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Debit card tied to inboard account!?!

nikiandscotti

By nikiandscotti,
in Carnival Cruise Lines

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stlouistravelers

stlouistravelers

Posted
Posted

I have heard that they will put a hold on your funds so they are not useable. Also, it could take awhile to release the held funds. I would tie it to a credit card and if you want to pay on the last day with your debit you can change it. Hotels do this also. Too much room for human error.

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KenMo

KenMo

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I always use a debit card or cash. Never had a problem.

 

The problem arises when the holds are placed by Carnival and your bank doesn't release the holds quickly. These can lead to no available funds in your account.

 

Make sure you have plenty of $$$ in your account in case your bank doesn't release holds quickly.

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cjnwildfire

cjnwildfire

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Don't you have to attach a card to your account? I'm so confused (that's not hard to do, haha) so for you guys have used cash, do you register a card then just pay with cash?

You have the option to use cash when you set up your account online. Then when you get to the ship, you put a deposit on the account with cash at GS or now you can use the kiosk.:)

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GTO-Girl

GTO-Girl

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Don't you have to attach a card to your account? I'm so confused (that's not hard to do, haha) so for you guys have used cash, do you register a card then just pay with cash?

 

We do our online checkin and list our Visa card to setup out account.

 

On the last full day onboard (less crowded) we go down sometime during that day and pay off our account with cash. We don't have to worry about setting up a cash account, going down during the week to add more cash and because we paid off our account nothing gets billed to the credit card except maybe a couple of drinks on the last evening.

 

Easy...peesy!!!

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fgresko

fgresko

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we cruised last week, got all the way to seattle, realized I forgot our credit cards, we hit a bank on the way to the ship and withdrew savings, they asked for my cc, told them I was now using cash, no problem, just went to guest services and put money on our account, when it got low we added more funds.

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Buffalofirsttimer4

Buffalofirsttimer4

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Anyone out there used a debit card for your on board account? If yes, what was your experience?

 

Thanks!!!

 

We always use our debit card, and have never had a problem. I have been on NCL, Princess and Carnival. We just make sure we have double what we believe our onboard expenses are plus whatever we will need for spending in cash. (I know people on here hate the use of debit cards but we don't like using credit). We just make sure we advise our banks prior to leaving on where we are going to be as well as the dates we will be there in case we need to use them for something else. I also tell them what cruise line we are using so they have that on record as well. On our last cruise with Carnival we had so much OBC that my debit card was never charged and we even got a check back the morning of debarktion.

 

Happy Sailing!!!

Sent from my KFOT using Tapatalk 2

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Gemynii

Gemynii

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We don't have a bank account or credit cards. I just use a pre-paid reloadable card (no fee Bluebird card from Walmart) to make payments on the cruise. I set up our account as cash on Cruise Manager with no debit/credit card linked to it. We did it the same way on our previous cruise.

 

At check in, they just verified that there was a credit on the account (we had $230 OBC) and we boarded without having to add any more. By day 4, I believe, we were informed of a low balance because gratuities for 3 had been charged to the account, so I did a 5 minute trip to Guest Services and added another $100. We received a check for the amount we hadn't used on the last morning. Aside from taking cash into ports, we kept our money (other than 1's for tipping) locked in the safe.

 

Using a cash only option for your account is very easy. :)

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naz022292

naz022292

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We used a credit card on our account... but we had purchased $250 in cruise cash. They put a $200 hold on our credit card - but since we only went $40 over the $250 cruise cash that we had on our account... they didn't put any further holds on the credit card. The hold stayed on our account until Monday (we got off the ship on Saturday). I think that if you use a debit card and spend throughout the week... they will continue to hold more and more as your spending goes up. If you have a general idea of what you are going to spend you could consider the cruise cash. You can buy it online and it will be on your card when you arrive. Just don't buy more than what you are SURE you will spend because it is non refundable (although there is a thread that says how you can 'cash it out' through the casino).

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irishnyc

irishnyc

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We were on the Splendor last month and used our debit card. We had no problems with the hold on the account. The hold is between you and your bank, it has nothing to do with Carnival. Carnival releases the hold right away. Your bank may take longer to do so.

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Realitoes

Realitoes

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Posted (edited)
We were on the Splendor last month and used our debit card. We had no problems with the hold on the account. The hold is between you and your bank, it has nothing to do with Carnival. Carnival releases the hold right away. Your bank may take longer to do so.

 

Your partially correct. Carnival will run an authorization hold to ensure there are sufficient funds to cover an upcoming transaction. Based on the merchant agreement (visa/mastercard...), the bank will guarantee those funds for a specific amount of time, to permit the transaction to complete. Normally, banks will hold that amount in your account, based on those time requirements This period will be spell out in your debit agreement with your bank. If the bank releases the funds earlier than specified in the merchant agreements, they are still liable to pay if the transaction goes through, even if you don't have the balance in your account. This is why they usually want a fax from the merchant before releasing the hold.

 

As others have said, using a debit card is okay, if you have sufficient balance to cover all holds and other transactions that may go through. Normally folks with low balances have the most issues.

 

The other issue with debit cards, is fraud. If somebody else gets a hold of your account information and uses it without your authorization (actually really easy to do), it will take "real" money out of your account. You don't receive the same protections (under federal law) that a credit card has, and cleaning up the mess can be a very time consuming and stressful event - especially while you are away from home on vacation!

Edited by Realitoes
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