Question about kids and cruising

lilrosie · August 21, 2005

Sorry to sound dumb or possibly repetitious if already asked...Hubby and I are totally hooked on cruising since we took our first in April..OMG You All are sooo Right about having post cruise depression..We went to beach last weekend and just the sound of the waves got me excited..ya know that excitement yo get when you board the ship ...anyways..we are wanting to go on another cruise...this time with our 2 sons..age 11 and 14...heres the question...is there any kind of discount for kids under 18 or do they charge per room..do they room with us...I guess what I mean is..if they charge say 600 per person per room..do they charge 600 per kid as well?? I don't care if it ends up being an inside room..(although I would really love a balcony)..as long as its a ship,,ya know...Any help you could give me would be appreciated..I would like to go carnival..(cheaper) and we enjoyed it...

Suzila · August 21, 2005

Hi lilrosie,

We used to take our sons on all the cruises we went on while they were growing up. We usually took an inside cabin or a window cabin that slept four (two bunk beds on top). I've always been a bit paranoid about having a balcony room with two kids and the inevitable horsing around.

One time we took a separate room right next to ours, but we had a lot less control over what they were doing. Plus, even though we booked the room for the kids, it was actually booked as one of them in the room with me, and one in the room with hubby. The cruise line wants an adult in each room. Of course, that's not the way it really was, but that's the way it had to be booked. We could actually hear them next door to us, and made many phone calls to tell them to pipe down. It was much easier having them in the room with us.

There was no discount for kids. You pay the same amount for them as you do for yourself.

Sue

JoeyandDavid · August 21, 2005

Sue if I may .. a follow up question:

Is it true that tips for the crew are reduced for traveling youngsters?

Lisa63 · August 21, 2005

If your kids stay in the same room as you, they pay the 3rd/4th passenger rate, which is lower than the rate for the first two pax. (This rate is the same whether the 3rd/4th pax is an adult or child). If they get their own room, they are charged the same rate as you.

As for tips (sorry Sue for jumping in), it depends on the line. HAL charged the full $10 pp for our son, whereas NCL charged only $5 for pax between ages 3 and 12. Of course, these could be changed by going to the front desk.

lilrosie · August 21, 2005

Thanks...that is great...We may even be able to afford to take my Mother..she has always wanted to go on one..she has only been on a gambling cruise....And she informed us when we got back in April...that she would be with us on the next one..even if she had to stowe away in luggage..lol

cruisinmama · August 21, 2005

well we are Cruising with our kids for the first time.. as there are 5 of us we got 2 cabins..

inside for the kids and an balcony for dh & I....

now it does have us listed on RCI as a parent in each cabin..However if we had booked an ajoining room then they allow kids to be listed in their own room without a parent in each..

We did have cabin right across from each other but I found a deal on a aft balcony cheaper than we had for our other E1..and even cheaper than RCI had so they had to give it to us.. :wink:

so we switched but the kids are just a few doors down..If they are unconfortable with it, dh & I will split up for sleeping..

tipping, here is a link I found and find it useful...I was told my kids are full tip..but it does show a place to click for that...

http://members.aol.com/CruiseTip/

Rate for ours first two passenegrs are the same rate in each cabin and then the third passenger inside is a cheaper rate..but all my kids are under adult..

HTH

:smiley:

sailingrose · August 21, 2005

We cruised with both of our kids for many years and when they got older we got them their own cabin. Everyone must decide if their kids can handle that or not. I will say that 4 in a cabin is tight but can be done with some planning. Showers, getting dressed for dinner, etc. but we always managed to make it work.

Usually the 3rd and 4th are cheaper but sometimes depending on your sailing and ship you can get some great deals. When we first tried out the 2 cabins with the kids we only ended up paying about 250.00 extra for the 2nd cabin. Well worth the money to have 2 bathrooms. Even now, my daughter dresses for formal night in my cabin so we can help each other. My son and my DH dress in the kids cabin. Works great!

As far as tipping, RCI suggests the full tip for kids, but not all lines do. We feel that they have to work just as hard for the kids (probably even harder)as they do for us.

Suzila · August 22, 2005

I really believe the matter of bathrooms depends on whether you have girls or boys. We never had a problem with our two sons spending too much time in the bathroom, etc., and we've travelled with our friends who have a boy and a girl. The boy is quick and easy in the bathroom, like our kids, and we always end up waiting for the their daughter!

Personally, I preferred to have the boys in the room with us. The one time we had a second room just for them I was worried whether they'd be making noise, etc., and we even booked their room right next to an elevator so no one would hear them. We were on the other side of them. Not that they're so noisy...I guess it may seem like they are, the way I'm talking, but I just didn't want to worry about anyone complaining.

Joey, in answer to your question, we always tipped the same for hubby and me, and for the boys. The crew still has to serve, or clean up after a child, the same way they do for an adult...and maybe even more. I never even asked if tips are discounted for kids.

Sue