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Dining Package prices for Children that want to select from Main Menu, not Children's Menu


Spooky Tooth

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Has anyone experienced the problem of trying to book a Dining Package online through the Cruise Planner for a child at the adult price?

We live in Sydney, Australia and are cruising from Brisbane, Australia on Quantum in January 2023 and want to purchase the 3 Night Dining Package through the cruise planner for 2 adults and one child, however we want to pay the adult price for our 12 year old daughter because she wants to be able to order from the normal menu.  

The Cruise Planner does not provide the option to pay the adult price for a child.  The child's price is a lot less because they are only able to choose meals from the Children's Menu and not the normal menu.

We have been told that it is possible to pay the adult price for our daughter, however we can only do this when we get onboard the ship.

The problem with this is that by waiting and paying onboard we are not entitled to the discount that is offered by paying through the Cruise Planner.  This will result in us paying for 2 adults through the Cruise Planner at the discounted rate of $179 AUD and having to pay the onboard non-discounted price of $233 AUD for our daughter which works out at $54 more.

Has anyone else experienced this problem and have any suggestions as to how we can avoid paying extra for our daughter.

This is an anomaly that Royal Caribbean need to address.  There should be an option on the Cruise Planner to enable a child to be paid for at the adult rate so they can choose meals from the normal menu.  It would not be hard for Royal Caribbean to do.  I'm sure there are a lot of 12 year olds that do not want to eat from the children's menu.

 

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I tend to get stressed out about this kinda of thing too, but I think your best bet is to just book the dining package as a child for your daughter and not worry about it.  They will likely just give her the adult menu anyway.  If not, have her order from the adult menu.  Basically, just play dumb. 

In the unlikely event that they push her towards the children's menu, just mention that has been no issue with your daughter ordering from the adult menu in the main dining room, so you don't understand why this is a problem now.

To be honest, I don't think the wait staff is going to care.  They just want you to be happy and for you to give them a "10" on the survey.  Making your daughter sad isn't going to keep you happy and certainly won't make you want to rate them a "10".

If you feel a little guilty about it, do what an American would do—add a little extra tip at the end to partly make up for the "deal" you just got.

If I'm totally wrong and you do need to talk to the customer service folks onboard to "upgrade", I think you have a very good argument to just pay the difference between the price you paid for your daughter, and the price you paid. Bring a copy of the email receipt.  But I doubt things will get that far.

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From the Cruise Planner page on UDP:

Quote

Child pricing applies to children between the ages of 6-12. Children ages 0-5 are complimentary. Children must order from the kids menu. 

Not sure if this means "Pay for Children's UDP, and order from the kids menu"? 

The FAQ question here says, 

Quote

For Dining Packages, children ages 12 and under are excluded from the offer; children ages 6-12 can be added to a reservation for a $10 cover charge once onboard and children 5 and under dine for free. 

Still confused.

  • If I pay for the Children's UDP (age 6-12), can they order from the Adult menu? Or only the kids menu? 
  • If I opt out of Children's UDP, I pay $10 for my 6-year old? And they order from the kids menu?
  • Children under 5 are complimentary - do they order from the kids menu?
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9 hours ago, MattG said:

 

The FAQ question here says, 

 

The FAQ is likely from before you could buy them dining packages.

If you are paying for your child at time of dining, i think it is going to be a YMWV situation.  On Oasis last year my wife and I had a 3 night dining package.  We did not buy a package for our 12 year old, because she was only interested in Chops.  She ordered off the adult menu, and was charged the adult price.  Same thing at the steakhouse on Celebrity Edge, except none of us had a package nor did we book ahead of time.

 

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