Charging for 1 and 3 year olds

My son was thinking about a cruise for his family of 4...kids are 3 and 1. The price they had was pretty expensive I thought, but I was never able to put age of kids. Do they pay the same amount as the adults?

No discount for kids.

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Well, they pay the same as a third and fourth adult sharing cabin would pay unless things have changed recently. This amount is not full fare.

All kids are charge the same as adults but often kids are third and fourth passenger but they still are charged the same

Although Carnival has a reputation for its affordable prices, many times they are beat by other cruise lines that frequently offer 3rd and 4th passenger free promotions (like MSC, NCL and even HAL). Have your son expand his search to other cruise lines. He may be surprised to find that they may be more affordable.

That's how we ended selecting Holland for our family cruise to Alaska. Not only did our kids sail for free, but we received a complimentary upgrade to a balcony plus onboard credit. We sailed for considerably less than any other cruise line, including Carnival.

Another thing that your son may want to consider is the age groups for the kids programs. Unfortunately Carnival's program starts at the age of 2, so very little will be provided for his 1 year old. Other cruise lines like Royal Caribbean and Disney do offer kids programs for children as young as 8 months of age, and believe me, from personal experience, it makes a HUGE difference to have these options.

As has been stated, kids do not get a discount. Once you are old enough to sail on Carnival, you pay the same amount as any adult. Based on the number of people in the cabin you choose.

Children under two are not charged the customary gratuities. And kids need to be at least two before they can participate in camp activities.

Not really good news, but it is what it is. We didn't start bringing our kids on cruises till the youngest was 5, but I have seen and heard of people bringing them much younger and having a great time.

Although Carnival has a reputation for its affordable prices, many times they are beat by other cruise lines that frequently offer 3rd and 4th passenger free promotions (like MSC, NCL and even HAL). Have your son expand his search to other cruise lines. He may be surprised to find that they may be more affordable.

 

That's how we ended selecting Holland for our family cruise to Alaska. Not only did our kids sail for free, but we received a complimentary upgrade to a balcony plus onboard credit. We sailed for considerably less than any other cruise line, including Carnival.

 

Another thing that your son may want to consider is the age groups for the kids programs. Unfortunately Carnival's program starts at the age of 2, so very little will be provided for his 1 year old. Other cruise lines like Royal Caribbean and Disney do offer kids programs for children as young as 8 months of age, and believe me, from personal experience, it makes a HUGE difference to have these options.

Much of this was unsolicited in that you didn't about it, but I second all of it. :D It's great advice about cruising with young kids. My 3yo will be on his 7th cruise next month. All but one of the 6 cruises we took before he turned three were on RCL or Disney because of the nursery.

Something else I'll add, and this is true on any line, but the 3rd and 4th guest is usually a percentage of 1st and 2nd passengers. As a result, it can be cheaper to get a whole different room than adding 3rd and fourth passengers to your cabin. Our Carnival cruise just before my son's first birthday was like that, we booked a GS. The 3rd and 4th passenger rate was about $200 higher than the double occupancy rate of an oceanview. We ended up saving money by getting a GS and connecting OV, rather than putting all of us in the same GS.

Kids under 13 sail free on MSC.

IMO they should not charge a fee for babies under 18 months. Unless I am not thinking of something what could they possibly cost Carnival other than Milk which most are still on mommy milk or formula which the parents bring. The parents bring baby food anyway. Maybe a small gratuity for laundry and a crib fee.

I thought babies under 12 months weren't allowed?

Must just be some cruise lines?

I'll have too look into that now. My daughter wanted to do a cruise in January but her son doesn't turn 1 until the 16th.

IMO they should not charge a fee for babies under 18 months. Unless I am not thinking of something what could they possibly cost Carnival other than Milk...

Unlike on an airplane where a child under the age of 2 can sit on a parent's lap and does not occupy an actual seat, on a cruise ship EVERYONE, regardless of age, does occupy an actual space and counts towards the passenger total. That means one adult less generating revenue from ancillary expenses onboard. Most cruise lines will attempt to recover some of that lost revenue by charging a cruise fare regardless of age.

Yes, small children will most likely be traveling as a third or fourth passenger in a cabin already booked by 2 paying adults, so in theory any extra bunk in that cabin would've sailed empty had the adults decided to travel without kids. But that's not always the case. Carnival imposes what they call a Maximum Occupancy Restriction on many sailings which will prevent any passenger from booking a cabin for less than its intended capacity. That means that if a cabin holds four passengers, a family of three can't book it.

I thought babies under 12 months weren't allowed?.

The policy changes from one cruise line to another, but normally the cutoff is 6 months for regular cruises and 12 months for transatlantic and other, longer length cruises.

We didn't start bringing our kids on cruises till the youngest was 5, but I have seen and heard of people bringing them much younger and having a great time.

We are THAT people. [emoji6]

Our son started cruising at 12 month old and our daughter at 15 months old. They are now 5 and 3 years old and they are gearing up for cruise #6. We even sailed to Alaska before my daughter turned 2!

Our first cruise with a kid in tow (Fascination out of Jacksonville to Key West and Nassau), when our son had just turned 12 months old, was an absolute eye opener, and I would lie if I said that there weren't moments during that cruise when we said "what have we gotten ourselves into!?" (We actually contemplated getting off the ship once we arrived in Nassau and just flying home [emoji16]). But thankfully we learned from our initial mistakes and every other cruise ever since has been awesome.

Keep in mind, not all kids will want to go to the kids club.

My youngest (5) has been on 3 cruises and has not once used the kids programs. We tried to get him to go but he didn't want to stay, and they called us to come get him because of the crying. I don't want to deal with an upset child on my vacation, so we didn't force him to go. No harm, no foul. We have had a great time regardless. Oh, this is the same kid that has been in daycare since he was 2.

Unlike on an airplane where a child under the age of 2 can sit on a parent's lap and does not occupy an actual seat, on a cruise ship EVERYONE, regardless of age, does occupy an actual space and counts towards the passenger total. That means one adult less generating revenue from ancillary expenses onboard. Most cruise lines will attempt to recover some of that lost revenue by charging a cruise fare regardless of age.

 

Yes, small children will most likely be traveling as a third or fourth passenger in a cabin already booked by 2 paying adults, so in theory any extra bunk in that cabin would've sailed empty had the adults decided to travel without kids. But that's not always the case. Carnival imposes what they call a Maximum Occupancy Restriction on many sailings which will prevent any passenger from booking a cabin for less than its intended capacity. That means that if a cabin holds four passengers, a family of three can't book it.

Also need to consider seats in lifeboats. Maritime law requires a seat in a lifeboat be available for each passenger regardless of age. So, a baby takes up the same space in a lifeboat that an adult would by law. That is what Carnival loses on. One less adult, who would be spending money onboard.

Kids do get a discount. The third and fourth person in a room is a discount.

We are THAT people. [emoji6]

 

Our son started cruising at 12 month old and our daughter at 15 months old. They are now 5 and 3 years old and they are gearing up for cruise #6. We even sailed to Alaska before my daughter turned 2!

 

Our first cruise with a kid in tow (Fascination out of Jacksonville to Key West and Nassau), when our son had just turned 12 months old, was an absolute eye opener, and I would lie if I said that there weren't moments during that cruise when we said "what have we gotten ourselves into!?" (We actually contemplated getting off the ship once we arrived in Nassau and just flying home [emoji16]). But thankfully we learned from our initial mistakes and every other cruise ever since has been awesome.

We are also those people. Our older niece started cruising the week after her second birthday and just became Gold on Carnival in last November at the ripe old age of 6. We're contemplating taking her 2yo sister on a 10 day Journey cruise, now.

Unlike on an airplane where a child under the age of 2 can sit on a parent's lap and does not occupy an actual seat, on a cruise ship EVERYONE, regardless of age, does occupy an actual space and counts towards the passenger total. That means one adult less generating revenue from ancillary expenses onboard. Most cruise lines will attempt to recover some of that lost revenue by charging a cruise fare regardless of age.

 

Yes, small children will most likely be traveling as a third or fourth passenger in a cabin already booked by 2 paying adults, so in theory any extra bunk in that cabin would've sailed empty had the adults decided to travel without kids. But that's not always the case. Carnival imposes what they call a Maximum Occupancy Restriction on many sailings which will prevent any passenger from booking a cabin for less than its intended capacity. That means that if a cabin holds four passengers, a family of three can't book it.

I would also add that some of the costs in the fare are based on a per person charge. It doesn't matter the age of the person. So Carnival is paying that fee to some country or government no matter that age of the passenger, therefore they should be able to charge the passenger for those costs.

Kids do get a discount. The third and fourth person in a room is a discount.

What if it is just me an my 2 year old sailing? Where's my "kids discount" in that scenario?

As usual, not very helpful.

What if it is just me an my 2 year old sailing? Where's my "kids discount" in that scenario?

 

As usual, not very helpful.

Exactly. Everyone ELSE gave the correct information. The prices are the same for everyone. Even when Carnival ran that kids sail free promo last year, anyone of any age could utilize it.

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Everyone already answered your question. I just wanted to chime in to say that I don't like that they charge for children under 2 who can't even participate in camp carnival yet.

Everyone already answered your question. I just wanted to chime in to say that I don't like that they charge for children under 2 who can't even participate in camp carnival yet.

Camp Carnival isn't even something to consider. They are taking up space, on a limited capacity vessel, a life boar seat, eating, drinking and NOT likely to generate revenue like most adults do. They are probably already losing money, when the charge for them.

Please don't flame me because I would really like to know the reasons behind someone cruising with an infant or toddler. I didn't vacation with my pre-schoolers (other than the occasional weekend that was fully dedicated to the little ones) because my personal experience was that I couldn't remember anything that happened in my life prior to age 5.

What do you do with infants on a cruise? How do you control the behavior of a toddler who wants to be anywhere but the unfamiliar confines of a floating hotel? How do you snorkel or zip line or kayak or dive or go tubing or climb or horse back ride with small children? My imagination doesn't even compute that?

Kids under 13 sail free on MSC.

No longer true except for certain cruise itineraries and dates and then the first and second passenger fares are higher to cover the "free" children.

Please don't flame me because I would really like to know the reasons behind someone cruising with an infant or toddler. I didn't vacation with my pre-schoolers (other than the occasional weekend that was fully dedicated to the little ones) because my personal experience was that I couldn't remember anything that happened in my life prior to age 5.

 

What do you do with infants on a cruise? How do you control the behavior of a toddler who wants to be anywhere but the unfamiliar confines of a floating hotel? How do you snorkel or zip line or kayak or dive or go tubing or climb or horse back ride with small children? My imagination doesn't even compute that?

We view vacation as family time. We work full-time, coach sports, and go to grad school, so we don't spend a lot of quality time with our nieces. Vacations, specifically cruises, give us that time. No, we don't do adventure excursions with the kids, but we do things that are geared toward families and find many of them on our own. Our older niece is seven now, but she still talks about the time we went to the zoo in the Bahamas, Theodore Tugboat in Halifax, and the countries she has traveled too. As educators we (my wife and I) prescribe to brain-based learning and the latest studies indicate that travel (international travel, even) is good for kids and can help to boost skills in "math, reading, and general knowledge".

As for behavior, we do our best to prepare her (and now her sister) for appropriate cruise behavior. We go out to dinner several times before we cruise to practice our restaurant manners, we set schedules, and hope for the best. In five cruises, we have yet to have a melt-down, but we are also not her parents and this is vacation, not school.