Question About Booking 2 Staterooms

[ajgardner]

This will be my family’s 7th Disney cruise, we are a family of 4 (mom, dad, teen son and 19 year old daughter). It looks like my daughter’s boyfriend may join us. When pricing it out the cost is about the same if we put all 5 of us into one family verandah room as it is to put 3 of us in a verandah room and 2 in a standard inside cabin on the same floor. However, we if we broke it into 2 rooms, we would actually still have the 4 of us in the verandah and just the boyfriend in the inside room. The thought with the two rooms is only to give everyone more space and the extra bathroom. If we did go this route, can the second person listed on the indoor room get a key to the other room instead? Will it be an issue with the stateroom host to set up the upper bunk when we are listed as only being 3 in the cabin? Are there other issues I’m not thinking of by doing it this way?

 

[MomOTwins]

Extra keys can be given at check in.

You would just need to be absolutely sure that the verandah room in fact sleeps 4 and not 3, as not all rooms have the bunk bed.

After that, the only other wrinkle is that the two staterooms may have different muster stations--if so, the groups of 3/2 would to go to the muster drill separately, and in an emergency would need to do the same. This is more of an issue with small children who are listed in rooms differently from their parents though, and as you have teens, it is less of a worry for them to have to go to a separate lifeboat in the (unlikely) event of an emergency.

 

[ajgardner]

Extra keys can be given at check in.

You would just need to be absolutely sure that the verandah room in fact sleeps 4 and not 3, as not all rooms have the bunk bed.

After that, the only other wrinkle is that the two staterooms may have different muster stations--if so, the groups of 3/2 would to go to the muster drill separately, and in an emergency would need to do the same. This is more of an issue with small children who are listed in rooms differently from their parents though, and as you have teens, it is less of a worry for them to have to go to a separate lifeboat in the (unlikely) event of an emergency.

Thanks, I thought all family verandahs had the bunks so that is good to know. I will definitely research my room pick first.

 

[Rob1872]

I thought that all of the Family Verandah rooms had the Murphy bed; I was surprised on our last cruise to only have the couch and the pullman bunk. (Fortunately the kid who had been unsure if he wanted an upper bunk or not loved it and happily spent all of his time in the room in the bunk.)

 

[FigmentSpark]

You are a trusting parent to give the boyfriend a private room. I'd put my son in there, too. But maybe I'm way too old fashioned.

 

[Mommb]

I think that on the Magic and Wonder all Category 4 (Family Veranda) rooms do have 4 beds and therefore sleep 5, but some Category 4 rooms on the Dream and Fantasy lack either a bunk bed or a wall bed.

Similarly, some Category 5/6 rooms on the Dream and Fantasy do not have a bunk bed and sleep only 3. I am not sure if that's also true on the Magic and Wonder, but it is certainly worth verifying if you need room for 4 in a room booked for 3.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

I thought that all of the Family Verandah rooms had the Murphy bed; I was surprised on our last cruise to only have the couch and the pullman bunk. (Fortunately the kid who had been unsure if he wanted an upper bunk or not loved it and happily spent all of his time in the room in the bunk.)

The deluxe family verandas sleep 4-5 at least on the Dream class. We just booked 3 staterooms with 4A.

 

[ajgardner]

You are a trusting parent to give the boyfriend a private room. I'd put my son in there, too. But maybe I'm way too old fashioned.

This is definitely one of the holdbacks I’m having. He is a good kid, and they are 19.5 and in their second year of college....so I’m torn a bit. Still thinking it out.

 

[ajgardner]

The deluxe family verandas sleep 4-5 at least on the Dream class. We just booked 3 staterooms with 4A.

Ok, that’s helpful. This is a 4 night cruise on the Dream.

 

[Macprincess]

You may also want to consider what could happen between now and the cruise if they break up. I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but this happened to us with two kids who had been dating for four years and they broke up about a month before our cruise. In our case, for this trip, we had put my husband as the lead person on one cabin and me as the lead on the other cabin our TA was able to switch out the girlfriend for Grandma. We were past our paid if full date so if we had canceled the girlfriend off the reservation we would have lost that money. My Mom had a valid passport and was good to go so we just switched passengers. If the girlfriend had been the lead on the cabin we would not have been able to do this.

Considering that this is a tricky situation I highly recommend booking this with a Disney Cruise line expert TA if at all possible. Ask lots of questions about the best way to book this for your family.

Also, this is just the Mom in me but I liked my kids knowing that Dad or I had a key to both cabins and could and would enter at anytime. By having each parent as a lead on a cabin we had access to both cabins. We have done two cruises with the kid significant others in tow and it has worked out well, but it does takes a few extra layers of planing.

Oh, and the break up pair above got back together after a few months apart. It's two years later, their now engaged, and were in wedding mode.

 

[Weedy]

FYI: you will need to book someone over the age of 21 as the lead name in each cabin. So your name in one cabin and your husband in the other.
Anyone under the age of 18 can only get off the ship with the adult in the cabin they are assigned to. But when you do your online check in you can give permission to have the kids get off the ship with adults in the other cabin or by themselves. You can also pick the ports they can get off the ship by themselves such as Castaway Cay

 

[Betsy82]

FYI: you will need to book someone over the age of 21 as the lead name in each cabin. So your name in one cabin and your husband in the other.
Anyone under the age of 18 can only get off the ship with the adult in the cabin they are assigned to. But when you do your online check in you can give permission to have the kids get off the ship with adults in the other cabin or by themselves. You can also pick the ports they can get off the ship by themselves such as Castaway Cay

I don’t think this is true. I sailed Disney as a teenager without an “adult”.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I don’t think this is true. I sailed Disney as a teenager without an “adult”.

From the Bookings and Terms and Conditions on the DCL website:

MINORS
Minors under the age of 18 not traveling with a parent or legal guardian must be accompanied by an adult 21 years of age or older in the same stateroom. The parent or guardian of any minor not traveling with a parent or guardian must appoint an adult to have custody and control over the minor and to contract on their behalf in connection with the Disney Cruise Line vacation. A minor authorization form can be obtained by visiting disneycruise.com and selecting “My Disney Cruise” or is sent when a document package is mailed. The form must be signed by a parent or legal guardian prior to embarkation at the Disney Cruise Line Terminal. After 9:00 PM, adult entertainment districts are restricted to Guests 18 years and older.

 

[Betsy82]

Interesting! I didn’t realize it had changed. That is disappointing.

From the Bookings and Terms and Conditions on the DCL website:

MINORS
Minors under the age of 18 not traveling with a parent or legal guardian must be accompanied by an adult 21 years of age or older in the same stateroom. The parent or guardian of any minor not traveling with a parent or guardian must appoint an adult to have custody and control over the minor and to contract on their behalf in connection with the Disney Cruise Line vacation. A minor authorization form can be obtained by visiting disneycruise.com and selecting “My Disney Cruise” or is sent when a document package is mailed. The form must be signed by a parent or legal guardian prior to embarkation at the Disney Cruise Line Terminal. After 9:00 PM, adult entertainment districts are restricted to Guests 18 years and older.

 

[MomOTwins]

The deluxe family verandas sleep 4-5 at least on the Dream class. We just booked 3 staterooms with 4A.

This is simply not true. When you go to book deluxe family verandahs on the website, it says clearly "Sleeps 3-5." Then when you go into the room-specific description, you can see that some only sleep three, and it says explicitly that some lack a pull down bed or murphy, see example below:

Stateroom 1: 5660
Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with Extended Verandah

( Category 04E )

Sleeps 3 to 4 - 299 sq ft Including Verandah

Extended Private Verandah

Queen bed, single convertible sofa, wall pull-down bed (in most) and upper berth pull-down bed (in some), extended private verandah and split bath with round tub (in most) and shower

 

[Quellman]

You may also want to consider what could happen between now and the cruise if they break up. I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but this happened to us with two kids who had been dating for four years and they broke up about a month before our cruise.
Oh, and the break up pair above got back together after a few months apart. It's two years later, their now engaged, and were in wedding mode.

Sounds like someone did not want to go on a cruise!

 

[ajgardner]

You may also want to consider what could happen between now and the cruise if they break up. I'm not trying to be a Debbie Downer, but this happened to us with two kids who had been dating for four years and they broke up about a month before our cruise. In our case, for this trip, we had put my husband as the lead person on one cabin and me as the lead on the other cabin our TA was able to switch out the girlfriend for Grandma. We were past our paid if full date so if we had canceled the girlfriend off the reservation we would have lost that money. My Mom had a valid passport and was good to go so we just switched passengers. If the girlfriend had been the lead on the cabin we would not have been able to do this.

Considering that this is a tricky situation I highly recommend booking this with a Disney Cruise line expert TA if at all possible. Ask lots of questions about the best way to book this for your family.

Also, this is just the Mom in me but I liked my kids knowing that Dad or I had a key to both cabins and could and would enter at anytime. By having each parent as a lead on a cabin we had access to both cabins. We have done two cruises with the kid significant others in tow and it has worked out well, but it does takes a few extra layers of planing.

Oh, and the break up pair above got back together after a few months apart. It's two years later, their now engaged, and were in wedding mode.

I have made it very clear to everyone that if a break up occurs I can not pay him back the money if it’s part the date, so this is the risk he and his parents are taking. I have stressed it several times because I’m not dealing with financial loss or drama because of it. We would definitely want extra keys for both rooms, glad to know I can do that.

 

[ajgardner]

This is simply not true. When you go to book deluxe family verandahs on the website, it says clearly "Sleeps 3-5." Then when you go into the room-specific description, you can see that some only sleep three, and it says explicitly that some lack a pull down bed or murphy, see example below:

Stateroom 1: 5660
Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with Extended Verandah

( Category 04E )

Sleeps 3 to 4 - 299 sq ft Including Verandah

Extended Private Verandah

Queen bed, single convertible sofa, wall pull-down bed (in most) and upper berth pull-down bed (in some), extended private verandah and split bath with round tub (in most) and shower

I will make sure to find out about beds in any stateroom I’m interested in before booking it!

 

[cvjw]

The deluxe family verandas sleep 4-5 at least on the Dream class. We just booked 3 staterooms with 4A.

We always book deluxe family verandah staterooms - category 4E on the fantasy and dream. They always sleep 3 people. We only put 2 people in each cabin - we book for the huge verandahs.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

This is simply not true. When you go to book deluxe family verandahs on the website, it says clearly "Sleeps 3-5." Then when you go into the room-specific description, you can see that some only sleep three, and it says explicitly that some lack a pull down bed or murphy, see example below:Stateroom 1: 5660
Deluxe Family Oceanview Stateroom with Extended Verandah( Category 04E )

Yes, you are correct. I should have included the disclaimer of 4E as stated in the description.