Credit card and OBC???

[azdmelani]

These were daily pending charges. Should have clarified.

[myfuzzy]

Just remember that you use a credit card and not a debit card and the if you order a drink, your charge may indicate a "bar" you may not be familiar with because the server will go to the closest bar for his/her convenience. Harder to keep track of now that they don't give you a receipt to compare. But near the passenger services desk there is a kiosk you can swipe you card in to check your daily charges, you must swipe both cards to get both folios, each guest has their own list of charges

[Sveltana]

Thank you all for your answers. Very appreciated.

[Jersey42]

These were daily pending charges. Should have clarified.

 

Thanks for the update. Based on my experience, these daily "pending charges" or "temporary authorizations are typical. But the only "real charge" is at the end of the cruise.

[Te Aroha]

Make sure that you are charged in US$ on your ship board account, let your credit card company convert to your home currency. Princess exchange rates are very high compared to the CC rates. I have never had a charge or hold on my own CC unless I have run out of on board credit with the exception of buying future cruise credits which are charged directly to the card.

 

Also try not to buy any foreign currency on board as the same high exchange rates apply plus I believe a charge per transaction of $US 6. Take foreign currency with you or find out where you can get this on arrival in ports.

 

Enjoy your cruise :)

[NavyVeteran]

Just remember that you use a credit card and not a debit card and the if you order a drink, your charge may indicate a "bar" you may not be familiar with because the server will go to the closest bar for his/her convenience. Harder to keep track of now that they don't give you a receipt to compare. But near the passenger services desk there is a kiosk you can swipe you card in to check your daily charges, you must swipe both cards to get both folios, each guest has their own list of charges

 

I've never had to swipe both cards. If both accounts are charged to the same credit card and if you swipe the card belonging to the "owner" of the credit card (as entered in the Cruise Personalizer), then it gives you the option to get both statements. However if my wife swiped her card (not the "owner" of the credit card), then she could get only her statement.

[myfuzzy]

I've never had to swipe both cards. If both accounts are charged to the same credit card and if you swipe the card belonging to the "owner" of the credit card (as entered in the Cruise Personalizer), then it gives you the option to get both statements. However if my wife swiped her card (not the "owner" of the credit card), then she could get only her statement.

 

Hmmm, I have always gotten just my "side", we always have had separate accounts, both accounts have always been set up with one CC in the personalizer. Example, last November, I wanted a pre purchase, which was never delivered, credited back to my account, two days I kept checking, never saw it. So my DH had printed out his statement and low and behold it was there. We are sailing in a few weeks, I will take a closer look and check it out, thanks for the heads up.

[Sveltana]

Make sure that you are charged in US$ on your ship board account, let your credit card company convert to your home currency. Princess exchange rates are very high compared to the CC rates.

 

Also try not to buy any foreign currency on board as the same high exchange rates apply plus I believe a charge per transaction of $US 6. Take foreign currency with you or find out where you can get this on arrival in ports.

 

Enjoy your cruise :)

 

Thanks Te Aroha! That is what I did. I thought Princess exchange rate would be higher than CC rates. And we both have CC that do not charge conversion fees for foreign currency transactions which is a plus!!!

 

We also intend to buy foreign currency at home before leaving for the cruise.

[NavyVeteran]

Hmmm, I have always gotten just my "side", we always have had separate accounts, both accounts have always been set up with one CC in the personalizer. Example, last November, I wanted a pre purchase, which was never delivered, credited back to my account, two days I kept checking, never saw it. So my DH had printed out his statement and low and behold it was there. We are sailing in a few weeks, I will take a closer look and check it out, thanks for the heads up.

 

Who is listed as the owner of the credit card? That is the only person who can see both accounts. Even if the credit card company considers you both as co-owners, Princess will allow only one person to be listed as "owner" of each credit card.

[Linsifer]

Just like when my daughter and I cruised together in 2015, I registered separate credit cards for my husband and myself. Easier to keep track of our OBC. We each get $242. Why do you suggest using one card for both of us? Either way, anything we spend over the OBC amount will eventually come out our joint checking account when I pay the credit card bills.

 

 

 

When you enter your immigration information in the cruise

personlizer there will be a section where you enter your credit card, and a check box to link both on board accounts together. When you check that box both on board accounts will be netted into a single summary charge at the end of the cruise. Use one credit card for both. The credit card information is required to print out your boarding passes.

[NavyVeteran]

Just like when my daughter and I cruised together in 2015, I registered separate credit cards for my husband and myself. Easier to keep track of our OBC. We each get $242. Why do you suggest using one card for both of us? Either way, anything we spend over the OBC amount will eventually come out our joint checking account when I pay the credit card bills.

 

If one of you has a lot of nonrefundable OBC and the other one does not, you would need to make sure the person with the nonrefundable OBC has enough charges to cover it - otherwise you lose it. If you charge to the same credit card, then extra OBC on one account is automatically applied to the other account, and you are charged - or refunded - for the net of the two accounts.

 

It's just as easy to keep track of individual OBC with one credit card as with two. Each of you still has a separate folio. It is only combined at the end of the cruise with the balance on the other account (debit or credit) transferred to the account owning the credit card.

[caribill]

Make sure that you are charged in US$ on your ship board account, let your credit card company convert to your home currency.

 

Australia based ships use Asutralia $ for onboard currency.

 

But your advice applies here also. Let you credit card company convert to your home currency.

[Te Aroha]

Australia based ships use Asutralia $ for onboard currency.

 

But your advice applies here also. Let you credit card company convert to your home currency.

 

OP is cruising the Baltic pretty sure they don't charge in $AU there. ;)

[SoCalTraveler]

My husband and I will board a Baltic sea cruise in June. It's our first cruise. I would like to know:

 

• Each time we buy something on the ship, will it be charged to the cabin or to the credit card assigned to each of us?
  
• Can we assign the same credit card to the two of us???
  
• We both have non refundable OBC. Are they automatically used at the beginning of the cruise so there is non left at the end of the cruise?
  

 

Thanks in advance for your answers.

 

1. Most purchases on the ship are charged to your onboard account. Your credit card will be charged at the end of the cruise. HOWEVER, Princess will seeking authorizations from your credit card company every one to two days. These show up as being processed in Santa Clarita, California. Accordingly, we use a different credit card ashore so as to avoid tripping a warning.

2. You may assign the same credit to both of you.

3. OBC credit is used first, but may not be eligible for gambling. Make sure you get your veterans and shareholder credit as well.

[Jersey42]

Not in our experience. On our last Princess cruise in Australia, we got an email from our credit card every other day or so, saying they had charged the excursion we had, plus the hotel service charges for the last day or two, since the last charge, and any other expenses. We have our credit card set up to notify us on foreign charges. They don't notify us on holds.

 

Our credit limit is plenty over any onboard charges we have ever incurred.

 

CruiserBruce: Did you ever check your credit card statement after that Australia cruise to confirm that Princess did indeed charge your credit card daily or every other day. If not, would you mind checking when you have time. After your comment and another post, I actually started another thread on this subject. So far 100% of the responses say they have never experienced this. Yes, many people see "temporary authorizations", but they do not result in actual credit card charges. Some of the responses were from very recent cruises. None of the responses that I am aware of were from someone who had taken a recent cruise departing from Australia. Thanks.

[caribill]

CruiserBruce: Did you ever check your credit card statement after that Australia cruise to confirm that Princess did indeed charge your credit card daily or every other day. If not, would you mind checking when you have time. After your comment and another post, I actually started another thread on this subject. So far 100% of the responses say they have never experienced this. Yes, many people see "temporary authorizations", but they do not result in actual credit card charges. Some of the responses were from very recent cruises. None of the responses that I am aware of were from someone who had taken a recent cruise departing from Australia. Thanks.

 

However, the temporary authorizations will result in lowering the amount of credit still available.

 

That might be mis-interpreted as meaning the money was already fully charged to the account.