Kids and Room Charges

[garnet115]

So if I am reading another thread correctly, there is no way to allow a child charging privileges with limits? (ex: $50)

 

How do people tend to handle this situation? I wanted to give my dd charging privileges, but with a budget. It seems this is not possible. I guess I either give her nothing, or she gets free reign that I have to monitor daily?

[garycarla]

If the account has $50 cash deposited, they will not let them charge more unless you put more on the account.

[che5904]

I will elaborate on the poster above.

 

When you check in do not link your child's onboard account to your credit card, instead tell them it will be a cash account. Either pay the DSC on that card pre-cruise or make sure there is enough in there to cover the DSC. Then only put so much on that account for the week if the child is old enough to know limits or go down each morning or the night before and put what you will allow them to spend each day. The card will then be unusable to them (except of course as a room key) for further spending than what is in the account.

 

You can then relax and not worry about your child's spending habits or putting you in the poor house ;)

Edited January 30, 2014 by che5904

[mjkacmom]

My kids all had unlimited charging. If they are old enough to be without you, making purchases, they are old enough to know their limit (I think my kids were told $25). They knew if they went over, I was taking the money out of their bank accounts. None of them reached $25. And they are between 10 and 17.

[nadeki]

I give my kids an amount they can spend and they have never gone over. I give them $50 per week and they decide what to do with it.

 

When I am feeling nice.... i offer to buy them more games in the arcade etc and they are allowed to go spend some more.

 

They have fun keeping their budget. When they play air hocked and the game is for 2 people they take turns using their cards.

 

So far, no problems and they have had some freedom.

[garnet115]

I will elaborate on the poster above.

 

When you check in do not link your child's onboard account to your credit card, instead tell them it will be a cash account. Either pay the DSC on that card pre-cruise or make sure there is enough in there to cover the DSC. Then only put so much on that account for the week if the child is old enough to know limits or go down each morning or the night before and put what you will allow them to spend each day. The card will then be unusable to them (except of course as a room key) for further spending than what is in the account.

 

You can then relax and not worry about your child's spending habits or putting you in the poor house ;)

 

That is so great! I want to give my kid a little freedom/responsibility, so long as there is little risk to my wallet!

[SissasMomE]

So if I am reading another thread correctly, there is no way to allow a child charging privileges with limits? (ex: $50)

 

How do people tend to handle this situation? I wanted to give my dd charging privileges, but with a budget. It seems this is not possible. I guess I either give her nothing, or she gets free reign that I have to monitor daily?

 

You tell the kids how much they are allowed to charge.

[SissasMomE]

deleted.

Edited January 30, 2014 by SissasMomE

[PDIDDYwife]

Our three have always been very responsible with charges. We haven't limited them per se, but we do discuss what they plan on perhaps spending during a day.

i.e: going to arcade, pay-for icecream etc.

 

If they have had their eyes on something in the gift shop they have never made a purchase without asking..we enjoy shopping together for mementos.

 

The only worry that I have had in the past was that one of the kids would misplace their card and an unscrupulous cruiser would charge on it..but that has never happened.

 

We tarted letting them have their own charging priv. when they turned 11 or 12

 

( 15 year old triplets)

[3DBeach]

When we sailed back in Dec our experience was that we either had to allow charging privileges or not. They would not let us set up an account with a specific limit per day. We traveled with 5 boys ranging in age from 5-13. Like I said, this was our personal experience.

 

 

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[LrgPizza]

You tell the kids how much they are allowed to charge.

 

That was going to be my answer. :)

[che5904]

When we sailed back in Dec our experience was that we either had to allow charging privileges or not. They would not let us set up an account with a specific limit per day. We traveled with 5 boys ranging in age from 5-13. Like I said, this was our personal experience.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

 

No the ship won't set the limit, that's why I suggested the OP was to set the limit with whatever cash they put on per day or week on a cash account.

 

And if they wouldn't only connect specific cards to a specific credit card then you could have always made them all "cash accounts" at check in and then linked your credit card to specific cards at the service desk.

Edited January 30, 2014 by che5904

[3DBeach]

No the ship won't set the limit, that's why I suggested the OP was to set the limit with whatever cash they put on per day or week on a cash account.

 

And if they wouldn't only connect specific cards to a specific credit card then you could have always made them all "cash accounts" at check in and then linked your credit card to specific cards at the service desk.

 

We didn't ask the ship to set the limit...we had the amount we were allowing them to spend.

Never thought to do it as cash accounts...awesome idea. However we did ask if there was any possible way to accomplish and was told no by 2 different people at check in as well as the concierge on the ship.

We wound up just shutting their charging privileges off (my boys are 5 & 7 so they don't go to the arcade by themselves anyway) but my nephews weren't too thrilled.

I will definitely try the cash account next time we all sail together :)

[sdmike]

I told my kids they had a budget of $10 each per day, spent any way they wanted. I told them there would be severe consequences if they went over. My teen boys nickel and dimed it away (snacks, video games, etc.). My 11yo daughter saved up her money and bought herself a nice keepsake.

[bean24]

Just a word of warning. We did this for my niece & nephew on the BA. They were each given $100 for the week. My niece didn't spend any and got a check back for the money a few weeks later. My nephew got about $30 worth of souvenirs but my brothers chef table reservations were charged to him. When we were leaving his card was flagged that we owed $80. Although the chefs table was a few days earlier we were never notified it was billed wrong.

 

 

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