S & S Card

[maryred]

I took a 15 day Transatlantic on Royal and didn't spend anything onboard, had OBC that covered the tips and actually got money back the last evening of the cruise.

So it's not that hard. I prefer to spend my money off the ship.

By your own admission you had something deposited to your on board account and spent a portion of this OBC on something. What would of happened if the cruise line had not given you the bonus of on board credit?

[sweets2323]

I just called carnival twice and was told that we will not be charged taxes on drinks on while on us territory because it's duty free. When I called the first time I was told i will only be charged taxes on embarking and double gratuity. This is why I don't like calling carnival.

 

 

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[BuckeyeCruiseGuy]

By your own admission you had something deposited to your on board account and spent a portion of this OBC on something. What would of happened if the cruise line had not given you the bonus of on board credit?

If I don't have enough OBC on my account, I just prepay my tips.

So even if Royal gave me nothing, I still wouldn't have spent anything on the cruise.

[firemanbobswife]

Just to reiterate and get assurance that I understand:

 

It's better to purchase the BB and cheers once we are in international waters.

 

The cheers is more money if purchased on the ship..Would it be less to pre purchase it?

 

Is the BB more once we board the ship?

 

It's best to use a credit card because if I put cash or debit card they will deduct my deposit? If I'm going on an 8 day cruise how much deposit would they need? Is it really 200 a day for an 8 day cruise?

 

If I have the cheers package and get drinks while the ship is docked in San Juan and St Thomas, I will be charged their tax?

 

This is all a shock for me, but valuable information..

 

 

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You do not get taxed on the package when you purchase it either onboard or ahead of time so no need to wait for International waters. Bottomless Bubbles used to be this way. Now you pay tax on both BB and Cheers on each individual drink you have while in a US Port/Port of call. On an Eastern Caribbean cruise that would be Miami and San Juan. No tax in St Thomas.

 

BB is the same price either before or after boarding, Cheers is cheaper if it's bought ahead of time.

[maryred]

If I don't have enough OBC on my account, I just prepay my tips.

So even if Royal gave me nothing, I still wouldn't have spent anything on the cruise.

Then lucky you,15 days on board and not as much as a nickel spent. I'm not sure that everyone has your absolute resolve of will power to avoid buying anything for 2+ weeks. I can't imagine sailing Royal (or any other cruise line) without at least having 1 upcharge item off the menu, purchasing a picture or something from the on board shops.

[maryred]

and this is a true statement, ships don't sail to U.S. ports, they sail away from them. I have never seen a ship sail from Charleston to Miami. The only exception I can think of is Key West.

 

Boston

Portland ME

Juneau AK

Skagway AK

Ketchikan AK

Maui HI

Kona Hi

(Orlando) Port Canaveral

 

 

Sail long enough and you will. Personally I have sailed from NYC to Boston and Portland, Baltimore and NYC to Port Canaveral, and recently was looking at a cruise that started in Baltimore stopping in both Charleston and Port Canaveral. All of these cruises did have later ports of call in Canada, the Bahamas, or the Caribbean.

[Shaded Lady]

I cruised once where my S&S card at the end of the cruise was $13 (and change)... I bought one drink, plus had an emergency run to Cherry on Top for some gummy bears! :p

[waterwatcher]

Just have to keep Credit Card ( NOT DEBIT) on file with them. Just in case any incidentals come up.

 

You can pay off anything on S&S card with cash the last night or leave on Credit Card.

 

 

 

We cruised last October. No credit card. Did not go to guest services. We just put some money on our s&s using the kiosk. Kept cash in safe and when initial amount got low we would add more at the kiosk. So you really do not need to give them a card or cash.

[mufc99]

Thanks for the helpful info!

 

When we did Hawaii with NCL the only thing we spent was about a grand on alcohol!

We did the photos the first time we went, and wont be getting any more.

 

The cash option sounds good as long as we get cash in hand on the last night!

 

Just hoping the various hotels that we are staying at during the rest of our holiday dont hold back large deposits & make us wait days for them to go back into our account.

Edited March 5, 2017 by mufc99

[sanger727]

 

The cash option sounds good as long as we get cash in hand on the last night!

 

Just hoping the various hotels that we are staying at during the rest of our holiday dont hold back large deposits & make us wait days for them to go back into our account.

 

 

?? Are you using a credit card? That's the easiest method - no money is taken off your account. They pre authorize a hold of a couple hundred that is lifted quickly once you depart. I prefer that to trying to get cash back. As long as you aren't planning on ever getting within $500 or so of your max credit, you'll never notice the authorizations. On my last cruise we tried to get change for the last port and they were running low on cash due to making change for people all trip. I've also heard of people being pulled aside when exiting that had cashed out their account due to a false mini bar charge or drink charge that appeared late on their bill. Credit is the easiest way to go.

 

As far as the tax in port, it's small, less than $1 per drink. I wouldn't lose several hours of using your drink package the first day over that...

 

 

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[sailingsusie]

If my gratuities are pre paid, I just put cash or buy cruise cash ($100 or so) to cover things bingo or snacks from the gift shop. I check my balance on the TV in the cabin, if there is anything left, and there always is, I go to the casino and cash it out on the last night. Very easy.

[mufc99]

So before departing, and you buy a drink, you would have to give the bar staff your Cheers card & you S&S card?

[sjcruiser]

Use cash instead of a card, and get it back at GS the last night, or cash out in the casino.

[beerman2]

So before departing, and you buy a drink, you would have to give the bar staff your Cheers card & you S&S card?

 

 

I would think Carnival is like the other cruiselines in that your S&S card has a sticker or some other marking to denote Cheers/Drink package.

[firemanbobswife]

I would think Carnival is like the other cruiselines in that your S&S card has a sticker or some other marking to denote Cheers/Drink package.

 

 

It does. They put a sticker on it just like if you have Bottomless Bubbles.

 

[JillMcC]

Has anyone purchased the Cruise Cash Bar on Carnivals website? If so, how did it work out for you?

 

 

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[Shaded Lady]

I have... when you board there will be a letter indicating how much Bar Cruise Cash you purchased and you should see it on your S&S card account. However, I'd always advise purchasing straight cruise cash, since you can use that for ANY purchase on your S&S card, whereas the Bar Cruise Cash can only be used for drinks. The easy part too is if you have leftover $$ on your S&S from cruise cash you can cash it out in the casino by adding it to your casino account, then cashing out. I'm not sure if you can do that with Bar cruise cash.