Question for someone who did Sunset Beach

[cujosmom]

I have a question for someone who is recently back from Sunset Beach. On one of the threads, the person said you have to leave your sea pass card with the desk clerk. I am a little concerned over this for a couple of reasons:

 

1. What happens if the desk clerk misplaces it or gives it to someone else by mistake (or say they never received it in the first place:eek: )

2. Is it possible our sea pass cards have more than our name and photo. IE: credit card and passport information that could be accessed by the magnetic strip. We have been victims of identity theft this past year and this makes me a little nervous.

3. Do you think they would put a $$ "hold" on a credit card (like hotels do when you check in) or accept some other form of identification other than taking our sea pass card?

 

We really want to do Sunset Beach but am a little concerned about relinquishing our sea pass cards to them.

 

Any ideas?

[tarbashchaputi]

Good point you raise. We too have been victims of this exact scenario. Now you have me concerned, but it is a valid concern.

Brian

[cruisinqt]

We were in Montego Bay at Sunset Beach Resort only a month ago. When we left our cards at the front desk they put it in a sealed envelope with our names on it. When we left, a staff member retrieved the envelope for us and walked us out of the resort and back to the gatehouse. I've read a number of reviews of Sunset Beach Resort and every review was very positive. If there was a problem with the "leaving the card" thing, we would have heard about it by now.

 

Sunset is not just a run of the mill normal hotel. It's an upscale resort with quality people. You feel safe there. The people there look well to do, including the staff members. I felt like I was at a Sandals resort or something.:)

 

And those cruise I.D. cards are only recognized by the ship's computers and will only work on the ship. The I.D. card is not like a regular credit card or anything. There is no way for a person to just go up and retrieve the info. off of the card. Only an employee of the ship would be able to do that.

 

If someone at Sunset actually did steal your cruise I.D. card, they couldn't even get on the ship to use it. Because in order to get back on the ship you have to present your cruise I.D. card which is then scanned. When they scan it, your picture pops up. If the person presenting the card does not look like the one in the picture, they're in BIG trouble!:eek:

 

I don't think they will take money or a hold on your credit card instead of the cruise I.D. card. That's because they are not holding your cruise I.D. card for it's monetary value, it has no monetary value for them and is useless to them. They are holding it to keep it safe for you. Can you imagine how many cruisers have probably lost their cruise I.D. cards in the water, sandy beach, or elsewhere at the resort? I can only imagine the chaos that ensues when some careless cruiser loses their card. And without it you can't get back on the ship!:eek: I'm sure this rule was put into effect for our own protection so that we'd have a positive experience and keep coming back.

[winkle]

we just got back from a cruise on November 13th and stopped at Sunset Beach for the day. there was 8 or us and we all left our sea cards in a sealed envelope at the guard gate. At the end of the day, we all got them back. They have been doing this for a long time and they cannot afford to take or steal anyones cards! Sunset Beach is great, very secure and at $20.

for all the food and drink it is a bargain, beach was clean and lovely. I would not hesitate to go!!

[tarbashchaputi]

I would tend to agree with you after reading this. If there was a problem there, it would have been raised in this forum I am sure.

 

Brian

[zydecocruiser]

I would like to think the card doesn't have the photo information. If it did, it would be easier to forge one.

 

Actually, I think one of the reasons they want your cruise card is that they give a discount to cruisers over what they charge others for a day pass.

 

If are really, really, really paranoid, you could claim you lost you cruise card while on the ship and get a new one issued with a different folio/id number. Then you could use the old card as collateral.

 

Of course, if a whole bunch of people do this, ship security is going to suspect something, as they will be if you try to use the wrong card on ship.

 

Hmmm, I wonder if there is a market for knock off cruise cards on eBay??

[cruisinqt]

Actually, if all they needed your cruise I.D. card for was to prove that you were a cruiser, then they would just look at it and give it back to you. Although you are right about the discount for cruisers. People off of the street are charged $45 whereas cruisers are charged only $20.:) They keep it for another reason, and it can't be for money since only the ships computer will recognize the card. I am quite sure they keep it for you so you won't lose it and raise heck. They want the cruisers to have a good time and keep coming back. The $20 doesn't seem like much to us, but $20 US dollars is a whole lot to them. Look at the conversion charts for Jamaican money versus US money and you'll see what I mean. One American dollar will get you one Jamaican fifty dollar bill.:(

 

Though we still do have our cruise ID cards from our last cruise and could still use them as ID when we go to Sunset next time. But I feel safe and am not going to worry about it. The card is useless to them and they are just keeping it safe for you. I think it's better to have it behind the desk than with me on the beach and in the water.;)

[Izzy Bee]

My thought....after seeing the guards at the gate..and then giving our sign and sail cards, I knew that they (Sunset) knew who was exactly on their grounds at any given time should anything happen. It was an extremely safe, well guarded area. Just my thought bout it!