Children and the $60 / day CC hold

[herblay]

Does anyone know if the $60 / day credit card hold applies to children as well? Is one cabin with 4 people, two of them young children, going to be pre-authorized at $240 / day?

I mean, that's uncomfortable. I understand why they do the hold, but there really should be a reduced rate for children (especially in the 3 to 5 year age bracket). I know that many people frown on young children, but this really curbs family travel on Holland.

[melissy123]

The $60 day hold did apply to the kids also. To do the preboarding pass for the kids (after I did the adults), I either had to do the credit card hold or promise to provide a cash deposit equivalent at time of boarding.

[GeriatricNurse]

Does anyone know if the $60 / day credit card hold applies to children as well? Is one cabin with 4 people, two of them young children, going to be pre-authorized at $240 / day?

I mean, that's uncomfortable. I understand why they do the hold, but there really should be a reduced rate for children (especially in the 3 to 5 year age bracket). I know that many people frown on young children, but this really curbs family travel on Holland.

The $60 day hold did apply to the kids also. To do the preboarding pass for the kids (after I did the adults), I either had to do the credit card hold or promise to provide a cash deposit equivalent at time of boarding.


It is simply outrageous that the $60 hold per day applies to children as well!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Also -- keep in mind that the children will also be charged with the $11 per day per child for the auto tips.

[RuthC]

Yes, it applies to children. Children incur the same $11/day service charge as adults. Parents are also likely to purchase shore excursions for them; they might purchase sodas, or other things. It's amazing how fast those charges can add up.

[Sage]

Everyone is included on the hold.

[bepsf]

It is simply outrageous that the $60 hold per day applies to children as well!

It's hardly outrageous...

The staff deserves their tips for the extra work they do to take care of the little ones. If the kids stay in their parent's cabin as 3rd and 4th passengers create much more work for the cabin steward who has to open and close those beds every day, bring extra towels, etc. - and if they have their own cabin, the steward still needs to be tipped.

If the kids drink sodas, play video games, dine in Pinnacle with their family and go on shore excursions with their parents - They could easily use up the $60/day too.

It's not as if someone is stealing money from anyone - it's just a hold, same as if the family were staying at a hotel or renting a car.

So let me ask: At what age would you propose that the line use as a cut-off for the CC-hold - but bear in mind that an 18 month-old in a rollaway crib needs as much attention from stewards and waiters as an 18 year old, and it's not as if anyone is stealing any money or getting the benefit of those dollars until the appropriate charges are made after the end of the cruise..

[winemama]

Well said....why do feel children cost less to cruise with??

[sail7seas]

All those cheerios that need to be swept up. Bed linens all need to be changed. Extra towels, bathroom cleaning and straightening. Probably some tidying of toys, clothes, misc possessions.......

Probably a fair amount of room service and trays, crumbs, dirty dishes, glasses etc
It all has to be cleaned up.

Children do not make less work for dining or cabin staff. I think it to be expected the same per person per day charge would apply to all guests regardless of age.

It's all part of the expense of the vacation and needs to be considered when calculating costs. IMO

[Loves to dance]

All those cheerios that need to be swept up. Bed linens all need to be changed. Extra towels, bathroom cleaning and straightening. Probably some tidying of toys, clothes, misc possessions.......

Probably a fair amount of room service and trays, crumbs, dirty dishes, glasses etc
It all has to be cleaned up.

Children do not make less work for dining or cabin staff. I think it to be expected the same per person per day charge would apply to all guests regardless of age.

It's all part of the expense of the vacation and needs to be considered when calculating costs. IMO







I don't think that the OP is objecting to the $11pp auto tip on the children. I think that the OP is questioning the assumption that a 3 year old would accrue another $49 a day in charges, in the same way that an adult would. That would be a lot of arcade games and soda for a 3 year old! ;)

I can say from experience with a 2 year old on board, the only additional expenses for her were $10 per day (it was before the auto tip went up) and tips for room service for her warm milk. The extra tips were in cash, of course, so they didn't even count against the hold. Fortunately, we had the room on the credit card for the hold.

In a day and age when credit card companies are reducing credit limits left and right (even for people who are on time with their payments), I can understand people being worried about the extra holds that they won't come anywhere near using. Also, some credit card companies are now flagging people for interest rate increases, if they use up to their credit limit. People who use up to their credit limit are now considered credit risks, even if they have never been late on a payment. I have no idea of how the companies view holds, I just hope that it doesn't have the same effect on interest rates. Talk about unintended consequences!

For people who will have large holds put on their credit cards, and for whom it might place them near their credit limit, it might be a good idea to place a call to the credit card company and find out how it will be viewed. I have been hearing a lot of stories in the news lately about interest rates being jacked up for questionable reasons. I would assume that you could split the hold up amoung cards, if putting it all on the same card would cause problems... Of course, that assumes that you have multiple cards...

I want to be clear that I completely understand where HAL is coming from- they should be paid for all charges that are accrued on their ships! And putting a hold on a credit card ahead of time makes sense as a way to ensure being paid. I just see both sides of the issue.

[herblay]

No, in my original post I certainly wasn't arguing against the $11 / day. Families with young children create exponentially greater messes and require a good deal more attention than adults do. Especially with Club HAL and what not.

But $60 per day hold for spending is rediculous. It's the drinks, coffees, shopping, and excursions that are being accounted for. At the very least, wouldn't a $30 per day hold for children under 12 years be a little more reasonable?

It's almost like people are being penalized for bringing children. I certainly understand why some people wouldn't want kids on a cruise . . . but my children are perfectly well behaved. (I'd imagine that's most parents' sentiment anyway)

[serendipity1499]

No, in my original post I certainly wasn't arguing against the $11 / day. Families with young children create exponentially greater messes and require a good deal more attention than adults do. Especially with Club HAL and what not.

But $60 per day hold for spending is rediculous. It's the drinks, coffees, shopping, and excursions that are being accounted for. At the very least, wouldn't a $30 per day hold for children under 12 years be a little more reasonable?

It's almost like people are being penalized for bringing children. I certainly understand why some people wouldn't want kids on a cruise . . . but my children are perfectly well behaved. (I'd imagine that's most parents' sentiment anyway)


Don't believe the hold for young children is always done..

According to Poster S. Shulz (post no. 26)

Quote The daily hold does not apply to children unless you have their rooms keys programmed so they can charge to your room account. Unquote

See the thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=936846&page=2 (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=936846&page=2)

This makes much more sense to me..Agree the children should pay the $11 per day but wouldn't it be reasonable to increase a parents hold to say $70 to $75 instead..

Can't imagine a parent programing young children's (under 5) key cards to be used for charges..Young children's Key cards are normally used for I.D purposes to scan them off & on the Ship not for charging..I probably would not even program a child's card under 12 for charges, but that is just me..If however you permit your child to use his key card as a charge card I believe the $60 hold per day should
apply..You would be amazed how fast those cokes can ad up;)

Perhaps you should send an e-mail to HAL to clarify the policy for young children..And if you do, please let us know their answer..

JMO.:)Betty

[MadManOfBethesda]

No, in my original post I certainly wasn't arguing against the $11 / day. Families with young children create exponentially greater messes and require a good deal more attention than adults do. Especially with Club HAL and what not.

Of course you weren't!

I'm used to seeing threads here morph into off-topic rants before, but that was ridiculous.

Q: Do the $60 holds pertain to children?
A: Cheerios need to be swept up.


Um, okayyyyyyyyy.

[Kabana]

As quoted by Betty above, when we cruised in 2004, 2005 and 2006 the then $45 a day was NOT done for our son. It was explained that they did not do a hold for children UNLESS we wanted him to be able to use his key for charges against the account. We specifically asked that they not enable charges for his key and not do the hold (he was 9, 10 and 11 at the time).

It is possible that the policy has changed since '06 or that people are not aware that they can ask to not have a child's room key enabled for room charges. We purchased a soda card for him to use and at that age we were with him pretty much all of the time anyway.

The $11 a day service charge did apply for him but I have no issue with that.

[melika091900]

i just did our online check in for our 4/4 cruise on ryndam and it asked if we wanted our daughter age 8 to have account privledges or something like that, i answered no, so they didnt ask for a credit card for her,

[serendipity1499]

i just did our online check in for our 4/4 cruise on ryndam and it asked if we wanted our daughter age 8 to have account privledges or something like that, i answered no, so they didnt ask for a credit card for her,

Thanks Melika...That answers the OP's question & clarifies it for the rest of us:):)...I'm going to bookmark this thread, as this question seems to arise every 6 months or so..

Cheers..:)Betty

[carosave]

I just did the online check in for our upcoming cruise and our 5 yr old has the hold as well. DH was talking to me while I did it, so maybe I missed the part where they asked if I wanted to allow her to charge, but the only question I remember was if we were using a cc or a cash deposit on-board. We did use the same cc for all of us. Actually, on a previous cruise, I think dd had a charge for something as hers was the card I pulled out of my pocket...when it was for mehttp://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/icons/icon11.gif!

As I think someone else suggested, you might call HAL directly to see if there can be a lesser hold applied for a child.

[matondo]

I think the operative word here is HOLD. The charges will drop off after the cruise is over, if the money is not spent. If you are not close to maxing out your credit card you won't even notice there was a hold on the card.

[melika091900]

ok i think i was wrong, i went to holland americas website, and i looked at our reservation and for our daughter it says CASH OnBOARD...
i could have sworn i saw a box saying no account privledges
im calling them now,

[mchell810]

...

But $60 per day hold for spending is rediculous. It's the drinks, coffees, shopping, and excursions that are being accounted for. At the very least, wouldn't a $30 per day hold for children under 12 years be a little more reasonable? ...

I have to agree with this. It's a bit much to assume children will run up the same charges as adults. If there is a way to limit or reduce the hold for children then that is great, if not HAL should institute a new policy.

[melika091900]

so i just called holland america and according the person i talked to,
even though it says cash, she said once we check in , we can tell them that we dont want our daughter to be able to buy anything , so they will not put a hold on anything, suposedly..

we will see in a few weeks i guess,

[kryos]

Also -- keep in mind that the children will also be charged with the $11 per day per child for the auto tips.Okay, fine. But can't an extra $11 per day for each kid be "held" on mom or dad's card? Why $60 a day for such young kids? I would think that's quite excessive. They're not gonna spend money onboard.

And, can't their cards be disabled for purchases? I don't have kids, but I would think that if I did, I wouldn't want the kids having carte blanche to charge whatever they wanted on their cards. Could you imagine how much a kid could charge in video games, sodas, etc., etc.? No, I would think I'd want to control the kid's charges ... especially if that kid were, say, a teenager who maybe hadn't quite learned the value of a dollar yet.

Someone mentioned shore excursions for the kids ... well, I would think that most families on a typical Caribbean cruise probably don't do many shore excursions ... preferring instead to have a lot of family beach days. After all, any shore excursion ... when you multiply it by four or five people is gonna be pretty pricey. If I were a parent, I think any shore excursions we did together as a family would have been planned far in advance of the cruise, and probably bought and paid for in advance as well.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[kryos]

So let me ask: At what age would you propose that the line use as a cut-off for the CC-hold - but bear in mind that an 18 month-old in a rollaway crib needs as much attention from stewards and waiters as an 18 year old, and it's not as if anyone is stealing any money or getting the benefit of those dollars until the appropriate charges are made after the end of the cruise..I don't think the OP was arguing the auto-tip for the kids. She was just questioning the $60 per day hold on the credit card for each of them. Especially if the kids are very young, that is ridiculous. It's not like a five-year-old is going to be making purchases from the onboard shops. Pretty much the parents are going to be controlling the onboard spending of a kid that young and I seriously doubt a kid is going to be going through $60 per day on most cruises. Even if there were shore excursions involved, I would think that planning shore excursions with a family would be something discussed months before the cruise (and most likely budgeted and paid for far ahead of time).

I would say that in the case of kids, the parents should be able to disable their card for purchases onboard (Cunard just punches a hole in the room card which lets the onboard staff know that the card is not valid for any onboard spending) and then just have the auto-tips for each kid held on the parents credit card. That would seem reasonable to me. After all, figure on a family of four ... if $60 a day were held for everyone on a ten-day cruise, that could wipe out the credit limit on some people's credit cards, leaving them no wiggle room if they wanted to buy something else off the ship.

Blue skies ...

--rita

[sasysutler]

the way I avoid the big hold is to get a prepaid visa/mc. the n I still have my "real" cards for other things I may need. Then no problem with over spending on the ship!

[CondoDiva]

I do not want my kids to have charging privledges so I check the box that says "Cash Deposit" and when we arrive at the dock we tell them our kids will not have charging privledges.

Simple as that....There is NO hold on our credit card for our kids since they don't have charging privledges.:D

[jtl513]

You would be amazed how fast those cokes can ad up;)How about internet charges? We were on one cruise where it seemed like every time we walked by the computers there were the same two boys on-line, just playing games or visiting those many sites that pre-teens love. Forget $60/d - they were spending at least $40 per HOUR! :eek: I would have loved to see their parents' final bill!! :)

[hal pal]

It is crazy for them to put a credit hold for kids . Call and see if it can be waived . especially since they put it on hold and then make a seperate charge on the last day of the cruise . I sailed Feb 1 on a 7 day cruise and the hold was not removed from my account till the 24th .

[jtl513]

It is crazy for them to put a credit hold for kids.Not if they can charge things. Read my last post (#26).

[serendipity1499]

Not if they can charge things. Read my last post (#26).

Agree 100%...

If you want your kids to have charge privileges, then you should be willing to have HAL put a hold for $60.00 on your card..If no charge privileges then no hold is required..

I've also heard that parents can put a cash deposit down for a set amount such as $100 just for their kids cards..Of course on a 7 day cruise $77 would be for tips, but the child can spend the balance of $23..When the $100 is used up, the kids cards are deactivated for charging..Does anyone know if this is correct..?

Betty

[serendipity1499]

It is crazy for them to put a credit hold for kids . Call and see if it can be waived . especially since they put it on hold and then make a seperate charge on the last day of the cruise . I sailed Feb 1 on a 7 day cruise and the hold was not removed from my account till the 24th .

Are you sure that it was HAL's fault & not the fault of your bank? We've never had a hold last that long & we've been on many HAL cruises..

Betty

[herblay]

When I originally posted, I emailed HAL and asked my questions. I just received a wonderful call from a HAL employee who explained the answers to all of my questions regarding children on board.

For online check-in, select "Cash on Board" for the children, and explain at the front desk that you don't want to have the hold placed for the children.

The $11 a day will be held against the two parents as part of the $60 a day, but you can tip whatever you like upon settlement.

AND, children are free at the Pinnacle Grill. To make reservations in advance of the cruise, pay for the two adults and then call customer service to ensure that you get a table for 4 (rather than a just a table for two).

Fantastic. And she was so nice.

[herblay]

HAL staff are fantastic so far (our first cruise, if you can't tell), but I really wish their website was a little more coherent and covered some of these options / topics. It really seems able to do the most rudimentary things.

Oh well, can't have it all.....

[pms4104]

AND, children are free at the Pinnacle Grill. To make reservations in advance of the cruise, pay for the two adults and then call customer service to ensure that you get a table for 4 (rather than a just a table for two).

Up to what age, I wonder? Also, isn't that only if the children order off the children's menu in the Pinnacle? I think there is a charge, likely the same as for adults, if the children order off the standard Pinnacle menu. Best that you clarify that before sailing so as to avoid any unpleasant surprises onboard.

[herblay]

I asked about the menu specifically, because my 3 and 5 year olds ADORE steak. And they told me again that the children eat free. Perhaps I misunderstood, but I did ask specifically about that.

[pms4104]

I asked about the menu specifically, because my 3 and 5 year olds ADORE steak. And they told me again that the children eat free. Perhaps I misunderstood, but I did ask specifically about that.
My question was prompted by post #5 and #6 in this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=795300&highlight==

I still feel that it might be worth another call to HAL to clarify free for kids off the regular menu, or free only off the children's menu?

Not meaning to be snarky, but you may have been given misleading info in your previous call to HAL.

[jtl513]

My question was prompted by post #5 and #6 in this thread: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=795300&highlight==

I still feel that it might be worth another call to HAL to clarify free for kids off the regular menu, or free only off the children's menu?

Not meaning to be snarky, but you may have been given misleading info in your previous call to HAL.But those posts were referring to the $60/d hold.

I don't have a current booking so I can't check, but if you go on-line to book the PG, does it ask how many children and how many adults, or just how many persons?

[pms4104]

But those posts were referring to the $60/d hold.

I don't have a current booking so I can't check, but if you go on-line to book the PG, does it ask how many children and how many adults, or just how many persons?
This current thread began with the $60/day hold.

I was responding to the comment here about children eating free in the Pinnacle.

On the thread I linked, post #5 from hammybee indicates ...
Given that HAL allows children to order off the Children's Menu, while dining in the PG, at no additional cost to the family, tells me that HAL welcomes children, with open arms.

and post #6 from Alaskabound77 states ... Thank you, Hammybee, for the info on the children's menu in the PG (that was another question that I forgot to ask).

Those were the basis of my comments to herblay regarding kids eating free ... and the suggestion to re-call HAL.

[jtl513]

This current thread began with the $60/day hold.

I was responding to the comment here about children eating free in the Pinnacle.

On the thread I linked, post #5 from hammybee indicates ...
Given that HAL allows children to order off the Children's Menu, while dining in the PG, at no additional cost to the family, tells me that HAL welcomes children, with open arms.

and post #6 from Alaskabound77 states ... Thank you, Hammybee, for the info on the children's menu in the PG (that was another question that I forgot to ask).

Those were the basis of my comments to herblay regarding kids eating free ... and the suggestion to re-call HAL.Sorry, I looked at posts 5 & 6 on this thread, not the link you gave. :o Maybe the surest way is for herblay is to call ship services, book a reservation for x adults and y children, and see what they charge!

[pms4104]

This is from the HAL website, and it confirms the info you were given via telecon:

Pinnacle Grill
The Pinnacle Grill offers a level of elegant sophistication unmatched anywhere on the seven seas. Beautifully appointed with Bvlgari® china, Riedel stemware and Frette® linens, the intimate Pinnacle Grill is ideal for a romantic dinner for two or a special group celebration. Creative and innovative menus, drawing from regional ingredients of the highest quality, will delight the palate and ignite the senses. Indulge in hand-selected aged Sterling Silver Beef®, fresh seafood and an extensive, world-class wine list. For this exquisite 5-star dining experience, guests pay a modest surcharge. Adults may dine for US$20.00 per person or lunch for US$10.00. Children under 12 dine free of charge. A rate of 50% applies for children between 13 years and under 18 years of age. The Pinnacle Grill is available by reservation only for both lunch and dinner. We recommend making your reservations as soon as possible after booking.

I apologize for doubting what you'd reported to us.

[AnneBonney]

[quote=melika091900;18408249]so i just called holland america and according the person i talked to,
even though it says cash, she said once we check in , we can tell them that we dont want our daughter to be able to buy anything , so they will not put a hold on anything, suposedly..

quote]

This is the same information I received from my travel agent.