Paying for an infant?

Can someone please explain to me why I have to pay for a 16 month old to go on a Carnival cruise? I just saw an add for Norwegian where kids are sailing free now. Infants can fly free, I find it odd that you have to pay for them to cruise considering they don't drink, eat the food or participate in activities. I'm not complaining I just want to understand why. Thanks

Can someone please explain to me why I have to pay for a 16 month old to go on a Carnival cruise? I just saw an add for Norwegian where kids are sailing free now. Infants can fly free, I find it odd that you have to pay for them to cruise considering they don't drink, eat the food or participate in activities. I'm not complaining I just want to understand why. Thanks

I can't speak for other parents but when our boys were 16 months old, they were eating and drinking food. They were also in diapers which meant that the cabin steward would have had to do extra duty cleaning the cabin. Remember that while flying, an infant has to sit on the parents lap or pay for the ticket.

Personally, I would never take a 16 month old on a cruise. They are too young to enjoy it and as parents, it limits what you can do to enjoy the cruise yourselves. How many diapers are you going to have to bring? If the infant doesn't eat regular food, how much extra food are you going to have to bring? Are you going to have to bring a stroller? That's a lot of extra baggage that you will have to pay extra for if you are flying in.

Apart from the points made by RWolver672, there is also the fact that an infant takes a space that could otherwise we used by an adult who would be spending on board. Each muster station will have a maximum number of 'souls' it can accommodate, therefore the cabins associated with each station can only accommodate this number of passengers. In this situation, an infant is still counted as a 'soul' even if, realistically, it would not take up a space in a lifeboat.

You'll still be paying port charges on NCL even if you do end up with "free" fare. It's a marketing tactic to get you to book. If you actually compare the two fares you are likely to find that Carnival is still the least expensive option (not always, but a good deal of the time). Infants fly free only if they are in a lap and as mentioned everything on a ship is capacity controlled, so your 16 month old still takes up the place of an adult. In other words, it is the way that it is.

Every "soul" pays a fare...even an infant takes up lifeboat space...and that's space that can't be used by another "paying" adult. That's one reason. Another is because they CAN charge for anyone they like!

Don't let folks discourage you, cruising with toddlers is a great vacation.

The main reason is because every person on board counts as a body on a lifeboat so your infant is taking up a spot that a paying adult could take. Similar to a solo being charged double occupancy rates. There’s a cost to taking up the limited spots on the boat that they would prefer to sell to another adult passenger who would be spending money onboard. NCL advertises ‘kids sail free’ but all that really means is that you can add a 3rd and 4th person to your cabin (regardless of age) for free. Which means that those fares are factored into the prices for passengers 1 and 2 when booked in a 3-4 person cabin. If you and an infant were to travel in a cabin by yourselves you would still pay for 2. And if 4 adults packed themselves into one cabin they would still pay for 2.

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When children or the third and fourth passenger sail free, fares are much higher for passengers one and two across the board.

There is no free ride.

Can someone please explain to me why I have to pay for a 16 month old to go on a Carnival cruise? I just saw an add for Norwegian where kids are sailing free now. Infants can fly free, I find it odd that you have to pay for them to cruise considering they don't drink, eat the food or participate in activities. I'm not complaining I just want to understand why. Thanks

Hi

So you saw where NCL allows children to sail free. That's a promotion. They have many promotions. Free booze, free internet, etc. Other companies have promotions as well.

Why doesn't Carnival have those promotions as well? That is a business decision the company makes. You as a customer get to choose which product best suits your needs. If you could pick and choose the things that you like best from each cruise line for the least expensive price, it would be easy, but that's not how it works for buying cruises, or anything else.

Now I have to admit you question is somewhat different and more straight forward than the idea of why you should have to pay the same gratuities for an infant, as for an adult. That is a different discussion that has been debated many times over.

The bottom line is that the costs aren't hidden and you get to choose which product you wish to purchase from the many that offered.

hope this helps

Aside from the souls on board and sellable space pointed out above, looking at it from a business/profit model. The cruise line makes very little actual money in the “fare” portion of the cruise. Where they make their big money is on the casino, booze, specialty dining, excursions, retail etc... from a general demographics standpoint, parents with infants are quite tied up taking care of the baby and “generally” are not spending on the money making extras. So they don’t offer incentives to attract non-spend segements of the cruise market. But as stated, there are plenty other cruise lines that will offer deals (perhaps because they charge more for 1&2 pax they have higher profit margins on the cruise fare). Different business models.

You also need to compare the overall price. NCL and even Royal does kids sail free promotions, but there is no free lunch. Sometimes they work out great, others not so much. NCL does a lot of "free" perks, it's their marketing jargon. Their fares are virtually always much higher for passengers 1 and 2... so it balances out or you often end up still paying more on NCL even with the "free" perks like 3rd and 4th sail free. It's just marketing, and obviously its effective based on your comment. :)

Each “passenger” takes up space on the official manifest, whether 16 months or 106 years old.

NCL promotions are designed to make you think you are getting a better deal, but overall you’re paying the same amount.

Our daughter was 5 when we took her on her first cruise and there is no way I would recommend anyone taking a younger child, but that’s my opinion. The child will have no recollection of the cruise and you will still have all the stuff to pack and maneuver around the ship. Your situation may be different, but offering an opinion.

Can someone please explain to me why I have to pay for a 16 month old to go on a Carnival cruise? I just saw an add for Norwegian where kids are sailing free now. Infants can fly free, I find it odd that you have to pay for them to cruise considering they don't drink, eat the food or participate in activities. I'm not complaining I just want to understand why. Thanks

Why would you expect a child to sail free?

Can someone please explain to me why I have to pay for a 16 month old to go on a Carnival cruise? I just saw an add for Norwegian where kids are sailing free now. Infants can fly free, I find it odd that you have to pay for them to cruise considering they don't drink, eat the food or participate in activities. I'm not complaining I just want to understand why. Thanks

Why ask why.

Hi

...

 

Now I have to admit you question is somewhat different and more straight forward than the idea of why you should have to pay the same gratuities for an infant, as for an adult. That is a different discussion that has been debated many times over.

...

Actually Carnival does not charge auto-gratuities for passengers under 2 years old. At the age of 2 (on embarkation day) when they are eligible to use the kids camp is when the gratuities will kick in.

So the question posed by the OP made me wonder, what does a cruiseline WHOLLY dedicated to the munchkins of this world do with a 16 month old? So I just did a mock booking for 2 adults and a 16 month old, and guess what????? Yup! Disney charges for toddlers too! and at their rates, they could afford to comp the diaper set!

So if Disney does it, I'm willing to bet that almost all other cruiselines do the same, including NCL- kids cruise free is just a promotion and will likely end.

Actually we took a 16 month old (granted it was parents, grandparents, and uncle) and it was a wonderful week. Our barely 4 year old grandson has been on NCL, MSC and Carnival.

Secondly yes NCL does often have the "Kids sail free" and YES I know this will draw fire....but the gratuities for under 3 are either free or 50% (Just mentioning this fact)

Also MSC for a large part of the year offers the kids sail free program

Each “passenger” takes up space on the official manifest, whether 16 months or 106 years old.

NCL promotions are designed to make you think you are getting a better deal, but overall you’re paying the same amount.

Our daughter was 5 when we took her on her first cruise and there is no way I would recommend anyone taking a younger child, but that’s my opinion. The child will have no recollection of the cruise and you will still have all the stuff to pack and maneuver around the ship. Your situation may be different, but offering an opinion.

My DD, now 12, has been cruising since she was 3. Always have a great time.

She may not have any memory of the early ones, but should people not take their kids on vacation under a certain age because they wont remember it?

We are leaving for our 10th cruise tomorrow---this one to Alaska.

It all depends on what people expect out of their vacation. I am not a drinker or partier and enjoy my kids 100% of the day. I don't need a getaway from them (2 are now adults). We are a family and do things together.

My DD, now 12, has been cruising since she was 3. Always have a great time.

 

She may not have any memory of the early ones, but should people not take their kids on vacation under a certain age because they wont remember it?

 

We are leaving for our 10th cruise tomorrow---this one to Alaska.

 

It all depends on what people expect out of their vacation. I am not a drinker or partier and enjoy my kids 100% of the day. I don't need a getaway from them (2 are now adults). We are a family and do things together.

I would not enjoy a cruise with an infant unless I had grandparents to watch them and give us plenty of time for adult stuff. But once they hit 2, Carnival has full blown camp. We put our 2 and 4 year old in camp and it was hard to pick them up since they didn't want to come back with us! Face painting, projects, non-stop fun. Drop off for a few hours and we enjoy Serenity, or in the evening we drop off and enjoy a comedy show after dinner. Since we would often be in our cabins somewhat early for them to go to sleep, we always make sure to have a balcony. Wife and I would get drinks and relax on the balcony in the evening.

Really, I think a cruise is a great way to vacation with young children. So I don't understand the "they won't remember it anyway" crowd. Besides, why do anything at all with a kid if that is the line of thought of these people? Go to the park? Why bother, they won't remember it. Birthday party? Why bother, they won't remember it.... Geeze.

Think of it this way.....

Your not buying Cabin space for your child, but rather a seat in a lifeboat.

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I'm sorry but I don't understand why you don't understand that is completely normal to pay for everyone - children included .... and if this is the 3rd or 4th passenger it is at a greatly reduced rate. You will need to pay gratuities too - generally there is even more clean up with children for the room steward. I am not a cheerleader for any cruise line, but I am realistic. We started cruising when my boys were school age and my daughter was 2. We booked 2 connecting rooms.

While children may not remember everything, they do enjoy the relaxed time with the whole family regardless of age.

We lived in Germany when our children were young. No extended family to take care of them while we vacationed so we took them with us. Some of our favorite memories are from those family trips around Europe.

I would not enjoy a cruise with an infant unless I had grandparents to watch them and give us plenty of time for adult stuff. But once they hit 2, Carnival has full blown camp. We put our 2 and 4 year old in camp and it was hard to pick them up since they didn't want to come back with us! Face painting, projects, non-stop fun. Drop off for a few hours and we enjoy Serenity, or in the evening we drop off and enjoy a comedy show after dinner. Since we would often be in our cabins somewhat early for them to go to sleep, we always make sure to have a balcony. Wife and I would get drinks and relax on the balcony in the evening.

 

Really, I think a cruise is a great way to vacation with young children. So I don't understand the "they won't remember it anyway" crowd. Besides, why do anything at all with a kid if that is the line of thought of these people? Go to the park? Why bother, they won't remember it. Birthday party? Why bother, they won't remember it.... Geeze.

Taking your child to the park for an hour or two is a lot different than taking them on a cruise for a week. Two and four year olds is a lot different than a sixteen month old. We use to take our boys to Cedar Point every year after they were three and five. We paid the price of admission for each of them. They remember the fun they had. Now that they're adults, they still talk about the memories they had of doing it because they were old enough to enjoy and remember it.

The bottom line as far as I'm concerned is that if it's that important to take someone at any age, expect to pay for it.

I would not enjoy a cruise with an infant unless I had grandparents to watch them and give us plenty of time for adult stuff.

I hope you would,at least partially, comp the cruise for the grandparents

Can someone please explain to me why I have to pay for a 16 month old to go on a Carnival cruise? I just saw an add for Norwegian where kids are sailing free now. Infants can fly free, I find it odd that you have to pay for them to cruise considering they don't drink, eat the food or participate in activities. I'm not complaining I just want to understand why. Thanks

We sailed with our daughter and her 10 month old daughter back in 2007, when her hubby was deployed to Iraq, and we had to pay full fare for our granddaughter. I called and asked them if they could provide diapers, baby food, and formula since I was paying a full fare for her, and was advised that they do not do that. We traveled with one large suitcase full of baby food, formula, and diapers. We also tried offering her food off buffet and in MDR, but she was not receptive to our foods yet, so we had to continue with the baby food. We learned, after the cruise, that there was a drugstore site online, that would deliver whatever we needed directly to the ship to be delivered to our cabin, but that was so long ago, not sure it even exists anymore.

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