Bank problem on board account

[BND]

Not only do we bring at least 2 cc's, I also travel with cash which is usually enough to pay our onboard charges. Now granted, they're never as high as the OP's, but I can't imagine not having backups to a credit card.

 

Something else is going on here. We really don't have the full story.

 

And, no words for someone who doesn't like credit cards but takes out a payday loan?

 

I'm also confused as to how he thinks the payday loan will do any good if the debit card has been shut off. No way for anyone to get to the money without going directly to the bank.

[DrD]

I just don't get why some people won't use credit cards (not the ones that can't.)

 

You realize you don't pay any interest at all if you pay in full? and you can get rewards?

 

For example, when my payment was due this month, I had the money in my account, but put it on the card. Now I will use that money to pay the card on 2/9 when it's due. And our final payment on 2 balcony cabins got me $45 on Amazon. And I did not pay 1 penny more than the price of the cruise. Why would anyone leave that on the table?

 

And not borrowing for a mortgage is ridiculous. Your house will almost certainly appreciate more than the interest on your mortgage. My parents borrowed $130k at high interest in 1975 to buy a house on the north shore of Long Island, they sold it in 2004 for $2.5 million. Don't you think that's a good investment? (I'm talking to the person who said don't borrow for a mortgage.). They certainly made way more than they paid in interest, and got to live in the place for almost 30 years. My mortgage is 3.175% and my house has appreciated about 10% per year the last few years (Denver is a hot market.). Do the math! And of course the mortgage interest is tax deductable so my real rate is more like 2%.

 

Anyway sorry to digress, but I don't like to see bad advice.

Edited January 28, 2016 by DrD

[retird]

Not trying to flame the Op . And while it may be true that he /She has gotten themselves in this mess, I believe there are a lot of sequential details not being told to us here.

 

Hope it works out for the OP

[John Reid]

I just don't get why some people won't use credit cards (not the ones that can't.)

 

You realize you don't pay any interest at all if you pay in full? and you can get rewards?

 

For example, when my payment was due this month, I had the money in my account, but put it on the card. Now I will use that money to pay the card on 2/9 when it's due. And our final payment on 2 balcony cabins got me $45 on Amazon. And I did not pay 1 penny more than the price of the cruise. Why would anyone leave that on the table?

 

And not borrowing for a mortgage is ridiculous. Your house will almost certainly appreciate more than the interest on your mortgage. My parents borrowed $130k at high interest in 1975 to buy a house on the north shore of Long Island, they sold it in 2004 for $2.5 million. Don't you think that's a good investment? (I'm talking to the person who said don't borrow for a mortgage.). They certainly made way more than they paid in interest, and got to live in the place for almost 30 years. My mortgage is 3.175% and my house has appreciated about 10% per year the last few years (Denver is a hot market.). Do the math! And of course the mortgage interest is tax deductable so my real rate is more like 2%.

 

Anyway sorry to digress, but I don't like to see bad advice.

 

Agree.

 

I get 3% back for everything I pay for the cruise. Hard to pass up.

Have paid off my card balance every billing for 46 years, not a penny paid for fees or interest. The card companies have gotten me refunds with problematic purchases that I never would have gotten back if I paid in cash.

Credit is only a problem when you spend more than you make. That is a self-inflicted wound.

 

Where on the North Shore? Bayville?

Edited January 28, 2016 by natty bumppo

[EDL]

Get your $1000 pay day loan , head to the casino and put it all on red.. Red being the colour of the story.. A red herring.. A wind up..

[jagsfan]

Prissy821 has the best post on this issue. Great explanation of how the situation can happen.

[MelissaNDave]

My ex ran up the sea pass to about $3500.00 in one day in the casino. When they tried to charge his card that evening it was of course denied. He was told if he didn't pay that the police would be waiting for him. I told him to have fun in jail when he called asking for money. This was in 2010, maybe things have changed since then. Kinda dumb to allow someone to charge that much to their sea pass in the first place.

[jagsfan]

I hope OP can get everything straightened out soon enough to be able to relax and enjoy the rest of his cruise.

Two questions;

Is OP sailing alone? I was with a group

Of coworkers in Rome when one had her purse slit open and emptied by a thief. She made the rest of her purchases on one of my cards and repaid me at home.

Second question is the age of OP. This whole thing may have come about from lack of travel experience.

[DrD]

Agree.

 

I get 3% back for everything I pay for the cruise. Hard to pass up.

Have paid off my card balance every billing for 46 years, not a penny paid for fees or interest. The card companies have gotten me refunds with problematic purchases that I never would have gotten back if I paid in cash.

Credit is only a problem when you spend more than you make. That is a self-inflicted wound.

 

Where on the North Shore? Bayville?

 

Manhasset.

 

they bought the house and a undeveloped lot next to it. 30 years later they made out very well indeed.

[FloridaGram]

This is a little off subject but may make things easier for you in one way. We were on a carnival cruise and decided to stay back to back. But I had a dr. appt that I needed to cancel in order to be able to do it. When I went to guest services they let me use their shore to shore phone to call. So if you need to make any more calls maybe you can do that and save yourself some high priced calls.

 

On Carnival I believe they freeze your card if you go above your allowance. I think RCL is some what at fault for letting someone get that far above their allowance. I have never done cash but I do know I have heard people at guest services because their account was frozen.

 

We will all be interested to see what happens.

[wolfganghowell]

Our last cruise, I checked my Am EX when I got back. In addition to the charge for our account that matched our final Seapass bill, we had another $800 from Royal that went away after about a week. We also had a $600 from our precruise hotel that took 2 weeks to go away.

 

Research people, research - debit cards are not the best choice for travel. Unless you have a big bank balance.

 

The story here is so confusing - the holds on the OP's card may indeed be Royal's. They usually run a hold the first day to make sure the card is good.

[Freehike]

Sorry, but this story stinks. There's a lot more to this.

 

You'd be better off talking to the cops versus taking out a Payday Loan. It's almost impossible to get out from under that.

 

Credit is NOT evil. Most people simply aren't educated enough to manage it, or they have no self control.

[Bound4Bermuda]

I am really confused with this whole mess. Your total sea pass account is $3,000. There are four $500 charges to your bank account, are those from the cruise line? If they are, you owe $1,000 but don't have the funds? Or are you saying the cruise line got $2,000 and some other entity has gotten a hold of your account information, charging 4 $500 charges and your bank has frozen your account?

 

If your account has been compromised, I don't see why the cruise line won't work with you. If you are saying you over spent, different story.

 

^this. I, too, am not following what was stolen. At first it sounded like the bank account was robbed, but now the excessive charges sounds like it's on the boat. Since this person apparently travels with a debit card, it sounds like it could be both if someone on board got ahold of the card (or numbers because, yes, you can make withdrawals and charges without a physical card) and charged on board and wiped out the account. I would think this is a troll post but this poster has been a member for a few years. Maybe the cat sitter got bored and logged on this person's computer and is having a grand old time trolling CC. But credit/debit fraud is pretty common, so even if these numbers don't quite make sense, moral of the story: always use a credit card when traveling rather than a debit card. Credit card companies are very good about spotting and refunding fraudulent charges, and you don't want to take the risk of someone accessing your bank account. I get that you don't want to carry a credit card balance, but as long as you treat it as you would a debit--don't spend more than you have and pay off the balance every month--it's much safer to use. Yet, presuming this isn't the cat sitter having fun and this is legitimately happening, good luck!!

[Biker19]

I just don't get why some people won't use credit cards (not the ones that can't.)

 

Because they used to carry a balance (1/3 of the people in the US do - to the tune of over $5K) which was killing their financial life. Credit card use is not a math issue, it's a behavioral issue - like overeating for the obese. It doesn't matter how many statistics you dangle in front of some people they won't change without doing something radical - like cutting up the credit card and using cash or debit cards only. And then some people like the OP, seem to ignore the limits on debit cards as well. When you even consider a pay day loan, you have demonstrated that you are truly into the world of financial stupid and common sense solutions envisioned by wiser people are ignored.

[leisuretraveler223]

Because they used to carry a balance (1/3 of the people in the US do - to the tune of over $5K) which was killing their financial life. Credit card use is not a math issue, it's a behavioral issue - like overeating for the obese. It doesn't matter how many statistics you dangle in front of some people they won't change without doing something radical - like cutting up the credit card and using cash or debit cards only. And then some people like the OP, seem to ignore the limits on debit cards as well. When you even consider a pay day loan, you have demonstrated that you are truly into the world of financial stupid and common sense solutions envisioned by wiser people are ignored.

 

That's all fine and good. But you can always ask that they LOWER your limit. Put your limit at the amount you can pay and this issue goes away. It's a behavioral thing for a very, VERY small number of people. It's a stupid & lazy thing for a great deal....

[BND]

Something DH and I both learned in college in a business class (~1979) was that credit cards are just a tool and you have to treat it as such. They don't exist to make you happy or bankrupt. They exist for convenience. I think the OP needs to realize that that convenience would have kept him out of this issue. I still want to know all the details.

[John Reid]

Manhasset.

 

they bought the house and a undeveloped lot next to it. 30 years later they made out very well indeed.

 

Very nice. My parents bought an already old house in New Hyde Park for $13,000 in 1960. Forty-five years later it sold for $396,000 and it still needed work!

[Retired LEO]

The longer this goes on the more it makes no sense.

 

Here are my thoughts on this.

 

The Op takes a cruise with no cash or funds to cover expenses

The OP is fronted $500.00 on his account

The OP goes on a wild shopping spree on jewelry purchases well exceeding the $500.00 limit.

The Op thinks he can walk off the ship at the end of the cruise and no one would be the wiser.

With 2 days remaining Guest services puts a halt to it and says "Pay up" before you leave the ship.

The OP says "But I have no money"

The OP is now in panic mode.

[Goodtime Cruizin]

So I talked with guest services and they said they'd call the police in Ft Lauderdale if I couldn't settle it by the end of the cruise.

 

I have an emergency American Express at home that I left specifically for my friend. He is pet sitting my cats and it is there in case they needed to go to the vet. I turned my phone on and had my friend send a picture of the card. They won't take a number of a card, they said the only way is to swipe it.

 

I can't have a friend or family member deposit that much money. I am sick and this is ruining my trip real quick.

 

1. Have someone bring you the card when you dock.

2. Call AMEX now. They can help you.

3. That's BS about 'needing' to swipe your CC. Hell they took my reservation over the phone w/ a CC#.

4. For someone that doesn't do cards, you do cards. You should have left cash to the sitter and tied your seapass to the AMEX.

[Pam]

I am not completely grasping whether or not OP has bought thousands of dollars worth of jewelry on this cruise, but if he has, RCCL will report it to Customs and they will expect to be paid anything due over the allowance before he leaves the ship.

[Uri1961]

I think this story is a hoax.

[foxgoodrich]

Okay, Props, I will try to only address your question/immediate issue. If I understand your situation correctly...

• you used your debit card to set up your onboard account
  

• Royal has hit your checking account for 4 holds of $500
  

• Your onboard bill now totals $3000 (an amount which completely baffles most of us, but nevertheless it is not our place to judge nor to question.) Your bill is your bill and Royal is demanding payment of the additional $1k
   
  
• Your bank account is now frozen due to an unrelated fraudulent $2k in charges
   
  

• Royal is now threatening you with the cops and not letting you off the ship without payment
  

So here's my advice:

 

1. Be persistent with Guest Services. Actually they CAN hand key your Amex card info for payment of that $1k balance on your account. Yes, they do have a POS card system onboard that swipes cards, but think about this for a minute…if you call up Royal and book a cruise, how do you make your deposit? Credit card number over the phone? Yeah…somebody hand keys that credit card number and expiration/security code/name/addresss data into the system and they get their payment. And what if your card won't swipe because it has a scratch on the magnetic strip? Most of the time somebody hand keys the info and if the card is legit it's fine. So we know it CAN be done. Most likely only a higher up supervisor/officer type could do it onboard - not the front line Guest Services people. So be persistent. Keep that pic of your Amex info on your phone and keep asking for the next higher up person in the food chain. I think you'll prevail in the end if you're persistent.

 

2. In the future PROTECT your debit card and don't do this again. Don't use your debit card for any kind of an open account, like an onboard account on a cruise or a hotel. Whether you choose to carry/use credit cards or not is not my business. But think of me like your wise old granny and listen up about your debit card - you need to PROTECT your debit card. You need to TREASURE it and treat it like it's the most valuable thing you own, because it is the key to your bank account and all your cash assets. Every time you give that number to somebody or use that card, you're running a risk that your security could be compromised and unauthorized debits could come out of your account. You may get that $$ back in the end, but there's a hassle factor and a major impediment to your normal cash flow, so protecting yourself as much as possible is just smart. Do a little RISK/BENEFIT analysis every time you pull out that debit card, and seriously ask yourself if the risk of exposing your assets is work the benefit of whatever you're buying. If you are traveling, go to your bank and buy yourself a prepaid Visa card to use on your trip. It'd be a lot safer than risking your checking account. Or go and get a wad of cash to take with you and set up a cash account on the ship or use cash on your trip. Then you know exactly what your budget is.

 

3. If you really don't want to carry credit cards, then don't. Carry cash. Use cash. Be prudent in the use of your debit card. And get yourself a savings account linked to your checking account and put most of your money in the savings account. Then you can transfer funds out of your savings account (safer) into your checking account (accessible by your debit card) as needed.

 

4. Bottom line…if you don't want to carry/use credit cards, then don't. Totally your decision. But be SMART about how you manage your assets in your checking account, protect your debit card, and give yourself some safeguards.

 

For now, I hope you can work something out with Guest Service and end your cruise without any major hassles. End of lecture…granny is signing off now…;)

Judy

[Big_G]

The longer this goes on the more it makes no sense.

 

Here are my thoughts on this.

 

The Op takes a cruise with no cash or funds to cover expenses

The OP is fronted $500.00 on his account

The OP goes on a wild shopping spree on jewelry purchases well exceeding the $500.00 limit.

The Op thinks he can walk off the ship at the end of the cruise and no one would be the wiser.

With 2 days remaining Guest services puts a halt to it and says "Pay up" before you leave the ship.

The OP says "But I have no money"

The OP is now in panic mode.

 

Others are asking why OP has no credit card. More likely than not, you just made the case for why they don't.

[Emdee]

The trick is to have more than one Debit card. When we travel we use one with a smallish limit that way if one gets eaten up by a bank machine we have options.

 

Of course we don't leave home without credit cards! In today's day and age it would be crazy to do so.

 

AMEX is very good At coming to travellers rescue. They can just arrange to solve the OPs problem by wiring the requested amount to the ship,

 

So yes I agree likely a hoax.

[realtreebar]

all I have to say is WOW!!!!!!! please post the out come so we all understand the way rccl handles this.:)