When couples have a child, the race is on to gather the funds and book a vacation before that child turns two years old. In many facets of the travel industry, children under two years old are at least at a reduced rate, if not free. With MSC Cruises expanding beyond Europe, the urgency may no longer be there to book that big vacation, at least when it comes to a luxury Caribbean cruise.
For the 2013-14 cruise season, MSC Cruises has positioned one ship, the MSC Divina, out of Miami, Florida. Divina is a nearly brand new ship and one of the largest on the high seas today. Despite being in the Caribbean, Divina retains its European sophistication. What it also retains is the MSC Cruises policy regarding pricing when it comes to children. With MSC, children 11 and under cruise for free!
Of course, there are still taxes to be paid on each child. Of course, the children must be accompanied by adults and stay in the same stateroom. However, I know you’re asking and I wondered myself: Does the cruise company get you by jacking up fees for adults or adding on service charges?
To prove that MSC Cruises should definitely be considered when planning a family cruise, we’ve put together a case study of three different cruise lines embarking on seven night Western Caribbean cruises from Florida on May 10, 2014. It should be noted that in this case study, MSC, considered a premium cruise line, is being compared with Carnival and Royal Caribbean, two cruise lines that are ranked a step below as contemporary cruise lines.
We’ve created an arbitrary family of four, including two adults aged 45 and 29, along with two children aged 10 and 9. Duke Stallion is 45 and he met his wife Anastasia Stallion while she was on the job. Stallion is not her maiden name and neither is Anastasia, if you know what I mean. The children include Armand, Duke and Anastasia’s ten year old son and Chastity, their nine year old daughter.
All prices are in U.S. Dollars. All prices are current as of Saturday, February 1, 2014 and are subject to change at anytime without notice. Availability is also subject to change without notice. In each case, we’ve taken the lowest possible price which means our family is staying in an inside cabin.
MSC Divina – MSC Cruises
The Cruise
Divina embarks on her seven night Western Caribbean cruise from Miami, Florida at 7pm on Saturday, May 10, 2014. The ship returns to Miami for 7am on Saturday, May 17. Along the way, Divina makes four port calls.
First up is Falmouth, Jamaica on Monday, May 12 from 9am to 5pm. The following day, Divina stops at Georgetown, Grand Cayman and is docked from 8am to 4pm. On Wednesday, May 14, the ship is in port at Cozumel, Mexico from 10am to 6pm. The final stop is at Great Stirrup Cay in the Bahamas on Friday, May 16 from 8am to 5pm.
The Price
The lowest priced stateroom on board MSC Divina currently will run the adults $936.05 each, including taxes. The children pay just $137.05 each, all in taxes. An inside stateroom for our four cruisers comes to a total of $2,146.20, including taxes.
The Ship
MSC Divina made her maiden voyage on May 27, 2012. She is a Fantasia Class ship and is quite large. The ship has a gross tonnage of 139,400 and is 333 metres or 1,093 feet in length. There are 13 decks accessible to the capacity 3,959 passengers. Typically, there are 1,325 crew members onboard.
Oasis of the Seas – Royal Caribbean
The Cruise
Oasis of the Seas embarks on her seven night Western Caribbean cruise from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida at 5pm on Saturday, May 10, 2014. The ship arrives back at Ft. Lauderdale for 6:15am on Saturday, May 17. Along the way, Oasis makes three port calls.
First stop is Labadee, Haiti, a private beach owned by Royal Caribbean since the 1980’s. Oasis is anchored off-shore from 8am to 5pm on Monday, May 12. The following day, the ship docks at Falmouth, Jamaica and remains from 10:30am to 7pm. The final port of call is Cozumel, Mexico on Thursday, May 15 from 8am to 7pm.
The Price
The price for our family of four is considerably more expensive on Oasis of the Seas. The adults will pay $992.86 each, including taxes. The children are a slightly reduced rate, paying $672.86 each, including taxes. The total cost for the inside stateroom is $3,331.44, including taxes.
The Ship
The largest cruise ship on the high seas, Oasis of the Seas made her maiden voyage for Royal Caribbean on December 5, 2009. She is one of two Oasis Class ships, along with Allure of the Seas.
Oasis has a massive gross tonnage of 225,282 and is 362 metres or 1,187 feet in length. There are 15 decks accessible to the capacity 5,400 passengers. There is a small town’s worth of crew members onboard at 2,394.
Carnival Sunshine – Carnival Cruise Lines
The Cruise
Carnival Sunshine embarks on her seven night Western Caribbean cruise from Port Canaveral, Florida at 4pm on Saturday, May 10, 2014. She arrives back at Port Canaveral on Saturday, May 17 at 8am. Along the way, the ship makes four port calls.
First stop is Cozumel, Mexico on Monday, May 12 from 10am to 6pm. Next up is Belize City on Tuesday, May 13 from 8am to 6pm. The following day, Sunshine stops off at Mahogany Bay on the Honduras island of Roatan. Mohogany Bay is a private beach owned by Carnival and the ship will be there from 9am to 6pm. The final stop is at Costa Maya, Mexico on Thursday, May 15 from 7am to 2pm.
The Price
For this case study, we’ll use the rates for Carnival’s Fun For All sale. There is also a Canadian Resident’s rate that is $30 cheaper per person but it’s, well, only for Canadians and not all potential customers.
For an inside stateroom, the adults will pay $790.13 each, including taxes. The children are fairly inexpensive at $310.13 each, including taxes. The result is the total for the stateroom comes to $2,200.52. This price is nearly as low as MSC but, remember, MSC is rated higher than Carnival and therefore should be a more valuable experience.
The Ship
Known as the Carnival Destiny until May, 2013, Carnival Sunshine made her maiden voyage way back on November 24, 1996. This Destiny Class ship is of decent size with a gross tonnage of 102,853. She is 272 metres or 893 feet in length and has 13 decks accessible to the capacity 3,006 passengers. There are typically 1,150 crew members onboard.
Well?
The advantage for a family with kids between 2 and 11 definitely goes to MSC Cruises. Of course, if you’re leaving the kids behind and money is tight, Carnival is probably your better choice. Oasis of the Seas, because it’s the largest, is something everyone should experience. It’s like having to climb Everest if you’re into mountain conquests. However, the most appealing itinerary to me is Carnival’s. It’s a Western Caribbean cruise and Carnival puts all ports of call as far west as they can.
