I take my kids on at least five cruises every year because it's become the best kind of family vacation, but I've had to re-learn the same lesson a few times.
Each of my kids has been cruising since they were 6 months old, and as they've grown, there have been different challenges to traveling with them. But as they've matured into teenagers, my wife and I have grown to understand we had to change the cabin arrangements for everyone's sanity.
Family fights, arguing, and constant complaining lead us to change how we book cruises with our kids. It's easy to point to kids being spoiled brats, but there is truth in some separation is a good thing for families.
Now that my kids are entering their teens, I've had to create a rule for our family cruises that ultimately makes everyone happier.
I book separate rooms and bathrooms for us and the kids
The rule about booking cruises started off that we needed to have one bathroom for us, and one bathroom for our girls.
As girls mature, they take longer showers and spend far more time getting ready to go out. Makeup, hair, styling, admiring, singing, and whatever else they do in there takes up time.
Trying to share a bathroom between two adults and two kids just wasn't working, and it lead to me taking showers at odd times of the day or even going to the ship's fitness center to use the showers there.
So I started having my travel agent price out two connecting rooms or suites that had two full bathrooms.
Sharing a suite with them, like the Icon Loft Suite, proved that even having a second bathroom doesn't work from a privacy standpoint.
The couch in that suite opens up to a bed, but there's not enough physical separation between the master bedroom upstairs and the living room/bedroom for the kids downstairs.
I was fine giving up suites in favor of connecting rooms because it's ultimately cheaper.
I book two rooms near each other
At first, I would book connecting rooms so we had a common door between us to make it convenient for going back and forth.
I don't mind connecting rooms, but you end up with the same room category for both cabins. So if I book a balcony room for me and my wife, my kids get a balcony room too.
My kids never go out on their balcony. Most of the time they keep the curtains closed to keep the room dark!
This lead me to a little-known fact that Royal Caribbean will allow you to book a minor in a stateroom by themselves if it's one room across or adjacent to the parents.
This means I can book a balcony room for us, and a less expensive inside room for the kids. It's a financial and logistical win all around.
Some suites could work, but it's expensive
You might be surprised how difficult it is to find a suite that has two separate bedrooms and full bathrooms.
Most suites tend to have just one full bathroom, and fewer have two bedroom areas.
The best suite for this is the Two Bedroom AquaTheater Suite on the Oasis Class ships, but the price of all Royal Caribbean suites has sky rocketed over the last few years.
None of the Icon Class ships have this sort of a cabin, so it's really the Ultimate Family Townhouse or nothing. Paying six figures for a suite is well out of my price range.
Booking two cabins to have two bathrooms has avoided so many arguments
The family cruise hack of booking two rooms went from "nice to have" to our family cruise rule to avoid problems.
While my kids will quarrel amongst themselves who gets to shower first when we return from the beach, at least there's no competition with us for it either.
Moreover, having two rooms means we can come back from our evening fun around the ship without waking the others up.
There is one problem with separate cabins and that's enforcing curfew. While we let our oldest daughter roam the ship with her friends, we can't peek in the room easily to see if she's back before her curfew time.
Our best solution thus far has been to send us a photo from inside the cabin when she returns to confirm she's there.
It would be easier with a connecting room, but the money saved by getting them an inside room is worth the hassle.
I wish there were lower level suites that could accommodate our needs
Royal Caribbean has a variety of suites, but they tend to be rooms that are giant versions of balcony rooms.
I would prefer if they added more two bedroom suites that are within the Owner's Suite or Grand Suite price range.
However, their workaround seems to be adding cabins that have outside connecting doors you can close off to form de-facto suites.
I've seen on newer ships more options to book two or three cabins that have a common hallway or outside door. Once you close off the outer door, you can keep every cabin door open/ajar and allow for free flow between rooms.
This sort of works, except you have to prop open the main door since every cruise ship cabin door automatically locks after a few seconds.
My family cruise rule keeps everyone happy
Any dad out there would likely agree when you take your family on vacation, you want everyone to have a good time and spare your spouse unnecessary fights among the kids.
I think having a room for the kids and a room for us has proven to be a winning combination.
I look at this way: a cruise should be a fun vacation for everyone, and I'm willing to spend a little bit extra to make it easier on us all.
