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How To Book Two Cruise Cabins For the Price of One

Do you want to know how to book two cruise cabins for the price of one? You’ve come to the right place! Shhh…don’t tell the cruise lines I’m letting you in on this secret.

Two Cruise Cabins for the Price of One

Cruises have quickly become our family’s favorite vacations. From the excursions to the free, endless food… we love everything about them!

Except for one thing… the horrendously small cruise cabin rooms.

Fortunately, I have found that if you are traveling with just 2 people, then the rooms aren’t so bad if you make good use of the space.

However… if your party consists of at least 4 or more people… you can actually get TWO cruise cabins for the exact (or even less) same price as booking ONE room?

I’m going to show you exactly how to do that, and how easy it really is.

This is the secret that most cruise lines do not want you to know!

Also read: 25 Must Pack Items For Every Cruise

How Cruise Lines Charge You

What most people don’t realize is that cruise lines do not charge you per room as most hotels or resorts do. They actually charge you per person, based on what kind of room you are getting.

For example, let’s say a balcony room is $1,000 and an interior room is only $500.

If you put 2 people in a balcony room, it will cost you $2,000 total. But if you put the same 2 people in an interior room, it will cost you $1,000. You get the same food options and the same amenities onboard the cruise ship. You’re just paying for a nicer room.

So that’s all fine and dandy if you are traveling with just 2 people.

But what if there are 4 people traveling in your group? Then the prices would look a little like this:

4 people in a balcony room would cost you $4,000, while 4 people in an interior room would cost you $2,000.

So basically it’s the exact same room, but you are actually paying more based on how many people you cram into them. And trust me, 4 people in a cruise ship cabin is NOT fun.

Most people assume you have to book a room to accommodate your family size. And that’s what the cruise ships want you to think too…

So How Do I Get Two Rooms For the Price of One?

It’s honestly this simple…

If you have 4 or more people in your party, you book 2 rooms.

While 4 people crammed into one room would be $4,000, 4 people spread out into two different rooms would be… wait for it… $4,000. As previously stated, you pay PER PERSON, not PER ROOM.

So when you think about it this way, why on earth would anyone not want two cruise cabins for the price of one?

What If I’m Traveling with Kids?

No problemo! We actually discovered this secret when traveling with two adults, a 9-year-old and a 10-year-old.

Here’s what we did…

We booked two rooms. One balcony room and one interior room. The rooms were booked by putting one adult and one kid in each room (you need someone 18 or over in each room to book).

HOWEVER… even though we booked the rooms that way, the two adults slept in the balcony room and the two kids slept in the interior room.

Before you freak out and think I had our kids in a different part of the ship, hear me out. The way cruise ship cabins are laid out is that the balcony rooms are all on the outside of the hallways but the interior rooms are right across the hallway from the balcony rooms.

So even though our kids were in the interior room, they were actually directly across the hall from each other. Our door literally faced their door.

So price-wise… It was 2 people at the balcony rate ($1,000 each) and two people at the interior rate ($500 per person). Which brought our grand total to $3,000. If we had crammed all 4 of us into the balcony room (yikes!) it would have cost us $4,000.

Seems like a no brainer, huh?

cruise ship cabins for cheap

What if I’m traveling with YOUNG kids?

Let’s say you are cruising with 2 or more very young kids and they just can’t stay in a room by themselves. You can still use this strategy!

Most balcony rooms that are side by side have a shared door. So you can book 2 rooms right next to each other and just keep the door open. Then it basically becomes a 2 bedroom cabin!

And the bonus part is, you have 2 bathrooms and double the closet space.

How this prices out:

2 adults and 2 kids in one balcony room = $4,000

2 adults in one room and 2 kids in another room = $4,000

So really… why would you NOT book two rooms if traveling with 4 or more people?

Getting Two Cruise Cabins For The Price of One

This strategy may not seem earth-shattering but time and time again I see families of 4 (sometimes even 5!) crammed into one cruise ship cabin because the cruise line wants you to think that’s your only option.

In reality, no one should ever have that many people in one cruise room if they can get a second room and pay the exact same price (or less!). But of course, the cruise companies won’t tell you this because they lose money that way.

Happy cruising!

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Two cruise cabins for the price of one

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15 Comments

  1. I’m missing something here. You stated “Most balcony rooms that are side by side have a shared door. So you can book 2 rooms right next to each other and just keep the door open. Then it basically becomes a 2 bedroom cabin!” and then gave the example showing it would be two rooms for $4,000. How can you book 2 adjoining balcony rooms for a total of $4000 if the price for one balcony room is $4000? Even if kids under 18 travel free, the lines won’t let you book a room for just them for free. TIA for explaining.

    1. Because you pay PER PERSON, so if you have 4 people traveling and stick them all in one room, you pay $4000 ($1000 per person). But if you split them into 2 rooms, you still pay $4000… because it’s still the same amount of people. The way to book this is to book one adult and one child in each room. Hopefully, that makes sense!

  2. Excellent post! However, if you’re traveling with young kids, why not just not worry about adjoining rooms and keep 1 adult and 1 child in 1 room, and 1 adult and 1 child in the other? Then it doesn’t matter where they are, or if they’re adjoining, or anything else. No judgment for your family, but I wouldn’t leave anyone under about 12 y.o. in a room by themselves, no matter where they were on the ship. My kids would freak out if someone knocked on the door from room service, or housekeeping, or something. Or if they had some emergency or something…Idk, just me.

    1. I totally understand! And I think it’s up to each individual family. My kids have been traveling their whole lives and don’t freak out about that kind of stuff. We also are always together so if they are in their room, we are in ours. This means if someone knocks on their door, we can hear it from our room and open our door to see who is there. It’s also about talking to your kids and teaching them how to use the phone, how to lock the door, and how to hang a ‘do not disturb’ sign. If you think about it, being across the hall is no different then being in different rooms across a house. If there is an emergency, we are only steps away!

  3. Hello. What if you’re not traveling with kids and there are 4 adults? How can we get a balcony without paying $1000 for each person?

    1. Unfortunately, you’ll still need to pay the price per person. Unless 2 people are willing to stay in an interior cabin to save money.

      1. great article! If we are 2 families (3(2 adults+1 kid) and 2 adults) traveling together, can we book inside room for 4 and balcony for 1 and then sleep 2 adults in balcony room instead of 1? Provided family of 3 doesn’t mind inside room?

        1. Unfortunately not, rooms are based on double occupancy so you have to have at least 2 per room. But definitely put 3 people in the interior room to save money!

  4. Except it hardly ever works out this way. I’m curious which cruise line you do this one because the ones I’ve tried this with don’t work out. 3rd and 4th persons in a cabin are usually much cheaper. Like the one I just booked on Carnival they were only 309 each where the first 2 in the room were 1400 each. Trying your trick just about doubled my price.

    1. I have done this with both Carnival and Royal Caribbean. It largely depends on the room type but I recommend calling the cruise line directly, they always help me set it up!

  5. I would venture a guess that you would have to call them to do this. As I am trying to book a cruise for next February online and Carnival is charging PER ROOM not per person. Can you explain?

    1. How many people are you trying to book in each room? Honestly, I usually have much better results when I call the cruise line directly. They usually know about specials or on bard credits more than the website does!

      1. We are two adults and 3 young kids. We really want to book two rooms instead of one room for 5, but our friends say that if we book two rooms more expensive than one room. Is that true?

        1. Most likely your friend is wrong. I will say, it depends on the cruise line you choose as not all are the same. But when it comes to Princess, Carnival, or RC… you pay per person, not per room. So you won’t be paying more by spreading people out.

  6. So Im looking into booking 2 rooms for 4 people. My casino offers are better than any of the other members of my family. I am looking at putting my name on 1 room with 2 people and will also have to use my name on the 2nd room which in turn I will be booking that for 3 people (because my name will have to be on the booking for the offer) which still keeps it way cheaper than just using their names. Has anyone done this and if so, has it created any issues with me having my name attached and booked in 2 different cabins?

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