Adding additional person...

cantontrebor

Earning My Ears
Joined
Oct 16, 2014
Messages
66
My son (college student) may not be able to go with us in June so we have not added him to our trip.

If he is able to go, is there a downside to adding him at the last minute to our reservation? We cruise in June and he may not know until school ends in May.

I'm itching to add him to the cruise but his summer work plans may be an issue.

Thanks in advance for any comments.
 
I assume that "to your reservation" means to your stateroom.
1. If you add him now and then cancel him out, its subject to the cancellation fees at the time.
2. If you wait to add him, you will be paying whatever the rate is at the time AND be subject to life boat availability. You can't add someone to a room if the lifeboat doesn't have the room.
 
adding a person "later on" sometimes can be an issue...
  • the earlier you add the person - the less expensive it can be - because the additional person is added at todays rate, and typically rates go up ... but you are talking sailing just a couple of months from now - so I don't know if that's an issue
  • there might not be lifeboat space for additional passengers later on - your stateroom is assigned to a lifeboat - and if it's full ...
  • if you try adding a "child" (under 18) later on, there might not be room in the club for that age group (not an issue for you here and now)
  • IMO - adding all possible people when you book the cruise is preferable - usually cheaper rate, lifeboat / kids club availability, etc. As long as you cancel BEFORE the Pay In Full Date - you are not out any money
  • If you add person after PIF date, you loose that money (based upon cancellation penalties) if cancelled later on
 
All above is correct.....I have been in the same situation...wanting to DD to join us but didn't know if she would be able to due to work. I bet and lost. I finally added her and then she could not go....lost the money on her fare as it was beyond the cancellation period.

Another time a family member could not go at the last minute (2 weeks before) and we were able to do a name change for $50. Our friend came instead. My TA got it all worked out and saved my friend so much money as she did not have to pay the prevailing rate but just paid me what I had laid out for the original family member going. We booked opening day so the savings were significant since the price went up over $1,000.

MJ
 

I think it's always easier to book someone in the beginning and then cancel then try and add them on to a reservation in the future. Depending how full your cruise is, it may be too late to add. You can always call and see if it's still possible. Good luck!
 
If he is able to go, is there a downside to adding him at the last minute to our reservation?

As others have mentioned... the longer you wait, you may not be able to add him to your stateroom; even if your stateroom has an available bed, there may not be space in the lifeboat. DCL staterooms allow for flexibility with families, so there are more bed spaces available on the ship than lifeboat spots -- and DCL refuses to sell all beds for that reason.

Other considerations:
  • Adding a person later will be at prevailing rates. If you booked well in advance and it's a popular cruise, the fare could have increased considerably even for a 3rd or 4th passenger.
  • You may need to change dining time.
  • You may not be able to add the extra person to shore excursions if sold out.
  • It's much easier to remove a passenger than to add; but you do run the risk of losing fare due to penalty if cancelling close to the cruise date.
  • If you add someone early who needs to back out last-minute, you should be able to change the name for a much smaller fee than the penalty and bring a different guest.
Enjoy your cruise!
 
You might be able to get trip insurance (third party insurance, not DCL) for your son. Due to the short time frame, it might be more expensive, but it as also high risk for you, so it might be worth the cost. Couldn't hurt to at least call one of the big companies and get a quote. We used Allianz. They were very helpful explaining all the options of what could be covered (cancelling for which reasons) and what each option costs. We had a member of our party who might have had to cancel at the last minute, so it was well worth it for us.

If you find the cost reasonable, then you can go ahead and add him right away, and if he has to cancel, you'll be covered.

One final note, sometimes the "covered for any reason" doesn't pay 100%, but 75-80%, but it could still be worth it, depending on the details.
 
I have the same exact issue and Disney informed me that there is also the concern of the cruise being sold out. If the cruise is fully booked, even though there is space in the stateroom, there may not be space on the cruise.
 
I have the same exact issue and Disney informed me that there is also the concern of the cruise being sold out. If the cruise is fully booked, even though there is space in the stateroom, there may not be space on the cruise.
The questions that must be answered if someone wants to add an additional person to a reservation are:
1) Is there space in the room for them? (Can't put 4 people in a 3 person room).
2) Is there space in the lifeboat for that room? (Not all rooms assigned to any given lifeboat will have all their beds occupied).
3) Is there space in the appropriate kid's club? (if applicable).

If the answer is "no" to ANY of these, then you can't add another person to the reservation. It may be possible to change room location and add them (at today's cost for that new person), if the problem is the lifeboat capacity for the boat assigned to the original room.
 

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