Still Confused...

[jzdn0507]

Ok I don't have credit cards..I refuse to get a credit card! All I have is a debit card.

 

My question is when I board and they swipe my debit card, what is the intial hold they are placing on it. Should I get a pre-paid and use that instead of my actual banking debit card?

 

I am going on my first cruise ever with my fiancee (his first too) and money is the one thing that he is stressing about.

 

We are trying to be well prepared (between the 2 of us we will have about 700-800 for a 7 day cruise) but I don't want them to place a $1000 hold on my debit card and then my bills at home that are auto-pay get declined. :confused:.

 

Should I call Carnival?

[footballbabe3]

I would not use your debit card at all. You can go to the pursers office as soon as you board and just use cash. My hubby and I did this in August and kept our eye on the bill right on the T.V in our room. Don't strees you will be fine:o

[footballbabe3]

Oh I forgot they take $250.00 each person the first day. Then as that gets low they send a note to your room. Since you are using cash try to

prepay your tips before you leave. That is one less thing you have to worry about. Hope this helps you!!

[jzdn0507]

We have pre-paid the tips and our excursions, so I am ok with that. It's just everything else.

[footballbabe3]

I really think you will be fine. Just keep on eye on the drinking and the casino. LOL That should be plenty of money if you are not big spenders.

We never use our debit card just for that reason. Once you get to about 200.00 that put another 250.00 hold on that debit card. If you don't use it

it can still take a couple days for it to post back on. Use Cash :D

[jzdn0507]

I really think you will be fine. Just keep on eye on the drinking and the casino. LOL That should be plenty of money if you are not big spenders.

We never use our debit card just for that reason. Once you get to about 200.00 that put another 250.00 hold on that debit card. If you don't use it

it can still take a couple days for it to post back on. Use Cash :D

 

Thank you, Cash is the way for us to go then

[Rosebud5t]

I have always only ever used a debit card for my sail and sign card. I also don't believe in using credit cards, so I don't have one. I've never had them put a lump sum hold on my card. It does, however, end up "double-pending" transactions until they post, though. For example, each transaction will show up in my "pending" transactions, then Carnival will post a total amount every now and then (usually daily), so for a day or two, this will cause double amounts to be in my "pending" transactions, holding up the money.

 

Cash is easy, but check with Carnival on the amount. I don't think $250 is accurate, I believe that for a 7 day cruise, the cash deposit is $400 each person. It's been a few years since I checked on that, so it may have changed.

 

However you work it out... happy cruising!!!

[*Mach*]

There will be an initial hold of $50 placed on your card. This is from Carnival:

How is my credit card charged?

 

During embarkation, when your credit card is swiped, an initial approval of $50 is obtained. Then, throughout the voyage incremental holds will be obtained as needed. You should know, this will reduce the amount of available credit on the credit card or restrict the availability of cash in the checking/debit account. Authorization hold releases to your account is entirely up to your issuing bank.

 

All charges will be automatically billed at the end of the voyage. On the final morning of the cruise, a statement detailing all purchases made with your Sail & Sign card will be delivered to your stateroom. If you made a cash deposit and there is an overpayment at the end of the cruise, you will receive the overpayment in the form of a check, attached to the detailed statement received on the final morning of the cruise.

 

Cash Deposit:

 

U.S. Currency and Traveler's Checks may be used to open your Sail & Sign Account. Once on board, please visit our Guest Services Desk who will gladly assist you in opening your account. Throughout the cruise, as you approach the deposit limit, our Guest Services Desk will notify you that additional money must be deposited.

 

"Recommended" deposits per sailing duration:

2-4 day cruises: $100 deposit pp

5-8 day cruises: $200 deposit pp

9+ day cruises: $350 deposit pp

 

http://www.carnival.com/core/faq.aspx?icid=CC_Header_466#q-544992

 

Many folks use cash instead of any card. You can add cash to your onboard account at any point during the cruise by visiting the Guest Services Desk on the ship. Please note that the amounts listed above are recommendations only, not a minimum

:)

[tcw92]

Ok I don't have credit cards..I refuse to get a credit card! All I have is a debit card.

 

My question is when I board and they swipe my debit card, what is the intial hold they are placing on it. Should I get a pre-paid and use that instead of my actual banking debit card?

 

I am going on my first cruise ever with my fiancee (his first too) and money is the one thing that he is stressing about.

 

We are trying to be well prepared (between the 2 of us we will have about 700-800 for a 7 day cruise) but I don't want them to place a $1000 hold on my debit card and then my bills at home that are auto-pay get declined. :confused:.

 

Should I call Carnival?

we went Destiny in September. My husband, 2 kids and I. We put an inital $500 cash deposit on our sign and sail card. We didn't pre-pay our gratuties, so that came off the card on day 2 and we just added cash to the card as needed. We ended up getting a refund check under our door at the morning of check out and cashed it at the guest services desk. I, too didn't want them holding up cash on my debit card. this method worked great for us

[prattmom]

You can also pre-purchase OBC (fun ship dollars) using your debit card. Anything left over will be refunded at the end of the cruise... just another option :)

[firefly333]

Oh I forgot they take $250.00 each person the first day. Then as that gets low they send a note to your room. Since you are using cash try to

prepay your tips before you leave. That is one less thing you have to worry about. Hope this helps you!!

 

Iv never heard about this note. They also call your name over the loudspeaker to come to the desk. Id keep up with it and if it got low, just go put money on the account.

 

I was like you about not getting a credit card. I got one to use for traveling, for emergencies as you never know in life. I also get points which give me OBC from my credit card.

[amillard222]

Last year on our first cruise we did not give carnival a credit card for our sail and sign account. When we boarded the ship we we to guest services and gave them cash instead. I have heard the horror stories about how they pre authorize 50 dollars for every purchase and that would really get me in trouble with my bank if they did that to me. Dont worry, it is a very easy process to just take cash and give it to the service desk. Also by taking cash you will always know that you will not get a huge shock at the end of your cruise:p

[kbmeow]

I would use cash. Although the debit is safe There are storys on how carnival routinley puts holds on the card and at teh end chages the total. Well the holds take about a week to come off the card so it ties up the holds. And say they put a hold on monday for 250. and then on wed they do another hold. They do the total balance not the difference. so it would be say 500. etc.. Not worth bills maybe having issues. I would most all the cash in travelers checks and put them on the sign and sail. And what you do not use in TC you can redeposit. Also if a TC goes missing you are not out the money. And they have TC for 2.

[hockeyluver]

We have pre-paid the tips and our excursions, so I am ok with that. It's just everything else.

 

you could always buy drink coupons from bon voyage. I purchase these a few a month leading up to the cruise it really helps keep the sail and sign bill low.

 

http://www.carnival.com/BonVoyage/AddToCart.aspx?pid=BAR

 

our friends also only sail with cash and debit card. When they are getting low and need to put more money they are sent a note to their room, they have never been paged over the p.a. system

[blondietink]

I like your idea of paying with cash. We don't even have a debit card, opting to use a credit card for purchases, getting rewards points on the card, then paying it off each month. However, for this upcoming cruise I have been deligently putting away money every month for our cruise on-board account. I thought it would be great idea to not have a bill at the end of the cruise. I asked DH the other day if we wanted me to take the cash and use it for our on-board account. He said no, charge it all to the credit card, get the points and give me the money to pay off the card when we get home. Oh well.

[familycruzr]

I know some people don't like credit cards, but they are not all bad. If you use it regularly, keep your balance well below your credit limit and pay it off every month before the deadline, you will strengthen your credit score. That can be a big help if you and your fiance decide to buy a house in the future. You just have to be smart about it. For travel, it's good to have in case of emergency. You never know when something may happend and you won't have enough cash.

 

If you don't want to use a credit card on the cruise, I would use cash. I wouldn't use your debit card.

[happy cruzer]

Do you have travel insurance? especially medical and medical evacuation?

 

Many short on money skip the insurance, but you should be aware that you are taking that risk. Many just get medical coverage vs. cancellation or delay or luggage insurance.

 

But it is something to consider in your budget.

[bobthehammer]

i always use our debit cards... never had an issue ... been on 9 cruises all with Carnival..they never seem to place a hold and nothing goes through until the cruise is over ... what is charged on my debit card always matches my final sale and sign bill

 

 

hope that helps

[StingRaysfan]

i always use our debit cards... never had an issue ... been on 9 cruises all with Carnival..they never seem to place a hold and nothing goes through until the cruise is over ... what is charged on my debit card always matches my final sale and sign bill

 

 

hope that helps

 

We use ours too... we also have never had any sort of hold problems. I mean, it's not like we had "just enough" money in there either... but we didn't have a ton of money. We were always able to purchase stuff in the ports and they definitely DIDN'T put a $50 hold (as a previous poster stated) on everything we got on board with the sign and sail or else we would have gone broke. I think you will be FINE with your debit card as long as you monitor what you buy and know whats in there....

[prattmom]

We use ours too... we also have never had any sort of hold problems. I mean, it's not like we had "just enough" money in there either... but we didn't have a ton of money. We were always able to purchase stuff in the ports and they definitely DIDN'T put a $50 hold (as a previous poster stated) on everything we got on board with the sign and sail or else we would have gone broke. I think you will be FINE with your debit card as long as you monitor what you buy and know whats in there....

 

Depends more on your bank than on Carnival...

[zanem]

We never have a problem with our debit card. Recently off 4 day and the day we got off they were holding$15. It wasn't until the next day that my account was actually charged