Burned the first time but want to try again

[disneycruisedreams]

Background... My family sailed on the Jewel a few years ago. We had sailed 5 times previously on other lines. We couldn't wait to get off the ship. We are not had to please but did not find the ship family friendly at all. From the staff giving us weird looks when we asked for milk for our kids to having the kids (9 and 7) sleep sideways on a sofa bed that was made into a pullout. We could see the 2 by 4's underneath. It was so small they couldn't even lay straight. They had to sleep knees bent. We had a Junior suite. The shows were not kid friendly and we could only go to 1 and even that had adult innuendos. There's more but I don't want to bore you.
Anyway, I am trying to find another ship that has better sleeping arrangements but even though I put in 4 people I only get staterooms that say max occupancy of 2. Can someone help? What stateroom and ship should we be looking for? We prefer a balcony. Our kids are 12 and 10 now.

 

[DnA2010]

When we did a big family gathering on Oasis, several families were families of 4 and had no issues in a balcony cabin. The kids loved the shows, especially the diving show and the ice show and the commedien. There were tones of kids on the ship and Our server catered to our bunch of kids ever whim. I haven't looked into/been on the older ships but Oasis and Freedom class are fantastic. DD had an outstanding time in the clubs, we liked how involved the staff were and that there weren't as many computers

 

[disneycruisedreams]

Thank you! Maybe that's what I need to do is try a newer ship. How do you specify Pullman bed instead of just sofa bed?

 

[ldo]

many RCCL balconies do not sleep 4 persons. What you want to look for is where it says 3rd and 4th pullman or bunkbed. On Freedom class ships, the 2nd and 3rd deck oceanview cabins sleep 4 and have pullmans, the other floors have a sofabed. We also really like Princess as an alternative to DCL.

 

[bumbershoot]

having the kids (9 and 7) sleep sideways on a sofa bed that was made into a pullout. We could see the 2 by 4's underneath. It was so small they couldn't even lay straight. They had to sleep knees bent.

Just remake the bed so they sleep longways if that happens again.

But a room for 4 should have had another bed IMO; are you sure there wasn't one that came out above the main bed?

The shows were not kid friendly

Nope, they aren't. They aren't me-friendly, either, LOL.

even though I put in 4 people I only get staterooms that say max occupancy of 2.

That's bizarre. Can you give specific examples?

If you see it and you want to book a room, I'd call and talk to them. Their website is being remade, just like WDW, and I think they hired the same IT trained monkeys. Or do a specific online search on that room on that ship if it comes up with pictures, etc.

If you go to see or change the stateroom, you'll get a map. In the map's key you see that a triangle meals a sofabed, an asterisk means a 3rd pullman (not 3 pullmans, but a pullman as a 3rd bed), and a cross means there are 3rd and 4th beds etc.

 

[DnA2010]

[QUOTE="bumbershoot, post: 55047611, member: 141567


Nope, they aren't. They aren't me-friendly, either, LOL.

.[/QUOTE]

Really? The ice show, the water/diving show, Hairspray, family comedian? Our kids liked them all so much (ages 9,9,2,12) that they wanted to see some of them again?

 

[ldo]

I found some shows not family friendly, but it was years ago (graphic Madonna video prior to the 8:15 main show Easter week with tons of kids in the theater)-totally inappropriate for kids/preteens. Since then, we have sailed 4X with RCCL and never had anything like that. Some shows, such as Sat Night Fever on the Liberty were more adult content, but that was obvious from the storyline. Some of the comedians are more adult for the later show, but the main shows have all been fine.

 

[disneycruisedreams]

I don't know how to use the quote function and just grab a sentence.

As far as remaking the bed the other way... It was even shorter that way. You had to sleep parallel to the wall to fit. I wish I had a picture. It's so hard to explain.
There was no bed in the ceiling.
I just think it was a make-shift temporary fix to get more people in a cabin. I blame our TA. I now know what to look for.
I think the bigger RCCL ships are better suited for families with the ice rink and water shows. Even the movies on RCCL were PG13 or R rated.

 

[ldo]

I would pick a larger (new) ship with more to choose from or one of the Freedom class that has Dreamworks on it. We did have many Dreamworks character meets + 1 3D Dreamworks movie shown on a sea day in the big theater. You can look on cruisecritics.com and search for cruise compasses for the ship/type of sailing you are consdering to get an idea. They will not have kids offerings in them. But, the main entertainment, movies, etc. will be listed.

 

[karmacats]

i would agree with the previous posters that you should be looking at freedom-class (freedom, liberty, and independence of the seas) and oasis-class (oasis, allure, and harmony of the seas) ships. they have dreamworks, kid and tween clubs/activities, and family-friendly entertainment.

the only entertainment i haven't found to be family friendly are the late-night comedians and quest, which are clearly labeled adults-only. as for the production shows, like saturday night fever or mamma mia, it would just depend on the kid and your beliefs/values - i would have no problem taking my tween/teen kids to see mamma mia, for example, but i have friends who wouldn't let their kids see it because it's about a girl who doesn't know who her father is, so clearly there are some hints of premarital relations. it's pretty easy to do an online search for synopses of the production shows, though, to figure out if they are appropriate. other shows like the ice skating shows and aerial shows are appropriate for all ages. there are also dreamworks-themed skating shows on allure (based on "how to train your dragon"), and dreamworks aqua shows on oasis and allure.

fwiw, i'm glad you are giving royal another chance. we had a similar experience with disney - our first disney cruise was so horrendous we did not cruise at all again for 8 years, and did not cruise disney again for 15. then we gave them another try, enjoyed our trip, and having been doing a cruise per year on disney for the past 4 years. i hope the same thing happens for you on your next royal cruise!

 

[sebastian75_99]

I have also been researching a royal cruise for my family with kids age 9 and 12. I was having the same issue with max occupancy 2 staterooms being suggested for us to book. For the life of me, I could not figure out which rooms slept 4. Not sure where i heard this, maybe the new Dreams podcast, but i heard somewhere that Royal Caribbean does not charge per stateroom, but per person. I played with a few bookings and sure enough, 2 staterooms, either connecting or next door to each other, cost the same as 1 stateroom for a family with 2 kids. For me it will be an easy decision when i do finally book. I would much rather have twice the space and bathrooms for the same price than trying to cram all 4 of us in a room that we might not fit into. I hope this helps

 

[karmacats]

I have also been researching a royal cruise for my family with kids age 9 and 12. I was having the same issue with max occupancy 2 staterooms being suggested for us to book. For the life of me, I could not figure out which rooms slept 4. Not sure where i heard this, maybe the new Dreams podcast, but i heard somewhere that Royal Caribbean does not charge per stateroom, but per person. I played with a few bookings and sure enough, 2 staterooms, either connecting or next door to each other, cost the same as 1 stateroom for a family with 2 kids. For me it will be an easy decision when i do finally book. I would much rather have twice the space and bathrooms for the same price than trying to cram all 4 of us in a room that we might not fit into. I hope this helps

that reminds me - i was going to mention the new royal website is horrible for booking, so if you want a room with both a sofabed and a pullman/ceiling bed, the easiest thing might just be to call. you can always have the deck plans up on the website in front of you so when they tell you room numbers you can check out the location.

as for pricing, the 3rd and 4th passenger are generally cheaper on royal, so it's usually cheaper to have everyone in one room. the BOGO promotion that's going on right now has seriously messed with pricing, though, so in many cases it's about the same price to get two rooms, as you found. in that case, i think getting two rooms is a no-brainer. if you were looking at balconies, royal will often let you book kids into an inside room directly across the hall from a balcony you're in, which would save even more $$$, if you're ok with the kids being across the hall rather than next door.

 

[sebastian75_99]

Thank you Karmacats!! I had not thought about putting them across the hall. I really like that idea Thanks also for the information about booking 1 versus 2 rooms.

 

[papertraveller]

And a word to the wise -- sometimes even when you book and they say you're getting a pullout couch, you don't. One member of our travelling party checked with her TA, then called the cruise line, all to confirm that she was not getting a room with the third bed coming out of the ceiling. She made it clear throughout that there were three adults travelling -- and they still got a room with the bed in the ceiling.
We had a room with a pullout couch bed -- it was very small.

And as to the stage entertainment on the Jewel, I agree -- not 'me' friendly either. It got to the point where I couldn't stand to be in the same room as the cruise director and his wife. It was almost like they were treating the singing and dancing talent as their backups. I still cringe at the thought.

That said, the orchestra, and the piano bar talent, were amazing.

 

[ldo]

please do not put kids in a room without an adult. there are many possible mishaps that can happen. Sadly, I read that a teen even died a few years ago. He had a medical issue, but the other kids in the room were sound sleepers and did not hear him in distress.

 

[Ofinn]

please do not put kids in a room without an adult. there are many possible mishaps that can happen. Sadly, I read that a teen even died a few years ago. He had a medical issue, but the other kids in the room were sound sleepers and did not hear him in distress.

Dont your kids sleep in their own room at home?

 

[ldo]

It's against cruiseline policies and likely illegal. Sleeping in a cabin behind a locked door without any possibility of a parent hearing anything going on in the cabin is different than in a house in their room, IMHO. I know it's done all the time. On our Disney cruise, parents even had kids on a different floor.

 

[MickeySP]

RCCL also offers "family connected" rooms, like hotel adjoining rooms. I do believe you have to call to book.

If you want a good look at Oasis check out this trip report, you can see it is kid friendly.
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2308542&highlight=oasis

 

[starvenger]

I've done connected rooms, in part because by the time we booked, it was about $200 difference between getting 1 room for 4 people and 2 rooms for 2 people each. Would highly recommend it if you get that small a price difference.

 

[sam_gordon]

It's against cruiseline policies and likely illegal

This is incorrect. If it's against cruiseline policies, RCCL wouldn't let you do the booking. I'd also like to know what laws you think it would break.

As far as an adult "hearing" something... what if the kids are at a sleep over? Often they're in a basement and the adults are at least one floor above if not two.