Cruise fare question

[travelfool123]

So, if 3 people are staying in a cabin, usually the first 2 are charged the full price of the cruise and the 3rd a lesser price.  Should the 3rd person contribute to the total fare and not just his or her portion?  

[Essiesmom]

That depends on the agreement among the three guests.  Presumably the two paying the full fare are sharing the regular beds, and the third is sleeping on an upper bunk or sofa bed.  That might figure into the decision.   There might be other considerations.  For instance, booking a spa cabin the spa privileges might be limited to only two in the cabin.  EM

Edited January 20 by Essiesmom

[CDNPolar]

Depends on the relationship between the three and the agreement but I would set that out in advance.

 

If I were travelling with my husband and a third wanted to join us and we were willing to share the cabin, then I would - in advance - tell the third person that they are paying the total price divided by 3.  If they said that their fare is half the full fare, I would then say for us to share with you, then you should share equally in the price, of get your own cabin.  (Would say that in a more polite way...)

 

I would personally see this like a restaurant bill if you were three for dinner and all three had very similar priced items, then the bill is paid in thirds.

 

But, this depends on your relationship.... and that you need to establish up front before the booking.

 

I would also assume that they would participate equally on any additional charges - such as gratuities - that are charged to the cabin.  They would be responsible for their own alcohol, spa, and any other charges that are truly individual.

[ontheweb]

Whatever you do, make sure you agree in advance!

[leaveitallbehind]

As others have suggested this is a difficult question to answer without understanding the context of your booking, of which you have provided none.  And even then, there is no single right answer as it is up to you and your party.  Often 3rd occupants are children or other family members, which would likely dictate a different answer than if the 3rd occupant is just a friend booking with two others.  

 

In other words you need to resolve this on your own based on the booking circumstances, but I agree with having this decided completely regarding all shared expenses prior to committing any payment on the booking.

Edited January 21 by leaveitallbehind

[donaldsc]

It is whatever the payment agreement that you guys agree to.  Just decide ahead of time.

 

DON

[ontheweb]

26 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

It is whatever the payment agreement that you guys agree to.  Just decide ahead of time.

 

DON

And be sure everyone understands, and then shake hands. 

[nini]

When we cruised with a third adult, we divided the total fare by 3. It was mutually beneficial.

[ldubs]

I can see this going either way.   If the 3rd person is discounted, then we will pay the same whether we are two or three in the cabin.  So depending on who, we might offer the third person to pay only the discounted fare.  In every case the third person insists on paying 1/3.  

[cruiseaholic777]

Split it 3 ways, that is fair.

[sanger727]

I would also consider the sleeping arrangements in this. If two people are getting beds and one person is getting the couch. I would probably want to pay less if I got the couch. 

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, Mum2Mercury said:

 

- Say it's a couple and someone's mom, so mom's getting the sofa every night.  I'd say she'd pay the reduced amount.  

 

In many cases the third passenger in a cabin pays a very low fare - sometimes no fare.  While the person who sleeps on the sofa arguably should pay less, it might not be appropriate to limit it to the fare differential #3 adds.  After all, the bed or sofa isn’t the only thing #3 is using:  equal use of bathroom, of daytime space, of balcony, etc.

[lisiamc]

We often do land trips with friends, and we have worked out ground rules for sharing that work well for us. We split the costs by the number of people, but the person or couple who did all the organising gets first choice of the rooms, or in the case of a ship’s cabin, the bed. So the third person in the cabin with a couple would get the upper bunk or the sofa bed. For three or four friends sharing, the other three could do rock, paper, scissors to allocate beds! 
 

costs for extras on a ship are easier as everyone has their own account. On land, everyone contributes to a kitty for coffees, meals, and food shopping. That would work for shared shore time on a cruise, too.