Another Credit Card Room Charge Question

[livingis2me]

Hello,

 

The card I'd like to use for my room charges only has $1000 available on it. For my family of 5 how much of an authorization hold will be placed on it upon check in?

 

I've budgeted very carefully and my room charges will come out to less than $700. We've prepaid our tips and I've already paid for the UDP.

 

My concern is if they put too large of a hold, there may not be enough credit to cover the $700 in charges...

 

I'm not eligible for a credit limit increase since this is a new card so it wouldn't be an option to call ahead to increase my line...

 

Thank you,

Ron

[$hip$hape]

Hello,

 

The card I'd like to use for my room charges only has $1000 available on it. For my family of 5 how much of an authorization hold will be placed on it upon check in?

 

I've budgeted very carefully and my room charges will come out to less than $700. We've prepaid our tips and I've already paid for the UDP.

 

My concern is if they put too large of a hold, there may not be enough credit to cover the $700 in charges...

 

I'm not eligible for a credit limit increase since this is a new card so it wouldn't be an option to call ahead to increase my line...

Ron

Curious...

I didn't know NCL placed an "authorization hold" on credit cards.

Although, I've not had a card with only a $1000 limit.

[SteveH2508]

You could buy yourself some OBC from a previous monthly billing cycle to relieve the strain (obviously pay it off before you leave on the cruise). Just a suggestion - no judgement - no drama.

[Demonyte]

The holds are usually done for every starting $300 spent. Even though with most credit cards one shouldn't even notice that the hold(s) exists and in that case the holds won't be a problem to begin with.

[tel2]

I think it also depends on the credit card company and how they treat authorizations. On my last 10 day cruise on the Gem, the initial authorization was for 600.00 for 2 of us, but every time I charged something significant (spa services, excursions, a jewelry store purchase, etc) NCL put thru a new additional "authorization." for the increase in total amount outstanding. But of course, the final total at the end of the cruise didnt "match" any of those piecemeal authorizations. So, when the final amount was charged through as an actual charge on the final day of the cruise, AMEX didint drop off the old authorizations but continued to treat them as a hold for 7 days. So, when I got home, I had almost 6000. of holds still on my AMEX card, and the actual charge for 6000. had also gone thru. If there had been a limit on that card, it would have been a real problem....

 

Terry

[rbrugler]

I am on disability and save for our cruise over the course of the year. I certainly would not pay for the UDP. The meals in the buffet and MDR's are great. That in itself saves a lot of money. Then, put cash down on your on board account. When its gone, you need to put more cash down. That should do it.

Edited November 4, 2014 by rbrugler

[livingis2me]

I've always used cash for my room charges on other cruises. Recently I decided to get a credit card and I was going to use it instead of cash this time... But it seems like it is going to be more trouble than it's worth... I'll have more than enough credit on it to do what I need to do. I just don't know if they'll hold an amount and try to recharge it at the end. Since I typically don't use cards I'm not sure how this works...

 

Ron

[livingis2me]

I am on disability and save for our cruise over the course of the year. I certainly would not pay for the UDP. The meals in the buffet and MDR's are great. That in itself saves a lot of money. Then, put cash down on your on board account. When its gone, you need to put more cash down. That should do it.

 

Sounds like a good plan for you.:) I personally want to try the specialty restaurants as I typically do when I cruise. That is why we bought the plan. We aren't necessarily looking for ways to save money. I've budgeted what we want to spend on the ship like I always do and we always stick to it. Ever since our first cruise we had a $1600 room bill, we decided we don't ever want to do that again.:o

 

Ron

[agabbymama]

If you use the credit card to sign in at the pier, they will place the hold on your card for $300 pp so you have already dropped your available credit from $1000 to only $400 left. The hold on your card could take up to a month to be removed, so it could affect your total line of credit until that happens. Then there wouldn't be enough to actually charge your exact bill at the end of the cruise. It is very easy to have a tab of over $1000 for two people. And heaven help you if you use that card on shore for any purchases.

 

I'd go to the Purser's Desk and deposit $300 pp in cash. Then if your charges use up the $300 they will suspend your spending until you go put more cash on your account. It's much easier to control your spending if you are actually using cash. You can ask for a printout of your bill every other day or every couple of days to keep tabs of your balance.

 

Have a great trip!

[livingis2me]

If you use the credit card to sign in at the pier, they will place the hold on your card for $300 pp so you have already dropped your available credit from $1000 to only $400 left. The hold on your card could take up to a month to be removed, so it could affect your total line of credit until that happens. Then there wouldn't be enough to actually charge your exact bill at the end of the cruise. It is very easy to have a tab of over $1000 for two people. And heaven help you if you use that card on shore for any purchases.

 

I'd go to the Purser's Desk and deposit $300 pp in cash. Then if your charges use up the $300 they will suspend your spending until you go put more cash on your account. It's much easier to control your spending if you are actually using cash. You can ask for a printout of your bill every other day or every couple of days to keep tabs of your balance.

 

Have a great trip!

 

 

Except we've got five in our family. So the $300 per person hold on my card would beyond max it out. I know it's easy to spend a lot. That is why we budget and stick to it. I've prepaid the tips and the dinners. We have a set amount to buy drinks, souvenirs, photos, Carlos bakery, gelato, ice bar, etc... We will be fine. That card was only for convenience of not dealing with the purser and cash. I would not be using it elsewhere. We use cash in ports. This obviously won't work out. I'll put cash down... Although, I'll try to talk them into taking less than the $1500 they'd want, as I don't want to let NCL hold $800 of mine that we won't be using on the ship for a month or so before sending me a refund... And I'll just put the card away for now.

 

Anyone here have experience putting cash down and not having to put the entire $300 per person? Especially considering the tips and dinners are prepaid??? And 3 of them minors who will by no means need $300 each worth of services and drinks...

 

Thanks,

Ron

[Demonyte]

Anyone here have experience putting cash down and not having to put the entire $300 per person? Especially considering the tips and dinners are prepaid???

 

 

Yes, there have been multiple people reporting here that they have only deposited couple of hundred for the whole family - especially after the DSC has been prepaid. You don't need to explain anything to anybody, while check-in just tell the person helping you that you want to open a cash account and after boarding just go to guest services and deposit anything you like - you shouldn't have any problems.

 

P.S. With kids it's often recommended here to remove the charging privileges from their cards, that way they can't "accidentally" spend everything on your account in the arcade etc.

[Irene7]

Except we've got five in our family. So the $300 per person hold on my card would beyond max it out. I know it's easy to spend a lot. That is why we budget and stick to it. I've prepaid the tips and the dinners. We have a set amount to buy drinks, souvenirs, photos, Carlos bakery, gelato, ice bar, etc... We will be fine. That card was only for convenience of not dealing with the purser and cash. I would not be using it elsewhere. We use cash in ports. This obviously won't work out. I'll put cash down... Although, I'll try to talk them into taking less than the $1500 they'd want, as I don't want to let NCL hold $800 of mine that we won't be using on the ship for a month or so before sending me a refund... And I'll just put the card away for now.

 

Anyone here have experience putting cash down and not having to put the entire $300 per person? Especially considering the tips and dinners are prepaid??? And 3 of them minors who will by no means need $300 each worth of services and drinks...

 

Thanks,

Ron

 

My sister cruised on the Breakaway this past June with 4 people in the stateroom. They paid on a cash basis. When they first got on the ship they put $400. in cash down for the (room) and tied everyone into that amount. She had absolutely no problems. When the $400. was almost spent, they went back to guest services and put more money down. They did not have to put a certain amount down for each guest. I just did the same thing on a RCCL cruise we took a couple of weeks ago and we also had no problems. I don't think the holds on a credit card are the same as they place on debit cards. I would call the cruise line to find out more on how NCL handles credit cards.

Edited November 4, 2014 by Irene7

[meatball_nyc]

Exactly.

We didn't tell anyone anything.

Watched our onboard account and paid it off mid week and then the night before disembarking. Walked off with $0.00 balance.

This was on Breakaway in July.

They don't mind taking your cash!

Hope this helps.

 

 

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

[livingis2me]

Yes, there have been multiple people reporting here that they have only deposited couple of hundred for the whole family - especially after the DSC has been prepaid. You don't need to explain anything to anybody, while check-in just tell the person helping you that you want to open a cash account and after boarding just go to guest services and deposit anything you like - you shouldn't have any problems.

 

P.S. With kids it's often recommended here to remove the charging privileges from their cards, that way they can't "accidentally" spend everything on your account in the arcade etc.

 

Thanks for that advice. We do usually do that with the kids, but it had slipped my mind. Usually we have the opportunity to set up charging privileges and cash accounts and such during on-line check in.

 

The way NCL does things is foreign to me. With Disney and RCL we usually have so much OBC and they give you a cash credit of about $500. So you usually don't need to put anything down until you get to the end of the $500 that they'd advanced you... On Carnival we gave the check in person at the port $200 or so and they have machines that you can deposit more cash as you go if you'd like...

 

Ron

[livingis2me]

Exactly.

We didn't tell anyone anything.

Watched our onboard account and paid it off mid week and then the night before disembarking. Walked off with $0.00 balance.

This was on Breakaway in July.

They don't mind taking your cash!

Hope this helps.

 

 

~Robin

Every Day at Sea is a Great Day

 

Thank you, it does help.

 

My sister cruised on the Breakaway this past June with 4 people in the stateroom. They paid on a cash basis. When they first got on the ship they put $400. in cash down for the (room) and tied everyone into that amount. She had absolutely no problems. When the $400. was almost spent, they went back to guest services and put more money down. They did not have to put a certain amount down for each guest. I just did the same thing on a RCCL cruise we took a couple of weeks ago and we also had no problems. I don't think the holds on a credit card are the same as they place on debit cards. I would call the cruise line to find out more on how NCL handles credit cards.

 

I called the cruise line last night and the rep did not know how much they'd hold on my card. She said she assumed that it would be the same as the cash amount and she said her supervisor agreed with her. She did say it was ultimately up to the purser on the ship if they'd let me board with less than $300 per person, but be prepared to not be allowed to board.:rolleyes:

 

Ron

[Demonyte]

I called the cruise line last night and the rep did not know how much they'd hold on my card.

 

Unfortunately the call center reps do know very little about what actually happens onboard. It's advisable to take everything they say with a grain of salt, just like info you can get here (if not backed up by others).

[NMLady]

Hello,

 

The card I'd like to use for my room charges only has $1000 available on it. For my family of 5 how much of an authorization hold will be placed on it upon check in?

 

I've budgeted very carefully and my room charges will come out to less than $700. We've prepaid our tips and I've already paid for the UDP.

 

My concern is if they put too large of a hold, there may not be enough credit to cover the $700 in charges...

 

I'm not eligible for a credit limit increase since this is a new card so it wouldn't be an option to call ahead to increase my line...

 

Thank you,

Ron

 

We also prepaid our "tips", the DSC, and the initial hold on our card was $300 for two of us, with more periodic $300 holds as we spent money aboard.

 

Since your DSC "tips" are prepaid I'd think your initial hold would also be $300 even though there are five of you.

[Demonyte]

We also prepaid our "tips", the DSC, and the initial hold on our card was $300 for two of us, with more periodic $300 holds as we spent money aboard.

 

Since your DSC "tips" are prepaid I'd think your initial hold would also be $300 even though there are five of you.

 

This is my understanding also, the holds are done according to the actual usage (new/updated authorization for every starting $300), not by the amount of people linked to the account.

[NMLady]

If you use the credit card to sign in at the pier, they will place the hold on your card for $300 pp so you have already dropped your available credit from $1000 to only $400 left. The hold on your card could take up to a month to be removed, so it could affect your total line of credit until that happens. Then there wouldn't be enough to actually charge your exact bill at the end of the cruise. It is very easy to have a tab of over $1000 for two people. And heaven help you if you use that card on shore for any purchases.

 

I'd go to the Purser's Desk and deposit $300 pp in cash. ......

 

Have a great trip!

 

I think you are overlooking that the OP prepaid their "tips", the DSC.

Since the main purpose of a hold is to make sure there is enough for the DSC and that is already taken care of, there is no reason to hold such a large amount.

[rbrugler]

Several times I have put $400 down for two of us. I added a couple hundred later in the cruise. No problem. Do not give them your card. And, you will be able to board. Not to worry! I think enough people have said the same thing so you know it will be just fine. Also, call you credit card customer service and ask about holds and charging.

[Irene7]

Thank you, it does help.

 

 

 

I called the cruise line last night and the rep did not know how much they'd hold on my card. She said she assumed that it would be the same as the cash amount and she said her supervisor agreed with her. She did say it was ultimately up to the purser on the ship if they'd let me board with less than $300 per person, but be prepared to not be allowed to board.:rolleyes:

 

Ron

 

I find it hard to believe that they would not allow you on board. I would just bring cash and put $300., or $400., down on the room and add more during the cruise and not worry about it. Pre-pay your tips and excursions. We will be on the Gem in May and that is what I am planning to do.

[sparks1093]

They pre-authorized $300 on my card for my family of 4. I believe you will be fine with your card. (Pre-authorizations are different from the holds put on debit cards.) Our friend that traveled with us put $152 in cash on her account. We had pre-paid all of the service charges.

Edited November 5, 2014 by sparks1093

[livingis2me]

Thanks for all the help on this...

 

I'm pretty sure I'll just put $500 cash down and see how it goes. I'm not worried about not being allowed to board. I'll come back and let everyone know how it goes...

 

Ron

[Siora7777]

It won't be that much, last year my sister took a four day cruise on the Sky and she only had to put down one hold for the whole family on a debit card, I think it was only $150. Obviously it would be different on a seven day cruise but it can't be that much, probably $400. We made sure none of the kids could charge anything. We were worried too because that's a lot of money to be putting on hold. But like one cruiser said, I'm not sure they put holds on credit cards, I don't remember seeing one on mine. We did call NCL to make sure last year before our cruise and we received information along these lines. Don't quote me though, it's been a whole year.