Credit Card Question

[darcydoodle]

Do you have to give your credit card number when on the ship? Can you not use cash?????:)

[Philob]

Do you have to give your credit card number when on the ship? Can you not use cash?????:)

 

Credit card not necessary, but you may be required to leave a cash deposit up front and settle your account periodically, especially at the end.

 

Good practice to check your account periodically with either cash or credit so you won't be surprised at the end.:eek:

[firefly333]

You dont pay in cash, you show your sea pass card, but as the other poster said you can settle your account with cash.

[bakechef]

Ships are cashless with the exception of the casino(and gratuities in some cases). You put down a credit card at check-in, you are issued a card that you use for everything (often doubles as a room key). If you have no credit card, you can go to the purser's desk and put down a cash deposit, which you can add to if needed. They will refund any unused money.

 

This makes for a very convenient cruise, all you need to carry is the card while on board, you can leave everything else in your safe.

 

There have been reports that pre-paid debit cards will not work. If you use your banks debit card connected to your checking account be prepared for them to place a hold on a certain amount of money, to make sure they get paid, these can stay in effect for days after your return, which can result in overdrafts if you don't have a lot of extra money in your account.

 

MAC

[kitty9]

OK, you don't need a credit card, but you must back your sign and sail card with something--and if you don't want to use a credit card (which is the easiest) you have to put down $250 pp in cash when you check in at the terminal. If you use up all that, you have to go down to the purser's desk and put more money on account. On the morning of disembarkation, you have to stand in a very long line to get any refund if you didn't use up all the money.

BTW, cruise ships are cashless once on board, with the exception of the casino.

[hammybee]

Policies vary by cruise line. Some require $X amount per day be deposited upfront, against potential onboard charges. It really is much easier to use a credit card.

[janetz]

Our daughter and her friend were told 300.00 pp to open a cash account for our cruise in may. :) I know people who have purchased enough onboard credits beforehand to use neither cc or cash.

[Attack Dog]

If you use a credit card instead of a cash deposit then you don't have to stand in line at the Pursur's Desk to settle your account at the end of the cruise.

[darcydoodle]

I understand that they put an initial how on your credit card or debit card athe the beginning of cruise. This will reduce the amount of available credit on your credit card. Does anyone know how much they hold? This board is so helpful. Thanks in advance.:)

[Attack Dog]

Good question. I don't know the answer but I would think it would depend on the lenght of the cruise and if tips are automatically charged to the credit card.

[Toyz711]

with a debit card, it can be really bad. it can take 30 days for the bank to release the hold..$300 to 500 can be unusable between the hold and the real charges coming through. more if your cruise bills goes up during the cruise.

credit cards holds don't usually stay on your card that long. but, yes, it can lower your limit. usually they just check to see if it's a open card with available funds. but if they do put a hold on it, funds will be held.

[andante]

Yes, you can use a credit card, but on princess...brits beware.. They convert final bill from dollars to £s at a rate of 1.75 to the pound...and then charge 3% for doing so!

 

Yes, you can tick a box asking for this not to happen, but I have read of many that have had the conversion done regardless.

 

For that reason I intend using a cash deposit 300 dollars pp.

[LHT28]

Yes, you can use a credit card, but on princess...brits beware.. They convert final bill from dollars to £s at a rate of 1.75 to the pound...and then charge 3% for doing so!

 

Yes, you can tick a box asking for this not to happen, but I have read of many that have had the conversion done regardless.

 

For that reason I intend using a cash deposit 300 dollars pp.

 

Go to the purser once onboard and make sure they have you down to bill in USD ..they do the same to Canadians.

I always check the next day to make sure we are not signed on the their conversion scheme

[agabbymama]

On our HAL cruise the cash amount was $30 per day, for a 7 day cruise that would be $210, for a 10 day cruise $300, per person.

 

You have to call the cruiseline and ask what the daily hold would be for a cash account.

 

I prefer to use the credit card for the hold, then pay the balance in cash the night before debarkation.

[pms4104]

On our HAL cruise the cash amount was $30 per day, for a 7 day cruise that would be $210, for a 10 day cruise $300, per person.

 

You have to call the cruiseline and ask what the daily hold would be for a cash account.

 

I prefer to use the credit card for the hold, then pay the balance in cash the night before debarkation.

Unless my brain is fuzzy, I think we've experienced a hold of $60 per person per day on our credit card ... for us the hold for a 10-day was $1200 total for 2 people.

[SC LTC]

i have a ? a friend is going on 15- nt to Hawaii with us different cabin, at the time of booking the cruise she had a credit card well it seems she max it out. from reading these posts she could put a limit with cash at the terminal is this right. were on the Diamond Princess. does anyone know how much cash to leave. thanks

[lovemylab]

I use a credit card to set up my onboard account and then pay it off in cash/travellers cheques before the end of the cruise. I like the convenience of having the account liked to a credit card as I don't have to continuously go to guest relations to add more money when I want to buy stuff.

 

If any fraud happens with your card you are protected by the credit card company anyways :)

[crzfrnds]

try to use a bank debit/credit card or even try to get fun dollars IN ADVANCE if you're using Carnival and have them put on your sign and sail before you even set foot on ship. Inspiration in May didn't accept ANY cash when getting your sign and sail card debarkation time and you wouldn't be able to put the CASH on your account until the following morning. I've used my debit/credit card with no problems at all with holds. I'm into true budget cruising and don't want to deal with bills when it's over. I DO recommend notifying whatever credit card company or bank card company you have that you will be traveling out of the country. I bugged my DH to do this before a recent fishing trip to Cabo and he didn't and it's a good thing he always carries cash with him. Have a wonderful cruise. Save money by getting refill drinks once you get your souvenir cup. You will save a fair amount of money if you like to drink that way. Stay away from the casino too unless you're taking a stash of coins with you!

[Quiverfull]

Our daughter and her friend were told 300.00 pp to open a cash account for our cruise in may. :) I know people who have purchased enough onboard credits beforehand to use neither cc or cash.

 

HOW does one purchase onboard credits??? Thank you.

 

try to use a bank debit/credit card or even try to get fun dollars IN ADVANCE if you're using Carnival and have them put on your sign and sail before you even set foot on ship.

 

What are fun dollars, and how does one acquire them??? Thank you!