Which option would you choose?

[pls5286]

After much deliberation and looking at the school calendar etc, my husband and I have settled on an Oct 2016 Sensation 4 day from Miami to Key West and Cozumel. This is our DD13 fall break from school. That and price is why we picked the week we did. With DH job, we cant do more than the 4 day over the weekend right now.

 

The problem, our DS19 is in the final hiring stages of a job as a firefighter. Depending on which job he goes with, he could be in EMT school in Oct. The other job, he will be done with his orientation and EMT school would not start until late Oct.

 

Which option would you choose?

 

1. Book a cabin for 3 now, and hope we can add a person if he goes.

 

2. Book a cabin for 4 now, and substitute a friend for DD if DS does not go. She is really close friends with a girl from church, and I know her parents well, so this would be an option.

 

3. Hold off on booking for now, and hope there is room for us on the ship.

 

Thanks

[BlazinSunsets]

If you add a 4th when you know he can go, they will rebook your cruise under current prices. Any deal prices you're using right now will not be available. This may or may not affect the price that much but we tried to add my sister late once and it was going to cost us $1500 more to do it, on a cruise we were only paying $700 for 2, so we nixed that.

 

I would book for 4 and would talk with the mom of friend and make sure she doesn't have plans for that week. I wouldn't tell the girl yet because you hate to get her hopes up of going just to have your son go like you planned to.

Edited May 24, 2016 by BlazinSunsets

[SummerXU]

If you were to go with option 3, how long will it be until you son knows his schedule?

[98Charlie]

For me it would be a no-brainer. Book for 4 and get the cabin that you are comfortable with now. Especially if you want a balcony or suite.

 

Charlie

[RuthlessBoss]

Have you discussed the problem with your son and how it's holding up the booking? If he's this close to the job market, he needs to think of what this is doing. He might want to stay home with his friends before entering the adult world of employment and going off to training somewhere.

 

I know you want him to go, but how does he feel about it?

[pls5286]

If you were to go with option 3, how long will it be until you son knows his schedule?

 

There is no set timeline at this point. Probably about a month or so. He wont be able to miss during EMT school but if he is already on a shift rotation, his schedule can be arranged.

[pls5286]

Have you discussed the problem with your son and how it's holding up the booking? If he's this close to the job market, he needs to think of what this is doing. He might want to stay home with his friends before entering the adult world of employment and going off to training somewhere.

 

I know you want him to go, but how does he feel about it?

 

He really wants to go. These are ports we have never been to. He currently works in a field that is not related to public safety, and when we first started tossing the idea around, taking time off was not a problem for him. With his current schedule, he will miss 1 day. I wish this week were more flexible but with DD school schedule its not.

[hapytobehr]

Definitely book for 4..

 

As blazin said...it could cost you a small fortune to add......

[suzycruiser2]

Book the cabin for four with the 4th person as TBD. You can add the name closer to the sail date.

[llg13]

Definitely book for 4..

 

As blazin said...it could cost you a small fortune to add......

 

100% agree...book for 4 now.

[RuthlessBoss]

Definitely book for 4..

 

As blazin said...it could cost you a small fortune to add......

 

If you book for 4, you can get insurance to refund the cancellation if he can get a statement from the employer as to why he can't be there. Is this an option?

[Kellydollblue]

If you only book 3 and he decides later on it might be too late to change to 4. Even if you book a 4 person room they might be at the life boat limit

[Kamloops50]

After much deliberation and looking at the school calendar etc, my husband and I have settled on an Oct 2016 Sensation 4 day from Miami to Key West and Cozumel. This is our DD13 fall break from school. That and price is why we picked the week we did. With DH job, we cant do more than the 4 day over the weekend right now.

 

The problem, our DS19 is in the final hiring stages of a job as a firefighter. Depending on which job he goes with, he could be in EMT school in Oct. The other job, he will be done with his orientation and EMT school would not start until late Oct.

 

Which option would you choose?

 

1. Book a cabin for 3 now, and hope we can add a person if he goes.

 

2. Book a cabin for 4 now, and substitute a friend for DD if DS does not go. She is really close friends with a girl from church, and I know her parents well, so this would be an option.

 

3. Hold off on booking for now, and hope there is room for us on the ship.

 

Thanks

 

You might find that a cabin with your DD(13) and DS(19) plus yourself might be to tight . Have you looked into the option of two cabins instead of one .

[mondello]

They're on a tight budget, "...that and price is why we picked..."

 

3rd and 4th PAX rates will definitely be less than an additional cabin.

[Micahs Grandad]

Oct is hurricane season and usually takes awhile to fill the ship. Also prices often go down around that time.

 

I think I would wait until everyones schedule is more definite to book.

[RuthlessBoss]

Oct is hurricane season and usually takes awhile to fill the ship. Also prices often go down around that time.

 

I think I would wait until everyones schedule is more definite to book.

 

It's a school break for them. There is another thread going about a cruise on October 8 that is sold out. I wonder if that's why.

[Badfinger]

After much deliberation and looking at the school calendar etc, my husband and I have settled on an Oct 2016 Sensation 4 day from Miami to Key West and Cozumel. This is our DD13 fall break from school. That and price is why we picked the week we did. With DH job, we cant do more than the 4 day over the weekend right now.

 

The problem, our DS19 is in the final hiring stages of a job as a firefighter. Depending on which job he goes with, he could be in EMT school in Oct. The other job, he will be done with his orientation and EMT school would not start until late Oct.

 

Which option would you choose?

 

1. Book a cabin for 3 now, and hope we can add a person if he goes.

 

2. Book a cabin for 4 now, and substitute a friend for DD if DS does not go. She is really close friends with a girl from church, and I know her parents well, so this would be an option.

 

3. Hold off on booking for now, and hope there is room for us on the ship.

 

Thanks

 

Not to muddy the water, but maybe book two cabins for two. Might work out cheaper in the event of a no show. A couple years back it was cheaper for us to book a balcony for two and an interior for two rather than a balcony for four.

[Galatz]

Not to muddy the water, but maybe book two cabins for two. Might work out cheaper in the event of a no show. A couple years back it was cheaper for us to book a balcony for two and an interior for two rather than a balcony for four.

 

Definitely agree with that. The rooms with four people are really tight. If you split it to two in a balcony and two across the hall you could definitely save a bunch.

 

Also if you consider that, you could potentially save a bunch on Cheers if only one of you is a drinker. Split up the adults and kids to only pay for one, and then switch when you get on board. Could save you another couple hundred this way.

[Micahs Grandad]

It's a school break for them. There is another thread going about a cruise on October 8 that is sold out. I wonder if that's why.

 

Could be but we usually look to cruise early Oct for cheap rates

[stargate fan]

After much deliberation and looking at the school calendar etc, my husband and I have settled on an Oct 2016 Sensation 4 day from Miami to Key West and Cozumel. This is our DD13 fall break from school. That and price is why we picked the week we did. With DH job, we cant do more than the 4 day over the weekend right now.

 

The problem, our DS19 is in the final hiring stages of a job as a firefighter. Depending on which job he goes with, he could be in EMT school in Oct. The other job, he will be done with his orientation and EMT school would not start until late Oct.

 

Which option would you choose?

 

1. Book a cabin for 3 now, and hope we can add a person if he goes.

 

2. Book a cabin for 4 now, and substitute a friend for DD if DS does not go. She is really close friends with a girl from church, and I know her parents well, so this would be an option.

 

3. Hold off on booking for now, and hope there is room for us on the ship.

 

Thanks

 

Here's something that no one mentioned - make sure you book Past Guest rates.

 

Book for four and if necessary, you'll be able to cancel your son BEFORE final payment date. If you book Early Saver Rate, technically there are no name changes so you could not switch your son to your daughter's friend plus you'd lose $50 as a penalty and the remainder would be held for two years towards final payment, not deposit, of a future cruise.