What Does RC Do IF You Can't Pay Your Sea Pass Bill?

[kyriecat]

First, I've NEVER had a problem paying my sea pass. I sometimes go over my budget, but it's vacation and I get over it (and give up going out to dinner for a few weeks :o;)).

 

It never occurred to me that some people would take a cruise without having the means to pay their account until I saw a post on the Holland America board that 10% :eek: of HAL cruisers can't pay their shipboard account when it's time to disembark. That was posted by someone who is a HAL employee. I don't know hiim/her but several people on the HAL board questioned the high percentage and others vouched for the employee. Personally, I'm shocked that the percentage is that high. I would guess 1 or 2% at the most, but I don't work for a cruiseline.

 

I realize there are a variety of excuses - didn't realize the bill would get that high, credit card over the limit, credit card stolen in port, didn't bring enough cash, etc. Apparently HAL has them sign a promissary note before disembarking but it sounds like most of them don't bother to pay up, and it costs HAL more than they will get back to take legal action so nothing is done. It also sounds like the problem is getting worse since lower fares are attracting people who hadn't previously cruised and don't understand the shipboard expense system.

 

Does anyone know if RC has deadbeat cruisers (I assume they must) and what that percentage is? What does RC do to get their money? I assume if most cruiselines have a significant number of deadbeats, that it will cause increases in fares, drink prices, excursion prices, etc. that get passed to those of us who DO pay our bills. :rolleyes::(

[Samira0207]

I find that pretty hard to believe. I know when i was back in college and would use cash for my sea pass; once my cash ran out I would get a notice and have to add more or cut off my spending. Even when i started using credit cards for my on board accounts; once I guess i charged more than the credit that i had availabe ( i was young LOL) and i got a letter and had to give them a new card or settle with cash. I would imagine cruise lines would have checks in place to make sure people aren't spending more than they actually have...

[negc]

Maybe they don't let them disembark and force them to stay on board for the next cruise or until they can find someone to bail them out.? One could only hope.;):D

[Mickeylee]

Keelhauling, maybe?

[GOODIES]

you have 2 options

pre pay with cash

pay with credit card that you establish upon arrival

[aurelius180]

I wonder if it is possible with RCCL to run up that much of a bill without them being able to pay up. They run the Credit Cards every day and last year when I was on the Enchantment my Seapass was declined on like the second or third day. I went to the Pursers Desk and they told me my CC was rejected that day which was odd since it had a zero balance to begin with. I'm not sure whether they run it through as a credit hold or cash advance until it is settled (that card has a low cash advance limit relative to credit). Moral of the story is we hit the limit on that card and I switched it over to a different card. If I didn't have another card my spending days would have been over unless I used cash. So I wonder how one would go about overspending and not paying in the end.

 

I've never used cash for the Seapass but my understanding is you have to pre-fund it and that's your limit until you add more.

[SailorJack]

I saw a post on the Holland America board that 10% :eek: of HAL cruisers can't pay their shipboard account when it's time to disembark.

 

This may be an urban legend. HAL places a $60 a day/per person hold on the passenger's credit card the day the cruise starts. If you don't have a credit card, then you must put up the equivalent in cash. If your seapass account reaches the $60/day limit, then you must go back down and and put more money into your deposit.

 

So in essence, HAL is reserving $120 a day (assuming two people) on your credit card (or cash). At the end of the cruise they charge your card the actual amount you spent - or refund the difference between the cash deposit and actual charges.

 

Given this procedure I don't see how anybody can get in a bind about paying their tab. I suppose it is possible - but 10%? I don't think so.

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

About the third day of a seven-night cruise, I was in the gift shop and I overheard another passnger being told his SeaPass account was overdrawn and he couldn't charge anymore until he went to the customer service desk to make arrangements. His wife said something to him about the casino.

 

I would imagine the casino would be the easiest and quickest way to surpass one's credit limits on a ship.

[Lynnees]

I don't know if it depends on who you are but I know that RCL does not ask for cash up front. Being Canadian, we have stopped giving our CC when we board. (This has to do with the fact RCL wants to convert the charges and we don't want them to - the won't listen or pay attention to instruction).

 

I have never been asked for cash up front. I have been told that once our account reaches $400 - $500 they will call and ask for some cash. We go to Purser's desk the day before we disembark and have them run our CC at that time direct with the charges to date.

 

We don't spend that much onboard so we've never been called.

[kyriecat]

This may be an urban legend. HAL places a $60 a day/per person hold on the passenger's credit card the day the cruise starts. If you don't have a credit card, then you must put up the equivalent in cash. If your seapass account reaches the $60/day limit, then you must go back down and and put more money into your deposit.

 

So in essence, HAL is reserving $120 a day (assuming two people) on your credit card (or cash). At the end of the cruise they charge your card the actual amount you spent - or refund the difference between the cash deposit and actual charges.

 

Given this procedure I don't see how anybody can get in a bind about paying their tab. I suppose it is possible - but 10%? I don't think so.

Like I said, I found the percentage shocking. When I took my HAL cruise in April, they put a hold on my credit card of $60 pp/day when we boarded. For a 14-night cruise, that was $1680 for hubby and I. The hold remained on my card for the duration of the cruise plus 4 days after we got back. On the day we disembarked, they ran our shipboard account charge of $750. The hold amount was still on my credit card when they ran the actual charge. The hold finally came off when the actual charge changed from "pending" to "processed".

 

If I had a low limit card (say $2000) and didn't understand HAL's hold system, then I would be over my limit when they tried to process the actual charge due to the hold amount. I can understand that happening to a few people (not 10%). I even know some people who have low limit cards (under $5K) who might not realize that even though they spent an amount below their limit onboard, the hold amount reduces the available credit so the two combined could push them over their credit limit. That would cause the card to be denied when the actual charges were run.

[miamiyogi]

Maybe slightly off topic....but I plan on using a debit card for the sea pass account. Does anyone know how that would work out?

[TheWog]

Wash dishes?:D

[--MajestyoftheSeas--]

I suppose they would do the same as other businesses that don't get paid, first they send an invoice and if that isn't paid they just transfer or sell the debt to a debt collecting agency.

I have no idea what the number of outstanding debs are, but 10% sounds very high. Probably not more than 1-2% wich is also what Visa and Mastercard lose every year in fraud.

[NorbertsNiece]

I do recall a thread quite a while ago recalling a guest who was refused debarking as his account had an outstanding amount. I remember the thread well enough to recall that he was furious at the embarassment this had caused him..... not that he had failed to pay off his balance of course.....

I always give my CC details but the night before debarkation I head for the guest services desk and pay up using my travellers cheques. The card has never been previously debited for items charged.

[PH8]

I always wondered what if you have an medical emergency and see the doctor onboard.......that can add up and not everyone has enough credit on their cards to pay it............what then?:confused:

[Canuker]

Aarrgghh! 'Tis the plank for 'ee, matey!

[g_rock]

Wash dishes?:D

 

That would be a lot of dishes with the MDR and WJ....and cocktail glasses!

[nancronin]

I always wondered what if you have an medical emergency and see the doctor onboard.......that can add up and not everyone has enough credit on their cards to pay it............what then?:confused:

 

A friend of ours had a heart attack on Independence last March (1st full day) and before they took him off in San Juan, they charged $13,000 to his credit card for medical expenses even though he had insurance and travel insurance. Thank God he had a large credit line on that card. He spent a week in San Juan and recovered nicely.:)

He was reimbursed by his insurance company but had to pay some interest on the $13,000 before he got the check.

[flcruzer03]

I don't know if it depends on who you are but I know that RCL does not ask for cash up front. Being Canadian, we have stopped giving our CC when we board. (This has to do with the fact RCL wants to convert the charges and we don't want them to - the won't listen or pay attention to instruction).

 

I have never been asked for cash up front. I have been told that once our account reaches $400 - $500 they will call and ask for some cash. We go to Purser's desk the day before we disembark and have them run our CC at that time direct with the charges to date.

 

We don't spend that much onboard so we've never been called.

 

 

It must depend on the ship.. we had several in our party on Enchantment that were planning to use cash for their Seapass cards..they were told at check-in the cards would not be activated until they put cash down at Guest Relations..

[PattyG12]

DH and I use separate payments because he likes to spend more time in the Casino than I like to pay for. Anyway, on our cruise last year we got a notice that his debit card had gone over what was allowed. We just had to go down to Customer Relations (payday was the next day and direct deposit kicked in) to have it straightened out. Credit card is relly the easiest way to go.

[dad son team]

I had something similar happen to me a couple years ago when I was getting off the Granduer. I didn't get a bill under the door and the morning of debarkation I was paged to go to the Guest Relations desk. I get to the counter and I am told that my cc was declined. I asked why and of course they couldn't tell me, so I just gave them another card and all was fine. I then called the credit card company and they said they declined it because they thought it was fraud since there was a similar charge a few days before. It seems that when the account got to $500, they charged the card and then started over. Anyway, when we were called to debark, they beep everyone's card in the machine and they go on their way until they get to mine. I forget what happened, but they pulled me aside and held me there while they checked on the 2-way radio to see if I could leave. It was a bit humiliating to be standing there with security while others were lwalking by and staring at you to see what happened. It only took a few minutes and then they said I was free to go.

[SpeedGeek]

I wonder if it is possible with RCCL to run up that much of a bill without them being able to pay up. They run the Credit Cards every day and last year when I was on the Enchantment my Seapass was declined on like the second or third day. I went to the Pursers Desk and they told me my CC was rejected that day which was odd since it had a zero balance to begin with. I'm not sure whether they run it through as a credit hold or cash advance until it is settled (that card has a low cash advance limit relative to credit). Moral of the story is we hit the limit on that card and I switched it over to a different card. If I didn't have another card my spending days would have been over unless I used cash. So I wonder how one would go about overspending and not paying in the end.

 

I've never used cash for the Seapass but my understanding is you have to pre-fund it and that's your limit until you add more.

 

So are there holds, or just the daily charge to the card?

[buckanear]

There is a thread in the saving money forum about this. The person was asked to sign a promissory note before disembarking

[Captain Jake]

When you cruise be sure to let your credit card company know whiat countries/islands you will be visiting.Foreign use can set off their fraud alert putting a temp stop on your card until you call them.It may be wise to use a different card onshore than the one you use for your seapass account

:cj

[FLASHINGLIGHTS83]

About the third day of a seven-night cruise, I was in the gift shop and I overheard another passnger being told his SeaPass account was overdrawn and he couldn't charge anymore until he went to the customer service desk to make arrangements. His wife said something to him about the casino.

 

I would imagine the casino would be the easiest and quickest way to surpass one's credit limits on a ship.

 

It definately is. I have always put my Seapass on a credit card, then the last night, or periodically throughout the cruise go to the pursers desk, and use the cash I have obtained from the casino and pay down my balance so I won't get hit w/ that much on my CC. Fortunately for me, the casino usually pays me more then I donate to them, so it works out for me in the end. Even if it doesnt, and I just break even, I have already assumed that money to be gone, so I use it to pay down the Seapass at the end also. It's a win/win for me.