Paying cash for onboard account

[hockeymum]

I am a Canadian who has already been burned once with the exchange rate on our credit card payment. Can I refuse to give a credit card on board and give them american cash upfront and get a refund if I don't spend all the cash.

Has anyone done this?

[zaandam_2]

yes, you can.

[vince_g]

You will still have to register a credit card, but if you deposit enough cash at the purser's desk to cover your onboard account, your card won't be charged. They will refund you if you are overpaid (at least they do on Carnival).

[cruisinbuddy]

No problem at all, you put a bunch of cash on your account and they'll let you know when you need to put more on. You gotta love the fuel surcharge thing too. $35.00 for Americans and @ $40.25 for Canadians, it's the exchange rate. Too bad that couldn't be put on your Seapass card so you could pay US.

[dutchess43]

In regards to the fuel surcharge I cannot understand why your paying more in canadian dollars then we are(US currency) due to the fact that our dollar has dropped in value. Has any of the Canadians questioned this?

[ancldaca]

An old trick I learned when I worked in hotels: the best course of action is to register with an American Express (or Diners Club if that still exists) since there's technically no credit limit. Charge to your ship-board account freely and then settle up with cash at the end.

 

Whenever you check in with a credit card (Visa, MasterCard) the ship/hotel will get an approval equal to what THEY think you are likely to spend on-board (say $100/day/person = $1400/couple for a 7 day cruise). This "hold" will remain on your card and count against your available credit until the hold expires (because you paid the charges in cash) since very few companies actually go through the hassle of cancelling the hold when it isn't ultimately used. The hold period used to be 2 weeks but this may have changed in the past 8 years for all I know.