setting up account to check in

[mkgwhite]

I am checking in on line and read that everyone in our group needs a account with 50$. Does eveyone need to spend 50$. I don't want my teenagers going crazy. How do you pay the tip? Can you give it to them your self. Can you use cash? Do you have to tip for children? We have two adults and four children. What is the amount? We have two cabins.

[flounder315]

i went to guest services and turned off my sons charging priviledges after the first day and he had spent $85.00 in the arcade.

 

tips are $11.50 per person per day. $11.50 x 6 = $69.00 a day $69.00 x 7 days = $483 in tips...

 

I always per pay them, so I don't have to have it added to my sail & sign accoutn. The waiters and room stewards know who has paid the tips and who has not paid the tips.

[justjim312]

i went to guest services and turned off my sons charging priviledges after the first day and he had spent $85.00 in the arcade.

 

tips are $11.50 per person per day. $11.50 x 6 = $69.00 a day $69.00 x 7 days = $483 in tips...

 

I always per pay them, so I don't have to have it added to my sail & sign accoutn. The waiters and room stewards know who has paid the tips and who has not paid the tips.

 

 

I dont really think the wait staff and stewards know who has pre tipped or not. Even the "brilliant" JH says they aren't told. But what does he know.

[dms_cruisers04]

I am checking in on line and read that everyone in our group needs a account with 50$. Does eveyone need to spend 50$. I don't want my teenagers going crazy. How do you pay the tip? Can you give it to them your self. Can you use cash? Do you have to tip for children? We have two adults and four children. What is the amount? We have two cabins.

Ok, first, take a breath. :D

$50 is Carnival's suggestion (i guess, since that is what you read) for a cash account. It is to cover incidentals, like drinks, shopping or the arcade. ;) They will also place a hold on a CC for incidentals.

No, everyone does not need to spend $50. Although a 7-day cruise tips will be about $80.

The tips will be charged to your onboard account unless you pre-pay them. Yes, you can have them removed and pay the staff in cash, but it is customary to pay tips for children also.

You can setup your account online so that only certain members of your party have charging privleges.

[sailor_jimc]

As the others have said, the $50 is a recommendation and if it is not spent you will get it back at the end of the cruise (They leave a check in you "mailbox" outside your door or slide it under the cabin door.)

 

I assume since you are asking this question that you are not using a credit card to secure your on-board charges (your sign and sail account). This is fine but realize that if you get close to using your deposit amount they will ask you to add more (via the Guest Services Desk) So deposit more than you think you will use. Pre pay your tips so that you don't have to worry about that charge hitting your account (and it will the first day) Have extra cash with you in case you need to add a deposit to your account. Or have a credit card that you can use if you go over. You don't want to be short and trying to figure out how to settle your charges on debarkation morning.

 

And yes, if you don't think you can trust your kids not to spend money then you can disable their cards for charging. I have heard of many first time cruising families that had kids buying sodas thinking they were free because no money changed hands or going into the arcade and buying tokens for the games. There are just too many things for them to spend money on "accidentally". Also, make sure they know NOT to use the phone in the cabin to do anything but call other cabins in the ship. Our young daughter tried a couple of times to call our cellphones on a cruise many years ago (we were still in embarkation port so she assumed the cell phones would work.) However, the ships phones are ALWAYS ship to shore rates. 2 attempts to call us cost us nearly $20.