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Weird Question - Booking a bun in the oven


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While on Adventure of the Seas in April 2016, my extended family and I booked a cruise for Harmony in late April of 2018. My wife and I somewhat recently discovered that we're expecting our second child in December of this year (yay us!), but we're now also thinking about the cruise next year. I think with the new kid being 4-5 months, it will certainly be pushing it as far as how young I think we should travel, but also wondering if anyone has been through the booking process in a similar situation before. The final payment will be due only a month and a bit after the little one arrives, so I'd like to have some sort of game plan in place so that we don't have to rely on our new parent/zombie brains in December/January to figure this out. Should I give a heads up to the cruise line? It would be nice to take advantage of the "Kids Sail Free" promo currently going on, but I'm pretty I can't book someone with a date of birth in the future... Just looking for ideas...

Thanks!

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Royal's policy says guests can be no younger than 6 months (12 months on certain sailings).

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&faqId=309&faqSubjectId=334

Outside of that restriction you can always put placeholder names on your reservation and change them later.  This is a good tip for many uncertain situations too, as you can lock in a low price.

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Just a note based on my own experience. Let's say you are trying for a kid or know one is on the way but don't have a name or don't want to divulge a name for a sailing in the future.

Your best bet is to use someone else's name.  Changing names is easy and does not incur a new fare, whereas adding someone later on can incur a new fare.

One time I used my mom's name and then when my daughter was born, changed it to my daughter.

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I think there's a podcast episode in here somewhere @Matt - What to Expect when you are Expecting - Cruising Edition.

I (and my wife of course) were in a somewhat similar position. Our sailing date - booked 12 months in advance - was slightly after the 24th week of pregnancy, resulting in us choosing to bring forward our cruise date. As this was an inter-generational cruise, we had to re-negotiate for a credit for deposits already paid for other family members. We also required a Doctor's certificate confirming how many weeks pregnant my wife was.

Anyways, just thought there might be some material for a podcast :)

Also, congrats @Great_Canadian...

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I would definitely recommend a medical certificate for anyone who finds themselves in this position. You'd hate to be turned away at embarkation. The cut-off is if a woman reaches the 24th week at anytime during the cruise. The RCI policy states 'no cruising for you' if this is the case.

You could possibly get through the embarkation process without any staff realising (or asking, for fear of causing offence), but if any misfortune befalls you onboard, you leave yourself open to loss of insurance and who-knows-what other legal surprises?

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