Quick check that I understand rules around changing reservations

[Rob1872]

OK, I THINK that I understand this, but since I've never actually had to make changes it is only what I've read in the past.

We are going on the Wish on Monday, and plan to book a March 2026 cruise while underway for the OBB discount.

For next week it will be myself, my wife, and son (18, will be 19 for the next cruise).

For the March 2026 cruise, the plan is my aunt (first time cruiser) will join us and my other son (who will be 21 at the time of the next cruise) and his girlfriend (also 21, first time cruiser).

We intend to book 3 cabins. One with my two sons, one with my wife and my son's girlfriend, and one with myself and my aunt so there is a Gold in each cabin (and I'm assuming that someone who was on the cruise where the OBB is used has to be in the cabin). For the actual cruise, my aunt will have a cabin, my son and girlfriend will have a cabin, and my wife and I will share our cabin with our 2nd son.

Here is the only thing that I'm uncertain of. My son's girlfriend can't 100% commit to coming this far out. If she were unable to come, I would want to cancel the 3rd cabin and move both of my sons into our cabin. I know that even if I have a cabin that can sleep 4, that we'd have to have lifeboat space to add a 3rd person into officially being in the cabin. (I'm willing to take that risk.) But what I'm not sure of is how the fare price would change. We'd be cancelling the 3rd cabin, removing the girlfriend as the 2nd guest in my "wife's" cabin, and wanting to replace the girlfriend with one son as the 2nd person and add the other son as the 3rd person in the cabin. I remember that at one point the fares stayed the same as the time of booking, but seem to remember that policy changed to current pricing. Other than the normal cancellation penalties on the 3rd cabin if we waited too late, are there any other name change fees, etc.?

Also, do I need anything other than my aunt and my son's girlfriend's name for the initial booking? Do they require birthdate, or any other personal info? We've all had Castaway Cay numbers for so long that I've forgotten what we did for the first cruise......

Thanks!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

OK, I THINK that I understand this, but since I've never actually had to make changes it is only what I've read in the past.

We are going on the Wish on Monday, and plan to book a March 2026 cruise while underway for the OBB discount.

For next week it will be myself, my wife, and son (18, will be 19 for the next cruise).

For the March 2026 cruise, the plan is my aunt (first time cruiser) will join us and my other son (who will be 21 at the time of the next cruise) and his girlfriend (also 21, first time cruiser).

We intend to book 3 cabins. One with my two sons, one with my wife and my son's girlfriend, and one with myself and my aunt so there is a Gold in each cabin (and I'm assuming that someone who was on the cruise where the OBB is used has to be in the cabin). For the actual cruise, my aunt will have a cabin, my son and girlfriend will have a cabin, and my wife and I will share our cabin with our 2nd son.

Here is the only thing that I'm uncertain of. My son's girlfriend can't 100% commit to coming this far out. If she were unable to come, I would want to cancel the 3rd cabin and move both of my sons into our cabin. I know that even if I have a cabin that can sleep 4, that we'd have to have lifeboat space to add a 3rd person into officially being in the cabin. (I'm willing to take that risk.) But what I'm not sure of is how the fare price would change. We'd be cancelling the 3rd cabin, removing the girlfriend as the 2nd guest in my "wife's" cabin, and wanting to replace the girlfriend with one son as the 2nd person and add the other son as the 3rd person in the cabin. I remember that at one point the fares stayed the same as the time of booking, but seem to remember that policy changed to current pricing. Other than the normal cancellation penalties on the 3rd cabin if we waited too late, are there any other name change fees, etc.?

Also, do I need anything other than my aunt and my son's girlfriend's name for the initial booking? Do they require birthdate, or any other personal info? We've all had Castaway Cay numbers for so long that I've forgotten what we did for the first cruise......

Thanks!

I believe the change was that any names being changed/moved to another room, will pay the current cost of the fare, not what they would have paid had they been in the new room on the original booking.

EDIT: One other thing, for the onboard booking, you don't book a specific cruise, only get a placeholder when booking onboard. And you're limited to 2 rooms (that will get the discount) per household address.

 

[Rob1872]

Bummer, I knew that a person could only do 2 placeholders, but had assumed that if there were 3 of us on the cruise that we could each do one. Thanks for the clarification!

 

[i18mulan]

There is no fee for a name change. And you can book a sailing without giving an actual name. I booked one before my daughter was born, hence no name yet and no date of birth. It says TBD and my last name on the booking details.

What I would probably do in your situation is put an extra person in your wife’s cabin (3 guests). Of course you would have to pay the deposit for that extra guest. But I would rather do that than pay the current price for the 3rd person if I end up cancelling the 3rd cabin. It’s easier to cancel, than to add. Also use the 2 placeholders for yours and your wife’s cabins.

 

[RedHead0186]

Bummer, I knew that a person could only do 2 placeholders, but had assumed that if there were 3 of us on the cruise that we could each do one. Thanks for the clarification!

If you're all at the same address, then no. If one of you is at a different address, then they can also book 1 or 2 rooms for a placeholder.