Double charge on board M425

[IB2]

Having made deductions from my debit card each day to cover the cost of my on board spend for my recent crossing, yesterday Cunard decided to debit the entire total bill for a second time from my card - despite the statement they gave me before disembarkation that I had a zero balance.  Am I the only one they’ve done this to?

[Host Hattie]

The daily amounts are just holds, it's only the final total amount that is actually taken.

Here's a recent thread discussing the same issue. 

 

 

 

[IB2]

9 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

The daily amounts are just holds, it's only the final total amount that is actually taken.

Here's a recent thread discussing the same issue. 

 

 

 It’s a debit card, from which the daily amounts have been taken, and then the whole total taken for a second time.   If some of them are ‘holds’, right now they look like actual payments.

Edited September 1 by IB2

[IB2]

Well I see that that old thread has the answer, for a debit card, which is to board with a tiny cash balance, such that the onboard debits are all declined, then top up the card on the last night.  That’s what I will do for my October return.

[david63]

13 minutes ago, IB2 said:

Well I see that that old thread has the answer, for a debit card, which is to board with a tiny cash balance, such that the onboard debits are all declined, then top up the card on the last night.  That’s what I will do for my October return.

Not sure that will work as if the "holds" are declined you may find that your on board account is frozen until to arrange funds.

[Pushpit]

21 minutes ago, IB2 said:

Well I see that that old thread has the answer, for a debit card, which is to board with a tiny cash balance, such that the onboard debits are all declined, then top up the card on the last night.  That’s what I will do for my October return.

I suspect that you will soon get a message from the Pursers Desk asking you to urgently contact them after a day or two of this. I accidentally got in this problem once when I stupidly damaged my card after online checking in but before boarding. Though I presented a new card at the check in desk, the agent checked in, but didn't update the record. What neither of us spotted was that the new card had the same number but a new expiry date. A few days into the sailing the card declined, due to Cunard presenting the old expiry date, and it was as if I was in danger of forcing Cunard into liquidation, in terms of the letters and phone calls I got about the matter.  To be fair the Pursers desk had clearly seen this before, immediately suggested it was due to the expiry date and quickly fixed the problem.

 

Debit cards are problematic in this space compared to credit cards since the pre-authorisation process is detached from an open spend commitment, whereas the debit card companies are looking for a matching spend to clear off the authorisation. Same for car rentals, hotels, travel agents, it's not just cruise line companies.

 

So your better bet is to present a credit card at online and desk check-in. Then with occasional checks on myvoyage you can pay off your account when it gets above say $200 by visiting the Pursers desk, and make a final payment on the night before arrival. You can use your debit card for that transaction, no authorisations, while keeping the credit card in place and hopefully not in the end being charged on the credit card. Authorisations on credit cards typically drop off after 5 days and in any case you are not charged for not spending.