don't think they did this by listing 5 in the room, but they certainly were not hiding it, so maybe an air bed would help.

Another option for the cruise is to convince someone with 3 or less in the family to come along and put one of the kids in there. We have 17 people going in September and we are trying to talk this 'soon to be' family of 5 to come along, and one family has already offered their extra bed (they only have 1 kid) to them so they could come with only booking 1 room and then paying the extra kids rate on the other room.

DJ