Credit or Debit Card

[Feistybelle]

I learned the hard way with debit cards in 2007 on my first cruise. We had normal charge and lots of holding charges. I ended up on a 3way call with me, the bank & the cruiseline. They were immediatly dropped once that occured. This was a week after getting back. This weekend I'm leaving with cash and 100 gift card on account. I also have tips prepaid. If I would have chose cheers that would have been prepaid also.

 

 

Cash requires 200 per person, so that'd be 800 for us.

 

We won't spend that much- i heard it takes months to get your money back?

[sammee]

Cash requires 200 per person, so that'd be 800 for us.

 

We won't spend that much- i heard it takes months to get your money back?

 

I had no idea about that 200pp requirement. We had Cheers and tips prepaid on one of the cruise, and only gave 200 for 2 of us, unless it was because we had things prepaid.

[sparks1093]

Cash requires 200 per person, so that'd be 800 for us.

 

We won't spend that much- i heard it takes months to get your money back?

 

That's a recommended amount and you can put down as little as you'd like. (Don't forget if you don't pre-pay your tips they will be added to your account automatically).

[Feistybelle]

That's a recommended amount and you can put down as little as you'd like. (Don't forget if you don't pre-pay your tips they will be added to your account automatically).

 

 

OH HECK. Did not know this.

 

Okay got off the phone with them. They say the best thing to do and most safe if you're ever worried about double holding is:

 

Add a credit card.

Prepay everything you can/want to. (Up to the night before you cruise)

Put cash down and always make sure your cash is covering your bill.

 

Yes, you'll get ONE HOLD.

 

No, they won't double or re up it or any of the like because your cash is constantly covering it.

 

So that is what I'm doing and therefore, in this situation, it doesn't matter if you go debit or credit. The hold will only be one and as long as you have good protection you're good to go. (That varies by bank)

[sammee]

That's a recommended amount and you can put down as little as you'd like. (Don't forget if you don't pre-pay your tips they will be added to your account automatically).

 

You beat me to it, I checked the carnival faq. I never paid attention to it, but this is good info for anybody asking.

 

Sail & Sign Account Opened with Cash or Traveler's Checks

• Guests may activate their Sail & Sign account on Carnival.com, My Cruise Manager - Online Check-In or on the first day of the cruise at embarkation.
  
• Guests must deposit cash (U.S currency only) or Traveler's Checks at Guest Services on the first day of the cruise. Please note that on the Carnival Vista sailing from Europe, Traveler's Checks are not acceptable as a form of deposit and cash deposit must be in U.S currency. The following minimum cash deposits are recommended:
  
• 
  
  • 2 - 4 day cruise: $100 USD per person
    
  • 5 - 8 day cruise: $200 USD per person
    
  • 9 days or longer: $350 USD per person
    

  [*]Guests may add more cash to their account by going to the Guest Services desk onboard.

And here is the link for the rest of the faq: https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1138

[Sneezykevina]

Credit. It's a safety thing.

[bnorris10]

I'm trying to figure out how to avoid these crazy holds I read about.

 

I'll use a CC sure ... whatever, but the limit isn't huge and can't hold DOUBLE the holds/charges.

 

I would like to do a lot of cash during the cruise - that curbs spending as well but I wonder if they'll still up holds, I don't know I'll call. Theres too many differing opinions here.

 

 

What you could so is use your credit card as the hold but then on top of that either put cash on your account to begin with and they will take from your cash instead of putting holds on your card or buy some OBC ahead of time and just make your account a cash only account - You can always add your credit card during your trip if you run out of your OBC or cash funds

[Feistybelle]

I got a great option from my cruise planner.

 

He says to take cash and do cash only EVERY time in his opinion.

 

The best part is that as you go you can take them your card and say "Charge my card $200", or any amount.

 

This leaves your account in a status that is NOT open charge therefore NO HOLDS.

 

So, what I will do is take cash (You can take ANY amount, the $200 is just suggested) and add cash every so often as needed and if seriously needed, allow them to charge my account for a certain amount and it's just like adding cash. NO HOLDS or holds plus charges.

 

I hope this helps someone. I LOVE this option!

[drifter42]

I got a great option from my cruise planner.

 

He says to take cash and do cash only EVERY time in his opinion.

 

The best part is that as you go you can take them your card and say "Charge my card $200", or any amount.

 

This leaves your account in a status that is NOT open charge therefore NO HOLDS.

 

So, what I will do is take cash (You can take ANY amount, the $200 is just suggested) and add cash every so often as needed and if seriously needed, allow them to charge my account for a certain amount and it's just like adding cash. NO HOLDS or holds plus charges.

 

I hope this helps someone. I LOVE this option!

 

 

That sounds like a great option. Kind of like a point of sale transaction if I understand this right.

 

 

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[Feistybelle]

That sounds like a great option. Kind of like a point of sale transaction if I understand this right.

 

 

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That is how I see it!

[Havingfun2010]

So the hold issue is really only a problem, if you always have maxed out credit cards. But my guess is a person that has all this cash available to bring on the trip, should have a credit card with a large enough open credit line that an hold will not matter.

 

Real financial questions to ask.

 

What is your current open limit? Is it $600.00 and you plan to max it out, or is it 20,000.00 and you only plan on spending $600.00?

 

Say you have a $1500.00 limit, and you don't carry a balance, and you don't need the credit card immediately after the trip, than you have nothing to worry about.

 

If you are driving 1000 miles, and stopped for gas 4 times, and had two overnight hotel rooms, which all have an hold on your card, than the cruise line holds it also. Maybe on way home, depending on your 10 different types of holds, you might have an issue with getting gas, unless some of those hold fell off.

 

You need to look at your entire picture.

 

First, use your credit card on all purchases, because this is the safest method.

 

Than use Cash, but can be risky having all that cash on you.

 

Lastly use you debit card, but if you have bills to pay etc, you will need to wait for the holds to clear. This is the very last choice to ever use. Plus, it is not protected for fraud.

 

Personally, I prepay everything I can and bring my credit card, that fully protects me on trips, and international travel, and use it non-stop including in all the islands and countries, without any worry about fraud because I know I'm protected. Most cruises, the ship is lucky to charge me over $100.00 since I prepaid everything. (plus I don't tip bartenders - they got my 18%)

[Feistybelle]

So the hold issue is really only a problem, if you always have maxed out credit cards. But my guess is a person that has all this cash available to bring on the trip, should have a credit card with a large enough open credit line that an hold will not matter.

 

Real financial questions to ask.

 

What is your current open limit? Is it $600.00 and you plan to max it out, or is it 20,000.00 and you only plan on spending $600.00?

 

Say you have a $1500.00 limit, and you don't carry a balance, and you don't need the credit card immediately after the trip, than you have nothing to worry about.

 

If you are driving 1000 miles, and stopped for gas 4 times, and had two overnight hotel rooms, which all have an hold on your card, than the cruise line holds it also. Maybe on way home, depending on your 10 different types of holds, you might have an issue with getting gas, unless some of those hold fell off.

 

You need to look at your entire picture.

 

First, use your credit card on all purchases, because this is the safest method.

 

Than use Cash, but can be risky having all that cash on you.

 

Lastly use you debit card, but if you have bills to pay etc, you will need to wait for the holds to clear. This is the very last choice to ever use. Plus, it is not protected for fraud.

 

Personally, I prepay everything I can and bring my credit card, that fully protects me on trips, and international travel, and use it non-stop including in all the islands and countries, without any worry about fraud because I know I'm protected. Most cruises, the ship is lucky to charge me over $100.00 since I prepaid everything. (plus I don't tip bartenders - they got my 18%)

 

The issue is control over the situation.

 

Bottom line. I like to understand and know and be prepared. Too many horror stories abound.

[cganesh]

We prepay gratuities and any CCL excursions we plan to do and use a credit card on board that gives us points on our MGM casino player card for everything onboard except end of cruise additional tips for extraordinary services gotten. We use cash for taxis, small purchases, etc in ports and tips needed between home to ship and back home. Do not use debit card. If cc has low credit line, you're better off bringing cash and putting in your onboard account. If needed you can go to any machine in casino and get money from cash deposit then cash out cadino balance at cashier. Avoid ATMs if possible since you'll incur charges from both ATM provider and your bank.

 

Cherie

[angiegal]

I learned the hard way with debit cards in 2007 on my first cruise. We had normal charge and lots of holding charges. I ended up on a 3way call with me, the bank & the cruiseline. They were immediatly dropped once that occured. This was a week after getting back. This weekend I'm leaving with cash and 100 gift card on account. I also have tips prepaid. If I would have chose cheers that would have been prepaid also.

Yep, this is what happened to us on our first cruise in 2008. It was our own stupidity because we didn't understand the hold policies. But we used our debit card for our hotels and our cruise. One hotel had a $400-500 hold alone. We had put cash on our sail and sign account, but we had put the debit card on file precruise so there was another hold. And I'm pretty sure we didn't even realize there was an issue until after we had checked into our post cruise hotel. It was awhile back, but I believe we had to use our credit card for gas and expenses on the way home and then paid it off once the holds finally cleared a week or so after the cruise. Lesson learned the hard way: debit cards and traveling don't mix!

[angiegal]

I got a great option from my cruise planner.

 

He says to take cash and do cash only EVERY time in his opinion.

 

The best part is that as you go you can take them your card and say "Charge my card $200", or any amount.

 

This leaves your account in a status that is NOT open charge therefore NO HOLDS.

 

So, what I will do is take cash (You can take ANY amount, the $200 is just suggested) and add cash every so often as needed and if seriously needed, allow them to charge my account for a certain amount and it's just like adding cash. NO HOLDS or holds plus charges.

 

I hope this helps someone. I LOVE this option!

We prefer prepay and use cash whenever possible, but our credit card is second and debit card third when traveling. I have yet to use a credit card on my sail and sign account.

[Feistybelle]

We prefer prepay and use cash whenever possible, but our credit card is second and debit card third when traveling. I have yet to use a credit card on my sail and sign account.

 

 

So what process do you normally do for sail and sign?

[maryred]

I got a great option from my cruise planner.

 

He says to take cash and do cash only EVERY time in his opinion.

 

The best part is that as you go you can take them your card and say "Charge my card $200", or any amount.

 

This leaves your account in a status that is NOT open charge therefore NO HOLDS.

 

So, what I will do is take cash (You can take ANY amount, the $200 is just suggested) and add cash every so often as needed and if seriously needed, allow them to charge my account for a certain amount and it's just like adding cash. NO HOLDS or holds plus charges.

 

I hope this helps someone. I LOVE this option!

 

There is a bit of a catch to doing it this way that your cruise planner did not discuss with you.

Carnival will treat a specific amount requested to be applied to the on board spending account from a credit or debit card as as cash advance which incurs fees on both ends of the transaction. Carnival's charge will be a minimum of $5.50 to 5.5% of the total amount requested as a convenience fee. This will be on top of whatever cash advance fee your bank or the card's issuer will charge on cash advances.

[no1racefan1]

CREDIT CARD all the way. I can't think of a single con to using a cc and then just paying it off when you get back. If it's a budgeting thing, you know in your mind you have the same amount to spend whether its a debit card or a credit card.

 

Cruise ship ATMs are crazy expensive. We used it on our last cruise because we underestimated how much cash we would use on tips, and we incurred an $8 charge ($2 from our bank and $6 from the ship).

 

Coming from a banker, this is what I tell all my customers: No matter what form of payment you decide to use, please please PLEASE always bring an alternate form of payment in case something happens.

[Live to Dream]

Cash

 

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[salvagegirl]

We only use cash. I prepay our tips and any excursions before the cruise. I do not give them our credit card at all and never our debit card.

[simplelife]

They usually place a hold on your credit card too. The difference is that with a credit card with adequate open credit, the hold does not impact you except for tying up some of your credit limit until the hold is released. (Your open credit is reduced by the amount of the hold until they release it). With a debit card, you will not have access to some of the money in your account until they release it.

 

 

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[BNBR]

You shouldn't use a debit card for anything, ever, other than getting funds from an ATM. Using a card linked directly to your bank account is reckless and crazy.

[DebJ14]

I'm just curious if on the CC there is the "hold" issue as well?

 

Yes, they get the nightly holds on credit cards once the initial amount held before you board is used up. Just make sure you have a high enough credit limit.

 

We sailed the Freedom earlier this month. The initial hold for a 7 night cruise was $200. It was on my account the morning of the cruise before we ever left for the pier.

That $200 was quickly used up with a visit to the Steakhouse, cocktails, wine etc. so they got another hold the first night for the difference.

 

I checked my account daily and we got off with a $486.00 bill, but there were $975.00 in "pending charges" on my Chase account.

Carnival did not put the final charge through right away.

We debarked on a Saturday and the final bill did not appear as a pending charge until the following Wednesday. At first I thought I was not going to be billed because they have usually appeared within a day of debarkation.

It appeared as a posted transaction that Friday.

One by one the holds came off, but it took 10 days until they all disappeared.

I used a Chase Mastercard (credit card). It has a very high credit limit, so no worries on that front.

 

I find the holds stay on much longer with my Chase credit cards than they do with my Discover or AMEX cards.

[Hoosierpop]

Credit. I'm still waiting for someone to explain when a debit card is ever better than a credit card.

 

 

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[drifter42]

Cash is king

 

 

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