Can Kids Charge Things to The Room?

[VRC]

So our family and my mom will be going on a 7-night Caribbean cruise this summer. I understand that all purchases made on-board are charged to the room, but does that mean that our kids can charge things to the room with no limits as well (They will be 11 and 13)? Or can only the adults make charges? And is there any way to allow my kids to make small purchases with boundaries?

Thanks!

 

[Eeyorebabies]

You can decide who does and doesn't have charging privillages. Don't tell DH, he might block my charging hahahaha!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

So our family and my mom will be going on a 7-night Caribbean cruise this summer. I understand that all purchases made on-board are charged to the room, but does that mean that our kids can charge things to the room with no limits as well (They will be 11 and 13)? Or can only the adults make charges? And is there any way to allow my kids to make small purchases with boundaries?

Thanks!

If you don't remove the charging privileges from the KTTW card, yes, they can. There have been reports where older kids (whose KTTW cards were not able to charge) getting younger kids to re-load arcarde cards for them by using the younger child's KTTW. Could lead to surprising bills at the end of the cruise.

You can't put a limit, charging is either there or not.

 

[VRC]

Because most of the stuff on the cruise for kids, what things would kids be spending money on anyway? I want to know if it's really worth letting my kids have those privileges when they can just come get us so we can pay for a souvenir.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Because most of the stuff on the cruise for kids, what things would kids be spending money on anyway? I want to know if it's really worth letting my kids have those privileges when they can just come get us so we can pay for a souvenir.

They can buy stuff in the gift shops, buy smoothies, purchase and reload arcade cards, snacks at the theatre, some items from room service also have a charge. Pretty much the same stuff adults can charge.

 

[over50visits]

All that comes to mind is the shops and the arcade. We let our kids have charging privileges when we also did so in the parks on their room keys. Just a judgement they were old enough. Not exactly the same, since in the parks we were always together at that age, and on the ship you likely will let them roam freely at that age, but that's how we did it. Before that we just went with them to the shops or arcade for purchases.

Don't think I'm missing anything else they might need charging privileges for at that age.

 

[MelInAZ]

We just finished our first cruise a few weeks ago and I gave our kids charging privileges. At 11 and 13, we trusted them to make wise decisions and gave them spending limits. The spending limits were just verbal (i.e. you have $100 each to spend, if you want something that costs more come talk to us first). One kid spent $50 and one kid spent $20. You can start with the charging privileges open and remove those privileges later. Enjoy!

 

[dbarker]

It is definitely a judgement. It depends.....would you give your kids your credit card at home?
Personally, I don't let my kids have charging privileges. If they want something, we will buy it together, on mom or dad's room key. I don't like and cannot afford financial surprises.

 

[Fuhnuh]

We let DD14 have charging privileges at 11 and 12. She didn't end up charging anything. Definitely a judgment call. Part of me says that she can easily get us if she needs to buy anything, but part of me it is a chance to build trust and responsibility. She doesn't carry a credit card, but she has had charging privileges on Disney properties (DLR, WDW, Aulani) without issues, so I am sure we will let her have privileges on our next cruise in May. There will be a small discussion on limits though.

 

[Bree]

We gave our son charging privileges. He ran around with his Edge buddies for most of the cruise. I didn't want to have to run around the ship every time he wanted to purchase something like popcorn before a show or movie with his friends.

It's really up to you and how much you trust your child. You can always go to guest services and have the privileges turned off if he/she is irresponsible.

 

[KristiMc]

We gave our 13 year old charging to be able to get popcorn at the movies if he wanted. He didn't use it for anything else.

 

[wilma-bride]

I gave my 12 year old charging privileges on our last cruise. He is pretty sensible and we have been giving him charging privileges at WDW for a couple of years now. He knows he can't buy stuff that we would not approve of or that I wouldn't say yes to if he were to ask. We were on the Fantasy along with another family who we'd met on a previous cruise. My DS was friends with the other family's DD and he took her on a 'date' and bought her a smoothie. It was so sweet.

 

[LisaCM614]

We're giving our 2 11 yr olds and 1 12 yr old charging privileges for our upcoming cruise. We told them our limit and what we would pay for and anything beyond that they need to reimburse us. I'm not worried. My kids are as frugal as their father! They have Disney gift cards from grandparents that they haven't used for 3 trips. This time my mother in law said she wants them to buy something or I get to take the gift card! LOL

 

[Pens Fan]

We've always given our son charging privileges. He was around 11-12 on our first cruise and then 14 and 15 on subsequent ones. We looked at it as a great learning tool. You can always check your account every few days to see what they are charging. My philosophy is that children can't learn to be responsible if they aren't actually given any responsibility.

It must have worked. Last summer he spent two weeks in Europe on a school trip. We set him up with a checking account and an ATM card as that was the easiest and most cost efficient way for him to get local currency. I was truly surprised at how little he spent. They had to buy lunch on their own each day, but other than that he only bought one small gift each for my husband and I and some German chocolate (yum - that's my boy!!)

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Kids could buy things at the shops, purchase smoothies, buy arcade cards, movie popcorn or packaged snacks. There are plenty of things they could purchase should you choose to allow them to charge. Of course you may want to talk to them about what their limits are.

 

[jetskigrl]

We gave DS (11) charging privileges for the first time last August on our Alaska cruise. It was also his first time going to the Edge and being able to check in and out of the clubs. We discussed ahead of time that for purchases in the shops he needed to ask permission first, but that he could buy popcorn, etc on his own. He got a kick out of being sent on his own to buy popcorn outside the movie theater (we ate it out on our balcony watching the scenery go by).

Other than that, the only thing he ever used it for was to buy an item in the gift shop and he did come and ask me first (to let me know how much he would be spending).

He was smiling from ear to ear when he came back with his bag in his hand. While he was there he saw an antenna topper shaped like the ship's funnel and bought it for me (we collect them and have them on display at home). It was the cutest thing ever. I thought he was excited to have made his own purchase but he was more excited to have bought a gift for me So yeah, I let him slide on that one unauthorized purchase