Another onboard statement question

[Monarda55]

I’m going to be sharing a cabin with an elderly relative.  She’s on a fixed income and tight budget, but insists on paying her share.  I’m trying to take care of a few of the incidentals behind the scenes (internet and crew appreciation primarily) hoping that if she doesn’t know about them, she won’t feel obligated to pay.  Assuming she downloads Navigator and happens to stumble across the onboard statement, what’s the most cryptic way I can pre-pay in terms of the wording on the statement?  In other words, if I wanted to disguise the prepayment, would it be better to buy a sufficient amount of OBC and have internet and crew appreciation subtracted off that (I could say the OBC was from a promo if she notices) or would it just be better to pre-pay internet and crew appreciation?  

 

I was hoping that prepayment would mean that those two items don’t show up on the onboard statement at all, but a recent thread makes me think that might not be the case.  We don’t have HIA, by the way.

 

Yes, I do feel bad about fibbing, but I want to make sure she enjoys the first treat she’s had in years without undue financial stress on her part. 

[Moriah]

Are you saying that your agreement with her is that she'll pay you back after the cruise for what she sees as her share?  In any case, EACH of you will have to have a credit card associated with your account.  If I understand what you wrote correctly,  you'll have YOUR CC on both accounts (both key cards, IOW). Both internet and Crew Appreciation can be PRE-PAID, so why not go ahead and do that before you leave - that way she won't see those things on the bill if she logs in.  Other than that, you are right, she'll see the bill and could presumably decide "her share" is ... whatever.  Maybe others have some other ideas.  You mentioned that another thread mentioned pre-paid gratuities still showed up? That has never been the case for me, but who knows with the way things work so inconsistently. 

 

Edited January 24 by Moriah

[Moriah]

Also... if you purchase OBC, your bill is still itemized, so each purchase still shows up, even though the total owed remains minus. 

[Blackduck59]

I think your best bet is to buy OBC put enough on to cover the items you want to pay for her. It should show up as OBC and you can be all surprised that you got OBC from (invent an imaginary hero). Then the internet and crew appreciation will just come off as normal. 

[Monarda55]

Thanks to both for your replies!
 

Yes, so far I’ve been making all the arrangements using my credit card. 
 

I’m pretty sure I saw in a recent thread where crew appreciation was itemized daily, even if prepaid, unless it was done so as part of a HIA package.

[Monarda55]

15 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

I think your best bet is to buy OBC put enough on to cover the items you want to pay for her. It should show up as OBC and you can be all surprised that you got OBC from (invent an imaginary hero). Then the internet and crew appreciation will just come off as normal. 

This is my current thinking, based on what I saw in the other recent thread. 

[dfish]

Why couldn't  you pre-pay the crew appreciation and internet?  While it will show up on her statement, you can always say it was part of the booking package and have no idea why the accountants do it that way.

[waiting2retire]

I just did this on a sailing with a friend I wanted to treat without her knowledge. The pre-paid gratuities show up as a credit for each person at the beginning of the statement, then each day the appropriate gratuity is debited. 
 

The prepaid internet does not show, nor are any shore excursions that were purchased prior to departure. 
 

I also checked in online for both of us, used my credit card number for both of us and told her we would settle up later. My friend is not ver good with technology, so she never really explored the Navigator app and did not come across the statement. 
 

I think @dfish suggestion to say the prepaid grats were part of a promotion is a great idea!
 

Of course my friend knows me quite well and ended up e-transfering me lump sum shortly after the cruise anyway. Still managed to save her some money. 
 

[dobiemom]

Anything that is prepaid shows up as a credit. This is my statement from the NS last month (on the TV). I had prepaid the crew incentive and bought the Thermal Suite for the week. Note that crew appreciation is charged every day and the Thermal Suite was charged the first time we checked in. 

[crystalspin]

6 hours ago, Monarda55 said:

This is my current thinking, based on what I saw in the other recent thread. 

As @Blackduck59 came up with, just tell her you booked under a tremendous Flash Sale or Black Friday (if dates are anything near then) or one-day Promo and the grats were thrown in. The Internet you can say YOU need it and the difference was so slight you included the second devide (hers). 

[VMax1700]

My experience (twice) is that the pre purchased internet does not show on the account.  

[Monarda55]

Just wanted to say thank you to all who responded. I think it sounds like I should prepay internet in hopes that it doesn’t show up on the statement at all, and then purchase some OBC to cover gratuities and do a little fast talking if she notices, lol.

 

Love this board, I’ve learned so much here. 

[POA1]

21 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

My experience (twice) is that the pre purchased internet does not show on the account.  

Prepaid internet access did not show up on the attendance last month, so you are clear there. You would see the add on for extra devices if you add that, since it can only be added on board.

 

I would prepay crew appreciation. I would do it before February 1 when it goes up.