Teens & Spending

[jbrinkm]

How do those of you with teens deal with money and spending on board the ship, if those teens won't be with you for the majority of time on the ship? I'm fine giving mine a small allowance for a soda or some time at the arcade, but don't want to give them unlimited access to spending (not because they would take advantage, but more that they wouldn't remember/realize what they'd already spent). Is there a way to put only a certain amount of money on their SeaPass cards? They are in their own connecting room, if that makes a difference.

[smokeybandit]

I thought there was a way to set daily spending limits on kid cards.

[jbrinkm]

16 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

I thought there was a way to set daily spending limits on kid cards.

That would be perfect! Do I do that ahead of time, in the app, or at Customer Service on the ship?

[KJones]

I think at Guest Services once you're on board

[CruiseGus]

I was under the impresion you can set a limit on them for everywhere but in the arcade, as the limit is not able to be applied to the machines there.

Plenty of discussion of this pre-covid on many boards

[Meplus2]

I have 2 teen girls and we cruise (just the 3 of us) ever 2 years. Ages 15 & 18 now. They go as they please. Technically they don’t need any money. When you purchase a drink package, that includes any soda they want. All snacks are free at the food places. So the only thing they would want to buy would be stuff like souvenirs.  And if they want any souvenirs, it’s best to get them from the ports, which I assume they will be with you and you can just give them the money for what they want. So I donot think you need to put any money on their seapasses. If you don’t get them the drink passes, they can go to any place that serves drinks to get lemonade and tea. Trust me, there is so much for teens to do I. The ships that they don’t think about spending money. I think they are just thankful to just cruise. Hope this helps. 

[Kathleen]

In the old days you could choose to not guarantee their cards with credit card and only guarantee with a cash deposit for the whole trip. Once that cash runs out their card will not work for purchases until you go to guest services and deposit more cash on their sea pass card. We have done this in the past with both our children and friends of theirs traveling with us. 

[jbrinkm]

3 hours ago, CruiseGus said:

I was under the impresion you can set a limit on them for everywhere but in the arcade, as the limit is not able to be applied to the machines there.

Plenty of discussion of this pre-covid on many boards

If you'd like to point me to one, that would be appreciated.

I did search but searching on these boards is not as easy as it is in a search engine. The search strategies of using quotes and using AND doesn't always work the same way and I got pages and pages of topics that didn't address what I was asking. And I don't have time to search through hundreds of topics to find an answer. Plus I'm sure you're aware that many things have changed since covid. And isn't this the place to ask for help?

[jbrinkm]

3 hours ago, Meplus2 said:

I have 2 teen girls and we cruise (just the 3 of us) ever 2 years. Ages 15 & 18 now. They go as they please. Technically they don’t need any money. When you purchase a drink package, that includes any soda they want. All snacks are free at the food places. So the only thing they would want to buy would be stuff like souvenirs.  And if they want any souvenirs, it’s best to get them from the ports, which I assume they will be with you and you can just give them the money for what they want. So I donot think you need to put any money on their seapasses. If you don’t get them the drink passes, they can go to any place that serves drinks to get lemonade and tea. Trust me, there is so much for teens to do I. The ships that they don’t think about spending money. I think they are just thankful to just cruise. Hope this helps. 

We're not getting the drink package. We don't drink that much soda or other beverages besides water, so it's just not worth it for us. I just wanted to give them some flexibility so if they wanted something, they could have a small amount to spend on their own without having to track us down. They may or may not use it. They have their own debit cards at home where we put their allowances and I wish they could use those on the ship instead of the SeaPasses. The whole thing with the arcade and the credit sounds like really sneaky business practices to me. 

[Pattycruise]

I’ve tried setting limits, told no.  I’ve tried putting cash on each seapass card, told no. So my kids had zero access to extras when younger.

now they are 18 and up and I granted charging, because I didn’t think they’d use it….wrong.  
so set the expectations early as to how much $ you’ll grant daily or total, if any.

you can see their charges by checking the account on the app or the room TV. 

[jbrinkm]

20 hours ago, Pattycruise said:

now they are 18 and up and I granted charging, because I didn’t think they’d use it….wrong.  
so set the expectations early as to how much $ you’ll grant daily or total, if any.

you can see their charges by checking the account on the app or the room TV. 

That sounds like a story!

I'm thinking we may just not grant charging privileges at all based on what I'm hearing - they'll just have to come and find us if they want something other than what is complimentary (yay, forced family time...). Especially the arcade. Just confirming - the SeaPass is the ONLY way to pay for anything on the ship, correct? I'm still fuming about the fact that they can extend you a credit beyond what you want to spend - without your permission.

Wait - I just now realized that the post is missing - someone shared on here that the credit limit could be overridden by the arcade machines and that RC would grant more credit than you wanted and had to be settled before getting off the ship. That is now missing. Was that info inaccurate? 

[Meplus2]

5 hours ago, jbrinkm said:

That sounds like a story!

I'm thinking we may just not grant charging privileges at all based on what I'm hearing - they'll just have to come and find us if they want something other than what is complimentary (yay, forced family time...). Especially the arcade. Just confirming - the SeaPass is the ONLY way to pay for anything on the ship, correct? I'm still fuming about the fact that they can extend you a credit beyond what you want to spend - without your permission.

Wait - I just now realized that the post is missing - someone shared on here that the credit limit could be overridden by the arcade machines and that RC would grant more credit than you wanted and had to be settled before getting off the ship. That is now missing. Was that info inaccurate? 

I’m not sure if this is true now that COVID is around and it hasn’t hit my cruise planner yet, maybe because we don’t cruise until may, but I normally buy arcade passes through the cruise planner prior to sailing. You can get them at a discount. Much better then paying full price once on the ship. I normally load them up pretty good and tell them once it’s gone, it’s gone so plan wisely for the whole week. This might help you with at least the arcade part. 

[Traveling Mike]

I have been on 18 cruises with my son from age 9 to 18.  There is no reason for them to need money on a cruise ship.  They do not need the arcade.  The kids and teens area are full of games and game consoles.  There is food and drink every ware.  I did purchase my son a soda package on most of our cruises.  I also made sure his room key was blocked from spending.  I learned that the hard way when he was 10 years old.  before I knew it, he had run up $40 in the arcade and $30 on ice cream.  I did not know he was doing it and he did not realize that he was spending a lot of money.  I would recommend that if they think they need the arcade or a drink they cannot get in the buffet they can find mom or dad.

[jbrinkm]

On 1/31/2022 at 4:06 PM, Meplus2 said:

I have 2 teen girls and we cruise (just the 3 of us) ever 2 years. Ages 15 & 18 now. They go as they please. Technically they don’t need any money. When you purchase a drink package, that includes any soda they want. All snacks are free at the food places. So the only thing they would want to buy would be stuff like souvenirs.  And if they want any souvenirs, it’s best to get them from the ports, which I assume they will be with you and you can just give them the money for what they want. So I donot think you need to put any money on their seapasses. If you don’t get them the drink passes, they can go to any place that serves drinks to get lemonade and tea. Trust me, there is so much for teens to do I. The ships that they don’t think about spending money. I think they are just thankful to just cruise. Hope this helps. 

 

On 2/1/2022 at 11:51 PM, Traveling Mike said:

I have been on 18 cruises with my son from age 9 to 18.  There is no reason for them to need money on a cruise ship.  They do not need the arcade.  The kids and teens area are full of games and game consoles.  There is food and drink every ware.  I did purchase my son a soda package on most of our cruises.  I also made sure his room key was blocked from spending.  I learned that the hard way when he was 10 years old.  before I knew it, he had run up $40 in the arcade and $30 on ice cream.  I did not know he was doing it and he did not realize that he was spending a lot of money.  I would recommend that if they think they need the arcade or a drink they cannot get in the buffet they can find mom or dad.

 

I think it is wonderful that different families have different ways of doing things. I'm glad you were both able to chose how you wanted to cruise, and that I can choose how I want to cruise, which might include letting my teens have some choice about some small items to purchase.

The soda package on our ship would be $8.99/day/person plus tip for six nights. For my two teens, that would be $127. I don't want to spend that much on soda especially since we're bringing a pack on board with us and we don't drink that much soda (plus 3 days in port where we won't be on the ship much). I'd MUCH rather let them buy - if and when they want - one or two sodas total, plus $25-30 each for the arcade (if they want). More cost effective (if it can be done) and more in line with how my family would like to vacation. I'm really hoping that we can get the arcade credits in the travel planner that @Meplus2 mentioned - that sounds perfect. And then the kids will just have to find us for anything else since Royal doesn't seem to have a good system for kids' independent spending within limits.

[Ampurp85]

On 2/3 of my sailings, I heard horror stories with children and spending. One little girl kept asking for water at random bars. She never specified glasses, so they gave her cans. The cans cost 2.99+18% gratuity. She had racked up close to $30 worth and it had just been the first day. Another had been going to Sugar Beach and getting candy, $50 worth by day 3. 

You can buy the arcade credits in Cruise planner. I see them all the time and they are less than buying them on the ship.

I do believe that you can put down cash at guest services if they are minors. But I can't say for sure if they will cap the cards. It may be easy to budget in real life, this applies to adults too, but something happens on vacation.

There is no alert other than you. Cruise lines aren't trying to keep you on a budget. So even if you give them a $100 cash limit, the ship will allow them to spend over that. They can keep up with their spending on the app, or TV if you are on a newer ship.

[CruiseGus]

Sorry Matt (if you feel you must remove this post i'll understand)  Offered as a Subject for a Blog article.

@jbrinkm if you go here, new information, better than my old stuff

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/can-limits-be-placed-on-arcade-spending#:~:text=Can limits be placed by parents or guardians on arcade spending%3F&text=The system is automatically set,onboard to adjust the limit.

I no longer have skin in that game, until my granddaughter start to acompany us.  Just remenber it was a problem for others.  In the past I totally blocked my childern from spending and made it clear what would happen if the went to the arcade, that worked for me, Yes i got them a soda package.

[Matt]

No worries @CruiseGus, I don't have ridiculous rules about not linking to other websites

[CruiseGus]

thanks Matt, but I started reading my reference and changed it to Royal's FAQ which is probaly the most accurate info!

 

[Mike6453]

On 1/29/2022 at 6:35 PM, jbrinkm said:

How do those of you with teens deal with money and spending on board the ship, if those teens won't be with you for the majority of time on the ship? I'm fine giving mine a small allowance for a soda or some time at the arcade, but don't want to give them unlimited access to spending (not because they would take advantage, but more that they wouldn't remember/realize what they'd already spent). Is there a way to put only a certain amount of money on their SeaPass cards? They are in their own connecting room, if that makes a difference.

I'm travelling with my two teens 17 and 14 on oasis 2/13/22. I did get them the soda package and got arcade packages with a discount. While they can spend on the sea pass card, I've limited the extra charges to essentially ice cream or food. I've also explained that if they abuse it they will lose that freedom and have to find me to get anything. That being said in the updated app (assuming you have not cruised since the pandemic) you can now see all your charges in the app, and they are updated live. When i sailed Anthem in December i saw all my charges and that included showing the drinks even if you have the DB. It may not stop the kids from spending but you will be able to monitor it in real time and stay on top of it before it gets out of control. Hope that helps.

[jbrinkm]

On 2/4/2022 at 12:58 PM, Mike6453 said:

I'm travelling with my two teens 17 and 14 on oasis 2/13/22. I did get them the soda package and got arcade packages with a discount. While they can spend on the sea pass card, I've limited the extra charges to essentially ice cream or food. I've also explained that if they abuse it they will lose that freedom and have to find me to get anything. That being said in the updated app (assuming you have not cruised since the pandemic) you can now see all your charges in the app, and they are updated live. When i sailed Anthem in December i saw all my charges and that included showing the drinks even if you have the DB. It may not stop the kids from spending but you will be able to monitor it in real time and stay on top of it before it gets out of control. Hope that helps.

That seems like a really reasonable way to handle teen spending on a ship - a balance of independence, resources and consequences. I love that you can see all of the charges in the app - the app is completely new to me as the last time we cruised was 2017. 

[wordell1]

I worry a lot more about my wife in the spa vs my 15 year old when it comes to spemding.

[Pooch]

Since you said the kids have debit cards, a form of payment I would not normally suggest, can you use those as the card their seapass cards are linked to?  I know nothing about doing this so it’s just a stab in the dark.  But check in allows you to link a different card to each passenger so if you truly don’t want them to have unlimited funds, AND it can be done with minors (cuz I don’t know) don’t attach your card to their account.  Use their debit cards.  If you have a dollar amount in mind to allow them, just put it on their debit card in advance.

I would suggest doing some research on this option if it sounds like something you’d be interested in.  As I said I know just enough to know I don’t know much about it!

[cruiserccl]

I don't have any advice for the OP, but I thought I would share something that may help.

We've been cruising with our children for over 10 yrs...in the beginning, we didn't let them have charging privileges. As they got older, we needed to set ground rules. I gave them a limit and they would have to be responsible. It usually works. Sometimes, they can't keep track so I remind them to check their account before purchasing something. They've never gotten close to the limit.

Our last cruise, we decided to give them a limit and if they don't spend it, we would give them the rest. My son spent less than half of the limit and my daughter didn't spend a dime (now she normally doesn't spend a lot of money so not a surprise)...she will, however, ask us to get her a hoodie which we normally would get one thing for them...but this time, neither wanted anything.

We told them to think about the spending and decide if it's worth it. Generally, if my husband and I buy things for them, they don't always consider how much it costs. But when it's their money, they think it through.

 

 

 

[Mike6453]

16 hours ago, Pooch said:

Since you said the kids have debit cards, a form of payment I would not normally suggest, can you use those as the card their seapass cards are linked to?  I know nothing about doing this so it’s just a stab in the dark.  But check in allows you to link a different card to each passenger so if you truly don’t want them to have unlimited funds, AND it can be done with minors (cuz I don’t know) don’t attach your card to their account.  Use their debit cards.  If you have a dollar amount in mind to allow them, just put it on their debit card in advance.

I would suggest doing some research on this option if it sounds like something you’d be interested in.  As I said I know just enough to know I don’t know much about it!

From my understanding you can only have one CC or Debit card on the reservation.

[Mike6453]

19 hours ago, jbrinkm said:

That seems like a really reasonable way to handle teen spending on a ship - a balance of independence, resources and consequences. I love that you can see all of the charges in the app - the app is completely new to me as the last time we cruised was 2017. 

The app is great now, while its organization could be tweaked a bit it functions nicely. One thing to remember is that all your shows and anything that requires a reservation is done through the app. This only can be done when you board the ship. When you board immediately get the internet working on the app, the app also works better on the ships wifi than through the internet (you can still do everything on the app even if you didn't purchase an internet package. prices for internet, like everything else is more expensive on the ship than buying beforehand).  Also research the itineraries for the ship prior to your cruises, while the entertainment can change its usually mostly the same and you can then better understand the scheduling and have an idea when to book your shows.

[Pooch]

44 minutes ago, Mike6453 said:

From my understanding you can only have one CC or Debit card on the reservation.

Are you sure?  If there are 2 unrelated passengers sharing a stateroom, pretty sure they can both enter their own card.

[Mike6453]

5 hours ago, Pooch said:

Are you sure?  If there are 2 unrelated passengers sharing a stateroom, pretty sure they can both enter their own card.

I just looked it up and you may be right. my apologies.