Probably dumb money question

[lawyerrose]

Ok, I'm confused again! When I pre-registered for my cruise, they said they were pre-charging (or "holding") $660 for my 11 day cruise. I was thinking that was the "tip" charge, but now I realize the service charge is less than that. Am I right that they factor in the automatic service charge when figuring out how much of a "hold" to place on your credit card???

[elycelynne]

Ok, I'm confused again! When I pre-registered for my cruise, they said they were pre-charging (or "holding") $660 for my 11 day cruise. I was thinking that was the "tip" charge, but now I realize the service charge is less than that. Am I right that they factor in the automatic service charge when figuring out how much of a "hold" to place on your credit card???

 

I may be wrong, but I seem to recall reading that $60/day was HAL's standard "hold" for anyone, which would account for the $660 in your case. I'm not sure if the automatic service charge is factored into the hold or not, but the $60 would more than cover it.

[KirkNC]

Yes they use $60 per day as an estimate of all your on board charges.

[jtl513]

The hold is just a temporary "reserving" of a part of your credit limit so that you can't overspend on land and not have enough credit left to cover your on-board expenses. The Hotel Service Charge is part of your on-board expenses.

[Boytjie]

The day you board HAL places a hold on your credit card: $60 per person per day; it is not a charge but just reduces your credit limit by that amount.

 

The service charge is charged to your onboard account, same as when you buy drinks or spa services. At the end of the cruise the final amount is charged to you credit card and the hold is released. It depends on the financial institution how long it takes to remove the hold. Holds on debit cards stay on longer that holds on credit cards.

[TWOFERTWO]

The day you board HAL places a hold on your credit card: $60 per person per day; it is not a charge but just reduces your credit limit by that amount.

 

The service charge is charged to your onboard account, same as when you buy drinks or spa services. At the end of the cruise the final amount is charged to you credit card and the hold is released. It depends on the financial institution how long it takes to remove the hold. Holds on debit cards stay on longer that holds on credit cards.

 

 

Yes, it is the same sort of hold if you have ever rented a car or checked into a hotel. :eek:

[lawyerrose]

Thanks for all your thoughtful and helpful responses. I think I've sorted it out now. I was thinking that the $660 would be automatically charged to my account. Now I understand that it's HAL's way of making sure there's enough $$ to get me through the cruise. I got confused thinking that this was the service charge and it seemed pretty high to me. :eek:

[TWOFERTWO]

Thanks for all your thoughtful and helpful responses. I think I've sorted it out now. I was thinking that the $660 would be automatically charged to my account. Now I understand that it's HAL's way of making sure there's enough $$ to get me through the cruise. I got confused thinking that this was the service charge and it seemed pretty high to me. :eek:

 

Don't feel that you are alone.....this has come up more than once since HAL, et al, have been required to disclose. :eek:

[tcook052]

Don't feel that you are alone.....this has come up more than once since HAL, et al, have been required to disclose. :eek:

 

HAL is more forthcoming on this topic IMHO than others as you'd mentioned like hotels who rarely if ever advice guests of the CC authorizations that are held.

 

I had a friend with a fairly low credit limit on purpose because of security and her caution wound up backfiring as the one night pre-cruise in a hotel held an authorization that took up a good chunk of the limit and created a snafu when she boarded her HAL cruise. Luckily HAL was good about it and the authorization dropped off fairly quickly but it can be a pain if you're not aware of how the system works.

[3rdGenCunarder]

The day you board HAL places a hold on your credit card: $60 per person per day; it is not a charge but just reduces your credit limit by that amount.

 

The service charge is charged to your onboard account, same as when you buy drinks or spa services. At the end of the cruise the final amount is charged to you credit card and the hold is released. It depends on the financial institution how long it takes to remove the hold. Holds on debit cards stay on longer that holds on credit cards.

 

I didn't know a hold could be placed on a debit card. When debit cards first became moe than just an ATM card, a lot of car rentals wouldn't accept them to hold a reservation. I don't know if it was because of the hold or because they couldn't check a credit limit/available balance, but I can remember being asked if my visa was a "real" visa or a visa ATM card.

 

Thanks for all your thoughtful and helpful responses. I think I've sorted it out now. I was thinking that the $660 would be automatically charged to my account. Now I understand that it's HAL's way of making sure there's enough $$ to get me through the cruise. I got confused thinking that this was the service charge and it seemed pretty high to me. :eek:

 

That is the simplest, clearest way of saying it that I've seen.