Debit Card at Check in

[conandrob240]

First off, the initial hold for a seven day cruise is NOT $300 pp, it is $100 pp for those 3 yo and over, so no worries there. To explain it further we'll need a couple more details. Is she (and whoever she might be financially responsible for) staying in your cabin or is it a separate cabin being referenced for her? The reason this is important is it will give two different explanations of exactly how much cash or available funds she will need to have and how much might be tied up at any given time. There are ways to work it within each of these scenarios to where you will not be financially responsible for any of her charges whatsoever. And, she will not in turn then have hundreds tied up in holds on her debit card either.

 

Thank you for trying to help. She, her husband and their 4 yr old have their own cabin. Her cruise and gratuities were pre-paid by our mother.

 

It is our hope to have her completely financially independent from my cabin or my mothers cabin. We ( mom for her room and me for my room) will put down our own cc for our own cabin. We want her to do the same but she only has a debit card linked to an empty ( less than $100) bank account. It is possible she can scrape together around $200 total to use to create an on-board account. She could alternately put that amount in her bank account linked to the debit card.

 

And, yes, waiting for any amount if $ to be returned to her or waiting to have a hold released from her debit card will be devastating for them upon return home.

 

The three cabins are not linked together in any way in NCL's system right now, if that matters

Edited October 26, 2014 by conandrob240

[djmess]

Please do not stress any further.

 

You have said her gratuities are pre paid. So, whatever cash she has will be fine. They will notify her when her account is close to the cash limit and suspend her charging privileges on the ship at that time. I Think, not 100% sure, but they may only set up the cash account on the ship. I think the land check in people only deal with the credit/debit card. She will check in, get her key card with no charging privileges, then once onboard have to proceed to the customer service desk to set up her account.

 

UNDER NO CIRCUSTANCES SHOULD SHE USE HER DEBIT CARD! It could be potentially too damaging to her on return since she lives hand to mouth. overdraft fees can be a never ending hole for those with poor financial skills.

 

If a land based check in person has an issue, call for a supervisor. But please don't stress anymore. Your family will have a wonderful cruise.

 

It also may be helpful for you to come back to these boards upon your return and let people know how everything was handled. It may help future people in the same situation.

[Tinyturtle22]

Just an FYI about a new rule for cash...If you put cash down and don't use all of it they will only refund you back a max of $50 in cash on the last day. The rest they will send you in a check, 4 to 6 weeks later. I just got back from the Sky Friday and they were strictly enforcing this policy. So your sister needs to calculate what she thinks she will spend and give them that. You can always add more during the cruise.

[conandrob240]

Thank you , Debbie. My mother and I are both stressed over it. The only one never stressed is the one that should be!

 

I will tell my sister she should do a cash account. Tinyturtle, I will tell her but since it is going to be so little she puts down, it really shouldn't be an issue.

Edited October 26, 2014 by conandrob240

[tarps14]

What Debbie said about cash can only be done on board is absolutely correct. They'll just need to go to guest relations after boarding to deposit it.

 

I won't go so far as to comment on your sister's situation as not a single person on this board has any clue what circumstances led to their current situation. But, I will say that I commend you and your mom wholeheartedly. Tough love is so incredibly difficult in the moment. My Dad had to show us some tough love very early in our marriage and I am so incredibly thankful now, years later, that he did. You are very wise to not enable, but, also don't ever give up completely on people either.

[garycarla]

Thank you , Debbie. My mother and I are both stressed over it. The only one never stressed is the one that should be!

 

I will tell my sister she should do a cash account. Tinyturtle, I will tell her but since it is going to be so little she puts down, it really shouldn't be an issue.

 

You should not be stressed. As long as you do NOT give them your CC for her cabin, all will be fine.

 

As said a few times, she should do cash. Even $200 will be fine. She should leave her debit card at home. It will only cause her trouble.

 

Your biggest challenge is for you to not buy drinks or other stuff for her and charge them to your room. Based on the last cruise, it is obvious what she will try to do. As long as her room card is tied to her cash, all will be fine. Really. Hold on to your card dearly.

 

Turn the stress machine off.

 

Sadly, she really should stay home. Hopefully somebody has figured out how she will pay for little stuff, baggage fees, tips, even taking a bus into town or whatever it is she will want to do.

 

Yes, people do go on a cruise and spend NOTHING.

[triptolemus]

Eventually this thread will deteriorate into someone saying how the sister shouldn't even be on a cruise.

 

Whoops...too late. Someone already said it.

[conandrob240]

It really isn't your business and it wasn't the question.

 

She has three little kids that, while they are kids, will have the best life we can make sure they get. They will have stability and love and vacations and special treats and all the things that make childhood magical. It is not their fault that their mother is how she is. They will get to spend a week with their mother/ parents on a special trip to celebrate their grandparents' 50th anniversary. That's all I'll say about it.

 

The only place we plan to get off the ship is GSC so tours will not be an issue and if there was a tour we wanted to all do, we'd pay for that. We'll also treat to 2 nights of speciality dining because the rest of us want to eat there. I will not, however, pay for any other incidentals for them- they are adults and should manage those on their own. If their kids need or want something, I will, of course, charge that for them to my room but that's it.

[triptolemus]

Hey..don't jump on me! I'm not the one who said it! Look two posts up!

[conandrob240]

It wasn't directed only at you although you have been a bully to me other times in the past so you aren't all that innocent ;)

 

Now, I have to decide if we ( me and my husband) are better off buying UBP or just paying for drinks, from a "sister" perspective. LOL. If we pay as we go, I get hit up for a sip or "hey get me a drink too" or she gets to "share" my bottle of wine. It might be better for me to do UBP and very strictly and clearly outline the rules of me only being able to buy/ get one drink at a time, absolutely no sharing.

[triptolemus]

I wasn't being a bully... I was testing your sense of humor... seems intact! ;)

 

Obviously, I don't know you, but I can relate to your relationship with your sister. Mine didn't make the best financial decisions and I can tell you that I put myself out there for her a number of times... In ways which, to put it kindly, really frustrated my wife. I hope you and your DH are able to enjoy yourselves without the stress and awkwardness that could be caused by a hanger-on sister asking for crap all the time.

 

Good luck to ya... It's a rough one for sure.

[conandrob240]

Thank you for saying that.

[nets33]

I wouldn't suggest it either but a debit card is all my sister has. I don't want to put my cc down for her

 

It would be better if your sister brought cash and put cash on her account rather than a debit card. As others have stated using a debit card can be troublesome.

[khirschman]

Prepay your DSC and then you can put down whatever amount of cash you want. They cant force you to put down more than you want as long as the services charges are already paid for. We went with cash once. We put down 300$ for a family of four. We kept track daily and if we wanted to add more we did.

[craig-n-carol]

As others have stated before, the bank is the one that decides how long the hold stays, or affects the available balance. It has always been a 3 business day $300 hold on my BofA Debit Card regardless of ship, stateroom class or destination (been sailing NCL since 2011, always 7 day cruises, always suites), and never goes against the available balance unless I have spent $300 or more onboard when it clears after those 3 days. Other banks vary on terms and conditions. I have always used a debit card, I have gone with as little as $500 in my account, and have never had a problem. But that's just me... :)

[nbsjcruiser]

Just an FYI about a new rule for cash...If you put cash down and don't use all of it they will only refund you back a max of $50 in cash on the last day. The rest they will send you in a check, 4 to 6 weeks later. I just got back from the Sky Friday and they were strictly enforcing this policy. So your sister needs to calculate what she thinks she will spend and give them that. You can always add more during the cruise.

 

What a PITA. RCI lets you close out your account the night before which is what we like to do. Then next morning you can just walk out the door. Last time we cruised NCL we had to wait until the morning which I didn't like but that's better than waiting for a month. Guess we'll just put down what we think we'll use and when its gone, its gone. I'm not leaving them a $200 or $300 balance that I'll have to fight for.

Edited October 27, 2014 by nbsjcruiser

[CasinoCruzGirl]

It really isn't your business and it wasn't the question.

 

 

 

She has three little kids that, while they are kids, will have the best life we can make sure they get. They will have stability and love and vacations and special treats and all the things that make childhood magical. It is not their fault that their mother is how she is. They will get to spend a week with their mother/ parents on a special trip to celebrate their grandparents' 50th anniversary. That's all I'll say about it.

 

 

 

The only place we plan to get off the ship is GSC so tours will not be an issue and if there was a tour we wanted to all do, we'd pay for that. We'll also treat to 2 nights of speciality dining because the rest of us want to eat there. I will not, however, pay for any other incidentals for them- they are adults and should manage those on their own. If their kids need or want something, I will, of course, charge that for them to my room but that's it.

 

 

 

I get it. My sister and her DH and 2 DS are coming on a cruise with us next month. They don't have much $. So far already my DH has paid for the large cabana on GSC $399 and the limo to and from the pier $550. We also want to do some specialty dining but they can't afford it. Knowing how my DH is he will pay for it. She is my sister and I love her dearly so happy to be able to do these things for her and her family. Family is family and we do what we gotta do. Karma :-)

 

 

 

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Edited October 27, 2014 by FootballParent

[CasinoCruzGirl]

I wasn't being a bully... I was testing your sense of humor... seems intact! ;)

 

 

 

Obviously, I don't know you, but I can relate to your relationship with your sister. Mine didn't make the best financial decisions and I can tell you that I put myself out there for her a number of times... In ways which, to put it kindly, really frustrated my wife. I hope you and your DH are able to enjoy yourselves without the stress and awkwardness that could be caused by a hanger-on sister asking for crap all the time.

 

 

 

Good luck to ya... It's a rough one for sure.

 

 

 

 

Your a man???? Wow always thought you were a woman lol

 

 

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[triptolemus]

Your a man???? Wow always thought you were a woman lol

 

 

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Where in that post did I indicate I was a man? Because I have a "wife"? Awfully presumptuous of you, no? ;)

[philip_eunice1]

My mom paid for her this time. Family trip. I put my cc down for her on a Disney cruise I paid for in Feb and she had the ahem, "nerve" to charge $600 on spa, tours, things for herself. Not doing it again if it can be helped. I am still owed 1/2 of that $ from Feb.

 

The goal is to not have to put mine or my mom's cc down for her. However, we are them limited to her debit card attached to a bank account with no $ in it or cash but at most, $200-300 total for 3 people.

 

 

There's one in every family

 

 

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[garycarla]

...the limo to and from the pier $550. ...

 

Holy crap! That must be some awesome limo!

[vince_g]

This thread reminds me of Clark Griswold and Cousin Eddy in Christmas Vacation lol

[CasinoCruzGirl]

Where in that post did I indicate I was a man? Because I have a "wife"? Awfully presumptuous of you, no? ;)

 

 

 

I guess so my bad

 

 

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[CasinoCruzGirl]

Holy crap! That must be some awesome limo!

 

 

Not really. Just needed a big one for 8 people and luggage. $225 each way. I checked around was the best price I found.

 

 

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[vince_g]

OMG how will the OP's sister tip the butler and concierge?