Credit Card holds for on board accounts

[Denise5374]

I have searched for the answer and I cannot find one.....and now I can't stop thinking about it 🙂

 

When you use a CC for your onboard account are the pre-authorization holds per person or per cabin?  My husband and are in the same stateroom using the same CC for our onboard account, should I expect to see 1 $99.75 hold the card or 2?

 

Thanks!

[Seville2Cabo]

One hold, but not sure of the amount.  It drops off soon after the cruise.

 

[smokeybandit]

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/will-holds-be-placed-on-my-credit-card

[cruiseguy1016]

I have 15 cruises with RCI. I have read many reports of a hold being placed on your credit card. In all my cruising with RCI, I have never had a hold placed on my card.... until our cruise this past March. I don't remember the amount, but it was only one hold for the two of us.

[orville99]

DW and I use separate cards, and the hold is $99.75 for each of us. 

[Weluv2cruise2gether]

DH and I use the same card. We have had varying amounts for holds on credit card with RCL.m. We have been on 29 cruises total and the other lines we cruised with did the same thing.

[chfenton]

I watched my on board account and bank credit card account pretty closely this past cruise.  While I can't recall  what the initial hold was, I can tell you that every day when I had charges (for example spa service on day 3 and casino withdrawals on day 4-6), the next morning I would see another authorization at the bank for whatever the incremental amount I had charged the day before was. 

 

At the end of the cruise, the actual balance of my on board account was charged of course, and the holds all dropped off.  A couple of the authorization holds (day 6 and 7) actually didn't drop until a few days after the final balance posted to my B of A account.  Each bank probably has a different schedule for when authorizations are released back to your limit. Not a big deal if you have a big enough credit line but I can see how it could be an issue if the actual charge would put you over your credit limit if the pre-authorizations haven't dropped off yet.

[BirdTravels]

15 hours ago, Denise5374 said:

I have searched for the answer and I cannot find one.....and now I can't stop thinking about it 🙂

 

When you use a CC for your onboard account are the pre-authorization holds per person or per cabin?  My husband and are in the same stateroom using the same CC for our onboard account, should I expect to see 1 $99.75 hold the card or 2?

 

Thanks!

The authorizations will depend upon how much of a bill you run up. They will be made periodically throughout the cruise to ensure that you can pay for your charges at the end of the cruise. The duration the authorizations stay on your account depends on your bank's policies and is not controlled by the cruise line. The total amount of authorizations, if you are running up a bill on the ship, will likely be as much as 2x your total charges at the end of the cruise, since your final bill will also be authorized prior to being posted. 

[Denise5374]

Thank you all for your help!  Greatly appreciate it 🙂

[klfrodo]

I'm not going to pass judgement because I've been there in my younger days.

If there are concerns about the "holds", that leaves me to believe there might be issues with a low limit card or credit availability. (Again, been there done that)

Just passing on my next concern. What is someone to do when they find themselves needing medical attention? Drank a little too much and severely dehydrated, severe sunburn, trip and fall during an excursion, fall off the moped, forget to take medications, etc. They don't take your medical insurance and directly bill. Whether it's the ship doctor or the land-based facility. You have to pay before released and sometimes before care will begin.

Again, not passing judgement. I didn't know this information in my youth and even if I did, I was indestructible.

 

Just something to think about.

[Joseph2017China]

 So this is a 20th century question being asked in the 21st century.  Since the beginning of time, or maybe not that long, the service/vacation/transportation industry placed holds on credit cards.  That includes gas at the pump, hotels, ships, and everything else, in the travel industry that they take your card.  

 

Like the previous poster said, not to pass judgement, but if you are really concerned about holds, than there are other issues you must overcome, and it is understandable.  

 

Holds you have no control over.  Different banks will release holds differently.  It is just a fact of life in the travel world.  Make sure you have a card with  basically "double" what you expect to spend, and watch what you spend

 

[Denise5374]

I appreciate your concern with my financial situation but it really was a curious question. I am aware of how holds work, I simply fell down a rabbit hole on the internet and just got curious since I could find the specific amount of the hold and a bunch of other info

 

 

 

 

Edited July 29, 2023 by Denise5374
Added info

[Biker19]

13 hours ago, Denise5374 said:

I simply fell down a rabbit hole on the internet

As you can read, that happens here as well.

[twinmommy08]

I noticed our Odyssey sailing in March “held” our purchases for each day and then charged us at the end of the sailing. This included room gratuity. I believe it’s called a pre-authorization. 
 

I'm sure each bank is different. I can comment on AMEX though. My AMEX showed the pending charge for everyday until 2 business days after the final charge was made. So at one point I had the final charge and the daily charges “held” until the daily fell off and the final charge posted. My AMEX is a charge card and not a credit card, so I don’t have a pre-set spending limit. I am not affected by the pre-authorizations holding up my credit line. Another reason I use my AMEX for everyday, and everything, spending. 

[NoShoes2]

On 7/30/2023 at 1:50 AM, Biker19 said:

As you can read, that happens here as well.

 

Exactly what I was thinking!

[NoShoes2]

On 7/30/2023 at 6:33 AM, twinmommy08 said:

I noticed our Odyssey sailing in March “held” our purchases for each day and then charged us at the end of the sailing. This included room gratuity. I believe it’s called a pre-authorization. 
 

I'm sure each bank is different. I can comment on AMEX though. My AMEX showed the pending charge for everyday until 2 business days after the final charge was made. So at one point I had the final charge and the daily charges “held” until the daily fell off and the final charge posted. My AMEX is a charge card and not a credit card, so I don’t have a pre-set spending limit. I am not affected by the pre-authorizations holding up my credit line. Another reason I use my AMEX for everyday, and everything, spending. 

 

I like using my AmEx as well

[BirdTravels]

On 7/29/2023 at 1:26 PM, Denise5374 said:

I appreciate your concern with my financial situation but it really was a curious question. I am aware of how holds work, I simply fell down a rabbit hole on the internet and just got curious since I could find the specific amount of the hold and a bunch of other info

 

As your onboard account increases, the cruise line will run authorizations to ensure that you can pay your bill. And they will run your final bill on the last night of the cruise. 

 

Most banks are not smart enough to say "these 7 small authorizations are really this big authorization on day 7". So, you are left with 2x (or more) authorizations on your account. My bank leaves authorization around for about 5 days,,, waiting for a matching charge to be posted. I have left cruises with a few dollars on my account. I have left cruises with a few thousand dollars on my account (being 2x thousands of dollars in authorizations). 

 

If you have a limited credit line, running a cash account onboard is one way to avoid tying up your limited credit line. 

[mattg43]

If your credit is good, and you are concerned about holds, request a credit limit increase before you leave.  Best to only use about 25-30% of your limit so if you do what I do and charge roughly $2,000 each month and pay it off, I want the limit to be at least $8k.