Charges for babies?!

[LIFERBABE]

My nephew is 18 months old and we are paying $140 in cruise fare and $148 in fees for a total of $288 for our 4d in Oct. If he were an adult we would pay $493 for him.

 

[BealsRwe]

We have been taking our daughter since she was 5 months old, on at least 1 DCL per year. There has always been a charge. The charge for fare for an infant is for port fees and taxes. In addition, there is a spot that must be reserved for them on the lifeboat. If you book a cruise excursion while on your cruise, watch the charges-if there is a boat involved, per US Coast Guard regulations, the infant must be charged for the excursion too. DCL reservations should be able to tell you the breakdown of charges.

 

[My4Men]

My daughter was 10 months old on her DCL trip back in 2003. I don't remember what we were charged for her, but I am pretty sure it was the port fees and taxes. At the time, there was a rash of comments on this board about why you'd have to tip the wait staff at dinner if the kids were not really eating much or people were bringing their own jar food, etc.....Well, I figured out on that first night why. They not only volunteered to heat up bottles or food, but they discovered her fondness for bread, bananas and the little cut up carrots and peas and every night when we got there, they had bread and a plate with a cut up banana ready for her and our friends daughter as well (who was five months older than my girl.) They let us order small portions of different foods for her to try and at the end of the first night, they read us the riot act because we were attempting to pick up all the food that she had dropped or thrown on the floor.

We tipped them for all of us PLUS more because I know they worked harder than they would have otherwise for my wee girl.

OP, I hope your friend has a great cruise with her wee baby. We had so much fun with ours!

Thank you!! We are excited!! And after I sent this thread to the other moms, they settled in with the thought. We were thrown because, as I'd mentioned, free in the resorts in Orlando really meant free. But I can see what everyone is explaining also. I knew I'd get some real answers on here! Thank you all!

 

[pearlieq]

You could also think about it this way:

1.) Baby (and/or their stuff) takes up a seat at the dining table, theater, and in the life boat.
2.) Baby likes to play in the Mickey ear!
3.) It sure helps having baby supplies like pack and plays, diaper genies, baby life jackets, changing tables, and seat slings. These all cost money.
4.) The baby is still a registered passenger and has to be accounted for, generating paperwork and administrative costs.

I can understand why someone would wonder about the charges, but like many have pointed out, DCL does do quite a bit to accommodate babies on board.

I hope you have a great trip!

 

[My4Men]

We have been taking our daughter since she was 5 months old, on at least 1 DCL per year. There has always been a charge. The charge for fare for an infant is for port fees and taxes. In addition, there is a spot that must be reserved for them on the lifeboat. If you book a cruise excursion while on your cruise, watch the charges-if there is a boat involved, per US Coast Guard regulations, the infant must be charged for the excursion too. DCL reservations should be able to tell you the breakdown of charges.

Thanks for that head's up too! I'll be SURE to pass that along!!

 

[smb6]

I definately get the frustration since the baby can not eat the food, sleep in the bed, swim in the pool, attend the kids clubs, ect.....
But it is what it is and I'm sure yall will have a great time!

 

[tjbaggott]

You could also think about it this way:

1.) Baby (and/or their stuff) takes up a seat at the dining table, theater, and in the life boat.
2.) Baby likes to play in the Mickey ear!
3.) It sure helps having baby supplies like pack and plays, diaper genies, baby life jackets, changing tables, and seat slings. These all cost money.
4.) The baby is still a registered passenger and has to be accounted for, generating paperwork and administrative costs.

I can understand why someone would wonder about the charges, but like many have pointed out, DCL does do quite a bit to accommodate babies on board.

I hope you have a great trip!

If the Mickey Ear you are talking about is the pool, then Nope, Baby can't play there. The whole Mickey Head pool is for kids who are potty trained only. There is a newer splash area now though where the tykes that aren't potty trained can splash away to their hearts content.