Pricing for 2 Adults plus an infant

[eiloo]

We may be sailing HAL in July this year (if the price is right.)

 

I did some pricing on various sites and when you add in the infant, the pricing for the 2 adults goes up by $300+ each.

 

My daughter will be just over 20 months at the time of sailing. We've sailed on NCL with her and found that the outside cabin was sufficient with a pack n play in it.

 

When I tried to book an inside on HAL and I review the cabins, whether it says it's a large inside (M) or an (NN) they seem to be of similar size. Am I reading this correctly?

 

Has anyone been able to book with an agent or directly with HAL and been able to get the lower pricing and just adding the additional infant?

 

Savings would be around $500 total for three of us.

[cruisinjudy]

Hmmm we have traveled with infants and the adult price did not change with the addition of the infant. The infant will be priced separately. Some cruises have children free.

[msmayor]

I'm a little confused by your post...are you saying that by adding the third person to your stateroom the price for the first two goes up by $300 PLUS the cost of the third? Or are you seeing a total price for the stateroom go up by $600 when the third is added?

 

Realize that to a cruise line, it makes no difference how old the third person is when added to a stateroom...an infant would pay the same fare as, say, a 16 year old.

 

The fare is a particular rate for the first two in a stateroom and then, generally, a slightly lower fare for a third and fourth in the same stateroom.

[pms4104]

To test out your assertion that the price for pax #1 and #2 goes up when your infant is added, I tried a random booking on HAL's site: Westerdam on July 7, Seattle roundtrip.

 

With only two people, virtually all of the insides are offered. But, when I added an infant, the lowest inside category for three passengers was a category J and, of course, the per person rate for the first two was higher than for the lower insides such as M.

 

So, it isn't so much that the price for #1 and #2 inflates when an infant is added ... just that the extra little person means moving up to a category where the cabins accommodate three. Even with a pack and play, I think (you can verify by calling HAL or your T/A) you still would need to book a three-person cabin.

[cruisinjudy]

An infant can be added to a three person cabin with one other child to make four in the cabin as we have done this, so it seems that an infant in a pack and play could be added to a two person cabin. We haven't done this, but I don't see how it would be any different as long as they are under two and in a pack and play.

[TheCalicoCat]

 

I did some pricing on various sites and when you add in the infant, the pricing for the 2 adults goes up by $300+ each.

 

Has anyone been able to book with an agent or directly with HAL and been able to get the lower pricing and just adding the additional infant?

 

 

For our upcoming AK cruise, our son is $164 +taxes & tips

[CtheW0rld]

cruise lines are required to calculate occupancy using the number of 'souls'. age doesn't matter. three 'souls' require a 3-person cabin.

 

fyi - costa is having a kids sail free special right now. i believe you only pay port taxes for the kids.

[cruisinjudy]

cruise lines are required to calculate occupancy using the number of 'souls'. age doesn't matter. three 'souls' require a 3-person cabin.

My point was that we booked a three person cabin and put four in it when one was an infant. It can't be done when, as the case was this time, that infant is now three.

[eiloo]

An infant can be added to a three person cabin with one other child to make four in the cabin as we have done this, so it seems that an infant in a pack and play could be added to a two person cabin. We haven't done this, but I don't see how it would be any different as long as they are under two and in a pack and play.

 

 

Thanks everyone for your responses.

 

I gave HAL a call and they said they would need a manager to approve the addition of an infant for the lowest pricing available on a sailing (NN).

 

Oddly, when I was looking at pricing on some TA sites and on the HAL site, it shows NN as a 4 person max anyways. What gives?

[fatcat04]

Welcome to the world of triple cabin cruisers. :D

 

You can not get the same room selection for 3 as you can for 2 and if there are 3 of you regardless of size and age of the third person, you will have a triple never a double. That will automatically do 2 things on HAL 1) disqualify you for any and all guarantee cabins and guarantee pricing (unless you use a PCC or TA with the ability to secure guarantee pricing for you for a specific cabin, very rare, only happened for us once) and 2) limit your cabin choices to only those categories with triples and maybe to locations that are not as desirable (far front or back of ship). Navigating the booking of a triple or quad can be challenging and generally takes some flexibility of schedule. There are deals to be had but in the end it will almost always be cheaper for the first 2 passengers on the booking to NOT have a third passenger on the booking. Sad but true but the kids sail for cheap or free deals do help out.

[cruisinjudy]

We did have a really hard time trying to decide how to book for our three families this time as they are all now over two. We ended up getting three SYs in a row and booking one of the children with us. The three year old ended up sleeping in the sofa bed with her brother and we got our cabin to ourselves. We really wanted an aft sc or sb, but we couldn't have cabins in a row that way. The adjacent cabins were two persons only. I didn't like the way they accommodated four people in a regular balcony cabin. We couldn't afford all full suites. Any combinations I thought up did not have the right cabin types all in a row. Yes it does get difficult.