Charging Privileges?

[rum & monkey]

Thanks for this. This seems to have worked. I was under the mistaken perception that you had to sign for everyone in a cabin but it seems I could go and unclick the child from the account and now they have no on-board signing/account privileges. let's hope that solves the problem.

 

 

 

Wrong assumption and one that I made one time. I was even asked about it at the pier if I wanted to add them and I said absolutely no charging privileges for my kids and niece. Well once on board my daughter and niece who were I believe 11 at the time (and allowed to sign themselves in and out of the kids club at that age, not a fan of that either) used their cards in the arcade. An employee told them that the cards come with some credits on them and they could use those so they played all afternoon. Well when my niece had won an iPad (in an arcade game) she had some questions to answer like where she won an iPad. I believe they honestly did not know, they were standing right there at the pier and heard nothing could be charged. Looked at my account and had a full days arcade for two on it.

Went to guest relations and I was informed that at the pier I did not give them the right to charge to my credit card but they still had the right to charge to the stateroom. That instead of being paid automatically by my card, it would still need to be paid for at the end of the cruise (cash or a different card). They said they could not remove the charges but gave me an additional on-board credit equal to most of the charges. They said for future reference that in order to remove all charging abilities on-board you must do this on-board.

As far as your sister goes she can set up a cash account and not have to use a credit card.

[LilBlackDress]

She will be forewarned so I wont carry any guilt if she exceeds the $500 and gets embarrassed. ;)

 

We gave my stepson a cc with his name on it (attached to one of our cc accounts). I know we requested a low limit for the cc at the bank, since it is for his emergency use only.

 

He used that for his set sail account for him and his friend. I asked gs if I could check their balance (mid cruise) and all I needed to do was show my cc matched the one on file and they showed me. The night before the last night, I asked the concierge if she could print their charges out for me.

 

As much as I trust him, I wasn't sure if he would be 'showing off' to his friend.

 

Funny part was, when we were leaving the ship on the last day, security stopped him (the friend). There were all kinds of beeps and bongs and a flashing light. Even though he checked the box to cover both people in the cabin, and I even checked it mid cruise, they had the friends account set up as a cash account. We had to go back to gs and give them the cc again!! :rolleyes:

[Ourusualbeach]

This is from the cruise compass. You can still load arcade credits onto your card via the machine located in the arcade even with no charging privates on the card.

 

[conandrob240]

This is from the cruise compass. You can still load arcade credits onto your card via the machine located in the arcade even with no charging privates on the card.

 

 

This is completely and utterly unacceptable. How do they get away with crap like this? No charging privileges means no charging privileges. They can't just decide some things "don't count"!

 

Thanks for the advice but there's no way in hell I'll be getting my sister a cc attached to any of my accounts LOL. The cash thing will work fine.

[rum & monkey]

This is completely and utterly unacceptable. How do they get away with crap like this? No charging privileges means no charging privileges. They can't just decide some things "don't count"!

 

 

 

Thanks for the advice but there's no way in hell I'll be getting my sister a cc attached to any of my accounts LOL. The cash thing will work fine.

 

 

There are a lot of horror arcade stories posted but one I remember was a family with a 14 year old that they had his card disabled. He went to guest services and said he lost his sea pass card got it replaced and the new one was not disabled. The poster said he had almost $250 charged in a span of 1 1/2 hours. Probably not the wisest to put your sister's family on your card if boundaries get crossed a lot in her family.

[Ourusualbeach]

This is completely and utterly unacceptable. How do they get away with crap like this? No charging privileges means no charging privileges. They can't just decide some things "don't count"!

 

Thanks for the advice but there's no way in hell I'll be getting my sister a cc attached to any of my accounts LOL. The cash thing will work fine.

 

Even with a cash account you can still put arcade credits on your card.. Not sure what kind of system that they have in place to deal with those who won't settle up at the end of the cruise.

 

It was explained to me that it has to do with technologies not being comparable between the machine in the arcade and the ships POS system. Given that they are making money off this they are probably not in a rush to upgrade the system. Also given Royals track record with IT it is not surprising that this happens.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Ourusualbeach

[conandrob240]

Two separate concerna. achild who hasn't been granted charging privileges should not be allowed to charge arcade credits. Period. If anyone turns theupir back on the little,ones and they swipe a few machines they shouldn't, I will bet you I won't be paying that.

 

Second issue is how best to let my sister cruise without the possibility of her charging $1000s on my cc. The cash account would solve that problem. I'll tell her about the $500 limit, give her a certain amount of cash for her to be able to enjoy a few drinks or a few classes at the gym and if she goes over, it's her problem and for her to deal with. The room is in her name, not mine.

Edited September 30, 2015 by conandrob240

[Diplomacy]

Two separate concerns. A child who hasn't been granted charging privileges should not be allowed to charge arcade credits. Period. If anyone turns their back on the little,ones and they swipe a few machines they shouldn't, I will bet you I won't be paying that.

Second issue is how best to let my sister cruise without the possibility of her charging $1000s on my cc. The cash account would solve that problem. I'll tell her about the $500 limit, give her a certain amount of cash for her to be able to enjoy a few drinks or a few classes at the gym and if she goes over, it's her problem and for her to deal with. The room is in her name, not mine.

 

 

I'm really not a fan of the direction this conversation is going. The idea that you can make RCCL decide that your sister and her kids are responsible for their own actions depends on a lot of assumptions about the legal systems of at least 4 countries, many of whom depend on cruise-lines for a large amount of their revenue. I have no idea what Bahamian or Panamanian law says about joined charge accounts in international waters... Do you? Remember this is not an American ship. IF you can convince them to do what you want, great. If you cannot, I highly doubt they will reverse the charges after they have been accrued... and likely you won't even know for sure how they intend to handle the situation until you get onboard. Dumb, not dumb, RCCL's policies are what they are.

 

I am going to assume you have been given good reason to distrust your sister and her ability to watch her own budget. I have, fixed in my mind certain assumptions like "she will probably try to milk it" if you let her. So, given that here is what I would do:

 

Have her sign a contract. This is such a easy thing to do, and I don't know why more people don't talk about it. Best case scenario, you take 5 minutes to crystallize the situation in both of your minds before boarding the ship, everyone abides by the contract and everyone is happy... worst case, something happens, you end up being pursued by RCCL for damages because your accounts were linked even though you told them not to, and now you have a choice. Fight RCCL, or fight your sister.

 

Any other course of action involving taking physical control of person A's Seapass card (right before they go to GS and ask for a replacement), or telling someone "Absolutely no charges" for person B (right before they find out oh, look, it still works) , or any other (passive aggressive) shenanigans to assert control over your sister and her family's behavior seems like playing a game that you aren't in a position to win.

 

I also wouldn't say word one about $500 spending limits. The second you set a target price, you can pretty much guarantee that the gamer will shoot for it. If anything, set a price "around" $350, and if she hits the $500 after that, well, then you can decide what to do about it then.

 

0.02

Edited September 30, 2015 by Diplomacy

[setsail]

This is completely and utterly unacceptable. How do they get away with crap like this? .

 

Its very simple, the children and their families don't belong to rci. RCI expects the family to explain the rules to the children and also to follow up that they stay in line. In this case you seem to be bringing aboard some that you have no control over and you want rci to handle the job, its on you

 

From the GCP

"Parental and Guardian Responsibility For purposes of this Guest Conduct Policy, a minor is defined as anyone under the age of 18. A young adult is defined as anyone ages 18, 19 or 20. Parents and guardians are responsible for the behavior and appropriate supervision of their accompanying minor(s) and young adult(s) throughout their vacation. This obligation applies during transfers to and from ships, inside terminals, while onboard, at our ports of call, during shore excursions and at our private destinations. This responsibility applies at all times, regardless of whether the parents and guardians are physically in the company of their minor(s) and young adult(s). "

Edited September 30, 2015 by setsail

[conandrob240]

Nope, wrong. If I tell RCI that minor child x or y should have no ability to make charges, then they should not have the ability to make any charges at all. period. I get to decide who has access to my credit line. I don't like the scammy nature of them altering the agreement that we made around who can charge to my account. And I'll bet you that if I printed out that agreement where I am refusing to give signing privileges to a person and they sign anyway that my cc company would agree I am shouldn't have to pay those charges. And I'd be darn sure to have a very stern discussion about the charges at guest services. That's the philosophical side of this discussion.

 

Then there the side of the discussion that is my unique situation. Now, the teen in our group would never charge a penny if told not to. He has my 100% trust. The littlest ones are unreliable and although will be with an adult at all times, I wouldn't it put it past a 5 yr old to swipe away if someone's back is turned. However, I will explain the rules and, for the most part, they will listen. So, I'm not really tremendously worried about large charges.

 

My sister is a bit of a wildcard and has had episodes of complete loss of control and crazy spending. So, for this situation a cash account seems my best bet. There is a built in stop at $500, an upper cap of $500 means she can't do too much damage and anytime I don't have to associate my own credit with hers by allowing her to use my card, the better. Hopefully, she'll be stable and not spend the $500 but this plan won't allow her to get too far.

 

Thanks for all the helpful comments. (And a big raspberry to the unhelpful ones)!

Edited September 30, 2015 by conandrob240

[dcgrumpy]

When we were on IOS last month my kids didn't have charging privileges. Out of the three of them only one was able to charge at the arcade. I have no idea why it was like that.

[Ourusualbeach]

Nope, wrong. If I tell RCI that minor child x or y should have no ability to make charges, then they should not have the ability to make any charges at all. period. I get to decide who has access to my credit line. I don't like the scammy nature of them altering the agreement that we made around who can charge to my account. And I'll bet you that if I printed out that agreement where I am refusing to give signing privileges to a person and they sign anyway that my cc company would agree I am shouldn't have to pay those charges. And I'd be darn sure to have a very stern discussion about the charges at guest services. That's the philosophical side of this discussion.

 

Then there the side of the discussion that is my unique situation. Now, the teen in our group would never charge a penny if told not to. He has my 100% trust. The littlest ones are unreliable and although will be with an adult at all times, I wouldn't it put it past a 5 yr old to swipe away if someone's back is turned. However, I will explain the rules and, for the most part, they will listen. So, I'm not really tremendously worried about large charges.

 

My sister is a bit of a wildcard and has had episodes of complete loss of control and crazy spending. So, for this situation a cash account seems my best bet. There is a built in stop at $500, an upper cap of $500 means she can't do too much damage and anytime I don't have to associate my own credit with hers by allowing her to use my card, the better. Hopefully, she'll be stable and not spend the $500 but this plan won't allow her to get too far.

 

Thanks for all the helpful comments. (And a big raspberry to the unhelpful ones)!

 

Please come back and let us know how it works out for you.

[dcgrumpy]

Thanks for this. This seems to have worked. I was under the mistaken perception that you had to sign for everyone in a cabin but it seems I could go and unclick the child from the account and now they have no on-board signing/account privileges. let's hope that solves the problem.

 

 

 

Wrong assumption and one that I made one time. I was even asked about it at the pier if I wanted to add them and I said absolutely no charging privileges for my kids and niece. Well once on board my daughter and niece who were I believe 11 at the time (and allowed to sign themselves in and out of the kids club at that age, not a fan of that either) used their cards in the arcade. An employee told them that the cards come with some credits on them and they could use those so they played all afternoon. Well when my niece had won an iPad (in an arcade game) she had some questions to answer like where she won an iPad. I believe they honestly did not know, they were standing right there at the pier and heard nothing could be charged. Looked at my account and had a full days arcade for two on it.

Went to guest relations and I was informed that at the pier I did not give them the right to charge to my credit card but they still had the right to charge to the stateroom. That instead of being paid automatically by my card, it would still need to be paid for at the end of the cruise (cash or a different card). They said they could not remove the charges but gave me an additional on-board credit equal to most of the charges. They said for future reference that in order to remove all charging abilities on-board you must do this on-board.

As far as your sister goes she can set up a cash account and not have to use a credit card.

Does it work differently on different ships? On the ships I have been on you can't just swipe your sea pass card in the arcade. You have to swipe your card at a machine and add money to your sea pass card.

[conandrob240]

Does it work differently on different ships? On the ships I have been on you can't just swipe your sea pass card in the arcade. You have to swipe your card at a machine and add money to your sea pass card.

 

If that's the case, then there shouldn't be an issue. If there are steps like that involved then there's no way they'll be able to get all that done while being supervised.

 

The fact that someone can charge to your account when you've removed charging privileges is an issue for me though. That should not be allowed to happen at the arcade or anywhere else.

Edited September 30, 2015 by conandrob240

[akcruz]

If you haven't already I would suggest you ask this question on the Quantum sub forum. The WOW bands are unique to that class of ship and may have different restrictions applied to them.

 

Most who are responding here are used to the other ships where you have only the seapass and most require you to put credits on the card prior to using it for the arcade.

 

Personally I wouldn't tell the kids that they could swipe the WOW band or card on the machines. Tell them you need something else. It may not stop it all (if it truly is an issue on this ship) but may hold it off for a few days.

[conandrob240]

No, I won't tell them but they are way sharper than that!

[setsail]

 

Personally I wouldn't tell the kids that they could swipe the WOW band or card on the machines. Tell them you need something else. It may not stop it all (if it truly is an issue on this ship) but may hold it off for a few days.

 

Don't worry, the other kids in the club will take care of that ;) But, it would not be a problem as long as they know who the boss is