credit card/on board account

[SquishTheWhale]

We have just booked our first cruise and I'm trying to get my head around how things work!

 

I've read in the FAQs on the NCL website that if leaving a cash deposit on your on board account they require a minimum of $450pp for a 10 day cruise. We plan to use a credit card, however myself and my partner only have one credit card and it only has a £500 limit. Is there a similar $450 rule on credit cards as there is for cash? Does it matter what the limit on the card is? (obviously apart from that we can only spend £500 on it!)

Edited April 14, 2015 by SquishTheWhale

[fifescotland]

We have just booked our first cruise and I'm trying to get my head around how things work!

 

I've read in the FAQs on the NCL website that if leaving a cash deposit on your on board account they require a minimum of $450pp for a 10 day cruise. We plan to use a credit card, however myself and my partner only have one credit card and it only has a £500 limit. Is there a similar $450 rule on credit cards as there is for cash? Does it matter what the limit on the card is? (obviously apart from that we can only spend £500 on it!)

 

Card issuers don't like it, but you can overpay your credit card - so if you overpaid a bill manually by £300, you'd have £800 credit limit.

 

They may not allow you to do this over the phone or their website, but do a bank transfer onto your credit card account, and you'll see it in credit.

 

Also, different passengers can be on different cards, so if you can each get a card with £500 limit, you'll also be fine.

 

Finally, often credit cards can be taken beyond their limit, especially when travelling, without any problems.

 

£500 is an exceptionally low limit, so to make the £610 needed for a $900 earmarked funds for two, just ask - I'm sure they'll extend for this reason. Failing that, overpay.

[Demonyte]

The initial pre-authorization for credit cards is usually $300 per account (one shared account can be used by more than one passengers).

 

I'd suggest prepaying as much as possible (at least the service charges) before the cruise in order to avoid the situation of rejected authorization because of the low limit on the card.

[TrumpyNor]

Even though you have given them a credit card at check-in, you can (if you want to) pay money (by cash or using a debit card or by using a different credit card) in to your on board account as often as you would like to(and as much as you would like to) during the cruise, and by that "minimizing" the final amount that will be charged to your credit card the day that the cruise is over. You can also check your account regularly during the cruise, to see if you are getting close to your limit. I believe that if you are getting close to the limit of your credit card, you might have some problems because they will put on "hold" more money than you have actually used for a period of time, just to be covered if some of your charges are added to the on board account a little late, for one reason or another.

[SquishTheWhale]

Thanks both- so do I understand correctly that they will pre authorise $300 on the credit card and only authorise more if we go over that amount? Therefore the low limit on the card is within the 'rules'? I guess I'm worried that they would refuse to take the card for the account due to the low limit.

 

I don't have a credit card (can't be trusted, I love shopping too much haha) and my partner only has his for emergencies, we never use it. I guess we could ask his bank to temporarily increase his credit limit?

 

The other option I thought of is that we put the £500 limit card down on the account, but if we are getting towards the limit we put some cash down as well to pay off the account. Is that possible? To be honest we aren't planning on spending a huge amount on board, but I know that things can add up!

[SquishTheWhale]

Even though you have given them a credit card at check-in, you can (if you want to) pay money (by cash or using a debit card or by using a different credit card) in to your on board account as often as you would like to(and as much as you would like to) during the cruise, and by that "minimizing" the final amount that will be charged to your credit card the day that the cruise is over. You can also check your account regularly during the cruise, to see if you are getting close to your limit. I believe that if you are getting close to the limit of your credit card, you might have some problems because they will put on "hold" more money than you have actually used for a period of time, just to be covered if some of your charges are added to the on board account a little late, for one reason or another.

 

Just saw this after I replied- so that answers one of my questions and sounds like it might be the way forward! We could put the card down on account, but then pay the account off in cash, maybe when we go over half of the limit.