Sea pass card question

[Mistylou0713]

So we are going on our first cruise in April 2020. Family of 4. I think I’ve decided to use cash for the sea pass card. Typically what do people bring when using cash for their sea pass card? We are going on 4 night cruise if that matters. I’ve read a lot of horror stories with using credit cards and them placing all kinds of holds. Anyone had that problem? 

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, Mistylou0713 said:

So we are going on our first cruise in April 2020. Family of 4. I think I’ve decided to use cash for the sea pass card. Typically what do people bring when using cash for their sea pass card? We are going on 4 night cruise if that matters. I’ve read a lot of horror stories with using credit cards and them placing all kinds of holds. Anyone had that problem? 

Set it up as a cash account then pay the balance the last day with a credit card.

 

its not so much the credit cards that are the issue (unless you are very close to your limit) it’s the debit cards that create nightmares.

[cb at sea]

If you want to use cash, that's fine.  When you've boarded, you'll go to customer service and put a bit of money onto your account.  If you spend it all, they will notify you  so you can put more onto the account.

 

The easiest way is to use a CREDIT card...no "holds"....they will "link" the card to your account and NOTHING is actually CHARGED to the card until the cruise is over.  You can go and pay it off in cash, if you want to, before the cruise is over. 

 

DEBIT cards are the mess...they DO incur major holds...which is dependent on your bank....it's not the cruise line that places holds..it's the bank.  It can mess up your checking account.  I would NEVER, EVER recommend a debit card on vacation...anywhere, at any time.   If all you have is a debit card, simply bring the cash instead.  No "holds" for cash!  You will have a safe to store cash.

[Ourusualbeach]

5 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

If you want to use cash, that's fine.  When you've boarded, you'll go to customer service and put a bit of money onto your account.  If you spend it all, they will notify you  so you can put more onto the account.

 

The easiest way is to use a CREDIT card...no "holds"....they will "link" the card to your account and NOTHING is actually CHARGED to the card until the cruise is over.  You can go and pay it off in cash, if you want to, before the cruise is over. 

 

DEBIT cards are the mess...they DO incur major holds...which is dependent on your bank....it's not the cruise line that places holds..it's the bank.  It can mess up your checking account.  I would NEVER, EVER recommend a debit card on vacation...anywhere, at any time.   If all you have is a debit card, simply bring the cash instead.  No "holds" for cash!  You will have a safe to store cash.

You are not required to put down cash on your seapass account.

 

On a 7 day cruise you may charge up to $500 before being required to make a payment.  On a 6 day or less cruise tha5 amount is $300.

Edited February 19, 2019 by Ourusualbeach

[Merion_Mom]

5 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

If you want to use cash, that's fine.  When you've boarded, you'll go to customer service and put a bit of money onto your account.  If you spend it all, they will notify you  so you can put more onto the account.

 

The easiest way is to use a CREDIT card...no "holds"....they will "link" the card to your account and NOTHING is actually CHARGED to the card until the cruise is over.  You can go and pay it off in cash, if you want to, before the cruise is over. 

 

DEBIT cards are the mess...they DO incur major holds...which is dependent on your bank....it's not the cruise line that places holds..it's the bank.  It can mess up your checking account.  I would NEVER, EVER recommend a debit card on vacation...anywhere, at any time.   If all you have is a debit card, simply bring the cash instead.  No "holds" for cash!  You will have a safe to store cash.

 

There is NO requirement to put down money on your account.

[dacsmom]

I have never heard horror stories about credit card holds. There are debit card holds that can last for a few weeks after the cruise, depending on your bank policy. No one can really answer that question unless we know what you have prepaid, how much you drink, and what you have already preordered, and any specialty dining you are looking at. I have had cruises where I paid for everything ahead of time and maybe spent $50 on board. I have also had cruises where I have had a $1000 bill at the end of the cruise.

[Ourusualbeach]

Just now, Merion_Mom said:

 

There is NO requirement to put down money on your account.

And the sad thing is she won’t see either of our posts and keep repeating the wrong information.

[Mistylou0713]

17 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

If you want to use cash, that's fine.  When you've boarded, you'll go to customer service and put a bit of money onto your account.  If you spend it all, they will notify you  so you can put more onto the account.

 

The easiest way is to use a CREDIT card...no "holds"....they will "link" the card to your account and NOTHING is actually CHARGED to the card until the cruise is over.  You can go and pay it off in cash, if you want to, before the cruise is over. 

 

DEBIT cards are the mess...they DO incur major holds...which is dependent on your bank....it's not the cruise line that places holds..it's the bank.  It can mess up your checking account.  I would NEVER, EVER recommend a debit card on vacation...anywhere, at any time.   If all you have is a debit card, simply bring the cash instead.  No "holds" for cash!  You will have a safe to store cash.

Ok great thank you. I’ve got a credit card. Probably safer to use to it. 

[Ourusualbeach]

19 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

If you want to use cash, that's fine.  When you've boarded, you'll go to customer service and put a bit of money onto your account.  If you spend it all, they will notify you  so you can put more onto the account.

 

The easiest way is to use a CREDIT card...no "holds"....they will "link" the card to your account and NOTHING is actually CHARGED to the card until the cruise is over.  You can go and pay it off in cash, if you want to, before the cruise is over. 

 

DEBIT cards are the mess...they DO incur major holds...which is dependent on your bank....it's not the cruise line that places holds..it's the bank.  It can mess up your checking account.  I would NEVER, EVER recommend a debit card on vacation...anywhere, at any time.   If all you have is a debit card, simply bring the cash instead.  No "holds" for cash!  You will have a safe to store cash.

Wow, I just saw the first incorrect part of your post...didn’t even realize you said there were no holds on the credit card.

 

I have had daily amounts put on hold on my credit card.  Only one charge goes through at the end but there are daily holds for what you have spent.  Unlike debit cards 5je credit card holds do drop off relatively quick.

[GTO-Girl]

We secure our account with a credit card and then go down the day before we get off the ship and pay off our account with cash.  Anything charged to the card on the last evening is minimal.

 

There are also random  “pending” charges charged to our credit card during the week, but they fall off after a couple of days and only the correct amount is actually charged...

[BirdTravels]

2 hours ago, Mistylou0713 said:

Ok great thank you. I’ve got a credit card. Probably safer to use to it. 

Yes. Credit cards are safe. You need to have available credit to cover 2x what you plan to spend on board (including anything you have not pre-paid). 10's of thousands of people cruise every week with their credit card. And other than having authorizations  ("holds") that tie up your credit line until your bank releases them, it all is fine. 

[seb1104mom]

thanks for the information

 

[blackshirt]

3 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

Wow, I just saw the first incorrect part of your post...didn’t even realize you said there were no holds on the credit card.

 

I have had daily amounts put on hold on my credit card.  Only one charge goes through at the end but there are daily holds for what you have spent.  Unlike debit cards 5je credit card holds do drop off relatively quick.

 

Those aren't holds, they are pre-authorizations. They not only fall off, they don’t count against your credit limit, at least they never have on my credit card. They just show as “pending” charges until they drop off.

[Ourusualbeach]

6 minutes ago, blackshirt said:

 

Those aren't holds, they are pre-authorizations. They not only fall off, they don’t count against your credit limit, at least they never have on my credit card. They just show as “pending” charges until they drop off.

To me holds and  pre authorizations are one and the same.

[Mistylou0713]

11 hours ago, dacsmom said:

I have never heard horror stories about credit card holds. There are debit card holds that can last for a few weeks after the cruise, depending on your bank policy. No one can really answer that question unless we know what you have prepaid, how much you drink, and what you have already preordered, and any specialty dining you are looking at. I have had cruises where I paid for everything ahead of time and maybe spent $50 on board. I have also had cruises where I have had a $1000 bill at the end of the cruise.

I’m trying to pay most up front. Me and my husband don’t drink. I might do a specialty dinning but would only limit my self to one. We might let the kids do some arcade games and probably end up getting the pictures depending on how they turn out. I want to pre pay as much as much as possible though.  

[spookwife]

13 minutes ago, Mistylou0713 said:

I’m trying to pay most up front. Me and my husband don’t drink. I might do a specialty dinning but would only limit my self to one. We might let the kids do some arcade games and probably end up getting the pictures depending on how they turn out. I want to pre pay as much as much as possible though.  

one thing to be aware of:  even if you do not  give the kid's cards  charging privileges, it may still work in the arcade.  that adds up..fast.   make sure they know exactly what they cannot charge.. things like sodas are extra unless you have a drink package, hard ice cream outside of the MDR or Buffet, Johnny Rockets,  and such like.  

 

always check your  balance  nightly.  save any receipts too so you can  compare.  pictures generally run $20 each.  there are bundles you can get which may or may not  be cost effective.  

[Mistylou0713]

38 minutes ago, spookwife said:

one thing to be aware of:  even if you do not  give the kid's cards  charging privileges, it may still work in the arcade.  that adds up..fast.   make sure they know exactly what they cannot charge.. things like sodas are extra unless you have a drink package, hard ice cream outside of the MDR or Buffet, Johnny Rockets,  and such like.  

 

always check your  balance  nightly.  save any receipts too so you can  compare.  pictures generally run $20 each.  there are bundles you can get which may or may not  be cost effective.  

Thank you I’ll make sure to keep note of the aracade and the sodas. We haven’t decided if the soda package is worth it yet. The hubby will surely drink his worth plus someone else’s lol but my youngest is 9 she could probably do one every meal but I don’t typically let her drink sodas. Me and the oldest don’t drink sodas at all 

[SRF]

10 hours ago, blackshirt said:

 

Those aren't holds, they are pre-authorizations. They not only fall off, they don’t count against your credit limit, at least they never have on my credit card. They just show as “pending” charges until they drop off.

 

Yes they do count against your credit limit.

 

That is why they are done.  To ensure the merchant (hotel, cruise line, etc), that when they go to charge the card, several days or weeks later, there is enough credit on the card to allow your charge.

 

Think about it, you check into a 5 start hotel at $200 per night for 10 nights.  You go to check out, and only have $500 of credit available, charge is declined, and you and the hotel are stuck.  So when you check in, they place a hold/pre-authorization, for $2500 (to cover room and incidentals), and then when you check out, their charge goes against that pre-auth.

 

I had a situation last year, where the hotel did the pre-auth, then that evening, the accounting team, removed the pre-auth.  Then they started to redo the pre-auth.  About 15 times, for various amounts, as the original one was still in place at the credit card end, and there was not enough credit (due to other travel) to handle a double pre-auth.   It took a chat with the manager, and a 4 way phone call (me, hotel, hotel's bank, credit card company), from Hong Kong, to get things fixed.

[ibonexheadi]

14 hours ago, cb at sea said:

it's not the cruise line that places holds..it's the bank. 

 

This part just is not true. The bank doesn't magically know the cruise line will be charging you soon and puts on a hold, the cruise line does it. This is because the cruise line needs to ensure you have enough money to pay at the end, whereas with a credit card, typically as long as the card gets authorized, they will get their money, even if its over your credit limit, then you end up stuck with that mess of being over on your card. 

[blackshirt]

21 minutes ago, SRF said:

 

Yes they do count against your credit limit.

 

That is why they are done.  To ensure the merchant (hotel, cruise line, etc), that when they go to charge the card, several days or weeks later, there is enough credit on the card to allow your charge.

 

Think about it, you check into a 5 start hotel at $200 per night for 10 nights.  You go to check out, and only have $500 of credit available, charge is declined, and you and the hotel are stuck.  So when you check in, they place a hold/pre-authorization, for $2500 (to cover room and incidentals), and then when you check out, their charge goes against that pre-auth.

 

I had a situation last year, where the hotel did the pre-auth, then that evening, the accounting team, removed the pre-auth.  Then they started to redo the pre-auth.  About 15 times, for various amounts, as the original one was still in place at the credit card end, and there was not enough credit (due to other travel) to handle a double pre-auth.   It took a chat with the manager, and a 4 way phone call (me, hotel, hotel's bank, credit card company), from Hong Kong, to get things fixed.

 

I hear what you are saying but I’ve never seen any pending charge count against my credit limit. When I look at my account online, my remaining credit limit does not include any of the pending charges. Yes, it is possible those pre-authorizations could be denied if they put you over your credit limit but I suspect that is a card by card or bank by bank decision. 

[Yorkvillain]

15 hours ago, Mistylou0713 said:

Ok great thank you. I’ve got a credit card. Probably safer to use to it. 

 

Make sure you read Merion Mom and Ourusualbeach's comments regarding that post you replied to. That poster is known to post false info. 

[South Shore 41]

I am a little confused about this.  I have been to several Disney resorts and have set up the resort account using my debit/credit card (it has the Visa logo on it).  They allow spending up to $1000.00 before your card gets charged.  I have never had a problem reconciling the account using this method at the end of our stay.  The charges always went through.  I don’t like carrying a lot of cash with me which is why this is convenient.  Will I have problems setting up the SeaPass card using a debit/credit card?

[AFwifelife]

5 minutes ago, South Shore 41 said:

I am a little confused about this.  I have been to several Disney resorts and have set up the resort account using my debit/credit card (it has the Visa logo on it).  They allow spending up to $1000.00 before your card gets charged.  I have never had a problem reconciling the account using this method at the end of our stay.  The charges always went through.  I don’t like carrying a lot of cash with me which is why this is convenient.  Will I have problems setting up the SeaPass card using a debit/credit card?

 

Not at all. Just be aware if you use a debit card, there will be significant holds placed on your account until everything is reconciled. Not a problem if you have a good amount in your account but can tie up fund available. Most use a credit card which doesn’t attach the same high hold amounts. 

[South Shore 41]

5 minutes ago, AFwifelife said:

 

Not at all. Just be aware if you use a debit card, there will be significant holds placed on your account until everything is reconciled. Not a problem if you have a good amount in your account but can tie up fund available. Most use a credit card which doesn’t attach the same high hold amounts. 

I will keep that in mind. Thanks.

[jordanaire]

I, too, am confused about these "holds". If I use a credit card on my onboard account, will a hold be placed on it? If so, will I not be able to use this card at all until the hold is released? We plan to stay in Florida for 3 days after the cruise and my credit card will be our major form of payment for hotel, food and car rental. I sure wouldn't want any holds tying up the use of my one and only credit card. Any input?