Room sharing....questions!

[Corielynn2]

We have a big family vacation in the works in March 2018. Multiple families with lots of children. Some of the families were hoping to room share/put kids in others rooms, to avoid having to get 2 rooms. Obviously, we found out that won't work very well, and is a huge pain. Now, I had this idea, but was wondering if anyone knew an answer, or had done something similar. Sister A will be traveling with her husband and 5 daughters. She plans on booking adjoining verandah staterooms. Sister B will be traveling with her husband and 3 children. Could Sister A book 3 staterooms, and everyone share? Without the hassle of having Sister A be the "contact" person for Sister B's children? I hope that makes sense! Please and thank you to anyone who can help me out!

 

[WeLoveStitch42]

I don't see why not. We booked rooms for ourselves and our friends. They were responsible for their kids and us for ours. They handled their own online check in and excursions etc.

You will have to have at least one adult listed in each room, but you can get extra keys and people can sleep where they want. Just make sure your room steward knows which beds need to be pulled out/down and made up.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I would suggest Sister A books the staterooms she needs for her family and Sister B books the stateroom for her family. That way parents are the contact people for their own children. Once onboard, people can sleep in whatever room they want.

 

[Corielynn2]

The only issue with Sister A and B booking separate, is Sister B has 3 children and is trying to avoid having to do 2 rooms.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

The only issue with Sister A and B booking separate, is Sister B has 3 children and is trying to avoid having to do 2 rooms.

Got it. So 1 child from Sister B needs to go into one of Sister A's staterooms - yes? If so, it's really not a big deal. When you sign up for kids club you can list who is authorized to check-in and check-out children and they can simply fill out a Parental Debarkation Authorization to give authorization for adults, other than those in their stateroom to accompany them off the ship.

 

[Corielynn2]

Yes! Thank you! When I tried asking the Travel Agent about it, she made it sound like it was a huge deal and would be hard to do.

 

[FigmentSpark]

What if Sister A books two rooms and includes Sister B in one of the rooms. Then have Sister B's husband book their one room. Everyone sleeps where they want, but that at least puts an adult in each room. You'll have all the reservations tied together anyway.

Conversely, if you're booking the Family staterooms that have 5 beds, sister B could just book her own room, even if she's only using 4 of the 5 beds when on board.

 

[Weedy]

One person can book 3 cabins.
At least one adult needs to be booked in each cabin.
Not all cabins sleep 5 people.
The main bed does not split into tow twins so 2 kids would need to share a bed.
You can book 3 veranda cabins next to each other.
Some of the cabins have a door inside that connects 2 of the cabins= connecting cabins.
Most (not all) of the veranda cabins the divided on the veranda can open so you can have one big veranda.
Once you board people can sleep wherever they want.
A few small issues
People need to attend the lifeboat drill at the cabin they are assigned to. Also in the event of an actual emergency.
You will need to go to Guest Services and get extra key cards. Everyone needs to carry the one with their name on it.
Also at Guest Services you will need to sign a paper that allows the child in your party to leave the ship with the adults that are not in their cabin.

 

[Corielynn2]

What if Sister A books two rooms and includes Sister B in one of the rooms. Then have Sister B's husband book their one room. Everyone sleeps where they want, but that at least puts an adult in each room. You'll have all the reservations tied together anyway.

Oh my goodness! This makes so much more sense Thank you!

 

[lanejudy]

Room 1: Sister A, 3 A kids
Room 2: Sister A's husband, 2 A kids plus 1 B kid
Room 2: Sister B and husband, 2 B kids

Unless any of the kids are young adults (18+), at least one of the couples will need to split up because there must be an adult booked into each stateroom. Sleeping arrangements can be adjusted once onboard. As a PP mentioned, some rooms sleep 5 but not most. Any child booked into a stateroom with a non-parent adult will need to have an authorization on file allowing the parents to leave the ship with that child. I don't see any way to avoid that for either of your sisters until they each book staterooms that fit their own families (2 staterooms definitely for Sister A, Sister B's family could all fit in a 5-passenger stateroom).

Enjoy your cruise!

 

[MunFam]

As a travel agent, my thought goes to what someone else mentioned about the life boats, it would definitely make my agent's head ache. If he/she was attempting to get all of the families in rooms that would put them on the same life boat, that could be a challenge. Remember...if your kiddo is not formally assigned to your cabin and there is an emergency, you may have to separate in to different life boats. You have to be okay with this to book that way. Where you sleep is not a big deal...BUT where you go in the event of an emergency is set in stone.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Also at Guest Services you will need to sign a paper that allows the child in your party to leave the ship with the adults that are not in their cabin.

Yes, even if the child you are taking off the ship is yours, if your child is booked into a different room (with a non-parent adult) that non-parent adult has to sign a waiver for you (the parent) to take (your) child off the ship.