Possible Issues with 2 Staterooms

[Jfsag123]

We are currently booked for our first cruise in 2 non-adjoining staterooms, one inside and one ocean view, 7 night sailing. We are a family of 5, mom and dad, 2 teens, and a little one who will be 5 at time of sailing. Of course, we did this for the extra space and bathroom, but (predictably for me), I'm having second thoughts. I've been seeing that there are some possible hiccups because of Disney considering the two staterooms as separate reservations. I want to be sure we're able to get all of our bookings together - royal gathering, private dining table (should that request be granted), excursions etc. How big of a pain is it to coordinate everything? Is there a chance of me being able to book people in one room for certain activities/excursions, but things filling up before I'm able to add those in room 2? I know we'll be last to book most everything as first timers. If we switched to one room it would be a verandah, so that would be nice at least, despite the smaller space.

 

[lorimay]

I sailed last month in 2 different staterooms that we linked and I had the option of their names on everything I wanted to book.
Call Disney and make sure reservations are linked.
It won't be an issue at all.

 

[Doingitagain]

Just link them and you won’t even know the difference.

The only impact I have noticed is if you buy the digital photo package, since it is limited to one stateroom. Go to Shutters the first day, and if you are all one family they will likely link you together into one package.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Just link them and you won’t even know the difference.

The only impact I have noticed is if you buy the digital photo package, since it is limited to one stateroom. Go to Shutters the first day, and if you are all one family they will likely link you together into one package.

Well, linking the photo package from one room to two only applies when there are minor children in the second room belonging to the parents in the purchasing room.

Another "hiccup" would be, if Dad and 1 or 2 kids are in first room, and Mom and 1 or 2 kids are in second room, and Dad (only) wants to take kids off the ship that are in Mom's room, they have to fill out a permission slip for the adult NOT in that child's room to take him/her off the ship. And vice/versa if Mom wants to take kids from Dad's room off ship (without him)

 

[Jfsag123]

I appreciate the info so far. Follow-up question: regardless of hiccups/lack thereof for two staterooms, do you think having a verandah is worth giving up the space of the two rooms? It would be about the same price for the single family verandah room as the one inside + one ocean view room.

 

[cvjw]

I appreciate the info so far. Follow-up question: regardless of hiccups/lack thereof for two staterooms, do you think having a verandah is worth giving up the space of the two rooms? It would be about the same price for the single family verandah room as the one inside + one ocean view room.

2 cabins for sure for that many people!

 

[Flossbolna]

I think two cabins might be preferable for such a large group. But you might consider getting two connecting insides as then it’s like one big room instead of having to remember door key and crossing a hallway when going from one room to the other.

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

Another "hiccup" would be, if Dad and 1 or 2 kids are in first room, and Mom and 1 or 2 kids are in second room, and Dad (only) wants to take kids off the ship that are in Mom's room, they have to fill out a permission slip for the adult NOT in that child's room to take him/her off the ship. And vice/versa if Mom wants to take kids from Dad's room off ship (without him)

This is going to be our set up for a couple of cruises upcoming. I vaguely remember seeing questions about this during online check in for prior cruises but have never needed to worry about it before.

Am I correct that this can be indicated and completed with online check in? So, after PATs are selected, I can double back to each room and give the opposite parent permission? Or, if I'm misremembering, what's the procedure?

 

[TheOneWithTheTriplets]

I appreciate the info so far. Follow-up question: regardless of hiccups/lack thereof for two staterooms, do you think having a verandah is worth giving up the space of the two rooms? It would be about the same price for the single family verandah room as the one inside + one ocean view room.

So, you didn't mention genders in your breakdown. For our family of 5, being in one room has become frustrating at our girls get older and privacy becomes a necessity. After our last cruise with all 5 in one cabin, we came home and booked connecting insides because we felt like we wanted that space.

Also, the way the family veranda works, it is very hard to access the veranda when the murphy bed is down: you really have to climb over it. So, if part of your intended use was to go on the veranda in the morning before the kids get up (me) or in the evening after they're asleep (husband), it's extremely difficult to do without disrupting whomever is sleeping in that bed. We actually only booked the family veranda once and realized it wasn't worth it for our use case. It's been family ocean view since, until this last cruise where we decided, with 3 preteens, we need the connecting rooms.

 

[Jfsag123]

I think two cabins might be preferable for such a large group. But you might consider getting two connecting insides as then it’s like one big room instead of having to remember door key and crossing a hallway when going from one room to the other.

That's what I had booked initially, but we decided we'd like to be able to at least see the water from one of our rooms on our first cruise, so now we're in rooms directly across the hallway from each other. I do recognize this will mean we'll need to keep track of separate keys, though.

So, you didn't mention genders in your breakdown. For our family of 5, being in one room has become frustrating at our girls get older and privacy becomes a necessity. After our last cruise with all 5 in one cabin, we came home and booked connecting insides because we felt like we wanted that space.

Also, the way the family veranda works, it is very hard to access the veranda when the murphy bed is down: you really have to climb over it. So, if part of your intended use was to go on the veranda in the morning before the kids get up (me) or in the evening after they're asleep (husband), it's extremely difficult to do without disrupting whomever is sleeping in that bed. We actually only booked the family veranda once and realized it wasn't worth it for our use case. It's been family ocean view since, until this last cruise where we decided, with 3 preteens, we need the connecting rooms.

Oldest teen is a girl, younger teen and 5 year old are boys. We have no delusions about sitting on the verandah before the kids wake up, as the 5 year old will be the one to wake us all up, as he's always awake earliest. And we are doing late dining, so not really planning on it in the evening. I was thinking about it more as an extra place for people to chill when we're getting ready in the morning, a nice place to have downtime in the afternoon, and an easy way to get some fresh air. But having never cruised before, I don't know how much of a factor any of these things will end up being or how much time we'll spend in the room.

We are big time WDW people and regularly all stay in one room for extended vacations there (next up: July!). And we tend to spend a decent of time in the rooms at WDW as we are no longer commando tourers. We frequently stayed in the studios at BLT when we were a family of four and did not find it too crowded for us. Strangely, my teens are actually the ones advocating for a single room for the family using this logic, but say they would be open to two rooms. I am the holdout who thinks the extra space and extra bathroom make a lot of sense.

 

[mjkacmom]

Cruise cabins are TINY. We have 5 kids, so we always get 2 (balconies, we love balconies). We did DCL with the grandparents, no issues with linking. We got extra key cards from guest services, plus our cabins for our family of 7 were connecting.

 

[Jfsag123]

Cruise cabins are TINY. We have 5 kids, so we always get 2 (balconies, we love balconies). We did DCL with the grandparents, no issues with linking. We got extra key cards from guest services, plus our cabins for our family of 7 were connecting.

If we could afford two verandahs all problems would be solved lol. Sadly, that is for sure not in the budget. Our choices are one verandah cabin or two non-verandahs.

 

[bethy]

We are a family of 5 and always get two rooms. The extra room will give you a ton more space for everyone more than a verandah will. It's worth it for the two bathrooms alone. Esp on a 7 night cruise. Linking the two rooms will be no issue at all.

 

[Flossbolna]

We are big time WDW people and regularly all stay in one room for extended vacations there (next up: July!). And we tend to spend a decent of time in the rooms at WDW as we are no longer commando tourers.

Hotel rooms at WDW are much larger than staterooms. Also, the setup is that you have a hallway next to the bathrooms and then the bed, the sofa then window/balcony. Only one person at a time can walk past the bed as there is not a lot of space between bed and wall. We are only two and are constantly in each other‘s way.

 

[princesscinderella]

Are teens going to stay in the inside by themselves? My teens when on a cruise would stay up all night and sleep in all day if we didn’t set curfews each night. We have had the occasional roaming decks for a teen who didn’t make it back to the room on time because they lost track of time. This reason alone is why one of us would be in each of the rooms and it’s no fun to be separated so it was always 5 personal family cabins for us or connected rooms where we keep the door open between them.

 

[Skippyboo]

You said you are doing 7 nights? So I take it’s the Treasure that you are sailing. My friend and I just sailed her recently. We had a family oceanview. There’s a queen bed then a couch that becomes a bed, a bed comes down from the ceiling. We didn’t have the Murphy bed but a cabinet with shelves instead. The bathrooms are pretty small. There’s a curtain that separates the bed from couch area. You don’t really have much area to change get & dressed. It was okay with 2 people but 5 would be more difficult.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

If we could afford two verandahs all problems would be solved lol. Sadly, that is for sure not in the budget. Our choices are one verandah cabin or two non-verandahs.

For first timers I would recommend 2 connecting rooms. You won't spend that much time on the verandah to make up for having separated rooms. First off, would you put your teens across the hall? Once the door is locked from the inside, even a legit key won't open it. Will you have early morning excursions? It might be hard to wake your teens up with the door locked. You can call into the room but you can't enter and give them a gentle nudge. Will you sleep well knowing your kids are across the hall with the door not locked?

This was our teen-dilemma for 2 cruises. The first time was for Alaska and we really wanted a balcony but with 4 of us it was way cheaper to put 2 across the hall in an inside cabin. They were extremely experienced with cruising by then. Probably 15 Disney cruises (and some on other lines) so I felt confident that they knew what to do. Before that they were younger and we put all 4 of us in a window cabin on deck 2. Even with them being very experienced, it was frustrating at times. I encouraged them to come use our balcony but it never really felt like their own room to them. We did it again for the Med which also was very expensive for 4 in a verandah so same set up. We only did one more cruise together and that time we got 2 VGT cabins (discounted and very restricted reservations) and they were connecting rooms.
So much easier but then they grew up. They no longer want to cruise with us.
It's way more affordable but I miss us all being together.

 

[Jfsag123]

Are teens going to stay in the inside by themselves? My teens when on a cruise would stay up all night and sleep in all day if we didn’t set curfews each night. We have had the occasional roaming decks for a teen who didn’t make it back to the room on time because they lost track of time. This reason alone is why one of us would be in each of the rooms and it’s no fun to be separated so it was always 5 personal family cabins for us or connected rooms where we keep the door open between them.

Yes, teens would likely stay in the inside by themselves, but my teens are strange - they both set alarms to wake up early in the morning, even on weekends. My daughter gets up early to work out, son not for any particular reason, just likes to be an earlier riser. He gets up even earlier on vacation - I have to fuss at them to let me sleep in! However, we have still talked about my husband and I splitting and each staying in one of the rooms. We'll see how it ends up going...

You said you are doing 7 nights? So I take it’s the Treasure that you are sailing. My friend and I just sailed her recently. We had a family oceanview. There’s a queen bed then a couch that becomes a bed, a bed comes down from the ceiling. We didn’t have the Murphy bed but a cabinet with shelves instead. The bathrooms are pretty small. There’s a curtain that separates the bed from couch area. You don’t really have much area to change get & dressed. It was okay with 2 people but 5 would be more difficult.


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We're doing the Destiny. Originally had planned on a 5 night for our first cruise, but when I saw 7 night itineraries, I jumped on it. However, the stateroom layout should be the same as the Treasure. That definitely looks tight for 5.

For first timers I would recommend 2 connecting rooms. You won't spend that much time on the verandah to make up for having separated rooms. First off, would you put your teens across the hall? Once the door is locked from the inside, even a legit key won't open it. Will you have early morning excursions? It might be hard to wake your teens up with the door locked. You can call into the room but you can't enter and give them a gentle nudge. Will you sleep well knowing your kids are across the hall with the door not locked?

This was our teen-dilemma for 2 cruises. The first time was for Alaska and we really wanted a balcony but with 4 of us it was way cheaper to put 2 across the hall in an inside cabin. They were extremely experienced with cruising by then. Probably 15 Disney cruises (and some on other lines) so I felt confident that they knew what to do. Before that they were younger and we put all 4 of us in a window cabin on deck 2. Even with them being very experienced, it was frustrating at times. I encouraged them to come use our balcony but it never really felt like their own room to them. We did it again for the Med which also was very expensive for 4 in a verandah so same set up. We only did one more cruise together and that time we got 2 VGT cabins (discounted and very restricted reservations) and they were connecting rooms.
So much easier but then they grew up. They no longer want to cruise with us.
It's way more affordable but I miss us all being together.

Yeah, teens would be across the hall. As I noted above, my teens are actually early risers, but we're still considering splitting my husband and I to have one in each room. Not sure on that one yet. We decided on non-connecting for two staterooms because we want at least a window and it's a steep price jump to two ocean views vs. one ocean view and an inside.

I already know I will miss us all being together as well.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Yes, teens would likely stay in the inside by themselves, but my teens are strange - they both set alarms to wake up early in the morning, even on weekends. My daughter gets up early to work out, son not for any particular reason, just likes to be an earlier riser. He gets up even earlier on vacation - I have to fuss at them to let me sleep in! However, we have still talked about my husband and I splitting and each staying in one of the rooms. We'll see how it ends up going...


We're doing the Destiny. Originally had planned on a 5 night for our first cruise, but when I saw 7 night itineraries, I jumped on it. However, the stateroom layout should be the same as the Treasure. That definitely looks tight for 5.


Yeah, teens would be across the hall. As I noted above, my teens are actually early risers, but we're still considering splitting my husband and I to have one in each room. Not sure on that one yet. We decided on non-connecting for two staterooms because we want at least a window and it's a steep price jump to two ocean views vs. one ocean view and an inside.

I already know I will miss us all being together as well.

That is unique to have teens that don’t sleep in.
One of the many reasons why we all make different choices. Do what works for your family.

 

[buzzrelly]

I appreciate the info so far. Follow-up question: regardless of hiccups/lack thereof for two staterooms, do you think having a verandah is worth giving up the space of the two rooms? It would be about the same price for the single family verandah room as the one inside + one ocean view room.

Hi there! We just got off the Treasure...she's a beautiful ship!

Personally, for your family I would do the Deluxe Family Stateroom with Verandah. The set-up of the room is such that there is plenty of room for everything and honestly, you won't be spending that much time in the room anyway but when you are in there, having the Verandah is soooooo nice! If you were traveling with adult children or grandparents I would keep the two staterooms but not in your case. When my mom and I went on the Fantasy with my teens in 2019 (so long ago!), the Family Verandah stateroom was plenty!