Does anyone know about HAL's $60/day/person credit card "hold"?

[Kabana]

The daily hold does not apply to children unless you have their rooms keys programmed so they can charge to your room account.

[cruz chic]

These aren't the only ones paged. Last time I had a credit remaining. :eek: I was paged so the Front Desk could give me the cash. I would have been happy if they had just credited my credit card, but HAL wanted to give me the $.

That has happened to me as well. I don't know why they can't put it on your credit card.

[CowPrincess]

I **know** we are at the VERY low end of the scale for onboard spending. If you book your excursions while on board, ($50 or more each person, each excursion) and each have a cocktail in the bar before dinner ($7/person more or less), and a bottle of wine with dinner each night, plus the autotips, it's EASY to get to $60/day or $100/day. We pay for our excursions before boarding, and pay for a wine card before boarding. We never get close to $60/person onboard spending.

 

We don't worry about the hold on the credit card. We more or less figure "Whatever..." and "If that's what has to happen to get onboard, that's fine" :D

 

You sound like someone who would spend $60 a day on board the ship and thus would have no qualms with the pre-authorization amount.

 

Wow! That's a huge assumption.

[sk8teacher]

On our upcoming 50 day Grand Med and Black Sea cruise, we were informed that our hold would be $35 per day per person, and would be adjusted as necessary during the cruise.

 

So I would suspect that there is a cutoff based on the number of days. What it is however I don't know. On our 35 day cruise I am positive the hold was $60 per person per day.

 

Cheers,

[cruisequeen10]

And that is why I pay in cash.

[pms4104]

The daily hold does not apply to children unless you have their rooms keys programmed so they can charge to your room account.

I'm not certain that there is no hold for children. Consider that there is an $11/day Hotel Service Charge for ALL passengers and, before the fuel surcharge was rescinded, it applied in various amounts to ALL passengers. So, I would surmise HAL would put an appropriate hold for children on the credit card used for other cabin occupants.

[Alexat2]

Thanks for your post. I realize that cruise lines want reassurances that the bill will be paid, but I thought a $60/person/day hold is a little outrageous (although I'm sure lots of people spend more than that amount). quote]

 

:mad:The way HAL does it IS completely outrageous and sleezy. I've complained about this policy since they started it about 2 years ago - they used to do it the way everyone else does: An initial hold of around $200 and then they re-authorize as necessary. HAL IS THE ONLY LINE THAT DOES THIS DRACONIAN $60 PP DAY AUTH UPFRONT. Which for shorter cruises isn't a big deal, but when your average cruise is 25+ days... it's a bit much and sometimes more than I paid for the cruise. Can you imagine what it is for the world cruise?

 

It has nothing do with covering their butts, because it doesn't (unless it's a 4 days cruise). Most of the holds expire in 48 to 60 hours (depends on the CC company/bank) - AND THEY DO NOT REAUTHORIZE UNLESS YOU REQUEST CASH, then they only reauthorize the amount of the cash advance.

 

The initial hold is a SLEEZY psychological ploy and has everything to do with encouraging you to spend that $60 per day per person. I ALREADY KNOW EVERYONE ON THIS BOARD WITH A PLATINUM CARD THINKS I'M NUTS - I'm not, and if you like I can have a marketing person and a psychology professor explain it in detail.

 

It's aimed at the majority of passengers that live on a small budget for incidentals and only want to spend a set amount per cruise, usually far less than that $60 per day. It's much easier to get you to exceed what you want to spend and spend more if HAL already has you cough it up - even if it's just held for 48hours. You still had to come up with it - either as cash or as credit line - and it's still in the back of your mind it's there.

 

Let's say the hold is for a 30 day cruise is $1800 and you only want to spend $800 in onboard fun, tours, drinks, etc.... - If you've only put away that $800 you have to stick to it - but, thanks to HAL - you had to cough up $1800, that required hold they held for 48 hours. You're still determined to only spend a maximum of $800 BUT you've spent $775 and there's this really cool new tour they just added for $125 and you really want to go.... Well, you do have another $1000 available on your credit card (or in your checking account), oh - it's once in a lifetime, and I do have it available - OK, I'll go over my budget.

 

Oh, and I know, I'm nuts - Everyone that sails HAL has a platinum card with unlimited credit so the auth doesn't matter, and NO ONE on this forum WOULD EVER go over their planned budgets... because everyone around here never sucumbs to human nature... And HAL would NEVER do anything that crass and money grubbing...:confused:

 

Lydia

[Alexat2]

And that is why I pay in cash.

 

You know have to cough up the entire amount in cash - they're no longer excepting what you want to give them :mad:

 

Lydia

[pms4104]

I believe the credit card hold is for the duration of the cruise, not for only the 48 hours that you assert in your post.

 

Further, it doesn't matter what HAL's reasoning is ... that's their policy. And I'm guessing it has way more to do with HAL wanting to be paid for what passengers charge onboard than a psychological way to get people to spend more. A credit card hold is also commonplace with hotels, rental car companies, etc. Those entities, however, may not be as upfront about it as HAL.

 

Others have posted on this board that may be possible to make a cash deposit at the Front Desk in amounts that may be less than $60/day/person ... and HAL will contact you when your monies are near exhaustion.

 

We all have choices ... and if sailing a line that has a different hold policy is important, we all can choose our cruiseline accordingly.

[kryos]

The daily hold does not apply to children unless you have their rooms keys programmed so they can charge to your room account.

Oh, okay. Didn't realize that. As you can probably tell, I don't have kids. :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

Oh, and I know, I'm nuts - Everyone that sails HAL has a platinum card with unlimited credit so the auth doesn't matter, and NO ONE on this forum WOULD EVER go over their planned budgets... because everyone around here never sucumbs to human nature... And HAL would NEVER do anything that crass and money grubbing...:confused:

I have to disagree with you. I don't think HAL is being sleezy in this regard. They just want to make sure they are going to get paid. I can just imagine someone not having the available cash to pay their onboard bill on the last day of the cruise and HAL wants to make sure that doesn't happen.

 

I would imagine that if a large hold was going to be a problem, you could go to the front desk and explain that your onboard spending habits are not extravagant and could they please only take the hold for the first passenger in the cabin. They might be willing to work with you on that.

 

In my case, I've always let the $60 hold ride because I am the only one in the cabin in most cases, and my auto-tips alone are going to be $10 a day (as of my last cruise), leaving me $50 a day for possible spending (which is really not that much if you think about it). At the end of my cruises, my total spending always comes way below that $50 a day ... I think my last 35 day cruise my total was maybe about $1,300 ... and that was with the auto-tips.

 

And, as a side note ... no, I don't have a Platinum card. Wouldn't give AMEX what they want on annual fees for that card. I'll stick to my Gold Card. It's more than adequate for my somewhat modest needs.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[serendipity1499]

You know have to cough up the entire amount in cash - they're no longer excepting what you want to give them :mad:

 

Lydia

 

Don't believe you are correct..If one is paying cash you can opt to put down whatever amount you want..

Lets say you decide to put down $200 cash for a 7 day cruise...Once you are close to spending the $200, the front desk will contact you & advise that your cash deposit is running low..You can then opt to put more $$$ down..It's your choice..If you don't put any more down, then your charge privileges are canceled once you use up the entire deposit amount...

I've also been under the impression that each week HAL adjusts the $60 per day hold for those on longer cruises..In other words, if we take a 28 day day cruise the initial hold will be for $3360 for the two of us..Now lets say after the first week we've only spent $150..The hold will then be adjusted down to $2670 which is $60 per day for the remaining days & $150 already spent..I believe this is done every week..

Re your remark: "The way HAL does it IS completely outrageous and sleezy."

 

Why in the world would you cruise on a line which you consider to have outrageous & sleazy practices?:confused:

 

IMO there is nothing wrong with HAL's policy..It ensures that HAL gets their $$$ & our cruise fares will not significantly increase to pay for the "sins of the dead-beats"..;)

We've been on 14 cruises & have never been enticed to spend more than we can pay for! We've never come close to spending $60.00 per day pp ..

We use two Credit Cards...One we use as cash & charge everything on it..This is the one we give to HAL..The other one is a Capital One card which we use for purchases outside of the United States as they don't charge a currency exchange fee..All of our bills are auto deducted in full from our account every month..We even get 1% cash back on our purchases & 3 % back on gas purchases..

Betty

[jtl513]

What annoys me is not the hold, or the amount, but the fact that it stays as a "pending charge" on my account for up to 2 weeks after we're home from the cruise! That may be my bank doing that and not HAL, though.

[boards]

When does Hal process your account on a long cruise? For example a 28 day cruise, would they hold the entire on board charges to end of the cruise or process it, say weekly?

[MadManOfBethesda]

When does Hal process your account on a long cruise? For example a 28 day cruise, would they hold the entire on board charges to end of the cruise or process it, say weekly?

 

On a 28 day cruise, nothing would be processed until the end of the cruise.

[bailey57]

Actually, I won't be bring that kind of money. And even if I did bring $8000 cash with me, I'm certainly not going to hand it all over to them. The situation would be much better for a 7-day cruise because you'd only need to give them $420/person/cruise...that's a big difference than the $1980/person/cruise (and there's 4 of us) we need to deposit with them. Anyhow, I appreciate your response and have a great cruise next month.

 

 

Hi - I only said that because you said you settled your account in cash at the end rather than have charges on your CC. That would imply you carry cash... I was a little surprised you'd consider carrying that much cash! :eek: Glad to hear you don't. :D

 

I too agree that $60/day seems high, but that's probably not too far off for those who drink, etc. We've all been held up that last day hearing repeated requests for this person or that to come to the purser's desk... This is the only way to guarantee they get paid for incidentals without hold-ups to the cruiseline - who need to get everyone off and prepare for the next cruise. I always was dismayed by those announcements, wondering who the heck would think they didn't have to settle up before disembarking. My guess is that's where this policy came from...

[sapper1]

I understand--I do--the need for cruise lines to protect themselves; they are, after all a business. Just because I don't think I'll be spending $60/day on board the ship doesn't mean others won't, but I'm sure there are others that will spend much less (like just the $11/day tip). You sound like someone who would spend $60 a day on board the ship and thus would have no qualms with the pre-authorization amount. Kudos to you. I, on the other hand, would rather spend my money differently. Anyhow, my main reason for starting this thread was to get reassurances that my credit card would not be charged at the beginning of the cruise because I would not be home to pay it before the due date (and I don't even want to think about the interest on $8000), but it's turning out to be a discussion about how much the pre-authorization should be. Anyways, thanks for your response.

Just to set the record straight, we are not big spenders on board----just a few drinks every day and internet service. I just understand the need for the cruiselines to tie their pre-authourizations to the average amount spent and that was my reason for posting. It is good that you have received assurance that no actual charge will be made for that amount unless you actually spend it. I doubt that very many people would cruise if it were a real up-front charge to the card.

[kryos]

We pay for our excursions before boarding, and pay for a wine card before boarding. We never get close to $60/person onboard spending.

I use the same exact technique as you. Since I generally only take one cruise a year, I plan my cruise carefully, including deciding on what tours I may want to do. Then, over the six months or so preceding the cruise, I purchase them online as my budget allows. I also generally purchase a bottle of wine for the cabin and perhaps a cocktail card. This way everything is bought and paid for long before I get onboard, keeping my onboard expenses on the low side. That's exactly how I was able to get away with about a $1,300 onboard bill for a 35-day cruise. That didn't include the about $2,000 in shore excursions I did. :)

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

Sorry, duplicate post. :(

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kakalina]

We tend to take very long cruises. On the cruises we've taken of more than 4 weeks half way through the cruise we get a billing statement. That total of the first two weeks is then charged to the CC. They then start over for the next two weeks. It has always been done that way since we started taking the longer cruises.

 

To the OP: If I worry about the credit limit on my card on longer cruises I pay the card off and then overpay by a chosen amount. This effectively raises your limit temporarily. Example: I have a 15K limit I pay it off and overpay by 5K, now I have a 20K limit. It has worked for us before.

[LMHSRN]

Don't believe you are correct..If one is paying cash you can opt to put down whatever amount you want..

Lets say you decide to put down $200 cash for a 7 day cruise...Once you are close to spending the $200, the front desk will contact you & advise that your cash deposit is running low..You can then opt to put more $$$ down..It's your choice..If you don't put any more down, then your charge privileges are canceled once you use up the entire deposit amount...

I've also been under the impression that each week HAL adjusts the $60 per day hold for those on longer cruises..In other words, if we take a 28 day day cruise the initial hold will be for $3360 for the two of us..Now lets say after the first week we've only spent $150..The hold will then be adjusted down to $2670 which is $60 per day for the remaining days & $150 already spent..I believe this is done every week..

Re your remark: "The way HAL does it IS completely outrageous and sleezy."

 

Why in the world would you cruise on a line which you consider to have outrageous & sleazy practices?:confused:

 

IMO there is nothing wrong with HAL's policy..It ensures that HAL gets their $$$ & our cruise fares will not significantly increase to pay for the "sins of the dead-beats"..;)

We've been on 14 cruises & have never been enticed to spend more than we can pay for! We've never come close to spending $60.00 per day pp ..

We use two Credit Cards...One we use as cash & charge everything on it..This is the one we give to HAL..The other one is a Capital One card which we use for purchases outside of the United States as they don't charge a currency exchange fee..All of our bills are auto deducted in full from our account every month..We even get 1% cash back on our purchases & 3 % back on gas purchases..

Betty

 

Well, that was an advertisement if I ever heard one!

 

Thought this was not allowed on these boards!!!!

[LADYLAYLA]

Well, that was an advertisement if I ever heard one!

 

Thought this was not allowed on these boards!!!!

 

 

What's the advertising here -- the fact the poster mentioned Capital One card? It is a well known fact here that CO does not charge exchange fees - that's not advertising just stating a fact-- in regards to the % back -- that could be any card from Discover to Amex to Visa to MC and any brand within these days. I dont think a single card of mine is not some type of reward card.

[CowPrincess]

The initial hold is a SLEEZY psychological ploy and has everything to do with encouraging you to spend that $60 per day per person. I ALREADY KNOW EVERYONE ON THIS BOARD WITH A PLATINUM CARD THINKS I'M NUTS - I'm not, and if you like I can have a marketing person and a psychology professor explain it in detail.

 

Whether or not I have a platinum card has nothing to do with my opinion of your theories. IMHO (after decades of business experience) it has nothing to do with psychology, and everything to do with protecting themselves (HAL) from deadbeats.

 

It's aimed at the majority of passengers that live on a small budget for incidentals and only want to spend a set amount per cruise, usually far less than that $60 per day. It's much easier to get you to exceed what you want to spend and spend more if HAL already has you cough it up - even if it's just held for 48hours. You still had to come up with it - either as cash or as credit line - and it's still in the back of your mind it's there.

 

Do you honestly think that people can be so easily manipulated? That people will say to themselves "Well, we budgeted $40 each per day, but seeing as HAL has insisted they "hold" $60/day we'll just blow our budget -- after all HAL already has our money so we should give up any hope of getting it back"?

 

 

Oh, and I know, I'm nuts - Everyone that sails HAL has a platinum card with unlimited credit so the auth doesn't matter, and NO ONE on this forum WOULD EVER go over their planned budgets... because everyone around here never sucumbs to human nature... And HAL would NEVER do anything that crass and money grubbing...

 

Your comments regarding people on this forum speak more to your perceptions than to the reality of the people who are on this forum. Some are wealthy, some have platinum cards, some are working hard to afford a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. Some are cruising to fulfill a family member's dream. Some have had to cancel their cruises because of new economic realities, but still hang out here to get a vicarious cruising "fix".

 

If you truly think it is sleazy, crass and money-grubbing, why do you continue to cruise with HAL? I work at being an informed consumer and when a company's values and behaviours do not align with my personal values, I do not support them. Perhaps that would be the best approach for you if you feel that a corporation's policy is "sleazy".

[MadManOfBethesda]

We tend to take very long cruises. On the cruises we've taken of more than 4 weeks half way through the cruise we get a billing statement. That total of the first two weeks is then charged to the CC. They then start over for the next two weeks. It has always been done that way since we started taking the longer cruises.

 

That's interesting because that is not what happened to me on the 30-day Ryndam South Pacific cruise I took last month. Although we received a statement half-way through the cruise, that amount was not charged to my credit card. I only had one charge on my AmEx (oops, hope no one considers that an advertisement :p) which was posted upon debarkation and reflected the final bill. Since this was my first cruise of more than 10 days, I have no idea whether this is s.o.p. or an anomalie.

[MadManOfBethesda]

:mad: I ALREADY KNOW EVERYONE ON THIS BOARD WITH A PLATINUM CARD THINKS I'M NUTS .

 

You're right.