cash deposit on embarkation

[Dorkscruising]

we are sailing on our 1st cruise on emerald princess in August and was wondering a few things

1. can we pay a cash deposit at southampton port instead of leaving a debit card for the account and if so how much per person?

2. if we can do the above does it have to be in $ or can we pay in £ and get the great exchange rate that princess is offering compared to the high Street rates?

[Luvs2Crooze]

Hi, yes you can do either. As far as I can remember you can put £150.00 per stateroom. You still will have opportunity to add debit card once on board should you wish.

[Dorkscruising]

hi, can we put more than that if we want? also was it in pounds or dollars as I'd rather pay in pounds and get the cruise exchange rate if it the same as on the cruise personaliser !!!

Edited July 24, 2016 by Dorkscruising

[Luvs2Crooze]

It was in pounds as we are also from the Uk. You can put as much down as you want or top up throughout your cruise. We did that on our first couple of cruises. Now I only take small amount of cash then leave rest to credit/debit card.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Hayley

[Dorkscruising]

thanx for your info. I'm sure we will.x

[sofsolnanny]

Hi,

 

you can put as much cash in as you like. I sailed Emerald in April and changed my pounds to dollars before I sailed-- as the exchange rate wasn't bad at the time.

 

You should factor into your budget things like spa packages speciality restaurants, drinks packages, shore excursions, make up ,handbags, perfume, cheap cigarettes ect. You can spend as little or as much as you like. Although I gave cash I also had my card as a backup (but didn't need to use it ). Also forgot to mention the aduld only serenity area which is more doller:):)s. Hope this helps.

[SteveH2508]

Maybe a better way to snag a good exchange rate would be to buy some OBC before you board. Check the Princess website and run the numbers - we got a great rate on the AIBP last year (1.66 as opposed to 1.54 being the going rate at the time).

[skynight]

Maybe a better way to snag a good exchange rate would be to buy some OBC before you board. Check the Princess website and run the numbers - we got a great rate on the AIBP last year (1.66 as opposed to 1.54 being the going rate at the time).

I agree with this. Determine how much you expect to spend then gift yourself a generous amount of on board credit. Unused OBC is fully refundable. Remember that the hotel charge (auto-tip) is US$12.95 per person, $13.95 if you are in a mini suite or full suite. This amount is charged each night to your on board folio. Also in order to print your boarding passes you must enter a credit or debit card number.

[caribill]

2. if we can do the above does it have to be in $ or can we pay in £ and get the great exchange rate that princess is offering compared to the high Street rates?

 

That "great exchange rate" is what you can get pre-cruise for purchases including purchases of OBC.

 

Once on the ship any deposit will get the current Princess rate for buying £ which will be about 9% lower than the official exchange rate.

 

And if there is unused OBC from your deposit that is returned at the end of the cruise, it will be at the Princess rate for selling £ which will be about 6% higher than the official exchange rate.

 

Giving a recent example (from before Brexit which caused the value of the £ to fall):

 

Official interbank rate: 1£ = $1.45352

Princess rate for selling $ for £: 1£ = $1.3217

Princess rate for selling £ for $: 1£ = $1.5454

 

In other words, when buying OBC on baord using the £, you would get about $1.32 at that time. But in selling the unused $ at the end of the cruise back to £, you pay about $1.54 for each £.

[Dorkscruising]

we can purchase obc at a rate of 1.53 to make up our credit. we need to leave $300 x 4 passengers to cover the daily rate. we will not be buying much alcohol and have already purchased the soft drinks package therefore I cannot see us spending any when near $1200. what sort of exchange rate will we be getting as the buy back rate to get the excess dollars back into sterling,?? I'm so confused by all this!!🤔

[Thrak]

I wouldn't use a debit card no matter what. A credit card yes, a debit card no. Using a debit card has caused many people problems with holds on their accounts.

 

I'm sure Princess will let you give them as much cash as you like.

[TracieABD]

I wouldn't use a debit card no matter what. A credit card yes, a debit card no. Using a debit card has caused many people problems with holds on their accounts.

 

I'm sure Princess will let you give them as much cash as you like.

 

Excellent point. I have known more people who have gotten into a huge financial mess, because they used a debit card- and the funds did not release for 3 or 4 weeks.

[Dorkscruising]

didn't want to use any cards to be honest but if I gift myself OBC before travel, how do I get any excess not spent back??

[TracieABD]

didn't want to use any cards to be honest but if I gift myself OBC before travel, how do I get any excess not spent back??

 

You will receive a cheque about 4 to 6 weeks after the cruise. Or you can cash out the balance in the casino.

[Dorkscruising]

ok great. any idea what the exchange rate is for exchanging dollars back to pounds, or an idea of what it is at the moment as I no it can change daily, this is my biggest concern as I no if I have a large amount left on my account it could practically nearly be halved with the poor exchange rate they give back!!!

[crows nest club]

ok great. any idea what the exchange rate is for exchanging dollars back to pounds, or an idea of what it is at the moment as I no it can change daily, this is my biggest concern as I no if I have a large amount left on my account it could practically nearly be halved with the poor exchange rate they give back!!!

 

 

If by any chance you find that you have more obc than you will need then just go to the casino, put a cruise card registered to your on board account ino one of the slot machines and transfer any amount on to you inserted card. If you want to pull a couple of times you may lucky and increase/decrease your amount

[crows nest club]

ok great. any idea what the exchange rate is for exchanging dollars back to pounds, or an idea of what it is at the moment as I no it can change daily, this is my biggest concern as I no if I have a large amount left on my account it could practically nearly be halved with the poor exchange rate they give back!!!

 

 

If by any chance you find that you have more obc than you will need then just go to the casino, put a cruise card registered to your on board account ino one of the slot machines and transfer any amount on to you inserted card. If you want to pull a couple of times you may lucky and increase/decrease your amount. Then just cash out to your inserted card and take it to the cashiers cage in the casino and they will give you the cash in dollars. You can then take these dollars back home and cash them where you will get a far better exchange rate for your money. We don't let Princess do any conversions for us at all.

[Dorkscruising]

is this a common occurance as I can imagine the day/night before disembarkation everyone will be doin this, is there a limit to what the casino will pay out. with cruise card do u mean the room card which all purchases are put onto?

[crows nest club]

is this a common occurance as I can imagine the day/night before disembarkation everyone will be doin this, is there a limit to what the casino will pay out. with cruise card do u mean the room card which all purchases are put onto?

 

Stop worrying pls. What we do, is perhaps towards the end of the cruise, over the last week, we draw out more than perhaps we have on our account and then use these dollars to pay off any debit balance that has accrued up to the last evening. Remember passenger services desks are open 24 hours a day.

 

Yes the card you enter into the slots is your cruise card/cabin key. It can be in whose ever name is registered to your cabin and whose account you are responsible for. Bear in mind that under 18s are not allowed in the casino (only appertaining if you are travelling with children ).

[Dorkscruising]

1st cruise nerves I guess!! sorry for all the daft questions. im sure all will become clear once on board. do I have to surrender my debit card at embarkation so they no I'm good for the balance if i go over my cash deposit (which trust me I will not spend $1200!!). really don't want my card details being stored anywhere.

[crows nest club]

1st cruise nerves I guess!! sorry for all the daft questions. im sure all will become clear once on board. do I have to surrender my debit card at embarkation so they no I'm good for the balance if i go over my cash deposit (which trust me I will not spend $1200!!). really don't want my card details being stored anywhere.

 

Don't apologise. No question is a daft question when it is your first cruise. It will be our 60th and we are still learning , lol. I'm sorry I don't know about registering a debit card. We always register a credit card to keep them happy but usually have gifted enough obc before embarkation to not owe anything at the end of the cruise. In fact we have dollars to bring on board from the Emerald cruise we did in May with the same itinerary.

 

You certainly won't get a better exchange rate on board than the $1.53 you are being offered prior to embarkation. Just think, if by any chance you come back with excess dollars then the bank buy back rate may mean that you will be in a win win situation.

 

If, like us, you find your first cruise is not your last, you can always hang on to them for next time!!!

 

Please get back if you are still worried, either here, or on our rold call.

[Dorkscruising]

thanx so much. think the gift of obc is a no brainer at the moment with the exchange rate being offered so will max our account with this so no card to be used ( don't own a credit card) the buy back for dollars today is 1.49 so looking good. you've been very helpful 👍

[sofsolnanny]

Hi,

 

you do not have to use your debit/credit card. Just go straight to passenger service desk and hand over your cash:).You will be able to start using your cruise card for purchases straight away. Next to passenger service desk. near entrance to casino is a cruise card machine where you can swipe your card and check your balance.

[Thrak]

1st cruise nerves I guess!! sorry for all the daft questions. im sure all will become clear once on board. do I have to surrender my debit card at embarkation so they no I'm good for the balance if i go over my cash deposit (which trust me I will not spend $1200!!). really don't want my card details being stored anywhere.

 

No daft questions. Enjoy your cruise. Remember: You only get ONE first cruise! If you are like me, you will be hooked after that. It took my wife forever to get me to go on a cruise as I absolutely knewI would hate everything about it. D'Oh! I couldn't have been more wrong. I'm always a bit jealous of someone on their first cruise. :)

[caribill]

You will receive a cheque about 4 to 6 weeks after the cruise.

 

Based on posts on other threads, the check sent to the UK will be in US $ which may not be easy to cash in the UK.