Not adding child/ren to the reservation until final payment to reduce the deposit?

[cruisecritiquer]

I was speaking to a friend of mind that lives in New England. I currently live in the South. We are planning a trip on the Breakaway in the fall of 2014. Our family only has one child but the two families up there going have 5 children total so if we want to do a cruise it is easier for them to cruise out of NY than anywhere else. I've been wanting to go to Bermuda lately so this was an easy compromise. :)

 

During our conversation, we were talking about booking this cruise, no. of cabins, rates, etc. I told her based upon our discussions how much the deposit would be (if we booked right now with no available promotions for this trip). I also explained to her that there is generally one kids sail free promotion (for 3rd or 4th person in a room - we won't be booking suites) that occurs sometime each year which is generally made available for fall sailings. She was thrilled to hear that so I'll be on the lookout for that next spring/summer and hopefully that will come up.

 

So next she suggests booking cabins large enough to accommodate her family of six (which would involve two cabins so really only 2 of the four children would sail free if that promotion came up) but she wants to leave the children off of the reservation to reduce her deposit (from $1000.00 to $500.00). She then wants to either add the children on when the kids sail free promotion is available or right before final payment (if the kids sail free promotion does not surface).

 

I hope I explained that clearly enough for you to give some insight.

 

I didn't really respond when she told me that because I couldn't think of any reason not to do it but I wanted to run it by the veterans to see if anyone can foresee any potential problems that might arise by taking this approach?

[computerworks]

So, I'm wondering if anyone can foresee any potential problems that might arise by taking this approach?

 

Only one potential gotcha...

 

As the sailing date gets near and the ship fills up...they switch to a 'capacity control' mode.

 

This means that, as the headcount increases, cabins that normally sleep 3 or 4 may be "capacity-limited' to two guests only.

 

The booking engine may not allow the addition of an additional guest, even though the cabin's rated capacity shows that it could.

 

This is a risk to your strategy.

[tempura]

There is one major problem with this approach: the ship has a max passenger capacity per lifeboat station that is different from the absolute max total of how many passengers each cabin assigned to that station can hold. If their station has reached capacity (and each cabin may be assigned to a different station), they will not be able to add their children.

[Warm Breezes]

They also may not let you book just 2 people in a 4 person room.

[sparks1093]

I was speaking to a friend of mind that lives in New England. I currently live in the South. We are planning a trip on the Breakaway in the fall of 2014. Our family only has one child but the two families up there going have 5 children total so if we want to do a cruise it is easier for them to cruise out of NY than anywhere else. I've been wanting to go to Bermuda lately so this was an easy compromise. :)

 

During our conversation, we were talking about booking this cruise, no. of cabins, rates, etc. I told her based upon our discussions how much the deposit would be (if we booked right now with no available promotions for this trip). I also explained to her that there is generally one kids sail free promotion (for 3rd or 4th person in a room - we won't be booking suites) that occurs sometime each year which is generally made available for fall sailings. She was thrilled to hear that so I'll be on the lookout for that next spring/summer and hopefully that will come up.

 

So next she suggests booking cabins large enough to accommodate her family of six (which would involve two cabins so really only 2 of the four children would sail free if that promotion came up) but she wants to leave the children off of the reservation to reduce her deposit (from $1000.00 to $500.00). She then wants to either add the children on when the kids sail free promotion is available or right before final payment (if the kids sail free promotion does not surface).

 

I hope I explained that clearly enough for you to give some insight.

 

I didn't really respond when she told me that because I couldn't think of any reason not to do it but I wanted to run it by the veterans to see if anyone can foresee any potential problems that might arise by taking this approach?

 

Another drawback is that the kids sail free promotion is usually limited to new bookings, so she would have to cancel and re-book under the current rates which could possibly negate any savings received under KSF. We are a family of 7 and feel her pain but the only answer we've come up with is booking when they offer half price deposts.

[Beaver1975]

They also may not let you book just 2 people in a 4 person room.

 

This not true. Couples without children book these cabins all the time.

[dcollette]

As others have mentioned, one of the big problems here is in regards to the lifeboat station situation. If that is filled, there would be no way to add the children to the room, although it may be possible to move to another room elsewhere. Another thing to consider, is that if the sailing is booking rather full for four people per room, they may move them to a room that holds less than four and they may not be able to add the children then.

 

They may want to consider looking into booking through one of the big box warehouse type stores travel deals sites--they often offer reduced to no deposit and also more OBC and store gift cards for most sailings. Just an idea. BTW, most kids sail free promotions don't actually save you any money at all. The price of the first and second passengers typically go up for those sailings to the point that it basically negates the free third and fourth passengers. We have sailed with six of us and had to book two adjoining rooms. Luckily my two oldest are now grown and I am down to four, so I can book just one room.

[Starry Eyes]

If it is about the deposit amount, get "Cruise Reward" certificates. Purchased on board($250-$100=$150) and fully transferable, one certificate will hold the cabin for all occupants. Maybe you know somebody who sails NCL and has certificates they'd sell/transfer to you. Maybe you can buy them on ebay.

 

As mentioned, if there is a kids sail free promo, it may be limited to new bookings. Furthermore,when and if there is a kids sail free promo for your sailing, the price of guests 1 and two may have risen, potentially offsetting any kid savings. And such a sale might happen close to sailing date, when she'd likely have trouble getting adjacent or connecting cabins.

 

As a group is sailing, locking in cabins and prices soon is a good idea. Then tell her watch like a hawk for potential price drops until final payment. She might save more that way then getting one kid per cabin "free"

[ibcnusoon]

They also may not let you book just 2 people in a 4 person room.

 

On NCL you can book 2 people in a 3 or 4 person cabin.

 

I would wait for the 1/2 price deposit rather than the kids sail free promo, and I would book all cabins at once, that way you'll be guarantee cabins next to each other and may even be able to get connecting rooms.

 

I hardly believe that a Fall sailing to Bermuda would be over capacity, especially if you are sailing after school starts after Labor Day.

 

Heck, if you want to book with a TA rather than with NCL, as we did, we were able to book through the TA with NO deposit. They didn't need ANY deposit money until 2 weeks before final payment. So, back in January when I didn't have the deposit I was able to book our cabins, then in July when I saved up enough I was able to put down the deposit, then in August I paid off the cruise right before final payment. Check some major TA sites, sometimes they offer NO DEPOSIT on NCL cruises.

[rbrugler]

This is exactly why when we cruise with someone else, they make their reservation and we make ours. I would strongly suggest that your friends contact NCL or some other company and work it out for themselves.

[time2cruise1]

If it is about the deposit amount, get "Cruise Reward" certificates. Purchased on board($250-$100=$150) and fully transferable, one certificate will hold the cabin for all occupants. Maybe you know somebody who sails NCL and has certificates they'd sell/transfer to you. Maybe you can buy them on ebay.

 

As mentioned, if there is a kids sail free promo, it may be limited to new bookings. Furthermore,when and if there is a kids sail free promo for your sailing, the price of guests 1 and two may have risen, potentially offsetting any kid savings. And such a sale might happen close to sailing date, when she'd likely have trouble getting adjacent or connecting cabins.

 

As a group is sailing, locking in cabins and prices soon is a good idea. Then tell her watch like a hawk for potential price drops until final payment. She might save more that way then getting one kid per cabin "free"

 

And if the OP does not know anyone to get a cruise reward from they are available on eBay.

[cruisecritiquer]

Thank you for your input. Much of the information you have provided is helpful so I appreciate that.

 

To clarify @rbrugler, I am not booking this cruise for them. I'm only booking for my family. It was just a discussion in which she had questions since I have cruised more times than she has. We will likely all be booking around the same time but not on the same reservation.

 

The Kids Sail Free promotion has saved us money in the years that we have used it. We have also been able to use the KSF promotion even on a sailing that was already booked (and we did not have to cancel our reservation to use it). I am always watching for cruise prices and did not see the M2 category go up before we booked the KSF promotion. I think timing has something to do with when the KSF promotion is beneficial. I'm sure there are times when it is not.

 

Thanks again!

 

I will let her know all of that information.

[Demonyte]

On NCL you can book 2 people in a 3 or 4 person cabin.

 

Exactly, there is no limit. We have booked (and cruised in) a cabin that sleeps 6 just by the two of us ourselves. They do price the cabins so that they get their money from the first two passengers, extra costs for 3rd passenger and up are pretty much to cover extra laundry and food costs etc.

[knitlady037]

if the children are young, there are cabins on the Breakaway that will hold 5. The Family ocean view on deck 5. They are nice cabins and can help with expenses.

[lovetrauma]

The Kids Sail Free promotion saved me just over $1000 on my 9 day Gem Cruise. My friend was suppose to go with their family with us. However they booked for 2 of them but really had 4 waiting for the Kids Sail Free. When they tried to add the other two they were out of luck and had to cancel. Luckily they were within the window to get a full refund. The reason they were told was that the room they booked was in an area where the life boats were at full capacity and there was no other room that had life boat capacity for four. Even though there were rooms that technically fit 4 still open. So it really is rolling the dice and seeing if you are lucky. Just a FYI my reservation was changed to add the Kids Free when it came out. I am the type of person that reviews all deals to try and get the best bang for my buck. Good luck to your friend and Happy Cruising.

[cruisecritiquer]

if the children are young, there are cabins on the Breakaway that will hold 5. The Family ocean view on deck 5. They are nice cabins and can help with expenses.

 

Thank you! That's is great info.

[debnjoe1438]

They also may not let you book just 2 people in a 4 person room.

 

In 9 cruises I'd say 6 of them we had 2 in a cabin for 3 or 4