Cost effectiveness by cruise line when adding a third person who is a child to a room

[tmac]

I know that Celebrity, for example, charges children even a 6 month old baby, the same as a third adult, to cruise. However, to add a third person to a room who is under 12 I believe on NCL it is only necessary to add the port charges for the extra person.

 

Does anyone know how other cruise lines treat the third person who is a child?

 

This is something to really consider when planning a family cruise because it can really add up on your costs or reduce them depending on the line!

[KerCar]

Hi,

 

NCL charges only port charges and taxes on children under 2. I believe older children are charged the 3rd/4th person rate, which is very reasonable. On Carnival, children inculding babies are charged the 3rd/4th person rate. I've sailed on Celebrity, but didn't bring my children so I'm not sure what there pricing policy is.

 

I'm looking into a cruise for myself, my husband, and my 2 children out of NY. It will be the first cruise for the kids so I've been doing a lot of research lately. Even with the military discount(which is one of the best discounts) we get on Carnival, NCL still comes out to be several hundred $$$ cheaper because of their under 2 policy and really cheap 3rd/4th person rate. :)

[KerCar]

oops double post!

[Kerry's Girls]

I know that Celebrity, for example, charges children even a 6 month old baby, the same as a third adult, to cruise. However, to add a third person to a room who is under 12 I believe on NCL it is only necessary to add the port charges for the extra person.

 

Does anyone know how other cruise lines treat the third person who is a child?

 

This is something to really consider when planning a family cruise because it can really add up on your costs or reduce them depending on the line!

 

Please make sure you compare prices both ways. I found that sometimes the cruises that don't charge for children can end up being more expensive than the ones that do, even when you add the 3rd person in, depending on what kind of deals are out there during the time you want to go. If you check all the rates for the itinerary you want, that may be the best way to find the best value.

 

Best,

Mia

[crusinmama06]

We talk about this alot here. I think there are at least 3 current threads (asking best cruise for young children) and there are many examples.

 

Pretty much to sum it up...Do not base it on price for the child, base your decision on the ship, itinerary and cost for YOU.

 

We've been on almost all major cruiselines with our young children (ages 6 and 2)

 

--NCL does only charge port fees and taxes for children under 2

 

--Disney offers discounts for children BUT the cost of a Disney cruise outweighs any benefit of a children's discount. We paid almost $10,000 for our Disney cruise...$899 per child and one was an infant

 

--RCCL and Carnival charge 3rd and 4th person rate BUT for us, we paid less for those cruises than the ones that offer a child "discount"

 

For example, I booked a last minute cruise to go with my children on Carnival Elation in December. It was a 5 day cruise and only cost me $299 for Ocean View Cabin and $199 for each child. The cost of the total cruise for 4 people plus airfare was less than just ONE person on Disney. And the Carnival, to my HUGE surprise, was one of the best cruises we've ever been on.

 

So, just find a cruise that you want to go on. Look at the ship. Look at the itinerary. There are so many specials flying around right now. If you want to save money, do it by choosing the time you go wisely and the ship you go on. Don't let the child rate effect your decision.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

We talk about this alot here. I think there are at least 3 current threads (asking best cruise for young children) and there are many examples.

 

Pretty much to sum it up...Do not base it on price for the child, base your decision on the ship, itinerary and cost for YOU.

 

We've been on almost all major cruiselines with our young children (ages 6 and 2)

 

--NCL does only charge port fees and taxes for children under 2

 

--Disney offers discounts for children BUT the cost of a Disney cruise outweighs any benefit of a children's discount. We paid almost $10,000 for our Disney cruise...$899 per child and one was an infant

 

--RCCL and Carnival charge 3rd and 4th person rate BUT for us, we paid less for those cruises than the ones that offer a child "discount"

 

For example, I booked a last minute cruise to go with my children on Carnival Elation in December. It was a 5 day cruise and only cost me $299 for Ocean View Cabin and $199 for each child. The cost of the total cruise for 4 people plus airfare was less than just ONE person on Disney. And the Carnival, to my HUGE surprise, was one of the best cruises we've ever been on.

 

So, just find a cruise that you want to go on. Look at the ship. Look at the itinerary. There are so many specials flying around right now. If you want to save money, do it by choosing the time you go wisely and the ship you go on. Don't let the child rate effect your decision.

 

I totally agree, take into account the whole cost not just the kids price!!

[Mom23Girls]

AH, good to hear that about the Carnival. We have been on the Disney cruises but are going on the Carnival in two weeks so I was curious about how they would compare. Price wise the Disney is WAY more expensive and we have more kiddos now than we had then. Thanks for the info!!

 

We talk about this alot here. I think there are at least 3 current threads (asking best cruise for young children) and there are many examples.

 

Pretty much to sum it up...Do not base it on price for the child, base your decision on the ship, itinerary and cost for YOU.

 

We've been on almost all major cruiselines with our young children (ages 6 and 2)

 

--NCL does only charge port fees and taxes for children under 2

 

--Disney offers discounts for children BUT the cost of a Disney cruise outweighs any benefit of a children's discount. We paid almost $10,000 for our Disney cruise...$899 per child and one was an infant

 

--RCCL and Carnival charge 3rd and 4th person rate BUT for us, we paid less for those cruises than the ones that offer a child "discount"

 

For example, I booked a last minute cruise to go with my children on Carnival Elation in December. It was a 5 day cruise and only cost me $299 for Ocean View Cabin and $199 for each child. The cost of the total cruise for 4 people plus airfare was less than just ONE person on Disney. And the Carnival, to my HUGE surprise, was one of the best cruises we've ever been on.

 

So, just find a cruise that you want to go on. Look at the ship. Look at the itinerary. There are so many specials flying around right now. If you want to save money, do it by choosing the time you go wisely and the ship you go on. Don't let the child rate effect your decision.

[Jenrose]

On Celebrity, each of the kids we're bringing (two teens and a 22month old baby) cost us about $1000... air fare, shore excursions, etc. Each of the adults is closer to $1500... air fare, shore excursions, cruise. For 10 days.

It's just 3rd and 4th person rates.

[adamsmom]

We have considered a Disney cruise for some time, but we can take 3 or 4 on other lines for what it would cost us for 1 Disney cruise. So it's good to hear that the kids enjoyed Carnival just as much. I know my kids love any kind of cruise!

 

As for 3/4/5 person rates, if a ship is filling up, sometimes that rate can even be higher than the regular rate. That was the case on our last NCL cruise, so we just booked 2 cabins--one balcony and one inside. The inside was bumped up to an outside, and it was too cold most of the trip to even enjoy the balcony. But it turned out that we could have put 4 people into either cabin. Weird. So yes, I would just add up the cost of the family cruise, and then compare prices.

 

I never knew that about babies under 2 just paying port fees and taxes. You learn something new every day! :)

[Elizajayne]

Whereas I can't argue the fact that a Disney cruise is expensive, it is, without a doubt, the single best family vacation product we have ever experienced.

 

We have cruised many lines; Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Regent, and I would choose Disney over all of them, even at the considerably higher cost.

 

Our children are now 15, 14, and 9. Since we took our first Disney cruise, almost 5 years ago, my children choose land based vacations when we can't sail with Disney!

 

That said, Disney does have limited itineraries. We've now done all of their regular runs, as well as their Southern Caribbean special itinerary, and we are booked on their transatlantic repo this May. So, when we want to go some place *new,* we often have to avail ourselves of other cruise lines.

 

Disney also offers some amazing deals and promotions, you just have to watch for them as the company doesn't do much in the way of advertising. Currently, the third and fourth person in each cabin is just $99.00 for the May repo cruise!

 

I think, in the final analysis, deciding on which cruise to take comes down to knowing your family and their interests. We've had wonderful cruises on each line we've tried, we just prefer Disney.

 

If cost is a huge factor for your family, I think Carnival offers some of the best cruise values afloat, they also have varied and interesting itineraries!