Settling your bill during cruise…

[BrentD]

It’s been 10 years since I last sailed Carnival, so my memory on some details is a little foggy. I know I put a card on file to attach to our sail and sign account. And I seem to recall I could “pay down” my balance with cash at any point during the cruise, be it from cash I didn’t spend in port or the endless pennies of casino winnings… lol  But is it possible to pay down the balance while on the cruise with a debit card or other credit card as well? That’s the foggy part for me. I believe so, but just want some confirmation.  

[shof515]

yes. stop by guest services with cash in hand and they will apply to your onboard account. once your account is at 0.00 the credit card you put on file will not be used

[BrentD]

Just now, shof515 said:

yes. stop by guest services with cash in hand and they will apply to your onboard account. once your account is at 0.00 the credit card you put on file will not be used

Thanks. That was only part of the question, though. If I want to pay it down with another card (debit, credit, etc…) that is NOT on file, can I do that as well?

[lazydayz]

26 minutes ago, BrentD said:

Thanks. That was only part of the question, though. If I want to pay it down with another card (debit, credit, etc…) that is NOT on file, can I do that as well?

Yes

[canes20]

28 minutes ago, BrentD said:

Thanks. That was only part of the question, though. If I want to pay it down with another card (debit, credit, etc…) that is NOT on file, can I do that as well?

Why? Just put that card on file if you do not want to use the original card on file?

[BrentD]

Just now, canes20 said:

Why? Just put that card on file if you do not want to use the original card on file?

Plenty of reasons. Maybe your paycheck is deposited while you’re on the cruise? Maybe something you’ve had for sale online finally went through? Maybe some other funds transfer you’ve been waiting on went through? Maybe you don’t want your debit card that’s tied directly to your bank account attached to an endlessly spendable sail and sign card? I can think of plenty of reasons. Just because it doesn’t make sense to one person doesn’t mean it’s not perfectly sensible to another. 😎

[canes20]

5 minutes ago, BrentD said:

Plenty of reasons. Maybe your paycheck is deposited while you’re on the cruise? Maybe something you’ve had for sale online finally went through? Maybe some other funds transfer you’ve been waiting on went through? Maybe you don’t want your debit card that’s tied directly to your bank account attached to an endlessly spendable sail and sign card? I can think of plenty of reasons. Just because it doesn’t make sense to one person doesn’t mean it’s not perfectly sensible to another. 😎

Would never put a debit card on sail and sign and if was short on money and "hoping" some showed up, maybe would stay home.

[dlphn501]

You can also pay it down with Carnival gift cards.  I did that on my last cruise.  You can get $100 gc's from AARP for $90.

[BrentD]

Just now, canes20 said:

Would never put a debit card on sail and sign and if was short on money and "hoping" some showed up, maybe would stay home.

See now you’re projecting your assumptions on me after I made a completely logical and reasonable rebuttal. I, too, wouldn’t put a debit card on my sail and sign just like I already said, and I certainly wouldn’t cruise if I couldn’t afford it. And as any logical person would (I hope), I would much rather pay my balance with money in hand (or bank) than on credit. Have a nice night!

[BrentD]

3 minutes ago, dlphn501 said:

You can also pay it down with Carnival gift cards.  I did that on my last cruise.  You can get $100 gc's from AARP for $90.

Thanks. We do plan on doing that as well, as my wife got several hundred in gift cards for her birthday a couple weeks ago. I knew you could use those, and have also read not to use them to buy “cruise cash” if you aren’t sure you’ll spend all of it on your sailing. 

[dlphn501]

Just now, BrentD said:

Thanks. We do plan on doing that as well, as my wife got several hundred in gift cards for her birthday a couple weeks ago. I knew you could use those, and have also read not to use them to buy “cruise cash” if you aren’t sure you’ll spend all of it on your sailing. 

Right.  Cruise cash is use it or lose it.  You are better off paying down the S&S with whatever means you choose.

[canes20]

4 minutes ago, BrentD said:

See now you’re projecting your assumptions on me after I made a completely logical and reasonable rebuttal. I, too, wouldn’t put a debit card on my sail and sign just like I already said, and I certainly wouldn’t cruise if I couldn’t afford it. And as any logical person would (I hope), I would much rather pay my balance with money in hand (or bank) than on credit. Have a nice night!

A debit card does not make a sail and sign card endlessly spendable. A hold would be placed and when you spent that, another hold. If you did not have it, the sail and sign card would no longer work. Spend how you want to spend and pay how you want to pay. No skin off my nose, you explanation is completely logical.

[ZoeyVictoria]

4 hours ago, dlphn501 said:

You can also pay it down with Carnival gift cards.  I did that on my last cruise.  You can get $100 gc's from AARP for $90.

I did that a few days ago on the Freedom.  On the next-to-last day, I checked my account to see how much the bill would be, purchased Carnival giftcards from AARP for the 10% discount, and took my phone with the gift card info to Guest Services to be applied to my account. The remainder (about $60) will be on the credit card I had on file. 

[salty dingo]

On the Panorama and Vista recently, there are kiosks where you can do whatever you like without standing in line and talking to guest services.

 

The machines accept cash too. It was a time-saver for me!

[BrentD]

3 minutes ago, salty dingo said:

On the Panorama and Vista recently, there are kiosks where you can do whatever you like without standing in line and talking to guest services.

 

The machines accept cash too. It was a time-saver for me!

That's awesome! Less time spent standing in line means more time vacationing! Assuming Mardi Gras would have the same since it's newer than either of those.

[mz-s]

All ships have the S&S kiosks...their locations are in the Fun Times when you get onboard.

[vwgolf2]

Been wondering this myself. I've just exchanged UK pounds for dollars for our stay and cruise and was hoping I could use any left over cash to reduce the onboard account. It seems like I will. 

[BrentD]

1 minute ago, vwgolf2 said:

Been wondering this myself. I've just exchanged UK pounds for dollars for our stay and cruise and was hoping I could use any left over cash to reduce the onboard account. It seems like I will. 

You can definitely pay down your tab with cash. I just wasn’t sure about using another card to pay it down. 

[Megan_Strick]

On 3/22/2024 at 5:56 PM, BrentD said:

It’s been 10 years since I last sailed Carnival, so my memory on some details is a little foggy. I know I put a card on file to attach to our sail and sign account. And I seem to recall I could “pay down” my balance with cash at any point during the cruise, be it from cash I didn’t spend in port or the endless pennies of casino winnings… lol  But is it possible to pay down the balance while on the cruise with a debit card or other credit card as well? That’s the foggy part for me. I believe so, but just want some confirmation.  

That is exactly what I do. I buy a lot of cruise cash and/or pay cash then the last day put my card on file. I usually have nothing charged to it but id I did have a balance I don't want to stand in line on debark morning to pay it

[Pyxie]

On 3/22/2024 at 5:47 PM, canes20 said:

Would never put a debit card on sail and sign and if was short on money and "hoping" some showed up, maybe would stay home.

 

The biggest reason is actually to avoid the holds that Carnival puts on the card. For a credit card, that's not a big deal. For a debit card, it can be a pretty big inconvenience waiting for those holds to drop off since it ties up your actual money.

[canes20]

1 minute ago, Pyxie said:

 

The biggest reason is actually to avoid the holds that Carnival puts on the card. For a credit card, that's not a big deal. For a debit card, it can be a pretty big inconvenience waiting for those holds to drop off since it ties up your actual money.

[mz-s]

5 minutes ago, Pyxie said:

 

The biggest reason is actually to avoid the holds that Carnival puts on the card. For a credit card, that's not a big deal. For a debit card, it can be a pretty big inconvenience waiting for those holds to drop off since it ties up your actual money.

 

For this reason Carnival specifically does not recommend guests fund their S&S accounts with a debit card.

[canes20]

8 minutes ago, mz-s said:

 

For this reason Carnival specifically does not recommend guests fund their S&S accounts with a debit card.

[dallasdan]

Technically, you will not be paying down the balance with a new credit card.  your balance will show zero, but the new card will have a hold placed against it.  Any charges after will be settled to that card.  So say your balance is $160 they will put a $200 hold on it.  

[BrentD]

5 minutes ago, dallasdan said:

Technically, you will not be paying down the balance with a new credit card.  your balance will show zero, but the new card will have a hold placed against it.  Any charges after will be settled to that card.  So say your balance is $160 they will put a $200 hold on it.  

I can't recall if it was Carnival for sure (though I'm pretty sure of it), but I recall making a payment with another card while on board and it didn't replace my card on file. I remember because I was charged an international use fee by my bank.