Stateroom(s) for 4 Adults

[KJ1231]

Should have asked this before but curious as to how people travel with "adult: children?

We have 4 kids - 2 (34yo and 28yo) have left the coop, 20yo son in college and 17yo daughter is a senior in high school.

The two younger ones are going with my wife and I on Brilliance in December. We booked adjoining balcony rooms. In looking at the boards I see threads with talk of suites with Pullmans, etc. We get along great so 4 of us in 1 room would not be bad but wondering what the pros and cons would be.

PROS:

• lower price per person - 4 in a suite cheaper than 2 balcony rooms?
• benefits of staying in a suite (C&A, etc.)

CONS:

• 4 people, 1 bathroom
• kids are a boy and a girl and double sofa bed won't work. Extra bed needed

I know there is probably a few more pros & cons so please add to the list

Info will come in handy if/when I can convince the older ones to join us, too!

[twangster]

The extra space and two bathrooms is a huge benefit.  If "kids" like to stay up later, watching TV, whatever, they can have lights on and talk freely when in a separate cabin.  Two showers at the same time, two toilets is huge.    Get ready for dinner or rinse off after a day in the sun is much faster with two showers.  

On Brilliance the balcony dividers don't open so you won't have one big balcony from the two.  A suite will likely mean a larger balcony but maybe not enough chairs for four people.

CON - If buying the deluxe drink package everyone over 21 in cabin must buy it.  With two cabins you can allocate passengers who want it in one cabin, then move them around once on board.  For example if husband wants it, put husband in cabin with 17 yo.  Wife and 20 yo in other cabin.  Husband can buy it, wife doesn't need to.  If you are all in the same cabin, husband and wife have to buy the deluxe package.

More closet and storage with two cabins.

  

 

[KathyC]

We had four of us in a junior suite on Adventure; my husband, me, and out two college aged sons.  With them being the same sex, they could share the sofa bed.  Our plan was to see how big the sofa bed was, and if it was too small for the boys to share my husband & I would share it and the regular bed would be split into two singles for the boys.  Once we got on the ship, we asked the stateroom attendant if a rollaway bed was available, and one was.  If we had a balcony room it would NOT have fit.  The extra space the junior suite has allowed plenty of room for the extra bed.  My boys took turns who slept on the sofabed and who slept in the rollaway, and the hubs & I enjoyed the nice comfy king bed.   

You can ask your TA to call Royal and ask if one can be added to your reservation (or you have to call yourself if you didn't use one) and most likely they will say it doesn't fit in the room.  You can try asking again onboard; if you stateroom attendant can make it work, he/she will.

We have no problem sharing a room with our boys, four in one bathroom was never a problem.  Having the junior suite made a big difference, I will admit, as it comes with a walk-in closet which we used as a changing room when privacy was needed & someone was in the bathroom. We will be sharing a balcony room next year on the Anthem group cruise and that will be fun, since it will be the smaller room.  But I'm told the sofa beds are bigger on Anthem than on Adventure.  

[WAAAYTOOO]

One con that you might need to consider.  If you have 1 full suite (Grand Suite or higher) and one non-suite, those that are in the non-suite will not be eligible for suite amenities such as breakfast in the specialty restaurant (usually Chops but can be a different restaurant, depending on the ship).  The non-suite guests would also not be invited to into the suites lounge if your ship has one.  So if this is something that might cause a problem, you might just want to consider how it would affect your suite experience.

If you're thinking of doing a Jr Suite and a non-suite then it wouldn't really affect any of the suite privileges as the Jr Suite has no real suite privileges to speak of.

[Mljstr]

You might try to find a ship with this cabin arrangement. We are taking two 17 year old grandchildren (boy and girl cousins) on the Liberty 2019 and we booked an Ultra Spacious Ocean View. I don't know what other ships these types of cabins are on.

Ultra Spacious Ocean View

These spacious staterooms accommodate six in its twin beds, sofa or Pullman beds and sitting area. (Up to 6 guests)

Beds

• Two twin beds that convert to a Royal King bed
• One double sofa bed
• Two Pullman beds

Size

• Stateroom: 336 sq. ft.

[JLMoran]

15 hours ago, KJ1231 said:

PROS:

• lower price per person - 4 in a suite cheaper than 2 balcony rooms?

Not necessarily. When we booked our cruise on Freedom for March/April of this year, even getting all four of us in a Jr. Suite was more expensive than booking two connecting balcony rooms. Going for a Grand Suite or higher would have been prohibitively more expensive, and we were willing to splurge on this trip!

And then a Wave Sale came along two months after we had booked and dropped the total price of our two balcony rooms by nearly $2k; any regrets about not having the suite washed away with that wave.

[twangster]

On Quantum class I'm going with a family junior suite for 3 adults.  A bathroom plus a 1/2 bathroom being the deciding factor.  Access to Coastal Kitchen plays heavily into it as well.  In my case with 3 adults, two cabins is cost prohibitive because of the single supplement for one of those two cabins.

Radiance class doesn't feature JS with 2 bathrooms and it doesn't have a Coastal Kitchen restaurant either.  In my opinion the benefits of a JS on this class are a little bigger cabin and double C&A points.  Four adults in a JS on Radiance class is doable but cozy.  Sharing a bathroom is possibly the biggest challenge.

As @Mljstr mentioned on deck 7 and 8 there are spacious ocean view cabins with views forward and/or to the side but no balcony.  If balcony is a must have then these cabins are out.  Some of these cabins like 7004/7504 feature a separate bunk area in addition to a sofa bed and room for a pullman.  There are video walk throughs on Youtube.  They are very spacious, but a single bathroom.

A lot would depend on pricing.    

 

 

[AnnetteJackson]

Have you considered a Family room?  it gives you more space.  If the kids are tall the bunk beds might not work but there is also a sofa bed.  Still only one bathroom but lots of space for 6 people in one room.