Cost for a 3rd person (child) in a cabin

Hello,

Which cruise lines do not charge a significantly lower amount for a 3rd person (child in our case) in the same cabin? I though that this was a standard practice for all cruise lines, but I was just checking the website of HAL and it seems that they want to charge full price for all 3 of us? Or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks!

You can always ask a TA or a booking agent at the cruise line for pricing info. We have always gotten a third passenger rate for our kid (many cruiselines, it's not based on age at all).

Thanks. So would you suggest going through a TA instead of doing it online?

There is a section "special interest" on Cruise Critic, and "family cruises" section, you will find lots of advices there. Some cruise lines are family-friendlier than others.

Editing: here is the link.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=49

I know that some cruise websites may actually be pricing the 3rd passenger lower, but when they display the prices they split it up equally across all occupants. The only way to see is to price it out for 2 people first and see what the per person cost is, then price it out for 3 people and compare the per person cost.

Thanks for the link Dayenu.

rpb718, yes, I noticed that. And with HAL it actually does come a bit lower per person when 3 people share the cabin. However other cruise lines seem to charge much lower for the additional persons. (e.g. Princess is just €223 for the 3rd and 4th person instead of the €1500 - €2300 regular fee)

The 3rd person rate can also vary with popularity of a sailing. If a voyage is not selling well a better rate might be offered for a third person.

It costs a cruise line just as much to accommodate a third person whether it's a child or an adult. Some children can eat more than adults and parents usually take advantage of the children's program and night baby sitting.

I know that some cruise websites may actually be pricing the 3rd passenger lower, but when they display the prices they split it up equally across all occupants. The only way to see is to price it out for 2 people first and see what the per person cost is, then price it out for 3 people and compare the per person cost.

They do this on the NCL website. They divide the price per person but after you select the cabin category and the price is shown on the right side there is a "view details" link under the price and it shows the actual price for each passenger.

While the rates for the third/fourth person usually are discounted from the first/second person fare, this often only applies to the published or full fare rate. When the rates for the first two are significantly discounted, I have seen the rates for the third/fourth be higher in some cases. It just depends on the sailing as to how the fares will be structured.

And, the both the port charges and per diem for gratuities will be the same for each passenger. No discount for little people. That's understandable though. From my experience, they generate just as much (if not more) work for the staff.

Several cruise lines run promotions from time to time and allowing kids to sail for free. If you want to know which ones, google "kids sail free".

@ Zoom77

We have taken my mom with us on two HAL cruises -- about 5 years ago to Alaska on the Statendam, for about US$99 (plus full port fees and auto-gratuity) and we sail in 5 days around Cape Horn on the Zaandam... I think the rate for a third person went up to about $200 (plus the fees and AG) -- but when we took an upsell to the next higher category, there was NO additional charge for the third person at all, making the upsell to a balcony $333pp!

We did the Alaska tour through a TA (cruise websites were even less friendly back then than they are now), but booked the current cruise partly through an online agency and partly (the upsell) direct. Also we added her on this one only, AFTER booking ourselves.

If you have a TA local to you, at least you'd have someone in your corner!

MSC runs a lot of ad's that offer KIDS SAIL FREE in same stateroom as parents..