New Parent Question: 9 month old full fare? Is this always true?

We are SO EXCITED to be welcoming our first child into the world next year. However.... :D

We were recently on Freedom and booked a cruise for 2016. We had talked to a couple on board with a 9 month old (Same age our little bugger will be when we cruise) and they loved it! They also said they only paid port charges and gratuities for the newest and third member of their family.

However, we found out that was because they booked under the "family sails free" promotion or whatever its called.... basically their third member was free in their cabin.

My question is.... seriously? A nine month old is going to be $700 plus port fees and gratuities? Do people really pay this?

We put a deposit down and are hoping that between now and 2016 they'll run the promo again but I was just wanting to post here to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

Thanks all!

 

My question is.... seriously? A nine month old is going to be $700 plus port fees and gratuities?

 

Possibly and yes, people will pay it if they want their toddler to come with them. :)

Sometimes 3rd passenger rates are discounted on some sailings but I dont think that is the case with all of them.

I have been doing a lot of research on this and unfortunately Royal doesn't give much, if any, discount for a toddler. And when they DO have the Kids Sail Free promo they crank the rates for guest 1 and 2 WAY up. In fact a lot of people that book as a couple dislike booking during KSF because their rates are way up.

We are looking forward to taking our baby on a cruise in 2016 as well but if we want to stay with Royal we will probably have to do a short sailing only or wait for a great deal to come up.

Unfortunately Port Fees have to be paid regardless of the age of the passenger. The Ships get charged so it goes back to the passenger.

Your room attendant is still doing clean sheets for pac n play and clean towels for when you bathe your little one also and cleaning the room......and while the baby may not eat the same food in the dining room they are still on board and noted as a passenger. Enjoy the memories with your little one while you can as before you know it....they are grown up.

After the age of 2 most airlines charge full pop to fly.

I don't think OP is opposed to paying port fees and gratuities; I think they are questioning if toddlers are charged full cruise fare and the answer is generally yes. Or there may be a slight break for 3rd and 4th in a room, but not much.

I do know that the staff goes over and above to make babies happy. We've taken "grands" several times and paid each time. So yes, to answer your question, it's the norm.

this was one of the reasons we chose to wait until our son was 4 to take him with...it seemed silly to pay at least a grand extra (when you include flights, gratuities, etc.) when they will have no memory of it. He had a blast when he turned 4. Plus, remember at 9 months old you won't have full access to Adventure Ocean, just the pay service. They can't use the pools at all (just that tiny patch of the splash park) and you are going to have to lug a carseat around if you are planning to do any excursions that involve shuttles or anything.

That being said, we are taking a cruise next year with my MIL. The kids at the time will be 5, 2, and 1 years old. We booked a family oceanview on the Independence with the kids sail free promo that just ended. Yes, the first passenger fees were higher, but even so with the last 4 being free we thought it was a great deal (ended up with taxes being around $530 a person for 9 days). So I think it's really a personal decision if it's worth the cost.

I agree with the PPer, if you are just having one additional person, I'm guessing booking outside the KSF promo will actually be cheaper.

this was one of the reasons we chose to wait until our son was 4 to take him with...it seemed silly to pay at least a grand extra (when you include flights, gratuities, etc.) when they will have no memory of it. He had a blast when he turned 4. Plus, remember at 9 months old you won't have full access to Adventure Ocean, just the pay service. They can't use the pools at all (just that tiny patch of the splash park) and you are going to have to lug a carseat around if you are planning to do any excursions that involve shuttles or anything.

We opted for other types of land based vacations when our kids were that age, or let the GPs pull baby duty for a week. GPs loved doing it, we knew our kids were in great hands, and we enjoyed some much needed time to ourselves. I know many claim that they couldn't leave their kids, but my personal experience is that parents with infants on board seem to be the most worn out, stressed out, passengers on the ship.

That being said, once our kids turned 4 or 5, they cruised often and loved it.

I think the cruise fare for 3rd and 4th passengers must depend on the cruise. We've sailed 7 times with our sons and every time their fare was reduced - quite considerably some times. However when looking for a cruise next year I was shocked that the 3rd passenger fare was the same as ours so I thought there was a new policy change, however, I looked at several dates and they were different. So that makes me think certain sailings are different - try different dates/ships to see what you get..

yep. we paid a small fortune for our (then) 20 month old to sail with us on the inaugural season NYE sailing on Oasis.

We took our eldest kid to the Princess Alaska cruise when he was 15 months old and had to pay a regular fare for the cruise but his flight on the airline was free as he was under age of 2. Majority of the cruise lines look at each passenger as a head count basis, not on age basis. There are some cruise lines, such as NCL, that might offer kids sail free promos during off season sailings.

Yes, it varies on what the third/fourth passenger pays depending on the sailing. Some cruise lines/sailings have more discounted prices for 3rd and 4th passengers but some don’t – depends on if there are any promos happening that time.

For our sailing on the Allure in December, if you book something now for a quad on central park balcony, first two people are $759 and third and fourth (regardless of age) is at $749. So there is very little drop in price for third /forth passenger under the promo as of today. But just few weeks ago, when Royal was running promo where the 3rd and 4th passenger for free, the third and fourth passengers were being charged around $1,300+ each. Royal had to artificially inflate the first 2 passengers in order to give the 3rd and 4th passenger free. They were also having the second passenger at 50% off promo for a while and it was the same theory, pump up passenger one and give 50% off to second.

So before you get too envious of the couple that got their kids in for “free”, my bet is they had to pay a huge premium for the couple to get the free rate for the baby. You need to look at the total “out the door/cabin” price for a family to gauge if you snag a good deal.

I don't think OP is opposed to paying port fees and gratuities; I think they are questioning if toddlers are charged full cruise fare and the answer is generally yes. Or there may be a slight break for 3rd and 4th in a room, but not much.

3rd and 4th passenger rates apply to everyone regardless of age. Also, I've noticed that most booking engines now give you an "average" price for how ever many people you plug in so it's hard to really determine how big of a discount 3rd/4th is. We booked a cruise on MOS once where our DS (3rd passenger) was actually HIGHER than the 1st/2nd. It happens sometimes when the ship is reaching it's capacity but still has empty cabins. Bottom line OP - yes, you'll have to pay a full fare for your baby no matter how they crunch the numbers.

Keep in mind that the kids didn't really sail free. The line is going to make their money one way or the other. All they did was raise the price for the parents to sail in order to make up the difference. Same thing you always have to keep in mind when scoping out any BOGO sale.

You don't generally see a ton of infants and toddlers on cruises and I'm sure that's part of why. I'd resent paying that much for a trip my kid wouldn't remember.

It does seem high for a 9 month old, however, Royal banks on people spending money on board and they probably lose money on children, especially babies. They will not be spending money in the casino, or bingo, or any specialty restaurant. They won't be buying alcohol or fancy coffee, or taking FlowRider lessons or decorating cupcakes...you get the idea. They take your money upfront on the cruisefare knowing that's about all they will make off an infant. It sounds harsh, but I think that's probably the reason they don't discount the price. :(

yeah it really doesn't matter if you get a "deal" with third passenger free cuz they jacked up the rate for number one and two.Our current cruise they came out with that promo so I checked it out cuz I could've still gotten the cheaper deal if I chose to but it actually cost more with the promo then when I "paid" for the third and fourth passenger so the couple you spoke to about getting a great deal really did not.I have no dought they think they did but if you book your cruises far out you get to sit back and see all the smoke in mirrors offers they advertise.Royal has to charge for your child.They aren't gonna make up for it in drinks etc.Its still a body on the ship.Either way they will cater to the child as we have found out.They are awesome with children and I have never had any complaints about that.

My thought exactly..... Very poor phrasing.

 

 

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Perhaps the person said "it" because the baby is not yet born and gender is unknown?!?

We have a 19 month old son who has cruised 4 times. 2 carnival and 2 royal. Yes they charge and for good reason. Our son is more work than we are. They have to set up the pack n play, they turn down the sheets in there too! His dirty diapers have to be removed from the stateroom somehow.

In the dining room, babies and toddlers are a lot less neat than most adults. The crew has a bigger mess to clean up. Royal also has programs for babies and toddlers. There are nurseries on most ships, stocked with books, toys, etc. Even if you don't pay for the nursery care, your child can still attend the open play and play groups in the nursery.

Carnival offered next to nothing for my son to do onboard. So I see Royal as a better value if I have to pay!

I can see why young children have to pay to be on the ship. We knew this before we had a baby and we have saved our money accordingly to be able to bring him on the ship with us.

I'm. It trying to be meaner rude, just explaining why kids cost $$!

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Hello! My husband and I brought our nearly-2year old with us on our Freedom of the Seas sailing this past August. It was so awesome that we booked the opposite itinerary (same boat) for next year! We had planned to pay full price for her to go, but the Kids Sale Free sale saved us a few hundred dollars. We had a balcony room and turned the sofa to face the wall and let that be our DD's bed. The staff treated her like a princess in ever corner of the ship! It was fantastic! We nervously let her hang out at the Tot Lot (Royal Tots) and she LOVED it! We only let her go for two hours every evening (10-12mid), but it was great and she was asleep when we picked her up.

Anyway, I got off topic. Yes, it's expensive. Yes, we paid it. Yes, we're doing it again! Totally worth it to us! :D

Although it sucks, it makes sense why they charge for young children. They are losing out on potential higher-paying customers. Not to mention, I don't envy those who will dispose of my son's dirty diapers.

We took advantage of BOGO for our upcoming cruises, which will likely make at least one more affordable (even if the prices are exorbitant for passengers 1 & 2). I also will enjoy my son being free on flights! :)

Many times third and fourth are less. We paid $399 plus port charges for the 3-6 in our Family Oceanview cabin, which I think was low because we booked early. It is higher now I believe. So it pays to look for deals or book early. But you typically never pay full fare for your kids in the same cabin.

A senior citizen will sometimes pay less than the 9-month old.

I'll explain what happened with us. We booked out upcoming cruise back in Feb of this year. It is us 2 adults and 3 kids, one of whom will be 20 months old at time of sailing. We booked a Family Promenade cabin for about $3600 for the five of us. Incidentally, the 20 month old was the same price as the two older kids. When RCI had their family sails "free" promo along with the WOW sale, the kids' fares all got reduced to taxes/port charges (which are still about $200 for each kiddo). I would have to do some digging to double check the fare for pax 1 and 2, but overall, our fare dropped over $700, and then ended up with a $100 OBC. All in all, I would say there may be some deals out there, but the pricing for new bookings would likely be higher.

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Passenger capacity is by number of people total, not by number of adults. Once they hit that capacity, they cannot sell any more cabins even if there is availability and interest. Since that berth will probably be a minimal onboard spender, I think the policy is understandable even if it is not well-liked.

A large reason why I haven't cruised RCI since the birth of my son has been the high 3rd passenger fares especially when he wasn't eligible for the kids clubs and ate very little. While I was willing to pay the taxes and fees, it seemed unreasonable to pay such a high fare for so little in return for his fare. As a result, we gravitated to other lines that had seriously discounted and/or third passenger free fares. We even found Disney to be cheaper as their third passenger fares were lower.

Now that my son is older, I don't have a problem with the higher fare as he is getting the value from the fare being paid as he loves the kids clubs and eats off the adult menu. As such, we now have three RCI cruises booked over the next year.

We are travelling with our 21 month old soon. I only booked due to the "free 3rd and 4th passenger" promotion. There was no way I would pay full price for my son. He will sleep in our bed, not eat much, and does not qualify for any of the free kids club programs. The port fees weren't much, but thankfully that's all we had to pay. Keep a look out for a promotion. We booked ours in the spring.