Rearranging occupancy, when to do it?

[packyourpixiedust]

In a few weeks we are cruising. My mom, DH, and Infant son and I. As of now, for occupancy purposes, my Mom and DH are in a cabin, and my son and I are in a cabin. Obviously, my husband is not staying with my mom, but even the Celebrity agent booking the group for us agreed that there was no reason to pay a single person occupancy rate in a CC and have a 3rd person in the suite (Celebrity). So, we threw my hubby with her, and left my son with me. So, my question- when should we change the occupants? We need the correct totals for tipping purposes. My husband could use my son's sea pass card to enter our room, but I would prefer he have his own card. Has anyone changed who was in what room? Do we do it at the pier, have our butler assist us with it, or go to guest services ourselves on board? Will they change the occupancy? Thanks.

[Iamthesea]

You can do the switch at guest relations. Seems it would have been easier to put the baby in with your mother. How old is your infant?

[cle-guy]

Just do it now, put kid with grandma.

 

The get a passkey to your suite from your butler once you board for grandma to use as needed.

 

Then on arrival all is already sorted with no further hassle.

[packyourpixiedust]

Originally the baby was with grandma but then we'd have to move the pack and play and life jacket. But the real reason is the arm band- I wanted my son associated with my room. Obviously the risk of going to a lifeboat is looooow but I wasn't willing to risk it. What if they wouldn't reclassify my son in my room. Under no circumstances will I be separated from him if something happens. We even lost my DH drink package because of it. He doesn't drink alcohol, but would have had pop. We will just pay out of pocket for that.

 

So you have been successful having guest services do it?

Edited December 29, 2013 by LovesVaca

[packyourpixiedust]

Infant will be 7.5 months.

[Iamthesea]

We have, but things may have changed since we did so. Hope it works for you!;)

[MisterBill99]

So you have been successful having guest services do it?

We've changed guest room arrangements when we traveled with our kids and had to book my wife and myself in separate cabins due to age restrictions. The worst problem we had was getting the key cards right when making the changes. One time it took 3 or 4 trips to guest services to get cards that worked properly. We always go as soon as we get on the ship.

 

No way would I do what you did and lose the free drink package for your husband, especially if he would actually use it. There has to be a better way to handle what you want to do. Are the two cabins near each other? If so, making changes for the baby once you get on board should not be a big deal.

[packyourpixiedust]

We've changed guest room arrangements when we traveled with our kids and had to book my wife and myself in separate cabins due to age restrictions. The worst problem we had was getting the key cards right when making the changes. One time it took 3 or 4 trips to guest services to get cards that worked properly. We always go as soon as we get on the ship.

 

No way would I do what you did and lose the free drink package for your husband, especially if he would actually use it. There has to be a better way to handle what you want to do. Are the two cabins near each other? If so, making changes for the baby once you get on board should not be a big deal.

 

Thanks.

 

He doesn't drink alcohol AT ALL. He drinks one or 2 pops a day- so the most we lost was $50 in pop. Worth it to me!

[dkjretired]

We've changed guest room arrangements when we traveled with our kids and had to book my wife and myself in separate cabins due to age restrictions. The worst problem we had was getting the key cards right when making the changes. One time it took 3 or 4 trips to guest services to get cards that worked properly. We always go as soon as we get on the ship.

 

.

 

I don't understand, Celebrity has for years had a policy that minor children could be in a cabin by themselves as long as it was adjacent to to their parents. They define next to or across the hall as adjacent.

[miched]

deleted

Edited December 30, 2013 by miched

[Brentngigi]

I'm interested in the answer to this too. We are booked on the Constellation in March- DH, myself and our 10/yo DS in a suite. Down the hall I booked a friend traveling with us and our 9y/o DS in a balcony cabin. The balcony will just be for our friend, and the 2 kids will stay with us. Once on board, can I actually officially change the 9 y/o to be a guest in the suite with us without incuring an extra fee? I was just planning to have the cabin steward make up 2 beds instead of 1 and tip him extra for his efforts, but it would be nicer if the whole family could officially be together for muster, access to Blu if we want, etc. Has anyone actually done this?

[packyourpixiedust]

I'm interested in the answer to this too. We are booked on the Constellation in March- DH, myself and our 10/yo DS in a suite. Down the hall I booked a friend traveling with us and our 9y/o DS in a balcony cabin. The balcony will just be for our friend, and the 2 kids will stay with us. Once on board, can I actually officially change the 9 y/o to be a guest in the suite with us without incuring an extra fee? I was just planning to have the cabin steward make up 2 beds instead of 1 and tip him extra for his efforts, but it would be nicer if the whole family could officially be together for muster, access to Blu if we want, etc. Has anyone actually done this?

 

I don't think Kids are allowed in Blu.

If you repost in Feb, I will comment and let you know how it went for us. :)

[MisterBill99]

I don't understand, Celebrity has for years had a policy that minor children could be in a cabin by themselves as long as it was adjacent to to their parents. They define next to or across the hall as adjacent.

Who said we had adjoining cabins or cabins across the hall? My "kids" were late teens.

 

We've also had other reasons for booking the way we did. On our last RC cruise, my wife and I booked in separate cabins because there was a 55+ rate. Prior to that I think we had future cruise certificates in each of our names to use.

Edited December 31, 2013 by MisterBill99

[Cruisin Kay D]

I noticed a huge change in Royal Caribbean/Celebrity Corp's attitude to how you book kids & teens about April or May 2012 (based on my experience: denied boarding when RC decided 5 days pre-cruise DH & I had too many teens with us! Long story... About that same time there was "Inside Edition" exposed RC bartenders & waiters giving a bunch of teens liquor...) Have had several TAs say they were shocked by my treatment by RC. So all this to say, if I were YOU, I would deal with it AFTER I was settled onto the ship & it had sailed before I started switching things around...just do it without asking and just ask for an extra room access card.

Edited December 31, 2013 by Cruisin Kay D

[Brentngigi]

I noticed a huge change in Royal Caribbean/Celebrity Corp's attitude to how you book kids & teens about April or May 2012 (based on my experience: denied boarding when RC decided 5 days pre-cruise DH & I had too many teens with us! Long story... About that same time there was "Inside Edition" exposed RC bartenders & waiters giving a bunch of teens liquor...) Have had several TAs say they were shocked by my treatment by RC. So all this to say, if I were YOU, I would deal with it AFTER I was settled onto the ship & it had sailed before I started switching things around...just do it without asking and just ask for an extra room access card.

 

What a terrible experience that must have been for you! I believe the OP and I are in a slightly different situation as our children are much younger. We are just wondering if anyone has ever successfully had a child switched from 1 cabin to another without financial penalty. As we both are in suites I assume everyone will try to be as accommodating as possible, but we are still just unsure of the rules and of other's experiences.

[MisterBill99]

What a terrible experience that must have been for you! I believe the OP and I are in a slightly different situation as our children are much younger. We are just wondering if anyone has ever successfully had a child switched from 1 cabin to another without financial penalty. As we both are in suites I assume everyone will try to be as accommodating as possible, but we are still just unsure of the rules and of other's experiences.

Are you both in suites? Your original posting said your friend was in a balcony cabin. I was going to reply to your post, but I think the added rub of moving an extra person to a higher category cabin that comes with added perks could make things tricky. I've certainly never had problems swapping people but your situation is different. What is the price for the 4th person in your suite vs. the second person in your friend's cabin? Are you saving money booking it that way? Presumably your friend would be paying a full fare single supplement if your child were not booked in their cabin.

[robtulipe]

Obviously, my husband is not staying with my mom, but even the Celebrity agent booking the group for us agreed that there was no reason to pay a single person occupancy rate in a CC and have a 3rd person in the suite (Celebrity).

 

We even lost my DH drink package because of it. He doesn't drink alcohol, but would have had pop. We will just pay out of pocket for that.

 

So you have been successful having guest services do it?

Curious, why would your husband lose the 123 promo drink package if he's booked in a Concierge? Was that cabin booked at a different time when it wasn't being offered.:confused:

As other have said once onboard just go to the service /purser's desk and have them make the change. This is done all the time as shown by the X agent's comment.

[robtulipe]

even the Celebrity agent booking the group for us agreed that there was no reason to pay a single person occupancy rate in a CC and have a 3rd person in the suite (Celebrity).

 

Are you both in suites? Your original posting said your friend was in a balcony cabin. I was going to reply to your post, but I think the added rub of moving an extra person to a higher category cabin that comes with added perks could make things tricky. I've certainly never had problems swapping people but your situation is different. What is the price for the 4th person in your suite vs. the second person in your friend's cabin? Are you saving money booking it that way? Presumably your friend would be paying a full fare single supplement if your child were not booked in their cabin.

The difference in cost for the 3rd passenger in a suite range from none to $100 depending on which 4 or 5 night Connie cruise is done in the month of March 2014. IMO it depends on how sold out the cruise is.

As indicated in OP first post even the X's agent indicated this was an acceptable way to book two cabins for four and it is done this way normally even if the actual occupants are rearranged once onboard. :rolleyes:

Edited December 31, 2013 by robtulipe

[robtulipe]

Actually in my post above I should have indicated the actual cost of having a 3rd or 4th person in a suite not the difference between a suite and a non-suite cabin for those cruises and that cost is $349 to $449 depending on the date booked. Other than that my comment above still applies.;)

Also I believe Brentngigi was stating that she and the OP were in suites and it was not her friend, who is booked in a balcony along with her 9 year old son.

Edited December 31, 2013 by robtulipe

[dkjretired]

Who said we had adjoining cabins or cabins across the hall? My "kids" were late teens.

 

We've also had other reasons for booking the way we did. On our last RC cruise, my wife and I booked in separate cabins because there was a 55+ rate. Prior to that I think we had future cruise certificates in each of our names to use.

 

Rare that someone would book that way, only point I was making. I can understand doing it for the rate however.

[Hapytocruise]

I don't think Kids are allowed in Blu.

If you repost in Feb, I will comment and let you know how it went for us. :)

 

Also your friend in the balcony cabin (unless it is Aqua) will not be able to dine in Blu. As a suite guest you can with a $5 per person surcharge (at least that is what happened on recent Silouette TA cruise - although I have heard it varies between ships.

[dkjretired]

I don't think Kids are allowed in Blu.

If you repost in Feb, I will comment and let you know how it went for us. :)

 

Children staying in AQ cabins are welcome in Blu at all times. There just are usually not a lot of them. Those staying in Suites have to be 12yrs old. As someone else reported, if a friend is in a balcony cabin they cannot eat in Blu and this is one thing Celebrity actually enforces and is strict about.

 

From the web site:

 

Guests dining in the following Specialty Restaurants must be at least 12 years old: Murano, SS United States, The Olympic, Ocean Liners, The Normandie. Also, children of any age that are booked in AquaClass® staterooms are welcome to dine in Blu with an adult.

 

Additionally, onboard our Solstice® Class ships, children that are booked in suites that are at least 12 years old will be accommodated in Blu when dining with an adult, based on availability only. Please note a $5 per guest gratuity is recommended for any suite guests dining in Blu.

Edited January 1, 2014 by dkjretired