Jump to content

Do all cruise lines charge for a baby???


AandBmom

Recommended Posts

Can someone please explain to me how the different cruise lines charge for an infant. My little guy will be around 12 mos when we're looking to cruise and I'm wondering how different cruise lines charge for that age. Does age matter? Is he considered an extra person regardless of age? Do I pay full price for DH and I then the same for each of our children (6yrs, 4yrs and 12 mos)?

 

Also, where do babies sleep on cruises? Is there room for a crib? How do I fit 3 kids and 2 adults? Can I only look at suites?

 

Please help, I'm not new to cruising, but I am new to crusing with kids.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some lines don't charges for infants under 12 months I think..but I am not sure. When my son was under 1, we just went to each cruiseline site and checked the FAQ section to see if they charged.

 

 

I know Carnival will charge them as a 3rd person rate like any age. As far as the rooms..the older carnival ships allow up to 5 people in some rooms...the are upper and lower bunks in addition to the the two double beds (that can be made into a king). Then you would have a crib for your baby, and yes there is room for a crib also.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

All of the cruise lines I've considered (Carnival, Disney, and Royal Caribbean) charge for infants. You'd pay full price for you and your husband and then the 3rd person rate for each of your children. Even though your infant is small and doesn't eat much there are other things to consider in the why they charge. Things such as diaper disposal, providing a crib and bedding for the crib, water use for bathing, highchair use, specially prepared foods that can be mashed up, entertainment while your dining, and much more. There are a limited number of ships in each cruise line that have rooms that can hold 5 people, so you'll want to make sure you book early or consider having two staterooms that have an adjoining door. I'd research each cruise line individually to see which one would cater to your needs. Their FAQ's are a great place to start and then also reviews from parents that have children around the same ages as yours. Researching before hand will definitely pay off in the end. Good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You might want to check out NCL. I believe I read that children under two (as long as they're 3rd/4th passenger), are only charged for port charges and taxes. Also, a full-size crib is not feasible, and most parents either rent a Pack & Play from the ship (must request ahead of time) or bring their own. As cbatsea said, it might be a good idea to get adjoining cabins, as the extra space and bath would be worth it! Also, check out Disney. It's more expensive, but I think all of their cabins are suite-sized, and can accomodate at least 5. We are looking at this for this summer. Good luck in your planning!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can someone please explain to me how the different cruise lines charge for an infant. My little guy will be around 12 mos when we're looking to cruise and I'm wondering how different cruise lines charge for that age. Does age matter? Is he considered an extra person regardless of age? Do I pay full price for DH and I then the same for each of our children (6yrs, 4yrs and 12 mos)?

 

Also, where do babies sleep on cruises? Is there room for a crib? How do I fit 3 kids and 2 adults? Can I only look at suites?

 

Please help, I'm not new to cruising, but I am new to crusing with kids.

 

Royal Caribbean charges full 3rd passenger charges for children. A total rip. We had to pay full charges for my 7month old last year. While NCL only charges port charges. For 7 days out of NYC, both my now 4 and 1 1/2 year olds are being charges around $300.00/each.

 

I also believe that Disney does not charge full price.

 

Both RCCL and NCL offer Pack N Plays for free.

 

Good Luck

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You have to look at the overall price that the cruiseline charges for the entire family.

 

The short answer is that Disney and NCL charges port fees and taxes for kids under 2.

 

MSC and some Costa sailings have kids (under 17) sail free.

 

Carnival, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Celebrity charge full price (or 3rd/4th rate) for the kids.

 

However - if you price out a Disney cruise and your price is $5,800 for your family of 4 (as ours was) then you price out a Carnival cruise and the same cruise is $2,400 - then being charged for the baby doesn't seem so bad. ;)

 

So price out the entire cruise - Disney tends to run higher for the entire family - but they won't charge for the baby. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The cribs aren't "full size" that they put in the room. They are, however, far better than a pack 'n play and take a bit less space due to their dimensions. Baby actually has a mattress in the crib rather than that cardboard bottom like in a pnp. I may have a photo or two of the travel cribs Carnival uses. We did 5 in a cabin before our youngest was born. All of our kids were little, so it wasn't a big deal. Ever since she was born and made us a family of 6, we have had to get two cabins. We will have connecting cabins next month and the cruise after that. Last time we were on the Holiday and there were no connecting staterooms. I was in my room with baby girl and one of the boys if they wished to come in there, and hubby was next door with the rest of the boys. It worked out ok, but the connecting rooms are going to afford us (DH and me) to actually sleep in the same bed together and the kids in the next connecting room.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I took my daughter on a cruise when she was six month and to be perfectly honest, I was a little upset about what they charged for her (not saying you are)....and of course we tipped for her. But after all was said and done, the staff and crew went out of their way to accommodate us having a child...played with her....etc. It was totally worth the cost we had to pay for her....she may not "eat and consume" like a 16 year old, but she did get other attention that a 16 year old might not require, kwim?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The cribs aren't "full size" that they put in the room. They are, however, far better than a pack 'n play and take a bit less space due to their dimensions. Baby actually has a mattress in the crib rather than that cardboard bottom like in a pnp.

 

Not necessarily true for all lines. We have received standard Graco Pack 'n Plays on both HAL and Princess.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hope this doesn't sound like a silly question, but do all cruise lines offer rooms that are adjoining from inside? We are looking to cruise next year with our 3 kids and are trying to figure out what type of room(s) are available to accomodate us.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

For 2 or 3 days that would be ok. Poor baby shouldn't have to sleep on that for a week though.

 

What is so terrible about sleeping in a Pack N Play? My son has slept in one since he was born because we cosleep. He won't move to his crib until he is 6 months old (Health Canada advises that babies should not sleep on their own until 6 months because of SIDS).

 

The whole point of a Pack N Play is that it is a travel bed as well as a safe place to play. There's a mattress in there, but it's supposed to be firm for safety reasons.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We cruised on NCL Sun when our daughter was about 8 months old. At the time (7 years ago) we only had to pay port charges and taxes. They provided a small crib and quite nice bedding for it. She slept great!

 

I strongly prefer a crib to a pack-n-play. We have one that we have used in our travels frequently but always found it crinkly and loud! If your child is used to sleeping in a

P-N-P and you're used to the noise, no problem it wouldn't be an issue. I would wake up everytime my wild sleeper would turn over-pretty much all night!

 

It was a great expereince. The crew was very accomodating. We did not have a tub in our cabin and took along a small inflatable tub and bathed her in that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now that I think about it - it was just HAL that we have gotten PNP's on. It works fine, they make a "mattress" out of blankets for the bottom and then put a sheet around them to bundle it all together. We have alway brought our own pack 'n play sheet as well to put over the top. Last time around on Princess they had a port-a-crib in the room, but our daughter had just moved to a bed so we used the sofa-bed instead.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...