Credit or Debit Card on Royal Caribbean

Sailing on Rhaspody OTS on OCT 6th. Just done the Online check in and asks for a Credit Card. I do not own a credit card but have a VISA Debit card (Bank Card).

Does anyone know if this is OK? as never come across this before.

Personally would never travel without a credit card. If you have an emergency, e.g. Medical , transportation, you definitely need a credit card.

You can set up a cash account or use a debit card, but keep in mind debit cards do not offer the same fraud protection as a credit card.

I would get a credit card - just as easy to pay off without incurring interest charges.

Sailing on Rhaspody OTS on OCT 6th. Just done the Online check in and asks for a Credit Card. I do not own a credit card but have a VISA Debit card (Bank Card).

Does anyone know if this is OK? as never come across this before.

You can use a debit card, but, be aware, they may place a hold on funds tied to this card.

Steve

Personally would never travel without a credit card. If you have an emergency, e.g. Medical , transportation, you definitely need a credit card.

 

You can set up a cash account or use a debit card, but keep in mind debit cards do not offer the same fraud protection as a credit card.

 

I would get a credit card - just as easy to pay off without incurring interest charges.

In the UK and probably elsewhere if you use your credit card for even a part of a bill over £100 you get section 75 protection for your purchase.

Sailing on Rhaspody OTS on OCT 6th. Just done the Online check in and asks for a Credit Card. I do not own a credit card but have a VISA Debit card (Bank Card).

Does anyone know if this is OK? as never come across this before.

You can set your account up with a debit card or you can set up a cash account. A cash account would allow you to charge on board up to $500 before having to go put money on the account. The downside is you have to stand in line to pay your account off the last night of the cruise or pay earlier in the day and not charge anything else.

You can set your account up with a debit card or you can set up a cash account. A cash account would allow you to charge on board up to $500 before having to go put money on the account. The downside is you have to stand in line to pay your account off the last night of the cruise or pay earlier in the day and not charge anything else.

I agree with this, I'd never use a debit card to secure the onboard account.

In my experience, when using a debit card for onboard purchases, they don't "hold" anything. They seemed to run the charges on a daily basis though. Personally, I saw no down side to using a debit card. Now, I won't use a debit card on any of the islands. Too much risk of the number being stolen, and cash in the account GONE.

In my experience, when using a debit card for onboard purchases, they don't "hold" anything. They seemed to run the charges on a daily basis though. Personally, I saw no down side to using a debit card. Now, I won't use a debit card on any of the islands. Too much risk of the number being stolen, and cash in the account GONE.

What's been explained here before is that they run some sort of test charges daily, then run the total at the end of the cruise. Some financial institutions don't correlate the sum of the daily charges with the final charge, so the charges stay pending for a while, thus tying up a large sum. This process supposedly varies by financial institution, not the cruise line, and is why some report no problem, and others report holds that take days (if not weeks) to fall off.

Yes, some banks will not release the hold on your funds for up to 30 days. I've heard horror stories about this - enough that I'd never use a debit card. If I didn't have a credit card, I'd set up a cash account.

You can set your account up with a debit card or you can set up a cash account. A cash account would allow you to charge on board up to $500 before having to go put money on the account. The downside is you have to stand in line to pay your account off the last night of the cruise or pay earlier in the day and not charge anything else.

Im a nightowl even on the last night. I find on Royal Caribbean that around 1230 - 1 am the last night is a prime time to go settle up my account :) Ive never had a line. On Carnival, its a no issue as they have several kiosks around the ship that you can do all your sail and sign stuff from.

As far as debit card goes, I agree with you :) Set up a cash account and if you dont spend over 500.00 onboard (I never do) if you dont have a credit card, you can go settle up on the last night with the debit card and not have any holds. Personally though, I secure my account with a credit card.

I bought OBC but will most likely not use all of it. If I set up a cash account, do they refund the unused balance in cash at Guest Services?

I bought OBC but will most likely not use all of it. If I set up a cash account, do they refund the unused balance in cash at Guest Services?

Yes, on the last day.

What's been explained here before is that they run some sort of test charges daily, then run the total at the end of the cruise. Some financial institutions don't correlate the sum of the daily charges with the final charge, so the charges stay pending for a while, thus tying up a large sum. This process supposedly varies by financial institution, not the cruise line, and is why some report no problem, and others report holds that take days (if not weeks) to fall off.

So happy my credit union doesn't do this, but it's also a pain in the butt to reconcile the daily charges I get to the final folio...

I'm like the OP (have no credit card), and have previously used a debit card with no issue, although it is fair to suggest you consider having a buffer on that or elsewhere.

However, these days I have a pre-paid Revolut card, and I tend to add to that in batches over the weeks ahead of the cruise.

I would never, ever use a debit card on vacation...it opens your checking account. Just bring the cash you'll need...same difference! If you don't spend all you bring, you can redeposit it.

Debit cards offer NO protections whatsoever. Credit cards do!

... Debit cards offer NO protections whatsoever. ...

This is not true, though one is out the money until the mistake is corrected.

I would never, ever use a debit card on vacation...it opens your checking account. Just bring the cash you'll need...same difference! If you don't spend all you bring, you can redeposit it.

Debit cards offer NO protections whatsoever. Credit cards do!

You need to get with the program.

If your debit card ever got compromised and your account drained, it would certainly be protected. It would however take more time than a credit card would and any account associated with it could be compromised also. I'd never use a debit card except at an ATM, but it certainly is protected

If you are going to use your debit card, I suggest you call your bank to let them know what your plans are ahead of time. You wouldn't want them to think it is fraudulent activity and block your charges.

You need to get with the program.

 

If your debit card ever got compromised and your account drained, it would certainly be protected. It would however take more time than a credit card would and any account associated with it could be compromised also. I'd never use a debit card except at an ATM, but it certainly is protected

Friend had debit card compromised a few weeks ago of all of his money except $25. It took him about 2 weeks to get his money back from the fraudulent use and also a few days to receive a new card. My credit card had fraudulent charges while traveling and ML overnighted me a new card and credited the money back to me as soon as I found out. Do not own a debit card.

I also disagree with the statement that debit cards aren't protected...I had $3200 fraudulently taken out of my checking account by online purchases with my debit card and the bank covered all charges. On another occasion, with a different bank, my Debit card was used and my bank notified me and covered all charges.You are vulnerable because it is tied to your checking account but they are covered. I do not use my debit card when we travel.

Friend had debit card compromised a few weeks ago of all of his money except $25. It took him about 2 weeks to get his money back from the fraudulent use and also a few days to receive a new card. My credit card had fraudulent charges while traveling and ML overnighted me a new card and credited the money back to me as soon as I found out. Do not own a debit card.

Wonder why $25 was left, LOL

In my experience, when using a debit card for onboard purchases, they don't "hold" anything. They seemed to run the charges on a daily basis though. Personally, I saw no down side to using a debit card. Now, I won't use a debit card on any of the islands. Too much risk of the number being stolen, and cash in the account GONE.

There is a lot of misconceptions on CC about debit cards and people are scared to use them. One thing is you do get protection using a debit card. Oh and I work for a bank. But anyway I have used a debit card tied to my sea pass card on every cruise for the past 10 years and as you have stated they do run your card charges every night and at the last day of the cruise the only charges you have is what you may have spent the last night. Now sometimes there could be inadvertent holds placed on your checking account tied to your debit card and that is placed by the cruise line or hotel and not the bank. They will usually show as pending transactions waiting for final from the vendor. For this reason I do not use my account that I pay bills, mortgage, etc., from. I opened a checking account that I strictly use for vacations be it cruise or land based this way if any holds or other issues arise due to the use of the debit card it is only tying up money in my vacation account and not my regular account. Hold money in the vacation account I can wait for but can’t have it messing up auto debits for bills etc.

Sailing on Rhaspody OTS on OCT 6th. Just done the Online check in and asks for a Credit Card. I do not own a credit card but have a VISA Debit card (Bank Card).

Does anyone know if this is OK? as never come across this before.

Debit card will work but here's what happened to us. We left the ship and I knew that I have enough money left in the account after paying the final bill to make the drive home. We stopped shortly after leaving Miami and when I tried to use my card for gas it was declined. I used the ATM inside to check my balance and it was negative. Soooo I was expecting to limp home with barely enough to make it on the credit card we had but by the next time we stopped we had a positive balance on the debit card again and all was well. I figured out later that the cruise line (NCL) had put a hold on the debit card equal to our balance on our last evening and then ran the actual bill when we disembarked, so both amounts were deducted from our card at the same time. Fortunately for us the hold was released quickly, I've heard of it taking several days.

So my advice would be to put cash on your account when you board OR make sure you have more than enough on your debit card to handle the potential holds.

Your debit card is protected just like a credit card. The difference is, it's your actual money. So if something happens your real cash is tied up until the conclusion of the investigation. If you do not have a credit card, I would opt for a cash account. The last thing you want is something happening and them closing your debit card as then you will be unable to obtain cash to put on to your seapass account. We have used both cash and credit card and prefer cash. The lines can get long but when we see them short as we are passing by, we just stop by and add some cash onto the account. You can monitor your spending from your stateroom TV. We don't spend a ton, mostly additional tips on the drinks and a few things from the shops.

Thank you for your replies. it was just of a case of whether a Debit Card is accepted as we have used it always before on P and O with no issues. We are aware that they put small holds on the card which clear soon after we are back home, not an issue really.