Naive parent(s) did not reserve/pay for 18month old

[keyarra]

Add me to the list that has a 3rd in a 2 person room. We weren't going to bring the baby on our family cruise but then rethought that. So we have a balcony connected to an interior on Freedom. They added our toddler to the inside room with my other 2 girls. I paid an arm and a leg but I feel more comfortable having him with us then leaving him behind.

 

Dee

[notentirelynormal]

Sure it can be done, but the problem arises if they are out of space on the life boats, you can't book anyone no matter the age into a particular cabin. That's why you always book the max you think you will need and cancel rather then trying to add on last minute.

 

However, that isn't the OP's problem. Their issue was that they saw they had to pay for their child so decided not to add him in until the very last minute (by calling the cruise line to "make sure that our son would be accounted for") hoping they could just slide him in for no charge because he was sharing a room with them. They were trying to pull a fast one on the system and the system won. The only thing they might have been naive about was that they didn't know about "soul" capacity levels. They thought they could just carry the kid on and no one would be the wiser. Everyone that has said they could get their child into their room has also said they paid to get them into their room. Big difference.

 

I have cruised with my kids for almost 30 years and each and every cruise I've had to pay the adult fare for them. Sometimes as 3rd/4th passengers but more often as full fare adults as they were in their own cabin. I have paid for my 6 MO, 1 YO and 2 YO grandchildren the full fare so I know exactly what kids cost. The kids have eaten the food on the ship, caused work for the cabin steward and used the facilities on board even if to sit in a chair that an adult might use.

 

I also don't see why the cruise line should try to switch them to another cruise. It is not the cruise lines fault that they knowingly didn't add their child to the reservation.

 

I'm sorry the OP feels we are being mean but why would they think they didn't have to pay for their child?

[keyarra]

Sure it can be done, but the problem arises if they are out of space on the life boats, you can't book anyone no matter the age into a particular cabin. That's why you always book the max you think you will need and cancel rather then trying to add on last minute.

 

However, that isn't the OP's problem. Their issue was that they saw they had to pay for their child so decided not to add him in until the very last minute (by calling the cruise line to "make sure that our son would be accounted for") hoping they could just slide him in for no charge because he was sharing a room with them. They were trying to pull a fast one on the system and the system won. The only thing they might have been naive about was that they didn't know about "soul" capacity levels. They thought they could just carry the kid on and no one would be the wiser. Everyone that has said they could get their child into their room has also said they paid to get them into their room. Big difference.

 

I have cruised with my kids for almost 30 years and each and every cruise I've had to pay the adult fare for them. Sometimes as 3rd/4th passengers but more often as full fare adults as they were in their own cabin. I have paid for my 6 MO, 1 YO and 2 YO grandchildren the full fare so I know exactly what kids cost. The kids have eaten the food on the ship, caused work for the cabin steward and used the facilities on board even if to sit in a chair that an adult might use.

 

I also don't see why the cruise line should try to switch them to another cruise. It is not the cruise lines fault that they knowingly didn't add their child to the reservation.

 

I'm sorry the OP feels we are being mean but why would they think they didn't have to pay for their child?

 

 

I agree with everything here. As I stated in my first comment to the OP. I was just commenting on someone saying you can never get a 3rd into a 2 person room.

[mymollysue]

I am trying not to judge here (and to present this in an honest way), but it seems your DH saw a full fare 3rd person rate and chose to omit your son from the reservation but still wanted to bring him along. Every passenger, big or small, must be accounted for. There are certain rooms that are able to accommodate a crib or pack 'n play, others that can't. To think he could add your son at the last minute for free was a pretty big oversight on his part. It would have probably been better for him to call and book over the phone than online. I don't know if Carnival will reimburse you for this but I hope you are able to work something out. I also want to give you some advice, since that is what these boards are for.

 

I have cruised with my DD 3 times. Her first cruise was when she was just 13 months old, the 2nd at 22 months and the 3rd at 2 years old. If you are concerned about 3rd person costs, Norwegian has a great kids under 2 rate. Cruise fare for children under two is government taxes and port fees only. You can also look for Kids Sale Free Promotions. They pop up on various cruise lines from time to time. Also, look for 3rd person discounts. These boards are a great resource for cruise discounts. I would also look for a cruise line with a nursery. My DD has been on Norwegian, Disney and Royal. Both Disney and Royal had nurseries on board (although not all Royals have nurseries). Norwegian is revamping their kids program and talks of programming for the under 2's has been in the works. Hope this helps a bit and you are able to cruise together as a family.

[nothriver]

I'll jump on the "call every day and see if you can add him" category. Last minute cancellations are made, it is possible you can still book your extra person. You'll have to choose paying high last minute rates, or loosing the entire cost of the cruise. I'm not one to throw in the towel - I'd be calling several times a day, explaining my mistake, and seeing if I could get a booking for 3 one way or another. I've made a lot of mistakes in my life, so I guess I'm just used to finding solutions to my problems I've created!:o

[notentirelynormal]

They are due to sail in two days which only leave tomorrow to call. Chances are slim. I'm guessing if they didn't want to pay the fare when it was a regular fare that they are not going to want to pay a higher last minute fare. I'm thinking junior should stay at home and the parents go without him this time.

[Marie51]

I agree the OP messed up big but your wrong you can have 3 in a room for 2 infact we are doing it. When we called to add the 3rd the first wanted us to move to a 3 person room with the pull down beds but we asked to talk to a manager and explained that our DD is only going to be 12.5 months old and will be in a pack and play and that having a 3 person room with the pull downs will be less room for us not more. they worked it out and we have a 2 person room with 3 people. Now if the ship is full ie no more soles alowed (you only see this on holiday cruises) then your right but in that case you could have a room that holds 10 and only bring 2.

 

For the OP I would call back ask for a manager and explain that your DH messed up and give a sob story and they can prob work out to bring the baby if he/she sleep in a pack and play I know RCI is real helpfull however I have heard that CCL is not so try, and if you dont get from the first or even the secnd or third call try again, all the cruise lines are known for not giving the same answer twice.:eek:

 

Ok, I apologize. I have always been under the impression that a third passenger would never be put in a 2 person cabin.

 

I hope the OP comes back to let us know what they decided to do.

[crusinmama06]

Yes on RCI you can add infants to doubles. But as the OP is finding out the hard way on CCL, that situation is not always the case when the berth capacity is reached for the ship. :( I would love to see an update as well. It's a good lesson for anyone booking infants.

[parrotthead]

Really? (Sorry lm posting in advance of reading comments, but couldnt believe this one)

Why would you have a "2 Person Reservation" when you *Knew* you had 3 people traveling?

:confused::confused::confused:

[parrotthead]

Everyone has to be considerate of how many places there are on the lifeboats.

 

This is the Meat &Potatoes of it...

When I booked our "Traveling GingerBaby" (9 mo old now) Cruises (he has already been on one and is booked on another) I look at it as " Im paying for his seat on the rescue boat" (if ever needed)... & for that Id gladly pay "full price"

[parrotthead]

Op, you said you were a new poster but had been Lurking for Months. So, I'm a bit surprised that you didnt Know that your Toddler (b/c at 18mo he's not really an Infant anymore,Sorry Mom) would be required to have a Ticket. Your husband was 'Registering him' so you 'knew' he had to be accounted for... (& remember on Many itinararies, he would require a PassPort as well- did you aquire that?)

[Ula]

Has to be one of the strangest things I have ever read. But we like to follow rules. Makes things easier. But when looking into this type of vacation, would never dream to think you could sneak a human on the ship. At least they learned before check in. And lesson learned.

[beachchick]

No, unfortunately, this isn't always true, which you will find out as your child gets older.

 

But, I don't see this issue as being supportive or not supportive of anything to do with parenting. I don't know why your DH made this choice, but it's been an expensive lesson. Please come back and post what Carnival says when you cancel.

 

I agree. It's not an issue of being supportive or not supportive; it's an issue of not understanding why they consider themselves naive.

 

Really? (Sorry lm posting in advance of reading comments, but couldnt believe this one)

Why would you have a "2 Person Reservation" when you *Knew* you had 3 people traveling?

:confused::confused::confused:

 

That was one of my questions as well. The hubby and, I assume, gemyni as well, knew when making the booking that their toddler would be counted as a passenger and would be charged the regular 3rd passenger fare (whatever it was at the time). My hubby and I are parents and grandparents. We (and now our daughter) never assumed that our child would be free of charge or that we could just bring her along on a plane, train, or ship of any kind. We wouldn't have imagined that we could get around paying her fare by calling at the last minute and saying, "You are 'accounting' for our child in our reservation, correct?" How would the cruise line have accounted for a child that wasn't booked? Not even airlines will allow parents to simply bring a lap baby aboard without a reservation. It's not as if a toddler can be counted as part of carry on luggage.:rolleyes: Our bottom line, which I still believe, is that parents need to accept all responsibility, financial and otherwise, for their children. While we fully support paying for public education and other programs that contribute to the good of society, we do not believe cruising and other recreation fall into that category. One of the reasons we don't cruise with Disney, even though we still are Disney kids at heart, is that children do cruise free or at extremely discounted fares, which means that overall fares are significantly higher than many other lines. The cost for all those "free" children is paid for by all the other passengers.

 

In the interest of full disclosure, I will say that we never turned down a discounted or free fare/admission for our daughter when offered or available--We're not crazy, at least not in that regard. We always asked about child/teen/student discounts and were pleased to accept them. Now that my hubby often qualifies as a "senior," including with cruise lines, I do the same thing for him. If a senior discount is offered, we take it; if it's not, we pay the full rate. And we ask if there are discounts for various memberships (AARP, AAA, Alumni Association, etc.).

 

Thanks for your very helpful response, NJFoodie. We're new parents. We've taken numerous plane trips (where there details available regarding traveling with children under two), but have never ever cruised before and don't know anyone who has cruised with a young child.

 

Again, our assumptions were naive, but I didn't think that the tone of the message board responses, overall, was warranted. Some of the responses were unnecessarily mean-spirited, in my opinion. I thought that parents, even those who have different opinions and experiences than others, were inclined to be supportive of other parents. My apologies if I missed some of the more pleasant/useful responses. After a while, I had to stop reading. In any case, I hope that the mean people (and everyone else, too) have a wonderful weekend.

 

Although a few responses were a bit harsh, you did write that you've been lurking here for months and reading about cruising. You also wrote that your hubby knew when he made the reservation that your son would be charged the fare.

 

Perhaps it would be helpful if you explained how and why you assumed you could simply bring your son along without booking, registering, or paying for his fare. In what way were you naive once you knew that you would need to pay for your son's fare? Do you mean that you were naive to assume you could simply bring him along free by calling at the last minute? Did you not read the booking information provided by the cruise line? What about the numerous threads here about how every passenger onboard is counted, how cruise ships are not like airplanes in that regard, or why the cruise lines usually charge a fare for every passenger? Did it not occur to you both that the reason cruise lines don't have detailed booking information for children younger than 2 like airlines do is because they don't have such policies? I do not understand your logic in saying that you expected to call at the last minute and make sure the cruise line "accounted for" your son, when the cruise line didn't know anything about him. IMO, the cruise line did nothing wrong and did not in any way try to confuse or misinform you. You and your hubby made choices; unfortunately, those choices are going to cost you.

 

Others have explained why cruise lines charge for all passengers. Your son would not have been able to use the children's program, but that's not the only issue. He would have been eating food, making the usual toddler messes, and used other resources. Your cabin steward would have been cleaning for all three of you; the waitstaff would have been serving all three of you; the crew would have been helping all three of you. You should know for future reference that the tips or daily service charges on most ships include all passengers, although very young children are sometimes exempted or charged much less. It's also important that you know in advance that very few ships have water or pool facilities for children who are not fully potty trained. That way you won't be surprised and disappointed at the last minute.

 

beachchick

[Julienatul]

I'm sorry you had to forfeit your much anticipated cruise vacation. Unfortunately cruising is not like a hotel room. Each body onboard big or small has to be accounted for and port fees/taxes paid unlike at a hotel room. They also have to have enough life jackets and space on lifeboats. We have sailed with both of our kids starting at 7mo and 8mo of age. My DD now 6 has been on 15 cruises and DS age 3, 8 cruises. They are usually charged a reduced rate-anywhere from $175-$700 depending on the length of cruise, cruise line and cabin type. It does seem exorbitant but most of the fees are taxes/port charges. You can find some great rates in off season. Hopefully you can rebook and include your DS.

[Cruisin' Chick]

Not to pile on, but this is an example of don't assume. Just like you can't just show up at the airline counter with toddler in tow, you certainly can't tell the check-in clerk at the pier that you're bringing your child. And even if you are going on a cruiseline with a kids cruise for free fare, there are the port fees/taxes as well as tips that need to be paid, and there's a limit of "souls" onboard no matter what age. This is not a "cruiseline" requirement, but a coast guard one.

 

I just checked one hotel website and the booking engine does ask about children. Probably easier to bring in a child into a hotel without letting the front desk know, but you also won't have to worry about there being a life jacket for each person in your hotel room.

 

And as your child gets older, you'll find out that you will need to ask many questions in advance or signing up your child for school (you just can't show up on the first day of kindergarten without signing up your child in advance...even if your child is entitled to the space, sometimes extra numbers of kids are sent to another school where there is space).

 

I don't think the other posters have been mean, just honest.

[B_Mc]

Yes on RCI you can add infants to doubles. But as the OP is finding out the hard way on CCL, that situation is not always the case when the berth capacity is reached for the ship. :( I would love to see an update as well. It's a good lesson for anyone booking infants.

 

Well said!

 

We added our 10 month old to our double for dirt cheap....but we ADDED him, didn't expect to just slip him on board without paying!

[sunnysavannah]

I'm new to Cruise Critics' message boards though I've been a bit of a lurker for months now. I hope that it's ok to vent here and that my doing so will help someone. My hubbie booked our Carnival Western Carib cruise online at the Carnival site. Since 'registering' our 18 month old son seemed to indicate that we would be paying full price for him, my husband decided that he would simply call Carnival before our departure to make sure that our son would be accounted for (in our 2-person reservation). We anticipated having him sleep on a travel toddler bed that we packed to take.

 

In any case, there are now no rooms for a family of 3 even if we were willing to pay full price for a third person. We will be cancelling our trip and hoping desperately for a voucher (to use when, I don't know). We were supposed to be sailing on this Sunday :mad: Truth be told, I'm not sure how any of the cruiselines can justify charging even a fraction of money for a child under the age of 5. Really??!!! Our son wouldn't even have been eligible for their toddler program since he's not yet 2 years old. Ok, thanks for listening.

 

Well, I read this thread through and I wanted to say, "Welcome!" Since I don't know the extent that you have lurked or even that you knew the booking details at the time that your husband made them, I will make no assumption that you intended to stick it to the cruise line. :) I remember about 12 years ago when I learned that the youngest of cruisers can cost as much as the oldest and I was shocked. I have since been educated by this board and others about the reason for the price for kiddos. Live and learn and I'm very sorry for your mixed up vacation issues.

I hope that you are able to look at it as a lesson learned and were able to enjoy a vacation. I would love to know what you ended up doing! I hope that the situation hasn't turned you off from cruising. (And honestly, from this board as well. Sometimes the responses can come across as a little rougher than intended. Especially to Southern Gals.;))

[People_Mover]

we have to pay full price on carnival for our 10 month old and we are VIP :mad:

[billet]

Must try that on an airline with a 2yo. When booking it says you must pay but the kid is only small so I will book two seats and phone the airline a couple of days before flying and tell them we have a small child too who can sit on our laps if there are no seats. I am sure that would be OK wouldn't it?

[Kjmom0819]

Im just wondering one thing? You said you have traveled on a plane with a under 2 yr old which when u call or do reservations online they ask that question Y would u think it would be different on a cruise ship. Also im traveling with my 20 mth old and asked them why we would pay so much for him and they said its for insurence reasons which i understand .

[BCCRUSINGCOUPLE]

Thanks for your very helpful response, NJFoodie. We're new parents. We've taken numerous plane trips (where there details available regarding traveling with children under two), but have never ever cruised before and don't know anyone who has cruised with a young child.

 

Again, our assumptions were naive, but I didn't think that the tone of the message board responses, overall, was warranted. Some of the responses were unnecessarily mean-spirited, in my opinion. I thought that parents, even those who have different opinions and experiences than others, were inclined to be supportive of other parents. My apologies if I missed some of the more pleasant/useful responses. After a while, I had to stop reading. In any case, I hope that the mean people (and everyone else, too) have a wonderful weekend.

 

I must agree with you I believe you know you made a mistake however some comments were not warranted.

[flhokie]

If there was any question, the OP should have contacted the cruise line or a travel agent. Either one would have been able to clear up any confusion they had about whether or not a young child pays full price.

 

I do understand that airlines and hotels allow young children at no additional cost at times (not if you want them to have their own seat, etc.) and this could cause some confusion, but it really is a matter of safety with the cruise line. There is space for so many souls because of life boats, etc.

 

We are sailing on Allure with DD next year. She'll be 2 years 3 months so she won't be able to participate in any of the actual children's program (only toddler play with parents, etc.). However, she'll be in our room probably making a bit of a mess that that the steward will have to deal with, eating food, enjoying entertainment and pools (if she is potty trained by then). It was very clear when booking that we had to be in a cabin that accommodates at least 3 and that she would be the regular 3rd person rate. That was clear on the cruise line website and clearly communicated by RCCL and our travel agent.

[Karysa]

I hope that you posted this info on the boards that you were lurking on prior to your cruise. Like yourself other first time cruisers with children may have stuck to the cruise line boards and not happened upon this board until after their cruise.

[kbmeow]

I kinda get not wanting to pay but..... If you make a plane reservation you have to tell them your son is going to be a passenger at booking. If you make a hotel reservation they ask how many in room and then will ask how many under a age. Even if there is no price the body is still accounted for. And of course you should pay. I mean are you going to save all the diapers and throw them away?