Changing the number of people in a cabin

[ski_mom]

Probably a strange question, but here goes.  We are a family of 6 and this is the first year that our oldest kids may not be able to go with us.  Oldest is graduating from college and next will have an internship and not sure if she can take off.  We typically book 3 rooms with 2 in each room. I think the most likely outcome will be that we will be traveling with 5, but not 100% sure.

 

If I booked the 3 room with 2 in each, I have a feeling we'd end up with one room with only one passenger which I understand we'd have to pay double (or basically double for).

 

There aren't any rooms available for 3, so I thought about booking one room with 2 and one room with 4.  If we did that and had to cancel one out of the room with 4 what would happen?  Would we still have to pay the fare for the cancelled passenger?  I think I understand that I would for sure lose the deposit, but not sure about the rest since we would be booked in a room for 4 and only having 3 sail.

 

Just wondered if anyone has experienced this and what happened or if you have other suggestions to handle this situation.

 

Thanks!

 

 

[EngineCo52]

I would call them and ask. you'll probable just loose you deposit. it all depends on how it was booked and what discounts were given at the time of the booking. best bet is to just call and speak to anyone there 

[Schoifmom]

It really depends on what fare type you book under and when you would actually cancel that person.  If you book ES and cancel prior to the final payment date, you will lose $50 and the remainder of the deposit paid for that person will be held as a future cruise credit, any additional funds paid over the deposit will be refunded.  If you book some other fares (normally full fare type fares) and cancel prior to the final payment date, you will receive a full refund.  Following final payment date, all is subject to the cancellation rules found on the Carnival website, with increasing cancellation penalties as the cruise date approaches.

 

If the person cancelling is the 3rd or 4th person in the room, there is no further adjustment to be made.  If the person cancelling is the 2nd person in the room with only 2 people, the above applies AND the other person will have to pay the single-supplement (equal to the fare of the second person not including taxes and port fees).

[ski_mom]

Thank you for this information.  I need to look at our dates.  I probably just need to book without them, but I'm hating the thought of our first family vacation without the whole family 😥

[Squadleader]

Schoifmom makes a great point. It's very likely dropping a 3rd or 4th person from a room will leave you with a much smaller loss, than dropping the second person in a cabin with just two people booked. 

 

Of course it depends on the fare structure of the particular cruise you've picked, but on our last cruise, my 3rd and fourth in our cabin were actually free (aside from the $150 in port taxes), which taxes I've read on here can't be charged if someone doesn't sail, so depending on the fare structure, dropping a 3rd or 4th could actually be free. Based on that scenario, a 3rd or 4th could actually just not show up at embarkation and would still be free because even the port fees have to refunded.

 

I've got six children, and like you, I try very hard to make it so as many of my kids can be included in the cruise as possible, but they've grown up now, and especially with young people just starting out, you just never know what their life is going to demand from them on short notice. Being able to include them, with the flexibility of dropping them if necessary at the last minute at little to no cost, is a huge win for you.

 

Third and fourth passengers free in a cabin is obviously a promotion, usually, it's going to be on an off-peak time cruise, or a longer cruise that's having trouble booking up. We've done many 10+ day cruises on Holland America that had the third and fourth free. 

 

So that's the next issue. I use the cruises to escape cold weather and hit warm sunny beaches. HAL is fine for that, but teenagers and young people are not going to be nearly as impressed with a HAL ship and it's predominantly older crowd.

 

Our last 11-day cruise on HAL was actually cheaper than a 7-day carnival cruise. However, my next cruise is going to be with Carnival, even though it's much more expensive than HAL because my kids like it better. 

 

But still, even on my next cruise my 3rd and 4th are less than half what the 1st and second are per person, so canceling a third or fourth is still much less expensive. 

 

If I were you, I'd shop for your next cruise paying very close attention to how much you're being charged for the third and fourth passenger in the cabin. You might be able to find a cruise you like, that has little to no cost, to cancel or no-show the third and fourth passenger right up to the day of embarkation. 

 

Edited May 2, 2019 by Squadleader