Beware of the Arcade on RCCL...

[LMaxwell]

This is Royal's fault and Royal's problem.  Them offering to discount it 50% and them saying the system did not work as intended is their shortfall to handle, not to negotiate with the guests.  When Royal's problem costs you money they try to negotiate.  When Royal's system costs them money (drink package snafu) they cancel the orders.  Full agreement with John Reid.  

[Pattyhoo]

Nashna, thank you for the heads up regarding arcade credits. We will be taking our grandsons ( 11 and 13 ) on their first cruise and I know they want to play there. 

I love reading Cruise Critic but am always amazed by some snarky comments. 

[cello56]

11 hours ago, xpcdoojk said:

 

My guess is the kids borrowed a parents card and refilled it...

 

jc

 

Are you seriously accusing children that you have never even met of being thieves? Of stealing from their parents? Wow! You have a lot of nerve, and a very low opinion of children in general. 

[HotRod3]

I had a similar situation last year on Harmony.  My son was 12 at the time and we got him the Arcade Credits prior to the sailing as a gift.  On day 3 of the cruise when my wife checked our Sea Pass Account, as she does every day, she noticed close to $100 of Arcade charges on our account.  She said this must be an error and went straight to Guest Services thinking that when our son's credits were gone he wouldn't be able to play any more since he did not have charging privileges on his Sea Pass.  Turns out by having the Arcade credits he was able to charge at the Arcade to our account after the credits expired.  Thankfully he had only exceeded the credit amount by less than $100 and my wife being the great negotiator she is was able to get is reduced to $50 and we locked his card from charges from that point.  

With all of that said, I would go easy on the OP for what they did or didn't do.  They are kids having harmless fun while enjoying a family vacation.  Yes there was an issue with the system and most likely it is some type of a software issue that is fleet wide.  Moving forward we may or may not do the Arcade credits but I will still let my son have all the fun he wants while on his cruise!

 

Edited July 2, 2019 by HotRod3

[mjkacmom]

This is not the first time I’ve heard of this happening, so I’m sure they know it’s an issue. I give charging privileges to my kids on vacation, and they know not to go over budget. This is different, it was a separate card that was supposed to have $100 worth of swipes. It’s like a visa gift card, once the money is gone, it no longer works. 

[later]

The system puts a set amount on the card. Once that amount is gone you must recharge the card.  This is done using the sea pass card and a machine in the arcade.

 

Someone would have to recharge the card or it wouldn’t work in the games.  A glitch in the system may have caused it but I doubt it.

[Tree_skier]

Great post.

[mugtech]

27 minutes ago, later said:

The system puts a set amount on the card. Once that amount is gone you must recharge the card.  This is done using the sea pass card and a machine in the arcade.

 

Someone would have to recharge the card or it wouldn’t work in the games.  A glitch in the system may have caused it but I doubt it.

Are you saying that 9-13 year olds were (gasp!) dishonest to benefit themselves and tried to blame Royal Caribbean?

[broberts]

1 minute ago, mugtech said:

Are you saying that 9-13 year olds were (gasp!) dishonest to benefit themselves and tried to blame Royal Caribbean?

 

Are you suggesting that 9 - 13 year olds are all dishonest? And RCI would never, ever try to shift blame?

[mugtech]

1 minute ago, broberts said:

 

Are you suggesting that 9 - 13 year olds are all dishonest? And RCI would never, ever try to shift blame?

Not ALL 9-13 year olds, perhaps just the ones in question. Of course RCI would attempt to shift blame in some cases.  Not suggesting anything, just asking the previous poster if that was the intent of the post I quoted. 

[norway olin]

At one time I thought I understood how to avoid this problem but now I am not sure. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

Our grandkids will have NO charging privileges .  They will have arcade credits on their cards.  When the credits run out they are done.

[ONECRUISER]

This is nothing new. Posters over the years have said there isnt a limit in the Arcade

[Clarea]

3 minutes ago, norway olin said:

At one time I thought I understood how to avoid this problem but now I am not sure. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

Our grandkids will have NO charging privileges .  They will have arcade credits on their cards.  When the credits run out they are done.

 

I don't know if that is true.  We've been told by Guest Services on some ships that while you can set no charging privileges on a card, that does not stop arcade charging to that card.  It's important to discuss this with Guest Services on your cruise.

[DrivesLikeMario]

15 hours ago, Nashna said:

Kids are great.  They had no other charges.  One of my grands asked every day to get candy and was told no and did not.  This was the only charge that was on their accounts.  The parents are not upset with the children.  They had no idea that the kids were not playing with anything but the 100.00 gift credit.  The fact is that RCCL admitted that they had a “glitch” in the system that did not notify the kids when the credit was done. We are dealing with RCCL now about a resolution.  Onboard the y offered a 50 percent reduction in the price.  I am so sorry I got them the Arcade package as it caused this situation.  

Don't feel bad about getting the arcade credits!  It was thoughtful of you!  I would've done the same for our kids.  It's the fault of the cruise line!  They should've had the cards stop once they got to their limit.  You were being a nice grandma!  And very generous too! 

[cruiseguy1016]

When the cruise line offered a 50% reduction in the charges, that was their admission that they were wrong. If it was in no way their fault, they would not have accepted ANY responsibility. Since they have admitted to a glitch in the system, they have admitted to it being their fault. I would not accept anything less than total payment from RCI. OP - since these charges ended up going to your credit card, If RCI doesn't take full responsibility, I would have the credit card company fight this.

[TMO3CCO1]

I can’t even keep track of drinking 8 glasses of water a day without counting them down with pen and paper. I know as an adult I would not be able to play games in an arcade and keep track of how many games I’ve played. 

[Mr. Candyman]

1 hour ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I don't know if that is true.  We've been told by Guest Services on some ships that while you can set no charging privileges on a card, that does not stop arcade charging to that card.  It's important to discuss this with Guest Services on your cruise.

I have learned about the arcade credits by reading the different threads. But it does stipulate in the cruise planner, under additional terms and conditions, that guests will not be notified once the credits have been depleted.

[Clarea]

7 minutes ago, Mr. Candyman said:

 ...  But it does stipulate in the cruise planner, under additional terms and conditions, that guests will not be notified once the credits have been depleted.

Not surprising from RC. 

[norway olin]

9 minutes ago, Mr. Candyman said:

I have learned about the arcade credits by reading the different threads. But it does stipulate in the cruise planner, under additional terms and conditions, that guests will not be notified once the credits have been depleted.

 

I have read that.  I can see how it will then start charging to a card that has a credit card attached.  But I don't understand how they can then start charging to a card that has no charging privileges. The machine should no longer accept the card.  What am I missing?

 

 

 

 

[later]

2 hours ago, mugtech said:

Not ALL 9-13 year olds, perhaps just the ones in question. Of course RCI would attempt to shift blame in some cases.  Not suggesting anything, just asking the previous poster if that was the intent of the post I quoted. 

That wasn’t my intent just an observation on how the system supposedly works.  Either the system failed which is possible or the boys recharged there cards.

[later]

3 minutes ago, norway olin said:

 

I have read that.  I can see how it will then start charging to a card that has a credit card attached.  But I don't understand how they can then start charging to a card that has no charging privileges. The machine should no longer accept the card.  What am I missing?

 

 

 

 

Did they state that they didn’t have charging privileges? All I see is they added $100 arcade credit to their cards.

 

 

 

[Clarea]

7 minutes ago, norway olin said:

 

I have read that.  I can see how it will then start charging to a card that has a credit card attached.  But I don't understand how they can then start charging to a card that has no charging privileges. The machine should no longer accept the card.  What am I missing?

 

 

You're missing that "no charging privileges" does not apply to the arcade, in Royal's world (on certain ships).

[mugtech]

5 minutes ago, later said:

That wasn’t my intent just an observation on how the system supposedly works.  Either the system failed which is possible or the boys recharged there cards.

I'm guessing we will never know.

[molole]

The more I read the more it seems like a trap.  

 

No charging privilege?  But wait, there is small print. It doesn't apply to arcade. 

 

What's next? MDR included.  But wait, it's only from 3pm to 5pm with pre cruise reservation. 

[nelblu]

It reminds me of the early days of the internet when the system would freeze and could not use, but still got charged to your account.  Many a trip to GS to get the charges reversed.  With Voom, not so much these days.