Onboard Account charging privileges

[mkandjpsmom]

Quick question
I have a cruise coming up and I am doing the online check in. I put my CC in for charging, but what about the kids? They will have their own money. Is there a way I can put a limit on what they can charge? Or prepay for just them so they have their own "account". Also how much do you suggest they bring? I was thinking $100 each for spending money and souvenirs.
Thank you!

 

[Cliffside]

Unless things have changed....unfortunately you can't put a limit on your kids account. They either are allowed to charge or they can't. If they just want to charge in the gift shops you can get them a Disney gift card,but that will not work to buy smoothies or other snacks around the ship.

 

[Drusilla99]

Every time the kids charge, if you allow it, the bill is separated by person, so you will see who has spent what. I just let my teens charge & then they owe me the $ for some of their souvenirs. The deal is I buy drinks & a couple souvenirs, they buy the rest. You can also check the bill at guest services during the cruise, so if their spending is getting out of hand, you can cut them off.

 

[My2Kidzmom]

So they can use gift cards in the shops, they don't have to charge? My kids have gift cards from bdays etc. and I'd love to not have to reconcile everyone's "bill" if possible.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

We usually just take the kids money that they want to spend on the ship and let them charge on the keys. We tell them what we will pay for; (1 edible item per day, 2 souvenirs) and then we check in every night for a print out, so that they have proof of what they have spent and can track their spending on their own. This has never been an issue, my youngest likes to buy all his sweets and smoothies on the first day and try and negotiate for us to buy him more, but then he quickly forgets and is fine with everything that is included. He has done this EVERY TIME! LOL.

 

[Californiacruizers]

Have you pre-paid gratuities? If you have not prepaid gratuities the daily amount will be charged to your stateroom account per person per day(so that may need to be factored into your budget, so you are not surprised at the end of your cruise). I agree with allowing the kids to use gift cards vs. being able to charge things to the stateroom account. On our last cruise I allowed my 12 year old son $50.00 to charge to our stateroom account. He had his own stateroom card and felt all grown up. We had not been on the ship for 2 whole hours before he exceeded the $50.00 limit( just by a few dollars)he spent all his money in the arcade playing games. I went to Guest Services and had his account suspended. On our upcoming Disney cruise, I plan to give him and my daughter disney gift cards.

 

[krisinparis]

I just tell me kids what they can and cannot spend $$ on-- I'm okay with them buying popcorn at the movies and they can each buy 1-2 things in the shop (total charges in the shop $25 max) and that is it. I think if you let them know what they can/ cannot spend, they'll do fine. (especially when you tell them that you can see who charged what!)

 

[mkandjpsmom]

Wow! Thank you all for this info. This is exactly what I was looking for. The kids are 16, 15 and 12. They are so different when it comes to spending money. The oldest is very cautious and makes thoughtful decisions as to what to buy. The 15 yo wants to buy everything, but doesn't want to spend his money. The 12 yo will be the one that spends all her money on the first day and then regret it.