Question - 5 People in Oceanview Cat 8C or 2 Connected Inside Cat 11A

[xQuizx]

Hi folks!

I'm wondering what you guys would do in my situation.

We're going on a 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy next year.

The trip will include myself, DW, DD(5), DS(3) and an infant under 1.

Right now we have an ocean view room, but I saw there is availability for a connected inside room. The difference would be an additional $800.

My concern for the trip is the sleeping arrangements in 1 room could be tight especially with an infant. Having the extra space and bathrooms is also nice as well.

Here are my questions:

• For the families out there with 5 people (3 young children), do you prefer traveling in 2 rooms or in 1 room? What have your experiences been in the past?
• Do I have to buy a picture packages for both rooms, or can I get just 1 since we are just spreading ourselves amongst 2 rooms. If you look at some of my other posts you'll know I will buy a picture package.
• Last - The extra $800 isn't a budget breaker for us, but I could definitely find other ways to use it on the cruise. So would you make the change?

Thanks in advance to all the replies, I truly enjoy the support the posters on this forum give.

Cheers!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi folks!

I'm wondering what you guys would do in my situation.

We're going on a 7 night Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Fantasy next year.

The trip will include myself, DW, DD(5), DS(3) and an infant under 1.

Right now we have an ocean view room, but I saw there is availability for a connected inside room. The difference would be an additional $800.

My concern for the trip is the sleeping arrangements in 1 room could be tight especially with an infant. Having the extra space and bathrooms is also nice as well.

Here are my questions:

• For the families out there with 5 people (3 young children), do you prefer traveling in 2 rooms or in 1 room? What have your experiences been in the past?
• Do I have to buy a picture packages for both rooms, or can I get just 1 since we are just spreading ourselves amongst 2 rooms. If you look at some of my other posts you'll know I will buy a picture package.
• Last - The extra $800 isn't a budget breaker for us, but I could definitely find other ways to use it on the cruise. So would you make the change?

Thanks in advance to all the replies, I truly enjoy the support the posters on this forum give.

Cheers!

If you purchase the full picture package, you can include both rooms, as it's a nuclear family in those two rooms.

Personally, I think $800 is a lot, also. I'd probably stay with the Oceanview room. Two reason - with kids that small, it's not as cramped as it would be if you all were adults, or had older children. And, I like having natural light in my room.

 

[TestingH2O]

I would opt for 2 rooms.

I know the infant will still nap and go to bed early. There's a good chance your 3 year old still naps. The 5 year old? On vacation, you might find down time midday to be very helpful.

What I'm saying is that, I would guess you will still spend some amount of time in the room. For that reason, I would think you'd benefit from the extra space. Also, if the 5 year old doesn't nap, it would give you another space to watch TV or just chill out while the younger ones rest. I haven't had one yet, but the virtual porthole should also allow you some "views" that you wouldn't otherwise have with an inside.

DD has been 3 and 4 on our cruises and, despite what other say, we have always spent more time in our rooms than just sleeping overnight and showering.

As far as picture packages, because you have minors in the two rooms who "belong" to the adults, you will be able to share a package. I think the only picture that might not be included would be those of the adult not in the room that officially has the package.

Here is the company's official explanation. https://support.ourcruisephotos.com...ies-traveling-together-in-multiple-staterooms

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I think the only picture that might not be included would be those of the adult not in the room that officially has the package.

Shutters allows two rooms to share one package if the two rooms are a nuclear family (mom & kid(s) in one room, dad and kid(s) in second room).

 

[FigmentSpark]

Are they adjoining or connecting. I think of connecting as having a door between them. If this is the case, go for two rooms. You'll appreciate the room.

However, if they are adjoining or across the hall from each other, only take the second room is one of the adults will be in there with them. It might be scary for them to be alone without you and you don't want them going into the public hall to knock on your door if they need you in the middle of the night.

Edit: Also, did you mean you'd give up the oceanview for two insides? The lack of the view is something only you can decide upon. There are lots of opinions around on that.

 

[BigredNole]

$800 is a lot of money (for me it is). That equates to about 2 excursions if not more. Since the kids are younger, I think a single room would be more than adequate. The monetary difference is something you have to decide on yourself. Having 2 inside rooms doubles everything...2 big beds, 2 showers, 2 toilets, etc. That could be of benefit too. While some are napping, the other room can be for getting ready or relaxing.

 

[MissDaisyofTexas]

For kids that age, I would stick with one ocean view room. When our kids were younger, one cruise had had connecting inside rooms. What ended up happening is that they all wanted to be near us all the time, so we were all cramped in a smaller room. Plus, those large portholes are awesome!

 

[CesD]

family of 5 -- we've done 1 family room with verandah (wonder), 1family oceanview (dream) and two connecting oceanview (magic). the only reason we did 2 connecting was because it was cheaper. I think with younger kids, 1 room is fine. this last cruise, since the kids were older and bigger, it was nice to have two showers and the extra space.
with that said, i would go with the cheaper option and use the $ on something else. I personally would not pay extra to lose the window though.

 

[cisobe]

We have the exact same situation. Next year we will be on the fantasy in September with my wife, 5 year old son, 3 year old daughter and just about 1 year old daughter. We did two cruises before this, a 7 night with my wife and son, and a 14 night with my wife, son and daughter. Both times in a verandah room. The verandah was a little snug with the two kids with my daughter in a pack n play and my son sleeping on the couch bed. But we still had a decent amount of room, and we spent quite a bit of time in the room with the kids napping and nearly half the day in our room during the panama canal crossing.

We used the verandah here and there, but in the back of my mind, I felt like the verandah space would have been better used inside of the room. Which is why I thought the 8C would work well as believe the 8c is basically a regular verandah room but with a window instead of the verandah.

I looked at doing two inside rooms, but my wife didn't like the idea of not having some sort of window or view out. The virtual porthole is nice but I don't think that was enough for her... the extra space would be nice but as others have stated, we would likely all end up sleeping in one room anyways... But everyone and every family is diffferent...

 

[xQuizx]

Thank you for all the replies and information.

I spoke to my wife and we are going to stay with what we have in the 8C and see how it works.

I have another question:

How many OBB discounts can we book for our next cruise? For our next cruise (after this one or course) we might consider 2 connecting rooms again, and I would like to book them under my name and my wife's so we can both receive discounts.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Thank you for all the replies and information.

I spoke to my wife and we are going to stay with what we have in the 8C and see how it works.

I have another question:

How many OBB discounts can we book for our next cruise? For our next cruise (after this one or course) we might consider 2 connecting rooms again, and I would like to book them under my name and my wife's so we can both receive discounts.

The onboard booking perks are good for up to 2 rooms one one future cruise. That's 2 rooms per household address, so you and your wife (assuming you share the same address) would only be able to book 2 rooms total with the onboard booking perks. You can book additional rooms, but they won't get the perks.

 

[xQuizx]

Perfect, thank you very much PrincessShmoo!!!

Cheers!

 

[BuzzLightyearInTampa]

I would opt for 2 rooms.

I know the infant will still nap and go to bed early. There's a good chance your 3 year old still naps. The 5 year old? On vacation, you might find down time midday to be very helpful.

What I'm saying is that, I would guess you will still spend some amount of time in the room. For that reason, I would think you'd benefit from the extra space. Also, if the 5 year old doesn't nap, it would give you another space to watch TV or just chill out while the younger ones rest. I haven't had one yet, but the virtual porthole should also allow you some "views" that you wouldn't otherwise have with an inside.

DD has been 3 and 4 on our cruises and, despite what other say, we have always spent more time in our rooms than just sleeping overnight and showering.

As far as picture packages, because you have minors in the two rooms who "belong" to the adults, you will be able to share a package. I think the only picture that might not be included would be those of the adult not in the room that officially has the package.

Here is the company's official explanation. https://support.ourcruisephotos.com...ies-traveling-together-in-multiple-staterooms

If I were spending time in the room with a napping child, the veranda would be a HUGE plus, so I'd go with the 5C. It's cheaper and as long as you don't overpack, there should be plenty of room.

 

[hardis5]

The little ones will enjoy the large window portal on the 8C. We've done with 4 repeatedly (with youngest 1.5 and 3 yrs and his older teenage sister) and he just loved looking our and then pulling himself up into the window seat. At 3, he was in the converted sofa while his sister took the Murphy bed. Have done verandas since but with smaller kids, always think the additional inside space and large window make the deluxe family staterooms a great choice.