Anyone every had this problem?

[cruisinisforme]

I do think RCCL should take some resposibility, when you go through the check in process and tell them a card is not authorized for use, then no one should be allowed to charge on it. Like I said in an earlier post, we also learned the hard way with my friends daughter when we went. The exact same thing, told them not to authorize charges and they did anyway, but thankfully she caught it in time. And again, we just got off the Mariner two weeks ago, and the same thing happened again, told them no charges, they activated it anyway, and this time she brought a friend with her so it was double trouble.

 

You MUST go to guest realtions and tell them what you want or it does not get done. The other thing is, in my friends case she opened two cash accounts for the girls so once they reached their limit, RCCL let her know and she could replenish the account. If you do not want your children to have any spending at all, my suggestion is to just go and get an extra room key, there is no charging on it and all they can do is get in the room!

[rotu]

We were on the Mariner in June and this very same thing happened to a family we met at the Meet and Mingle. His eleven year old son ran up $400.00 in charges at the arcade. He was buying games for everyone. They went to the pursers desk and pulled the card authorizing charges. As soon as the purser saw that the son was not authorized to charge, they gave them a full refund. On this same cruise our seventeen year old tablemate stole his dad's seapass card and bought everyone drinks all night long. RCI did not throw them off the ship, because they were embarrassed that a kid was able to buy rounds for everybody and no one thought to check his ID.

[Skipgil]

IMHO OP made it our "business" by telling her story. And some posters, myself included, seem to think at least part of the "blame" lies with allowing a 9-year-old to be unsupervised for lengthy periods on a cruise ship and/or not teaching the child appropriate spending habits beforehand. Let's hope all parties learn some lessons from this.

 

My statement was that the OP was about the fact that she and her husband were misled by the fact that her daughter's card was indeed activated.

 

Go rant and rave on the Solarium post about kids running the ship. It is the parents responsibility...NO DOUBT. But lay off this woman and learn from her mistake AND the mistake that the steward made in the first place.

 

It's not our place to judge or criticize this woman.

[Annieeee]

This is a little OT, but am wondering why the internet charge is only .25 cents a minute in AO? It is .50 cents a minute at the internet center on the ship. So I wonder if I (an adult) can go to the AO anduse the computers there??

 

Annieeee

[threeofus]

The lesson to be learned by all is that we should all check our accounts periodically - you can see your account on the tv.

 

If the OP had checked at day 2 - she would have caught the mistake in time.

 

Sorry for the situation. Sounds like a tough spot to be in...a little bit of blame everywhere. Not sure if the 9 year old really understood what she was doing.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Not sure if the 9 year old really understood what she was doing.

 

Yet, her parents thought she could have the run of the ship :confused: :confused: There's something wrong with this picture!

 

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[justaknucklehead]

These are a perfect example of people who don't watch their kids. They didn't realize what she was doing in AO and didn't really care, probably. I think they got what they deserved.

[Tra4]

Yet, her parents thought she could have the run of the ship :confused: :confused: There's something wrong with this picture!

 

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Did I miss something? Who said she had the run of the ship?

[ilionite65]

The parents may not have verbalized that this child had the run of the ship, but they certainly gave it to her. I think that they can be thankful that all they lost was the money, and not their daughter. I don't understand letting a child that young wander unattended on a ship and checking herself out of AO. I'm glad that we are not reading about her disappearance, or her molestation! Children are a gift and deserve better than this!

[hstrybuf]

That is one expensive lesson! :eek: Sorry you had to learn about this problem through personal experience.

[PhoenixCruiser]

Did I miss something? Who said she had the run of the ship?

 

Perhaps you should re-read the original post:

 

At that point our lovely daughter had run up a $600+ bill in the arcade, surf station, pool bar and gift shop. We were and still are furious.

 

If her parents were with her, they would have known, right :confused:

 

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[terri23]

Go rant and rave on the Solarium post about kids running the ship. It is the parents responsibility...NO DOUBT. But lay off this woman and learn from her mistake AND the mistake that the steward made in the first place.

 

It's not our place to judge or criticize this woman.

 

You appear to have the lock on ranting and raving :rolleyes: Oh, and since you're not a moderator, don't tell me what to do.

 

(Sorry to everyone else if this is a redundant post; my first one disappeared in cyberspace - these boards can be frustrating!)

[JerseyGirl23]

This is our first cruise, thanks for the heads up about charging capabilities on kids seapass cards. We will be cruising with our 14 and 8 year old daughters. I'll be sure to make a beeline to the purser's office to discuss this once I board the ship.

[PhoenixCruiser]

The parents may not have verbalized that this child had the run of the ship, but they certainly gave it to her. I think that they can be thankful that all they lost was the money, and not their daughter. I don't understand letting a child that young wander unattended on a ship and checking herself out of AO. I'm glad that we are not reading about her disappearance, or her molestation! Children are a gift and deserve better than this!

 

Exactly!! Amy B went missing from a RCI ship and she was at LEAST 10 years older than their daughter, very sad indeed :(

 

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[Tra4]

Exactly!! Amy B went missing from a RCI ship and she was at LEAST 10 years older than their daughter, very sad indeed :(

 

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OMG, this went from a family that had a 9 year old charge to much to a missing adult on a cruise. Amy Bradley has nothing to do with this. First off, she was an adult! Over 18!!!

 

Second, the OP did not say her 9 year old had run of the ship, but it was implied by all who read this. Yes, I will agree, not knowing charges implies they didn't pay attention, but lets not lay a guilty finger on facts not known.

The only facts here are that the girl charged without parents knowledge.

[sherry7]

Sorry to the original poster that you had to learn such an expensive lesson. I'm not sure what your plans are, but I hope you use this as a financial learning experience for your daughter, as she repays the money back with extra chores, etc.

 

When we went on our first cruise in January, I opted to leave the charging privleges open on my 15 yr old son's card. However, I had a SERIOUS discussion with him beforehand about what he could and could not purchase, and gave him a limit of $50 for the week. I told him whatever he didn't spend out of the $50, he could have at the end. At the end of the week, I was pleasantly shocked to see that he had only charged about $3 the entire week (a JR's shake). As a 'bonus', I gave him the remainder of the $50 to spend as he pleased.

[PhoenixCruiser]

The only facts here are that the girl charged without parents knowledge.

 

Please refer to post #61 :confused:

 

 

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[teach01]

This may be a repeat because I did not read all of the posts in this thread, BUT did you (the OP) ask your daughter about her day without you? Seems to me if you did and she failed to mention certain things, i.e. going on the internet, buying goodies, etc., she may have known what she was doing was wrong--just a thought!

[cruisinqt]

I'm just wondering how a 9 year old could find her way around the ship without help. I get lost all of the time and I'm an adult!:o It seems that when I finally figure out where everything is and get my directions straight, it's the end of the week and the cruise it over.:(

 

How could a 9 year old go to the arcade, the gift shop, the snack shop, and all of those other places without getting a little confused and lost sometimes? And if she did get a little turned around or confused as to where she was, who was nearby? Were they trustworthy and honest? Cruise ships are not the "perfect paradise" where villains and deviants are no where to be found.

 

There are many perverts out there that seem to be law abiding upstanding citizens like BTK who had a good job, a wife, and children. For god's sake, he was even one of the leaders of a local church!:eek: What would have prevented BTK from taking a cruise? Nothing! They are everywhere folks. PLEASE don't let your children come and go as they please, not because we don't want to see the little darlings running around, but because it breaks my heart every time I turn on the TV and see another story of some child being abused by some sick person.:(

[Cruising89143]

Regardless if the child was by herself or not, from what the OP stated in her first post the only three people listed on the credit authorization form to charge was her husband, son and herself. The daughters card should not have been activated to charge. I find the fault in this on RCI's back.

[Jevmas]

Hello all...just thought I would add my 2 cents that might save you $$$$$$$. The last 3 cruises we took our children on, Carnival, RCCL, and NCL we asked that the kids did not have access to use their cards around the ship. They were to be used to show the soda card sticker and get in the room only. All 3 ships told me that would be fine "NO PROBLEM" - however all cards were able to be used (of course MOM being on top of it, tried them out to see what would happen). We did tell our kids that the cards were room key cards and they could show the soda sticker for a drink and that was it!!!! As far as the game room, they both brought some of there own money they saved and ofcourse Mom and Dad handed out a few $5's as well.

 

I did bring this to the attention on all 3 cruise lines and although I was told they would take care of it, THE BOTTOM LINE: BOTH OF MY KIDS CARDS WORKED ON ALL 3 CRUISE LINES FOR THE LENGTH OF THE CRUISE.

 

HOPE YOU ALL HAVE GREAT VACATIONS AND HAPPY CRUISING!!!! SUE

[sunshine 229]

The way I see this is that the OP came on the board to warn other parents that they should not depend on their children's cards to be unactivated just because RCI has agreed not to activate them. She warned other parents that they should check the accounts regularly in order to avoid having a problem with a large balance due to charges made on the childs card.

 

IMHO she did not rant on about it being RCI's fault she stated calmly that she was working with RCI to see what they could do.

 

Her thanks for taking the time to warn other cruisers and try to save them from a problem was to have her parenting skills questioned and to be on the receiving end of posts like this one:

These are a perfect example of people who don't watch their kids. They didn't realize what she was doing in AO and didn't really care, probably. I think they got what they deserved.

 

Some of you are just too much. Hopefully on one of your cruises you "will get what you deserve", whatever fate decides that is.

[gillmom2]

My children are older than the OP but I have to add a few cents. I have been reading on these boards for about 9 months. I believe that RCL leads people to believe certain things- whether they end up being true or not. The facts as I see them are:

1- If they say the card is inactivated per your request, then they should do just that.

2- They say that your children cannot sign themselves out of AO until they are 12.

3-Some ships do not have the ability to access your account on the TV.

4-There should be no internet access-pay or free- in the AO. From what I have read there are no parents allowed in there so any age child could swipe their card on leave it on.

5-On the Radiance the AO is right next to the arcade-pretty easy access.

I make no judgements about the OP or others that have posted here. I just feel that if they restrict a card then that is that. A parent should not have to monitor spending after that has been established. That being said it seems that some post that you can put cash and limit ,others say that you can put cash but they can go over, and some say that it is all or nothing. It sounds like it is time for a policy and procedural change!!

[madforcruising]

My children are older than the OP but I have to add a few cents. I have been reading on these boards for about 9 months. I believe that RCL leads people to believe certain things- whether they end up being true or not. The facts as I see them are:

1- If they say the card is inactivated per your request, then they should do just that.

2- They say that your children cannot sign themselves out of AO until they are 12.

3-Some ships do not have the ability to access your account on the TV.

4-There should be no internet access-pay or free- in the AO. From what I have read there are no parents allowed in there so any age child could swipe their card on leave it on.

5-On the Radiance the AO is right next to the arcade-pretty easy access.

I make no judgements about the OP or others that have posted here. I just feel that if they restrict a card then that is that. A parent should not have to monitor spending after that has been established. That being said it seems that some post that you can put cash and limit ,others say that you can put cash but they can go over, and some say that it is all or nothing. It sounds like it is time for a policy and procedural change!!

 

I think it´s time for the parents to take care of their kids and monitor their activities instead of asking the cruiseline to do this.

 

I agree that the cruiseline should tell if the seapass is not deactivated and thanks to the OP for the heads up on the fact that one should check the card.

 

However I still think a 9 year old being able to make a bill of 600$ in five days without the knowledge of the parents is definitela not monitored enough by the parents IMHO. (I never had such a high bill on 12-night cruises, even for two persons unless it included shore excursions).

[Tra4]

If a parent okays it, a child between 9-12 can sign themselves out.