Our Family Ocean View with Balcony, 11166, was pretty well designed and managed six people fairly well. It is really in a perfect location for families. Its just a few feet from the lobby, two decks from Adventure Ocean, and three decks from Central Park for easy cross-ship transit. With small kids, you appreciate location a whole lot more.
As for the room itself, my wife and I were shocked at how large it is. I figured on posting photos of it since there is a glut of information on it here on CC, so check out my posting if you want to see the room.
In brief, the room actually felt quite spacious. A sofa is next to the balcony and the queen-size bed is in the interior, near the lavatory. Funny enough, when the steward makes up the sofa bed, the head of the bed was next to the balcony door. Its tight to get around to the balcony when the sofa bed is made up, but our steward informed us that shed deconstruct the bed in the morning. This was a little detail that I really didnt expect and one that made the room really perfect during the day, especially for moving around and letting the kids play on the floor. There is a curtain that separates the two beds, so you can get a little privacy.
The bunk beds are basically in a closet space next to the front door. This isnt ideal when you have kids since youll probably want to go in and out of the cabin while they sleep. Even worse is that its right across from the lav. We invested in a cheap white noise generator long ago and it works magic for drowning out noise, so we used that and it was great. One word of warning, though, is that there is absolutely no power anywhere near the beds, so make sure that anything you need there takes batteries.
The room has a good amount of storage space, including two main closets near the primary bed, a small closet next to the bunk beds, desk drawers, a magazine rack, and some cupboards next to the desk that we used as a pantry to keep snacks for the kids. Our luggage, including three good size duffel bags and one large wheeled suitcase, fit fine underneath the bed.
While we only had one lavatory, we managed just fine with it. It can take a little extra time to get everyone moving, but kids add time anyway, so we didn't find that to be a big deal. Read entire member review.
Family Ocean View Stateroom with Balcony was great for us, one adult, two teenage girls. Certainly room for two parents and two kids. Might have been tight with more than that, but the extra space afforded by the balcony is wonderful. Bathroom tight, but more than adequate. Minor complaint: sliding doors on closet will slide with movement of the ship if not completely secured.
Read entire member review.
