Visa Card on a Cruise

[JohnGc]

Has anyone used a Ubank visa debit card on Royal Caribbean cruise ? I have always used a Comm bank debit card with no problems and if any amount was held by the bank it has been returned in a few days. As there are no charges or fees on my Ubank card I wondered if that would be the way to go. I know a lot of cruisers prefer to use a credit card but we do not use one.

 

Cheers John.

[JohnGc]

50 minutes ago, JohnGc said:

Has anyone used a Ubank visa debit card on Royal Caribbean cruise ? I have always used a Comm bank debit card with no problems and if any amount was held by the bank it has been returned in a few days. As there are no charges or fees on my Ubank card I wondered if that would be the way to go. I know a lot of cruisers prefer to use a credit card but we do not use one.

 

Cheers John.

I should point out that my Debit cards are Pre paid cards.

[arxcards]

7 hours ago, JohnGc said:

I should point out that my Debit cards are Pre paid cards.

I am pretty sure Royal Caribbean (and others) don't accept pre-paid cards. Not sure why, but I think they are unable to get holds on pre-paid cards.

[JohnGc]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

I am pretty sure Royal Caribbean (and others) don't accept pre-paid cards. Not sure why, but I think they are unable to get holds on pre-paid cards.

Thanks Geoff. We did submit our Comm bank Master pre paid debit card when completing our online boarding pass documents on our last R.C cruise. We put enough money on to cover our cruise spending. We ended up with $200 dollars left on our card after the cruise. We had on board credit that we used plus a extra . The $200 was on hold and within 5 days the hold was removed minus the extra cost we used on board. Maybe they did not realise it was a pre paid card. I guess I will have to research this more as not having a credit card could be awkward. Edit, we also used it on the Luminosa.

 

Cheers John

Edited August 23 by JohnGc

[JohnGc]

Has anyone actually used a Ubank visa or Wise debit card on a cruise ?

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, JohnGc said:

Thanks Geoff. We did submit our Comm bank Master pre paid debit card when completing our online boarding pass documents on our last R.C cruise. We put enough money on to cover our cruise spending. We ended up with $200 dollars left on our card after the cruise. We had on board credit that we used plus a extra . The $200 was on hold and within 5 days the hold was removed minus the extra cost we used on board. Maybe they did not realise it was a pre paid card. I guess I will have to research this more as not having a credit card could be awkward. Edit, we also used it on the Luminosa.

 

Cheers John

There are grey areas. Royal's FAQs say they don't accept pre-paid cards, but there are different types of pre-paid cards. Generally, if you have a name on the card and an expiry date, they work in the system like any other debit card as long as your money on the card is double your spend to cover any holds.

 

I stopped using a debit card for travel when 28 degrees mastercard came out, so I can't help with any Ubank or Wise specifics.

[JohnGc]

3 minutes ago, arxcards said:

There are grey areas. Royal's FAQs say they don't accept pre-paid cards, but there are different types of pre-paid cards. Generally, if you have a name on the card and an expiry date, they work in the system like any other debit card as long as your money on the card is double your spend to cover any holds.

 

I stopped using a debit card for travel when 28 degrees mastercard came out, so I can't help with any Ubank or Wise specifics.

Thanks Geoff, Ubank is part of N.A.B. It would be good to use as there are no fees or charges and they use what the exchange rate is at the time unlike Comm bank who tend to up it. We would have no problem doubling up on our estimated on board cost as we will be staying within our budget. May just try it and see what happens.

[cruiser3775]

Why don't you ask the cruise line in advance? What will be your back up plan if you get on board and they won't accept the  card?

[JohnGc]

1 hour ago, cruiser3775 said:

Why don't you ask the cruise line in advance? What will be your back up plan if you get on board and they won't accept the  card?

Yes Planning on doing that. If they say they will not accept the debit card it will be a bit awkward as I tried to get a credit card earlier and the banks turned me down because of being over 80 yrs old retired and on a pension and not working. The following ABC report  shows what happens when you get older and considered not a viable prospect any more.

Quote " With credit cards becoming harder to secure, especially in their post-retirement years, seniors are missing out on the conveniences of modern economic life—imagine needing to book a flight online to visit your grandchildren or secure a hotel room for a special family event, only to find your payment options limited. "

This growing gap, highlighted in the ABC report, underscores a pressing need for solutions that accommodate the unique financial needs of older Australians.

Edited August 24 by JohnGc

[boeckli]

In recent years I have only ever used a debit card for on-cruise payments, as I don't want to put the details of my credit card into the cruise lines' systems.

[Ondine]

I used my ING debit card for Cunard and Virgin Cruises last year because it is the only card I have which didn't have an overseas transaction fee.  I just made sure it had a reasonable cash amount available.  I think when I registered it online there was a test debit of $1 made to ensure it worked but otherwise no problems and no complaints from the companies.

[resordanis]

I have a Westpac Travel Card with US dollars on it. I am wondering whether I can use it on Cunard? I did ask on the Cunard boards and really didn’t get an answer.

Anyone know?

[JohnGc]

1 hour ago, boeckli said:

In recent years I have only ever used a debit card for on-cruise payments, as I don't want to put the details of my credit card into the cruise lines' systems.

We have comm bank Keycard debit card that takes payments from our bank account, we do have to set the limit and have to put our pin number in for any transaction over $100. I am not sure how we overcome the problem of having to use the pin number. The other debit card is where we have to load up the card from our bank account and I guess they refer to that as a pre paid card. Is your card linked to your main account ?

[boeckli]

I have used both 'pre-paid' cards (CBA travel money) and debit cards linked to an account. I think the PIN usage should only come into play if you use your card for 'over the counter' purchases where you hand over the card in person.

The main condition I remember reading is that the card has to have your name on it.

And you can always register one card and then just before the end of the cruise go to GS and pay off your account with another.

[JohnGc]

31 minutes ago, boeckli said:

I have used both 'pre-paid' cards (CBA travel money) and debit cards linked to an account. I think the PIN usage should only come into play if you use your card for 'over the counter' purchases where you hand over the card in person.

The main condition I remember reading is that the card has to have your name on it.

And you can always register one card and then just before the end of the cruise go to GS and pay off your account with another.

Thank you, thats good to know, I reckon I am overthinking all of this. Plan B is I will take cash enough to cover spending and line up at guest services on the last night and settle the account.

[dizzy1948]

On 8/24/2024 at 3:00 PM, JohnGc said:

Thank you, thats good to know, I reckon I am overthinking all of this. Plan B is I will take cash enough to cover spending and line up at guest services on the last night and settle the account.

Just a suggestion - why not buy "onboard credit" before you go?  We've done that quite often; the comical part is that if they owe you any money - you have to get it from customer service on the last night - but you get "cash" back?????? Pay with card - get cash back - is that a form of money laundering??? just saying 🤣but that's how it's done. We have always felt comfortable with this method. You pay what you want, when you want for whatever you want onboard. 

Edited August 26 by dizzy1948

[JohnGc]

13 minutes ago, dizzy1948 said:

Just a suggestion - why not buy "onboard credit" before you go?  We've done that quite often; the comical part is that if they owe you any money - you have to get it from customer service on the last night - but you get "cash" back?????? Pay with card - get cash back - is that a form of money laundering??? just saying 🤣but that's how it's done. We have always felt comfortable with this method. You pay what you want, when you want for whatever you want onboard. 

Thank you, never even thought of that. Can you do that when completing your checking on online ? I know the always ask for your card number etc.

Edited August 26 by JohnGc

[dizzy1948]

2 minutes ago, JohnGc said:

Thank you, never even thought of that. Can you do that when completing your checking on online ? I know the always ask for your card number etc.

Yep. When they ask for the card no when you initially do your onboard details you put that in, then you just keep going into your account and just keep adding money for "on board purchases" using that card. We find that drink packages etc are too expensive, and pre paying just covers everything. Put more in if you are thinking of doing tours etc. 

[JohnGc]

2 minutes ago, dizzy1948 said:

Yep. When they ask for the card no when you initially do your onboard details you put that in, then you just keep going into your account and just keep adding money for "on board purchases" using that card. We find that drink packages etc are too expensive, and pre paying just covers everything. Put more in if you are thinking of doing tours etc. 

Great, Thank you for that. Well worth considering.

 

Cheers John.