18 year old too young for own cabin

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

Not sure how to best title this.  I have family of 5 so we need more than 1 cabin on Royal Princess (a year from now). I had thought that my oldest child being 18 then could have a cabin with a sibling, 16.  Turns out our TA has to book my husband in a cabin with one of the olde teen boys and then myself in the cabin with the other teen and younger sib, b/c someone over 21 has to be in each cabin.

 

TA says that later we can put whomever we want in whatever cabin, but what about your medallion unlocking your door?  These are adjoining cabins but it would be annoying if my 18 yr old alwasy had to open the door that was the room intended for the parents and the youngest child.  Plus then one of the parents would only be able to unlock the teens' room.

 

Is there something here I'm missing?  I'm honestly wondering if I should abandon this cruise idea altogether until oldest is 21, or possibly consider a large suite we can all fit in instead of the 2 rooms.  What I booked are 2 adjoining deluxe balconies.

[voljeep]

Nope, you need a more knowledgeable person as a TA

 

 For family groups booking multiple staterooms, the minimum age for each stateroom is 16 years of age, provided they are traveling with a parent or legal guardian. We are unable to accept group reservations for student or youth groups that do not conform to our minimum age requirements. Each passenger agrees and warrants that he/she will supervise any passenger in his/her care at all times to ensure all policies, along with all other rules of the Carrier and ship, are strictly adhered to by all Passengers under their supervision.

[ceilidh1]

Your TA is wrong. I'm a TA and also travel with teens - it needs to be booked a certain way, but you are NOT required to have an adult in the room with an 18 year old. I always book the kids in separate rooms without any issues whatsoever. The only thing I caution with it is if you are planning on using Princess Air, the kids are not allowed to fly without an adult and the air system won't allow you to book them unless a kid is booked in the same room as an adult. If you aren't using Princess Air there is zero issue in booking separate rooms. 

[Jadn13]

Medallions can be keyed to open multiple doors, you just have to request it once on the ship

[PacnGoNow]

And, to add.  If you do need to change your Medallion’s for the cabins, GS can do that for you, once OB. NP.  They can program them to open both cabins, if need be.  Not that complicated.

[startedwithamouse]

16 is the age for kids.

 

TA Is incorrect.

 

They're earning commission for giving incorrect information and having you do the legwork. 

[PacnGoNow]

1 minute ago, Jadn13 said:

Medallions can be keyed to open multiple doors, you just have to request it once on the ship

Fast fingers!!

[skynight]

Post #2 quotes the legal text. The 18 yr old and 16 year old can be in the same cabin. It's important if you and the husband wish to have the plus or premier fares. When you are both booked into the same cabin then you will meet the requirement of passengers 1 & 2 required to both have the same fare package. If you split the two of you into different cabins then you would have to purchase packages for the first two booked into that cabin, means 4 packages. Go back to the TA and explain the passage contract. 

[ceilidh1]

1 hour ago, skynight said:

Post #2 quotes the legal text. The 18 yr old and 16 year old can be in the same cabin. It's important if you and the husband wish to have the plus or premier fares. When you are both booked into the same cabin then you will meet the requirement of passengers 1 & 2 required to both have the same fare package. If you split the two of you into different cabins then you would have to purchase packages for the first two booked into that cabin, means 4 packages. Go back to the TA and explain the passage contract. 

The plus package is another reason I always recommend booking adults in one room and kids in another if considering 2 rooms. If pax 2 is a kid they are still required to get the package if pax 1 has it…

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

TA says they are getting an error code when they try to book the teens in a room together. If I asked them to drop plus would it work? 

Edited June 18 by Kitty Ellas Mom

[mahasamatman]

5 minutes ago, Kitty Ellas Mom said:

TA says they are getting an error code when they try to book the teens in a room together. This is an experienced TA whom I've booked with before, so I'm inclined to believe them.

All the evidence is against the TA. Experience does not equal competence.

[skynight]

Ask the T.A. to book using the phone. The error message is incorrect. Read the T.A. the Passage Contract. Could be that the on line program does not recognize that it is a family group where separate cabins are permitted. I.T. programming seems to be a large issue with Princess. 

On the other hand if you are planning on booking the standard fare and will not purchase the plus or premier package the first day on board then I can't see  any problem with splitting you up, but maybe I'm missing something. 

 

[voljeep]

9 minutes ago, Kitty Ellas Mom said:

TA says they are getting an error code when they try to book the teens in a room together. If I asked them to drop plus would it work? 

Curious - answer only if you want to, of course...

 

How many cruises has this TA booked for you before, and if any with multiple cabins?

TA perks?

 

Call Princess and ask for a CVP and see what happens if this TA can't figure out the error code - this TA should recuse in my opinion based on previous postings

[joeyjeremiah]

Hi @Kitty Ellas Mom,

 

I would encourage your TA to review the policy here regarding age requirements https://www.princess.com/html/global/book/popups/age-requirements.html . It explains that you have to be 21 unless it is a family group in multiple rooms then it is 16 as long as the kids are travelling with parents or legal guardians which in your case they are. 

 

Your TA is correct that once onboard it doesn't matter who sleeps in which bed and the medallions can be programmed to provide access to more than one room. So you can have access to the room your kids are in as well as your own.

 

So depending on how you were booking your cruise will determine if it matters who is booked in which cabin. If you are doing the same package (plus or premier) for all 4 of you then it doesn't matter much but if you were wanting premier for the adults and plus for the kids then you need to be booked adults in one room and kids in the other because pax 1 and 2 in the same cabin need same package and if you switch rooms onboard you still keep the pkg you booked.

 

There is no need to abandon the cruise idea. Your TA is human and may have made a mistake and provided incorrect information and not looked past the automated system which is providing an error. You seem to like your TA so ask them to review the policy and try the booking again. If the TA still says it can't be done then it may be time to switch to a different TA.

[Cruise Raider]

6 minutes ago, voljeep said:

Curious - answer only if you want to, of course...

 

How many cruises has this TA booked for you before, and if any with multiple cabins?

TA perks?

 

Call Princess and ask for a CVP and see what happens if this TA can't figure out the error code - this TA should recuse in my opinion based on previous postings

Thats exactly what I would do.  
 

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

T A booked for me before but it was solo. This is my first time booking for the family. I intend us all to have plus.

[voljeep]

2 hours ago, Kitty Ellas Mom said:

Not sure how to best title this.  I have family of 5 so we need more than 1 cabin on Royal Princess (a year from now). I had thought that my oldest child being 18 then could have a cabin with a sibling, 16.  Turns out our TA has to book my husband in a cabin with one of the olde teen boys and then myself in the cabin with the other teen and younger sib, b/c someone over 21 has to be in each cabin.

All PLUS? - then this works - but NOT for the reason the TA stated under 21

[ceilidh1]

4 hours ago, Kitty Ellas Mom said:

TA says they are getting an error code when they try to book the teens in a room together. If I asked them to drop plus would it work? 

Your TA needs to change the drop down on the booking screen from the actual age to Adult!  Once it is booked, the system will automatically assign the correct designation based on date of birth. If your TA had done any Princess training, they would know this...

Edited June 18 by ceilidh1
Typo

[ceilidh1]

I plugged in my 17 year old. Under Age the TA should change the drop down to say Adult. Once it is booked the system will correct it.

[ceilidh1]

The other IMPORTANT piece is that the TA needs to link both bookings using a TWID (travel with ID) code. It's one extra click on the booking screen, but MUST be done!

[SKCruiser007]

I would like to thank @Kitty Ellas Mom for bringing up this question. I have been booking Princess Cruises since around 2005, doing probably hundreds, taken all the training, even wrote some training for Princess Academy...I did not know that you could book a sixteen year old into a separate room as a lead guest. So, thanks! And I think we should cut her TA a little slack.

[NavyVeteran]

As stated clearly above, the 16-year-old can be booked in the same cabin with the 18-year-old (or even in a cabin by himself) if parent or legal guardian is on the cruise. However, your younger child (younger than 16) will have to be booked in a cabin with someone 21 years old or older. You cannot book someone younger than 16 in the cabin with the 18-year-old.

After you're onboard, you can give everyone access to both cabins if you want, and Princess doesn't care who sleeps in which cabin.

If you're all getting the Plus fare, then it really doesn't matter how you're booked.

[ceilidh1]

15 minutes ago, SKCruiser007 said:

I would like to thank @Kitty Ellas Mom for bringing up this question. I have been booking Princess Cruises since around 2005, doing probably hundreds, taken all the training, even wrote some training for Princess Academy...I did not know that you could book a sixteen year old into a separate room as a lead guest. So, thanks! And I think we should cut her TA a little slack.

It’s literally right on the front page of Polar when you go into a booking! Orange letters “age policy change” - click on it and a pop up opens with the policy! Admittedly it’s a few extra clicks to book it but even if a TA didn’t know how to book, the age policy/info is right there!

[ceilidh1]

12 minutes ago, NavyVeteran said:

As stated clearly above, the 16-year-old can be booked in the same cabin with the 18-year-old (or even in a cabin by himself) if parent or legal guardian is on the cruise. However, your younger child (younger than 16) will have to be booked in a cabin with someone 21 years old or older. You cannot book someone younger than 16 in the cabin with the 18-year-old.

After you're onboard, you can give everyone access to both cabins if you want, and Princess doesn't care who sleeps in which cabin.

If you're all getting the Plus fare, then it really doesn't matter how you're booked.

My 17 and 13 year olds are booked in their own cabin frequently! ONE has to be over 16. Not both.

[SKCruiser007]

16 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

It’s literally right on the front page of Polar when you go into a booking! Orange letters “age policy change” - click on it and a pop up opens with the policy! Admittedly it’s a few extra clicks to book it but even if a TA didn’t know how to book, the age policy/info is right there!

This is helpful. Thanks!