Kids questions

[famof4togo]

Hey Guys,

 

I am a long time cruiser but this is our first time cruising with our child. So I had a few questions for those in the "know"....

 

With the kids club...do they pass out walkie talkies or beepers (man I just aged myself...lol) so that a child can contact their parents while at the kid club?

 

Also, is it possible to add a specific dollar amount each day to our child's sea card? I heard some conflicting information on this....also, I heard something to the effect that even if you set a limit on their sea card that somehow the arcade is a loophole on this and can be charged up to no limit? I hope this to not be the case...our son is only 6 years old and while I would be comfortable putting some money on his card to use in the arcade, he is not quite old enough for me to trust his "money management skills" lol.

 

THANKS SO MUCH in advance for your help and response.

[Tatiana84]

At the age of six, there is no walkie talkies or beepers unless you're sailing on a Disney cruise... I'm not sure about the money in the kids cards because I do not trust my kids with that much access, if they want to play in the arcade, I go with them :/

 

 

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Edited January 18, 2017 by Tatiana84

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Would the six year old be by themselves enough that they'd be able to run up a bunch of money in the arcade?

[ARCruisinNana]

Would the six year old be by themselves enough that they'd be able to run up a bunch of money in the arcade?

 

 

Not while checked into Adventure Ocean.

 

 

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[cb at sea]

6 year olds will NEVER be alone...they can't check themselves out of the club on RCI. 9 years old is the min. age for self-check out. A 6 year old will be with some adult all the time.....

[rum & monkey]

Years ago we did get caught up in the arcade loophole even though our kids and my niece (who we had taken with us) had no privileges to charge ANYTHING and I made that clear pier side checking in. And sure enough we wound up with well over $100 at the arcade (it's been so long I do not remember the amount but I think it was closer to $200) They would not remove the actual charges but did give me an OBC to cover the majority of the charges. My problem with it was I made it real clear to them at check in that I wanted the kids to have zero privileges to charge on their cards and no warning was given to me that they still would be able to. The kids were told at the arcade by a staff member that they had $5 for free already loaded on their cards so my daughter & niece tried it and knew they were not suppose to have the ability to charge on their card and figured that it would cut them off when they hit their "free limit". When they did not get cut off they figured it was a glitch in the system to their favor. Guest services said that when I removed charging privileges from the kids pier side it's all that did was unlink them from our credit card and put them all on a cash account. They should of told us that at check in, especially when I told them I wanted them to have absolutely no charging privileges. I would have a serious talk with your son about not charging anything unless he has permission first and if you want to let him play in the arcade go with, put a limit on the # of times he can play rather than a dollar amount. At 6 he can keep track of playing 10 times better than trying to keep a tally in his head how much money he has spent.

 

 

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Edited January 19, 2017 by rum & monkey

[gerif]

At six, your child will either be in Adventure Ocean (beepers only for those in the 3-5 age group - if you think he will want to leave early, you will need to physically go check on him), or with you. No need for him to carry his card at all.

[happymanitee]

I have seen parents in the older age groups getting pagers, so I think they will give you one if you request one. But, I don't know all of the circumstances... like maybe that child had special needs.

[dcgrumpy]

Lat year none of my 3 kids had charging privileges. Two of them were able to charge in the arcade, and one wasn't (or vice versa, I don't remember the exact details). Not sure why the discrepancy. Even with the loophole they couldn't accidentally charge anything. They had to go to a machine with their seapass card. Insert the card and then request a certain amount to be put on their card for the arcade. I made it quite clear to them that they weren't allowed to add money unless we gave them permission.

Edited January 19, 2017 by dcgrumpy

[William234]

I have seen parents in the older age groups getting pagers, so I think they will give you one if you request one. But, I don't know all of the circumstances... like maybe that child had special needs.

 

The FAQ used to say that for older kids, one will be given if requested and if there are an available. If the parents of the younger kids claim all of the beepers then you won't get one.

Edited January 19, 2017 by William234

[S.A.M.J.R.]

Years ago we did get caught up in the arcade loophole even though our kids and my niece (who we had taken with us) had no privileges to charge ANYTHING and I made that clear pier side checking in. And sure enough we wound up with well over $100 at the arcade (it's been so long I do not remember the amount but I think it was closer to $200) They would not remove the actual charges but did give me an OBC to cover the majority of the charges. My problem with it was I made it real clear to them at check in that I wanted the kids to have zero privileges to charge on their cards and no warning was given to me that they still would be able to. The kids were told at the arcade by a staff member that they had $5 for free already loaded on their cards so my daughter & niece tried it and knew they were not suppose to have the ability to charge on their card and figured that it would cut them off when they hit their "free limit". When they did not get cut off they figured it was a glitch in the system to their favor. Guest services said that when I removed charging privileges from the kids pier side it's all that did was unlink them from our credit card and put them all on a cash account. They should of told us that at check in, especially when I told them I wanted them to have absolutely no charging privileges. I would have a serious talk with your son about not charging anything unless he has permission first and if you want to let him play in the arcade go with, put a limit on the # of times he can play rather than a dollar amount. At 6 he can keep track of playing 10 times better than trying to keep a tally in his head how much money he has spent.

 

 

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Lat year none of my 3 kids had charging privileges. Two of them were able to charge in the arcade, and one wasn't (or vice versa, I don't remember the exact details). Not sure why the discrepancy. Even with the loophole they couldn't accidentally charge anything. They had to go to a machine with their seapass card. Insert the card and then request a certain amount to be put on their card for the arcade. I made it quite clear to them that they weren't allowed to add money unless we gave them permission.

I learned on here before our first cruise that denying charging privileges on a child's card does NOT affect the arcade. I do think RCI should let that be known (and they may have told us, but I already knew it) when it's requested.

 

I still don't understand the worry of a 6 year old racking up a bunch of arcade charges. I can't imagine letting a 6 year old roam the ship by themselves.

[Tatiana84]

The FAQ used to say that for older kids, one will be given if requested and if there are an available. If the parents of the younger kids claim all of the beepers then you won't get one.

 

Absolutely, the pagers are ONLY for the 3-4 age, pretty much the kids that cant really fend for themselves, but at age 6, if a kid wants to leave the club, they tell the counselor and the counselor will ring you up at your stateroom.

[Jenjer]

The only way you can set a $$ amount is to put the kid on a cash account. Truthfully a huge pain for you since you will have to put enough cash to cover all DSC and then get extra cash back at the end of the cruise.

 

Little Kids don't have free rein in the arcade. You will be with your child. In over 10 cruises my kids have never ever had a field trip to the arcade during kids club time. That goes accrosed 3 different cruise lines.

 

Now they are teenagers and are free range most of the time they could go but they know we check the bill daily to watch charges. we discuss what they can and can not buy. At six we just told then their card only opens the door period. They didn't know any different. They loved wearing it around their necks and running to open the door.

 

I will say every single cruise my kids have stories of kids charging $100's and parents going ballistic on the last night. You know how some people watch pier runners (we do that too) the kids watch for overchargers. I just think why didn't you ever check the bill all week long.

[latnballer]

We received a cell for our daughter who stayed in the nursery a few times. She's 2. However, nothing for our 5 and 7 year old.

I did see them hand over a cell to one of the parents in the older group but their son had special needs. Other than that they will call you at your stateroom.

In our case, my oldest wasn't having a good time with his group and requested them to call us. We missed the call but they left a message with a family member in another stateroom who we had authorized to pick them up in case of emergency.

[famof4togo]

Thanks for the replies...I was under the impression that the arcade was IN the kids club but now I understand it is separate and he will not be able to access the arcade without us...THANKS....