Shipboard Account / Cdn. Debit Card

[SD_31]

Sailing in April on the STAR to Mex Riviera. In regards to my shipboard account. I would like to use my Debit Card instead of a credit card for deposit purposes, but am wondering, do they really hold $500 US on my debit card for upto 30days after the cruise?? I am a Canadian, with a Canadian Bank Account, would that make a difference in regards to the length of the hold? Hope someone can help... Wondering if i should re-mortgage the house to have enough available money in my bank account to enusre i get a Shipboard Account upon embarkation. Anyone out there ever use their Debit Card from here in Canada. :confused:

[SD_31]

Any info at all folks ?

[ArkansasFish]

If you do this , call your bank and get them up up your daily limit on your card. My dedit card had a 1000.00 per day limit. The cruise line will only run the card ONE time. I thought they would cut the bill and charge the account at 1000.0, then hit it again for a few more days. But they don't!!!

It is a pain. We had to put up cash for the rest of the trip. I would rather use a credit card without a daily limit.

Good luck!

RULE of thumb.....always have a backup plan. Have more than one card.

[Lisa&Neb]

sorry.... if i use AMEX.... how much space do i need? I know they put a hold on part of the account to cover expected costs... how much of a limit do you need to have available?

[seahorse]

If you can, get a regular credit card. I have more problems with clients. Sometimes the bank will put a stop, etc. What if you want to use it on shore and you have a probllem? I don`t care if you do let the bank know beforehand, something will go wrong:eek:

[seahorse]

sorry.... if i use AMEX.... how much space do i need?

 

Huh? What:confused:

[smeyer418]

With Amex there is no preset limit(there is on Amex Optima cards). You should warn Amex that you are going a cruise. If you normally charge a fair amount on the card you shouldn't have a problem, if you never use it Amex may consider a $500 request high. You should know your space needs better than we do,

[lhershbe]

I have a similar question. According to the NCL website, if you book two rooms, you have to use a card for each room. We have side-by-side cabins for us and my two daughters. I also wanted to use my debit card. I'm not really worried about putting a hold on funds but it they put a hold on the same card for each room, I will surely go over my daily limit. I have several credit cards that I can use but it's too tempting to spend too much while on board. Is it possible to put both rooms on a credit card and then switch it to my debt card before we dissembark? It seems so complicated!

[smeyer418]

yes you can change it before the final night...but I don't understand...if you carry no balance why don't you want to wait to pay off the credit card until you get home?