What do you book for a family of....

[California Mom]

8? We've never been on a cruise. We have six kids and are considering a 4-night disney cruise next year, but I don't know what size room I should consider. My oldest teenage son may bring a friend so it may be a total of nine. If he brings a friend, then I would probably just have them in a room themselves. However, if it's just our family (8) I'm assuming that I may have to book two rooms. Are the rooms available connected (with a door between the rooms)? Any recommendations or suggestions?

THANKS!

 

[hilltopfamily]

yes, they have rooms that are connecting (have a door that opens between the 2 rooms). Be sure to specify this as opposed to adjoining rooms (beside each other but not connecting).

We are a family of 5 going on our 1st cruise and did just that-booked 2 connecting rooms. We plan on kids in one room, adults in the other. DCL charges 1st 2 people in each room at the adult rate and list an adult under each room but they do not care what sleeping arrangements you use (i.e. they don't care who is in what room). So with 5 people (3 of which are kids) we end up paying 4 adult rates + 1 child but this was still less expensive than the family veranda room (partly because we skipped the veranda & have inside rooms). I think we'll be happy to give up the veranda as we will have 2 bathrooms!!!!

 

[Buckaroo's Dad]

It might help those "in the know" if you posted the children's ages and gender.

 

[my3kids]

If you take a friend, the cost will increase exponetially compared to not. As stated, the first 2 in each room are charged the full, adult fare, regardless of age. If you take the firend and have to go to 3 rooms in a less expensive category, then you are suddenly paying for 6 adults instead of 4. Also, someone at least 21 has to be booked into each room. You and your spouse can cover 2, but not 3 rooms. Only option would be 2 connecting category 4 rooms, which would hold 5 people each. It wouldn't be inexpensive, but it would work, with only paying 4 full fares and 5 third/fourth/fifth passenger rates.

 

[cjsmith]

If you want connecting rooms, book early as there are not that many of those. You can always have adjoining room, or even right across the hallway from one another depending on your kids ages. We're a family of 5 and always book 2 cabins. I put my husband and 2 boys in one cabin and my daughter and I in the other, just for booking purposes. Like DCL told me, there aren't "pillow police" to know where you actually sleep, so the kids are in one and we're in another cabin right across the hallway from them. There has to be one adult per cabin for booking. You will pay for 4 adults and 1 child this way, but for me, it's still cheaper than the cateogory 4. We get a category 11 for the kids and a category 6 for my husband and I. (The kids don't want an outside cabin.) Plus, I love having 2 bathrroms, especially with a teenage daughter!
If you have a party of 9, you're going to run into alittle more trouble, however. You're going to have to get a category 4 or higher for the party of 5, so it's going to limit what cabins and categories are available to you. Unless one of the kids is over 18 or so, they won't even put you into 3 cabins. (I tried to do this for our next cruise so that my daughter could bring a friend and couldn't book the 3rd cabin as there were only two of us over 18.)
Carolyn