Have to put down credit card or cash?

[Phaedra_11]

Hi there,

Our gratuities are paid. We have some OBC. Do we have to put down a cc on file (or cash) or are we ok to just use up our OBC?

Thanks

p.s. If we are going to put down a credit card, do they put a hold on it at the beginning or just charge whatever we spend after the OBC?

 

 

 

[JF - retired RRT]

24 minutes ago, Phaedra_11 said:

Hi there,

Our gratuities are paid. We have some OBC. Do we have to put down a cc on file (or cash) or are we ok to just use up our OBC?

Thanks

p.s. If we are going to put down a credit card, do they put a hold on it at the beginning or just charge whatever we spend after the OBC?

Even though you "know" you won't be using more than the OBC that you have, you still have to guarantee your account (credit card👍, debit card👎 or cash👍). Princess doesn't want you to get into their pocket for even a second.

 

AFAIK the hold is put on when you start using above your OBC...not positive about that.

Edited November 13, 2019 by JF - retired RRT

[skynight]

You have to enter a credit card number in the cruise personlizer in order to print your boarding pass. Holds only placed on credit cards once your account balance is positive. No automatic cruise long or daily holds.

[Ldyandrea]

On various cruises, I have used cash, debit card, and credit card. I would seriously advise against using a debit card, since any holds against it can take days to fall off, locking up your money on that account in the meantime.  If you don't want to use a credit card, cash is acceptable. You could enter your debit card in the personalizer so that you can print your boarding pass, and then when you check in, before signing the debit/credit card portion, just tell the rep that you wish to use cash.  They'll check you in, and you'll then need to stop at Passenger Services when you board, and give them cash to put against your account.  They'll let you know when your account runs low on cash, so that you can then add more to your account as needed.  This has worked for me on many cruises, and on many cruise lines just fine. I like this method, since it has been good for keeping my spending under control.

 

Certainly a credit card is the most convenient method of payment, and if memory serves, they didn't put a hold on my card that I can recall until the end of the cruise, though I could be wrong on that because I may not have noticed.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

I always use my credit card. I get FREE Travel insurance when using it to pay for the cruise and I get 3-1/2% back on what I put on the card. Depending on the ship. My last cruise, a few weeks ago, they charged my card every 2 or 3 days. A few days after I returned home. It showed the total not the individual charges to the card. So for us. We certainly use the charge card only. Never ever had a problem with this bank. One thing. With my bank I can notify them of the cruise, the ship, the destination and the dates and a contact number and request not to put a hold on any charges during those dates. I had a different bank several years ago and my card was put on hold because of the overseas charges. That really messed us up on the cruise.

[Ldyandrea]

1 minute ago, twodaywonder said:

I always use my credit card. I get FREE Travel insurance when using it to pay for the cruise and I get 3-1/2% back on what I put on the card. Depending on the ship. My last cruise, a few weeks ago, they charged my card every 2 or 3 days. A few days after I returned home. It showed the total not the individual charges to the card. So for us. We certainly use the charge card only. Never ever had a problem with this bank. One thing. With my bank I can notify them of the cruise, the ship, the destination and the dates and a contact number and request not to put a hold on any charges during those dates. I had a different bank several years ago and my card was put on hold because of the overseas charges. That really messed us up on the cruise.

 

Totally agree with you on that latter part. I always try to make sure I call my banks that I have credit or debit cards with ahead of time to let them know the dates and locations of my travel. It certainly prevents one from having their cards "turned off" due to what their system might see as unusual spending.