mom2mybugs

Similar experience, we frequently travel with extended family and have young ones that our extended family (graciously) help watch after bedtime.  We also tend to prefer suites when possible.  This leads to a scenario where only certain rooms can really serve our preferences perfectly so we book far in advance. In the past we had difficulty adding even a newborn to a reservation after the fact due to timing and (we assume) muster limitations.  That cruise ended up being a COVID casualty so it ultimately did not matter.
More recently we were planning for a cruise (Jan 2025) where we anticipate having a 1 year old.  When making the reservation we worked with MEI and agreed the best solution was to place a reservation for the yet-unborn infant.  Currently the reservation is under the name of "Place Holder [Last Name]."  Once we have name and birthdate we will swap in the new identifiers.  Obviously for people booking more than 9 months out situations can change but I would recommend always adjusting your reservation ASAP because there can be situations where your room may not be able to accommodate additional people even if the stateroom theoretically has the space.  
As an aside, my wife has already vetoed naming the kid "Place Holder." 

A thread for this very specific scenario that I could not find anywhere else on this blog but has to happen a lot 😅
My husband and I are part of a group of eight who booked Icon of the Seas back on Black Friday 2022 for December 2024. We booked and Ocean View Balcony knowing that it accommodated 4 as we assumed we may have our first baby by the time our cruise rolled around. Fast forward to the present and that will be the case! Little girl will be 7 months old in December 2024. She will meet 6 month requirement and we will have no more than two consecutive sea days.
Now to the fun part... making sure the unborn baby is added to our reservation. I called RC because of course there is not a way to book her online and was first told that our stateroom did not accomodate 4 and the room that we paid to select was going to have to be moved away from our family on deck 14 to deck 9--and for a price difference of over $3,500. My stomach dropped. I asked to speak to a supervisor because I was looking at the deck plan and it said accommodates 4 like we had planned. Within 15 minutes from asking for a supervisor a pack-and-play was added to our existing room and we were told it would only be taxes & fees of $168 to add her. The catch-- we would need to call back and give a DOB when she was born. This obviously made me nervous because that did not secure her anything and I was worried about occupancy. I called back today to just give them a birthday from this year that I can update before sailing. They tried to give me the same change fee of over $3,500. I asked to speak to a supervisor again who reviewed our conversation from yesterday, honored the taxes only cost, and got her booked. We also paid the $250 deposit for her. All that to say if you are trying to add an unborn baby after you've booked your trip always:
1) Start your call with saying you just would like to add a newborn. If you want to book for a future birthday they will say that you need to call back and then nothing is guaranteed which stresses this expecting mom out. Be prepared with an anticipated name and a current birthday (I just back dated her due date a year). 
2) Call during a Kids Sail Free promo for your booked cruise. I was able to pull up a ghost booking and show it was only processing the taxes & fees for her for our sailing date. 
3) Ask to speak to a supervisor. I find the general customer service is just stuck plugging in numbers and don't really solve issues. As much as RC will money grab, they do not want to jeopardize entire families not boarding because of a crazy price disparity. 
4) Be overly pleasant and always mention you're traveling with a group/family/other bookings. They don't want four ocean balconies cancelled because the first grandbaby can't go anymore lol 
 
Hopefully this helps someone because I know this made me panic for a few months and now that I bit the bullet I feel much better. Happy sailing!

Hi Lisa! congrats on booking your first cruise!
To make it simple - no you do not HAVE to purchase anything extra. It is entirely possible to pay nothing additional when on a cruise and have a fantastic time.
Free (aka included food) is available in:
the Main Dining Room Buffet Cafe Promenade (a cafe with small bites) the Pizza place(Sorrentos) and other ship-specific places like el loco fresh, mini bites, boardwalk dogs Free beverages are going to be at these places as well and generally include:
water lemonade hot tea iced tea various from-concentrate juices basic coffee  
There are additional For Charge restaurants and attendance at these are completely optional. These tend to include the steak house, mexican, sushi, Italian places onboard. If you are interested in trying but want to save money, all of them offer lunch menus that are significantly cheaper than the dinners.
Beverages that will cost you extra are, obviously, any alcohol or mocktails, and any starbucks or specialty coffee (lattes, mochas, etc), and the Soda. Yes, the soda requires at bare minimum the Classic Soda Package (between $8-10/day online and $15/day onboard) because the soda machine requires a chip in the bottom of the package cup to work. No package - no cup - no soda. BUT you CAN bring on your OWN soda! "12 standard (17 oz.) cans, bottles or cartons per stateroom."
You can also bring on your own wine or champagne - 1 bottle per adult per room.

I have two years to go. Making my sign next year.

Oh this retirement thing...
I've been thusly blessed for 8 years now, and my Wife 7 years. 
I am crazy busy.  How did I ever get things done when I was working?
And the pet thing?  Even a dumb ol' cat.  We had a person stay in our house whenever we were away, just to babysit the cat.  We lost her this year and we miss her so much.😍  My Wife nearly brought one home yesterday.  The only reason she didn't,  the person at a traveling pet adoption agency didn't have the cat in question, with her.  It will happen.  In the meantime, travel is certainly easier without a pet. 

I’m with @steverk…highly recommend retirement and cruising!  I retired in 2019 so I could spend my time caring for my Mom (with dementia) and also helping out with my 5 grandkids.  Oh…and planning cruise vacations somewhere in between!  It’s been a crazy 4 years…much more busy than it was while working!  
But now it’s slowing down…very sadly my Mom passed away in late September and my 5 grandkids are all almost old enough to not need me 😔!  
Which means now I have time for myself and my husband!   We have many vacations planned for the next 2 years…both land and sea!  
Love 💕 Retirement……..

I'm sorry to hear about your dog, @twangster
We are fortunate enough that one of our daughter's is nearby and is always willing to let our spoiled pup stay with her whenever we are away. (He's too much of a baby to for us to consider a kennel.)
She also stops in to check in on the cats to make sure they're not starving. (They're never starving, not matter how much chattering they do about the food bowl when she walks in the door.)
I do hope everyone's dog's stay healthy and happy. After all, dogs are MUCH better than most people!

Very sad, I feel terrible for you. Our beagle buddy passed 2 plus years ago. Devastating. We finally got a new beagle last spring Cooper. It's brutal losing a pet. Again I'm very sorry. 

Lost my dog to a respiratory illness recently.  Progressed very quickly.  Had him in boarding for a cruise and less than a week later he was gone.  
It's not just media hype.  

Oh I hate but am so glad to see this thread. Our vet is sending emails and cancelling pets with Santa over this illness.  I am panicking!   We have covered our weekend in Jan with a friend but I'm totally freaking over March and June!  Jane

I have at least 5 years to go, maybe 10, but it is so fun to see 15-29 day cruises offered!!!   Gotta have something to get us through the long Midwest winter!!!!!   Jane

I have at least 5 years to go, maybe 10, but it is so fun to see 15-29 day cruises offered!!!   Gotta have something to get us through the long Midwest winter!!!!!   Jane

I have at least 5 years to go, maybe 10, but it is so fun to see 15-29 day cruises offered!!!   Gotta have something to get us through the long Midwest winter!!!!!   Jane

Yeah it is a struggle.  We normally could have our daughter watch our schnauzers, but she got a dog that doesn't like other doggies!  Jane

I have at least 5 years to go, maybe 10, but it is so fun to see 15-29 day cruises offered!!!   Gotta have something to get us through the long Midwest winter!!!!!   Jane

Yeah it is a struggle.  We normally could have our daughter watch our schnauzers, but she got a dog that doesn't like other doggies!  Jane

Sadly, pet care complicates long cruises during retirement. If you anticipate extensive travel, avoid getting a new pet. Or move next to a family with responsible kids...

we are right there at 4 years. But we have been lucky enough to have good vacation benefits. So have done a lot of cruises the last couple of years. 

We lost our fur baby back in June. Six months on and I'm still devastated. We won't be getting another. It's just too painful when you have to say goodbye. 🥺
But I agree that we would never be away for more than two weeks at a time when we had her.

Six years to go.  Just moved to Margaritaville in anticipation.  

8 still for me, but being under 10 is a win!!

Retired 2 years ago.  I highly recommend it 

I echo your thoughts! Just under 4 years for me. The countdown is on! 😂

I have at least 5 years to go, maybe 10, but it is so fun to see 15-29 day cruises offered!!!   Gotta have something to get us through the long Midwest winter!!!!!   Jane

I have at least 5 years to go, maybe 10, but it is so fun to see 15-29 day cruises offered!!!   Gotta have something to get us through the long Midwest winter!!!!!   Jane