Hi there.....I am a first time cruiser traveling with my 13 year old son on Explorer in January. Can he carry his own sea pass with a limited amount of spending money per day attached to it? How do other parents handle their children's spending money onboard?
Hello. I know he can carry his own sea pass. I am pretty sure you can put money on it. We took our son on a cruise. We did not feel the need to put money on his card. We felt there was enough free entertainment, and free food, pizza and burgers, ice cream to occupy him. We bought him a soda pass that was put on his sea pass. He will love the Explorer, and you will too. We were on her last summer. Enjoy your cruise. Lil' Lori
I cruised on the Enchantment in August. From what I remember, when R.C. sends you your cruise documents, there is a sheet you will need to complete where you list everyone who is traveling and whether or not they will have charging priviledges to your room. I don't remember anything about setting limits. I am sure it is an all or nothing thing - so you will need to check that out when you get your docs.
My kids were 5 and 8, so it wasn't even a considersation for us. But I know a lot of other older kids had their cards with them (since it is also their room key) - some with charging priviledges set by their parents. The last night my wife overheard a pretty funny conversation where a child (about 12 or so) was explaining to her mother how she had bought a round of "drinks" for all of her friends at the teen club.
But I think Lil'Lori's reply is dead on. Chances are, there is very little reason for children to charge to the card - especially if you just set your son up with the soda card at the start of the cruise. Then he carries his own sea pass card (which is also his room key), and he is set for any beverages he needs. With all of the included food options he will find - I doubt he will need anything else. The only place he will be cut off from is the onboard shops. Given some of the prices, that may not be a bad thing either!!!
Thank you for your advice. I will probably get him the soda pass and if he needs anything more we can discuss it. He has been saving some of his allowance all year for this trip so want to give him the choice on how he spends it. I'm sure he will have lots of chances to spend it when we go on excursions...using US cash I presume? I think that's kinda funny about the kid who bought the round of soft drinks for her new friends....but I don't really want to see that on my credit card as I know my is the kind of kid who would do something like that. I guess my concerns are that he might lose the card....he is pretty responsible but these things can always happen. Thanks again.
I don't think there's anything on the sea pass that says what room it goes to. So if he lost his and someone found it, they'd have to try a bunch of doors on that ship before they found yours.
I see kids with lanyards around their necks and their cards on that but I can't remember whether the teenagers did it. I buy a real small, real cheap little zippered bag which fits inside my pocket. I safety pin it inside my shorts so I can relax and not worry about it falling out of my pocket.
As far as charging, I doubt I'd give it to a kid unless I could put a maximun on it. It's just too tempting and the consequences could be pretty terrible. There's nothing they need on ship that isn't free, unless it's a t-shirt at the store and you can go there with him.
Also, you know your kid. One of mine would have been fine and one would have given his card to his new friends, or lost it and not noticed he'd lost it until he was locked out of our room.
Marian - I would have to double-check our cards from August. I know they had our table number on them - and I think it might have printed the room number as well - but I could be wrong on that one. It would make sense not to when you think about people having access to your room - so you are probably right.
My 8 year-old discovered a interesting trend the "cruise-experienced" kids did that she liked. They all had the spiral wristbands that double as key chains on their arms. On the key ring they had their sea pass cards - both the current cruise and past cruises. Kind of a little status symbol about how much they have cruised. They were able to pull this off since the kid's cards are punched with a hole to show they are not of age to drink in the lounges / clubs.
She of course wants to do more cruises so she can start participating in this tradition. Funny what kind of things can be motivation.
If the kids are doing this, then I guess it would be harder to lose it - unless of course they take it off to go swimming.
I would check with the Pursers desk to see if you can set a limit on your child's sea pass. When I last sailed on the Mariner the Arcade room allowed for the Sea Pass to be swiped to activate the various games. I learned that they can charge up quite a bit if there is no limit set. So if you think your child will enjoy that arcade area then either go with them to keep an eye on their spending, or set something up so they don't rack up a high bill.
The soda card is also a great idea.
Have fun.
I'm looking at my SeaPass card from Celebrity's Zenith, which I sailed this past Thursday through Monday. It has on it my name, sailing date and "Folio Number" but no cabin number or even table number. As Celebrity and Royal Caribbean are sister cruise lines, I wonder if RCI has the same information on its cards.
I'm hoping there is no room number on the sea pass as it is aways possible for it to get lost of misplaced. I'll bring along both a lanyard and the spiral wristband and he can decide which way it is easiest to hang onto the pass. I would hope that he is able to keep it on when he swims as well. I will tell my son about this 'new trend' for the sea passes...I think it's a wonderful idea and a great conversation starter especially since this is his first cruise. I will make a note to check with the Pursers desk to see if a limit can be set on his sea pass. Also thanks for the tip on the Arcade costs. That could definately be an issue as, like most boys his age, he enjoy his video games. However, if the weather is nice and there is someone to join him in any sports activity I don't think I'll have much worry there.
Hi Shirley
It's Chris...from Myrtle beach and also on your cruise. Your son's pass will NOT have your cabin number on it, so you do not have to worry about that. Also, you can monitor his spending habits anytime by tuning in to your cabin television and selecting the appropriate channel. Also, if he does get the soda package, as I do, he will get a Coke sticker put on his card which is valid anywhere on the ship.
Email me if you have any questions!
Chris
Funny what kind of things can be motivation.
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