Holds on Debit Card

[Cre]

How much of a hold does Carnival place on your debit card for your

sail and sign card per day? I'll be on a 3 day cruise.

[cmecruise1962]

They didn't hold anything on mine!! And they never have...in fact it took about 3 days before they posted the charges!

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

It isn't a per day charge. I don't remember the exact amount but it is listed under the FAQ's on their website. I think it is $250 for the entire cruise and it may take a week or so for the hold to be dropped off after they submit the billing. Some people have said they were overdrawn because of the holds. I personally would never use my debit card. I use a credit card and it is easier to dispute any charges.

[firefly333]

Iv never seen them put a hold on my card, and I used to use a debit card all the time and check it online. ... some say they had a small amount pending, something odd like $7.83 that changes once it goes thru, so they may try a small pending charge to make sure your card is ok, but it doesnt go thru. seems to vary.

 

Maybe if you spend more they try a bigger charge to make sure your card works??

[fllady61]

How much of a hold does Carnival place on your debit card for your

sail and sign card per day? I'll be on a 3 day cruise.

 

 

I have never had them put a HOLD on my debit card the first day. but then again, we pre pay gratuitys, and that would be why they put a hold on your card. so if anything, it would be 60$ if 2 of you on the cruise. figure 30$ for the cruise per person.

 

I have always checked my account on line a couple of times during the cruise to make sure I am not going over my limit.

 

have a great time.

[firefly333]

It isn't a per day charge. I don't remember the exact amount but it is listed under the FAQ's on their website. I think it is $250 for the entire cruise and it may take a week or so for the hold to be dropped off after they submit the billing. Some people have said they were overdrawn because of the holds. I personally would never use my debit card. I use a credit card and it is easier to dispute any charges.

 

I havent seen this, do you have a link, Id be interested. This sounds like the amount of a cash deposit you need to make on a 7 day cruise if you are not putting up a credit or debit card ... but I havent seen that it says they will hold this much on a debit card in the FAQs. Never happened to me.... and Im speaking from experience.

[fllady61]

It isn't a per day charge. I don't remember the exact amount but it is listed under the FAQ's on their website. I think it is $250 for the entire cruise and it may take a week or so for the hold to be dropped off after they submit the billing. Some people have said they were overdrawn because of the holds. I personally would never use my debit card. I use a credit card and it is easier to dispute any charges.

 

 

this was the old guidelines. now they just take your card.

[Shipshape7]

When DH and I were picking up the tab our kids we were never even aware that the cruise lines were doing this (assuming they were - we had no way to tell). We don't spend much on the S&S or gamble and our credit is good. We only became aware of this practice when our son first paid his own way. He was 21 without much credit history (although he had a good job) and he enjoys the casino. NCL put a $500 hold on his credit card (even though he had settled up and owed them nothing when he left the ship:confused:). It took him two weeks of calling back and forth between NCL and his bank to get them to "let go" of his funds! In the meantime, he had to borrow the money to pay for things like his monthly commuter railroad ticket so he could get to his job in the city!

[salty dingo]

Don't rely totally on those who say there is no hold. I just got my cruise documents yesterday, and this is taken verbatim from them:

 

CREDIT AND DEBIT CARD HOLD

 

An initial hold will be placed on your credit card or debit card (checking account) at the beginning of the cruise as a deposit for on board purchases. Additional holds will occur through the course of the cruise for every onboard purchase until the total charge is billed at the end of the cruise. This will reduce the amount of available credit on your credit card or restrict the availability of cash in your checking account, should you wish to use the same credit card / debit card elsewhere. Any remaining hold after the end of the cruise will automatically be released by your issuing bank within 72 working hours.

 

 

It does not say how much the hold it, but I expect it would equal the amount they expect you to charge to your account.

[firefly333]

I have seen some small pending charges, but never anything for instance equal to the tips that were charged. Wierd amounts pending ... made no sense.. I said I have seen pending amounts, but never anything nice and round like $250, but they may have had a hold I didnt know about in addition to the wierd pending amount.

[AZ Karaoke Girl]

If you have lots of money in your checking account, you probably wouldn't even know there was a hold on your account. If you live payday to payday, it could be an issue for some that are relying on the money to be there to pay bills. According to CCL website, there is a hold placed on cards. Thats all I'm saying. Their website says there is. I don't know personally cuz I'm not one that pays with debit and wouldn't know if a hold was put on my account or not.

[salty dingo]

As I understand it, a charge is authorized at the time it is made, and later that charge is put through, referencing the authorization number. That guarantees to the merchant that there will be funds available to pay the charge when it posts, which could be a while after the transaction occurred.

 

I have not heard anyone report that there was a big hold placed for charges that may occur. I think they just put holds on as they occur. The auto-tips charged to the account are likely the biggest items; but if you charge some nice excursions to your ship account, that could be a big hold also.

 

So, you would need to make sure you had $140 in your account for tips (assuming 2 people and a 7 days cruise) and add whatever you plan to spend on board.

 

If you are really concerned, you can withdraw cash from your account before you leave home, and use that money to secure your account. There is no hold involved in that case.

[ehfl]

I would use a credit card instead of a debit card. I pre-pay the amount I think I'm going to spend. It's much easier to dispute a credit card transaction if there is a problem. Once the money is gone from your bank account, it's harder to get back.

 

If there is identity theft, you're covered with a credit card. If the thief drains your bank account via debit card....the money's gone....you may be able to get it back, but it's much harder.

[G'ma]

Here's the link to Carnival's FAQ explaining the shipboard account and how it works:

 

http://www.carnival.com/CMS/FAQs/Sail_And_Sign_On_Board_Account.aspx

[KULPN]

I would use a credit card instead of a debit card. I pre-pay the amount I think I'm going to spend. It's much easier to dispute a credit card transaction if there is a problem. Once the money is gone from your bank account, it's harder to get back.

 

If there is identity theft, you're covered with a credit card. If the thief drains your bank account via debit card....the money's gone....you may be able to get it back, but it's much harder.

If your debit card has the same logo as Visa or MC, you have the same protection.

[Donray]

They didn't hold anything on mine!! And they never have...in fact it took about 3 days before they posted the charges!

 

 

First off, the ship will not take a debit card.... You have a Visa or Mastercard that is also a debit card. This is a charge card that then takes the money directly from your account. A pure debit card requires the use of a PIN number on every transaction......

There was hold placed on the credit post ion of your card. You would never know unless you want over the credit limit of the card.

These hybrid debit/credit cards are bad news. Money is taken directly from account without a pin. You lose the card and people can get money from your account without using a pin number

.

[gatour]

If your debit card has the same logo as Visa or MC, you have the same protection.

 

That is INCORRECT. The issuing Bank for the debit card can give the same protection as they do for regular credit cards but there is no obligation that they have to. For the last 5 or 6 years they have been, but they don't have to.

 

I have never seen a "hold" on my card when I check my account online but logically there would be, the computers are probably not designed to show holds to consumers online. That doesn't mean there isn't one.

[docs wife]

We had at least three cabins in our group last January have problems using their debit/visa check cards. They had pending charges everyday put on their card for the amount they had spent on the ship each day, then on the last day, the full amount was charged to their cards. Depending on the bank, the pending charges were on some of their accounts up until a week later....and my sisters S&S bill was almost $1900, resuliting in another $1900 being "held" for 5 more days after returning home.

[Donray]

They didn't hold anything on mine!! And they never have...in fact it took about 3 days before they posted the charges!

 

Yes they did, How would you know they did unless you go over your limit with the hold?

 

Car rentals, hotels, cruise ships, etc all put a hold on your credit card..

 

 

Holds don't show on a statment or on-line...............

[Mskala]

Yes they did, How would you know they did unless you go over your limit with the hold?

 

Car rentals, hotels, cruise ships, etc all put a hold on your credit card..

 

 

Holds don't show on a statment or on-line...............

 

If I use my debit card (with a Visa logo) I am able to log into my account online and view whatever holds are pending on my account. This is with both PNC and Wachovia.

 

The holds do not show on a statement as the statement shows cleared charges only.

 

Holds also affect my available balance and can result in overdraft fees if I were to go over the available amount.

 

How this works with regular credit cards, I do not know. I very rarely use mine, and when I do, I pay off the balances almost immediately.

[Cre]

I think I will put down a cash deposit just to be on the safe side. Thanks for all your help.