What cruise lines are the cheapest for Infants?

[alba216]

I was about to order my Tickets for the Valor this September, when the TA told me that my 11 month will be charged full price. Do all companies do this? Which Cruise offer the best prices, Thanks All

[eetonaee]

I was about to order my Tickets for the Valor this September, when the TA told me that my 11 month will be charged full price. Do all companies do this? Which Cruise offer the best prices, Thanks All

 

You can forget Royal Caribbean. They are not allowing children under 12 months on future sailings.

[Morgsmom]

Disney has really low (port only) charges for the littlest of ones, though I am not sure at which age they can start sailing.

[kitty9]

You can forget Royal Caribbean. They are not allowing children under 12 months on future sailings.

 

 

Not at all correct. RCI has a new rule that children must be 6 months to cruise unless it's a trans-ocean cruise or other exotic itineraries such as South America---for those cruises the child must be age 1. But for any other itineraries, the child can be 6 months.

 

Check NCL---they have many itineraries that only charge port fees and taxes.

[can786]

Princess charges the full 3rd/4th passenger rates for infants, so they are probably not for you. I don't know if Holland America interests you at all but they sometimes offer special rates for the 3rd and 4th passengers.

[smeyer418]

NCL on all its itineraries charges taxes and port fees only for under 2.

 

 

The 12 month rule varies by cruise even on RC some have a 6 month limit and the funny thing is the baby that started the uproar would have been allowed since it was 7 months old..on that particular voayge.

[silentbob007]

Basically the baby takes one of the allocated berths on the ship, which is why most lines charge ... they can't have another passenger that would pay that same amount. You would also be expected to tip the full amount for your baby.

[CruisnGram]

To my knowledge, NCL is the only cruise line that does not charge a fare for infants under 2 years old. Only port charges and taxes are paid.

[smeyer418]

Basically the baby takes one of the allocated berths on the ship, which is why most lines charge ... they can't have another passenger that would pay that same amount. You would also be expected to tip the full amount for your baby.

 

 

Not accurate---its very rare that a ship is truly full. In fact most of the time its not full until its at 140% of lower berth capacity- which doesn't happen very often.

 

Also the recommended amount to tip for a child under 12 on most(but not all cruise lines) is 1/2. NCL in fact doesn't charge its daily service charge under 2. That doesn't mean you shouldn't tip and I also agree that its as much work for the stewards but its not that much work for the servers.

[bobnatt]

Basically the baby takes one of the allocated berths on the ship, which is why most lines charge ... they can't have another passenger that would pay that same amount. You would also be expected to tip the full amount for your baby.

 

If you have an infant in your cabin the infant will hardly take an "allocated berth" that another passenger would take. With that said I believe that many cruise lines charge for infants to discourage folks from bringing them. Nothing more annoying than a screaming baby at the table next to yours in the dining room...

[phoenix1181]

You might want to post on the Family Board. They're much more child friendly :D and know the ins and outs of cruising with children.

[spongerob]

If it's just the two of you, you can expect to pay full price for the second berth. If baby is a 3rd passenger, shop around because different cruise lines have different rules.

[silentbob007]

Not accurate---its very rare that a ship is truly full. In fact most of the time its not full until its at 140% of lower berth capacity- which doesn't happen very often.

 

Also the recommended amount to tip for a child under 12 on most(but not all cruise lines) is 1/2. NCL in fact doesn't charge its daily service charge under 2. That doesn't mean you shouldn't tip and I also agree that its as much work for the stewards but its not that much work for the servers.

 

See ... that's what I get for posting what I"ve "learned" on these boards without first-hand experience. :D

[firefly333]

Disney often has $99 fares for the children, not just because they are an infant. Of course passengers 1 and 2 have higher fares. They also have a baby pool for the diaperied babies. I think only Freedom of the Seas for RCL has a pool for the babies that are not trained.

 

Everyone says Disney is so expensive, but we had found a date for $599 for the adults, but the children were more than usual. Check for all passengers on Disney and book as soon as the prices come out.

[Aunty KK]

No first hand experience but I heard from fellow travelers a couple years ago that Costa doesn't charge for infants. They were doing a multigenerational family cruise and chose Costa because of the favorable rates and the family friendliness.

[boating girl]

You will enjoy your cruise more if you take a Disney cruise which is geared toward children and families. I love children and have small grandchildren but would not take an infant. You can't control crying, etc. and this disturbs other passengers.

[purplefrogs]

On Carnival last year we did have to pay 3rd person full fare for my 20 month old. However the gratuity is not charged for passengers under 2.