2 year old cruiser

My DW and I are looking to book a cruise with our 2 year old son (will be 2 at time of cruise) and wanted to know if they (rccl, carnival, ncl) charge full 3rd person occupancy rate for a 2 year old? I'm sure it's an old question, but your expert advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

NCL used to allow those 2 and under to cruise free, but no more. Like the other lines you mention, all kids, regardless of age, will pay the third person fare.

Not many lines have a kid's program for age 2 and under. NCL and Royal Caribbean have age three as their cut off age to qualify for kid's programs, although they both have a little time per day when parents may accompany their kids for playtime in the kids club ( parents must remain with the child). Carnival's program starts at age 2 for their kid's programming.

If you can hit the 3-8 passenger sail free sales on NCL you won't have to pay other than port charges.

NCL also has a play room where you can play with your child at certain times during the day. I believe the new ESCAPE will have a program for 2 year olds, but that ship won't be leaving the dockyard until October.

Is it possible to leave baby at home with grandma and enjoy an adult adventure?

As a parent that devotes my life to my family, I would have to say no. I would rather go nowhere as a family than somewhere as a couple. Thank you for your opinion.

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If you can hit the 3-8 passenger sail free sales on NCL you won't have to pay other than port charges.

NCL also has a play room where you can play with your child at certain times during the day. I believe the new ESCAPE will have a program for 2 year olds, but that ship won't be leaving the dockyard until October.

Intriguing.

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As a parent that devotes my life to my family, I would have to say no. I would rather go nowhere as a family than somewhere as a couple. Thank you for your opinion.

 

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We like to travel with our son too, but bringing grandma with you on the cruise is a win-win scenario!

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My DW and I are looking to book a cruise with our 2 year old son (will be 2 at time of cruise) and wanted to know if they (rccl, carnival, ncl) charge full 3rd person occupancy rate for a 2 year old? I'm sure it's an old question, but your expert advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

Age is NOT a factor in price.

Age is NOT a factor in price.

It is on some cruise lines. Well, at least ONE cruise line - DCL. 3rd & 4th passengers have different rates, depending on age.

As a parent that devotes my life to my family, I would have to say no. I would rather go nowhere as a family than somewhere as a couple. Thank you for your opinion.

 

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I hope you have a wonderful family adventure! Safe journey :)

PS when DH & I had little ones my wonderful MIL proposed an arrangement that allowed her time with her grand babies and offered a young couple time to renew our commitment to each other. We had two weeks each year and occasionally with the love of my wonderful MIL we did one week with our children and one week as a couple.

My wonderful MIL left us all too early and my children now share their memories with their children! Grandma's are special people and I can only hope to be as good a grandmother as my wonderful Mother in Law.

Don't listen to folks who say you shouldn't bring your child. Most families travel as a FAMILY....that's why they call it a "family vacation"!

Once in a while, a cruise line will do some sort of discount for kids, but generally, everyone pays a full rate. Most line charge less for the 3/4 person in a cabin......

It's like a hotel room, where the price is for UP TO 2 people...if you add someone else, you pay extra.

That's nice that you plan to bring your child on a cruise.

I would check with each line to see what they are doing in the way of pricing.

Often it is fluid and can change throughout the year.

Keith

You may want to check out the Family Cruising board. Lots of info there on cruising with babies and toddlers 2 and under.

Roz

My DW and I are looking to book a cruise with our 2 year old son (will be 2 at time of cruise) and wanted to know if they (rccl, carnival, ncl) charge full 3rd person occupancy rate for a 2 year old? I'm sure it's an old question, but your expert advice would be appreciated. Thank you!

they charge per body. So yes even when crusing with a 6 month old you will be paying the 3rd person fare.

If your child is 2 they should be tipping at the rate too.

(the hidden costs of cruising)

you want to look at Carnival- if your child is 2 by the sailing date you could utilize the camps-- they change diapers.

Royal-- kid must be 3 and potty trained-- or charged a fee to use the nursery at 9.00 a hour.

We sailed when my GD was 18 months old. It was a great vacation. SHe is 9 now and has been on 5 cruses and various beach vacations.

Enjoy the time while you can

As you've heard, you will be paying for your toddler. My advice is to make sure you are signed up for the cruise lines' Loyalty programs - I see you have sailed with RCI a number of times, and some of them before the Crown and Anchor program changed. You may be Platinum, which would allow you a balcony discount, if you are so interested. Sign up your child as well and he will be the same level as you.

As mentioned, your son will also be charged the service charge/auto-tip per day. You should be aware of that as it comes as a shock to some parents who feel they shouldn't have to tip for their children.

Have fun planning and cruising! :)

P&O charge a nominal amount up to 2yrs old then a child rate from 2. But be aware that some have quotas for toddlers. We were unable to book our 1st choice cruise because they had already sold their allocation of 18 1-2yr olds despite there being plenty of the superior balcony cabins available.

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As others have said Carnival is the only line with the kids club fully included for the two year old.

My only other advice would be to do mock bookings to the point you can see the full price for the family on all the ones you are interested in. Sometimes a sale looks great but only because the first person is marked up really high and 'regular' price on another line works our better for the family. You can remove the gratuities for the toddler. We did when our son was three without issue.

Happy planning!

We like to travel with our son too, but bringing grandma with you on the cruise is a win-win scenario!

 

 

That's my kids' solution. :) I love watching the little ones having fun on a cruise. Mom and Dad get some alone time, too.

I cruised on Norwegian with my 12 and 2 year old. The childrens program required childer to be 3 even, though she was fully potty trained she was not allowed to participate. There was a playroom that she could play in as long as I was there with her. To answer your question I had to pay the full 3rd person price for her. We sail again next year and she will be 3. Princess only charged me $199.00 for her as the 3rd person prince on a 7 day Easter Carribean Cruise.

With NCL you don't have a daily service charge until your child reaches 3. We sailed with our 2 year old and it was fine there was 4 of us in an inside cabin. We took it in turns to do naps and early nights. 2y.o. was a deep sleeper, so it was grand for reading etc. She couldn't join the kids club which tormented her, but at that age she wasn't really old enough to join in (not in crèche). We had a lovely quite holiday. We took her to all the shows which she loved as well the live bands. Still in bed by 9 to 10.

Another thing to keep in mind with a young cruiser, they are not allowed in the pools unless they are "fully potty" trained, and swim diapers are not allowed. I believe there are some cruise lines that have a specific splash area for younger tots that are not potty trained.

When cruising this past April with my 12 and 2 year old; I was charged the gratuity price for each of us. However upon my return I discovered I could've neogiated the daily change for each child.

Lastly, prior to leaving home don't forget to pack sand toys, and blow up floating rings which will really come in handy for beach days.

As others have said Carnival is the only line with the kids club fully included for the two year old.

 

My only other advice would be to do mock bookings to the point you can see the full price for the family on all the ones you are interested in. Sometimes a sale looks great but only because the first person is marked up really high and 'regular' price on another line works our better for the family. You can remove the gratuities for the toddler. We did when our son was three without issue.

 

 

Happy planning!

You can remove the gratuities for anyone or everyone in your cabin. There isn't any special tip exemption for a child. He or she is a member of your group just like an adult would be.

Whether you should remove the gratuities for anyone is an entirely different question. Your toddler was eating food, using towels, sleeping on sheets, and possibly being messy just like any other passenger. On that basis, I would leave the tips in place, but that's me.

Apparently a few posts have been removed.

As a parent that devotes my life to my family, I would have to say no. I would rather go nowhere as a family than somewhere as a couple. Thank you for your opinion.

 

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Teehee. As a Grandma, put me in with those encouraging you to bring the grandparents. :)

We never vacationed without our kids either. It's such a blast seeing things through the eyes of your kids. :) Have a great cruise!

[emoji39]

As a parent that devotes my life to my family, I would have to say no. I would rather go nowhere as a family than somewhere as a couple. Thank you for your opinion.

 

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Don't listen to folks who say you shouldn't bring your child. Most families travel as a FAMILY....that's why they call it a "family vacation"!

 

Once in a while, a cruise line will do some sort of discount for kids, but generally, everyone pays a full rate. Most line charge less for the 3/4 person in a cabin......

 

It's like a hotel room, where the price is for UP TO 2 people...if you add someone else, you pay extra.

Add us as a couple who always brought our girl on our vacations. For various reasons, the grans weren't a solution -- at the most maybe a few hours, but that was it. We went on our first post-birth vacation when our daughter was 23 months of age -- her first cruise paired with her first hotel stay after that. After several cruises up til her 15th birthday, we went on our first family road trip that wasn't connected to a cruise just last week to drop her off at college. And on our way back home, even though we got a romantic walk on a beach and some time alone....still, someone was missing. At least we have skype.

And during our cruises, once she was old enough for the kids' program, we did get some time alone in the cabin. So it's possible to have a romantic vacation, even with the kids on board, as there's no worrying about what they're doing. At least for me.