4 in a room...How do I maximize space?

[Petals & Pixie Dust]

Hi Everyone!
We just booked a 5 day cruise. It will be Me DH DS and MIL . This is MILs first cruise and she has some concerns about space. I'm planning on getting an over the door shoe holder, and have a couple of questions....
1. Where do I find cheap ones?
2. Do they allow the door to close all the way?
3. I'm thinking about getting 1 for the toilet BR and 1 for the shower room.

What other tricks to you have up your sleeve to maximize space?

Thank you!

 

[Dug720]

Hi Everyone!
We just booked a 5 day cruise. It will be Me DH DS and MIL . This is MILs first cruise and she has some concerns about space. I'm planning on getting an over the door shoe holder, and have a couple of questions....
1. Where do I find cheap ones?
2. Do they allow the door to close all the way?
3. I'm thinking about getting 1 for the toilet BR and 1 for the shower room.

What other tricks to you have up your sleeve to maximize space?

Thank you!

Over the door shoe holders are no longer allowed because they cause damage to the door and frames.

 

[dclpluto]

If your on the magic or wonder have the stateroom host take out the table. It has no purpose just gets in your way. On the dream and fantasy the table is different it’s a good place to put your dirty clothes.

 

[hcox31]

There is remarkably more space than you would think in the staterooms. We are able to put the clothing for 4 people in the drawers no problem. We stick the suitcases under the bed. And we split the toiletry bags between the 2 bathrooms (adults in the shower one, kids in the "toilet" one since they really only brush their teeth). Put dirty clothes in a suitcase under the bed or in the laundry bag in the closet. We actually have extra left over space in the cupboards/closets/vanity as well. It's very well designed.

 

[RedStars]

I attached an over-the-door organizer to a plastic hanger and I hang it on one of the wall hooks in the stateroom. It's a good place to put "Stuff". I also use packing cubes/ziploc bags which help with keeping order in the drawers.

 

[Weedy]

You can still use the shoe holder but not the metal hooks the usually come with it. I used suction cup hooks. They are available at Home Depot or Lowes. I suggest getting a clear shoe holder it makes it easier to see your things.
Another hint: I like to at the end of each day take all dirty clothes and anything you won’t use agin and put all in the empty suitcases. Suitcases are stored under the bed. It reduces clutter

 

[mrsp1030]

We found a circular shoe holder with shelf space that we hang on the inside of the closet. This way we have added shelves plus room for shoes. We just use a hanging toiletry bag and it works wonder.

 

[Cruising Engineer]

Yes, @Dug720 is correct that metal over the door anything are not allowed: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/faq/prohibited-items/door-decorations/

I adapted one that the metal over the door hooks could be removed (because the were attached with a grommet) and used heavy duty magnetic hooks.

 

[GPaLarry]

We found, with all there is to do on the ship, that we spend little time in our stateroom. You might consider getting a verandah for extra room. As mentioned, put your suitcases under the bed, use all the storage space available (check every nook & cranny, inside the seat at the desk, etc.), work out a schedule of shifts to use the bathrooms, check out the cool towel animals and chocolate treats each night, ask for two navigators (if you want) to plan next day's adventures/activities and enjoy. Our daughter (family of 5) found room to put all the kids (girls-8, 11 & 13) stuff and loved the fact she didn't have to pick up all the dolls & stuffed animals and make the beds each day. A bonus was finding many of these items arranged in some fun way during the day or at night by their room steward. One time, one of the Barbie's had her head detached from her body (tough love, I guess), so our room guy arranged many of the animals in a circle around her on the bed as if they were visiting her at the hospital...very cute. Pixie dust comes in many forms!!

 

[mousefan73]

We found extremely a lot of storage space in our 5A verandah room.. In both bathrooms ( toilet and shower room) there was plenty of Toiletteries storage space. I know one had 2 shelves and tons under the sink. IMO a door organizer for that stuff is not necessary. I Plenty of closet space and desk area enought for all that extra knick knack stuff. shoes we kept in a bag under the bed. especially a 5 night unless you are an overpacke and have 2 new outfits a day.. you have plenty of space..

 

[FigmentSpark]

This is my contribution:


This pen and notepad holder is from the dollar store and it's magnetic (not that you want your toothbrush outside the bathroom). It was ideal for keeping things tidy and could be removed easily if someone was showering while the other wanted to brush their teeth.

As for shoe holders, for our first cruise, we brought one (again, from the dollar store, but I think Ikea and other places also have them) that was on a hanger. That way, we could just hang it on the hook in the room.

I also bought some great magnetic hooks for the walls that were perfect to put beside the door for lanyards and other small things. My DS used one on the ceiling beside his bunk bed to hold a little clear bag with an electric candle in it for his night light. The bigger ones more than 20 lbs, so you could probably use it to hold a sweater and definitely a drying bathing suit or a small camera case (maybe even the SLR case, if you're careful).

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=73796&cat=1

 

[diznymom]

We use a mesh shower organizer you can hook onto the shower hooks like this:

 

[All about me]

Another hint: I like to at the end of each day take all dirty clothes and anything you won’t use again and put all in the empty suitcases. Suitcases are stored under the bed. It reduces clutter.

You are brilliant!!!!

 

[NAB]

I take large freezer bags to put all the odds and ends you collect on the desk.

When the kids came with us we had a lot of crafts from the clubs, confetti picked off the floor in the theatre etc. Last night at the goodbye we fill our lanyard with the Mickey heads they throw down...known as pixie dust here. Don’t worry there is a lot thrown down lots for everyone.

Also put my navigatior in one every night to take home.

We had late dinner so we never ate our chocolates so we put them in a bag and brought them home too.

 

[Shanti]

Hi Everyone!
We just booked a 5 day cruise. It will be Me DH DS and MIL . This is MILs first cruise and she has some concerns about space. I'm planning on getting an over the door shoe holder, and have a couple of questions....
1. Where do I find cheap ones?
2. Do they allow the door to close all the way?
3. I'm thinking about getting 1 for the toilet BR and 1 for the shower room.

What other tricks to you have up your sleeve to maximize space?

Thank you!

The key is to stay neat and organized, so things are easy to find (minimizing frustration) and people's items aren't strewn everywhere, taking up space.

• Unpack completely on embarkation day and store all suitcases under the bed (you should be able to do this if you keep it to 1 suitcase per person).
• Bring your own thin plastic hangers and forgo DCL's bulky wooden hangers, so you'll be able to fit all of your clothes into the closet.
• Store shoes on the floor of the closet & under the bed, to keep them not underfoot.
• Each person should make a space in the bathroom for their supplies (1/2 of bathroom shelf space per person for you via the split bathrooms), and keep extras in an easily accessible toiletry bag in a drawer.
• I recommend each person have a uniquely decorated koozie, so you can easily tell whose drink is whose.
• A collapsible mesh laundy bag that fits in the closet can be very convenient, especially if you plan on washing clothes during the trip.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I second the ziplocks. I bring extras for treasures and for organization. I also picked up a few fold-up boxes (yeah, from the dollar store), so we could each have one for those miscellaneous things that seem to collect on the table. For my DS's stuffie (when he needed it), I brought a hanging bag for clothes pins so it had a place to go and wouldn't get lost in the bed. It just hung on the bunk railing.

Oh yeah, bring a few clothes pins. You never know when you might need one or two for something.

 

[Travel60]

One more tip that might be useful.....the spa area has showers, lockers and dressing area that some family members could use to free up bath congestion.

Also, go minimalist with clothing - you can wear the same dinner clothes a couple of times with different accessories, 2-3 sets of shorts/t-shirts and swimsuit for daytime. A couple of pair of shoes.

 

[Keels]

I packed all of my outfits on hangers and then hung them in the closet that way. At the end of the day, I'd put my dirty clothes in my suitcase that was stored under the bed. All four of us did this in our stateroom (four adult women) back in April. We also kept our toiletries in bags and found plenty of storage space in the bathrooms or in the desk drawers.

 

[ladyofthetramp]

4 adults on the Wonder-7 day Alaska cruise-Oceanview room. No trouble with space. Unpack completely. No trouble with toiletries and space to store. Best investment- IKEA canvas hamper. Stored in a corner. All dirty clothes in there. Everything in the cabin stayed need and organized

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

One more tip that might be useful.....the spa area has showers, lockers and dressing area that some family members could use to free up bath congestion.

This! They have towels and free, lockable lockers (just like the room safe, pick your own PIN number), and so much space and good lighting. Much larger shower stalls also. Adults only. My wife and I took turns doing this while the other stayed the room with our teenaged sons. Pretty soon we both wanted to be the one to go. Surprisingly uncrowded too.