Folk Singer Posted October 20, 2014 #76 Share Posted October 20, 2014 'I have a prepaid card through paypal which I use, when I travel. It only has what i put on it. so if it gets lost then no more worry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missorahbaby Posted October 22, 2014 #77 Share Posted October 22, 2014 'I have a prepaid card through paypal which I use, when I travel. It only has what i put on it. so if it gets lost then no more worry. Precisely what I always have done. Because of some less than desirable situations in my life, I have not had credit cards available to me until quite recently. I have always loaded money on to a prepaid card and used that for travel. Works like a charm. Never had a problem. And since it's not tied in to my bank account, no worries there. And I am still in total control of how much -- or how little -- I spend. Heck, I have credit cards now but I may still used the prepaid debit cards when I take both of my cruises next year, just to keep my spending in check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare John Bull Posted October 22, 2014 #78 Share Posted October 22, 2014 'I have a prepaid card through paypal which I use, when I travel. It only has what i put on it. so if it gets lost then no more worry. Precisely what I always have done. Because of some less than desirable situations in my life, I have not had credit cards available to me until quite recently. I have always loaded money on to a prepaid card and used that for travel. Works like a charm. Never had a problem. And since it's not tied in to my bank account, no worries there. And I am still in total control of how much -- or how little -- I spend. Heck, I have credit cards now but I may still used the prepaid debit cards when I take both of my cruises next year, just to keep my spending in check. Hmmmmmmm. This thread seems to have gone full circle.;) No doubt the pre-paid cards work when you want to pay for something. Or to draw cash. Perhaps even at the end of the cruise, to settle the sum that you have actually spent on the ship. But its a fact that many, if not all, cruise lines will not accept all pre-pay debit cards for registering at the start of the cruise. This is because with most (all?)pre-pay cards there is no facility to place a temporary "hold" on that money - the vendor either debits money from that card or doesn't debit money from it. So I'll repeat the caution given by many on this thread - if you propose to use a pre-pay debit card, rather than a bank account-linked debit card or a credit card or hard cash, to register at the start of a cruise do ask the cruise line whether the card is acceptable. Don't rely on it having a visa logo or whatever. Perhaps anyone who has successfully registered a pre-pay debit card at the start of a cruise could post the name of the card and cruise line. JB :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folk Singer Posted October 23, 2014 #79 Share Posted October 23, 2014 (edited) I have purchased a prepaid VISA & intend to use that for onboard expense account. One good thing is that there is a set limit. Prepaid Card is a good way to go. Edited October 23, 2014 by Folk Singer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folk Singer Posted October 23, 2014 #80 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Hmmmmmmm.This thread seems to have gone full circle.;) No doubt the pre-paid cards work when you want to pay for something. Or to draw cash. Perhaps even at the end of the cruise, to settle the sum that you have actually spent on the ship. But its a fact that many, if not all, cruise lines will not accept all pre-pay debit cards for registering at the start of the cruise. This is because with most (all?)pre-pay cards there is no facility to place a temporary "hold" on that money - the vendor either debits money from that card or doesn't debit money from it. So I'll repeat the caution given by many on this thread - if you propose to use a pre-pay debit card, rather than a bank account-linked debit card or a credit card or hard cash, to register at the start of a cruise do ask the cruise line whether the card is acceptable. Don't rely on it having a visa logo or whatever. Perhaps anyone who has successfully registered a pre-pay debit card at the start of a cruise could post the name of the card and cruise line. JB :) Never thought of that.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nana541 Posted October 23, 2014 #81 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Read the "fine print" on the back of the gift card..... Most say VALID IN THE UNITED STATES ONLY! Can not be used in ATM machines or Casinos or redeemed for cash or pre-authorization purposes. This is why they often don't work in restaurants. I am copying this directly off a Visa gift card sold at Albertson's grocery store. Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qqwer123 Posted October 29, 2014 #82 Share Posted October 29, 2014 We use credit card for our shipboard account and for the hotel room in Florida. For everything else we take a few thousand in American cash. We keep it in the room safes and take out a little as we need it for each island that we dock on. They all take American cash in the carrib. I try to not give out the credit card info to anything but princess and my hotel.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisead Posted October 29, 2014 #83 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Prepaid Card is a good way to go. Ok we will try this again. Cruise lines will NOT accept pre-paid cards from anywhere, not Visa, Am Ex, Kroger or any other place. Any card you use MUST have your name embossed on it. I just don't get what's so difficult about this concept. It's been written many times on this thread---pre-paid cards are not accepted. We've cruised on most lines, except for MSC and Thomson, and not one accepts pre-paid cards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folk Singer Posted October 29, 2014 #84 Share Posted October 29, 2014 Ok good to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maywell Posted October 30, 2014 #85 Share Posted October 30, 2014 It's better to use a credit card than a debit card for the simple fact the cruise line will not hold / freeze double the amount for weeks on a credit card compare to a debit card. If worse comes to worst, use the debit card as back up and buy yourself onboard credit of about $200-$300 before the trip for the onboard expense account and have about $50-200 in cash for the port stops. Most Caribbean islands take US dollars, do its a matter of figuring out which 2-3 islands don't. Sent from my SGH-T399 using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLYScorpions Posted October 30, 2014 #86 Share Posted October 30, 2014 Ok we will try this again. Cruise lines will NOT accept pre-paid cards from anywhere, not Visa, Am Ex, Kroger or any other place. Any card you use MUST have your name embossed on it. I just don't get what's so difficult about this concept. It's been written many times on this thread---pre-paid cards are not accepted. We've cruised on most lines, except for MSC and Thomson, and not one accepts pre-paid cards. Sweet! I appreciate the info...I must have missed where it had been discussed many times! It's really great how everyone on this forum gives helpful hints and advice to help each other out. It really helped me tremendously on my first cruise in many ways. We used a credit card on board the ship on that cruise and that was fine for us. I had thought about a prepaid card just because it would keep us from spending too much! So, now I know that is not an option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie469 Posted November 12, 2014 #87 Share Posted November 12, 2014 Let your cc company know you're going on a trip. An out-of-area charge could trigger a block on your account. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaMystique Posted November 27, 2014 #88 Share Posted November 27, 2014 I have no credit cards, only a debit card. How about using a pre-paid VISA card for onboard expenses & using my debit card for expenses off the ship. Pros/cons? C8tfish, I have the same question. I have sworn off credit cards and have used nothing but a debit card for years now. I don't want to open up a conventional credit-card account. A prepaid option would be ideal. Anyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nana541 Posted November 27, 2014 #89 Share Posted November 27, 2014 Most cruise lines will not accept any grocery store style "Visa Gift Cards" and if you look at the fine print in the back they say for use in the US only. You can load your onboard acct prior to leaving home with your debit card but once you checkin and use your debt card they will immediately pre-authorize and hold excess funds which may not be released until several days after returning home. In the mean time if you have bills trying to clear and don't have a fairly good reserve you could have bills bouncing. You can also bring cash onboard and pre-fund your account... All and all a credit card for cruising purposes only would be a whole lot cleaner than risking the damage that can be done with a Debit card. This is just my own opinion! Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilLady Posted November 29, 2014 #90 Share Posted November 29, 2014 At this time, we are not planning to use a credit card (don't have one) nor do we want to use our debit card (don't want the holds). So we were planning to go the cash route. Have never heard or read that there was a min or max amount if you go the cash route. But I believe I saw otherwise in this thread. Could anyone clarify this? We will be sailing RCCL in Jan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maywell Posted November 29, 2014 #91 Share Posted November 29, 2014 At this time, we are not planning to use a credit card (don't have one) nor do we want to use our debit card (don't want the holds). So we were planning to go the cash route. Have never heard or read that there was a min or max amount if you go the cash route. But I believe I saw otherwise in this thread. Could anyone clarify this? We will be sailing RCCL in Jan. Here's what the minimum is on Royal Caribbean cruise: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/whatToKnow/topTenFAQs/detail.do?pagename=top_10_faqs&pnav=4&snav=2&faqId=265&faqSubjectName=Top+FAQ%27s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilLady Posted November 29, 2014 #92 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Here's what the minimum is on Royal Caribbean cruise:http://www.royalcaribbean.com/beforeyouboard/whatToKnow/topTenFAQs/detail.do?pagename=top_10_faqs&pnav=4&snav=2&faqId=265&faqSubjectName=Top+FAQ%27s Thank you. That helped a lot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaMystique Posted November 30, 2014 #93 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Thanks all. I decided to take Nana 541's advice and apply for a credit card. I was able to do this and get approved in less than five minutes online ... a far cry from the days of yore! Since I am a recovering spendaholic I will put the card in DH's wallet and never use it until I am actually on board. I have been plastic-free for 12 years (except for a debit card), and I was uneasy taking this step. Still, I think there's really no better way to handle onboard spending. After the cruise I will pay off the balance and cut up the card before witnesses.[emoji18] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nana541 Posted November 30, 2014 #94 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Thanks all. I decided to take Nana 541's advice and apply for a credit card. I was able to do this and get approved in less than five minutes online ... a far cry from the days of yore! Since I am a recovering spendaholic I will put the card in DH's wallet and never use it until I am actually on board. I have been plastic-free for 12 years (except for a debit card), and I was uneasy taking this step. Still, I think there's really no better way to handle onboard spending. After the cruise I will pay off the balance and cut up the card before witnesses.[emoji18] Just use this card for registering your online account and at checkin..... You can even prepay OBC and pay your credit card off before you go. I just think risking messing up your checking account due to a debit card is a real bad idea! Remember just for the cruise and put that sucker away (says one spendaholic to another). Have a great time and check your onboard account each day to monitor your spending :) Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maywell Posted November 30, 2014 #95 Share Posted November 30, 2014 (edited) Just use this card for registering your online account and at checkin..... You can even prepay OBC and pay your credit card off before you go. I just think risking messing up your checking account due to a debit card is a real bad idea! Remember just for the cruise and put that sucker away (says one spendaholic to another). Have a great time and check your onboard account each day to monitor your spending :) Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app That's what I'm doing for my trip - Brought myself OBC and using the credit card to activate the sail card since it wouldn't charge anything until its attached / connected to credit / debit card or cash (This applies to NCL, dunno about the other lines - Weird, yes I know but it is what it is....). Or just bring the minimum cash deposit (varies per line) and use that for your account. Just don't use your debit card - those holds could mess up your mortgage or rent payment schedule!:eek: Edited November 30, 2014 by maywell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champster Posted December 1, 2014 #96 Share Posted December 1, 2014 I too appreciate the heads up. I've always been the debit card type guy, but don't want any holds on my $$. I applied, and got approved, for a Discover card today so I'm breathing a little easier now. Was up all night thinking that my extra "EMERGENCY CASINO CASH" (everyone who gambles in Vegas knows what that is). I would hate to not be able to get some loot from my bank because NCL locked the account. Cold sweats ensued after reading this yesterday. I can breathe now. Even get 1% cash back too!!:D T- 13 days to BA!!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nana541 Posted December 1, 2014 #97 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Will your actual card reach you in time to take it on your cruise?? Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Champster Posted December 1, 2014 #98 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Discover said that it will be mailed tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nana541 Posted December 2, 2014 #99 Share Posted December 2, 2014 (edited) Cutting it close, good job! Have a great time on your cruise :) Sent from my iPhone using Forums Edited December 2, 2014 by nana541 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfie469 Posted December 2, 2014 #100 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Discover said that it will be mailed tomorrow. TIP: Don't carry a balance. Interest rate is over 20%. :mad: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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