Video Arcade - extra cost?

[YogiMia]

We will be on NCL Jewel for first cruise ever. I heard there is an arcade (video?) on board, and I know my son (8 yrs.) would probably want to use it (maybe all day!).

Are the games and extra charge? Do I need to give him change for the games or are they included?

[MLAW]

There is an extra charge for the arcade. I can't remember the exact cost but it is not cheap. I have heard several stories of children blowing through one hundred dollars or more quite quickly so be careful.

[dlm2005]

I hope it's limited to pumping quarters. If it goes on the sail pass I can see how it could easily get out of hand.

[rgnok]

At least on RCCL, you can use your sea pass (on board charge) to get arcade tokens, and I've posted before about how it can add up to a huge bill very quickly, so be sure you set limits!

 

Here is an example of how quickly it can add up to hundreds of dollars:

 

If left unsupervised and with no preset limits (and we mostly all agree what a bad idea that is), it is ENTIRELY possible for TWO kids to spend $600 in an arcade in 6 or 7 days. And that's with only a few hours per day spent in the arcade, which is not unheard of at all. Do the math -- .50 to $1.00 per PERSON per GAME (typical, at least on RCCL), so could be $2.00 per two player game; 15 to 20 games an hour (some last 5 minutes or longer, but some will be done in as little as 1 minute) = $30 - $40 per hour x 3 hours per day = $90 - $100 per day x 6 days = $540 - $600 spent by 2 unsupervised kids spending just 3 (out of 24!) hours per day in the arcade.

[OPSoccermom]

At least on RCCL, you can use your sea pass (on board charge) to get arcade tokens, and I've posted before about how it can add up to a huge bill very quickly, so be sure you set limits!

 

Here is an example of how quickly it can add up to hundreds of dollars:

 

If left unsupervised and with no preset limits (and we mostly all agree what a bad idea that is), it is ENTIRELY possible for TWO kids to spend $600 in an arcade in 6 or 7 days. And that's with only a few hours per day spent in the arcade, which is not unheard of at all. Do the math -- .50 to $1.00 per PERSON per GAME (typical, at least on RCCL), so could be $2.00 per two player game; 15 to 20 games an hour (some last 5 minutes or longer, but some will be done in as little as 1 minute) = $30 - $40 per hour x 3 hours per day = $90 - $100 per day x 6 days = $540 - $600 spent by 2 unsupervised kids spending just 3 (out of 24!) hours per day in the arcade.

When we cruised on Mariner last year, there was a max (I believe $20) that a kid could charge to his seapass in the arcade. A parental approval was necessary to go over that limit.