Paying for stuff

[Ang16430]

Myself, My husband, our children and my mother in law are cruising in summer of 2020 and I was curious can my mother in law register her credit card under her room key so that my husband and I aren’t charged for her purchases?

Edited May 30, 2019 by Ang16430
Forgot wording

[Cruiseman38]

Yes. 

[jmcathome]

Yes. you do online checkin   she should link herself to her credit card

[Cruiser_1977]

Yes, you can do this at the port or online during check-in. It will ask how you want each cabin/guests accounts to be set up, Credit Card or Cash.  DO NOT USE A DEBIT CARD.

Edited May 30, 2019 by JennyB1977

[scpirate]

It didn't work out too well for me when we took the grand kids.ymmv.i went to guest services 3 times and still got stuck with a bill to pay before I could disembark.even though each time I told them not to let them charge anything.I would do it on my card.

[mredandchis]

6 hours ago, JennyB1977 said:

Yes, you can do this at the port or online during check-in. It will ask how you want each cabin/guests accounts to be set up, Credit Card or Cash.  DO NOT USE A DEBIT CARD.

Why not use a debit card?  I used a debit card for years and it wasnt a problem. just interested in the answer.

 

[PhillyFan33579]

3 hours ago, mredandchis said:

Why not use a debit card?  I used a debit card for years and it wasnt a problem. just interested in the answer.

 

 

I assume the poster was referring to as a general rule credit cards offer more protection than debit cards. 

[GUT2407]

Or even referring to holds put on your card and taking t8me for the funds to be released.

[RWolver672]

5 hours ago, GUT2407 said:

Or even referring to holds put on your card and taking t8me for the funds to be released.

 

Many stories on here where a hold was put on their cards.  They knew they had some money left on the card but with the hold, they couldn't use the card until the hold was taken off.

[ray98]

9 hours ago, mredandchis said:

Why not use a debit card?  I used a debit card for years and it wasnt a problem. just interested in the answer.

 

 

Holds....it ties up real funds in the account, sometimes for days.

[Cruiser_1977]

@mredandchis - The previous posters have covered the answers regarding debit cards. As an example on the holds, there was a recent post where a lady was in tears because she could not get the holds released and had zero money to spend. 

[coevan]

debit card offer very poor fraud protection

[Organized Chaos]

On 5/30/2019 at 8:26 PM, mredandchis said:

Why not use a debit card?  I used a debit card for years and it wasnt a problem. just interested in the answer.

 

With a credit card, you're typically working with a much larger charging limit. With a debit card, you're working with whatever funds you actually have in your bank account. So for many people, tying up those funds with the hold that the cruise line places on the account is a lot more risky than it would be with a credit card. That combined with the fact that credit cards usually offer more protection. If a bad guy is able to use your debit card to drain your bank account, that's YOUR money that you had and need that's gone. Compared to reporting fraudulent charges on a credit card, it's a more difficult, and often longer, process to recover your bank account funds.

[Crusin Hogs]

We just use cash at check in ,, for on board purchases  , Close the account night before debarking , They give unspent cash back 

[mredandchis]

19 hours ago, JennyB1977 said:

@mredandchis - The previous posters have covered the answers regarding debit cards. As an example on the holds, there was a recent post where a lady was in tears because she could not get the holds released and had zero money to spend. 

Thanks, and thanks to the others also.  I had used the debit cards for many years and I do remember the hold but there was always a lot more in the account and the credit union I use does offer protection.  I didnt know about the methods of cash on the account and I wouldnt have a credit card for a long time.  But then i got that Carnival card and pay it off monthly for the past 2 years and it works fine. I like that point system. thanks again yall

[bmci3398]

Can you use pre-paid credit cards- Visa gift card for example?

[Organized Chaos]

1 hour ago, bmci3398 said:

Can you use pre-paid credit cards- Visa gift card for example?

 

Yes, just as long as they're not issued by American Express or Optima.

 

You can read about the acceptable forms of payment here: https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1138/kw/sail and sign

[Ang16430]

On 5/30/2019 at 6:59 PM, scpirate said:

It didn't work out too well for me when we took the grand kids.ymmv.i went to guest services 3 times and still got stuck with a bill to pay before I could disembark.even though each time I told them not to let them charge anything.I would do it on my card.

they are little enough where they wont have their cards. myself and my husband will hold onto their cards

[Ang16430]

On 5/30/2019 at 2:25 PM, JennyB1977 said:

Yes, you can do this at the port or online during check-in. It will ask how you want each cabin/guests accounts to be set up, Credit Card or Cash.  DO NOT USE A DEBIT CARD.

we are prepaying our gratuities and we always stick to a budget. The kids (6 & 3) will not be holding onto their cards. MIL is an avid gambler and I don't want to be paying for her habits (if she discovers the casino) and spending. we are paying for her cruise but I refuse to pay for her spending onboard.

 

[PlanoDebbie]

On 5/30/2019 at 1:20 PM, Ang16430 said:

Myself, My husband, our children and my mother in law are cruising in summer of 2020 and I was curious can my mother in law register her credit card under her room key so that my husband and I aren’t charged for her purchases?

 

Yup!  Every passenger can set up their own credit card for their charges.  When we did my daughter's girl scout cruise many years ago, each person set up their own online account.  No need to worry about Grandma running up a casino or booze debt on your dime!

[Ang16430]

12 hours ago, PlanoDebbie said:

 

Yup!  Every passenger can set up their own credit card for their charges.  When we did my daughter's girl scout cruise many years ago, each person set up their own online account.  No need to worry about Grandma running up a casino or booze debt on your dime!

YES! thank you! we were planning on doing ours (my husband, mine, and our daughters) with cash because we also have $100 obc...(which we had to scour the shops the last day to use it all on our alaskan cruise) so doing cash will not be a huge deal for us as we don't drink alcohol or soda and would rather not get off the ship on land days in south america

[Yayaof4andlovinit]

Should you need/want to dispute any charges, you can ONLY due so on a major credit card. No luck in a debit card since it’s really your checking account. And you just never know...