Tuesday, September 30, 2008

It's All About the Family


Let's face it: cruising is wonderful, in fact it's probably the best vacation value around, but it can sometimes get tricky when you're trying to book a stateroom and you have more than four people in your family. I have five people in my immediate family, as I am married and we have three kids under the age of 16. I grew up in a family of five, so it was always two adjacent hotel rooms for us when we would travel, but trying to accommodate all of us comfortably on a cruise ship gets a little more complicated. This is because my husband and I always insist on having a balcony stateroom, and then we need to be able to find an inside stateroom across the hall to accommodate our kids. (We've never booked far enough in advance to snag one of the limited number of "family staterooms" that are available on most ships.) The good thing, however, is that it finally seems as if cruise lines are getting smarter and more hip to the fact that many families exceed the "perfect four" of mommy, daddy, son, and daughter. Family staterooms, those that accommodate five or more passengers, are becoming more commonplace, and thus, easier to book than ever before.

Take Royal Caribbean's new Oasis of the Seas, for example. The Oasis of the Seas has several different categories of staterooms that will accommodate larger families, ranging from the Family Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony, which sleeps six; all the way up to the tony Royal Loft Suite, which sleeps six in grand style in a two-story stateroom complete with baby grand piano, indoor and outdoor dining rooms, and a huge balcony furnished with an LCD TV, entertainment area, and Jacuzzi. And if you need even more bunks, there's even the Presidential Family Suite which sleeps FOURTEEN! Now those are what I call FAMILY staterooms!!!

For more information on the fabulous Oasis of the Seas or to book, visit my website at www.serenitycruising.com or call me today at (630) 868-6719 or toll-free at (877) 823-8597.

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