X-Mas present Arcade money

[afdds]

My grandson is sailing on the Harmony of the Seas this Christmas.  I wanted to give him money for the arcade.  Does anyone know how the games in the arcade work? Do you put money on a card, cash or does it have to go on your sign and sail?    I'm not cruising with them and I would like to purchase it as a gift waiting in his cabin. Any ideas or information would be greatly appreciated.  

[smokeybandit]

You swipe your Seapass card.

[Another_Critic]

You can pre-purchase arcade credit via Gifts and Gear @ 800-722-5443 (must know booking #). 

 

If it was me, I would just give the money and a card to the parents to present to grandson.  Or have the parents purchase arcade credit via the cruise planner.

 

Edited November 13, 2023 by Another_Critic

[luvtoride]

We will be traveling on the Odyssey of the Seas with our grandkids over Xmas.  Does anyone know if they sell an “unlimited” arcade pass (like a drink package) on RCL?  We are currently on NCL and they have an unlimited arcade game package for $25/ day for most arcade games including a two lane bowling alley.  

[twinmommy08]

The pre paid arcade games are a POA. Give the parents cash and apply it to the bill. 

Royal does not offer an unlimited arcade pass. Depending on the ship, you’ll be in luck if half the machines work. 

[smokeybandit]

I agree on avoiding the prepaid arcade stuff.  The games do have a penchant for not being operational.

[Dan83]

I did this once for my kids and don’t recommend it. There will just be a credit on their seapass and it’s difficult to know the balance. You can have guest services set it up to have the seapass stop working when out of credit but again, it’s a pain to check the balance. Then there’s the issue of machines not working. But not coincidentally, the card readers on the machines will still work and the kids will swipe it five times or more trying to make it work and each time the balance is ticking down. $100 in credit per kid will be gone very very fast leaving the kids unsatisfied and the parents frustrated. Royal provides many opportunities for people to waste money, but the arcade in my opinion is the most egregious. 

[Mum2Mercury]

We've never frequented the arcade, but -- if I were trying to do what you're trying to do -- I think I'd give cash to the parents /ask them to purchase arcade credit for him.  

My kids did enjoy video games when they were younger, but they had hand-held Nintendo games (that's been a while).  I personally would opt to buy them a new game for the trip rather than arcade credit.