Cash as Onboard Expense form of payment

[ptysimmer]

Hello All ! I currently have my Debit Card as my form of payment for Onboard Expense for a Celebrity Edge sailing next month; however, I dont want to use my Debit Card for funding my Guest Account as that can lead to that bank account been left dry with pre-authorizations by Celebrity! Having said this, can I leave cash instead? In case I can, what is the procedure? Can I have my debit card info removed and instead provide cash at Check-in at the Pier in Fort Lauderdale? In that case, How would I get back any unused cash at the end of the cruise? Your help regarding this matter is greatly appreciatted!

[cruisestitch]

Not at the terminal check-in but you can pay your account in cash on the ship.  Just go to guest relations on boarding and they will give you instructions for setting up a cash account and how much they would need to have on deposit for that.

[awhfy]

Put  your account on a credit card (not a debit card) then go to guest services every few days & pay your account with cash. I’m not sure I’d want to carry that much cash with me tho!!

[ptysimmer]

1 hour ago, cruisestitch said:

Not at the terminal check-in but you can pay your account in cash on the ship.  Just go to guest relations on boarding and they will give you instructions for setting up a cash account and how much they would need to have on deposit for that.

Thanks, but, how do I make sure that my Debit Card on file is not being "pre-authorized" before I have a chance to go to Guest Services ? Is worth mentioning also that I also have $300 NRF-OBC also as of right now for this cruise already loaded on my account.  The main thing for me is to make sure that no preauthorizations are being made on my debit card.  I do not use a Credit Card at all.  Thanks for your input !

[Jim_Iain]

Depending on what you have as benefits may determine if a cc or dc authorization is triggered.   I had a booking that did not include tips and even though i had a large OBC everyday I would get an alert from my bank that an pre-authorization had been made in the amount of the tips.    I have alerts setup for any charge over $5.00 as a way of catching when my card has been hacked (which has happened more than once)

 

I know you can setup a cash account but not sure it is done.   A call to celebrity might be your best shot.   I almost always hear them page people at the end of the cruise to settle their account.

 

BTW there is another thread on OBC's and many say they take their Refundable OBC as cash prior to the end of the cruise by going to Guest Services. 

Edited March 3, 2022 by Jim_Iain

[bEwAbG]

There are a lot of benefits of using a credit card versus a debit card, not least of which is the problem you're trying to avoid (having cash in your account tied up by pre-authorization transactions).  As long as you pay off your credit card each cycle, I see zero downsides to using credit vs. debit.  They do those pre-authorization transactions as a matter of routine, and I don't think there is a way to guarantee that they won't.  Even if they do it by mistake, it will still take days for those to fall off your account.  If you don't want to worry about it, I'd strongly suggest getting a credit card to take.

[PTC DAWG]

10 minutes ago, bEwAbG said:

There are a lot of benefits of using a credit card versus a debit card, not least of which is the problem you're trying to avoid (having cash in your account tied up by pre-authorization transactions).  As long as you pay off your credit card each cycle, I see zero downsides to using credit vs. debit.  They do those pre-authorization transactions as a matter of routine, and I don't think there is a way to guarantee that they won't.  Even if they do it by mistake, it will still take days for those to fall off your account.  If you don't want to worry about it, I'd strongly suggest getting a credit card to take.

This^^^^^^

[WestLakeGirl]

21 hours ago, ptysimmer said:

Thanks, but, how do I make sure that my Debit Card on file is not being "pre-authorized" before I have a chance to go to Guest Services ? Is worth mentioning also that I also have $300 NRF-OBC also as of right now for this cruise already loaded on my account.  The main thing for me is to make sure that no preauthorizations are being made on my debit card.  I do not use a Credit Card at all.  Thanks for your input !

We have not been in your exact situation but I have set up a cash account.  I didn’t see a way to do that with the online check-in on the app, but I was able to choose that option when I checked in online using my laptop. They had no credit card no debit card on file at all.

In your case, if you can’t figure out how to check in without using the debit card, then I suggest that you go immediately to guest relations once you board. Withdraw the credit card and set up the cash account. The worst that would happen is that one day’s gratuities might get authorized on the debit card and then that charge would drop off a few days later.  If your gratuities are prepaid, then even that wouldn’t happen and there should be no charges pre-authorized on your debit card.

 

if you put down cash at the beginning of the cruise and don’t use it all, you get the remainder back at the end of the cruise, from the guest relations desk on the ship.

 

Edited March 4, 2022 by WestLakeGirl

[Covepointcruiser]

Some passengers may be unable to get a credit card for whatever reason.   I would never want any entity to have access to my bank account via a debit card, but then, I have a choice.   Others may not have a choice.

[drakes2]

14 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

Some passengers may be unable to get a credit card for whatever reason.   I would never want any entity to have access to my bank account via a debit card, but then, I have a choice.   Others may not have a choice.

I always put cash down on my onboard account. They have my cc on file but its never been charged. Since I am canadian I don't want to see conversions to FX done at unfavorable rates.

[81Zoomie]

My husband recently witnessed a passenger paying cash at guest services.  Apparently the passenger had a very big bill and paid with large denomination bills. The staff took a picture of each bill.