Crusing with a 10 month old and costs

[CuseJeff44]

Hey all. We are RCCL veterans (ok, 2 cruises but we are hooked) who just had a baby, and are taking year off from cruising, but want to get back into it maybe late summer or fall. But we are concerned with the costs of cruising with the baby. I've learned that RCCL charges FULL price for a baby, even under a year old. This I find to be kind of absurd considering he obviously won't be using any of the ship's features, won't be eating the food, etc. But that said, it seems to be the case. We love RCCL, but may consider switching cruise lines. Do all cruise lines charge for infants?

 

Thanks.

[katondeck]

At least those three only charge port fees for little ones - you are still paying around $200 for a 7 day cruise. At 9 1/2 months my little one is at least eating some of the food and I know she will be extra work for the room attendant - (yes I am planning on leaving a tip even though it is not in the recommended guidelines).

 

We are going on NCL Sun next week because of the price, ports and freestyle dining. It just sounds a little more relaxed than having to rush to be on time for dinner. I have not been on RCCL, and the reviews are very conflicting as to which line is better. For the price, I am willing to risk it...I have only been on 3 cruises but I just can't imagine one being that bad.

[MCCruiser]

We're cruising in April (Sapphire Princess, Beijing to Osaka) with our 18 month old. We're paying full price. The rationale is that an infant counts as a person and cruise ships are contrained to a maximum number of passengers (independent of age). Therefore, an infant potentially displaces an adult. In fact, I believe that cruises make more money off of adults than infants (adults spend more). Thus, from a business perspective, infants cost more than adults.

[estherhead]

It's the 3rd person rate, so it is cheaper. I called around when my girl was 10 months old as that 3rd person rate can vary a lot. We're going on one this year and taking our kids and it is $375.00 for each girl. That is almost half of what hubby and I pay. And I gotta say, my baby did seem to use the services and you'd be surprised how much a ten month old can eat! Every half hour. Plus they make a lot of messes.

 

Esther

[ColoradoJen]

We are cruising with HAL for a 10-day Baltic cruise in late August/ early September and will be bringing our then 11-month old with us. HAL is charging us less than what they would typically charge for a 3rd person in the cabin. So, even though HAL is not known for being the typical family line, they were the most economical in terms of adding the infant.

[camella]

I went on Carnival when my daughter was 7 months and it was a nightmare! We too had to pay full price for her ( as a third person in the room)..but once I got the hang of everything I had a great time in spite of some of the hurdles. They told me I should have brought on my OWN food because they just couldn't accomodate my requests unless I had all my meals in the dining room! I was furious and decided to take things into my own hands. I would get bananas at the buffet and mash them up for her. Then at lunch I would go to the buffet and get whatever food I thought she would like and I very nicely went over to one of the bartenders and asked if he could please do me the favor of blending the food for me! He looked at me a little strange but was more than happy to do it for me. ( a few dollars goes a long way!) The cabin steward made sure I had lots of ice for the formula and I was set. So go - have fun!

[savdoc2]

We just got back yesterday from cruising RCCL with our 16 months old DD. It was an awesome trip. IMO, it was not any more work to have her on a ship than it would have been at home. We did book an aft balcony cabin and had a lot of extra room. SIL & BIL were in a side balcony and had a lot less room than we had.

 

Yes, we paid the 3rd person rate for her. It was less than half of what we paid. Did she get her full $ worth, that is hard to calculate. She is not a very good eater yet, she didn't like any solids until she was 11.5 months old. She is very picky on what she will eat. I knew ahead of time that we would need to bring food with us, I did contact the special needs department of RCCL and they told me that we could get some pureed foods. The only thing that I asked the dining room waiter for was applesauce. After the first night, it was sitting on the table when we arrived. BTW, we did the late seating for dinner and it worked fine. If DD was hungry earlier we fed her and she could graze at dinner.

 

DD was and is breastfed, so we didn't have any formula or bottle concerns. She was able to use the same sippy cup for water all week.

 

Would I do it again? In a heartbeat!! Our second child is due in May and we are already looking at cruising again next fall or winter.

 

We did tip the full amount for her. Carnival has a guideline that tipping is not required for children under 2 yrs, but RCCl does not have that guideline. Was she really a lot of work for the room steward or waiters - no. We never left toys or food onthe floor in the room and she slept with us - so no extra vacuuming or bed to make. She did shower with me, so there was an extra towel used. In the dining room, other than the applesauce, she did not cause a full person's worth of work - we picked up the floor before we left as we do in any restaurant. But we did tip the full amount anyway.