nikiandscotti Posted August 13, 2013 #1 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Anyone out there used a debit card for your on board account? If yes, what was your experience? Thanks!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luddite Posted August 13, 2013 #2 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Never, ever use a debit card for this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikiandscotti Posted August 13, 2013 Author #3 Share Posted August 13, 2013 What do you suggest? I don't have/use credit cards! Don't you have to register a card? I hate to carry so much cash!! Now I'm freaking out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stlouistravelers Posted August 13, 2013 #4 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I have heard that they will put a hold on your funds so they are not useable. Also, it could take awhile to release the held funds. I would tie it to a credit card and if you want to pay on the last day with your debit you can change it. Hotels do this also. Too much room for human error. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BATTay Posted August 13, 2013 #5 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I got a second debit card solely for the cruise. I got mine from my credit union. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikiandscotti Posted August 13, 2013 Author #6 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Yes hotels do it. The holds are for min amounts and are released the next day! I don't have a credit card!! Soooo, if I keep my debit card tied but pay with cash will that fix the problem? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenMo Posted August 13, 2013 #7 Share Posted August 13, 2013 I always use a debit card or cash. Never had a problem. The problem arises when the holds are placed by Carnival and your bank doesn't release the holds quickly. These can lead to no available funds in your account. Make sure you have plenty of $$$ in your account in case your bank doesn't release holds quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deborahjo Posted August 13, 2013 #8 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Sorry will never use a debit card again on a cruise. Did our first one and it was a mess. We use a cash account. Put down as much as you want no problem. When it gets low they let you know. Have done this for 5 cruises no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikiandscotti Posted August 13, 2013 Author #9 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Tied to a seperate account? I use a credit union also!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjnwildfire Posted August 13, 2013 #10 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Our first cruise they put a hold on our account. We have only used CASH since. I make sure we stick to our budget that way. If you don't want to carry cash, using a prepaid debit card or travelers checks work.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikiandscotti Posted August 13, 2013 Author #11 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Don't you have to attach a card to your account? I'm so confused (that's not hard to do, haha) so for you guys have used cash, do you register a card then just pay with cash? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjnwildfire Posted August 13, 2013 #12 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Don't you have to attach a card to your account? I'm so confused (that's not hard to do, haha) so for you guys have used cash, do you register a card then just pay with cash? You have the option to use cash when you set up your account online. Then when you get to the ship, you put a deposit on the account with cash at GS or now you can use the kiosk.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTO-Girl Posted August 13, 2013 #13 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Don't you have to attach a card to your account? I'm so confused (that's not hard to do, haha) so for you guys have used cash, do you register a card then just pay with cash? We do our online checkin and list our Visa card to setup out account. On the last full day onboard (less crowded) we go down sometime during that day and pay off our account with cash. We don't have to worry about setting up a cash account, going down during the week to add more cash and because we paid off our account nothing gets billed to the credit card except maybe a couple of drinks on the last evening. Easy...peesy!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikiandscotti Posted August 13, 2013 Author #14 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Thank you!! Do you know what the deposit is? Also, if I load the on board cash account do I still have to put down a deposit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nikiandscotti Posted August 13, 2013 Author #15 Share Posted August 13, 2013 GTO- so you keep your debit card registered but since you pay your balance with cash there's no hold issued? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fgresko Posted August 13, 2013 #16 Share Posted August 13, 2013 we cruised last week, got all the way to seattle, realized I forgot our credit cards, we hit a bank on the way to the ship and withdrew savings, they asked for my cc, told them I was now using cash, no problem, just went to guest services and put money on our account, when it got low we added more funds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chipandsteph Posted August 13, 2013 #17 Share Posted August 13, 2013 We have always used our debit and never had a problem. I think a lot depends on how quickly your bank will release a hold. We also only use the debit for on board expenses. In port, we use cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalofirsttimer4 Posted August 13, 2013 #18 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Anyone out there used a debit card for your on board account? If yes, what was your experience? Thanks!!! We always use our debit card, and have never had a problem. I have been on NCL, Princess and Carnival. We just make sure we have double what we believe our onboard expenses are plus whatever we will need for spending in cash. (I know people on here hate the use of debit cards but we don't like using credit). We just make sure we advise our banks prior to leaving on where we are going to be as well as the dates we will be there in case we need to use them for something else. I also tell them what cruise line we are using so they have that on record as well. On our last cruise with Carnival we had so much OBC that my debit card was never charged and we even got a check back the morning of debarktion. Happy Sailing!!! Sent from my KFOT using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemynii Posted August 13, 2013 #19 Share Posted August 13, 2013 We don't have a bank account or credit cards. I just use a pre-paid reloadable card (no fee Bluebird card from Walmart) to make payments on the cruise. I set up our account as cash on Cruise Manager with no debit/credit card linked to it. We did it the same way on our previous cruise. At check in, they just verified that there was a credit on the account (we had $230 OBC) and we boarded without having to add any more. By day 4, I believe, we were informed of a low balance because gratuities for 3 had been charged to the account, so I did a 5 minute trip to Guest Services and added another $100. We received a check for the amount we hadn't used on the last morning. Aside from taking cash into ports, we kept our money (other than 1's for tipping) locked in the safe. Using a cash only option for your account is very easy. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naz022292 Posted August 13, 2013 #20 Share Posted August 13, 2013 We used a credit card on our account... but we had purchased $250 in cruise cash. They put a $200 hold on our credit card - but since we only went $40 over the $250 cruise cash that we had on our account... they didn't put any further holds on the credit card. The hold stayed on our account until Monday (we got off the ship on Saturday). I think that if you use a debit card and spend throughout the week... they will continue to hold more and more as your spending goes up. If you have a general idea of what you are going to spend you could consider the cruise cash. You can buy it online and it will be on your card when you arrive. Just don't buy more than what you are SURE you will spend because it is non refundable (although there is a thread that says how you can 'cash it out' through the casino). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimslady15 Posted August 13, 2013 #21 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Anyone out there used a debit card for your on board account? If yes, what was your experience? Thanks!!! Always used the debit card never had a problem this will be our 7th cruise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awhcruiser Posted August 13, 2013 #22 Share Posted August 13, 2013 This. I've never had a problem Make sure you have plenty of $$$ in your account in case your bank doesn't release holds quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishnyc Posted August 13, 2013 #23 Share Posted August 13, 2013 We were on the Splendor last month and used our debit card. We had no problems with the hold on the account. The hold is between you and your bank, it has nothing to do with Carnival. Carnival releases the hold right away. Your bank may take longer to do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Realitoes Posted August 13, 2013 #24 Share Posted August 13, 2013 (edited) We were on the Splendor last month and used our debit card. We had no problems with the hold on the account. The hold is between you and your bank, it has nothing to do with Carnival. Carnival releases the hold right away. Your bank may take longer to do so. Your partially correct. Carnival will run an authorization hold to ensure there are sufficient funds to cover an upcoming transaction. Based on the merchant agreement (visa/mastercard...), the bank will guarantee those funds for a specific amount of time, to permit the transaction to complete. Normally, banks will hold that amount in your account, based on those time requirements This period will be spell out in your debit agreement with your bank. If the bank releases the funds earlier than specified in the merchant agreements, they are still liable to pay if the transaction goes through, even if you don't have the balance in your account. This is why they usually want a fax from the merchant before releasing the hold. As others have said, using a debit card is okay, if you have sufficient balance to cover all holds and other transactions that may go through. Normally folks with low balances have the most issues. The other issue with debit cards, is fraud. If somebody else gets a hold of your account information and uses it without your authorization (actually really easy to do), it will take "real" money out of your account. You don't receive the same protections (under federal law) that a credit card has, and cleaning up the mess can be a very time consuming and stressful event - especially while you are away from home on vacation! Edited August 13, 2013 by Realitoes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spurs Fans Posted August 13, 2013 #25 Share Posted August 13, 2013 Actually, debit cards have the exact same protection as credit cards under Federal law. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now