Any way to not tie teens cards to credit card?

[melos]

My sis is worried about her teens spending if they know they can. Is there any way not to activate their room key cards?

 

Thanks!

[CanadianTwosome]

If two adults who are not family members travel together and share a cabin, they are given separate on board accounts. Assuming that the teens will be allowed to make some charges and not have the ability removed completely, I see no reason why the same can't be done for them. They could be given a budget and then the account can be checked daily to keep tabs on spending. It shouldn't be a problem at all; it will just take a little effort to keep track. :)

[Big Kielbasa]

How about the old fashion way, just tell them no. Worked well for us.:rolleyes:

[CanadianTwosome]

How about the old fashion way, just tell them no. Worked well for us.:rolleyes:

 

Is that the old fashioned way? When I cruised as a kid (which was definitely long enough ago to be considered 'old fashioned :p ), I had my own money that I had saved and was given the freedom to spend it at my discretion. Since ships now have no-cash policies, how would I have been able to do that now if my mother had 'just told me 'no''? Most teens have money to spend and often will save diligently so that they will have money on vacations.

 

My daughter, at 9 this past January, had a budget of over $200 that she had saved over the year. She had full freedom with her card, with the stipulation that if she spent anything, we wanted to know so that we could keep track. She bought an airbrushed tattoo. I think it was around $15.

 

I just see no reason not to trust that the kids can be responsible if given the opportunity. If their accounts are monitored and they get out of line, then they deserve to be told 'no', but if they're following any rules and staying within a given budget, in my opinion, they deserve to have the freedom to make their own choices. :)

[LostAgain]

You could state that the card has a max when you set it up and your child will not be able to go over this amount. It worked for us.

[Essiesmom]

You could tell them that you are putting a certain amount of cash down on their cards, and anything over that they have to add themselves. On some ships, they can access their account via the cabin TV and see how much they have spent. EM

[rebeccalouise]

the kids can have just room keys and you can purchase soda cards on most cruise lines- which gives them the ability to buy sodas. The only other possible thing the kids might want is to use the arcade. In this case their room card would not allow them to do this unless it is connected to the credit card.

 

You can opt to pay cash on the card upfront and then there would be a limit.

[socalcruising]

one of the best things I have done is to set up a VISA BUXX card account for each of my kids. I deposit a set amount each month and each kid has only that amount to spend. Once it is used up, it is over. If you could tie the Sea Pass to a VISA BUXX account, that would be great. It is so neat to see how the kids choose to spend "their" money! No more eye rolling when it comes to looking at the sale rack and pay $3 for a soda, forget it! Something to consider at any rate. Worked for my kids.

[Boo's Mom]

My sis is worried about her teens spending if they know they can. Is there any way not to activate their room key cards?

 

Thanks!

 

I am just off the Celebrity Millennium.

Upon embarking the ship, we were given a form that (when signed and turned in) would de-activate my children's (ages 15 and 12) ability to use the key card for purchases onboard the ship.

 

If this form is not available on the cruise line you are sailing, a simple visit to Guest Relations should be all you need to do in order to limit their key cards.

 

[fishnips]

I believe I set an arcade amount of $20 at the beginning of the cruise and then set a reasonable spending amount for her to charge to her card for items such as souveniers and milkshakes. She always asked if it was ok to purchase something and we checked our spending at Guest Services occasionally.

 

The only problem we ever had was on our Baltic Cruise. She used the Internet in the Teen Center and when I received the bill it was about $400. She was in tears , I was extremely upset.:eek: I marched her down to Guest Services and after looking at the times, we discovered she didn't log off properly, and the charges were cancelled. I haven't had any problems since, she definetely is more aware of what she spends and keeps a close track on it.;)