Credit card hold

[beaming90]

I just tried to search and couldn't find the answer.  So please remind me again, what is the credit card hold per person per room.  I have onboard credit and want to make sure I have enough for the auto hold, the gratuities and then to pay for my excursions.  thanks guys!

[kazu]

4 minutes ago, beaming90 said:

I just tried to search and couldn't find the answer.  So please remind me again, what is the credit card hold per person per room.  I have onboard credit and want to make sure I have enough for the auto hold, the gratuities and then to pay for my excursions.  thanks guys!

 

Depends on the length of the cruise, but if memory serves me correctly, cruises 30 days and under (or something around 30 days) is $60 per day pp.

 

 

[beaming90]

so it is 420...for a 7 day cruise.  That is a lot!  Ok.  Thank you! 

[catl331]

25 minutes ago, beaming90 said:

so it is 420...for a 7 day cruise.

Yes ... 420 per person 

[beaming90]

Thank you!!

[taxmantoo]

2 hours ago, beaming90 said:

so it is 420...for a 7 day cruise.  That is a lot!  Ok.  Thank you! 

That is not necessarily what you HAVE TO PAY.  The $60 per day per person is simply a hold on your credit card and is not actually charged.  What you have to pay is the total of what you spend...gratuities, excursions, drinks etc. without regard to the hold on your credit card.

[beaming90]

I get that Tax Man, but if I only have say 700 in OBC I want to make sure I have that saved back and don't figure it into my amount of money I can spend.  Make sense?

[taxmantoo]

39 minutes ago, beaming90 said:

I get that Tax Man, but if I only have say 700 in OBC I want to make sure I have that saved back and don't figure it into my amount of money I can spend.  Make sense?

Sorry, I have no idea what you are talking about or what logic you are using.  Not saying it is wrong, I just don't understand where you are going with this.

[beaming90]

Sorry, I do not have any more credit cards and I don't want to have a hold put on my debit card so I am doing everything with OBC and cash.  I was thinking earlier today that all that OBC was great and then I remembered they may hold some of it back but they may not. I get myself so confused on here somedays...

[richwmn]

25 minutes ago, beaming90 said:

Sorry, I do not have any more credit cards and I don't want to have a hold put on my debit card so I am doing everything with OBC and cash.  I was thinking earlier today that all that OBC was great and then I remembered they may hold some of it back but they may not. I get myself so confused on here somedays...

If you register a card at all, they will place a hold for $60/person/day no matter what you may have in OBC. However, if you have OBC in an amount that is approximately $60/person/day you will not have to register a card, so there will be no hold. Any excess OBC you have (other than that provided by CCL or HAL) will be refunded on the last evening of the cruise - in cash if you wish.

 

[TAD2005]

We had over $1000 in OBC, $800 from HAL and the rest paid by me.  We were on a 28 day cruise, so the hold is $30 per day, per person, ($60 per day/per person for cruises 25 days and under), and HAL still put a $840 per person hold on our credit card the day after sailing, for a total of $1680.   And we also pre-purchased the SBP for both of us, and we had prepaid hotel service charge (tips).   So, it doesn't seem to matter how much OBC you have if part of it was provided from HAL.   With our experience, the HAL credit card holds drop off within 5 to 7 days.   But you do need to have at least $60 per day/per person available on the card you provide to HAL, or post a cash deposit with the front desk in that amount.   When people do post a cash deposit in lieu of a credit card hold, I have heard that the front desk will work with you on the amount, if you do have the SBP and a lot of OBC.

[beaming90]

Now I am really confused!  I will not be using any credit or debit card.  so I need to put 420 in cash or will they hold 420 from my OBC?  I am not purchasing the SBC because I won't drink more than one or two alcoholic beverages.  And no pop.  Sorry.  I am more confused than ever now! 

[richwmn]

35 minutes ago, beaming90 said:

Now I am really confused!  I will not be using any credit or debit card.  so I need to put 420 in cash or will they hold 420 from my OBC?  I am not purchasing the SBC because I won't drink more than one or two alcoholic beverages.  And no pop.  Sorry.  I am more confused than ever now! 

If you do not wish to register a debit/credit card you must have sufficient On Board Credit available to mostly cover the $60/person/day. Once that threshold is met, you will be OK with the front desk and the entire amount will be available for your use. If your cash balance gets too low, you will be asked to come to the front desk to make other arrangements. If you have refundable credit left at the end of the cruise, you can get it back in cash the last night.

[mame42]

What is the usual credit card hold for a Grand World Voyage?

[Mamascott]

On our last cruise, I just went to the front desk and put $200 on my room for my kids to get drinks if they wanted. I had paid for our gratuities already, so $200 was more than enough for 14 days. They had no issue with it not being the $60 per day. 

[racnwdow]

For our 14 day cruise it will be $840.  I only have one credit card and very rarely use it.  But I only have 2,000 available.  I have never wanted the amount upped since we do not use the card.  But.....  if I do want to use it on the cruise (not on the ship, but on land), is that $840 not available because of the hold?  Other than laundry I probably won't spend while on the ship, other than tips.  

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, racnwdow said:

For our 14 day cruise it will be $840.  I only have one credit card and very rarely use it.  But I only have 2,000 available.  I have never wanted the amount upped since we do not use the card.  But.....  if I do want to use it on the cruise (not on the ship, but on land), is that $840 not available because of the hold?  Other than laundry I probably won't spend while on the ship, other than tips.  

You would be better off calling your credit card company for an accurate answer, but I believe the answer would be that the money held would not be available for spending.

[catl331]

1 hour ago, racnwdow said:

But.....  if I do want to use it on the cruise (not on the ship, but on land), is that $840 not available because of the hold?

Yes, that's the point of the hold:  so that you can't spend too much on land and not have enough left to pay your final bill. We've never come close to spending $60/p/d on board because we pre-purchase most of our excursions, specialty dining, wine, etc, and pay for it off before we board.  (If you have to cancel it will all be refunded.)

 

I suggest you apply for a low-limit HAL-Barclay Visa card to be used just for cruising. You get points that can be used for on-board spending and it has no annual fee and no foreign-transaction fees. 

https://www.barclaycardus.com/apply/Landing.action?campaignId=2269&cellNumber=1

Edited July 3, 2019 by catl331

[catl331]

p.s.  -  IMO $2000 is way too low a limit for cruising anyway. What if an emergency comes up and you have to fly home at last-minute ticket prices? Or you have an accident in some port and need to pay doctor and hospital bills? Or you miss the ship leaving some port and you need plane tickets and other expenses to catch up to the ship? $1160 (2000-840) won't go far.

 

Edited July 3, 2019 by catl331

[TAD2005]

2 hours ago, catl331 said:

p.s.  -  IMO $2000 is way too low a limit for cruising anyway. What if an emergency comes up and you have to fly home at last-minute ticket prices? Or you have an accident in some port and need to pay doctor and hospital bills? Or you miss the ship leaving some port and you need plane tickets and other expenses to catch up to the ship? $1160 (2000-840) won't go far.

 

Agreed.  Even if you buy travel insurance from a 3rd party company, usually if you have a medical issue and must see a doctor either on the ship or on a land hospital, you must pay for the costs and wait to file a claim to get reimbursed from your insurance when you get home.  So you need a credit card with a decent amount of reserve to cover emergencies.   Yes, the hold is just that.... a hold on your credit card available balance.   The hold usually drops off in 5 - 7 days, but it does tie up your available balance.   

And for the folks who say "I'm healthy, so who needs insurance",  there is the story of a young, healthy couple with a 14 year old boy who developed appendicitis while in a Caribbean port.  The ship was not equipped to perform this surgery, so they sent the couple and son to a local hospital.  The hospital demanded a credit card payment of over $4000 to do the surgery and recuperation.  Naturally, the ship left without the family, so they had to fly home on a very expensive, last minute, one-way ticket after spending a few days in a local hotel.  They were fortunate that they all had passports.  Otherwise, after the son was ready to fly, they would have the additional expense of applying for an emergency passport so they could fly home.   Birth certificates and driver's licenses of any type are useless if you have to fly home from outside the US.   Moral of the story, ALWAYS buy travel insurance and carry a valid passport, even for a quick cruise to the Bahamas.   I know I'll get flamed for the passport topic, but if you can afford to cruise, you can afford $13 a year for the cost of a 10 year passport.