Why Letting Kids Cruise for Free is a Great Idea

I began my cruise travels before I was even two years old, and my parents enjoyed a very nice discount off my third fare. However, I was still not entirely free, which would have been the best case scenario then, but at least it’s becoming a smarter one now.

At the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s, it was more common for those under 12 to sail at a rate of around half the lowest fare, still a steal to be sure. It also helped that I was an only child and my parents were super passionate about cruising that they were intent on sharing it with me.

The industry should be glad they did because now I'm a coveted millennial with a hundred plus sailings under my belt and a widespread loyalty towards a vast collection of brands. Just as I grew up with Disneyland nearly in my backyard with an affinity for all things Disney now as well, my love for cruising burns stronger today than ever before.

On the horizon, in order to be looking to the next generation, cruise lines should be keeping it up, and thankfully they are. Some of the otherwise higher priced luxury lines are following suit, Crystal Cruises included. In fact, Crystal was one of the lines my parents and I once frequented in my younger days as a discounted child. Now, the company is taking it a step further with entirely free passage for kids 17 and younger on select voyages.

Meanwhile, children under 12 on any Hapag-Lloyd Cruises luxury voyage are always free, and those up to 15 are discounted as well. Cunard Line is another higher end cruise company to let its youngest travel aboard for free.

Among standard mainstream lines, MSC Cruises is another one of the most generous for offering complimentary rates for kids under 12 on select sailings. Also, keep an eye out for specials for free passage for third and fourth guests, sometimes regardless of age, from companies such as Holland America Line, Norwegian Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International.

The brilliance in these programs is undeniable. By getting children invested in cruising from a young age, cruise lines are bound to make loyalists of them sooner than later. Especially at a time when companies most seek to attract those who have never cruised before, it’s far easier to introduce them to their products much earlier on.

If anything, the question is: Why is this policy not more common across the board? Certainly, the cruise lines want to make as much money as possible, but most children are thirds and fourths in a cabin with parents paying the full double occupancy for plenty of profitability, not to mention ancillary sales made from them all. Those third and fourth passengers are the cruise lines’ future full paying customers. Thus this should be an easy solution to sustaining the industry now and into the future.

Luxury cruise lines are the wisest to realize this already since their demographics are aging the most. They will need to replenish their markets from somewhere sooner than other segments, and, provided their youthful travelers become wealthy enough, they too will be able to come aboard as full paying adults when they’re older.

The challenge to travel agents now is to be on the lookout for opportunities to book large families onboard because the future of their livelihoods depends on it as well.

In the meantime, my crystal ball tells me that it’s likely you’ll see more and more cruise lines jump on the bandwagon to book children at much-reduced rates if not entirely free accordingly.

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