2 staterooms: May cancel one, best on one itinerary, or separate?

[Needz2Cruise]

Considering booking a trip for next June out of Bayonne. There would probably be four: the two of us plus our two adult-age kids (23 and 21). I will likely book two staterooms. The catch is, I have no idea at this point whether the kids will be able to go, due to jobs, classes, etc. I expect to know before the 90 day full payment is required. So:

- Keeping in mind I may be cancelling one of the staterooms, does it make a difference whether I book both staterooms on the same itinerary, or should I book two separate itineraries - one for us and one for the kids?

- If the answer is that I should book them separately, can they be linked for dining seating purposes?

- Another scenario is that one of the kids might be able to go and the other not. Can you drop one person from a reservation? I'm aware that that stateroom would fall into single cruiser pricing so it wouldn't be much less expensive than with two. Also with that scenario, is there a cost difference if the two staterooms are linked in the same itinerary?

- Following up on the last scenario, if (before the 90 day mark), one of the kids can't go and the other finds a friend to come along, can we swap the names on the reservation?

[Clarea]

Linking bookings has no effect on the cost. You can link bookings whether or not you book them at the same time.

[Needz2Cruise]

Thanks. Actually, I see that the cruise is bookable with a refundable (more expensive) or non-refundable deposit. I'm inclined to book our stateroom as non-refundable, then book the kids on a separate reservation as refundable. Does that seem reasonable?

[Clarea]

Thanks. Actually, I see that the cruise is bookable with a refundable (more expensive) or non-refundable deposit. I'm inclined to book our stateroom as non-refundable, then book the kids on a separate reservation as refundable. Does that seem reasonable?

If you think you might cancel the kid's cruise before final payment date, that makes sense.

[readytolose]

When we took the kids in a cruise we booked 3 different rooms. They were all in their own reservation number but we were able to link them all together for dinner seating and also for payment while on the ship.

[cb at sea]

You only need to "link" reservations if you are doing traditional dinner seating. If you have MTD, then if you show up together, that's how you'll be seated.

[Ocean Dancer]

You only need to "link" reservations if you are doing traditional dinner seating. If you have MTD, then if you show up together, that's how you'll be seated.

Not actually true, you may want to link reservations for other reasons like debarkation to get the same number if you do not qualify for a lounge.

[Needz2Cruise]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm thinking I may go ahead and book the one non-refundable stateroom and the other refundable (deposits).

 

Question on linking two reservations: Is that something you can do online, or is that a phone call?

[SG65CB]

You only need to "link" reservations if you are doing traditional dinner seating. If you have MTD, then if you show up together, that's how you'll be seated.

 

If you are linked for dining reservations then you only have to give one cabin number when making reservations for MTD or specialty dining. This is especially useful when you have several cabins traveling together and you don't want to memorize or reel off the list of cabin numbers every time you make a reservation.