Can Cruise Cards be "Programmed" to prevent exiting ship?

We will be traveling soon to Alaska with an extended family group. My question: can cruise cards be "programmed" to prevent certain family members (wandering elderly or teens) from exiting the ship? Can cruise cards be programmed to NOT allow charges to be made on them?

Princess had made an error in accounting with my account...it showed a large amount due....and my card produced a loud zonk noise when I was disembarking....(it led to a quick resolution).

So yes...cards can be programmed for any number of functions, including limiting disembarkation.

When I was 'in quarantine ' because of illness on the 2017 WC, I learned after the fact that my card was deactivated . I didn't know until they told me that it had been reactivated. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

I'm sure it would have prevented me from getting off the ship if I had tried .

We will be traveling soon to Alaska with an extended family group. My question: can cruise cards be "programmed" to prevent certain family members (wandering elderly or teens) from exiting the ship? Can cruise cards be programmed to NOT allow charges to be made on them?

I know children's and teens accounts can be set up to limit spending.

Roz

So yes...cards can be programmed for any number of functions, including limiting disembarkation.

This message may have been drafted using voice recognition. Please forgive any typos.

We will be traveling soon to Alaska with an extended family group. My question: can cruise cards be "programmed" to prevent certain family members (wandering elderly or teens) from exiting the ship? Can cruise cards be programmed to NOT allow charges to be made on them?

I know charging privileges may be removed. But I'm not sure about the blocking someone from leaving the ship. Other than any blocks that the staff onboard may use. Don't know if individuals can request that "card holder XXX be blocked from departing ship".

Call ship services and ask if you can request certain members of your group to have their cards deactivated. Likely they will agree to anyone under the age of 18 BUT they may require that an adult stay on the ship with them. If there is a port where the teens may get off with you, then you have to go to all the trouble of having their cards activated. Not sure if it is worth all that bother. As to elderly people -- doubt if you can request to have their cards deactivated.

If you have to worry about an elderly passenger leaving the ship unescorted and ask for safeguards to be placed on their sea pass, it will act as a red flag to the ship that a medical evaluation for fitness to cruise may have to be done.

I have had a cabin across from the medical center on the Veendam and heard such a evaluation take place. The loudly protesting ,very disoriented senior was brought to the center by security on embarkation day.

He and his caregiver were told to disembark as the gentleman would be a hazard to himself and others on board..

Yes, especially if customs and immigration has questions about your passport. A really nice jolting alarm goes off.

I've always thought it was automatic that children under 18 can not get off the ship without a parent/supervisor. Is that right?

I've always thought it was automatic that children under 18 can not get off the ship without a parent/supervisor. Is that right?

I believe this is the case - it is certainly a common-sense safeguard. I have heard that daily charge limits can be placed on cards - also common-sense when traveling with tweets/teens.

If you have to worry about an elderly passenger leaving the ship unescorted and ask for safeguards to be placed on their sea pass, it will act as a red flag to the ship that a medical evaluation for fitness to cruise may have to be done.

 

I have had a cabin across from the medical center on the Veendam and heard such a evaluation take place. The loudly protesting ,very disoriented senior was brought to the center by security on embarkation day.

 

He and his caregiver were told to disembark as the gentleman would be a hazard to himself and others on board..

There was someone on CC years ago who asked a question on CC along the lines of traveling with someone with wandering and memory/self care issues and they reported later they were contacted by HAL and advised they might be disembarked if the person was not competent to travel safely. apparently HAL staff saw the post and figured out who.

I've been on more than one cruise where someone brought a family member on board with dementia or Alzheimer's, and the person was found wandering the ship in the middle of the night with no idea of what cabin they were in. In one instance the family was put off the ship because they couldn't keep track of their elderly family member.

Roz

Call ship services and ask if you can request certain members of your group to have their cards deactivated....

With so many of the above answers being guesses and conjecture, KK's advice to go to the source (HAL) makes eminent good sense. Thanks, KK! (y)(y)(y)

You need to address this to HAL before you cruise. In my experience HAL can flag your card so that you cannot get off the ship if you have been reported to have norovirus. When you try to go off the ship you will be told that you can not. In my case I tried to leave a half hour before quarantine was up. We sat with another couple in the same situation until we were cleared. HAL has the capacity to bar cruisers from leaving the ship. You need to tell them what your situation is.

We saw a man in the Neptune Lounge who walked off w/o his rollator, and the family seemed very concerned. We never saw him beyond that first day.

On Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas, I was quarantined for two days w/ norovirus. They forgot to lift the quarantine, so when I tried to disembark, the alarms went off.

There was someone on CC years ago who asked a question on CC along the lines of traveling with someone with wandering and memory/self care issues and they reported later they were contacted by HAL and advised they might be disembarked if the person was not competent to travel safely. apparently HAL staff saw the post and figured out who.

If you have to worry about an elderly passenger leaving the ship unescorted and ask for safeguards to be placed on their sea pass, it will act as a red flag to the ship that a medical evaluation for fitness to cruise may have to be done.

 

I have had a cabin across from the medical center on the Veendam and heard such a evaluation take place. The loudly protesting ,very disoriented senior was brought to the center by security on embarkation day.

 

He and his caregiver were told to disembark as the gentleman would be a hazard to himself and others on board..

Thank you both for expressing the concern I had when reading about an elderly wandering passenger.

Thank you both for expressing the concern I had when reading about an elderly wandering passenger.

It is a PITA when one is woken up in the middle of the night because there is a ship wide announcement coming over the cabin's intercom about a missing elderly passenger that is wandering. Of course, that is then followed up just as one is dropping off to sleep that the person was found.

It is a PITA when one is woken up in the middle of the night because there is a ship wide announcement coming over the cabin's intercom about a missing elderly passenger that is wandering. Of course, that is then followed up just as one is dropping off to sleep that the person was found.

My concern would more be along the lines of the passenger getting terrified by not knowing where they were, harming themselves or someone who was trying to help them, or even misinterpreting what the railings are and perhaps trying to climb them :(

Original poster here. The elderly couple we were concerned about has decided to cancel. Too much risk that there will be problems or stress in an unfamiliar environment. Plus we would have to "babysit" them.

I found out that teens must be 18 to leave the ship alone on a ship sponsored excursion. Not sure about leaving independently. It is good to know they won't have free credit card use without limits.

I found out that teens must be 18 to leave the ship alone on a ship sponsored excursion. Not sure about leaving independently.

Original poster here. ... found out that teens must be 18 to leave the ship alone on a ship sponsored excursion. Not sure about leaving independently. It is good to know they won't have free credit card use without limits.

I'm pretty sure it's the same.

As suggested by Krazy Kruizers above, you should go to the source (HAL) for a definitive answer and not rely on guesses and conjecture and (possibly outdated) anecdotal information.

In 2017, we traveled with our 15 year old granddaughter, and she could not get off the ship without one of us with her. We didn't do anything special to set it up.

“Parents and guardians are responsible for deciding whether or

not minors under age 16 are allowed to go ashore without adult supervision. If you want to permit a minor traveling with you to go ashore without an adult companion, please discuss this in advance with the ship’s Security Officer so that they can make a notation of this in our gangway control system software. Absent this approval, our security personnel will generally prohibit minors from leaving the ship without an adult companion although we cannot provide absolute assurances in this regard. It is ultimately the responsibility of parents and guardians to ensure that minors traveling with them act in accordance with their instructions”

This is from the HAL guidelines, I would have been very surprised if 16/17 year olds were restricted.