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4 In a Small Room


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We've been booking a short cruise end of summer before our kids return to school.  With the latest deployment, there is a 5 night Bermuda cruise on Freedom.  What's great about this cruise is (1) Haven't been on Freedom yet (we like to try new ships if possible), (2) it's getting amped. (3) never done Bermuda, (4) it's out of NY which makes air fare a bit less.  The issue?  Even an interior is quite pricey and this 5 day isn't much less than a 7 night.

We've stayed in a variety of staterooms with all of us in a promenade room before (but on Oasis class where they are 190 sq ft) or a balcony with all of us (182-200 sq ft).  We've also booked 2 rooms when feasible. Our kids have shared a sofa bed, but as they get older, separate beds are ideal.  

Since we've been cruising 2x - 3x a year and we need to fly to the port, we try and keep our budget low.  For this Freedom cruise, the most affordable option (which is still 1K more than we typically pay for these short cruises) in an interior, which is only 150 sq ft. (or perhaps ocean view is an option, but same size).  The good thing though is that the room has 2 Pullmans vs a single sofa bed for our kids.

Anyone tried one of these rooms for a family of four?  Our kids will be 16 and 12 by this cruise.

Will see what else comes out in a couple weeks with the short Caribbean cruises, but for the reasons above, this Freedom is a nice candidate (and we've done Mariner and Navigator).

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Honestly, I would never squeeze all four of us into one room that size.  Have you considered either an spacious interior (1R or 1Q) or the ultra spacious ocean view cabins (1K)?  Those are the ones that can technically sleep 6 and offer a bit more space.  Which sailing are you looking at, we just booked Freedom yesterday for August 2021...

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Im doing 4 (wife and I, 8 year old son and 4 year old son) in an interior room, over Spring Break. I asked this same question, and the common response was "it will be cramped". One of @Matt 's "do not do this" things is booking 4 in one smaller room vs. booking two rooms or a bigger room. That being said, I did it anyway based on my experience with cruising, my experience with my family dynamic, and our budget. Who knows, I may end up regretting it and agreeing with Matt. But it was either book this room and actually DO THINGS on the cruise, or book 2 rooms and be restricted in spending. Bottom line opinion: YOU know what your family is like, and if it will probably be ok or not. if its the difference between cruising, or not......YOLO BOOK IT!   

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1 minute ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Honestly, I would never squeeze all four of us into one room that size.  Have you considered either an spacious interior (1R or 1Q) or the ultra spacious ocean view cabins (1K)?  Those are the ones that can technically sleep 6 and offer a bit more space.  Which sailing are you looking at, we just booked Freedom yesterday for August 2021...

Yeah...i have the Spacious Int and Spacious PR noted in my spreadsheet but both of these rooms are over $5K in CAD (we book refundable until we book flights).  I don't think the ultra spacious ones are for us as being right at the front as our son as he has a sensitive stomach.  A balcony at 188 sq ft is a few dollars less than 5K.  Crazy when it's a 5 night cruise....but so many pros about this one.

Great that you've booked her already.  Funny enough, price has gone up from yesterday already (not sure if its an adjustment on taxes or the base price).

We will be on Adventure when the rest of the short cruises come out so will see options then.

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2 minutes ago, WannaCruise said:

but so many pros about this one.

We just booked for Hubby and I on this one seeing that we are taking the kids on the Norway GC the month before.  Like you said, our main reason for booking is the ship.  We have never sailed Freedom and I'm interested in checking it out post amp.

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12 minutes ago, SteveinSC said:

Im doing 4 (wife and I, 8 year old son and 4 year old son) in an interior room, over Spring Break. I asked this same question, and the common response was "it will be cramped". One of @Matt 's "do not do this" things is booking 4 in one smaller room vs. booking two rooms or a bigger room. That being said, I did it anyway based on my experience with cruising, my experience with my family dynamic, and our budget. Who knows, I may end up regretting it and agreeing with Matt. But it was either book this room and actually DO THINGS on the cruise, or book 2 rooms and be restricted in spending. Bottom line opinion: YOU know what your family is like, and if it will probably be ok or not. if its the difference between cruising, or not......YOLO BOOK IT!   

Yeah...not expecting a lot of space but as long as we can manage. Don't spend a ton of time in the room so am not dismissing it. As mentioned, we've stayed 4 in a room, and typically do, but not in such a small one (and full enclosed interior with no window at all). Guessing there is less storage too?  I priced out 2 rooms but those also come close to 5K.  I hear you about balancing the budget...our March Break one we know is the pricier one, and so end of summer we try and keep it lower with a shorter cruise.  Having said that, our kids are older than yours and I wouldn't be as hesitant with kids your age (if a pullman is an option-but some have double sofa bed too).  

P.S. - I do love the YOLO saying on here.  So true.?

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2 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

We just booked for Hubby and I on this one seeing that we are taking the kids on the Norway GC the month before.  Like you said, our main reason for booking is the ship.  We have never sailed Freedom and I'm interested in checking it out post amp.

That's great!  So nice you are getting away with the full family, plus a cruise just you and your hubby.  

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Just now, AshleyDillo said:

Her kiddos' guilt trip game was good..she was originally planning to do Norway without them!

We were done for when they played the teacher card back on me and said they would be missing a culturally enriching experience.  No clue where they would get ideas like that from?! ?

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3 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

We were done for when they played the teacher card back on me and said they would be missing a culturally enriching experience.  No clue where they would get ideas like that from?! ?

Well they aren't wrong...now they need to start figuring out how to monetarily enrich your wallet if they keep expecting to go on all these great cultural learning experiences ?

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24 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

We were done for when they played the teacher card back on me and said they would be missing a culturally enriching experience.  No clue where they would get ideas like that from?! ?

My kids are still staying home, they aren’t smart enough/old enough to come up with that argument so they won’t know what they are missing yet. 
 

They will get their culturally enriching experience in a few years when we spend a few weeks with family who live in Luxembourg.

 

...........and the post high jacking has begun.......sorry...

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Our cruise is partly about culturally enriching, also! My wife is from Honduras, and the itinerary includes Roatan, Honduras.  We are trying to get family to meet us there, but its proving more difficult than we had hoped.  Our oldest has spent a week with us in Tegucigalpa, but it was as a baby, and our youngest has never been.  We recognize Roatan is far different than the mainland, but hey.....its something!!! 

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11 hours ago, WannaCruise said:

The good thing though is that the room has 2 Pullmans

Once upon a time we did a cruise just like this (it was in fact on Majesty, back when she was considered a *huge* ship), but with 4 unrelated adults. Our cabin attendant giggled a little when we first got there and opened the cabin door. It was TIGHT. However, we still had a great time -- we just spent almost no time in the room. As long as you understand what you're getting it's manageable ? 

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1 hour ago, bytheslice said:

I also noticed the prices for Freedom sailing out of Bayonne. When it was first announced that Oasis would be in Bayonne in 2020, the prices were also originally set very high. They have since come down to decent prices. Keep checking to see if Freedom drops, which I expect just as Oasis did.

Thanks for the note.  Good to know that Oasis came down after time.

One thing I noticed...the taxes & fees are $235 CAD each.  Comparing to other cruises, that's pretty high.  Another thing I noticed...is that I think this cruise has an overnight stay in Bermuda.  So maybe that is driving the taxes & fees up, and thus driving the overall cost up?

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11 minutes ago, WannaCruise said:

Thanks for the note.  Good to know that Oasis came down after time.

One thing I noticed...the taxes & fees are $235 CAD each.  Comparing to other cruises, that's pretty high.  Another thing I noticed...is that I think this cruise has an overnight stay in Bermuda.  So maybe that is driving the taxes & fees up, and thus driving the overall cost up?

This is why I am looking at Liberty. There is better value there. 2 more nights and cheaper. Have you considered Liberty?

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Just now, Lovetocruise2002 said:

This is why I am looking at Liberty. There is better value there. 2 more nights and cheaper. Have you considered Liberty?

Thanks for the suggestion.  Always avoided it as wasn't sure about flying into Houston (I think that would be the airport).  But yeah...I'm looking and a 7 night Liberty cruise over the same week (last week in the summer) is less.  For Liberty, the Spacious PR rooms are quite reasonable...as are taxes & fees. Flight is more but it is a good option.  We did the Liberty itinerary on Symphony this past March.  Bermuda we've never done.  But to be honest...it's more about the ship for us than the ports.

So you're leaning towards Liberty?  I know this one is just you and DH, but form our side, our kids would love that boomerang water slide. 

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48 minutes ago, KristiZ said:

Once upon a time we did a cruise just like this (it was in fact on Majesty, back when she was considered a *huge* ship), but with 4 unrelated adults. Our cabin attendant giggled a little when we first got there and opened the cabin door. It was TIGHT. However, we still had a great time -- we just spent almost no time in the room. As long as you understand what you're getting it's manageable ? 

Lol...that's gutsy.  But then again...the nice thing is that you can have 4 separate beds if you want.  That's the thing....the room would be just to shower, sleep and change, and otherwise, we're elsewhere on the ship.  Well, as long as there is enough storage as I'm not the lightest packer. ?

It would also be a step down as we've been booking a balcony or 2 promenade or virtual interior rooms.  

Deciding whether to just book the interior room and watch prices....or to wait a couple weeks when on board and see what else opens up.  I think we would make do.  After all, we'd still be on a cruise.

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26 minutes ago, WannaCruise said:

Thanks for the suggestion.  Always avoided it as wasn't sure about flying into Houston (I think that would be the airport).  But yeah...I'm looking and a 7 night Liberty cruise over the same week (last week in the summer) is less.  For Liberty, the Spacious PR rooms are quite reasonable...as are taxes & fees. Flight is more but it is a good option.  We did the Liberty itinerary on Symphony this past March.  Bermuda we've never done.  But to be honest...it's more about the ship for us than the ports.

So you're leaning towards Liberty?  I know this one is just you and DH, but form our side, our kids would love that boomerang water slide. 

Hubby just likes the fact that we have never sailed out of Galveston so it’s new to him. He doesn’t like repeats. The flight is the major disadvantage for us. The price is not much different but there are no non-stops and I don’t like that.

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49 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Hubby just likes the fact that we have never sailed out of Galveston so it’s new to him. He doesn’t like repeats. The flight is the major disadvantage for us. The price is not much different but there are no non-stops and I don’t like that.

Yeah that's something to consider. Our city has direct but I remember you saying that you fly out if Detroit.

I do get the trying new ships and experiences.

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12 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

This is why I am looking at Liberty. There is better value there. 2 more nights and cheaper. Have you considered Liberty?n

Not sure as well if Independence will do short Caribbean?  If so, that would be another option if the dates align.  DH and I were on her last December, but our kids have never been on her.

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On 12/4/2019 at 8:14 AM, WannaCruise said:

We've been booking a short cruise end of summer before our kids return to school.  With the latest deployment, there is a 5 night Bermuda cruise on Freedom.  What's great about this cruise is (1) Haven't been on Freedom yet (we like to try new ships if possible), (2) it's getting amped. (3) never done Bermuda, (4) it's out of NY which makes air fare a bit less.  The issue?  Even an interior is quite pricey and this 5 day isn't much less than a 7 night.

We've stayed in a variety of staterooms with all of us in a promenade room before (but on Oasis class where they are 190 sq ft) or a balcony with all of us (182-200 sq ft).  We've also booked 2 rooms when feasible. Our kids have shared a sofa bed, but as they get older, separate beds are ideal.  

Since we've been cruising 2x - 3x a year and we need to fly to the port, we try and keep our budget low.  For this Freedom cruise, the most affordable option (which is still 1K more than we typically pay for these short cruises) in an interior, which is only 150 sq ft. (or perhaps ocean view is an option, but same size).  The good thing though is that the room has 2 Pullmans vs a single sofa bed for our kids.

Anyone tried one of these rooms for a family of four?  Our kids will be 16 and 12 by this cruise.

Will see what else comes out in a couple weeks with the short Caribbean cruises, but for the reasons above, this Freedom is a nice candidate (and we've done Mariner and Navigator).

We have done 3, not 4.  Suitcases might get in the way with four occupants,  but it can be done.  it is no worse than camping with four to a tent, and you are not in your room that much.  The issue we encountered is that when our son was 16 he stayed out until curfew with a great group of teens.  So we were in bed when he climbed up the ladder to the Pullman bed.  We managed, but it is something to consider.

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1 hour ago, ChessE4 said:

We have done 3, not 4.  Suitcases might get in the way with four occupants,  but it can be done.  it is no worse than camping with four to a tent, and you are not in your room that much.  The issue we encountered is that when our son was 16 he stayed out until curfew with a great group of teens.  So we were in bed when he climbed up the ladder to the Pullman bed.  We managed, but it is something to consider.

Thanks for sharing.  Good to know that you managed and that your main issue was your son returning late.  

For suitcases, it's probably a good thing for DH....as it will force me to pack less.  May have to reduce those 3 suitcases to 2...lol.

Can't predict our situation in 2 years, but to date, our kids don't use the kids/teen clubs and we hang out together as a family (either the four of us, or we split into two).  And at night, DH and I started going out and the kids just watch tv in the room before bed.  But yeah...when he is 16, he might want to do more on his own , and with other kids.  

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I did 4 in the cheapest interior room that we could find on Radiance of the Seas in 2006.  It was my wife and I and two kids age 10 & 12.  

Sleeping was no problem.

Using all of the tricks, like storing luggage under the bed, we were able to have some space.

The bathroom took some coordination, but we got along just fine.

The biggest problem was that the other 6 people in our party that were also staying in interior rooms would come to our room and hang out.  That was VERY cozy!

My kids still remember that as one of their favorite vacations.

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2 hours ago, steverk said:

I did 4 in the cheapest interior room that we could find on Radiance of the Seas in 2006.  It was my wife and I and two kids age 10 & 12.  

Sleeping was no problem.

Using all of the tricks, like storing luggage under the bed, we were able to have some space.

The bathroom took some coordination, but we got along just fine.

The biggest problem was that the other 6 people in our party that were also staying in interior rooms would come to our room and hang out.  That was VERY cozy!

My kids still remember that as one of their favorite vacations.

Thank you so much for the feedback .  Sounds like you managed fine and still had a blast. ?

Yeah...even with a bigger room, it takes coordination and organization for sharing 4 to one bathroom (but I'm the queen of organization...ha ha).

Lol...sounds fun with the extra visitors.  Can always make things work right?

Update...we went ahead and booked it.  I'll keep an eye on the price of the other rooms, but tbh, I don't expect them to come down enough.  I checked the same Bermuda itinerary, also end of August but for 2020 and it it 1K more.  Will also see what the week of Dec 16th brings for the rest of the short Caribbean cruises that are released, but likely we'll keep Freedom and manage.  Just realized that I told our kids about the booking but forgot to mention the room.

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5 minutes ago, Srp431 said:

We did 4 people in an outside balcony room on Freedom a few yrs ago. Didn't have any issues with the exception of getting read for formal night. We got dressed in shifts to avoid knocking elbows. It was 2 adults and 2 kids (6 and 11)

Awesome. thank you.  Good tip....nothing wrong with the girls getting ready first (we take longer), and then the guys.  

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You can definitely do 4 people in a room if it's just 2 adults and 2 kids. Unless your kids are extremely crazy and all you guys do is stay in the room then maybe it's not a good option. So I wouldn't let anything scare you from booking 4 people in a room. With that said you can easily pay the same price and just get a  room next door. The question with that is are your kids old enough to be in a room next door by themselves with you being comfortable or is mommy and daddy going to sleep separately and have one stay with each kid.

For my sake, kids are sleeping in their own room just like they do at home lol. Life is easy with just 1 kid, but once you start adding more (like me) things get more complicated smh.

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14 minutes ago, xps15z said:

You can definitely do 4 people in a room if it's just 2 adults and 2 kids. Unless your kids are extremely crazy and all you guys do is stay in the room then maybe it's not a good option. So I wouldn't let anything scare you from booking 4 people in a room. With that said you can easily pay the same price and just get a  room next door. The question with that is are your kids old enough to be in a room next door by themselves with you being comfortable or is mommy and daddy going to sleep separately and have one stay with each kid.

For my sake, kids are sleeping in their own room just like they do at home lol. Life is easy with just 1 kid, but once you start adding more (like me) things get more complicated smh.

Thanks for the reply.  I should clarify that we have all stayed in a single room before, but not as small as 150 sq ft, and not a basic interior.  We've all stayed in a single promenade room on Oasis class, but these are 190 sq ft and have the bay window and seat.  And we've also all stayed in a Boardwalk balcony at 182 sq ft and a spacious balcony at 210 sq ft, both of which have the balcony for extra space.  And we managed fine.  The nice thing with this Freedom room is they each get their own pullman.

For your comment above, unfortunately not for this cruise.  Two interior rooms, even non-connecting ones, costs an additional $1200.  The single room alone is quite pricey for this cruise considering it's just a 5 day .  If this was the only vacation we did in a year, then we would consider it, but we also cruise for March break and thus, need to watch our vacation budget.

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