Kids and chaging

[dharma517]

Just got off the Fantasy a month or so ago. This is what we did...I have two DD's ages (10 and 11)...plus two boys ages 7, and 3. The girls had active KTTW cards and were able to charge. I have 4 kids so I really don't want to be truckin all over the ship if my 11 year old wants to get a smoothy in east Egypt and I am in the pool with so and so. It was a matter of convenience and a valuable learning experience. We had a big talk with the girls about their cards and what you could and could not do with them. I allowed the to have $10 per day per child to get whatever they wanted. They could use all $80 bucks in one day or $10 per day ...whatever. This included:
arcades usage
smoothies
gift shop items
pictures etc.

That is it...all the money they had for the entire week long vacation. I pay less attention to their age and more attention to their trustworthiness and maturity. Only you know if your child can handle this!

 

["Cinder" Ella's Mom]

Has nothing to do with money, I was making a comparison on doing what you want on vacation. Just because you don't enjoy the arcade doesn't mean kids don't enjoy it. It is their vacation too, let them have fun. They are on the ship for a long time, I see no problem with an hour or two in the arcade. The OP asked about charging privileges not if someone else things kids should be allowed to play arcade games or not.

This!! That previous reply sounded very judgmental. We have pools at home too, but still like to swim on vacation.

 

[dpuck1998]

Just got off the Fantasy a month or so ago. This is what we did...I have two DD's ages (10 and 11)...plus two boys ages 7, and 3. The girls had active KTTW cards and were able to charge. I have 4 kids so I really don't want to be truckin all over the ship if my 11 year old wants to get a smoothy in east Egypt and I am in the pool with so and so. It was a matter of convenience and a valuable learning experience. We had a big talk with the girls about their cards and what you could and could not do with them. I allowed the to have $10 per day per child to get whatever they wanted. They could use all $80 bucks in one day or $10 per day ...whatever. This included:
arcades usage
smoothies
gift shop items
pictures etc.

That is it...all the money they had for the entire week long vacation. I pay less attention to their age and more attention to their trustworthiness and maturity. Only you know if your child can handle this!

I bet they had a wonderful vacation and got a lesson in spending as well. Sometimes kids need some risk to enjoy rewards. Failure is always an option, but its the only way to learn.

 

[dpuck1998]

[QUOTE="Cinder" Ella's Mom;47240103]This!! That previous reply sounded very judgmental. We have pools at home too, but still like to swim on vacation.[/QUOTE]

Right, I agree. I love letting my kids make choices on vacation. I involve them in the whole process, sometimes they get their way and sometimes they do not.

 

[kcashner]

I shared some of this post with my DD who pointed out that while neither of us remembers the age, I would give her an amount she could spend on the cruise. I'd break it out to say "that's enough for one smoothie per day and something small in the gift shop, but if you don't drink the smoothies you'd be able to buy something bigger." She was seriously compulsive about checking her account and never went over. However, in all honesty I think she was a little older than 10.

You know your kid best...and what your kid can handle. Like you, my worry was not MY kid, but what others might try to tempt her to do and/or lost card.

 

[sham10299]

When we were on our cruise last fall my kids (11, 13 & 18) did not have charging privledges. I gave them $50 gift cards at the beginning of our vacation at Disney World & told them to use it wisely it was also for the cruise. The each bought something from one of the parks. My 13 yr old used his for a smoothie at CC (I charged it to the room but he paid me back), he also used his gift card to rent a bike at CC. The other two bought a shirt on the ship. I would definately recommend the gift card option.

I'm confused. I thought you could not use the gift cards on the ships. We are giving my 8 yo (will be 9 then day after debarkation) gift cards in the months prior to the cruise, but we were under the impression that she had to put them on the onboard account and use her KTTW card to buy things.

 

[tmclanton]

When we were on our cruise last fall my kids (11, 13 & 18) did not have charging privledges. I gave them $50 gift cards at the beginning of our vacation at Disney World & told them to use it wisely it was also for the cruise. The each bought something from one of the parks. My 13 yr old used his for a smoothie at CC (I charged it to the room but he paid me back), he also used his gift card to rent a bike at CC. The other two bought a shirt on the ship. I would definately recommend the gift card option.

So, if I buy him a gift card, can he use that for things on the cruise? Or does it have to be put on the room account ad use you KTTW? I would hate for him to make friends that want to go to the arcade and he can't go because he doesn't have any money. The arcade card sounds like a good way to control that. I don't think he would drink smoothies, he is strictly a water kid! So it sounds like there is not much else for him to need to charge.

I understand some people's points about not doing things you can do on the cruise you can do at home, but I plan to do a massage on the cruise and have some drinks. I can pay for those at home, and it is cheaper, but is vacation. I feel he should be able to play air hockey on his vacation if he would like.

I honestly don't know if I want him in the Edge yet, but I M already concerned he will feel the lab is babyish with little kids running around.

 

[tmclanton]

Also, lets say I give him charging privileges and he goes over what we set as a limit, are you able to go to CS and turn off charging privileges? That sounds like a good compromise and a way to instill trust. He is very responsible at home, so I don't foresee it being a problem.

 

[footballmouse]

I'm confused. I thought you could not use the gift cards on the ships. We are giving my 8 yo (will be 9 then day after debarkation) gift cards in the months prior to the cruise, but we were under the impression that she had to put them on the onboard account and use her KTTW card to buy things.

I just doublechecked with my kids, they said they did use their gift cards for the shops on the ship and the bike rental at CC. We did put the smoothie on the room card at CC since he ordered it while sitting on the beach.

 

[neg58]

Okay, but what about the older kids? I'm taking a 77 and 78 year old with me, and I'm worrying about them charging up Bingo and Drink of the Day. I may have to do a daily check to make sure they aren't going overboard with hair braiding and nail polish.

Honestly, my 16 year olds never charged anything except one asked if she could have hairbraiding ($13 - she's a big tipper). I think one might have liked coffee from the Cove, but she couldn't go there so it wasn't an issue. Neither like video games, especially if they have to pay. They also know that I wouldn't be happy finding a lot of little charges, so they just didn't do them. If they wanted something from the stores, they just asked (or sent me). Charging wasn't a big deal either way for them.

Nancy

 

[lbgraves]

There has been a change onboard regarding using anything other than your KTTW card to make purchases in the last year. Prior to that, everything had to be put on your KTTW card.

 

[Fuhnuh]

I think whether to let your child have charging privileges is another one of those depends on the child/family. We went last August and let DD11 have charging privileges as she made a few online friends and spent a great deal of time with them on the ship. We set guidelines and believed we could trust her, and thankfully she did not disappoint. I believe the arcade has separate cards that you could put onan amount that you were comfortable with in case some friends go to the arcade.

 

[penel3]

We just got back from a 5 night Wonder cruise, my DS 12 had charging privileges. They wouldn't let us separate an "account" for him and an "account" for us, so the money was all lumped together for charging on KTTW cards. We had put our Amex card on the account, so I also added $75 of gift cards that DS had as well. We spoke to him in advanced about spending limits, losing the card etc. After 5 nights, he spent a whopping $20, LOL. We left vacation with ME owing him money from the gift cards!