S & S Hold

[booboo4031]

Does anyone know how much of a hold Carnival puts on your credit card for an 8 day cruise?? I called Carnival and got several different answers... one would think that it would be a simple answer:confused: :confused: :confused: :confused: :confused:

[TXRoo]

I believe it is around $250-300 per person initially and if your spending gets near that limit then they will place another hold on it for a higher amount.

[helicopter]

$300.00 per person for 8 day.

[dizzy205]

Do you think it would be a better idea if we start out by giving cash to the purser's desk for our sign and sail? I am planning on using my credit card for a little, but I have the cash to probably get through the whole trip.

[TXRoo]

It might be best to start out with a credit card and just pay cash for everything at the end. The line to put cash on the S&S card when we boarded was VERY long.

[Trlbnd1]

TXroo has a good idea. Start with the credit card when you start off. But I would suggest not to wait til the end but a couple of days into the cruise to switch to cash when the lines are short.

[bajalover]

Isn't there a way to put a credit on your s&s card BEFORE you even board? I thought I read somwhere that you could.

[dlb1357]

I save up all the money before the cruise and then just put it all on the credit card and leave my cash at home so I don't have to worry about carrying large amounts of cash when travelling. Then I make a transfer to my credit card the day I get back.

[jckvpa0]

I'm getting a few diff. travel cards. I'm planning on using one for my S&S card. Say I have a $2,000.00. limit on this card & three people in my party. What is the best amt. to have held on this card? Have them charge the $300.00 min pp at the start than when we go over,(which we will), have them add the charges each day? I'm thinking that if we only use $1,500.00 than the other $500.00 won't have a hold, am I wrong on how this system works? Please would love feedback!!!

[booboo4031]

They don't actually 'charge' it ... they get an authorization for a specific amount and it is determined by the length of the cruise. In the brochure it says $200 pp for a 7 day cruise but doesn't say for longer cruises. The charge is the 'actual' amount you spend. It's kind of like when you go into a store and they run your card through the machine.... your card is not normally charged immediately, but they get an authorization for a certain amount and that amount is deducted from your available credit.

[Magnifique1908]

They don't actually 'charge' it ... they get an authorization for a specific amount and it is determined by the length of the cruise. In the brochure it says $200 pp for a 7 day cruise but doesn't say for longer cruises. The charge is the 'actual' amount you spend. It's kind of like when you go into a store and they run your card through the machine.... your card is not normally charged immediately, but they get an authorization for a certain amount and that amount is deducted from your available credit.

 

How many times do they make a hold? Just the first $200-$300 on the first day? I read a thread awhile back about a woman who said that they put a hold on her card every day and when they actually charged her at the end, the holds hadn't lifted, and it caused a lot of difficulty. Can anyone describe the actual process of using a credit card for your sail and sign?

[booboo4031]

I've only had them put the hold on once.... and I've done 20+ cruises on a lot of different cruise lines. It doesn't make any sense that they would put a hold on everyday unless you've exceeded that hold by a huge amount .... I''m not sure if they still allow gambling to be charged to s&s. I know at one time they did. (I only play nickel slots ... so not a big deal:D ).

[GoinCruisin]

The "latest" report from Carnival is that they put a $50 hold on your account each day, unless your actual amount is larger. I have had various amounts placed on my card, but it's AMEX and it doesn't really matter. I would just prepare for the worst and make sure you have a good limit on your card. You will hear many different stories, and it doesnt' seem it is terribly consistent... good luck!

[jckvpa0]

So they just go ahead & put a hold on the account for the min. amt. pp. I can't tell them that I would like to put $1,500.00 from this card on my S&S card. How do they know what the limit is on a card? Sorry to sound so stupid on this, I have never been on a cruise, only land based vacations & use one card that I never worry about the limit. Even though I have been out the country & don't worry i feel a little different about not having the same access to my accounts because I'm on a ship.

[dlb1357]

I only have a $2500 limit on my credit card that I used on our trip. It already had $1000 of pre-cruise charges on it....leaving $1500 on it. DH and I spent $1004 on our S&S for the week and it was charged the day after we returned home. Never had any problem with the holds conflicting with the actual charges.

 

First time in my life I ever got close to maxing out a credit card...but sooo worth it! And I just transferred the money I had saved beforehand after the charge was applied...so it was only on my card for that one day.

[hysterlynne]

In one of the above posts it shows 50 a day. So for my husband and I and kids do you mean to say I will be charged (hold) $250 day for a 5 day cruise...

[Litewait]

We just got back today from the 8 day on the Spirit. They put a hold on $1000.00 for 4 of us. I specifically went to the pursars and asked. If you get close they will keep increasing the hold $100.00 at a time.

 

Hope that helps,

Happy Cruising,

Donna

[Cruising89143]

There was an article several months ago in Cruise Travel magazine about this. They quoted a person from Carnival stating that they start out with a fifty-dollar hold per person and depending on ones spending habits they could actually add another fifty-dollars each time they check. The person quoted stated that they check some passengers account up to three times a day if they show a high rate of spending.

 

If you have kids and you do not want them to be able to charge just do not add their names to your sail n sign account card that comes with your documents. This may cut down on how much Carnival holds on your card.

[basketlover]

I'm confused I will be going on my first cruise in September. I thought I understood about sail and sign but now I don't. Is this right... My husband and myself going we don't have credit cards I called Carnival and they said debt card would be fine or cash so if I have a debit they will put a 50 dollar hold each day per person if we are spending that amount so on a five day cruise they could hold 500.00$ and I thought then they would just take out that money they had held not have trouble because of the holds. I think I'll wait in the cash line at boarding that seems easier?? Is it and would a visa gift card work for sail and sign???

[Cruising89143]

I'm confused I will be going on my first cruise in September. I thought I understood about sail and sign but now I don't. Is this right... My husband and myself going we don't have credit cards I called Carnival and they said debt card would be fine or cash so if I have a debit they will put a 50 dollar hold each day per person if we are spending that amount so on a five day cruise they could hold 500.00$ and I thought then they would just take out that money they had held not have trouble because of the holds. I think I'll wait in the cash line at boarding that seems easier?? Is it and would a visa gift card work for sail and sign???

 

I have read horror stories about people using debit cards on cruise lines. It seems that it takes some time to get the amount put on hold taken off which in turns cuts down on how much of your balance available. Maybe someone that has used a debit card can tell you of their experience.

 

If you decide to use cash then you do that on board not at check-in. This is handled as the Pursers office and I believe that you have something like twenty-four hours to take care of giving them your deposit.

 

Concerning the Visa gift card, read the fine print. Someone posted on here that they had purchased American Express gift cards for just this purpose and after they were purchased they noticed in the fine print that they could not be used on cruise ships.