? for parents w/ kids under 3

[dennisnlisab96]

We have 6 kids ages from 12 to 7mo @ the time of our cruise. We are trying to decide between a Cat 6 cabin w/ verandah or Cat 9. My DH seems to be sure we will be back in our cabin by 7:00pm every night because of the 2 youngest. I disagree!! He wants Cay 6 so we can sit outside at night...I don't think we will spend enough time in the cabin to justify the extra cost.

Did anyone spend ALOT of time in your cabin at night because of little ones, or were you very busy at night???

Help!!!!

 

[quackattack]

My now 3 yo is a "Night Owl" anyway and being on the ship just intensified it. The idea of sleep did not cross his mind. He was ready to go to every activity available and was up the next morning ready to go again. He had a ball.
He has not stopped talking about it since we got back home and our last cruise was in October. He can't wait to go again.
He especially liked going to the Kid's Club after dinner. At 2 yo he had to be accompanied by a parent but he did not seem to mind.

We go for the cat. 9 cabin. I am sure the verandah doors are child proof but I am not sure my "Little Houdini" knows that. LOL.

 

[house_of_princesses]

We haven't taken our first cruise yet, but have travelled with our four DD's (ages 10 to 2 now) since the oldest was one month. I have found it terribly inconvenient to have to sit quietly in a hotel room while a young one is napping (for that matter, my DH naps, too!). It is always nice for me to be able to sit on the "porch" of our room. As for bed times, you may find a seven night cruise is just too much for your little one, and he/she needs that early bed time. I don't know what the $$ difference is, but if it doesn't break the bank, it may be worth the breather the verandah allows.

 

[sap1227]

When we cruised in January our son was 13 months and we spent time every night on the verandah. I agree that I did not want to feel like I was stuck in a hotel room everytime he napped and after he went to bed. However, if the extra cost of the verandah makes it where you can not afford to go, get what you can afford. Regardless you will have a great time!!

 

[house_of_princesses]

We haven't taken our first cruise yet, but have travelled with our four DD's (ages 10 to 2 now) since the oldest was one month. I have found it terribly inconvenient to have to sit quietly in a hotel room while a young one is napping (for that matter, my DH naps, too!). It is always nice for me to be able to sit on the "porch" of our room. As for bed times, you may find a seven night cruise is just too much for your little one, and he/she needs that early bed time. I don't know what the $$ difference is, but if it doesn't break the bank, it may be worth the breather the verandah allows.

 

[ReadyForDisney2003]

Since you have 6 kids, you will need 2 rooms anyway. I would book a room with a verandah and one room RIGHT across the hall -- probably a cat 11. I was going to do this for my Mom and Sister that wanted to cruise with us.

That way, you get 1 room with a verandah and 1 without. Of course, you would have to split the adults and put 1 adult in each room, but who cares??!

 

[jel0511]

Go for the veranda!!! When we cruised my DS was 18 months and we still had to go back to the room for those afternoon naps. It was nice that I could sit out of the veranda and relax, instead of sitting in the room with him. Also, my kids didn't really adjust their bedtimes at all, so it was lights out by 9:00 every night. My DD would usually beep us just as movie time was starting in the clubs, since she was tired. DS did fall asleep in Flounders one night, but I felt so guilty picking him up. He screamed the entire way back to the room from being woken up!!!! If you have the veranda, you won't regret it!! It was really nice to get some fresh air right outside your room!!

 

[fleishmo6]

we cruised over last Easter, four kids,1,4,8,11 our disney club
advisor recommended us not to have the veranda and instead to book two adjoining rooms i believe it was category 8 or 9.
worked out great, spent little time in the room and two evenings
used a babysitter for the 1 year old.kids loved it i dont think we even saw our two oldest the entire trip .they would not leave the kid clubs.plenty to do all day and night
have fun

 

[bahama97]

Our dd will almost be 2 when we cruise. We are choosing a room with a veranda. DD still takes a nap in the afternoon. I want to have a nice place to sit & relax while she naps. Dh is looking forward to sitting out there at night once the kids are asleep & drinking some wine. We love sitting on our swing on the front porch so I think we'll enjoy the veranda.

 

[cathyrob]

Go for the Verandah. We cruised with our 15 month old in Feb. in a Verandah room. My husband and I agreed that we would stick to my son's afternoon nap routine, therefore one of us was in the room for 2-3 hours in the late afternoon. It was nice to sit outside and read, play cards, etc. while my little one slept in a quiet room. The advantage of making sure that he got a good afternoon nap, was that it allowed us to play with his bedtime. At home he is down by 8:30, but with the ocean breeze and being outside, my son took great naps so we were able to keep him out and about till 10. We then took turns of who went back to the cabin with him, and who got to stay out(we traveled with 14 other people so we weren't out by ourselves Definitly the Verandah, it will keep you from going insane, and you will have a happy camper after a good nap.

 

[Gillian]

I doubt you'll go right back to the cabin after dinner! 7 PM is EARLY! We weren't even done with dinner until 7:30 some nights. And then it's nice to stroll around deck or see what family activites are going on. Our son (23 months at the time) was normally asleep by 8 PM but stayed up later during the cruise.

That said, we did have a cat 6 and loved the verandah! We used it during nap time and it was a wonderful place to relax in the evenings. DH was not interested in anything else for our next cruise, even though it costs quite a bit more.

Did you look into getting connecting cat 10 secret porthole rooms? I know they're hard to get, but it's a savings over the cat 9 & you still get sunlight!

 

[justcruisin]

GET THE VERANDAH! NO DOUBT ... had a inside for our 1st cruise DS2 at the time. Splurged for our second cruise, DS3. Imagine room service dinner and breakfast in the fresh air. Reading a novel, looking at the ocean during nap time ..... You will absolutely love the space outside. Don't forget a night or two with the kiddies at flounders. We'll likely switch back to inside cabins when ds is older ... then we can say we don't spend a lot of time in our cabin.