sign and sail account

[alabamacruiser]

I was reading carnival's website and it stated that for 8 day cruises you are required to put a deposit of $350 pp deposit on your account. Does this mean you have to put a deposit for your children also? If so, for a family of 4 it will cost $1400.00 - correct?? Thanks!:eek:

[Chat Noir]

From the Carnival Website FAQ Sail and Sign:

 

A hold will be placed on the credit card or checking account debit card at the beginning of the cruise as a deposit for an onboard purchases. This will reduce the amount of available credit on the credit card or restrict the availability of cash in the checking account. The hold will be released and actual charges will be billed at the end of the cruise.

The following dollar amounts, per guest, are used as a deposit and placed as a hold on the credit card when the Sail & Sign Account is opened:

 

8+ day; $350

 

OR

 

 

U.S. Currency and traveler's checks are accepted as a form of deposit to open a Sail & Sign Account at the start of the cruise. As the guest approaches the deposit limit, the Information Desk will notify the guest that additional money must be deposited. The following deposits are required per guest:

 

5-8 day cruises: $200 deposit pp

 

So, unfortunately YES, a deposit will be held by Carnival, reducing your spending limit on your credit card, if you choose to use a credit card. If you prefer to pay the deposit by cash or traveler's checks, your credit card will not be placed on hold, and Carnival will not allow you to go over your deposit on spending.

 

Carnival has autotipping, which is $10 per day, per person, including children charged to the Sail & Sign.

 

If you use your credit card, remember that you could be denied a charge off ship if your limit is exceeded, just because you have that $1400 hold. At the end of the cruise your credit card will be charged for the autotips ($320 for 4 people for 8 days) and any purchases you have made while on board, and the hold will be released.

 

If you choose to go the cash/traveler's check route, you will need to take $800 for the deposit ($200 per person). At the end of the cruise, if you spend nothing out of your S&S, you should have $480 refunded. Your autotips of $320 (for 4 people) will come out of the original $800. If you purchase items in the gift shop, drinks, etc, those will also be deducted. You will be informed when your deposit is close to being used up, so you can add to it if need be.

 

I do hope this helps to clear up your question. It is all kind of confusing, and I myself remember thinking, NO WAY, when I was researching our first cruise with Carnival last year and found this policy. Thank you for bringing it up, as I need to go see what the Princess policies are for our upcoming cruise next month!

[thecoop]

Yes, a hold will be placed on a credit card. You can go to the ship without a card and give traveler's checks in lieu of it. But who carries that much just to leave as a deposit. We have one card we never ever use except for the cruise. We never run up anything mor than a fe hundred on it and pay it off at the end of the month. All cruise lines do this to make sure that you do not try to skip out (not that you will be getting off the ship without paying your account) without paying.

[Cotton]

I was reading carnival's website and it stated that for 8 day cruises you are required to put a deposit of $350 pp deposit on your account. Does this mean you have to put a deposit for your children also? If so, for a family of 4 it will cost $1400.00 - correct?? Thanks!:eek:

 

Since you asked about deposits (not holds), YES, the deposit is per person.:)

[neoNgemm]

Even your children??? I ask because we have 5 children going with us. I don't want them spending money without me knowing about it! :cool:

[Cotton]

Neo, you may be confused. The OP is asking if each passenger must put up the deposit to secure the booking. The answer is yes, each and every passenger (including children) must pay the deposit.

 

Now - if you're asking about the 'spending privileges' on the Sign & Sail card....

Every passenger gets a S&S card. You can let them know at the purser's desk that your children are NOT ALLOWED to make purchases with their cards - and their cards will be coded as such. So - in essence, this means that if your children try to purchase something on the ship with their S&S card, they will be denied. That should ease your mind.

[Chat Noir]

Actually, for the OP's original question, it is either a deposit or hold. The pp amount for DEPOSIT is $200. The pp amount for HOLD is $350. The question is a mix between the two, giving the amount as though they wish to have a hold placed on their credit card, but calling it a deposit which would be placed for cash/travelers check. There is a difference, although I don't know why...:)

[cherylandtk]

Say Cotton, although the OP used the term deposit, the title of the thread is specific to the S&S cards, so what they MEANT to discuss is the hold on credit cards (or cash/TC deposit) for the Sail and Sign accounts. But your info about booking deposits is correct...

 

To neongemm--yep, you will need to place a deposit amount or credit card hold for everyone, although if you make your kids' cards door keys only, the cruise line can limit the amount of 'their' holds to just the $10/day/person gratuities. (7 days x 5 kids x $10= $350 plus the std. amounts for Mom and Dad)

 

But do be aware that the kids will be constantly looking for you and your card to make any purchases; you cannot turn their charge privileges on and off. You will have to make any actual purchases on your card for them.

[auntmommy]

We are sailing 8/28 on Carnival Holiday, my DH and my daughter of 12. We have a very limited amount for this vacation and cannot afford a deposit and do not have a credit card. Our TA did not warn us of this at all. If we use our funds for the S&S cards, we will not be able to leave the ship! How much does one actually use ON THE SHIP??? We wanted to enjoy the pools and sun and use our funds for seeing Mexico! I was also told nightly shows are included, am I naive? I am now extremely anxious we made a big mistake booking this vacation! PLEASE HELP!