paying bills online while on a cruise

[Buck Turgidson]

Input please on paying bills online with your own pc or ships pc's while at sea using their wi-fi? It's the security aspect I am concerned about.

[paul929207]

I have most of my bills to automatically come out of my checking account each month. The only thing that has to be paid is my credit card. I do that thru the wifi on the ship and have never had a problem.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

I did not pay a bill on line but on our last cruise I got an email from our bank that our checking account balance was below the amount I set for email alerts, which was totally unexpected. Since I was concerned I did log into our account from my lap top via Celebrity's WIFI. Once I found the problem I used the log in to transfer money until I could get home and deal with the issue. Did not have any security issues but maybe I was lucky.

 

Mary Lou

[kitty9]

I've paid bills on line many times without any problems.

[Langley Cruisers]

My online banking allows me to pay bills on a specified date of my choice; can you do this, or look into it? It is very handy when you know you will be away, and then you don't have to worry about it. Your bills get paid on the date specified and you don't have to go online at that time.

[germanyboy]

My online banking lets me set up a pay on date two weeks ahead so I don't even have to be in the country when payments are due. Most are set up for autopsy.

 

 

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[Langley Cruisers]

Most are set up for autopsy.

 

 

Gosh, sorry to hear that! LOL Did you mean automatic? :D:p

[germanyboy]

yes autopay

 

 

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[Hstergo]

You do know you can preset the bill payment before you leave on your cruise and it won't post till the day you set it at. So why even bother waiting till after you board the ship ?

[LHT28]

I use my own laptop when on a cruise & have no problem paying any bills online

Most bank website have a secure system & encrypted

[SuitCaseBears]

I've done it with no problem which doesn't mean there isn't a security problem but only that I didn't have a security problem. But boy, it's so slow and frustrating to do.

 

but as many have said - why bother. Set it to autopay while you're away because heaven knows it takes forever, and you get dumped 1/2 through the process and have to start again.

 

the only reason I did it was because I spent a bit more money than I had planned for so I had to move money around and pay from a different account.

[Keith1010]

Input please on paying bills online with your own pc or ships pc's while at sea using their wi-fi? It's the security aspect I am concerned about.

 

We go away for long periods of time.

 

What we do is pretty much automate all of our payments so they are automatically made. Of course you could also manually do some of this on the computer as well but it's great if you can automate it.

 

I then monitor all of this daily from the ship.

 

While you can use a shared computer I prefer bringing my own and I do this from the comfort of my room.

 

Keith

[Krazy Kruizers]

I have a checking account separate from our regular checking account that is used to just pay for the utilities. Everything comes out of that special account automatically each month. That way I don't have to worry about Internet being slow or not working on the ship.

[5326jan]

I went to use the ship's computer to check email and someones bank account was open on the screen. :eek: They had been paying bills or checking their account and forgot to log off. Word of caution, double check that you've closed your account before you leave public computer!!! Not only did they leave their banking info up, but they'd never logged off so, their minutes were ticking away too! :(

[dorisis]

I have auto-pay with my checking account. When I am gone for long periods I just make sure there is enough monry in my checking account to pay all bills. Cruising should be worry free.

[spookwife]

Input please on paying bills online with your own pc or ships pc's while at sea using their wi-fi? It's the security aspect I am concerned about.

 

I would never trust on board security, speed and whatnot to pay a bill online. the lag can be so bad that the payment may not go through at all, or go through twice. or....

 

esp with wi fi.. not encrypted to a level DH is comfortable with.

 

either prepay before you go or set it up to automatically come out on a given date. in fact most of my online bill paying is done that way..

[spookwife]

I use my own laptop when on a cruise & have no problem paying any bills online

Most bank website have a secure system & encrypted

 

it's not my bank I am worried about..

[ksqueak]

Input please on paying bills online with your own pc or ships pc's while at sea using their wi-fi? It's the security aspect I am concerned about.

 

 

I use a bill paying system thru my bank. So I set up what I can to be paid while I'm gone. I usually just pay the last amount for the utilities and kinda guess on the credit cards. I've never had to pay interest yet but I do realize it's a risk on they "guess". This way I can enjoy myself and not worry about the bills

[LHT28]

If you are on a short cruise you can work around the bills by paying in advance but a long cruise may need some other options

 

If you have bills that come out periodically & the balance is flexible you could always ask whoever is watching your home to open that bill & send you an email with the amount

We do that with our water bill

Most bills are paid by my CC then I just check my CC balance online & pay it off

 

property Taxes I just pay ahead of time

I have been doing this for the past 10 yr while cruising

YMMV

 

Lyn

[mtwingcpa]

I've done it with no problem which doesn't mean there isn't a security problem but only that I didn't have a security problem. But boy, it's so slow and frustrating to do.

 

I'll "second" both points. :-)

 

It once took me well over 5 minutes just to LOG IN to a credit card account! After that experience, I found ways to automate everything.

 

I try to NEVER access my financial accounts online while traveling. And I would certainly never do it from other than my own computer. But that's just me. I have a VPN (virtual private network) tool that I can use if access is absolutely necessary, but since I don't really understand how it works, I'm not sure if it really increases security... :-)

[Treven]

I also have automatic bill pay set up from my checking account, so it doesn't matter if I'm home or wherever. My pension hits on the first of the month and my bills come out of my checking account on the second. Very convenient.

Edited December 24, 2013 by Treven

[Philob]

Note that some banks, like Chase, will ask you to verify you are you when you log on using anything but your regular computer. They will text or email you an authorization code to input, thus using more minutes on your internet plan.

[14Terry]

Fortunately my bank allows me to schedule payments whenever I want online. I schedule from home before I cruise.

 

 

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[NMLady]

Input please on paying bills online with your own pc or ships pc's while at sea using their wi-fi? It's the security aspect I am concerned about.

 

I do not pay bills using ship's wifi or port wifi because of security concerns.

Most of my bills are set up to be paid automatically. The two that couldn't be set up I pay in advance of a cruise.

[zoncom]

I assume you are going on a longer cruise. Be aware that computer access in international areas can be spotty. Last year in Black sea no access for 9 days. Have seen it out mid Atlantic. Just set up auto pay which you can always cancel. No stress about no access or possible late payment fees.