No Credit cards

[tigger77732]

3 Cheers for us! We paid our trip from earnings and no credit cards. We actually got rid of them all! So now the bad thing is, I know that the hotel, ship and car rentals want a credit card for a deposit or security.

 

Does anyone know if cash is accepted as a deposit on the ship? I know debit cards are usually accepted, but they also tend to place a large hold on them.

 

Worse case scenario, I do have an AMEX, but would have to order a new one since we shredded all our cards!

 

Any suggestions or experiences? Thanks

 

Melanie

[dogsrule]

Bottom line is that you need a credit card to travel...Period..

[Molokai-Chuck]

What if things do not go smooth....on way over, or return .......weather delay...need hotel, food, or whatever.

 

Or if medical attention is needed at some point during the trip....

 

Credit card is a must....would be foolish to travel without one for sure.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I agree with drib--you need to ask PG cruises themselves and ask that question.

 

Congrats on getting your debt under control, but now that you have, you need one credit card to travel with, even if it has a fairly low limit. I can't imagine not having one credit card for travel.

[Familygoboston]

It's riskier than a credit card because if lost or used fraudulently, you won't be protected in the same way you would be for a credit card (at least for US card issuers that is so), but if you really don't want to get more credit, you could get a debit card tied to a bank account with the cash in the bank.

 

I agree with the folks here who say traveling with the credit card is a very easy way to access cash quickly (assuming you have it in the bank) in the case of an emergency.

[Host Caroline]

 

But here's the thing ... on an issue like this, you should not depend on the kind advice of strangers on a message board. It's one thing to ask about what to wear on board, and quite another to rely on advice that results in my worst case scenario!

 

[U]Definitely[/u] check directly with the cruise line.. All answers here are well intended and for the most part right on point but insurance, credit card questions etc. are too important to not get answers directly from the company even more so due to distance and "complexity' of your travel.. not like a week at a stateside resort.

[Sight2See]

You get the best exchange rate when using a card, though some charge an intl fee so check with the card holder. If you're set on cash, just put the credit card down for the trip and pay the final bill in cash?!

[Di Princess]

I am on hold with Marsha in Belevue, Washington. Nobody has ever asked her before about using a cash deposit to board the P.G. She said they would need to e-mail the Purser on the ship. How very strange.

 

I know that, on Princess, they want $300 per person to board.

 

Oops - Marsha hung up. I called back, got her V.M. & left her a message.

 

Marsha-Marsha just called me back. She spoke with 3 supervisors & nobody knows. She will e-mail the ship & call me back (some day).

 

:D:cool::cool::D

[tigger77732]

Thanks everyone for the advice. We will go ahead and bring our credit card and hopefully only use it for deposits.

 

I just really don't want to be tempted to spend non essential things on it since we worked so hard to pay this cruise without credit card usage! ;)

[Silver Sweethearts]

This comes from the Paul Gauguin website:

 

Currency

 

PGC requires that all payments made to the company shall be in U.S. dollars, the official currency aboard ship. At the time of embarkation, we request a confidential registration of an accepted credit card. The night prior to your final disembarkation from the ship, a detailed statement of your shipboard charges for onboard services and products will be delivered to your suite. All such charges must be paid in full by cash, traveler’s check or accepted credit card (Visa, MasterCard and American Express). When in major ports of call, local bank representatives may be on board to convert U.S. dollars to local currency for your convenience. In certain ports of call, due to local regulations, the ship purser’s office will not be able to exchange foreign currency for U.S. dollars.