Settlement of a cash account

[moopetguy]

Asking out of curiosity -- how does RCI settle cash accounts that don't have a zero balance at the end of the sailing?

 

I know that with a credit card attached to the SeaPass, they will obviously charge your card if a balance remains unpaid. I've even had a 22-cent ($0.22) credit on my onboard account refunded to my credit card, that I had written off (i.e. not bothered going to Guest Services to line up on the last day to collect 22 cents; I was just going to let RCI have it).

 

But with a cash account, I am wondering what they would do. If you have a credit remaining for refundable OBC, would they mail you a cheque (check, sorry, I'm Canadian)?

 

What about a balance owed to them? Would they even let you disembark the ship?

 

What if your balance is zero (allowing departure from the ship) but then they find you have something owed to them because they checked the in-room mini-bar and found you consumed something? Would they mail you an invoice?

 

Thanks :)

[cruiserking]

Obc is not refundable. I'm not sure what credit you had refunded but, typically if you don't use your obc on board it disappears into the cruise stratosphere.

 

If you are paying with cash they will contact you before the end of the cruise to make sure you put some more money towards your on board account.

 

Jonathan

[moopetguy]

Obc is not refundable. I'm not sure what credit you had refunded but, typically if you don't use your obc on board it disappears into the cruise stratosphere.

 

"OBC is not refundable" is a common refrain I've heard, but I've also been told there is non-refundable OBC and refundable OBC, which are different forms.

 

For example, if you buy extra OBC through Gifts & Gear (or had some given to you as a gift), I doubt RCI would refuse to refund any remaining OBC to you because they would effectively be stealing your money.

 

And in the situation I described, I did not buy any extra OBC through G&G. So it was strictly OBC that was given to me by RCI (and it was quite a lot -- $861.88 in total, from various RCI sources for various reasons). This was the sailing in which I had 22 cents remaining that was refunded to my Visa.

[molly361]

If you owed money your Sea Pass card would be flagged when you try to disembark.

 

You can get back any refundable OBC the last day of the cruise at Guest Services and I believe the casino if you have a cash account.

 

Not sure if they send you a check if you do not take it out

[TravelerThom]

Obc is not refundable. I'm not sure what credit you had refunded but, typically if you don't use your obc on board it disappears into the cruise stratosphere...

Sorry, but this is BS.

I have personally had what remained of an OBC from my TA refunded in cash, and I have separately had TA OBC refunded to MY credit card. OBC is supposedly non-refundable if the OBC comes from RCI, and usually it is, but one time I was getting cash for the TA OBC and they handed me the 87 cents left in the non-refundable pot.

[cb at sea]

If you have refundable money left..they will mail you a check...could take a couple weeks, but you'll get it.

If you owe money, you'll need to pay it before you leave. You can put a credit card on file, in case your funds don't exactly zero out...so you don't have to deal with lines on the last night or last morning.

[chadbeck]

On my past cruises, as of last year, you had to settle your cash account the night before leaving by 11p.m or so. If you want to use your sea pass after that point you need to leave money with them basically giving yourself obc.

 

So if you had obc left you would find out then and you could cash out any refundable obc you have left. I've never had obc left going into the last day so can't say for sure that would work.

[moopetguy]

Thanks for the replies so far. As I mentioned, it's really just to satisfy my curiosity :)

 

One aspect of my question remains unanswered. I know that if you have a cash account you need to settle it by 23:00 on the night prior to disembarking.

 

But what if your account is zero (letting you leave the ship) and you have a mini-bar charge that they don't find out about until after you leave, since they don't check the mini-bar until later in the morning when they reset for the next sailing?

 

Note: I don't plan to do this, this is strictly academic! :D

[Merion_Mom]

If you owed money your Sea Pass card would be flagged when you try to disembark.

 

You can get back any refundable OBC the last day of the cruise at Guest Services and I believe the casino if you have a cash account.

 

Not sure if they send you a check if you do not take it out

 

Yeah.

 

Instead of "ding", the machine will say, "DOINK". ;) :D

[Retired LEO]

Yeah.

 

Instead of "ding", the machine will say, "DOINK". ;) :D

 

I know that sound all too well...:o

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Yeah.

 

Instead of "ding", the machine will say, "DOINK". ;) :D

 

I probably drove the girl at Guest Services crazy the last night on the Radiance last summer when I was closing out my account making sure she had ticked off everything that needed to be ticked off because the previous summer I was on HAL, and the girl there DIDN'T check something so when I was going off with the post-cruise tour I was on, I got the DOINK and had to go back for whatever didn't get ticked to get ticked. I was NOT a happy camper. Or cruiser!

 

(I did make the tour, thankfully.)

Edited January 19, 2016 by WrittenOnYourHeart

[TrojanUSC]

Can somebody explain why you'd even consider having a cash account? It makes no sense why you'd want to voluntarily stand in line in an era where everybody has debit, prepaid or credit cards.

[Biker19]

Can somebody explain why you'd even consider having a cash account? It makes no sense why you'd want to voluntarily stand in line in an era where everybody has debit, prepaid or credit cards.

 

Some people like cash and abhor plastic - regardless of the inconvenience that may cause.:cool:

[moopetguy]

Can somebody explain why you'd even consider having a cash account? It makes no sense why you'd want to voluntarily stand in line in an era where everybody has debit, prepaid or credit cards.

 

The most practical reason immediately coming to mind is that if you want to draw money from your account at the casino, a credit-card-backed SeaPass account will incur a 5% fee (presumably to cover the merchant fee). Drawing funds at the casino from a cash account doesn't have any added fee.

[moopetguy]

Some people like cash and abhor plastic - regardless of the inconvenience that may cause.:cool:

 

Related to the use of plastic, some people don't like their spending history being tracked and sold to advertisers, or even used for the credit card issuer's own internal purposes.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Can somebody explain why you'd even consider having a cash account? It makes no sense why you'd want to voluntarily stand in line in an era where everybody has debit, prepaid or credit cards.

 

A) Some of us like to have our trip as paid off as possible up front. If that means buying OBC ahead of time that we might have to wait to have refunded, so be it.

 

B) There is NOT always this mythical huge line everyone talks about. If you wait until the last minute, sure. There may be a small line. But not everyone stays up until weird hours of the night, so not everyone is going to be out and about and spending/drinking after 11. You pick your timing.

 

C) Not everyone WANTS credit cards.

 

D) Not everyone wants to deal with the ridiculous additional amount of a hold that is placed seemingly indefinitely on the funds in a checking account (which is usually what a debit card is linked to).

 

E) There have been multiple reports that RCCL is not accepting pre-paid cards for shipboard accounts.

[Ourusualbeach]

A) Some of us like to have our trip as paid off as possible up front. If that means buying OBC ahead of time that we might have to wait to have refunded, so be it.

 

B) There is NOT always this mythical huge line everyone talks about. If you wait until the last minute, sure. There may be a small line. But not everyone stays up until weird hours of the night, so not everyone is going to be out and about and spending/drinking after 11. You pick your timing.

 

C) Not everyone WANTS credit cards.

 

D) Not everyone wants to deal with the ridiculous additional amount of a hold that is placed seemingly indefinitely on the funds in a checking account (which is usually what a debit card is linked to).

 

E) There have been multiple reports that RCCL is not accepting pre-paid cards for shipboard accounts.

 

And with a cash account you will not be charged the 5% fee for cash withdrawals in the casino.

[LBCABob]

And with a cash account you will not be charged the 5% fee for cash withdrawals in the casino.

 

If you start off with a Cash Account, withdraw $ at the casino at the beginning of your cruise (no 5% fee) and then on the last day or so, go to GS and give them a CC to cover any balance due, has RCI ever charged the 5% on that earlier casino transaction - sorta "after the fact"?

[Ourusualbeach]

If you start off with a Cash Account, withdraw $ at the casino at the beginning of your cruise (no 5% fee) and then on the last day or so, go to GS and give them a CC to cover any balance due, has RCI ever charged the 5% on that earlier casino transaction - sorta "after the fact"?

 

They did not with me, however I had OBC to cover the cash withdrawals at the casino.

[cincicruisers]

I have always wondered what RC does if cash account customer does not have enough money to pay the bill. We have seen people get boinked and sent to Guest Servies. Anyone know what happens??

[Biker19]

I have always wondered what RC does if cash account customer does not have enough money to pay the bill. We have seen people get boinked and sent to Guest Servies. Anyone know what happens??

 

Sure, you get to scrub the deck on the next cruise to work off what you owe.:cool:

Edited January 19, 2016 by Biker19

[DrD]

Some people like cash and abhor plastic - regardless of the inconvenience that may cause.:cool:

 

Personally I'm not so wealthy that I could give up the 3% rewards I get on my Amazon visa, not to mention the interest-free 7 week loans (if you time the billing cycle properly.)

 

 

 

But as to the topic, am I understanding they don't let you leave if you owe money? Hmmmm.....

[moopetguy]

I have always wondered what RC does if cash account customer does not have enough money to pay the bill. We have seen people get boinked and sent to Guest Servies. Anyone know what happens??

 

You have to wash ALL the dishes for the next sailing? :D

 

Just kidding of course, I don't know. Maybe they make you cough up a credit card but if you really don't have a card or the money...you can't get blood from a stone. Maybe they send your file to a collection agency and you're not welcomed back in the future until you're square again.

[Biker19]

Personally I'm not so wealthy that I could give up the 3% rewards I get on my Amazon visa, not to mention the interest-free 7 week loans (if you time the billing cycle properly.)

 

No wealthy person will tell you they got rich from reward points or interest free loans. Studies done on financial decisions will say that people who use cash spend less than people who use plastic (even to overcome whatever rewards card companies dangle in front of you). Becoming wealthy is rarely a math issue, it's a behavioral one - that's where using cash helps. :cool:

Edited January 19, 2016 by Biker19

[Merion_Mom]

And with a cash account you will not be charged the 5% fee for cash withdrawals in the casino.

 

I am going to "test" that theory this week. :D