Hail Mary cruise booking help...

[20165]

Hi, im pretty sure this is a Cruisecritic no no so hopefully it wont get deleted, but we really need some help booking our Dec 16, 2023 sky princess cruise.  Our TA got promoted and the one she gave us cant figure out how to book our cabins.  Neither can Princess...  We are trying to book 2 cabins, side by side, with 2 adult parents in one, and 20 and 17yo kids in the one next door.  We know its possible because we just did it 2 months ago on princess with our old agent, but no one, including princess, can figure out how she did it. There is a blurb below regarding their policy, but is somewhat vague so i think thats whats causing the confusion.  I guess our old TA had the inside track..  Can anyone help us with this or recommend TA that has experience with this?  We have tried 2 different TAs and Princess directly with no luck. 

The go to answer we get is book 1 parent in each cabin, but that is a pain because when we get to guest services on the ship, they usually give us attitude and say they cant do that and the TA shouldn't have booked it that way.  We use to do this when our kids were young, but now that they are 20 and 17, there is no reason to do it anymore, or at least we havent had to for the last 2 years on other lines. Not to mention is messes up the drink packages, when my wife and i want to dine alone, etc. 

thanks

 

[LeeW]

Princess shouldn't have a problem with this (can't do online) but you CAN book one adult in each cabin online.  Then switch cabins onboard.

[skynight]

The passage contract, shown below, does allow 20 and 17 year olds in a family group to be in a separate cabin. If I understand the two parents wish to book a plus or premier fare. Princess rules state that if you book this fare then the first two cabin occupants must have the same fare. Booking one parent in each cabin would cause all four to have an inclusive fare. You may be able to get around this by booking the frills fares and then purchasing the upgrade on the 1st day on board. This would have to be checked out. I looked on line. The December 16th Sky Princess cruise is not currently available for booking. This may mean it is sold out, they are changing fares, all cabins are now gtys so that you can't select specific cabins. It is difficult to determine exactly what is going on. Perhaps a Princess cruise planner could assist.

No Guest under 21 years of age is permitted to book a cruise, and any Guest under 21 years of age must travel in a stateroom with a Guest 21 years or older who shall assume responsibility for their care during the cruise. For family groups booking multiple staterooms, the minimum age for at least one person in each stateroom is 16 years of age, provided they are traveling with a parent or legal guardian.

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, 20165 said:

Hi, im pretty sure this is a Cruise Critic no no so hopefully it wont get deleted, but we really need some help booking our Dec 16, 2023 sky princess cruise.  Our TA got promoted and the one she gave us cant figure out how to book our cabins.  Neither can Princess...  We are trying to book 2 cabins, side by side, with 2 adult parents in one, and 20 and 17yo kids in the one next door.  We know its possible because we just did it 2 months ago on princess with our old agent, but no one, including princess, can figure out how she did it. There is a blurb below regarding their policy, but is somewhat vague so i think that's what's causing the confusion.  I guess our old TA had the inside track..  Can anyone help us with this or recommend TA that has experience with this?  We have tried 2 different TAs and Princess directly with no luck. 

The go to answer we get is book 1 parent in each cabin, but that is a pain because when we get to guest services on the ship, they usually give us attitude and say they cant do that and the TA shouldn't have booked it that way.  We use to do this when our kids were young, but now that they are 20 and 17, there is no reason to do it anymore, or at least we haven't had to for the last 2 years on other lines. Not to mention is messes up the drink packages, when my wife and i want to dine alone, etc. 

thanks

 

You should not be having this issue and I agree with what @skynight posted in #3 above.  Why hasn't your new TA asked the former TA what they did to make it happen, or the correct words to give to a PCL agent?  If your former TA was promoted, must still be around and your new TA ought to be able to escalate.  Or (s)he can escalate with PCL and ask the phone rep to get a supervisor on the phone.  Tell them to read their own damn policy.

[SCX22]

Let me preface this by saying I don't know if Princess's booking engine is still the same and I'm jogging my memory from about 15 years ago; I was in my teens and was not making my own bookings--just overhearing what my parents were discussing at the TAs office.

 

When my parents wanted my sibling and me in our own room next door, the TA would book one parent and one child in one cabin and the other parent and other child in the cabin next door.  Afterwards, the TA would switch the passengers on each booking, grouping my parents together in one cabin and me and my sibling together in the other.

 

Like I said this was years ago and can't vouch if this still works. 

[Host CJSKIDS]

Unfortunately TA's can't be recommended. 
 

I would ask for a supervisor with Princess and see what they can do. 
we used to book our kids in their own cabin so I know they used to do it. 
 

Hope you are successful. 

[tillys mom]

We did it last year on a Princess Med cruise. My TA has done it several times for us. I can’t tell you her name, but keep asking- someone can do it for you.

[skynight]

I checked this morning. Bookings are now available. It appears that cabin selections are somewhat limited. I would contact your T.A. again. If that does not work, I would contact a Princess Vacation Planner.

[20165]

thanks for the response everyone and im going to give it another try today.  Fingers crossed. 

[20165]

Just a quick follow up on this in case anyone else has the same situation.  I finally found a TA that knew how to book our 2 sons, 20yo and 17yo in their own cabin.  We ended up with 2 S5 Cabins and the TA booked our sons cabin with the wrong birthdate, basically making him a year older or 21 then called Princess to link the cabins and have it changed to his correct birthdate.  He had to talk to a supervisor but was willing to put in the time to do that which was great.  

He did say that he has done this with other families with kids under 18, the cabins just had to be side by side.  Ours was a little easier give one of our kids is over 18 so they didnt given him any grief about the cabins being on opposite sides of the ship.  But technically, they are side by side because there is nothing in between them...

thx

 

[Thrak]

I don't see the problem. Book 1 parent and one kid in each cabin and just go to Passenger Services and have all Medallions open both doors and then split the cabins the way you like. It''s done all the time.

[Teechur]

1 hour ago, Thrak said:

I don't see the problem. Book 1 parent and one kid in each cabin and just go to Passenger Services and have all Medallions open both doors and then split the cabins the way you like. It''s done all the time.

The problem would arise when booking Plus or Premier. All 4 would have to book a package unless they wait until boarding.

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, Teechur said:

The problem would arise when booking Plus or Premier. All 4 would have to book a package unless they wait until boarding.

 

Okay. Good thinking. I was obviously thinking in terms of the past when that wasn't relevant. Thanks for pointing out my fallacy. My bad. 🙃

[20165]

7 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Okay. Good thinking. I was obviously thinking in terms of the past when that wasn't relevant. Thanks for pointing out my fallacy. My bad. 🙃

Thats one issue, but we have booked 1 parent in each cabin for years when our kids were younger and it can be a pain to get guest services to either switch cabins, give extra cards, etc.  We were on one line, I believe NCL, that told us to just switch cards which did work when ordering drinks, going to the kids club, etc.  And another time we got questioned why we needed a separate cabin for our kids.  I believe my wife had some choice words for that question...

Anyway, we know it can be done on RCL, NCL MSC and now Princess and yes, its a pain if you dont have good TA to help, but better to do it now then having to wait in the line in guest services when you board and hope you get someone that wont give you grief about it.

 

 

[rocklinmom]

I thought the age was 16 to be booked in their own cabin? I booked my 16 year old nieces in their own cabin several years ago on Princess. Don't know why you'd be having issues booking a 17 and 20 year old in their own. 

[20165]

1 hour ago, rocklinmom said:

I thought the age was 16 to be booked in their own cabin? I booked my 16 year old nieces in their own cabin several years ago on Princess. Don't know why you'd be having issues booking a 17 and 20 year old in their own. 

To book them in their own cabin, one needs to be 21.  Younger than that, the cabins have to be 'linked'  then you can put younger kids in the cabin.  I dont know what the cutoff age is, but 16 sounds in line of where we started doing this.  

I think i read somewhere that on European cruises, you can book your own cabin at 18, but i dont know what for a fact and it may depend on the country.

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by 20165

[Cruise Raider]

1 hour ago, 20165 said:

To book them in their own cabin, one needs to be 21.  Younger than that, the cabins have to be 'linked'  then you can put younger kids in the cabin.  I dont know what the cutoff age is, but 16 sounds in line of where we started doing this.  

I think i read somewhere that on European cruises, you can book your own cabin at 18, but i dont know what for a fact and it may depend on the country.

 

I’ve booked my nephews in their own cabin when they cruised with us in the past.  They were twenty at the time but they said it could be done if they were as young as 16 as long as we accepted full responsibility for them.  They were even willing to allow them to be on a different deck but luckily, we could book them in a room right next door to our cabin.  

[Steelers36]

14 hours ago, Teechur said:

The problem would arise when booking Plus or Premier. All 4 would have to book a package unless they wait until boarding.

 

12 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

Okay. Good thinking. I was obviously thinking in terms of the past when that wasn't relevant. Thanks for pointing out my fallacy. My bad. 🙃

IMO, the best thing in any case is to not book Plus/Premier until boarding the ship.  I'd only consider it risky if booking something like two years ahead and fear of the price going up.  If so, there is an announcement and time to add it on before increase date.  By delaying, any OBC can be used, saves on pre-cruise trip insurance, solves the mixed cabin issue with kids (say younger ones), and I might think of one or two others if pressed - like hanging onto the funds instead of giving them to PCL early.

Edited July 13, 2023 by Steelers36

[bra98sda]

You will likely have to call in to make the reservations. A good reservation agent will know to add the tag ESC to your cabins. ESC is designated for “escorted” and allows for under 21 guests to sail in their own cabin. The tricky part about that is if you need flights and want to use EZair, EZair requires at least one person to be 18 on the air record. Since you said your kids were I think 20 and 17 that should be fine.