Money issues

Do you recommend using your bank card or purchase a Visa or MasterCard and apply money on it to use rather than your bank card. How much cash is reasonable on an 8 day tour to Alaska, and how do I find an itinerary for my cruise in May 16, 2016

Do you recommend using your bank card or purchase a Visa or MasterCard and apply money on it to use rather than your bank card. How much cash is reasonable on an 8 day tour to Alaska, and how do I find an itinerary for my cruise in May 16, 2016

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

We use a combination of credit card, ATM card, and cash. I try to use the credit card as much as possible. ATM in case I need more cash.

How much to bring depends entirely on how much you want to spend onboard. Many things may be purchased ahead of time so there is no need to worry about it at the end of the cruise- gratuities/service charges may be pre-paid, excursions and beverage packages purchased, onboard credit may be purchased, etc. and the more of these things you purchase the less you will need. Our friend that went with us on our last cruse had pre-paid the service charges, shore excursions and had $25 OBC as a gift. She put $152 on her account and at the end of the week still had around $45 unspent that was returned by check in the mail.

Using a debit card can lead to issues depending on how quickly your bank releases holds, how much the holds are and how much your final bill is. It is possible that you will have a hold amount equal to your final bill and your final bill as debits on your card at the same time until the hold is removed and if the total of those two amounts exceeds your balance then that causes you to be overdrawn.

Your itinerary should be on your cruise line's website.

I would NEVER use a debit card outside of my town. They do place "holds" on your account....how long they stay depends on your bank...it can be several days after the funds have been released.

A credit card is best.

Bring what cash you think you need. Paying ATM fees is an unnecessary expense!!!

 

 

Using a debit card can lead to issues depending on how quickly your bank releases holds, how much the holds are and how much your final bill is. It is possible that you will have a hold amount equal to your final bill and your final bill as debits on your card at the same time until the hold is removed and if the total of those two amounts exceeds your balance then that causes you to be overdrawn.

Heed Sparks' words, ditto those of CB.

The business of a "hold" on funds in your bank account until long after you have settled your on-board account can be a big issue for those who run a low bank balance.

A long thread on the subject if you want to wade through it at

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2314018

Or ask your bank to tell you about "holds".

They're not confined to cruise ships, it's the same thing with many hotels, car rentals & other purchases where the supplier wants to be sure of receiving payment on any subsequent costs (eg hotel phone, dining, etc, or car rental fuel, mileage excesses, damage, etc).

The money "held" isn't actually taken from your account, so it won't appear on any bank or card statements, but it is "frozen" until the hold is released and that can take up to a couple of weeks after your cruise.

It applies to credit cards in the same way, but since most folk don't come close to maxing their credit limit it is much less-frequently a problem.

You mentioned putting money onto a Visa or MasterCard. This is known as a "pre-paid debit card" - you put, say, $200 on the card & can then use the card to spend that money in the same way as a regular credit or debit card.

Generally (I never say never) holds can't be placed on a pre-paid debit card. So they're often not accepted by cruise lines as a guarantee against your on-board spend because between registering it at the start & the cruise line wanting to charge it at the end you might have spent it all at the ports.

So if you're planning to use a pre-paid debit card for your on-board spend do check with the cruise line whether it's acceptable before you do it.

If your home currency is the same as ship's currency (eg you're American on a US Dollar ship), cash is the simplest if you're unhappy to use a credit card. Pay in at the beginning of the cruise, top-up if required, go to reception on the last night/day & collect or pay any balance. Probably involves standing in line at reception to sort the balance (some ships do it differently) but avoids the whole question of holds on a card.

For those of us with a currency different to ship's currency using cash presents more problems than it solves. :rolleyes:

JB :)

Credit card is a no brainer, and I take a lot of cash.

What I don't spend comes back with me.

If you plan on using a pre-paid visa card, read the small print. I purchased one for my daughter at Christmas to use online. When she went to use it, it wouldn't work as the company she was trying to purchase from was located outside of the United States. So if you are using one for travel, it is something you should check out.

I no longer use a "primary" credit card when traveling, as I've had too many experiences of it being hacked. So I use a secondary card that has no prepaid items (or benefits) tied to it. If it gets hacked, I can easily replace it with minimal inconvenience.

Do you recommend using your bank card or purchase a Visa or MasterCard and apply money on it to use rather than your bank card. How much cash is reasonable on an 8 day tour to Alaska, and how do I find an itinerary for my cruise in May 16, 2016

Do you know what ship you are on? We don't, so we can't give concrete advice on your itinerary. But there are many ways to find it. It should be in your cruise personalizer, where you checked in online with the cruise line. You can do a dummy booking for the cruise and find the itinerary. Or you can go to http://www.cruisetimetables.com and select Cruise Ships tab, then click on your ship, then your sail date. Or you can go to cruisecal.com, click on Itinerary Lookup from the menu bar, then choose your ship from the drop down menu, then your sail date. EM

You can buy Onboard Credit. Some cruise lines (Carnival) have gift cards you can buy in grocery stores.

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I would recommend bringing about $800-1000 for an 8 day cruise. That may be too much, but better to have extra to bring home than not enough. I always set up my shipboard account with my credit card and find that works best for me.

I would use your credit card for your on board expenses and for many items off the ship.

Bring more cash then you think you need should you have an emergency or unplanned expenses.

In general you need cash for the porter at the cruise ship terminal and for room service should you want to give a tip which they do appreciate.

Keith

Do you recommend using your bank card or purchase a Visa or MasterCard and apply money on it to use rather than your bank card. How much cash is reasonable on an 8 day tour to Alaska, and how do I find an itinerary for my cruise in May 16, 2016

What cruise line and ship is this? We can help you with the itinerary if we have this information.

Never use your debit card at a hotel, car rental, cruise ship or anything/anywhere that is not a point of sale transaction.

Using your debit card gives carte blanche to the facility into your bank account.

You can set up a cash account for your onboard account if you do not have a credit card.