On board accounts and kids............

[jnmrlk]

Will my 3 teenage boys have the ability to "charge" with their id badges? I really do not want them to have that ability!!! Lord knows what they will buy!

[sundercruiser]

I haven't cruised before but my understanding (from other posts on here and talking to NCL on the phone) is that you can either fund your kids' cards with a certain limit, or completely block them spending anything. It's up to you, apparently.

[newmexicoNita]

I haven't cruised before but my understanding (from other posts on here and talking to NCL on the phone) is that you can either fund your kids' cards with a certain limit, or completely block them spending anything. It's up to you, apparently.

that is true plus you can put a limit on the kids and check each day. If they go over in anyway then cut them off altogether. Certainly they can understand that. There really would be very few things they would be spending money on. If they have soda cards already that takes care of drinks, they will not be using the sur charge dining rooms I assume and they can't buy alcohol. So what is left? The gift shops and the arcade I guess.

 

Nita

[GaryWT]

You do not have to but we have always allowed our kids to be able to charge. They think is a big deal and have never worried about what they might charge, just told them up front what was allowed.

[jnmrlk]

My kids are not allowed to drink soda regularly - once in a while for a special occasion (bbq, party etc.) but not on a daily basis. I will not be getting them soda cards, they might be allowed to have one soda with dinner but that would be it. Funnily enough this does not bother them too much, I push water allot at home and they can have ice tea or lemonade, which I think (an please correct me if I am wrong) is free???

I have thought about letting them have a limit but I think I would rather let them take the 8 days to pick a t-shirt or what ever they want at the end of the cruise.

Just out of curiosity how much do the arcade games cost?? I had hoped they were free, guess I am niave!!

[Nano]

I'm sure the Arcade games are NOT free, although I can't say for sure because I don't have my first cruise with NCL until next week.

 

Funny story - we cruised with RCI 4 years ago, and my now 12 year old daughter had no idea how much she was racking up on the arcade games (nor did we) until the end of the cruise. It came to about $60 I seem to recall. Needless to say, we put a spending limit on her card on our next cruise!

[silkhair1]

There is no free lemonade, except for ordering off the kids menu. Iced tea is free though. I think the arcade was about $1.00 a game. We brought our PS2 with and plugged it into our TV, and that worked out well. (We forget the favorite game in the car so we did have to do the arcade) We brought those packs you flavor water with and that worked out well to stay away from soda. They also have hot chocolate packets on the ship. Have fun and ask more questions!

[bluesea777]

The kids' cruisecards have one corner snipped off - meaning they can't buy alcohol and possibly anything large.

 

As for the arcade ... our teen son doesn't go to any here at home, so we put all the US quarters that we receive in change (here in Bermuda both BD and US $ are accepted) in a jar to take on cruise for son to play in the ship's arcade. It's his holiday ... our holiday is to sit by pool sipping pina coladas!

 

Have you noticed that NCL offers Teen Passport Program for $34.50 - for 20 smoothies? This is very good deal. On our last cruise our son had some smoothies and liked them, so I'm getting it for him. We think the soda program is too pricey (and bad!).

[Cosmopolitan]

My kids are not allowed to drink soda regularly - once in a while for a special occasion (bbq, party etc.) but not on a daily basis. I will not be getting them soda cards, they might be allowed to have one soda with dinner but that would be it. Funnily enough this does not bother them too much, I push water allot at home and they can have ice tea or lemonade, which I think (an please correct me if I am wrong) is free???

I have thought about letting them have a limit but I think I would rather let them take the 8 days to pick a t-shirt or what ever they want at the end of the cruise.

Just out of curiosity how much do the arcade games cost?? I had hoped they were free, guess I am niave!!

 

Iced tea is available all day/evening. Also, lemon slices are out all day by the water/iced tea/ hot water machines so I assume they could make lemonade;)

 

If you order soda at dinner, it will be a can of soda (soda card is a glass of soda) so you can get 2 drinks from the can when you pour it into the glass w/ice.

 

We are also not soda drinkers so the soda card is not worth it.

[jnmrlk]

Do they use quarters in the arcade games and not tokens or (I think even worse) a swipe of their id cards.

If it is quarters that is wonderful - I will get several rolls from the bank and then they can have so many a day (I know I'm a really mean mother!!!).

They do have the Ninyendo DS so they will each be bringing there's with them, they have they xbox 360 and the wii at home but I would rather not bring them, I am trying so hard to get them away from games and gaming but it is all they want to do!!!

[bluesea777]

Do they use quarters in the arcade games and not tokens or (I think even worse) a swipe of their id cards.

If it is quarters that is wonderful - I will get several rolls from the bank and then they can have so many a day (I know I'm a really mean mother!!!).

They do have the Ninyendo DS so they will each be bringing there's with them, they have they xbox 360 and the wii at home but I would rather not bring them, I am trying so hard to get them away from games and gaming but it is all they want to do!!!

 

Yeppers, on Spirit they used quarters for the arcade games. You can get the rolls from the casino. But it's fun saving the quarters from your pocket changes for the cruise. Set up a jar in place and tell your family to drop the quarters in it whenever they have some in their pockets.

 

While on the Spirit cruise we exchanged all the Krack-It winnings (there is one on EVERY set - $1 minimum) with rolls of quarters.

 

DS had a ball in the Arcade on Spirit and made some friends there. He was 12 1/2 at the time - too young to be allowed in the teens club and he felt too old to be in the 10-12 club.

 

We're leaving everything at home (laptop, xbox, etc) except for one portable DVD player (we're shopping in Miami and will get new DVDs, plus we're on 14 days cruise). NO INTERNET onboard, either!!

[dtiger]

I'd make sure to tell them not to use the internet cafe as they don't need their card to sign up and they could inadvertantly charge up a small fortune using it.

[jnmrlk]

I will def. keep them away from the internet cafe, one plays runescape all the time at home.

I will have one that will be 14 one that will be days away from being 13 and then an 11 year old. Will they allow my almost 13 yr old in the teen club or are they very strict about that?

I am hoping they meet new friends but we are sailing on a school week (leaving 5/31) so I don't know if there will be many kids on board ??

[bluesea777]

Will they allow my almost 13 yr old in the teen club or are they very strict about that?

 

No, your almost 13 yo will not be allowed in the teen club - they are very strict about his DOB. If he turns 13 during the cruise then he'll be able to join on his birthday!

[Desert star]

Both my boys are DS and PSP junkies, but we don't allow them to bring them on vacations. So I am more strict than you. :D

They never missed them at all. There is so much to do.

They did have game systems in the teen and tween centers though.

[sundercruiser]

Dtiger said: "I'd make sure to tell them not to use the internet cafe as they don't need their card to sign up and they could inadvertantly charge up a small fortune using it."

 

Whoa! Am I reading this correctly? Kids can use the internet cafe without using their card? How does NCL make this work? How do they know which account to charge? Or did this point get garbled somehow?

[CanadianTwosome]

We had the charging priviledges removed from our daughter's card on both of the cruises we've taken with her. I'm not sure she realized that she could have had the ability... she's not much of a spender anyway and didn't even enter the arcade. Our biggest concern was not so much her potential spending as her potential for losing things. It's not like she loses things regularly or anything, just that she's a child and she was on vacation on a fun, exciting ship, playing and getting involved with her new friends... she didn't lose her card, but she could have, and I wouldn't have wanted to have to deal with any charges someone could have made with it.

 

The kids' cards have the corner cut off if they are under 18, so while it definitely means that they can't order alcohol, that's not all it means. Passengers from 18-20 have uncut cards but are also not allowed to order alcohol unless they have the signed permission form. (and then only beer and wine I think)

 

I recommend the smoothie card for kids who don't drink soda. Mine drank milk, water, water with kool aid packets, and smoothies. A soda card would have been a complete waste for her, but I'll be getting her a smoothie card on the next one, even though they're supposed to be for teens. The smoothies are tasty and they're made with fruit juice, so they're healthier than soda anyway. :)

[jnmrlk]

Both my boys are DS and PSP junkies, but we don't allow them to bring them on vacations. So I am more strict than you. :D

They never missed them at all. There is so much to do.

 

They did have game systems in the teen and tween centers though.

 

LOL - I was thinking of taking away the DS's but I thought I might have a mutiny on my hands!!! My boys are worried they are going to be "bored" and have nothing to do on ship (this is their first cruise). I am so happy to hear that your boys had a great time, do they have scheduled events daily for sea days and can you give me a rough idea of what they would be - Thanks for any help and any tips you can give me.

[ladymonty]

Okay, so can you buy a smoothie card for young children? Or is it just a teen thing. My kids are 3 and 6. Also, where on board can you buy smoothies? We will be sailing on the Dawn. Thanks.

[kebboli]

I will have to check into a smoothie card, I didn't know they had that. My kids sometimes drink pop at home but I have stopped buying it other than maybe some on Friday or Saturday and when it's gone there is no more til maybe the next weekend. We have never bought the soda cards on any cruise and have not missed out. Lemonade, punch , tea etc... is fine and the kids haven't minded.

jnmrik- I would let them bring the games this cruise since it is their first. You will probably find that they will not need them on the cruise or maybe just at night when in the cabin before bed. I think they will find enough to do onboard or games to play in the kids clubs and swimming etc..... I would just make sure they then leave them in the cabin safe and leave them laying around on deck somewhere while in the pool. My oldest was 14 on her first cruise and thought she was gonna have a terrible time without her friends and said she wasn't doing anything! But by day 2 she had 2 new friends and at the end of the cruise cried all the way to the airport because she didn't want to leave.....LOL:D

Oh I have also never put money on my kids cards either and they have never really asked or needed it I thought. If you can stop at a store before getting onboard I believe you could just get a 12 pack of pop and walk on with it to have in your room, but we have never done that either.

[kebboli]

double

[jnmrlk]

My kids feel they needed their DS's for the long 2 hour ride ?? to the city to get on the ship - don't know how I managed as a kid without all those gadgets I was so deprived!!

Everytime I hear about some-one child(ren) having a great time it just makes me even more excited - I so want them to have fun.

I thank every-one for their help and advice

[bluesea777]

I don't think you'll be able to buy the Teen Passport Program (that includes 20 smoothies) once you are aboard. You'll need to purchase it under Bon Voyage section on NCL web site.

[CanadianTwosome]

When we were on the Dream last year, I had purchased the Kid's Crew backpack for my daughter, which comes with a soda card. I explained to the counsellor that she doesn't drink soda and asked about the smoothie card. The smoothie pack also includes some social events for teens, though, and when the counsellor explained that to me, I decided against it. In retrospect, I think it's still worth the cost, even if your child isn't old enough to attend teen events. At $34.50, the 20 smoothies are less than $2 each and on a week long cruise they can have almost three a day. Considering the cost of just one purchased alone, it's definitely a good deal.

 

Based on my experience, I believe anyone can buy the teen passport for 20 smoothies, but they just can't attend the social functions (unless they're teens). :)

[jnmrlk]

Correct me if I am wrong, but are they (NCL) assuming that the teens drink the smoothies and the younger kids the sodas?? If that is the case I find that amusing, unless the smoothies are supposed to give a more adult appearance (like a non alcholic "speciality" drink).

My teenager who will be 14 is pretty easy going and likes ice tea, it is my 12 (3 weeks away from being 13 at time of the cruise) that I worry about, he is miffed that he cannot be apart of the teen club and thinks he will be treated like a child (but my dear son you are a child!!!) my 11 year old just rolls with the flow. It is my 12 year old I worry about - I really don't want him sulking for the cruise though from what I hear from every-one I think he is going to enjoy it more than he thinks he will!