Welcome aboard, Tom!
Giving your son the gift of a
Disney Cruise Line trip for his birthday is the most magical present of all! I'm really excited for your whole family to set sail with Captain Mickey and his crew for what is sure to be a wonderfully memorable vacation!
My kids like to have their own spending money when we cruise too. When you begin your online check-in (75 days prior to sailing for first time Disney Cruise Line guests, or 90 or more days prior for those who have cruised with Disney before), you'll be able to select which guests in your stateroom have the ability to charge to your stateroom account using their Key To The World Cards. I haven't yet given my kiddos the ability to charge, as I'm a bit nervous they'd get carried away! Smoothies for all their new friends! Ha! So, yes, the gift shops onboard do take Disney Gift Cards as payment, and that's a great way to let the kids have their own money to spend and learn to budget. My kids see way more in the
shops than they can buy, so they learn that they have to make choices.
Disney Gift Cards can also be added to your stateroom account as credits, if you'd prefer to do that. In fact, I budget for our entire cruise the whole year long by buying Disney Gift Cards every now and then. I then add them all to our stateroom account when we board the ship by taking them to Guest Services. Any credit we don't use gets put back onto one of the gift cards at the end of the sailing. It's super easy!
Have fun planning this exciting cruise, Tom! Please stop back with any other questions as you count down to your sail date. We're happy to help!
Marcy