Coastal kitchen with children not in suite

[Superspeechie]

We are travelling in a grand suite and have our children 16 year olds in an inside room across the hall. Will our children be allowed to dine in coastal kitchen with us as they are not in a suite? We will be having dinner together so just would like to know if we should plan for CK or MDR. 

[cruisegirl1]

Your minor children, not staying in a suite will be able to dine with you in CK. 

m

Edited September 10, 2022 by cruisegirl1

[Ashland]

I believe under age kids not staying in a suite with their parents can still enjoy the perks when with their parents.

[Superspeechie]

Thankyou for the prompt replies! Much appreciated!

[Superspeechie]

Sure would be significantly cheaper! Sailing in December will let you know then. Just didn’t want to be one of those people trying to get perks we are not entitled to! 
 

[cruisegirl1]

6 hours ago, Superspeechie said:

Sure would be significantly cheaper! Sailing in December will let you know then. Just didn’t want to be one of those people trying to get perks we are not entitled to! 
 

 

 You found the glitch in the system.  You did nothing wrong - Just found a quirk in booking and benefits.

 

You are getting perks for which you (or your family) are not entitled.  Your children are not booked in a suite but will likely receive suite benefits if you all dine in CK or use other suite benefits as a family. 

 

Theoretically, those not in a suite cannot dine in CK or use other suite perks ( ex. reserved theater seating, priority embarkation, Barefoot Beach on Labadee etc.)  Your situation is a bit unique, one that RCCL likely never considered or would come up infrequently that is wasn't worth all the fine print.  Of course, RCCL will not deny your minor children the ability to dine with you, board with you, or use other suite benefits reserved for suite guests.   They do however actually have the right to deny the children thus forcing you to dine elsewhere if you wish to dine as a family. (But, not likely!) 

 

I've read of this situation before, and I suspect if it gets out of hand that they will makes some sort of change.

 

Just for my knowledge, how are the minor children able to have a cabin by themselves?   

 

M

Edited September 11, 2022 by cruisegirl1

[Superspeechie]

The kids are directly opposite us, can’t book this online but could book on the phone, we have done it several times. I’m totally fine if they say we can’t dine in CK, I completely understand. It’s not like we will starve! I’ll book MDR just in case we are denied dining in CK as a family, so at least I know we have our preferred dining time 

[cruisegirl1]

1 hour ago, Superspeechie said:

The kids are directly opposite us, can’t book this online but could book on the phone, we have done it several times. I’m totally fine if they say we can’t dine in CK, I completely understand. It’s not like we will starve! I’ll book MDR just in case we are denied dining in CK as a family, so at least I know we have our preferred dining time 

Thanks for the info. I can’t imagine that there will be any problem with your children dining with you in coastal kitchen.  They will have to be with you, as their key card will not be programmed for the coastal kitchen door.   The Concierge may be able to give them a different room card that opens the door. 
 

enjoy your cruise. 

[Dred pilot Roberts]

On 9/10/2022 at 7:22 AM, Deez123 said:

Holy crap.  I didn't know this was possible.    We always book Loft for the 4 of us.    Would be cheaper to do a GS with kids in interior.   Any actually confirm they have done this RECENTLY?  Kids are 16 and 14.  Soon to be 17.

Yes I did it on the oasis for spring break in March. 2BGS kids in balcony next door, absolutely no problem. Concierge reissued kids keys as suite keys with access to the costal kitchen, with dinner reservations for all 6 of us.  Concierge said this is done all the time and is no problem as long as the kids are under 18 (minors).  If 18 or older then it would NOT be allowed.

 

DPR

[cruisegirl1]

27 minutes ago, Dred pilot Roberts said:

Yes I did it on the oasis for spring break in March. 2BGS kids in balcony next door, absolutely no problem. Concierge reissued kids keys as suite keys with access to the costal kitchen, with dinner reservations for all 6 of us.  Concierge said this is done all the time and is no problem as long as the kids are under 18 (minors).  If 18 or older then it would NOT be allowed.

 

DPR

Something tells me if one child was over the age of 18, that they would allow the entire family to dine together, and not require that particular person to dine alone. 
 

Of course, now that the information is posted “and the cat is out of the bag” the cabin set up  will be more difficult  to book as more people learn of the booking benefit. 
 

m

 

 

[Ourusualbeach]

2 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

Of course, now that the information is posted “and the cat is out of the bag” the cabin set up  will be more difficult  to book as more people learn of the booking benefit. 

In lots of cases the family actually pays more as the third/fourth rate for the suite is less than what it costs for the first/second guest rate even in an inside cabin and nearly always on the balcony.

[DaKahuna]

Interesting.  On our last pre-COVID cruise, our 18 year old grandson and 16 year old granddaughter were not considered minor children for booking purposes, cruise fare, but were not adults for all other aspects. 

[Ourusualbeach]

37 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

Interesting.  On our last pre-COVID cruise, our 18 year old grandson and 16 year old granddaughter were not considered minor children for booking purposes, cruise fare, but were not adults for all other aspects. 

Unless there is a kids sail free (only applies to 12 and under then third and 4th guests are treated the same as adults all the time regardless of age.  If they are guests 1 and 2 everyone is treated equally regardless of age.

[DaKahuna]

So you are saying that two under 18 children can be booked as 3rd and 4th guest even if they are staying in a different stateroom? 
 

Wish we had known this, we had to have one adult in each of the two adjoining statrooms and all four paid standard fare. 
 

[Starry Eyes]

9 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

In lots of cases the family actually pays more as the third/fourth rate for the suite is less than what it costs for the first/second guest rate even in an inside cabin and nearly always on the balcony.

It changes the booking strategy for an extended family.  Imagine set of grandparents, set of parents and two teens planning a cruise. 
The parents want to book a suite for their family.  Grandparents are thinking of balcony.  Based on info here, it would be smart to book all four adults in the suite with the teens in adjacent balcony cabin.  Everyone could use CK; grandparents can still sleep in their balcony cabin.

[Ourusualbeach]

7 minutes ago, Starry Eyes said:

It changes the booking strategy for an extended family.  Imagine set of grandparents, set of parents and two teens planning a cruise. 
The parents want to book a suite for their family.  Grandparents are thinking of balcony.  Based on info here, it would be smart to book all four adults in the suite with the teens in adjacent balcony cabin.  Everyone could use CK; grandparents can still sleep in their balcony cabin.

Definitely possible on paper but that is a big difference than booking for 2 adults in a suite with a couple teenagers in a room across the hall or beside.  The concierge sees who is in the room and may very well see that they are gaming the system and may say only 4 allowed in...you choose which 4.  Then again, maybe they don't care.  Could also vary by ship or concierge as to whether that would fly.

Edited September 11, 2022 by Ourusualbeach

[tcneal]

Like everything else, it depends on who is working.   We were in the same situation on the Harmony a month ago.  Our children was in a balcony room next door to our GS.  We tried to make reservations pre-cruise with the Concierge for the 4 of us, and they would not allow it.  Strange, since we hadn't had issues in the past and pointed this out.  But during the cruise, we had no problem with breakfast and lunch in CK with our children.   

Edited September 13, 2022 by tcneal