Ahoy and welcome to planDisney, Jacqueline. I will say seeing your name, I now have Cinderella talking to her favorite friends in the live-action remake of this film, and I am absolutely enchanted. The most charming voice is guiding me, "Jacqueline is my guest, and we ladies must help one another."
Before your cruise, you will set up an onboard account as part of the online check-in process. The date you can check in depends on your
Castaway Club level (ranging from 40 days before your Embarkation Day for Pearl members to 30 days for first-time cruisers). As part of this process, you will set up the
form of payment you would like to use on board. This is how you will pay for expenses such as
Port Adventures, spa treatments, adult-exclusive dining experiences, and onboard purchases charged to your Key to the World Card and/or
DisneyBand+.
As part of this check-in process, you will be asked to indicate which traveling adult will be responsible for each child's expenses. You will also be given the option to grant charging privileges for any of them. If you give your children charging privileges, they can make purchases on board with their Key to the World card or DisneyBand+. All expenses are added to the stateroom account. Unfortunately, you cannot set limits for individuals on the account.
You will be able to check the charges to your account at any time with the
Disney Cruise Line Navigator App. Once on board and connected to wi-fi, your cruise folio will be available on the app. It is separated by passenger, making it easy to see who made the charge. You can also request a copy from Guest Services.
In the past, I have used gift cards a little creatively to manage my children's use of charging privileges. My kids had Disney gift cards from birthday presents they brought with them on the ship. They could make purchases, which were charged to the stateroom account. We took the gift cards to Guest Services to have the amount purchased deducted from their cards. They had to manage against their limits. This, and being able to check themselves out of
Disney's Oceaneer Club when they were old enough, gave them a safe place to start managing increasing levels of freedom and responsibility. It really depends on your comfort level, knowing your children best.
I hope your cruise is full of carefree days. memories for a lifetime, and a little bit of magic. Please come back to
planDisney with any other questions as you plan your adventure.
SEA 'Ya Real Soon,
Jana