Magic Arcade info please

[luvs2beachit]

I will be going on a cruise with my kids and grandchildren on the Magic.  This will be my grands first cruise and one of the things that they are 

excited about {other than the pool, slide and the "free ice cream"} is the arcade.  I have no idea about how the arcade works.  Cruise card or cash?  And how much would be a reasonable amount to plan for.  I am thinking that I would give them some arcade money as a Christmas gift in their stockings.  My grandsons are 8,9 and 10.  Would love to hear from the more experienced arcade people!

TIA

[Ladyfunk25]

You use the sign and sail cards for the arcades, no cash.  For minors, Carnival allows you to set up a spending limit on their cards - this is a good option if you want them to be able to play in the arcade for a while using their own card without going completely wild!

[luvs2beachit]

58 minutes ago, Ladyfunk25 said:

You use the sign and sail cards for the arcades, no cash.  For minors, Carnival allows you to set up a spending limit on their cards - this is a good option if you want them to be able to play in the arcade for a while using their own card without going completely wild!

Thank you! Exactly what I wanted to know.  But now I have 2 more question..

What would be a reasonable amount to put on their cards?  How much are the games? 

[tweak89]

2 hours ago, luvs2beachit said:

Thank you! Exactly what I wanted to know.  But now I have 2 more question..

What would be a reasonable amount to put on their cards?  How much are the games? 

 

 They run from $0.75 to $2.00.  So, it can add up quickly, especially since they have a lot of "one and done" prize games in addition to the actual arcade video games.

 

More info CLICK HERE.

Edited November 7, 2022 by tweak89

[Tiger0613]

I only play Skee-Ball.  It is $1.50 per game or 4 games for $4.50.  The arcade is a redemption arcade.  The number of tickets needed for a prize is overpriced just like land-based redemption arcades.  The minimum amount needed is 75 tickets.  The next two levels are 150 tickets and 300 tickets.  I don't remember after that.  The plastic bubble containers that the small prizes come in are a pain in the a** to open.

 

If you are getting a bunch of bubble containers, bring a bag.  I had to use the front of the shirt I was wearing as a bag once because I forgot to bring a bag into the arcade.  Thankfully my mom was sitting outside the arcade with a bag, so I didn't have to go far.

 

Hopefully the Magic uses digital tickets instead of physical tickets.  The physical ticket counting machines never count the tickets properly.  It shorted me about 20 tickets on both the Freedom and the Radiance.  The counting machines also can't count single pieces.  Each piece is worth two tickets.

 

On the Radiance, the strip in the Skee-Ball ticket dispenser ran out, but the dispenser didn't automatically start spitting out the next strip.  This happened twice on the same day less than 20 minutes apart.  I had to use the arcade ship phone to get a crew member to open the machine.

[christyran1228]

It all depends on your own budget, really, and the length of your cruise.   

 

$5/day wouldn't last but a few minutes, even if they picked the *longest lasting* games ... like actual video games and not the games for prizes.

[mz-s]

Tell your grandchildren to stay away from the claw machines that have Nintendos and other expensive things in there. 100% a waste of money.

[Ladyfunk25]

The games are fairly expensive so you shouldn't expect them to be there for hours and hours.  A lot of the games are chance games that they can earn "tickets" on to buy prizes.  We gave our son a $50 spending limit when we went on the Dream, which was probably good for about 1-2 hours of play time in the arcade?  He had a lot of fun, but it ain't cheap!