Which cruise line has best 3rd person (infant) price policy?

My wife and I are looking at pricing for cruises with our infant son and what I am finding out is appalling. On almost every cruise line, you end up paying MORE for the 3rd person in a cabin -- even an infant -- than the per person price of the first two people!

Almost every cruise line will try to hide this by raising the price for the first two people in the cabin (compared to if you book only two people in the same category of cabin) and then make it seem like the 3rd person is receiving a discounted rate.

For example: A certain cruise is $499/pp if I book it for two people (ends up being just over $1100), but if I add my son to the booking, it becomes $649/pp + $499 for my son, totalling about $1800.

Is there any cruise line out there that doesn't gouge its customers on a 3rd person other than the luxury lines? I believe Carnival/Princess simply charge full-fare, but I find even that to be distasteful practice for an infant. This must be the only travel industry to really gouge this badly... not even airlines stoop to this level.

Thank you Cunard for not even charging for my son... sadly I don't think a transatlantic crossing is on the books right now.

It's also possible that the first price you are quoted is for a cabin that can only accommodate 2 people. When my family signed up for the Oasis, I booked three cabins. All OV balcony cabins but the first two had two adults and the last one was two adults and two children. We needed a slightly different cabin within the OV balcony cabin category that could accommodate a third and fourth person, so the rate for the first two adults was more than the rate for the two adults in the other cabins.

I am not sure which cruise lines allow children to cruise free but I do know that every once in a while Disney has a promotion where kids sail free.

Norwegian frequently has good deals for 3rd passengers of all ages. In their FAQ's they state that children under age 2 only pay government taxes and port fees.

On HAL to Alaska, My husband & I were $764 each & my son is $164 (+ port charges & taxes on all 3)

On Carnival everyone costs the same & I have no problem with that. My son uses the same shower/towels, he had diapers that the room attendants took care of, he ate the food that was prepared, he was transported to the same destination, etc. We waited until he was old enough to be able to have some age appropriate activities, so his charge included Camp Carnival as well.

Norwegian frequently has good deals for 3rd passengers of all ages. In their FAQ's they state that children under age 2 only pay government taxes and port fees.

Thank you for this! I guess we need to book directly / through a TA to get this as when I searched their site it didn't come up this way.

I just did a dummy booking on Carnival. 3rd person was just under half the price of of the first 2 booked.

2 people $1,599.80

3 people $ 379.90

They don't price by age just the number of people. I don't think it is gouging. They can only have so many people on board and the set the prices accordingly.

I do think there are a few lines that will occasionally offer special pricing for the 3 or 4 guest in a room, but I am not sure who other then Disney but then Disney gets in on the first 2 users.

Good luck finding something that works for you!

Thank you for this! I guess we need to book directly / through a TA to get this as when I searched their site it didn't come up this way.

I booked NCL through Expedia with an infant. The initial cabin selection/pricing listed him as a regular 3rd passenger ($599 in this case). The discount didn't register until the end of the process, and my invoice clearly shows $599 - $439 (discount) + $96 (tax/fees).

we only got charged port fees and taxes for our infant daughter for our upcoming carnival cruise

I just did a dummy booking on Carnival. 3rd person was just under half the price of of the first 2 booked.

 

2 people $1,599.80

3 people $ 379.90

 

I think that this & the other examples shows that the pricing can be different on different cruises on all of the lines. & You probably pay more dearly during the popular times... But we probably all knew that. Cruise ships not unlike any other for profit business are in it to make money. If people feel gouged, then they will not book to begin with or will not return.

When I did my dummy booking, I did not get far in the process & used Bermuda as the destination - Carnival is only going to Bermuda twice in 2012 - so that destination is going to carry a premium. (AKA no discount for the 3 person.)

I don't think it is gouging to charge for every body (no matter how small or large it is) on the ship. Unlike hotel occupancies, the ship has a limited number of "bodies" it can carry and even a small body counts. Airlines let <2's fly free only if they occupy the seat of the parent. If they buy a ticket it costs (yes sometimes at a reduced rate, sometimes not). If you don't like the policies, try another vacation til you believe your child is old enough to warrant the cost. Enjoy whatever you decide to do.

Just to clarify for everyone -- what I meant by "gouging" is that when you book for only 2 people, the price is one thing (ex$499) for the first two people, but when you book for three, the cost for the first two people gets raised for no apparent reason. When the total for 2 people is $1100 and the total for 2 + infant is >$1800, that is gouging.

So please, before you post something that says "Hey look how cheap this 3rd person price is", do the same search for the same cruise for 2 people and compare. I can guarantee you that, at best, you pay full fare, which can be understandable. It's when you end up paying more than 1.5x the 2 person cruise fare that I start to have a problem.

The search continues!

I don't know if I can explain this well, but here is what I have found: Since there are limited cabins that hold more than two, the lowest price higher capacity cabins often sell out first, so while there are plenty of lower price cabins for two available, you have to buy a more expensive cabin category in order to get one that fits three. So the price goes up for everyone as soon as you do a search for 3. It's not that they are gouging/charging more for the first two passengers for the exact same cabin - it's for a different cabin category.

3rd person fares vary widely not just among cruise lines, but even within the same cruise line. On Princess the 3rd person fare can be a fraction of the cost, or equal to the cost of the base fares depending on the itinerary/time of year. I've found the thing to do is not focus on what the 3rd person fare is, but choose the general itinerary/time of year and then see what the total fare is for each cruise.

(side note - the picture below is of my babies on their first cruise - on Princess. I had to pay full fare for one and a reduced price for the other. Completely worth it.)

Best,

Mia

I just did this for our upcoming Carnival Cruise. We're booked in an Ocean Suite on the Pride and our rate was $1049 for each of us and $349 for our infant son. I just ran a fake booking through the engine and the rate for just two of us in the room was... $1049 each. I'm not sure why it's making some adjustment on your pricing. Also, Carnival does not charge gratuities for children under age 2 (whether you choose to add an additional tip is, of course, up to you).

Just to clarify for everyone -- what I meant by "gouging" is that when you book for only 2 people, the price is one thing (ex$499) for the first two people, but when you book for three, the cost for the first two people gets raised for no apparent reason. When the total for 2 people is $1100 and the total for 2 + infant is >$1800, that is gouging.

 

So please, before you post something that says "Hey look how cheap this 3rd person price is", do the same search for the same cruise for 2 people and compare. I can guarantee you that, at best, you pay full fare, which can be understandable. It's when you end up paying more than 1.5x the 2 person cruise fare that I start to have a problem.

 

The search continues!

This was not my experience on Carnival. My 2yo son was charged $249, and our rate was $579. My parents booked the same cruise in a separate booking/cabin and their rate was $579/pp.

On Carnival and Royal the 3/4 person (in the same cabin) usually discounted (regardless of age, the price is Per Person, not by age) on the cruise we just got off of (yesterday) our rate was $504, 3/4 were $159. (depends on the sailing and cabin catagory as to what the 3/4 person rate is..but is usually discounted.- Ive Never seen it not be.. and Never seen it be more for 3/4) Infants pay the same price... we paid the same for "GingerBaby" (8mo) and my Niece (11yrs) as we would have if we would have brought adult children...

I look at it this way..--> Im not paying or a seat on the Cruise ship...Im paying for a seat on the Life Boat if Needed.... :cool:

BTW--Carnivals "new website' format (as of a few months ago) uses a different way to display the prices... it used to sho the 1/2 person price then show you the discounted 3/4th person price... now it show the total divided by the # of px.... (for instance, made up prices) if the 1/2 person is 500 and the 3/4 is 200 it will show $500pp if you put in 2 guests ($1000 total)... but if you put in 4 guests it will say $350pp ($1400 total) , if you put in 3 guests it will say $400pp ($1200 total)---same thing just looks different.

This is the breakdown for Princess in a mini suite during Spring break 2013 out of Galveston, TX.

Price SummaryPassenger 1Passenger 2Passenger 3Passenger 4TotalCruise Fare* $1,349.00 $1,349.00 $699.00 $699.00 $4,096.00 Gov't Fees and Taxes ‡ $70.00 $70.00 $70.00 $70.00 $280.00 Subtotal$1,419.00 $1,419.00 $769.00 $769.00 $4,376.00

1st and 2nd passenger $1,419

3rd and 4th passenger $769

Prices reflect gov fees and taxes.

Thanks for all the feedback.

I ended up booking a 5 night cruise on the Celebrity Millenium (April 2nd) on one of their sales. $299/adult, $229/infant. Granted it isn't an extravagant cruise, but for the price, it was hard to say no. And I've been on the Millenium before, so I know what I'm getting into. Yay for T-pools!