Whilst on AOS cruise to Norway in May my credit card details were stolen.

[Barnum42]

May 23rd to 30th I was on Adventure of the Seas cruising around Norway.

 

In that time I used my card to secure credit on the sea passes - but paid them off in cash. I made only one purchase using the card at a souvenir store in Flam.

 

It was after this purchase that someone attempted to make purchases over the internet that fortunately my credit card company got suspicious over and blocked.

 

I only found out today when my card was refused when trying to make a payment at my dentists.

 

So I'm concerned there may be a breach either with the souvenir shop in Flam or from someone accessing details via the boat.

 

So I'm just checking to see if anyone else on this or other trips has experienced something similar.

[ahecht]

On my first two cruises, the credit card that I only use for major travel purchases was fraudulently used while I was away or shortly after I returned. I think the most likely culprits are the check-in staff at the cruise terminal, who know that most of the people they're checking in won't be able to check their statements for a week or so. On both trips the only other place the cards were used were to buy airplane tickets, and I fly that airline several times a year for non-cruise trips without any credit card problems.

[Missus Makkem]

Twice for us and both times in the USA whilst cruising with RCI.

[Allis154]

Your card can simply be in your wallet and have the data stolen off it. No need to use it at all.

 

Criminals will often wait a long, long time after stealing your info before using the card. Puts distance between the crimes, and makes it harder to track when/where.

[ahecht]

Well, I've been back for three days from my third cruise and my card was just used to buy $400 of Starbucks cards. Call it a coincidence, but I'm now three-for-three. Claim what you will about criminals waiting to use stolen cards, but of the four times I've ever had my card numbers stolen, three were during or immediately after a cruise with Royal Caribbean. The card was never used in any of the ports and was in the safe in the stateroom the entire trip. Only time it was used was for airplane tickets and at the cruise terminal when checking in.

Edited June 4, 2014 by ahecht

[Agutaya]

Only time it was used was for airplane tickets and at the cruise terminal when checking in.

 

From which ports have you cruised?

[cruisingsince94]

We do not give them an opportunity as we set up our onboard with cash and make any purchases in ports with cash as well. We take along a card for emergency reasons but it stays in the safe.

Have heard way too many stories like yours to even think of doing it any other way.

[debshomespun]

We do not give them an opportunity as we set up our onboard with cash and make any purchases in ports with cash as well. We take along a card for emergency reasons but it stays in the safe.

Have heard way too many stories like yours to even think of doing it any other way.

 

This is great. However, if it is in the safe, and you are in port, and there is an "emergency" what good will the credit card do? We normally do not carry our credit card with us while in port, but I am re-thinking, just in case of an emergency. It won't do us any good in the cabin safe. Just some food for thought.

[cruisingsince94]

This is great. However, if it is in the safe, and you are in port, and there is an "emergency" what good will the credit card do? We normally do not carry our credit card with us while in port, but I am re-thinking, just in case of an emergency. It won't do us any good in the cabin safe. Just some food for thought.

 

Our purchases are small. We do not go on cruises to shop. Any excursions are prepaid so no need to carry anything more than what we do. The emergency situations relate to airlines or hotels in the event of an issue that could require one should it arise.

[ahecht]

From which ports have you cruised?

 

Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale, FL), Tampa, FL, and Galveston, TX.

[steveru621]

This thread is certainly interesting. My guess would not be the check-in staff but the problem might lie in the terminal used to swipe the card or RCI's credit card system has been hacked and it seems it's been happening for quite some time. It also could simply be coincidence with the Target fraud.

 

Visa is usually very good about tracking the common denominator in card data theft. So I'm hoping they are getting a handle on this.

 

In either case I always carry a back up card, and I'm not worried about fraud. That's something the credit card company needs to be concerned about. It's their money that's stolen, and you aren't responsible for a single dollar.

[lacruiser]

Re needing your credit cards while ashore: we have cruised many times and consider ourselves to be (fairly) savvy travelers. A couple of years ago we went ashore in Guadaloupe. RCI recommended taking along euros, but it was a "soft" recommendation. Nevertheless, we exchanged some money on board, and took along a credit card that we use for international purchases in expectation of getting more. This was not a ship excursion; DH and I were with another couple. We took a cab ride across the island to St. Anne, and used all our euros paying for the trip since the other couple didn't have any euro, only USD, which the driver refused to take. Our first stop was a bank, but they told us that we could only obtain euro at banks in Port-a-Pitre, the capitol. We used our credit cards to buy lunch since the restaurants didn't want USD either. Just to make it a little more interesting, the cab driver didn't show back up to take us back, as we had agreed. There were no cabs to be found in St. Anne. Luckily I spoke enough French to get us to the police station, where they wrangled up a cab driver from somewhere. At this point we had about 20 minutes to make a 30 minute plus trip. We made it back to the ship as the walkway was being pulled in after a literally hair-raising race that scattered pigs, chickens and, horror of horrors, a couple of small children off the road.

 

I guess the moral of this is: don't find yourself stranded with no way to pay for a hotel or flight. We were almost resigned to having to stay on the island and catch up to the ship the at the next port. Luckily, that didn't happen, but it was a really close call. Another thing I always take with me is the compass, so that I have the Port Authority info.

 

Not trying to argue with anyone, but you know what they say about the best-laid plans...

Edited June 4, 2014 by lacruiser

[Havingfun2010]

My wife had her purse stolen. 18 months later we got a phone call (because we had a fraud alert on our reports) alerting us of activity. It's so easy to "assume" that the data was taken within the last couple of days, when in reality, you have no idea. It's just easier to point a finger.

 

Credit card is all around, and every country. It is easier than you think to get your number. It is never who you think it is.

 

 

I will still use my card in my hometown, as well as internationally. Protecting it in your pocket will not help, for the thief that wants it bad enough.

[frisbeewife]

I'm convinced that thieves will get hold of any credit card number sooner or later. It's just a fact of modern life. DH had a Discover card that someone charged to, so he called and they sent him a new card with a new number. He called the phone number and activated it - and within 2 days somebody had already charged something to it! He never even used it, he only activated it. So they have all kinds of ways of getting card numbers and sooner or later they'll get yours.

 

I keep track of everything I charge, and I check everything on the statement. If something shows up that I didn't charge I call the credit card company and they send a new card with a new number. The only real hassle is if it's a card I have payments auto charged to - I have to contact all those companies and change the card number. So I try to use 1 card for auto charges and another one for purchases.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[NorbertsNiece]

Never allow your CC out of your sight. These days they have handheld scanners for purchases. If you can't see it it can be swiped or copied and then returned to you.

[bouhunter]

We do not give them an opportunity as we set up our onboard with cash and make any purchases in ports with cash as well. We take along a card for emergency reasons but it stays in the safe.

Have heard way too many stories like yours to even think of doing it any other way.

 

So what's the point of having it? Fraudulent charges aren't passed along to you anyway.

[Barnum42]

Thanks for the replies.

 

I've been in touch with the shop in Flam, who are investigating.

 

My TA said I'll have to contact RCC directly, so I phoned them and have been asked to email them the details.

 

Now just wait and see what happens.

[Fa-Li]

Never allow your CC out of your sight. These days they have handheld scanners for purchases. If you can't see it it can be swiped or copied and then returned to you.

 

 

I wasn't surprised to see that you in the UK. This is not the case in the US. We had dinner here with friends from Scotland, and they were a nervous wreck about their card be taken off by the waiter to be run for payment. Our restaurants do not have those nifty handheld units like yours do.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[reedl]

I have had my Credit Card details "stolen" at least three distinct times. To me having a credit card number stolen is merely a minor inconvenience, and does not rise to the level of identity theft since you get a new number from the CC company and you are fine.

 

You are not responsible for the fraudulent charges at all, and it is very easy to update automatic payments which are applied to your credit card.

 

So I simply do not understand the big deal about having it happen to you. When the old card number is disabled, it is not usable at all, and nothing can be done to resurrect it.

[NorbertsNiece]

I wasn't surprised to see that you in the UK. This is not the case in the US. We had dinner here with friends from Scotland, and they were a nervous wreck about their card be taken off by the waiter to be run for payment. Our restaurants do not have those nifty handheld units like yours do.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Yeah..... a few years ago this happened to me following a trip to Iceland.... card left my control and surprise surprise was used elsewhere in the world some time later....

[pcur]

One of the reasons I love Chase credit cards is the alerts. Any purchase (brick and mortar, internet, and international) triggers an alert to my email. Peace of mind.

Edited June 5, 2014 by pcur

[Barnum42]

I

So I simply do not understand the big deal about having it happen to you.

The big deal is not that it happened to me, but that it's happening to many people.

 

Some of us would like to see the criminals caught rather than deciding that because as an individual they lost nothing they will turn their back on the situation (apart from making snide comments on forums)

[LostAgain]

This is all of our concern...or should be. Vendors and cc companies make up their loss somehow. And that somehow is costing everyone.

[SPacificbound]

I wasn't surprised to see that you in the UK. This is not the case in the US. We had dinner here with friends from Scotland, and they were a nervous wreck about their card be taken off by the waiter to be run for payment. Our restaurants do not have those nifty handheld units like yours do.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

That is so true. After spending seven weeks in Europe in 2008, and never having our CC leave our sight, we vowed to never let it leave our sight at home either. Eight years later and we have stuck to that.

 

Granted, it only costs the time to make a phone call if the info is stolen, but it has been so easy to change our habit, we just use cash.

[MDSue]

Someone got a hold of our credit card information and even went so far as to create a false identity to open additional cards and make more charges. It was stopped fairly quickly, but I believe that it was Internet savvy criminals who accessed the information. When you think of the Target store breach and other major businesses, it shows it can happen just about anywhere and any time; even if the card was never lost or stolen.

 

It is free to set up fraud alerts through the three major credit agencies. We did it when our info was used. It has to be done every year.

 

Luckily, the fraud didn't cost us any out of pocket money, but it was frustrating just the same.