Credit card charges

[Parsman]

I have read that Fred. Olsen is going to charge 2% on people using credit cards to settle their on board accounts with effect from 2010. Has anyone received formal advice on this. Apparently debit cards may be used without a surcharge.

[Robbo123]

I don't recall hearing anything about this, but it would not surprise me in the slightest as everyone else imposes charges on credit cards

 

Best take a debit card and load it up before hand, saves all of that

 

Steve

[rickpo]

I'm on the Braemar on 10 Dec this year and in the personalised cruise book I received it mentions the 2% charge.

It's not a great deal as I get 1% cash back anyway, but all the little extras such as this do add up.

 

Won't spoil my holiday though!

 

Rick.

[merecat]

I booked a cruise with FO over the internet last week for 2011 and was charged the 2% .So they are charging it already.:)

[MMDown Under]

Do you have the option to pay by direct debit from your bank account?

[rjm1cc]

I would start using checks.

[motorcar48]

Unfortunately this is all part of the "Rip Off the Punter" society we live in.

We were encouraged to become part of the cashless society, its safer and easier for everyone, there are places now that don't even take cheques.

Lets go back to cash, longer queues in banks to withdraw cash, banks end up employing more staff.

Longer queues in shops as people pay for goods in cash, shops end up with more tills, more staff and more backroom staff to count and bank the cash.

Lets pay for my cruise by cheque, if we all do it the TA's will end up having to employ more staff on accounting/banking operations

More work for security companies collecting cash etc from companies

More work for the Police dealing with crimes of mugging & robbery

I can go on & on.

Now how do we deal with Fred, we need them to come clean and explain there policy and why, as you can gather I for one am not a happy bunny. If what is being said is true, there was nothing to tell me about the changes/charges when I booked my cruise for next April (M1008)

If you include tours my last cruise bill would have been in 4 figures, I don't want to carry on board £1000+ to pay my bill

Because Fred runs a cashless system I need to pay my bill, I am not going to pay a 2% charge, so lets look at the options:

1. For secuity I'll give you a credit card number, but pay my bill in cash

2. As 1, but pay with a cheque

3. Provide me with internet access/banking facility and I will pay the bill by direct transfer

Over to you Fred

 

:mad:

 

PS. Suggest to one of Browns Gang that we do away with credit cards and return to a cash society, it will create employment.

[merecat]

You can pay by Visa debit and as far as I know cheque and of course good old cash,perhaps Freds staff that pop up now and then ,will clarify all this for us.:)

[Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines]

For many years Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines have absorbed the credit card charges but regrettably, owing to a significant increase in merchant fees a 2% surcharge will now be applied to passengers wishing to pay via Credit Card.

Payment of your holiday

Payments for you holiday by credit card are subject to a 2% surcharge and it is applicable to the following cards: Visa credit cards, Mastercards, American Express and Diners Club. Alternatively we accept debit cards which are not subject to any additional surcharge. Any outstanding balance owed must be made no later than 8 weeks (56 days) before departure.

Payment of on board accounts

Payments of on boards account via credit cards are subject to a 2% surcharge commencing from cruises departing 2010 (with the exception of Grand Voyages and their corresponding cruise sectors). We will accept debit card and a cash settlement which do not attract any such charge.

We regret that we cannot accept Solo or Electron debit cards.

 

 

Regards

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, Head Office, Ipswich

[Parsman]

It was good that FOCL gave the official policy on these charges. I am booked on the "Balmoral" sailing on 21 December but the cruise book says that this credit card policy will apply to that cruise. Can FOCL please clarify?

[Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines]

I am assuming you are referring to cruise BL0924 and settling your onboard account. No the surcharge policy does not apply to this cruise.

I do hope you have a lovely time.

 

Regards

Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, Head Office, Ipswich

[Parsman]

Yes, that's the cruise I am on. Many thanks to FOCL for the information. I'm sure we shall have a great time.

[motorcar48]

To Fred Olsen Cruise Lines.

 

Its good to see Fred monitors these sites and is willing to answer our comments. So Freds comments deserve a reply

You stated you had absorbed the cost but could no longer afford to do so, with the exception of people doing Grand Yoyages & there corresponding cruise sectors. That must be a very big expense when you add on 100+ days of on board spend, am I missing something, it isn't very logical or are you trying to keep those that have happy and those that have not you aren't to bothered about.

The people that can afford to spend up to £60K on a cruise can probably find it easier to absorb the 2% tax than your average punter who saves up all year and spends what they can afford on their 1-3 week annual cruising holiday.

All these extras add up, trips when in port, gratuities to staff and now this 2% tax

I normally pay by debit card but a lot of people prefer to pay by credit card for the protection it gives. I already have insurance cover against most eventualities so I don't need to pay your 2% tax.

I don't think it would take much to work out the cost of this to you and add a few pounds onto each cruise, what we don't know about we don't get upset about.

What I don't see in your replies are your preffered method of payment or your suggested options so that we the punters don't have to pay this

2%TAX

 

Motorcar48

 

PS. This is probably not a good time to ask if there are any upgrades going.

 

[seabourndt]

on my last cruise i gavew an imprint of my credit card later i was told they needed it again. i paid the bill left the ship. next thing i know my card company have put a hold on my card. i did not have enough money to pay the hotel bill. after this i will pay using cash in future in case this happens again, anyone heard of this happening to others?

dave

[motorcar48]

I'm amazed this has not provoked more of a debate, unless we complain in open forum like this companies will continue to add these charges.

 

I've got another one for you, the TA I booked with - Gills - make a 2.5% charge for credit cards. On their invoice it states there will be a 1% charge for use of a debit card (I am told they have withdrawn it, but I have yet to confirm). I nearly forgot to mention they do not accept cash. I will be paying on the internet, already have their account details

When I spoke to my bank they laughed and said if people are stupid enough to pay it then companies will try it on.

 

If Fred can allow me Internet access I will pay my onboard spend the same way.

 

So what do you think lets have a debate on the subject, say what you think, lets get it out in the open, why should we pay these extra charges

 

Motorcar48 :(

 

PS. I note Fred has not commented on my previous, I've probably got a down grade from a suite to the bilges

 

 

 

[Host Sharon]

I booked a cruise with FO over the internet last week for 2011 and was charged the 2% .So they are charging it already.:)

 

 

They have always charged the surchage for booking. The new policy applies to paying your on-board account.

[petergoesrock]

Reading this thread I wonder if posters really understand the difference between Debit & Credit cards?

 

motorcar48 calls it 'Rip Off the Punter' As someone who runs a small business, and takes plastic as payment I'd like to explain how it works for us.

 

Credit Cards (Visa, Mastercard etc…) the merchant companies who process these for businesses charge a % of the total transaction, this is often in the 1-2% region.

 

Debit Cards (Visa Delta, Switch etc…) the merchant companies who process these for businesses charge a flat fee for each transaction, for a small business this is around 20p.

 

The differences in the transaction charges appear simple, using a debit card is debiting your current account, just like writing a cheque, and as such is usually only used for smaller transactions (as most of us probably can't pay for a cruise from our current account)! The credit card charge is, I'm guessing, a %, because most of us need credit to pay the cost of a cruise, and as such the merchant companies feel able to levy a higher charge. I would guess the protection offered by CCs is also factored in here.

 

A basic example - You book a cruise costing £5000

 

You pay the TA by Debit card, it costs them 20 pence

 

You pay the TA by Credit card, it costs them £100

 

The Debit card costs the TA 1/500th of the cost of the Credit Card

 

Just trying to help…

 

Peter :)

 

PS. If we do away with CC's to create employment, wouldn't the increased wage bills just lead to higher charges to cover said wages, thus leaving us just where we started?

[Scots Caz]

I think you have it spot on Peter that most people don't realise the retailer gets hit with a charge...there is probably a case to build it in to the price given the majority do pay with it and then give a small discount for debit card/cash the net result would be exactly the same but the minority would feel they had got a bargain and the majority not feel penalized.

 

I paid £60 to pay balance for a upcoming cruise on a bmi credit card but I got bmi airmiles that I needed from the spend - worked out it would have cost me £63 to purchase the same miles so actually saved £3 and could split the payment over a couple of months with no interest.

[motorcar48]

Peter,

Thank you for the explanation on charges, you've fuelled my interest.

Debit Cards. It only costs a buisiness 20 pence and on my TA's paperwork they were going to charge 1%, making an additional £40+ profit out of me, I think not. You wonder why I used the title "Rip off the Punter". 20 pence charge should be absorbed by the retailer when calculating the selling price.

Credit Cards. I understand your point it could add up to a significant part of your profit. I put it to you again when calculating the price you are going to sell goods at all overheads should be calculated in the price, not everyone pays by credit card so therefore it would not need to be the full percentage. You dont charge me extra for the lights being on so that I can see the goods or the wages for the assistant that serves me, its an overhead thats part of the price for the item.

 

Because of warrantys my car goes to the Land Rover dealer for service and invoices are for significant amounts but they dont charge me extra for using my credit card to pay them.

 

Last year when fuel prices went crazy and Fred had to put a surcharge on I accepted that as reasonable in difficult circumstances and to the companies credit they removed it as soon as they could and reimbursed people.

 

But the credit card, debit card or whatever charge for paying for the goods they offer for sale is in my opinion unacceptable, it should be absorbed in the price calculation like all other overheads.

 

David

 

PS. I carry both types of card, prefer to use my CC for the Air Miles

[shecat7]

Although cunard have dollars as payment, you can now put on board credit in advance to your acct. by credit card

The last i heard they were giving 1.88 to the pound which is a good rate.

It is refunded if not used.

David you should no that fred only replies , when they want to.

Happy xmas to you all

steve and hilary

[motorcar48]

Ive just received the reminder that payment is due for a cruise from the T/A Gills.

They have changed their policy and there is no charge for payment by debit card

Thats good news

[balf]

Although cunard have dollars as payment, you can now put on board credit in advance to your acct. by credit card

The last i heard they were giving 1.88 to the pound which is a good rate.

It is refunded if not used.

David you should no that fred only replies , when they want to.

Happy xmas to you all

steve and hilary

 

We effectively got 1.90 from our recent QV cruise by buying OBC using a credit card that pays 1% cashback. Punters do not need to protest - just move over to Cunard who seem to treat passengers so much better, and certainly do not charge extra for on board spends.

 

FO is starting to look a bit down market to me anyway and this charge means they will not be getting my custom any time in the future.

 

David

[merecat]

Correct Cunard don,t charge extra for credit cards ,just charge 15% service charge instead ,ask more for tips ,which are taken automatically ,unless you alter them.

 

Perhaps people would rather cruise FOCL ,without the false glitz that Cunard portray on their oversized ships.

 

As for FOCL only answering when they want to ,do P&O or Cunard answer complaints at all or aren,t there any.:rolleyes:

[oldsilverfox]

Hmm merecat, are you certain that you aren't being a tiny bit biased ? "false glitz . . .oversized ships" etc, etc.

 

Many regular cruise critic members would agree that the Vista ( Carnival) and the Millenium / Radiance (RCCL) classes at 90,000 tones are the standard size of the majority of cruise ships nowadays. In many ways they seem to be of a size which passengers enjoy whilst making enough profits for their owners to enable them to continue to order new vessels.

 

You weren't referring to the oversized cabins which the majority of these ships also have when compared with FOCL ??

 

As to false glitz, this is a hugely subjective matter. Perhaps you could offer a few examples ??

 

Anyway, as I have posted elsewhere, I booked a RTW trip on the 21 year old Balmoral in 2011, only to find that I could rebook virtually the same trip on the brand new QE in an identical grade but larger sized cabin, lose my significant deposit with FOCL, and still finish up paying less overall for the cost of my cruise.

 

No contest in my case, I'm afraid old chum. but if you can afford the extra cost of travelling with FOCL, good luck to you.

[balf]

So very true. Having just returned from a cruise on Queen Victoria, a clean, and well run ship with all the modern facilities, the comparison with the voyages we have taken recently with FO is "chalk and cheese".

 

Of course there are many people who will only sail on "small" ships - fair enough, but they have to accept a poorer cruise experience for that with FO's old, creaky norovirus susceptible vessels.

 

It is surely time for Fred to commission a medium size, brand new ship and to offer their loyal customers a better and more competitive deal.

 

David