Teenagers and their spending on ship

[Mattmax]

Is there a way to limit them with a prepaid card of some sort? We want to give our kids lots of independance on the trip, but they could both put away 2 or 3 virgin drinks an hour, and we don't want to scrub decks at the end of the trip :eek:

 

We sail June 4th on the Carnival Sensation! WOOT!

[HeidiHo]

If the Sensation has Funvision, you can keep an eye on their spending on the TV in your room. I'm not sure older ships have this tho. You can get them pre-paid soda cards so they can get unlimited sodas on board. You can't by fancy frozen drinks with these tho. I would just put a limit on how many frozen drinks they can have in a day and hopefully, they will abide by this rule. If the ship doesn't have funvision, you could probably check your balance at the pursers desk every couple of days to make sure they aren't spending too much. You could also have their sail and sign cards deactivated so they can't spend anything but personally, I think teenagers should have spending privledges so they can have some freedom and independence on board. Of course, only you know your kids and know whether or not to give them spending privledges. My teens handled it just fine.

[TonyCruise]

You can put a dollar limit on their sail and sign cards - then it will be up to them to monitor their spending so that they don't max out.

[snorkelman]

The last post is the way that i would also do it. Tell the kids that they each have $40 for the entire cruise. Then half way through add some more money. That way it seems like a treat and you will never go above your limit.

[Mattmax]

Great! So each person has their own sign and sail cards? With their own balance?

[serene56]

Thier card is still guaranteed by the master card holder-- you.

And they could spend over their limit. Their cards will NOT shut down automatically when it comes to that limit. (just be careful)

[*CruiseFan*]

Also you could do Fun Ship Dollars and tell them to use those to purchase their virgin drinks if you've bought the coke package for them :)

 

I was going to say the drink coupons but those are only for alcoholic drinks and that definitely wouldn't work ;)

[jerseygirl3]

Why can't you just tell your kids what they are allowed to spend? Will they not abide by that?

 

If you don't think they will, I agree with the others that for their cards, instead of using your credit card, you can set up their account with a cash deposit. However, I think there is a minimum; for some reason $150 for the week sticks out in my mind.

 

We've just told our kids what they are allowed to spend for the week. We've never had a problem with them going overboard (pun intended!).

[Odd Ball]

Why can't you just tell your kids what they are allowed to spend? Will they not abide by that?

 

Yes, just tell them what they are allowed to spend. If they don't like it they can stay at home.

[*CruiseFan*]

I agree with telling them what they can and can't spend but I'll say from experience it adds up FAST (as we all know). Of course I'm over the age 21 so my drinks are more expensive, but when you're on a cruise it's so hard to lose track of everything - I'm convinced you're in an alternate universe while cruising! It's easy to just swipe that Sign & Sail card and not even think about the prices adding in up!

 

It's just whatever works best for you and your family. If you trust your kids to abide by the limit that you set or you trust them to do that but don't want to run any risk of them getting a little overzealous and not being as responsible as you know they normally can be then go with a limit on the card :)

[Magnifique1908]

Thier card is still guaranteed by the master card holder-- you.

And they could spend over their limit. Their cards will NOT shut down automatically when it comes to that limit. (just be careful)

 

Instead of linking a credit card, use a cash deposit. That way when your kids get to that limit of cash, you will get a message from the pursers' desk informing you to basically either stop charging or come put some more money on the card, lol. You can also check on the television if your particular ship offers this service. I would suggest this instead of putting several S&S cards on one credit card.

[blackwing]

Are your kids what you would call "well behaved"? If so, I'd tell them you can spend $X over the course of the week, it is up to you to budget it and spend it accordingly. Whatever is left over, we will give to you.

 

If on the other hand, you think your kids will be out of control with spending, I would definitely deactivate those S&S cards. I've seen those teenagers on board. They travel in packs. The last thing you want is for your kid to buy a round of virgin daiquiris for the entire group, with a promise from everyone that "my mom will pay you back". Get them the soda card instead. If they want a fru fru drink as a special reward, they can enjoy it when you are around.

[halos]

Just tell them what their limit is for each day and that if they go over the limit, you'll take the card away.

Check on their cards at the end of every day...if you've been the 'follow through' kind of parent, they'll take this threat seriously and you won't have a problem.

[ppeckham]

Is there a way to limit them with a prepaid card of some sort? We want to give our kids lots of independance on the trip, but they could both put away 2 or 3 virgin drinks an hour, and we don't want to scrub decks at the end of the trip :eek:

 

 

We gave the kids a limit of two smoothies a day. Basically we gave them $10 - $15 a day spending. One preferred to use his "money" in the arcade. The other loved her smoothies but more often only had one at dinner.

 

We did monitor their charges on Funvision. Anything over their limit at the end of the cruise, they paid us in cash (or they washed dishes/scrubbed decks/cleaned the pool, etc.) It worked well. They were always under the limit.

[GroupCruiser]

If it's a newer ship you can't take their card away, it's their Room Key, and every ship uses that as your Ship's ID when getting on or off.

 

Every S&S Card can be associated with a different account. Just use a Cash Deposit for theirs and when it runs out, they're all done unless you put more money on it. I believe you can put more cash on theirs using your own S&S card.

[halos]

If it's a newer ship you can't take their card away, it's their Room Key, and every ship uses that as your Ship's ID when getting on or off.

 

Yeah...it can be taken away and I'd take it. If they needed to get back into their room, they'd have to get the key from me and then bring it right back. OR I'd embarrass them by walking with them back and forth from the room. Inconvenient...very. But I've done a lot more stuff that inconvenienced me in order to make it clear who was the boss. Obviously they'd use it to get on and off the ship, but it would be in MY posession. :D

I would definintely do this and my girls know it like they know the sun will come up in the morning...that's why I've never actually had to do it.

[4boys4mom]

Last year we asked the purser that same question, not that we don't trust the boys but....:rolleyes: they asked us what limit we wanted to place on their cards and we told them each persons limit. Did they enforce it? YES!! Our then 13 yr old found us in the lounge and expressed his angst (SP?) at having had a purchase rejected. We explained that prior to leaving home we had discussed spending limits and that he had exeeded his (by day 3 no less). He chose not to purchase the Fountain Fun card and that choice froced him to be extra nice to his penny pinching 10 year old brother. He spent the cruise drinking the "rests" of AJ's soda's. I think it was a good lesson about thinking before you spend.:)

[jerseygirl3]

Actually, you can get a card from the Purser's Desk that will serve only as a room key...no spending privileges at all.

[Magnifique1908]

Last year we asked the purser that same question, not that we don't trust the boys but....:rolleyes: they asked us what limit we wanted to place on their cards and we told them each persons limit. Did they enforce it? YES!! Our then 13 yr old found us in the lounge and expressed his angst (SP?) at having had a purchase rejected. We explained that prior to leaving home we had discussed spending limits and that he had exeeded his (by day 3 no less). He chose not to purchase the Fountain Fun card and that choice froced him to be extra nice to his penny pinching 10 year old brother. He spent the cruise drinking the "rests" of AJ's soda's. I think it was a good lesson about thinking before you spend.:)

 

I think this is the best answer in this thread. The OP should definitely go with this method. Place a limit, explain the limit, and watch how responsible (or irresponsible, lol) they can be. Good Job 4boys4mom!!!

[serene56]

Instead of linking a credit card, use a cash deposit. That way when your kids get to that limit of cash, you will get a message from the pursers' desk informing you to basically either stop charging or come put some more money on the card, lol. You can also check on the television if your particular ship offers this service. I would suggest this instead of putting several S&S cards on one credit card.

 

 

This is not always the case..by the time we got that note under the door--the kids were 50 bucks over their limit. (funship tellevision was not on the tv for that sailing)

 

Funship dollars are not used to make purchases on the ship- you need to turn them over to the pursers desk and redeem them for ship credit.

[cali-croozer]

I don't activate my kids cards. I buy them a soda card and a t-shirt from the gift shop, and they bring their own money for the arcade (which they hardly go to since there's so much to do on the ship!):) There's really nothing else to buy on the ship anyway.

[Magnifique1908]

This is not always the case..by the time we got that note under the door--the kids were 50 bucks over their limit. (funship tellevision was not on the tv for that sailing)

 

Funship dollars are not used to make purchases on the ship- you need to turn them over to the pursers desk and redeem them for ship credit.

 

Forgot to mention that you have to let the desk know that the amount on the card is an actual limit. They won't let your kids go over after that. Read a few posts above.

[serene56]

Forgot to mention that you have to let the desk know that the amount on the card is an actual limit. They won't let your kids go over after that. Read a few posts above.

 

I did let the pursers desk know thats the limit on each card. she even told me when it gets close to the amount on there we would get a note. No note..and they went over. So after that my kids were not allowed spending privileges on a cruise... (unless they use their own credit card)

[Magnifique1908]

I did let the pursers desk know thats the limit on each card. she even told me when it gets close to the amount on there we would get a note. No note..and they went over. So after that my kids were not allowed spending privileges on a cruise... (unless they use their own credit card)

 

Well thats terrible. You set a limit for a reason. I would probably do the same after that.

[Tamhugh]

We told our older ds that he could charge one virgin drink a day on his card. Any beyond that would be his responsibility to pay at the end. He is a hoarder with his money, so it wasn't a problem. The younger one never had charging privileges, but he only ever needed it for the arcade. We did buy them each a soda card though.

 

Tammy