When you want to book but aren't sure if a 3rd person will be joining you...

[jscruise]

I am reaching out to the experts with a question for a family member that I don''t have a great answer to.  My brother and I are in the process of planning a surprise 50th anniversary family cruise for my parents.  Right now, my brother is not sure if it will be possible for his stepdaughter to join him and her mom on the trip.  What do you recommend?  Should they...

 

A. book the trip for just the two of them and try to add her later when they can confirm if she is able to travel?

B. book the trip for the three of them and then cancel/remove her from the room prior to final payment?

C. wait until they are sure?

 

Thank you in advance for your input.  I am usually pretty reliable in answering cruise questions for my brother as we have traveled relatively frequently, but I am not sure what to recommend in this case.

 

[GeezerCouple]

43 minutes ago, jscruise said:

I am reaching out to the experts with a question for a family member that I don''t have a great answer to.  My brother and I are in the process of planning a surprise 50th anniversary family cruise for my parents.  Right now, my brother is not sure if it will be possible for his stepdaughter to join him and her mom on the trip.  What do you recommend?  Should they...

 

A. book the trip for just the two of them and try to add her later when they can confirm if she is able to travel?

B. book the trip for the three of them and then cancel/remove her from the room prior to final payment?

C. wait until they are sure?

 

Thank you in advance for your input.  I am usually pretty reliable in answering cruise questions for my brother as we have traveled relatively frequently, but I am not sure what to recommend in this case.

 

 

They should definitely book to include her, being prepared to cancel her reservation before any penalty (or perhaps before any large penalty?).

 

Otherwise, they risk not being able to add her.  Even though there may be beds for a 3rd or 4th in their cabin/suite, there may no longer be lifeboat capacity in that section of the ship, and no one could be added (unless someone cancelled, and how would they know if that happened...?).

 

I'm not sure what the down side is, if they are careful to cancel before any penalty at all.

 

GC

[Essiesmom]

In addition to the great advice above, there are some lines that will not allow a couple to book a cabin that will hold 3/4, so that if later you wanted to add her, you would have to change cabins and hope one is available.  Those lines want to book families, and don’t want to have to turn away families because all the 3/4 cabins are filled.  EM

[SuiteTraveler]

I'm of a different mind on this one.  Book only the people who you know for sure will be able to come.  As far as the step daughter goes, is she an adult?  If so, she probably would want her own cabin - an inside or single cabin depending on the ship.  I would wait to find out if she will go on the cruise and then book her cabin.  If she is booked into her parents cabin and cancels, the cruise line will cancel the whole cabin and have to rebook it for the parents at whatever the going price is which could be a lot more.  

[crystalspin]

I'm with GC and EM. You should surely book for the larger number that might sail. There is no assurance you can add in the future.

 

Depending on the line, there are different mechanisms to keeping their same cabin. I am familiar with HAL and a bit with RCI & Carnival. On HAL, cabins that hold three are not held back for three. You can and should definitely should book for all three, cancelling the third just before final payment if necessary. RCI and Carnival only let three people book a three-person room.

 

I have reserved one room for three and an adjoining two-person cabin for other family members, for both RCI and CCL. My intention in each case was to pay for and sail in the three-person cabin even if the third person "couldn't make it". I do not believe they would move you do a different cabin on check in! As it happened those bookings never happened for us, so I can't CONFIRM what will happen in that case. 

 

Back to HAL and others that have the same booking practices: You can go ahead and make final payment for three if the step-daughter is still not sure at that date. If she is a no-show you will get her share of the port-tax-and-fees back to method of payment (but not her fare, which is going to be small compared to the first two pax in the cabin).

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, SuiteTraveler said:

  If she is booked into her parents cabin and cancels, the cruise line will cancel the whole cabin and have to rebook it for the parents at whatever the going price is which could be a lot more.  

 

This is my understanding also.  So yeah, it could be risky.   I guess my approach would be based on how committed the 3rd person is.  If they really wanted to go,  I would book the 3rd person.  If they had a serious conflict or were hemming and hawing, I wouldn't.      

[Essiesmom]

We are talking about a stepchild, which usually means the natural parents are divorced.  In some cases, one of the parents refuses to give permission for the other parent to take the child on whatever vacation is planned.  Not always the choice of the child.  EM

[ldubs]

10 minutes ago, Essiesmom said:

We are talking about a stepchild, which usually means the natural parents are divorced.  In some cases, one of the parents refuses to give permission for the other parent to take the child on whatever vacation is planned.  Not always the choice of the child.  EM

 

Could be.  It wasn't/isn't clear to me that were were talking about a child.  

[jscruise]

Thank you all for the great information.  I was talking about a child, not an adult.  I should have been more clear. 

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, jscruise said:

Thank you all for the great information.  I was talking about a child, not an adult.  I should have been more clear. 

 

 I guess it would depend on how unsure he is about the stepdaughter joining.  If reasonably sure and he goes ahead with a cabin for three, the potential downside risk isn't that big a deal to me, but that is only my opinion.  

[Schoifmom]

On 10/15/2022 at 6:33 PM, SuiteTraveler said:

If she is booked into her parents cabin and cancels, the cruise line will cancel the whole cabin and have to rebook it for the parents at whatever the going price is which could be a lot more.  

 

This is not a universal truth.  I have actually had this same scenario a couple of times on Carnival.  They are able to simply cancel the third person without rebooking and refaring the entire party.