Charging priveliges for DS16, how much would you allow per day?

[Jillpie]

We are going on the cash system when we go on our first cruise next April. Meaning, I plan on giving DCL a certain amount up front at check in, then going to Guest Services each night to pay off any balances. Since my son will be away from us alot, I'm wondering how that is handled. Can I put on his card certain amounts? We also have two other sons, but they're too young to do this. I'm thinking giving him 25.00 per day for fun, ie smoothies, etc. Is that too much, too little? and how do I do this? I don't want him to have access to our daily allotment on our card. thanks.

 

[traycie2201]

Hi , unfortunately its either all or nothing , you can take away charging privileges completely or put them on , you can't restrict, you don't say how old your son is but if you are only concerned about drinks / arcade why not buy him the soda package where he can get free refills throughout the day (not smoothies ) and buy him an arcade card (seperate to the kttw)
I think $25 a day is quite a lot (again depending on age ) as the only things to pay for are drinks / shopping / arcade / bingo. and obviously photos/ excursions which i assume you'll be booking anyway. Let me know how old the kids are and i'll try and be a bit more specific.

 

[jel0511]

Yes, it's true that it's all or nothing in terms of charging privlidges for KTTW cards. Also, you will be required to place down a charge card to have charging privlidges on the boat, even though you plan on using cash to pay it off.

 

[Jillpie]

Lori, thats interesting...when I called DCL about it, they told me that if I wanted to do everything on cash, I did not have to put down a credit card. That would not be a problem if that is what is needed, but they said I could put 200.00 down on the first day and that would be okay and enough to start. But then I forgot to ask about my DS charging stuff.
Tracyie, he will be 16. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[traycie2201]

From what i understand from other posts / passporters you don't need to put down a card, i think this system was originally put in place for people who don't have credit cards but you do put down around $200 and when you reach your limit guest services will call you to put down additional funds.

 

[jel0511]

And my Sister was told the exact opposite. The told her that because DCL isn't set up with a limit option. They just let you charge until the end of the cruise and then settle it up. See, I guess it helps to get a knowledgable CM.

 

[Jillpie]

okay, thanks. So I guess I can tell him he can spend a certain amount every day on his own. A very scary thought people, very scary. Just kidding, he's very responsible.

 

[traycie2201]

Yep that's about it i'm afraid, what you could do if you want to keep tabs each day is get a daily printout of charges, match them up to what he's spent and then either reduce or increase the next days funds.

 

[ivanova]

Last November we gave our daughter a per day limit of $10 a day (4 day cruise = $40). I didn't care if she bought smoothies, souvenirs, or arcade cards. But she was FULLY AWARE that I could check the account every time, even several times a day, and when she hit (or exceeded $40) she was then going to be 100% cut off from ANY charging privileges. By the end of the cruise she'd spent about $37 total.

We'll be doing the same thing this November for another 4 night cruise.

And next summer for the Aug repo cruise (14 nights) she's saving up the money she wants to spend onboard (I ain't footin' the bill for $140 in smoothies!!!). And what ever she gives me for her spending money, that'll be her limit, and once she hits/exceeds that amount her charging privileges will be cut off.

Just wish I could do that with hubby......

 

[traycie2201]

great ideas ivanova, think i may do the same with DS 13 but the way he saves he'll be taking more money than us and it will be us without charging privileges LOL

 

[Hygiene99]

Just let him!!! Go it is Vacation , Would not want to have to worry about this EVERYDAY... on Vacation.. However u could check daily....
To See if He is within the Total Amount u have set a side and Give a Friendly warning if U feel spending is getting out of hand..

U Say He is very responsible, then Just let him go with the understanding of what the limits are...

Is a daily limit really Required ?

Just wondering ..

I know the feeling I would get if , My Parent Said ok here u go ...

would Be of Wow !!!!

Just my thoughts

Peter
Ps.

IVANOVA Have u thought of doing like a matching funds sort of thing, like employeers Do ? like every dollar u save we will give u a quarter ?? Lol Do like the way u have it worked out out of money is out of money Period....

 

[traycie2201]

Hi Peter, i know if we didn't set limits for Spencer ( 13 ) he would run up a bill, not maliciously but because he wouldn't be thinking about how much he was spending , if he was using the money in his wallet he can see what is left but on kttw i know he wouldn't realise what he was spending. I'll be setting limits but they will be based on how much he has saved up and given to us, of course we will be paying for excursions etc and in a way everything else as it will be the money he has saved from pocket money, chores etc but he knows that i'll be keeping a rough tally and that i will check when passing guest services for both our sakes. I'll be setting a limit of around $100 for the 7 nt cruise which i hope should be more than enough and that he'll come home with some too.

 

[ivanova]

Originally posted by Hygiene99
IVANOVA Have u thought of doing like a matching funds sort of thing, like employeers Do ? like every dollar u save we will give u a quarter ?? Lol Do like the way u have it worked out out of money is out of money Period....

We were actually considering the matching funds for the Aug 2005 repo cruise ... she's currently recycling cans & bottles & doing odd jobs whenever she can (she's only 14 right now, so a "real" part time job isn't in the cards right now). She'll also have allowance, Xmas, and birthday money she can save.

She's actually saving for two things: spending money on the ship (Aug 2005) plus the day after we disembark we're doing Discovery Cove in Orlando. I'm willing to pay the $229 for the dolphin swim package, but she wants to do "trainer for a day" which is $399. So she has to save the $170 difference for that as well.

If she truly applies herself and is really working at saving the money, we are considering telling her next summer that we'll do a dollar for dollar match. If she isn't trying hard enough to raise the money though, we don't want to reward the lack of conviction on her part. So that's why we haven't mentioned the $ for $ idea to her at this point.

 

[MrsPete]

I think setting spending limits well ahead of time is a smart move. It gives a teen some freedom, but it also teaches that everyone must act within limits -- even on vacation.

I can see checking the balance every day (especially with a teen-aged charger), but why do you want to pay off the balances every day? It won't save any money, and it'll take your time.

As for children's charging privledges, someone here said that you can buy a pre-paid VISA card and write that card # on your son's boarding documents (and your own info on your own documents). Each of you will have a charging info card along with your documents, and you can give different credit cards for each person in the room. I'm not sure whether you could "mix" this method with your cash-only idea. Disclaimer: I have not used this pre-paid VISA method personally, but it sounded good to me.

How much is enough? I didn't think there was much in the way of souveneirs onboard. We didn't buy much at all. If you're going to let him get the soda package, that'll be $35 upfront (which will blow his $25 right away on the first day -- perhaps it'd be better to say X amount for the whole cruise). My kids didn't do the arcade (there are free video games in the kids' clubs -- don't know about the teen club); does he have a Gameboy or something similar? He isn't going to buy alcohol, he isn't going to have his hair braided, and he isn't going to go to the spa. I think $25 per day is gracious plenty -- even extravagant -- for a boy this age.

Warning: If he does any excursions (even if YOU reserve them along with the rest of the family), they will show up on HIS bill. For example, my daughter didn't buy a single thing on the ship, but she had a charge of almost $100 for the dolphin excursion, another for $14 for the bananna boat ride, and another for $6 for rental of a float on Castaway Cay. So read the details before you become angry with him!

Finally, if he does happen to go overboard with purchases, you can have guest services "punch" his card. It'll then have no buying power. If he's a responsible kid, just knowing that his can happen will be enough to deter him.

Finally, I LOVE the idea of "matching" a child's savings. I will definitely use this one with my two girls.

 

[ivanova]

Originally posted by MrsPete
As for children's charging privledges, someone here said that you can buy a pre-paid VISA card and write that card # on your son's boarding documents (and your own info on your own documents). Each of you will have a charging info card along with your documents, and you can give different credit cards for each person in the room. I'm not sure whether you could "mix" this method with your cash-only idea. Disclaimer: I have not used this pre-paid VISA method personally, but it sounded good to me.

I don't think this will work ... one of our group last year used a credit card with a low credit limit, thinking that would keep her from overspending ... it didn't ... DCL kept letting her charge to her KTTW card, and when she exceeded her limit they called her to Guest Services to settle the balance.

 

[Jillpie]

MrsPete, great post, thanks for all the advice. As far as paying off the balances...with all of our DW trips, what works perfectly for me is to give us 200.00 per day to spend. When it is spent, thats it for that day. I stay in control that way. And no surprises at the end of vacation. Same with the cruise. I'll allocate a certain amount per day (I think I'll be more flexible on the ship though, not by much) and stick to it.

 

[dianthus]

I have a 13 yr. old DD & we've used a limit system with on each of our 4 cruises, since she was 9. It's worked out well and it has been an opportunity to see her in action managing her finances, which we found that she does quite well.

We assign her a $100 spending limit while on the ship. She can purchase anything she wants on the ship. Once she's reached that, that's it, or it comes out of her money( which she does not like to part with). She saves her own money from babysitting, etc.. for Port purchases. I usually get a printout on our account on Wednesday of a 7 day cruise to check all our accounts. We don't buy her T shirts, pins, etc.. that's in her $100. We also buy her a soda sticker. On our April trip she asked if she could have the $38 instead of the sticker applied to her onboard spending. She'd buy soda if she wanted one. I said yes. She ordered Punch from room service, or went up to Deck 9 for drinks. She didn't spend one cent on sodas ( which I was glad about) She didn't spend the entire amount on the ship, so I gave her the unspent amount left in cash for our 2 days at WDW. She was proud of her purchases & how she spent her money. I think giving them some freedom to make choices helps make them responsible. I was shocked that she chose not to drink soda, so she could spend the $38 on other things... At 16, this is a good way to see how he'll be managing money when he's off to college in 2 years!

When checking in at Port, give them a credit card. They will only charge the card once your bill is $400. If you put cash on your account, your CC will never gets charged, unless you surpass $400.

 

[traycie2201]

Some great ideas , dianthus , clever girl you've got there getting the cash instead of the soda card