Room options as kids get older and taller

[SoozCruise]

On our recent cruise, our younger DD complained that she felt cramped on the top bunk! She is 5'5" so it's not like she's hanging off the end - her preferred sleeping position puts her low in the bed so we told her she just has to suck it up for a while. We do love checking out various room configurations online, and wondered what to do when the upper bunk becomes inadequate. (Our older DD has stopped growing and is happy with the convertible single sofa.)

We are thinking our options are these three; anything else we should consider? (Concierge not currently an option)
- Cat 4 with Murphy pull-down bed
- Verandah room for DH and me with nearby inside stateroom for DDs, but DD14 likes to close down Vibe and DD11 goes to sleep earlier so one of us would have to hang in inside stateroom until DD14 gets back
- Connecting inside rooms, which solves the late-night problem but we do love a verandah

Thanks for any thoughts!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

On our recent cruise, our younger DD complained that she felt cramped on the top bunk! She is 5'5" so it's not like she's hanging off the end - her preferred sleeping position puts her low in the bed so we told her she just has to suck it up for a while. We do love checking out various room configurations online, and wondered what to do when the upper bunk becomes inadequate. (Our older DD has stopped growing and is happy with the convertible single sofa.)

We are thinking our options are these three; anything else we should consider? (Concierge not currently an option)
- Cat 4 with Murphy pull-down bed
- Verandah room for DH and me with nearby inside stateroom for DDs, but DD14 likes to close down Vibe and DD11 goes to sleep earlier so one of us would have to hang in inside stateroom until DD14 gets back
- Connecting inside rooms, which solves the late-night problem but we do love a verandah

Thanks for any thoughts!

The upper bunk, Murphy bed, and pullman-style sofa bed are all standard twin size beds. Only other option is the queen size bed in the room.

 

[Cackyschmackers]

On our recent cruise, our younger DD complained that she felt cramped on the top bunk! She is 5'5" so it's not like she's hanging off the end - her preferred sleeping position puts her low in the bed so we told her she just has to suck it up for a while. We do love checking out various room configurations online, and wondered what to do when the upper bunk becomes inadequate. (Our older DD has stopped growing and is happy with the convertible single sofa.)

We are thinking our options are these three; anything else we should consider? (Concierge not currently an option)
- Cat 4 with Murphy pull-down bed
- Verandah room for DH and me with nearby inside stateroom for DDs, but DD14 likes to close down Vibe and DD11 goes to sleep earlier so one of us would have to hang in inside stateroom until DD14 gets back
- Connecting inside rooms, which solves the late-night problem but we do love a verandah

Thanks for any thoughts!

We have had all the room configurations you mention above! The only option though to get away from the single twin size beds is to do the connecting or adjoining rooms. Then your husband and you would be in one room, but your daughters would have to fight over the queen in the other rooms! Lol. There are no pull out couches in the rooms you mention. Also, you wouldn't be guaranteed a Murphy bed since there are 4 of you and only the rooms that sleep 5 guarantee the Murphy bed. But that's a single twin too as you know. So, if you are saying that your one daughter wants a Queen, then the adjoining or connecting rooms would fit the bill (except as you say, someone would have to wait for your other daughter if in a room that doesn't connect ). Good luck!

 

[FigmentSpark]

What does your DD sleep on at home? Do you have queens for the kids (we do) or extra long twins? If so, I can see why the bunk feels cramped.

If you get a room with a murphy bed, have her try that. The fact that there is no railing for her feet to hit (as in the bunk) might make the difference.

 

[jtkboston]

The upper bunk, Murphy bed, and pullman-style sofa bed are all standard twin size beds. Only other option is the queen size bed in the room.

The upper bunk is shorter than the pullman-style sofa. If you look at them both straight on, you'll see the sofa extends past the bunk on both ends.

The pullman style sofa is way too short for me (6'3"), while a standard twin bed is (barely) long enough for me.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The upper bunk is shorter than the pullman-style sofa. If you look at them both straight on, you'll see the sofa extends past the bunk on both ends.

The pullman style sofa is way too short for me (6'3"), while a standard twin bed is (barely) long enough for me.

I think the sofa arms make it seem longer, but the mattress itself is the same size, in my experience.

 

[griffindesign]

We had a similar situation, but our youngest is a boy and was 10. We put them directly across from us in an inside, and we were in a balcony. We put him down at night when we were in for the night and put the privacy hang tag out. Then we checked in periodically. We also could hear if doors were opening and closing. We had our older kids text when they came in. It worked for us.

 

[SoozCruise]

Thanks for experiences/suggestions! Both kids sleep on standard twin mattresses at home. As jtkboston said, the upper bunk was definitely smaller than the bottom and our daughter said that she felt she fit better on the bottom.

They could share a queen but we'd have to dismantle the towel animal every night to create a divider bolster

 

[jtkboston]

I think the sofa arms make it seem longer, but the mattress itself is the same size, in my experience.

Ah, that would make sense from a linens perspective: same set would work on either one. The net result though is that the sofa has more room for someone to stretch out, since the arms are spaced farther apart than the bunk's head/foot railings.

If you get a room with a murphy bed, have her try that. The fact that there is no railing for her feet to hit (as in the bunk) might make the difference.

Yeah, that would gain a few inches of perceived space.

I often have my feet hanging off the end of the queen mattress, which is fine until someone walks by and bumps them!

 

[rosaann]

We have a Shrunks toddler air bed...i was just worried about it taking up so much space, but we could put it under the bed when not in use. That might be our best bet! I completely forgot we had that! We can always try the sofa bed and if it doesn't work, the toddler bed is nothing to set up.

 

[MommyMK]

I'm a 5'2" adult and slept on the pull down murphy bunk just fine. You can also just pull down the bunk mattress and put in on the floor each night if you are considering an air mattress.