Cruising on a debit card?

I plan on paying for my cruise, airfare, shore excursions and everything with cash or my debit card. Will the ship allow me to use the debit card for room charges? Will they put a hold on the card and tie it up so bad that I can't access the funds I have in my checking to pay for shore excursions?

Most cruise lines have major problems with debit cards.

Straight purchases are not a problem.

But all the cruise lines put a daily credit hold on your card to guarantee that you will be able to pay your bill at the end of the cruise.

Many banks have problems placing credit holds on debit cards that essentially do not have any credit.

More often than not, your bank screws up your balances - or holds them for many weeks - which prevents you using the card to pay for anything else.

Much safer to use a regular credit card or cash deposit for the cabin charges.

Use the debit card only for regular purchases.

Most cruise lines have major problems with debit cards.

Straight purchases are not a problem.

But all the cruise lines put a daily credit hold on your card to guarantee that you will be able to pay your bill at the end of the cruise.

Many banks have problems placing credit holds on debit cards that essentially do not have any credit.

More often than not, your bank screws up your balances - or holds them for many weeks - which prevents you using the card to pay for anything else.

 

Much safer to use a regular credit card or cash deposit for the cabin charges.

Use the debit card only for regular purchases.

Yes, unfortunately you need to heed Bruce's words.

Most won't accept the pre-pay type of debit card, it needs to be a card linked to your bank account.

They put a daily hold on the card, in the same way as some hotels etc

- sorry, no idea of the amount though I've heard you can ask at Guest Relations for the sum to be reduced if you're planning a much lower spend on-board.

And at the end of the cruise, after your card has settled your actual on-board spend, that hold may remain on other funds in your account for a further couple of weeks - the delay in removing the hold is blamed on the banks, but whoever is to blame it's pretty unacceptable & can cause problems if you run a low balance in your bank account- unable to draw cash, and even regular payments out of the account (rent, mortgage, utility payments) dishonoured due to "insufficient available funds".

It's my understanding that the routine is much the same with credit cards, but since folk rarely max-out their credit limit it tends not to be a problem.

The hold doesn't appear on your statements, since the money "held" isn't actually taken from the account.

No personal experience, but I've heard of grief enough times to know that it has caused problems for some folk.

What a cheery post on Christmas Eve :rolleyes: ;)

JB :)

Or call your bank like BOA they will not put any holds on your account if you call them and tell them were you are traveling.

On our last cruise they put a hold on our debit card for an amount equal to our shipboard charges as of the last evening, then when we disembarked they put through the actual charge. My bank was good and released the hold within a matter of hours, but I have heard of some holds not being released for a week or longer.

Also pre pay your tips

I use a credit card while on a cruise and for most other purchases. The card gives me points that I can use towards payment of the cruise or for OBCs.

Since a debit card is linked directly to your bank account, why not just bring the cash instead? That way, there are no "holds" put on your card.

A debit card gives you no protection as a credit card would do. Cash would be the simplest way to pay for your onboard charges. Simply give them a chunk of cash, charges will be paid for out of those funds, and any unused cash will be returned to you. You won't have to worry about those pesky "holds".

I recommend you pre-pay your service charges (gratuities) so that less on board is needed. Then, call and ask the cruise line you have chosen how much the minimum cash deposit is for your cruise and party size. Bring that amount in cash. If you don't spend it, you'll get it back at the end of the cruise.

If you go over, you can go down the last night and put the remainder on your debit card (they can run it as a credit card) so that all is well when it leave the ship.

Also, you can pre-pay for shore excursions if you book them through the cruise line. If you book private ones, you can bring cash to pay for them.

If you can, it is recommended that you do get a credit card to take with you. Many problems can be solved by using a credit card on vacation. For example, if you miss a flight, even if you have insurance, you'll likely need to pre-pay for the new air ticket and be reimbursed by your travel insurance. If you fall down the steps and break a leg, MasterCard to the rescue while you wait for travel insurance to reimburse you.

I use my bank's debit card to pay everything associated with my cruise, and so far I've not noticed any problem with using it.

Depending on how many in your party and what your onboard charges will be, you might have to carry a great deal of cash.

What if you used a credit card to guarantee your onboard spending and then change it to your debit card the last night before you disembark?

...What if you used a credit card to guarantee your onboard spending and then change it to your debit card the last night before you disembark?

This. When someone tries to check in to my hotel using a debit card, I always ask if they have a credit card to use for just check in. The hotels will put a hold on money also. If it is a credit card, it is merely a pre-authorization that you have enough credit to cover the potential ending amount of your bill. It isn't charged at all. At the end of the stay, just give your debit card for the payment. No holding of any cash by the bank.

I still give the sad story of a very cute couple who checked on their wedding night. All he had was a debit card. Well, when they went to dinner that night, the card was declined; the hotel had a hold on all his money to secure for payment of the honeymoon stay plus $100/night for "incidentals." They had no available money left free on the debit card to use for the rest of their honeymoon. I felt so bad for them, but I could do nothing about it...

The ship will want to put a hold on a sufficient amount in your account to be sure of having all your on-board expenses covered. And very often it can take several days after the cruise to have the hold released.

It is hard to understand why anyone would rather use a debit card than a credit card - many credit cards give "points" or some reward, and you have the use of the funds until the payment date once you are billed. If you are able to pay direct from your bank account, you are certainly able to pay in full upon being billed.

The problem is that I can't get approved for a credit card. Had to abandon my house due to black mold a few years ago and my credit is in the toilet.

The problem is that I can't get approved for a credit card. Had to abandon my house due to black mold a few years ago and my credit is in the toilet.

Get a secured credit card. It will help re-establish credit and be much more secure than a debit card.

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

Never, ever use a debit card for this.

The problem is that I can't get approved for a credit card. Had to abandon my house due to black mold a few years ago and my credit is in the toilet.

As mentioned earlier, prepay as many on board expenses as possible. Use cash or travelers checks to cover your on board account. Any unused amount will be refunded to you on the last night/day. Or if your cruise companion can secure your account with their CC; you pay them back at the end of the cruise.

As mentioned earlier, prepay as many on board expenses as possible. Use cash or travelers checks to cover your on board account. Any unused amount will be refunded to you on the last night/day. Or if your cruise companion can secure your account with their CC; you pay them back at the end of the cruise.

Make certain, however, that your cruise line of choice even accepts travelers checks. Some, like Cunard, do not accept them.

10 cruises with bank debit card. Never had any problems.

10 cruises with bank debit card. Never had any problems.

Not saying you will have a problem. You are an anecdotal instance. IF you have plenty of money in your checking account, you will not see a problem. BUT, you MUST know in advance that you have more than enough to pay for everything and more and your excursions and off-ship meals/drinks and your shopping sprees.. cruise lines will also place a hold on a certain amount of money from your card at the start for "incidentals" - even if you don't spend that, it's unavailable until after the cruise and your bank releases the hold. Some people don't realize that these hold are for the entire amount at the beginning of the cruise, not as you go… That's where people get into trouble.

Not saying you will have a problem. You are an anecdotal instance. IF you have plenty of money in your checking account, you will not see a problem. BUT, you MUST know in advance that you have more than enough to pay for everything and more and your excursions and off-ship meals/drinks and your shopping sprees.. cruise lines will also place a hold on a certain amount of money from your card at the start for "incidentals" - even if you don't spend that, it's unavailable until after the cruise and your bank releases the hold. Some people don't realize that these hold are for the entire amount at the beginning of the cruise, not as you go… That's where people get into trouble.

HAL is one of the cruise lines that tells you up front how much of a hold they will place on your account - $60 per day per person ($30 for longer cruises - not sure what length qualifies).

I love the folks who will say their bank doesn't place holds on their account because it doesn't show when they look at their account on-line. Just because it isn't a line-item doesn't mean it isn't there. Although lots of banks - and credit cards too - are getting better about transactions being transparent when you look at your account.

SWMBO put $30 worth of gas in her car last night; just checked the CC account online and there's a $150 "pending" on that transaction :mad:

10 cruises with bank debit card. Never had any problems.

I have had 1,436 cruises (counting this week). About 1,000 of those cruises happened since the introduction of Debit Cards. On about 900 of those cruises we had anywhere from 1 to 10 passengers who spent the entire cruise on the telephone with their bank (instead of enjoying the cruise) trying to sort out all the problems with their debit cards. On this Christmas Cruise, we have only 3 cabins whose cruise has been ruined by these problems.

If you feel lucky, take a chance.

I will definitely not be using my debit card on the cruise for the incidentals. I'll use cash for that. I have reserved 2 shore excursions with the debit card. Hopefully they'll take cash as payment or the secured credit card.

I didn't realize a secured card was different than prepaid, I thought they were the same! I'm applying for a secured card to build up credit and will use that on the trip with debit card as backup and probably cash too just in case for other stuff other than the room incidental issue.

Thank you for all your responses and help!

I will definitely not be using my debit card on the cruise for the incidentals. I'll use cash for that. I have reserved 2 shore excursions with the debit card. Hopefully they'll take cash as payment or the secured credit card.

 

I didn't realize a secured card was different than prepaid, I thought they were the same! I'm applying for a secured card to build up credit and will use that on the trip with debit card as backup and probably cash too just in case for other stuff other than the room incidental issue.

 

Thank you for all your responses and help!

Cruise Critic forum at it's best right here folks!