Fantasty 4a stateroom question

[hnthomps]

Hi - we will be on a SWDAS cruise this spring with a 4 & 2 year old. Very exciting! I've been scouring the boards and will surely have more questions in the future, but right now I have some kind of lame logistical questions. We're in a 4A, deluxe family verandah, on deck 10.

Because the kids will be so little, there will be lots of time when one or the other of the grownups is stuck in the room with a sleeping child or two. This is a major downside to traveling with little kids, but kind of unavoidable. Our kids in particular are not flexible about sleep needs. They go to bed by 7pm at home, and even with a time change working in our favor, I'm pretty sure we're going to have a couple hours of quiet-in-our-cabins-while-everyone-else-parties every night.

1) can the TV be swung around to the grownup side of the privacy curtain?

2) If the pack n play is set up, and the couch is a bed, is there room to sneak out past the kids to the verandah?

3) If I'm reading on the verandah while the 2 year old naps in the pack n play, will I hear her when she wakes up? If I stare in the door window will I be able to see her?

4) If we manage to switch her to a real bed in time, and have her sleep on the couch with bed rails, can a 4 year old go in the upper berth bed, or is there an age limit (I know, for example, in some places kids under 7 aren't allowed on top bunks)

TIA!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi - we will be on a SWDAS cruise this spring with a 4 & 2 year old. Very exciting! I've been scouring the boards and will surely have more questions in the future, but right now I have some kind of lame logistical questions. We're in a 4A, deluxe family verandah, on deck 10.

Because the kids will be so little, there will be lots of time when one or the other of the grownups is stuck in the room with a sleeping child or two. This is a major downside to traveling with little kids, but kind of unavoidable. Our kids in particular are not flexible about sleep needs. They go to bed by 7pm at home, and even with a time change working in our favor, I'm pretty sure we're going to have a couple hours of quiet-in-our-cabins-while-everyone-else-parties every night.

1) can the TV be swung around to the grownup side of the privacy curtain?

2) If the pack n play is set up, and the couch is a bed, is there room to sneak out past the kids to the verandah?

3) If I'm reading on the verandah while the 2 year old naps in the pack n play, will I hear her when she wakes up? If I stare in the door window will I be able to see her?

4) If we manage to switch her to a real bed in time, and have her sleep on the couch with bed rails, can a 4 year old go in the upper berth bed, or is there an age limit (I know, for example, in some places kids under 7 aren't allowed on top bunks)

TIA!

I don't know if you have a 4A that sleeps 4 or 5. This photo is a 4A that sleeps 5 (with a Murphy bed next to the verandah door - in the cabinet on the right)


Same room with beds open:


And here's a 4A without the Murphy bed (sleeps 4)


1) the TV is on a swivel arm that can be on the "other" side of the curtain.
2) Depending on whether you are also using the Murphy bed (if in a 5 person room), you could put the pack and play on the far side of the couch. Or move the coffee table to that spot and put the pack and play next to the couch.
3) Not sure if you could hear her, but you certainly will be able to see her just looking in the window.
4) If you have the Murphy bed, you could use that for either child. I will point out the clearance to get out on the verandah with the Murphy bed open is tight. As far as I know there's no age limit on the bunk bed. You can also get rails for the bunk bed, if you wish. Only limit I know about is a weight maximum

 

[hnthomps]

Thanks! This is very helpful, I love seeing real photos instead of the official ones as the relative proportions are much clearer. Is there a way to find out whether we have the murphy bed or not?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thanks! This is very helpful, I love seeing real photos instead of the official ones as the relative proportions are much clearer. Is there a way to find out whether we have the murphy bed or not?

You can try a dummy booking of a future cruise for 5 people and see if your room comes up. DCL won't let you book 5 people in a 4 person room. To be sure you might try this with a couple of cruises to be sure that the room isn't already booked on the first one you pick.

 

[lanejudy]

You can look up your stateroom number on this thread: www.disboards.com/threads/dcl-fantasy-dream-room-configuration-listing-updated-list-of-rooms-needed-1st-post.3194826/ It has most, but not all, Fantasy and Dream staterooms noted for max number of passengers and whether or not there is a murphy bed and/or a bunk bed.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[Quellman]

Hi - we will be on a SWDAS cruise this spring with a 4 & 2 year old. Very exciting! I've been scouring the boards and will surely have more questions in the future, but right now I have some kind of lame logistical questions. We're in a 4A, deluxe family verandah, on deck 10.

Because the kids will be so little, there will be lots of time when one or the other of the grownups is stuck in the room with a sleeping child or two. This is a major downside to traveling with little kids, but kind of unavoidable. Our kids in particular are not flexible about sleep needs. They go to bed by 7pm at home, and even with a time change working in our favor, I'm pretty sure we're going to have a couple hours of quiet-in-our-cabins-while-everyone-else-parties every night.

1) can the TV be swung around to the grownup side of the privacy curtain?

2) If the pack n play is set up, and the couch is a bed, is there room to sneak out past the kids to the verandah?

3) If I'm reading on the verandah while the 2 year old naps in the pack n play, will I hear her when she wakes up? If I stare in the door window will I be able to see her?

4) If we manage to switch her to a real bed in time, and have her sleep on the couch with bed rails, can a 4 year old go in the upper berth bed, or is there an age limit (I know, for example, in some places kids under 7 aren't allowed on top bunks)

TIA!

Really great questions. Our last cruise was a 4a with the murphy bed.

1). Yes the TV can be swung around, but if you draw the curtain across it can be difficult with a large gap between where the tv sticks out and where the stateroom wall is. This matters if your kids are light sensitive. We took several clothes pins and one of the uses was to "hold the curtain" around the tv arm since it swings out and over. Ideal? No, but useful.
2). Yes you can sneak out to the balcony. The sofa bed, as @PrincessShmoo provides a picture of does not take up much floor space. We used the space where the chair is (a murphy room has no chair) and left the pack and play up all the time. It fits in that space very well. We had the balcony curtains closed to try and keep the light level down.
3). I would not bet on hearing a child through the doors. They are quite heavy and sound proof. We would slowly open the door and listen a bit, then go back to our enjoyment. It helps since kids usually nap about an hour or so.
4). No idea about age limits with regards to sleeping arrangements.

 

[hnthomps]

Thanks again everyone!

Our stateroom isn't listed in that thread (the corollary for the Dream is though, and as a 4 person room), but I'll dry doing some dummy bookings to see if that answers the question for sure.

Our 2 year old takes 3+ hour naps and sleeps 11 hours overnight. Every day. Most of the time that is delightful, but on vacation it means a lot of confinement for the grownups! The "big" one doesn't nap, but sleeps 12+ hours overnight.