QV On Board Account

[spucka4]

Can anyone please advise re the Cunard on board account:-

 

1. If 2 passengers are using their on board account cards linked to the 1 credit card will Cunards account show the 2 passenger's transactions separately on the ship board account summary?

 

2. Can passengers pre load their credit card details for their on board account on line via the cruise personaliser? I have been searching the cruise personaliser but I cannot find the link to do so. I contacted Cunard and they said I can always phone the details thru to them, but I would prefer to load the details on line myself.

 

As this is our first cruise with Cunard any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Regards,

 

Graeme:confused:

[Salacia]

Can anyone please advise re the Cunard on board account:-

 

1. If 2 passengers are using their on board account cards linked to the 1 credit card will Cunards account show the 2 passenger's transactions separately on the ship board account summary?

 

2. Can passengers pre load their credit card details for their on board account on line via the cruise personaliser? I have been searching the cruise personaliser but I cannot find the link to do so. I contacted Cunard and they said I can always phone the details thru to them, but I would prefer to load the details on line myself.

 

As this is our first cruise with Cunard any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Regards,

 

Graeme:confused:

 

Graeme, from my expericence, your on board account will show charges billed to each individual in your cabin, but the total charges will be billed to the credit card provided when boarding. Each individual may provide a credit card for billing purposes; each passenger is issued a key card, and any charges occured on board will be billed to that key card.

 

May I suggest that if you have an on board credit issued " per passenger" as opposed to "per cabin" that you keep account of your on board charges, at least until you have maxed out on your individual OBC.

 

You can provide credit card for billing purposes at check in before boarding the ship and your charges will be billed to that credit card.

 

First voyage on QM2? Have a great time. Please come back and let us know how it went.

 

Cheers,

Salacia

[pnhmrk]

1. If 2 passengers are using their on board account cards linked to the 1 credit card will Cunards account show the 2 passenger's transactions separately on the ship board account summary?

 

Yes :) although if both passengers have the same surname you'll find they have difficulty in working out who's account they should charge things to.

 

2. Can passengers pre load their credit card details for their on board account on line via the cruise personaliser?

 

Again yes :) However I'm not sure why Cunard bother - they take your credit card details when you check in!

[Underwatr]

In my experience we didnt have an opportunity to enter CC details in the personalizer - only on embarkation. US booking, if that matters.

 

...And although the TA told me the OBC was per cabin it ended up being applied as half that amouont per passenger. The in-room cards and account details both showed this.

 

The australian site may be different but for me the personalizer is a link from the main http://www.cunard.com page:

 

[Cat001]

1, Yes

 

2, No

 

And even if you could, what's the point ?

 

But, here's a question : When Cunard charge your credit card at the end of the voyage, they are charging for Goods and Services ( i.e. a normal credit card transaction ).

 

But, if you load up your Cunard account before you sail, what do they put that though as ? To me it's a cash advance on your CC, which normally has a higher rate of interest, interest is charged from the instant the transaction occurs and there will also be a cash handling fee.

[Underwatr]

I read Question #2 as loading the cc details - not as establishing a positive balance in the onboard account ahead of time.

[Cat001]

I read Question #2 as loading the cc details - not as establishing a positive balance in the onboard account ahead of time.

 

You are correct - I read the "pre load" to mean put money into the on-board account.

 

Given I've now read it right, I did not see any option to enter your CC details on-line a couple of months ago. But it only takes seconds to do when you board anyway, so there is little , if anything, to be gained.

 

Here's a thing : On the last day of the cruise, when you are waiting to get off, I often here "Will Mr X/Mrs Y please report to the purser's office as soon as possible" and I always wonder if they really want to say "Will Mr X/Mrs Y get themselves here this instant as we're just tried to bill your credit card and it's been declined, and we want our money"

[pnhmrk]

I did not see any option to enter your CC details on-line a couple of months ago.

 

The past few trips that I've done I'm sure that a credit card number was requested. I'm fairly sure that I put a CC number in for my upcoming trip. I've just been to the VP to see what page the information was on and it's not there! I can only assume that Cunard must have changed their policy about registering a cc number recently.

[capnpugwash]

I don't recall Cunard ever requesting credit card details in advance, I have never been asked and I normally fill in the Voyage Personalizer page.

[Cat001]

Well I'm sure I've never seen it; I've only been twice on Cunard, once 3 months ago and one 3 years ago but each time I checked the online thing quite a lot and all you had to do was give over your contact details for an emergency, plus your insurance details, and passport number and the like.

 

This is from the Cunard Website :

 

"How do I settle my final bill on board?

If you wish, you can register your credit card details at check in. If you do and are happy with your final statement, your account will be settled automatically. However, if you wish to settle your on board account at the end of the voyage by traveller’s cheques or cash, you should do so at the Purser’s Office."

[Whitemarsh]

Here's a thing : On the last day of the cruise, when you are waiting to get off, I often here "Will Mr X/Mrs Y please report to the purser's office as soon as possible" and I always wonder if they really want to say "Will Mr X/Mrs Y get themselves here this instant as we're just tried to bill your credit card and it's been declined, and we want our money"

 

I think you have it exactly right. On our day of disembarkation we heard the multiple announcements over the PA for various people to report to the purser's officer. When we actually left the ship they scanned your card before allowing you to leave (the one you use to purchase stuff and enter your room) and the guy in front of us got pulled up by the attendant when he presented his card. The machine let of a rather loud noise and a message "Contact the purser's office' came up on the screen. They wouldn't let him leave and made him push back through all the people who were waiting to get off.

[spucka4]

Thank you to all those who replied, you have helped answer my questions.

 

I will wait until we board to load our credit cards details.

 

Now all we have to do is pack!:)

[Cruachan]

I think you have it exactly right. On our day of disembarkation we heard the multiple announcements over the PA for various people to report to the purser's officer. When we actually left the ship they scanned your card before allowing you to leave (the one you use to purchase stuff and enter your room) and the guy in front of us got pulled up by the attendant when he presented his card. The machine let of a rather loud noise and a message "Contact the purser's office' came up on the screen. They wouldn't let him leave and made him push back through all the people who were waiting to get off.

 

Don't know how it works in other parts of the world, but in UK, credit card firms have a nasty habit of freezing your account of they spot unusual usage of the card. Normally they will contact you by telephone to discuss this but, of course, if you are away roving the high seas, they can't do othis, and some of them will simply put a stop on the card anyway.

 

I know two people that this has happened to on previous cruises we have been on. It really pays to contact your card provider before you sail to make them aware of where you are going and how the card is likely to be used - mind you, that doesn't always prevent the problem happening, but it's worth a try anyway.

 

J

[Cat001]

It really pays to contact your card provider before you sail to make them aware of where you are going and how the card is likely to be used.

J

 

A very good point.

 

My bank, and my wife's, lets you do this on-line now, which is very simple.

 

I did try this a few years ago, with my previous bank, ( who were useless ) and the when I rang them, they pretty much said "What are you telling us this for ?" But, as I said, they were shambolic, hence I withdrew my custom.

[Cruachan]

My bank, and my wife's, lets you do this on-line now, which is very simple.

 

In theory, my credit card provider offers a facility for you to do the notifcation on line. In practice, though, I found that the various options available for destinations didn't work for cruises so, in the end, I phoned them. After the phone call I was a little less than convinced that they had actually done anything about it, but the card wasn't stopped so I presume my efforts paid off.

 

J

[pnhmrk]

"What are you telling us this for ?"

 

I believe that some banks need the information, some don't and some just stop your card anyway :rolleyes: I agree with Jimmy that a phone call is easier because explaining that you'll be in one country on one day and another country the next is far easier! I rang my card issuer before we went on the WC - the person who answered the phone was horrified when she found out that we weren't just going to Spain for a couple of weeks and that she had to enter every port onto her computer :D It worked though - my card wasn't stopped.

[Cruachan]

the person who answered the phone was horrified when she found out that we weren't just going to Spain for a couple of weeks and that she had to enter every port onto her computer :D It worked though - my card wasn't stopped.

 

I think that's the key to it, Malcolm. If the workload is too great they probably just don't bother.

 

J

[Cat001]

You'd think all they would need to know was the dates you were out of the UK; that way, if it's shows up in another land between those dates it's okay.

 

Having said that, I've been out of the UK plenty of times without telling them, and it worked fine. And it worked fine on the QM2 this year and I never told I was going.

 

I think the banks just make it up as they go along anyway.

[Cruachan]

I think the banks just make it up as they go along anyway.

 

It appears to be totally random and is presumably done on the whim of the person who notices the "unusual usage".

 

One of our tablemates on our last QV cruise had his card stopped despite having phoned and informed his card firm about his travel plans well in advance. Like you, I have been out of the country many times and have not informed them and yet nothing has happened. They did call me once when my wife was in South Africa on her own and using our joint credit card. Needless to say I told them to stop it straight away :eek::D:D

 

J

[Cat001]

They did call me once when my wife was in South Africa on her own and using our joint credit card. Needless to say I told them to stop it straight away :eek::D:D

 

J

 

Reminds me of the old joke about the man whose credit card is stoten but he does not tell his bank because the thief is spending less with it than his wife did :)

[Underwatr]

My local bank doesn't even staff their ATM/Debit card access line 24 hours a day. I've never told them before traveling (it's usually 10PM a couple of days before traveling when I get around to calling my other CC issuers) and it's never been a problem. Yet. :)

 

Since the QM2 trip was New England & Atlantic Canada I didn't bother calling anyone; it shouldn't be out of the norm for me to use the cards in North America. Didn't have any trouble.

[Cat001]

My local bank doesn't even staff their ATM/Debit card access line 24 hours a day.

 

In the UK we don't have that problem ( I'm using problem is it's broadest sense);

 

a) The concept of your local bank is no more

b) All bank phone lines are staffed in India

 

Of course, it's all for the customer's benefit, or so UK banks lie ( I mean tell ) us.

[Underwatr]

The "local bank" that I mentioned is actually owned by a bank in Spain (Santander), so I guess you have a point. But I still get a recording telling me to call back during "regular business hours" when I call the number on the back of my ATM card.

[Cat001]

The "local bank" that I mentioned is actually owned by a bank in Spain (Santander)

 

My previous bank ( that I mentioned in post #14 ) and said were useless, were, wait for it, Santander.

[Underwatr]

Yeah, I think I got the "why are you telling us this?" response the one time I did call them.

 

CapitalOne, on the other hand, has been very friendly and actually helpful whenever I call them on this toic.