couple of questions

[hun6903]

I'm leaving on my first cruise this Sunday. I will be gone for 7 days on the Carnival Elation. It will be my husband and I. We have paid for everything except for 1 excursion, which will be paid cash (individual - not through cruise ship). We will have $1800 on my credit card attached to my checking account, and then $700 on my credit card. Will that be enough money for an average person? Keep in mind that we are getting married on the cruise, and I am budgeting $900 for pictures. With that said, I don't really understand how the Sail and Sign card works. I know we put a deposit and everything we purchase on the ship gets charged to the account...but how much deposit do we have to put down? In the Carnival book, it says "If you are using a credit card or debit/check cashing card please be advised that there will be a hold placed on your account as a deposit for your onboard purchases". Does this mean if we put a deposit of $300 (or whatever it is) on our account with my credit card that is attached to my checking account, that once we go over the $300, we can't use that account anymore? That is really the reason we were bringing 2 cards, because I didn't want to be stuck not having any money (or card) to use.

 

Second question is, should I know my dining seats by now, or is that something you find out when you board?

 

Thanks for your help.

[geoherb]

Sorry I don't know the answer about the sail and sign card. I've never had any problems with using my credit card, but it's got a much higher limit than what you've described.

 

You'll find out your table assignment when you check in. If you don't like it, a maitre d' will be set up to deal with passengers who want a different dining assignment--those who want to move from one seating to the other and those who want a larger table or a smaller table.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Depending on the cruise - some put a $50 per day per person on "hold" while others make it $60 per day per person.

 

$50 per day per person for a 7 day cruise is $350 per person.

All the cruise lines have you charge anything you buy on the ship - drinks, shops, tours to your shipboard account - no cash needed on the ship until the end - tips if they aren't already on your account. Gratuities for drinks - most cruise lines add on a 15% gratuity at the time you buy your drink - this includes sodas and bottled water.

[kitty9]

When you say you have a card with $1800 attached to your checking account, you're talking about using a debit card. Be very careful about that. Most debit cards have a very low daily limit that can be charged at any one time and if your final bill goes above that daily limit, you're going to have a problem---it doesn't matter how much money you have in the account. Let me explain it like this: You have $1800 in your checking account and you have a debit card attached to that account. Your bank has a rule that you can only charge $400 a day with your debit card. Since the ship will only charge that card for the full amount of the bill on the last day, and if your total charges for your cruise is $1400, there's going to be a problem since your bank will only let you charge $400 at any one time, no matter if you have $10,000 in the account---the bank will only let you charge $400. You need to find out what your daily limit is for your debit card, and if it's low, you need to ask your bank for a temporary raise of your limit.

 

Cruise lines only put a hold on a card to cover themselves, and it has nothing to do with how much you can charge/spend. Your only limit is what your credit limit is on your credit card. Again, it's much different using a credit card than a debit card. So don't worry about the hold issue.

 

Have you already paid for your wedding on the ship? The reason I'm asking is that if you haven't, and you're having friends and family at the wedding and you're having a reception after the ceremony, you might find that the money you have set aside might not cover the expenses of the wedding. I've found that ship weddings can be really expensive when you include food and drinks, and what you have set aside might not be enough, when you consider all the other expenses that happen on a ship and that you will have expenses on the 6 other days you're on board.

 

You won't know your table assignment until you're on board. There will be a card in your room with your table number printed on it. On the first night, you take that card with you to the dining room and you will be escorted to your assigned table.

[hun6903]

Wedding has been paid for. It is only him and me.

 

I called my bank and they said I have a daily charge limit of $2500...don't think I will be going over that :)

 

Thanks for your help.

[Karita]

Most debit cards you can pull $400 cash per day from a cash machine and thats the limit but when you are using it as a credit card you can charge up to $2500 if the cash is in your account. I am also getting married on the Legend and my wedding was $2000 and was paid for with my debit card. So dont worry your card will work:)