Question taking friends with family 4/7 sail

[HillsRAlive]

I just found out that a cruise that has been planned since September we may have to cancel because of this, told that since one set of parents going with 3 other teens - other than the 2 boys in the family for a total of 5 boys, one 10 and 4 18 - since Royal only allows 2 guest kids that are not biological children the 3rd boy will either have to cancel out or the group of 7 will cancel the cruise. this is very dissapointing since it will be the 4 boys senior trip, they will be 18 at the time of the cruise. Has anyone every had this situation and if so how was it handled. They family is trying to get one of the 3 boys parents to go to cover but with just 87 days to go it will be difficult to come up the the extra $$. Any suggestions? Thanks

[AFT_LOVER]

I thought they are classified as an adult. Check that out.......

[Sue L]

My daughter was taken on a "Sweet 16" cruise with one set of parents and 12 girls with only 2 being there biological children. The girls were in 3 rooms (4 in a room ) and the parents across the hall. One was 19, and the remainder were 15 or 16 years old. This was 5 years ago and I am not sure if the rules have changed but I would look into it further.

 

So you were allowed to book this in Sept and now they are giving you grief? Who called/email you to tell you of this problem?

 

I feel for your dilemma and I hope it works out for you.

 

 

Sue

[Iamthesea]

For booking purposes only, can you get around it by splitting the boys into two staterooms - each stateroom having an adult?

 

Example:

Father, two 18 year olds in one stateroom

Mother, 10 year old and an 18 year old in other stateroom

 

You can switch rooms once on the ship.

[rjg41]

If the parents of the 10 year old is one of the extra children make sure you get a notorized affidavit from the parents to take the child out of the country and for medical treatment. I would insist on the form for the 18 year olds as well especially for medical treatment. I would insist that the parents purchase insurance to cover medical expenses for all their children.

 

Further, while I am sure the non-family children are very nice, be aware that the adults traveling with them are responsible for any and ALL expenses they incure unless they put down their own credit card and even then you will be responsible for them in every way. Remember, for example 18 year olds can gamble on an RC ship but they cannot drink at all. Should they do anything that would get them removed from the ship, you would likely be sent off with them since they are booked in your cabins. With the freedom a ship offers and the "temptations" they may experience on shore, even the nicest children(and some adults), even your own, can make mistakes.

[Iamthesea]

If the parents of the 10 year old is one of the extra children make sure you get a notorized affidavit from the parents to take the child out of the country and for medical treatment. I would insist on the form for the 18 year olds as well especially for medical treatment. I would insist that the parents purchase insurance to cover medical expenses for all their children.

 

Further, while I am sure the non-family children are very nice, be aware that the adults traveling with them are responsible for any and ALL expenses they incure unless they put down their own credit card and even then you will be responsible for them in every way. Remember, for example 18 year olds can gamble on an RC ship but they cannot drink at all. Should they do anything that would get them removed from the ship, you would likely be sent off with them since they are booked in your cabins. With the freedom a ship offers and the "temptations" they may experience on shore, even the nicest children(and some adults), even your own, can make mistakes.

 

GREAT ADVICE! ;)

[HillsRAlive]

Yes they were able to book the cruise with a T/A back in September and they did book a total of 3 rooms, 1 room inside with adjoining rooms with mom and 1 18 year old in one and adjoining with the other 3 18 year olds then across the hall was dad and his youngest. we had the cabin numbers already assigned and were getting ready to make final payment on the 12th. I'm not sure how it came up that they could not do this if the T/A called or if RCCL contacted the TA. We did have a letter we had to fill out for the 3 18 year old boys that gave permission to the partent that they can travel and seek medical if necessary so we thought that was all we needed. I dont understand since they are 18 and considered adults how we can do anything other. They are good boys, never been in trouble, has been friends since kindergarden so they wanted to celebrate graduation together before they all leave for college. I understand that good boys do go bad but we have to trust them. I would rather trust them on this type of trip rather than going to Mexico on their own with a bunch of 18 year olds, yikes. I ended up calling Carnival and they dont have any policy like this so I guess if worse comes to worse RCCL will loose out on a couple thousand dollars with this group and Carnival will get the business. I hope it doesnt come to that but if it does ...

Thanks for the responses.

[Iamthesea]

What are the different age restrictions for RCCL and Carnival now?

[HillsRAlive]

I talked to a Carnival PVP yesterday and they have basiclly the same rules of booking a room, guest has to be 21 in order to book the room but the difference between RCCL and Carnival is if someone over 21 is in both rooms it doesn't matter if they are the biological parent of the 18 year old or not. Big difference when trying to plan. We have cancelled RCCL and booked on Carnival needless to say. I could see the problem if they were taking a dozen teens but for only 3 it seems a little harsh.