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

[wander]

On each of our 30+ day cruises (4) the past few years we have received a mid-cruise bill but were given the option of clearing it or carrying it over to the end of the cruise. We never have actually had shipboard expenses appear on our card until the end of the cruise.

[Jade13]

 

: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. And HAL would NEVER do anything that crass and money grubbing...:confused:

 

Lydia

 

Lydia, how is this different than a hotel putting a hold on your credit card for a week stay or the rental car company doing the same?

 

There are exceptions but the majority of people probably should not be cruising if they do not have this much credit ($60.00 per day or $120.00 per couple). Sorry, but someone asked and HAL used to get burned by people not paying their bills.

[vbmom87]

I agree that $60 pp/day is too much, especially for such a long cruise. My husband and I were on a 14 day cruise and spent less than $600 onboard the whole trip. .

 

My DH and I were on a 7 day cruise (our first) in June and our tab at the end (not including the tip) was $28 total for the two of us for 7 days. We are not big spenders. ;) However, I had no qualms about HAL wanting to have a hold on our credit card. I fully understood where they were coming from. As already mentioned, it is simply a good business practice. If the cruiseline does not have this kind of assurance, they could end up losing so much money. That said, it does seem like they should have a slightly different policy for the extended trips.

[nitnyleo]

Nevermind

[GeriatricNurse]

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.

 

 

 

Well, on our recent HAL 30-Day Hawaii & French Polynesian Islands cruise, we received an "interim" statement 10 days into the cruise and then a "final" statement at the completion of our 30-Day cruise! What would be the reason(s) for the "interim" statement 10 days into the cruise?

[mountainmare]

 

Lydia, how is this different than a hotel putting a hold on your credit card for a week stay or the rental car company doing the same?

 

There are exceptions but the majority of people probably should not be cruising if they do not have this much credit ($60.00 per day or $120.00 per couple). Sorry, but someone asked and HAL used to get burned by people not paying their bills.

 

Again --from the strange person who lives a cash only life--not having enough credit does not always mean not having anough money...and for a longer trip we don't have $120pp/pd credit. Not a big issue for us, but it does influence our cruising habits.

[serendipity1499]

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

 

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

 

What in heavens name are you talking about?:confused:

Since we live in the same town & you are an RN with LMHS I would expect that you would be intelligent enough to read & understand Cruise Critic Rules..

There is nothing in the rules which state you cannot discuss Credit Cards..And most everyone on CC knows that Capitol One is probably one of the the only Credit cards that does not charge a currency exchange fee..

As a matter of fact I learned about the Capitol One card right here on Cruise Critic years ago....

Betty

P.S. I do not & never have worked for Capital one..

[naturetchr]

I realize that my DH and I are not the norm but we don't own a credit card. We had to commit the funds through our debit card and tie up our only account. That means between the time of booking and the trip our account can not fall below $840.00. That is not a norm for us and we are working around the difficulty because we really want to go on this cruise for our anniversary. After saving the money to do so it seems that costs keep adding up and what we have heard is true. Cruises are not for the average income American. We have already surpassed the cost of every vacation we have taken in 35 years including one to Europe. I hope it is worth it!

[MadManOfBethesda]

I realize that my DH and I are not the norm but we don't own a credit card. We had to commit the funds through our debit card and tie up our only account. That means between the time of booking and the trip our account can not fall below $840.00. That is not a norm for us and we are working around the difficulty because we really want to go on this cruise for our anniversary.

 

Assuming that the $840 to which you referred is the $60 per person hold on a 7-day cruise, there is nothing for you deal with at this point. The hold is not placed on your debit card funds until you actually board the ship. It is not placed at the time of booking. Consequently, you don't need to worry about not falling below that threshold now.

 

P.S. Happy Anniversary!

[VROOM]

We recently sailed on HAL and although i have a massive limit on my credit card i experienced problems as they made an error with the expiry date as in Australia it is month then year and they did it the opposite way. consequently i ended up with a hold for double the amount on my card, then when you factoed in the US to AUD exchange it was almost 4 times as the exchange was about 55cents at the time. I know this was defintely the case as i checked my balance on the internet at one of the ports and the available credit was less about 16000, i am sure you can guess i was a bit less than impressed. To top it off because they had a problem they then stopped my cruise card which became very embarrasing when i couldn't even buy a drink to have with dinner that night. When they have people on the front desk who cannot speak or understand english and then some arrogant Dutch to top it off with no apologies. I will say that i think the ships are lovely, the cabin and dining room staff are fabulous but there front desk staff have customer service that is unfortuanately rememberable for all the wrong reasons and i am being polite. There was also a very major Technical Challenge ( thats how they describe it when they hit something on the way into port and bend the prop shaft) while we were on the ship which made what had been a lovely cruise for 7 days a nightmare for the other 8 as we could not even conduct a conversation in our room when the ship was underway due to the vibration and the noise. Things fell off the side tables onto the floor due to the vibration but according to the captain "that is a fact of life" . I hope HAL read this as i was not impressed by there offer of restitution and they need to do more if they think i will cruise on their ship again. so the lesson is make sure you use a credit card that you can afford for them to stuff up the hold on as you cannot count on the customer service at the front desk. It is only a hold but it will affect your available balance.

 

Maree

Albury Australia

[kyriecat]

I realize that my DH and I are not the norm but we don't own a credit card. We had to commit the funds through our debit card and tie up our only account. That means between the time of booking and the trip our account can not fall below $840.00. That is not a norm for us and we are working around the difficulty because we really want to go on this cruise for our anniversary. After saving the money to do so it seems that costs keep adding up and what we have heard is true. Cruises are not for the average income American. We have already surpassed the cost of every vacation we have taken in 35 years including one to Europe. I hope it is worth it!

I don't know how they work with debit cards, but on credit cards, the hold does not disappear when they run your final transaction. On my credit card, the hold amount did not come off my card until 5 days after I got back. I was on a 14-day cruise so for two of us, we had a hold of $1680 placed on the card. The day we left ship, we had a charge of $700 on the card to reflect our actual expenses. If debit cards work the same way, you really need to have enough in your account to cover the hold amount plus what you actually plan to spend.

 

In your case, it sounds like a cash account is a better option. I haven't done it, but several other people have and can probably answer any questions that you have. You put a deposit amount in cash (or traveler checks) on your account when you board. If you get close to spending that amount, the front office will ask you to add additional funds to your account (again using either cash or traveler checks). I don't think they will accept a personal check. On the last morning, you will have to go to the front office before 7 AM and either get your extra money or else pay any balance due.

 

Don't forget to include the $10 per person per day service charge in your cruise budgeting. HAL automatically adds this to your account onboard. Have a lovely anniversary trip!

[mom&me_cruising]

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.

Lydia

 

I for one would like to have the marketing person and psychology professor explain this.

 

I just don't understand. A hold on my credit card does not change my spending habit and make me spend up to the hold. :confused: Always good to learn/understand something new.

[cruz chic]

Don't forget to include the $10 per person per day service charge in your cruise budgeting. HAL automatically adds this to your account onboard.

It's actually $11 per person now.

[Mary Ellen]

I just don't understand. A hold on my credit card does not change my spending habit and make me spend up to the hold. :confused: Always good to learn/understand something new.

I'm with you. This hold have NO effect on our on-board spending. I'm sure HAL wishes we even spent half of the 'hold' amount.

 

I'm also up to learn/understand something I have no concept about.

[The Tsar]

I do not understand why all the commotion about the hold is, it is not as if they are actually charging that amount.

 

We are also going on a 33 day cruise, so the hold will be $3960 - So what, the actual amount is not charged until the end of the cruise. Even if the were to hold $100 per, that would only be $6600 on paper - In the end, only $726 will be charged to the credit card for the "optional" gratuities, unless you chose to spend more - and $0 if you do not wish to pay gratuities.

[pms4104]

I do not understand why all the commotion about the hold is, it is not as if they are actually charging that amount.

 

We are also going on a 33 day cruise, so the hold will be $3960 - So what, the actual amount is not charged until the end of the cruise. Even if the were to hold $100 per, that would only be $6600 on paper - In the end, only $726 will be charged to the credit card for the "optional" gratuities, unless you chose to spend more - and $0 if you do not wish to pay gratuities.

Amen!

[kyriecat]

I do not understand why all the commotion about the hold is, it is not as if they are actually charging that amount.

 

We are also going on a 33 day cruise, so the hold will be $3960 - So what, the actual amount is not charged until the end of the cruise. Even if the were to hold $100 per, that would only be $6600 on paper - In the end, only $726 will be charged to the credit card for the "optional" gratuities, unless you chose to spend more - and $0 if you do not wish to pay gratuities.

I think the issue for some people is access to credit. Some keep low credit limits (say $10,000) for emergencies and only have 1 credit card. If HAL puts a hold of $3960 on your card, you have $6040 left in your available credit. While on your cruise, you go on excursions, do some shopping, eat at a restaurant or two, etc. and spend another $3500 on your card. Now your available credit is $2540. Your actual onboard expenses come to $2000. HAL now charges your card, but the hold remains in place for a few days. You now only have $540 of available credit left on your card. You plan to spend a couple days at your post-cruise destination and rent a car. The hold from HAL could take up to 5 days to get removed from your card. In the mean time, you try to pay $300 for the hotel, $150 for the car, and another $200 for miscellaneious. That's $650, but you only had $540 left in available credit. OOPS! That means credit card DENIED! :(

 

The above scenario is more of a concern now since credit cards are dropping people who don't use their cards often enough and cutting back on credit limits. I've had two of my cards reduce my credit limits in the past few months. I never spent anywhere close to the limit so it wasn't a major issue, but I have more than one credit card. I know some people who only have one that they rarely use. Also some people only use a debit card rather than a credit card. Using a debit card in the above scenario, you not only have a denied card, but also the potential for bouncing checks and racking up fees while HAL has a hold on your checking account money.

 

Other cruiselines (RC and X are the ones I have experience with) only put an initial hold of $25 per person per day on your card. Also, from my past experince, RC's hold tends to drop within 24 hours of the final charge. I don't know what HAL does differently with the holds since their took 5 days to drop off my account.

[The Tsar]

I think the issue for some people is access to credit. Some keep low credit limits (say $10,000) for emergencies and only have 1 credit card. If HAL puts a hold of $3960 on your card, you have $6040 left in your available credit. While on your cruise, you go on excursions, do some shopping, eat at a restaurant or two, etc. and spend another $3500 on your card. Now your available credit is $2540. Your actual onboard expenses come to $2000. HAL now charges your card, but the hold remains in place for a few days. You now only have $540 of available credit left on your card. You plan to spend a couple days at your post-cruise destination and rent a car. The hold from HAL could take up to 5 days to get removed from your card. In the mean time, you try to pay $300 for the hotel, $150 for the car, and another $200 for miscellaneious. That's $650, but you only had $540 left in available credit. OOPS! That means credit card DENIED! :(

 

The above scenario is more of a concern now since credit cards are dropping people who don't use their cards often enough and cutting back on credit limits. I've had two of my cards reduce my credit limits in the past few months. I never spent anywhere close to the limit so it wasn't a major issue, but I have more than one credit card. I know some people who only have one that they rarely use. Also some people only use a debit card rather than a credit card. Using a debit card in the above scenario, you not only have a denied card, but also the potential for bouncing checks and racking up fees while HAL has a hold on your checking account money.

 

Other cruiselines (RC and X are the ones I have experience with) only put an initial hold of $25 per person per day on your card. Also, from my past experince, RC's hold tends to drop within 24 hours of the final charge. I don't know what HAL does differently with the holds since their took 5 days to drop off my account.

 

I have only two credit cards - $10,000 & $20,000 limits with $0 balances, used ONLY as a last resort. I prefer CASH, when ever possible.

 

I am from the "old school" - If you can not pay cash for it, you can not afford it.

[Roz]

Tsar,

 

I'm from the not-so-old school, and am working on converting to cash only. However, I do bring a credit card with me wherever I travel. I don't keep thousands of dollars in my checking account; the bulk of my money is in savings. So, if I were to encounter an emergency situation on a cruise, I would use my credit card. When I got home, I would transfer funds and pay off the credit card immediately. I'm sure I'm not the only person who doesn't regularly have access to thousands of dollars via my debit card.

 

Roz

[kyriecat]

I have only two credit cards - $10,000 & $20,000 limits with $0 balances, used ONLY as a last resort. I prefer CASH, when ever possible.

 

I am from the "old school" - If you can not pay cash for it, you can not afford it.

Maybe you misunderstood my posting. I'm not saying people can't afford to pay their onboard accounts. I'm saying some people can't afford to have the hold amount PLUS the actual amount tied up for a period of days, especially if they need their checking account or credit card money for other expenses. If it was only the actual amount spent onboard, I don't think people would have an issue. It also sounds like many people either didn't understand the implications or weren't aware of the hold amount.

 

I guess I'm "new school" because I have 4 credit cards, 1 debit card, and on a good day have $20 cash in my pocket. I rarely carry much cash. I pay everything with my credit card and just pay the balance off each month. I don't have a problem doing that. To me it's easier to swipe a card than write out a check or count out the cash.

 

I have friends who only have 1 debit card or else have a single credit card with a low limit (<$10K). They will have $200-$300 in cash on them at all times because that is all they use for purchases. I understand their point of view, even though mine is different.

[joelamp]

I guess I'm "new school" because I have 4 credit cards, 1 debit card, and on a good day have $20 cash in my pocket. I rarely carry much cash. I pay everything with my credit card and just pay the balance off each month. I don't have a problem doing that. To me it's easier to swipe a card than write out a check or count out the cash.

 

Yes, I guess I am "new school" too - I rarely carry much cash. I have a couple of credit cards, though I rarely use them except for travel, car rental, etc.. Most of my day-to-day purchasing is via debit card for the sheer convenience. I do double takes when I see someone writing a check at the grocery store nowadays.

 

Makes it easy for me to adapt to the "cashless society" on HAL ships...

 

I don't have a problem with HAL putting a $60/day/person hold on a credit card because (a) they tell you about it in advance, (b) hotels and car rental companies do the same and © it is an understandable business practice so that they do not get stiffed by their customers.

[NCPDCBOP]

Regarding the "hold"...it WILL impact your credit card. For the length of the cruise that card will have $1200.00 less available credit. I.E. if you have a $5000. credit limit and decide to buy a piece of jewelry in port that costs $4000. you're credit company will deny the purchase as your "usable" credit is only $3800.

That is what a hold is. I spoke with an HAL rep and she said if you feel the $60.00 is too high then when you get on board you can have that amount reduced. In our case we're lucky if our statement at the end of a 10 day cruise is $500.00. We just don't spend that much.

Car rental agencies have been doing the "hold" thing for a long time. Also, the credit card company may take 30 days to release the hold. So, check with them even though you paid your onboard account in full.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Quite true

 

A few years ago we had a honeymoon couple on our cruise who had no idea that HAL had put a $60 per day hhold on their credit card and the hotel they were going to for a week after the cruise had done the same thing.

 

In one of the ports they went to charge something they were refused!!

 

They were crying in the Neptune Lounge -- the concierges and front office could do nothing for them.

[cruz chic]

Quite true

 

They were crying in the Neptune Lounge -- the concierges and front office could do nothing for them.

Sounds like they are living well above their means. It's hard to have any sympathy. I'd love to travel in a Suite...but I can't justify that. It's a treat for me to have an Oceanview room. I have plentry of available credit because I live within my means. People have to take responsibility for thier actions.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We were able to hear some of the conversation -- seems the Deluxe suite was a honeymoon gift from one of the parents.

But no one thought about them spending and the credit card holds.

So they maxed out quickly.

When we got to Cozumel they were the first ones off the ship -- we watched as they both hit the telephones and were calling home. Guess they needed one of the parents to help them out.