The big on-board account annoyance

[RollTideRollRich]

Here in CA you can buy travelers checks at just about any AAA office. There may be a couple of $$$ fee if you're not a member but free if you are.

 

Well, I may just do that instead and become a member at the same time. I've been meaning to do that anyways....

[Friend100]

To the OP, whatever you decide to do, just make sure you also carry some cash. It wouldn't hurt.

[cruisintexan26]

i got my traveler's checks at Chase Bank recently. Fee if not a member. All persons you want to be able to sign them must be in attendance.

[RollTideRollRich]

To the OP, whatever you decide to do, just make sure you also carry some cash. It wouldn't hurt.

 

Yeah, I planned on that for Euros, which is why it's making me cautious to be carrying USD and Euro at one time.

[mitsugirly]

Didn't read all the responses, but I added everything I planned on spending prior to my cruise. I called NCL and told them the amount to apply to my OBC. When I got there, my account was pretty much paid in full as a cash account. I didn't give a cc, I didn't give a debit card, and I definitely didn't give any more money. When the cruise was done and over with, I believe I had a refund of $8 that came back to me. :D

 

If you want to see the link of exactly how I did it, I can find the post and link it for you.

[kitty9]

For future reference, you really should never travel internationally without a credit card. What if you had an emergency and had to fly home? Where would you get the funds? What if you get injured and need medical attention off the ship? This happened to us, and even though we had the VERY important travel insurance, the hospital demanded a credit card before they would do anything. Fortunately, we have an AmEx Platinum card, and one call to them gave us $250,000 in unquestioned fund availability. Mom was in the hospital for more than three weeks and the charges were incredibly high. With all due respect, and knowing some have a fear of credit cards, not having something to fall back on is asking for trouble, especially for international travel.

 

BTW, most cruise lines do not accept pre paid Visa/Master Cards or whatever for shipboard payment.

[RollTideRollRich]

Didn't read all the responses, but I added everything I planned on spending prior to my cruise. I called NCL and told them the amount to apply to my OBC. When I got there, my account was pretty much paid in full as a cash account. I didn't give a cc, I didn't give a debit card, and I definitely didn't give any more money. When the cruise was done and over with, I believe I had a refund of $8 that came back to me. :D

 

If you want to see the link of exactly how I did it, I can find the post and link it for you.

 

Yes, that would be awesome! Like I said, the NCL rep told me that I'd need a CC/DC or cash no matter what the balance of my OBC was!

[isujim]

For future reference, you really should never travel internationally without a credit card. What if you had an emergency and had to fly home? Where would you get the funds? What if you get injured and need medical attention off the ship? This happened to us, and even though we had the VERY important travel insurance, the hospital demanded a credit card before they would do anything. Fortunately, we have an AmEx Platinum card, and one call to them gave us $250,000 in unquestioned fund availability. Mom was in the hospital for more than three weeks and the charges were incredibly high. With all due respect, and knowing some have a fear of credit cards, not having something to fall back on is asking for trouble, especially for international travel.

 

BTW, most cruise lines do not accept pre paid Visa/Master Cards or whatever for shipboard payment.

 

Couldn't agree with you more! Absolutely correct. If you are going to travel alot or at all..........a CC is your best friend.

 

Amazing how we have become a cashless society.........try staying in a hotel, rent a car etc without one. It's doable but a pain.

 

Roll Tide.........pre planning well in advance is probably number one.

 

And by the way..........I hope your home town is recovering from the devestation of last months Tornado.........

 

Good luck to you and your community.

[Keith1010]

Amazing how we have become a cashless society.........try staying in a hotel, rent a car etc without one. It's doable but a pain.

 

 

It's hard to believe that it wasn't that long ago that so many places didn't take credit cards and often we would write checks for everything. We would go through more checks in one month than we now go through in a couple of years.

 

And back in those days, we'd take lots of travelers cheques with us as well.

 

The only challenge is that some do not know how to manage their cards.

 

Keith

[RollTideRollRich]

It's hard to believe that it wasn't that long ago that so many places didn't take credit cards and often we would write checks for everything. We would go through more checks in one month than we now go through in a couple of years.

 

And back in those days, we'd take lots of travelers cheques with us as well.

 

The only challenge is that some do not know how to manage their cards.

 

Keith

 

Yeah, I've just not seen the point of taking on debt for the sake of taking it on. Already have enough student loans to manage for a while and since I'm former Army, I'll probably be taking on a mortgage somewhat soon (seems like it's a buyer's market, especially for those of us who have solid backing from a VA home loan), but credit cards? Not so much. Perhaps one day, but that day isn't today or pre-cruise.

 

Oh, and I had gotten 250 checks when I opened my account about 2-3 years ago, and 2 months ago I had used the last one. Still haven't ordered more.

 

Tuscaloosa is recovering, but I'm a lucky one. The EF-4 track was one mile north of me. We had an EF-3 come through 12 days before that, which was about 1 mile south of me. Sort of eerie.

[mitsugirly]

Yes, that would be awesome! Like I said, the NCL rep told me that I'd need a CC/DC or cash no matter what the balance of my OBC was!

 

This is a series of post from beginning to end. Enjoy.

 

I have learn that when you call NCL and each time you get a different rep with a different response. So...

 

Here's the beginning:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=25465905&postcount=1

 

There was a HUGE debate on my thread (just like people have started to mention here) about needing to have a cc, which I appose of highly. I pay for everything in cash. If I don't have the cash, I simply don't buy. Everyone started a debate about how using a cc earned them "points" and so on and they were in a better position by saving money ...blah blah blah. But this is not for me. Not at the moment. So...weeding out all of those comments and debates....I call NCL again.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=25560699&postcount=52

 

 

This is how things turned out in the end and my experience:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=26139121&postcount=78

 

 

Things went smoothly in the end. Hopefully they will go this way again my upcoming cruise. :D

[RollTideRollRich]

This is a series of post from beginning to end. Enjoy.

 

I have learn that when you call NCL and each time you get a different rep with a different response. So...

 

Here's the beginning:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=25465905&postcount=1

 

There was a HUGE debate on my thread (just like people have started to mention here) about needing to have a cc, which I appose of highly. I pay for everything in cash. If I don't have the cash, I simply don't buy. Everyone started a debate about how using a cc earned them "points" and so on and they were in a better position by saving money ...blah blah blah. But this is not for me. Not at the moment. So...weeding out all of those comments and debates....I call NCL again.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=25560699&postcount=52

 

 

This is how things turned out in the end and my experience:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=26139121&postcount=78

 

 

Things went smoothly in the end. Hopefully they will go this way again my upcoming cruise. :D

 

Thanks for this! Sounds like I need to get on the horn again with NCL and keep digging until they give me the answer I like. ;) Plus, it also sounds like a hybrid (buy credits/deposit some cash) would be easier. And I know what you mean about the flames, guess they thought I asked them to evaluate my methods of how I like my finances handled? :rolleyes:

[RollTideRollRich]

Resolved. After reading Mitsu's posts I realized that maybe not all reps knew enough about this to give me an accurate read. So, I called NCL again and talked to another rep who talked to her supervisor about it as well. Apparently NCL considers OBC like cash on the account and that anything over $100 per person per day is good enough for them, so I paid it out!

[trish1c]

You can get traveler's checks (which now look like debit cards) from AAA even if you are not a member. There is a small fee for non members but they are free for members.

[isujim]

Glad it worked out........enjoy your cruise

[RollTideRollRich]

You can get traveler's checks (which now look like debit cards) from AAA even if you are not a member. There is a small fee for non members but they are free for members.

 

From all the info I found on Google, it looks like AAA has discontinued TCs. At least in the AAA Alabama website, it only mentions the travel card, which is a prepaid card and doesn't cut it for NCL.

[Keith1010]

Resolved. After reading Mitsu's posts I realized that maybe not all reps knew enough about this to give me an accurate read. So, I called NCL again and talked to another rep who talked to her supervisor about it as well. Apparently NCL considers OBC like cash on the account and that anything over $100 per person per day is good enough for them, so I paid it out!

 

Glad it worked out for you.

 

The next time you travel outside the USA I would get a credit card though. It really is important in an emergency.

 

Enjoy the cruise.

 

Keith

[sleepless]

Yes, but are you an AMEX cardholder? (meaning, did they let you do it as a non AMEX cardholder?)

 

 

I have always been able to buy AMEX travelers checks without an AMEX credit card if you get them at a bank. I am not sure about purchasing them at a AMEX travel center.

[sleepless]

Did you check with AAA for a traveler's check?

 

 

You do need to be a AAA member to purchase travelers checks through them.

[RollTideRollRich]

I have always been able to buy AMEX travelers checks without an AMEX credit card. I don't see that this is a problem.

 

Yeah, I contacted some banks that are affiliated with AMEX and sell traveler's checks. Said they didn't do it for non-account holders. Silly Alabama banks.

[sleepless]

You should be able to purchase traveler's checks from any bank. Expect to pay about a 1% fee though. I would double check with NCL to be sure they will accept them in leiu of a credit card. That's probably the safest way to go.

 

If you decide to go with a prepaid debit card, beware of the bank you purchase from and read the fine print. They will lock you out very quickly with one mistake on your part. (voice of experince)

 

 

Most banks today do charge a fee for travelers checks (I remember when there was no fee!)

 

However, some credit unions still offer travelers checks for those who have a checking account at that credit union without adding on an extra fee.

[zoncom]

Roll, If you ever find the TCs, remember no one will cash them on shore in Europe. Just not done. Your ship may cash them. Do you not have a checking act. you can do a debit card off of at your local bank? Bank ATMs everywhere in Europe. Do not walk around BCN with any serious amount of cash. Probably worst city in Europe for pickpockets. They are very sophisticated in PPs in Barcelona.

[RollTideRollRich]

Roll, If you ever find the TCs, remember no one will cash them on shore in Europe. Just not done. Your ship may cash them. Do you not have a checking act. you can do a debit card off of at your local bank? Bank ATMs everywhere in Europe. Do not walk around BCN with any serious amount of cash. Probably worst city in Europe for pickpockets. They are very sophisticated in PPs in Barcelona.

 

No, no, that wasn't the issue. The issue (which is solved) was that I had a debit card and my bank doesn't do TCs anymore and I don't see the point in credit card debt. Either I have the money or I don't!:cool:

[mitsugirly]

Resolved. After reading Mitsu's posts I realized that maybe not all reps knew enough about this to give me an accurate read. So, I called NCL again and talked to another rep who talked to her supervisor about it as well. Apparently NCL considers OBC like cash on the account and that anything over $100 per person per day is good enough for them, so I paid it out!

 

So happy it worked out for you. I'm the type of person that won't take no or I don't know for an answer and keep going until I get the answer. I can be as persistent and patient as I need to obtain my goal. Glad when it helps someone else out.

 

Have a wonderful "paid" trip. :D

[beachluvr65]

to the original poster

 

using a credit card does not demand that you carry debt.

 

I use my credit card each month, but only for things that I would pay cash for. I have a credit card that earns me airline mileage, so i put on the card what i was going to pay cash for. When the bill comes, IT GETS PAID OFF EVERY MONTH. No interest charges for things I was going to buy anyway, and I get mileage rewards for free travel. So using a credit card does not imply taht you will have debt. Problem is when you charge more than you intend to pay off at the end of the month. Then you carry debt from month to month and incur finance charges...

 

Just my way of handling it.