Kids' Club Gratuity Charge?

[bbel]

Have you read the cruise contract that you sign to say you read it all? Including your general average contribution (that you are not entitled to receive), and the wonderful paragraph 18?

Just saying…it isn't nice to hide significant things (such as a charge not otherwise disclosed or highlighted) in small print. "You signed it" may be legal, but not ethical. They should not do that.

Sure, but you cant argue or complain if you chose not to read it.

I wasn't referring to a cruise contract (not relevant to this thread), it is clearly there on the one page registration form. Its not hidden. There are about three or four lines of 'small print' and that is purely so it all fits on one page...
At the end of the day, if its about your kids, I'd like to think people would read it - it could say anything, especially when its a place where emergencies and evacuations could happen. It talks about medical care, evacuations and the photo policy. It takes less than 5 minutes to read and is available in about 10 different languages.

Anyway, the majority of counsellors make a point of telling you theres a charge and if you return it its refunded to you. Some don't, like I said, they don't have to, you signed right next to it to say you understood. I told most people about it, some I didn't, especially if you're having a conversation with them or they're asking questions. Registering 50+ kids every few days can get a little tedious and while you get a flow, sometimes you forget things....

 

[FigmentSpark]

I wasn't told, either. I knew, because of this board, but no one there actually told me. We kept ours, because he wanted the souvenir. The charge was on our final paperwork.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

One thing that surprised me when we got the bill was the charge for the magic bands for the Oceaneer club. At no point did anyone tell me there was a $13.95 charge for the bands, and I didn't see it in any of the paperwork or general research that I did before the cruise. We ended up loosing a band at Castaway Cay and I went and got another for my son, and even when I got a replacement, no one told me they were going to charge me ANOTHER $13.95. I just assumed it was like magic bands, that they are complimentary and would be replaced with no trouble. It didn't break our vacation, but I wish I had known up front!

In the end, you are only charged for bands that our lost or kept, so for most people, it has no effect. I am sorry that you weren't aware of the charge. Certainly, when you got the replacement band they could have mentioned it, but perhaps they thought you already knew.

I'm not trying to be mean, but other things can have even bigger charges. For instance, were you aware that if you lose a "wave phone" which you are supposed to keep with you so that CMs can contact you when your kids are in the club, that the charge is like $250? Now THAT would be quite a surprise if you weren't aware of it ahead of time

 

[joycsk]

My last cruise, both our kids were too old for the Club and Lab. But two cruises ago, when the MBs were still fairly new, the CMs were completely upfront that we would be charged for the band if we lost or choose to keep it. My DS wanted his, just as someone else here mentioned. In DW the bands are a necessity, on the ships, the technically are not. Plus, how many people shell out for the themed MBs rather than the plain ones. Personally, I'm grateful that WDW has finally gone to an interchangeable system. I would hate to spend $ on a special band simply to have it time out 2 or 3 years later.

 

[squirk]

the CMs were completely upfront that we would be charged for the band if we lost or choose to keep it

This has been my experience, too. Given how utterly disposable those bands are at the parks, it feels like nickel-and-diming on DCL's part to charge us for those things. All the more so given the premium we pay to sail DCL.

That having been said, we've always found the youth counselors at the clubs to be up-front in letting us know about the charge when we first get the bands, as well as reminding us about the charge on the last day of sailing as well.

 

[bumbershoot]

n DW the bands are a necessity

They aren't a necessity at all at the parks. If you're onsite you can request a card to be your roomkey, and can access your tickets and FP+s through that. The ONLY thing you lose out on is being remotely tracked and getting the ride videos (they are only sent to MDE through the long range RFID, there is nowhere to tap to get those). That's not a problem for my family (why on earth would we want to watch a video of us riding a ride? it boggles my mind).

IMO they are a neessity on the ship, because that's how the kids get in and out of the kid's club/lab. Before these bands it was a big clunky plastic thing.

Given how utterly disposable those bands are at the parks, it feels like nickel-and-diming on DCL's part to charge us for those things.

Agreed.

 

[bbel]

This has been my experience, too. Given how utterly disposable those bands are at the parks, it feels like nickel-and-diming on DCL's part to charge us for those things. All the more so given the premium we pay to sail DCL.

As CM we always argued that $13 should just be included in the cruise cost.
That being said its hardly "nickel-and-diming" (a topic I usually just laugh at people getting so worked up over ) as when you return the band you get the money back, that you never actually hand over...
If you chose to keep it, then you pay. Just like in the parks - if you chose to get a different band, you pay for it...

The main reason they charge a deposit on the ship is that there isn't the storage space for them, if everyone from every cruise kept their bands, there wouldn't be enough for the next cruise...
The deposit ensures that 95% are returned at the end of the cruise.

 

[Quellman]

As CM we always argued that $13 should just be included in the cruise cost.
That being said its hardly "nickel-and-diming" (a topic I usually just laugh at people getting so worked up over ) as when you return the band you get the money back, that you never actually hand over...
If you chose to keep it, then you pay. Just like in the parks - if you chose to get a different band, you pay for it...

The main reason they charge a deposit on the ship is that there isn't the storage space for them, if everyone from every cruise kept their bands, there wouldn't be enough for the next cruise...
The deposit ensures that 95% are returned at the end of the cruise.

Anytime we have gotten the bands, they always appeared in new unused condition. So what happens to the ones turned in? Go off to the magic band recycling plant?

 

[squirk]

As CM we always argued that $13 should just be included in the cruise cost.
That being said its hardly "nickel-and-diming" (a topic I usually just laugh at people getting so worked up over ) as when you return the band you get the money back, that you never actually hand over...
If you chose to keep it, then you pay. Just like in the parks - if you chose to get a different band, you pay for it...

The main reason they charge a deposit on the ship is that there isn't the storage space for them, if everyone from every cruise kept their bands, there wouldn't be enough for the next cruise...
The deposit ensures that 95% are returned at the end of the cruise.

Well, I wasn't worked up over it, but from the guest's perspective, I think the "nickel-and-diming" is still a fair call. DCL is charging me $13 to keep an item that WDW gives away (or at least, includes in my resort/ticket cost) like it's going out of style and that people can dispose of like a used kleenex when their trip is over.

Genuine question because I honestly don't know - as far as band inventory on the ship goes, if everyone took their Oceaneer band home, is it that big of a logistical hassle to just bring a fresh batch of bands on board when the ship is being turned over in port? I mean, Parks & Resorts is already cranking tens of thousands of these things out every month, and giving them to anyone on-property with a heartbeat, right?

 

[bbel]

Anytime we have gotten the bands, they always appeared in new unused condition. So what happens to the ones turned in? Go off to the magic band recycling plant?

They get dishwashed and sorted into Disney look and non-Disney look. Theres a CM backstage on that last night cleaning and sorting until the early hours. Those that can't be used get offloaded. A lot look as good as new and you'd never know.
It's one reason they changed them from yellow to blue, the blue ones clean up better and more uses out of them...
Many get new, many get resused bands.

 

[bbel]

Well, I wasn't worked up over it, but from the guest's perspective, I think the "nickel-and-diming" is still a fair call. DCL is charging me $13 to keep an item that WDW gives away (or at least, includes in my resort/ticket cost) like it's going out of style and that people can dispose of like a used kleenex when their trip is over.

Genuine question because I honestly don't know - as far as band inventory on the ship goes, if everyone took their Oceaneer band home, is it that big of a logistical hassle to just bring a fresh batch of bands on board when the ship is being turned over in port? I mean, Parks & Resorts is already cranking tens of thousands of these things out every month, and giving them to anyone on-property with a heartbeat, right?

Well you cared enough to bring it up
I suppose I always considered "nickel and diming" as when a company isn't honest and open, and takes your money and doesn't give it back.
But I suppose, if in your world a deposit is considered nickel and diming then you are correct...


As for your second question. Yes and no.
Ships out of port Canaveral. Yes.
Itineraries out of Europe, west coast, Galveston, New York and even Miami, not so easy, so it's just easier to have a blanket policy throughout all the ships.
While it is possible, it's not going to happen over night and in some cases, not even that month.
The Oceaneer Bands use a completely different technology to Magic Bands, believe me, I stupidly/accidentally spent way too long trying to work out why I couldn't register a MB that a kid had from the parks.

 

[squirk]

Well you cared enough to bring it up
I suppose I always considered "nickel and diming" as when a company isn't honest and open, and takes your money and doesn't give it back.
But I suppose, if in your world a deposit is considered nickel and diming then you are correct...

I guess we can cordially agree to disagree. Call it a "deposit", but at the end of the day, you're being charged $13 to keep something that the parks give away for free on a MUCH larger scale. That having been said, I'm not losing sleep over it. In the grand scheme of what I pay for a DCL cruise, the $13 is less than trivial.

As for your second question. Yes and no.
Ships out of port Canaveral. Yes.
Itineraries out of Europe, west coast, Galveston, New York and even Miami, not so easy, so it's just easier to have a blanket policy throughout all the ships.
While it is possible, it's not going to happen over night and in some cases, not even that month.
The Oceaneer Bands use a completely different technology to Magic Bands, believe me, I stupidly/accidentally spent way too long trying to work out why I couldn't register a MB that a kid had from the parks.

I am surprised that the labor that goes into washing and sorting the used bands is more time- and cost-efficient than just shipping new bands ready to go right out of the box, especially given the tight window you all have to turn that ship over.

Another genuine question - what is so different about the Oceaneer bands? I've been told that the technology is different by other YA counselors, but it seems like it would be the same hunk of rubberized plastic with the same RFID chip and battery buried inside. Different chips? Maybe shorter-range chips on the ships since it's a much more constrained space than the resort?

 

[bbel]

I guess we can cordially agree to disagree. Call it a "deposit", but at the end of the day, you're being charged $13 to keep something that the parks give away for free on a MUCH larger scale. That having been said, I'm not losing sleep over it. In the grand scheme of what I pay for a DCL cruise, the $13 is less than trivial.



I am surprised that the time and labor that goes into washing and sorting the used bands is more cost-efficient than shipping new bands ready to go right out of the box, especially given the tight window you all have to turn that ship over.

Another genuine question - what is so different about the Oceaneer bands? I've been told that the technology is different by other YA counselors, but it seems like it would be the same hunk of rubberized plastic with the same RFID chip and battery buried inside. Different chips? Maybe shorter-range chips on the ships since it's a much more constrained space?

Well, my whole point was you're not being forced to keep it. But whatever makes you happy...

Yes, the CM on band duty on the last night is given around 3 hours to clean all the bands, it's done mostly once the spaces are quiet/closed so doesn't really cut into the cruise. And, yes it is a lot more cost effective for the company to pay for one CM for A few hours then to ship a thousand bands across the country/world every week and guarantee they get there.
Even ships sailing out of PC fail to get deliveries, once we were sailing out of Miami and had to leave a couple of boxes at castaway for the dream...

As for the difference, I'm definitely not the right person to ask. But for starters it's used with a completely different programme, you don't need to store allergies or passwords or authorised adults at wdw, equally kids on a Disney cruise don't need a dining plan or credit card attached to their band. Whatever though, I feel the DCL bands 'die' quicker. I would replace many bands each day because they 'failed', even if they were brand new that day or cruise.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

The Oceaneer Bands use a completely different technology to Magic Bands, believe me, I stupidly/accidentally spent way too long trying to work out why I couldn't register a MB that a kid had from the parks.

That's what I was wondering. Since the function for each of them is different, I thought the capability of each band was different. So much that they couldn't use them back and forth.

 

[TestingH2O]

Different chips? Maybe shorter-range chips on the ships since it's a much more constrained space than the resort?

I would guess the opposite in terms of chips. The ones for the parks have to be held very close to the sensor to read, right? Like a hotel key? The DCL bands have to be able to be pinged while kids are in the club to give their location. I'd assume each area only has 1-2 bases so those chips have to have a decent reach.

That might also explain reusing them. I'd assume longer range would be more expensive. That might also explain the higher failure rate suggested above.

Random speculation all around but it is an interesting question.

 

[squirk]

As for the difference, I'm definitely not the right person to ask. But for starters it's used with a completely different programme, you don't need to store allergies or passwords or authorised adults at wdw, equally kids on a Disney cruise don't need a dining plan or credit card attached to their band. Whatever though, I feel the DCL bands 'die' quicker. I would replace many bands each day because they 'failed', even if they were brand new that day or cruise.

That's interesting, as all those differences you mention are server-side issues, not hardware differences. The chip is really just a reference number, and information like allergies, PINs, DDP credits, credit card numbers, etc. are not stored on the bands themselves, right? So if your kid's band is ID# 123-ABC-45678, that tells you nothing unless you can tie into Disney's servers and cross-reference that number to an individual's profile.

I would guess the opposite in terms of chips. The ones for the parks have to be held very close to the sensor to read, right? Like a hotel key? The DCL bands have to be able to be pinged while kids are in the club to give their location. I'd assume each area only has 1-2 bases so those chips have to have a decent reach.

The park bands do not have to be close to a sensor. Note how your band can be "read" at the end of Small World, and how Memory Maker can single out which car you are in on a roller coaster like 7DMT. And perhaps someone can correct me, but I believe the park bands do have the capability to locate a lost child, or at least triangulate their general vicinity.

 

[TestingH2O]

The park bands do not have to be close to a sensor. Note how your band can be "read" at the end of Small World, and how MagicMaker can single out which car you are in on a roller coaster like 7DMT. And perhaps someone can correct me, but I believe the park bands do have the capability to locate a lost child, or at least triangulate their general vicinity.

I haven't been to the park since I was a kid. I was basing my understanding off the videos I've seen online. I stand corrected. Also, I agree with you in terms of where the data storage differences would be housed.

 

[bbel]

That's interesting, as all those differences you mention are server-side issues, not hardware differences. The chip is really just a reference number, and information like allergies, PINs, DDP credits, credit card numbers, etc. are not stored on the bands themselves, right? So if your kid's band is ID# 123-ABC-45678, that tells you nothing unless you can tie into Disney's servers and cross-reference that number to an individual's profile.



The park bands do not have to be close to a sensor. Note how your band can be "read" at the end of Small World, and how Memory Maker can single out which car you are in on a roller coaster like 7DMT. And perhaps someone can correct me, but I believe the park bands do have the capability to locate a lost child, or at least triangulate their general vicinity.

Like I said I have no idea how the technology works. I just did what I was told lol

But, like I also said, I accidentally tried and failed to register a Magic Band as an Oceaneer Band.
Also, just now out of curiosity, I just tried to link and Oceaneer Band to my MDE and it told me that it wasn't recognised/supported.
So no idea what it is, but there is something different in them that won't allow them to 'connect' with the technologies that the other is designed for...

 

[DLM1980]

Like I said I have no idea how the technology works. I just did what I was told lol

But, like I also said, I accidentally tried and failed to register a Magic Band as an Oceaneer Band.
Also, just now out of curiosity, I just tried to link and Oceaneer Band to my MDE and it told me that it wasn't recognised/supported.
So no idea what it is, but there is something different in them that won't allow them to 'connect' with the technologies that the other is designed for...

Wonder if they just have longer or shorter ID numbers than the park ones

 

[Jack & Monica]

It is on youtube. They were first-time cruisers. I do not think they meant any harm. They just made a big error when it came to the gratuities.