UDP - Booking child as adult

[lfreda]

Does anyone have any experience with booking a child (12 year old) as an adult?  I spoke to customer service and no one can seem to figure out how to make it happen.  

[Ashland]

Why does a 12 year old need an UDP ?

[ladysail2]

4 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Why does a 12 year old need an UDP ?

Maybe the child eats alot..

[Scoobydobe7]

Just make your reservations for two..and when you board the ship let all of your "reservations" know that a child will be joining you...The charge used to be 10.00 which you will get a  bill for at the end of your meal...sign and go...

[Ashland]

1 minute ago, Scoobydobe7 said:

Just make your reservations for two..and when you board the ship let all of your "reservations" know that a child will be joining you...The charge used to be 10.00 which you will get a  bill for at the end of your meal...sign and go...

Yes 6-12 $10.00...so no reason for the OP to pay adult price.

[NanciRDH]

14 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Why does a 12 year old need an UDP ?

Maybe because that's the family dinner plans?   I know every kid is different, but by 12 my kids were well beyond the kids menu, and knew exactly how they wanted their steaks cooked.  Now as adults they are not the cheap date lol.  

[Ashland]

1 minute ago, NanciRDH said:

Maybe because that's the family dinner plans?   I know every kid is different, but by 12 my kids were well beyond the kids menu, and knew exactly how they wanted their steaks cooked.  Now as adults they are not the cheap date lol.  

Sorry....you missed my point that it's not necessary to treat your 12 year old as an adult and purchase the adult price.

[ladysail2]

38 minutes ago, lfreda said:

Does anyone have any experience with booking a child (12 year old) as an adult?  I spoke to customer service and no one can seem to figure out how to make it happen.  

I’ve never done UDP.  Do they ask the age of the people participating?  Or is it that you don’t want to pay the adult charge for the child?  Why not just book the child as a child?  As I said, I’ve never booked UDP….but I’m sure others have taken their kids with them…I think.

[Merion_Mom]

3 minutes ago, ladysail2 said:

I’ve never done UDP.  Do they ask the age of the people participating?  Or is it that you don’t want to pay the adult charge for the child?  Why not just book the child as a child?  As I said, I’ve never booked UDP….but I’m sure others have taken their kids with them…I think.

When you book things in the Cruise Planner, you have to add/highlight each passenger who is getting the item.  (in this case, the UDP).  It isn't letting her do that, because the website knows that the child is 12 and can't/doesn't need to buy a package.

[ladysail2]

3 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

When you book things in the Cruise Planner, you have to add/highlight each passenger who is getting the item.  (in this case, the UDP).  It isn't letting her do that, because the website knows that the child is 12 and can't/doesn't need to buy a package.

So, was the OP just making sure her child would be allowed to do UDP with  her?  I’m surprised/not surprised that the Royal agent couldn’t advise OP of the procedure.  It sounds like Scoobydobe has the best idea. 

[lfreda]

My 12 year old eats like an adult - he doesn't eat kids portions or chicken finger and fries.  His older siblings will both have the UDP and I want him to have what they have.  I want him to be able to grab sushi with them for lunch without worrying about it.  

[ladysail2]

3 minutes ago, lfreda said:

My 12 year old eats like an adult - he doesn't eat kids portions or chicken finger and fries.  His older siblings will both have the UDP and I want him to have what they have.  I want him to be able to grab sushi with them for lunch without worrying about it.  

Good idea! 

[lfreda]

When I called the resolution team said the following: "Book him as a child and when you get onboard you can change him to an adult and pay the difference."  My question was difference of what price?  The discounted price I am paying today or the onboard price - he said the price today.  I asked them to send me an email stating that and they refused. 

 

The package details are so vague that they don't even mention how much a child gets in an a la carte restaurant.  The whole thing is annoying.  I hate having to work to spend my money.

Edited November 24, 2021 by lfreda

[utopiahereicome]

I am also traveling with a 12 year old and was interested in purchasing the UDP - the cruise planner allows me to book it for the 12 year old at the adult price - if I don’t book it for her, will she be limited to ordering from the kids menu only?  Or does the $10 fee allow her to order from the regular adult menu?  

[lfreda]

5 hours ago, utopiahereicome said:

I am also traveling with a 12 year old and was interested in purchasing the UDP - the cruise planner allows me to book it for the 12 year old at the adult price - if I don’t book it for her, will she be limited to ordering from the kids menu only?  Or does the $10 fee allow her to order from the regular adult menu?  

 

So when you go to book through planner it is giving you a choice?  When I select each person in my family, at check out I see 4 adults, 1 child. $167 for each adult and $70 for a child.  (I wonder if the kids package is really just paying the $10 fee upfront)

 

I sent them an email asking for further clarification.

[utopiahereicome]

4 hours ago, lfreda said:

 

So when you go to book through planner it is giving you a choice?  When I select each person in my family, at check out I see 4 adults, 1 child. $167 for each adult and $70 for a child.  (I wonder if the kids package is really just paying the $10 fee upfront)

 

I sent them an email asking for further clarification.

There are 3 of us going, 2 adults and the 12 year old - when I select all 3 of us, at checkout I see the same price ($104 on my 4 night cruise) for each of us, so it is charging adult price for her and no option anywhere to select a child option.  

[Djsmrs]

In the Terms and Conditions:  You purchase and pay the adult price and then get refunded once on board - there is no option to pay the children's rate on the website.

 

 

For Cover Charge Products], Children between the ages of 0-5 are complimentary and ages 6-12 are $10 per child; children must order from the kids menu.  Please reserve product for all guests who wish to dine. Adult price will be applied for all guests regardless of age; the difference between the adult price and child price will be refunded in the form of a refundable onboard credit (unless booked with non-refundable credit, in which case OBC will be non-refundable). For Dining Packages, children ages 12 and under are excluded from offer. 

[Hogbay]

On 11/24/2021 at 9:50 AM, lfreda said:

Does anyone have any experience with booking a child (12 year old) as an adult?  I spoke to customer service and no one can seem to figure out how to make it happen.  

They have been working on this for awhile my Ovation 2022 Christmas cruise  has adult and  child  prices 😇🇭🇲

[lfreda]

On 11/25/2021 at 2:18 PM, Hogbay said:

They have been working on this for awhile my Ovation 2022 Christmas cruise  has adult and  child  prices 😇🇭🇲

Yes this is what I see as well.  I may just call and change his birthday to make him 13, book the package, and then call and change it back at this point.  

[SWACruising]

In the same boat. My son is 12 and will be 13 when we cruise in March. Can only book him at the child rate. When I called, they didn't have a solution so we will figure it out onboard.

[lfreda]

So after 2 months, I received this silly response from Royal. I think I was very clear that I want to book him as an adult - now tell me how to do it! 😂

 

The issue is that their outsourced customer service department doesn't understand the question so it is impossible for them to provide an answer.

 

If you pay the adult rate for him, he would be able to order from the adult menu and would also receive the same ala cart credits as you and his siblings. For restaurants with a la carte pricing, guests will receive a $35 food credit each time they dine, with the exception of Playmakers and Port Side BBQ, which will receive $20. Please feel free to let us know if you have any other questions or concerns by replying to this email or call our Certified Vacation Planners by dialing 1-800-205-9812 and pressing option 4 and then option 3.

[jrapps]

We have done UDP with kids several times now. Prior to the cruise, I booked all 4 of us as "Adult" UDP packages and paid the full rate.

 

When we went to our first upscale lunch/dinner of the cruise, they refunded the price I paid for both kids (when they were younger) to my onboard account and just charged me the $10 fee for each kid. Back a few years ago (when both kids were 10 and under), they only charged the $10 rate but still let my daughter order from the adult menu.

 

More recently we were on the Symphony this year. for my daughter (now 13) we left the adult package in place as she well got her money's worth (she is a foodie). My 8 year old son, they refunded the UDP price and were supposed to charge the $10 per meal fee, but never actually did so he ended up being "free" but that is definitely a YMMV situation.

 

[jrapps]

46 minutes ago, lfreda said:

So after 2 months, I received this silly response from Royal. I think I was very clear that I want to book him as an adult - now tell me how to do it! 😂

 

The issue is that their outsourced customer service department doesn't understand the question so it is impossible for them to provide an answer.

 

If you pay the adult rate for him, he would be able to order from the adult menu and would also receive the same ala cart credits as you and his siblings. For restaurants with a la carte pricing, guests will receive a $35 food credit each time they dine, with the exception of Playmakers and Port Side BBQ, which will receive $20. Please feel free to let us know if you have any other questions or concerns by replying to this email or call our Certified Vacation Planners by dialing 1-800-205-9812 and pressing option 4 and then option 3.

I may have misunderstood your original post as well. When you log in to your planner, you don't even get the option to select UDP for your child?

 

I just checked an upcoming cruise and this is what I see:

 

This is new (for me at least) as on previous cruises I never saw a "child" price for UDP, I just booked the kids at the adult rate. In the fine print is says child rate is for 6-12 year old.

 

If what you are asking is how do you book the 12 year old as an adult rate now, I think the answer is you can't but I would not worry about that too much, if your objective is to allow them to eat from the adult menu, they will almost certainly allow it. Even though the fine print says that kids must order from the kids menu, I have NEVER been on a cruise where that was enforced. EVER.

 

Edit: You might be able to do it over the phone. There are things the website wont allow (like having one adult book a deluxe drink package and a 2nd adult get a refreshment package) but if you call to book they can do it. You might just wait for a good sale and then call to do it.

 

Edited January 13, 2022 by jrapps

[lfreda]

I booked it in November as 4 adults and 1 child.  I am going to try and call again to change it or just deal with it onboard.  Honestly, my main concern is the lack of an answer when it comes to dollars for children to use at a la carte restaurants such as Izumi.  I know he will eat lunch there every day we are at sea.   What can I say - the kids likes his sushi!

[SWACruising]

Just a follow up on an old post. My son was 12 when we booked our cruise and would be be 13 when we actually cruised. He was charged the child rate for the UDP and when we were onboard, no additional charge was added and he was able to order from the adult menu. It appears to be a glitch in their reservation system and when we tried to correct it pre cruise, they had no idea of what we were talking about.