Pre-paying Crew appreciation on board with cash

[Nang]

We have a bunch of $US that I bought a few years ago when the Aussie $ was not performing very well against the $US (for trips cancelled due to Covid). Rather than converting back to $US (I can't see us using them anytime soon) and taking a huge hit with the current exchange rates I was hoping once we were on board the Rotterdam for our Viking Sagas/Northern Isles cruise to prepay the auto $15:50/dayx2 tips with cash. Is this possible? Alternatively could I use this cash to buy on board credit or "load up" our on board account which would be used to pay the staff appreciation/tips when our account is settled at the end of the cruise.

 

We will also have $400 OBC as part of HIA/Sea you soon promotion. If we do not use it all does the balance contribute to the staff appreciation payment?

 

In the past I have just used our CC to handle all payments but I believe that I have read somewhere or been told that it was possible to use cash. TIA.

[CruiserBruce]

If you don't use up your OBC from that promotion, the money goes back to HAL. I don't know any way to add it to the crew's tips.

 

You should be able to use your USD to pay the auto tips, and afterwards, any personal, additional tips. But I think the easiest would be to use the OBC first (or you lose it) for tips, then add cash as needed to your on board account for your additional needs...to cover any outstanding needs for the auto tips, purchases, etc. I would hold on to any spare USD until needed, and use up your OBC first.

[Mary229]

If you use all of your OBC you can pay the rest of your bill with cash. You could buy some Future Cruise Deposits if that is of interest.  
 

PS if it it is not a great deal of cash you could exchange it for Euros.  I don’t sweat the HAL exchange fee for amounts under $400

Edited March 24, 2022 by Mary229

[daisy-mae]

We purchase US$ when the exchange rate is favorable, then deposit the funds to our account after we board. Not only does this provide a better rate of exchange, but we also avoid the currency exchange fee charged by most CC providers. 

[RuthC]

You can go to the Front Desk and put all of your US cash on your account. 
Your charges, including gratuities, will be deducted from your balance as the cruise goes on. 

At the end of the cruise you may return to the Front Desk, confirm how much is left in your account that can't be refunded to you, then designate that to the crew service charge. It will be added to the same pool of money as the $15.50/day, to be distributed to everyone in that pool.
You may want to hold some US cash back in the first place to hand out individual tips. The bar stewards are not included in the Service Charge pool, so you definitely might want to hold some back for them.  

[daisy-mae]

16 minutes ago, RuthC said:

You may want to hold some US cash back in the first place to hand out individual tips. The bar stewards are not included in the Service Charge pool, so you definitely might want to hold some back for them.  

Would that not be covered by the service charge on individual drinks? (That said, we do carry some cash for tipping while on board).

[Florida_gal_50]

3 hours ago, daisy-mae said:

Would that not be covered by the service charge on individual drinks? (That said, we do carry some cash for tipping while on board).

Yes, absolutely it is.

[RuthC]

4 hours ago, daisy-mae said:

Would that not be covered by the service charge on individual drinks? (That said, we do carry some cash for tipping while on board).

Of course the basic tip is covered by the drink service charge.
But if you want to give extra at the end of the cruise, then you could use some extra cash then. 
Just like giving extra cash to other individuals at the end of the cruise. 

[Nang]

Thanks for all the responses. It will be good not to get a big hit on my credit card at the end of the cruise. I've had these $USs for so long it almost feels like its "free money".

[zgscl]

On 3/24/2022 at 7:42 PM, Nang said:

Thanks for all the responses. It will be good not to get a big hit on my credit card at the end of the cruise. I've had these $USs for so long it almost feels like its "free money".

Free money is always nice. I tend to think of airline credits like this as I have long since spent the money and paid off the card. 

 

Not sure if you use an actual credit card or a prepaid debit type card, but as someone who works in the hotel industry we have seen a lot of issues with Australian banks keeping authorization holds on US transactions for an extremely long time. If this applies at all I would highly recommend using the cash for the deposit rather than swiping a debit or prepaid card at all. 

[Nang]

6 minutes ago, zgscl said:

Free money is always nice. I tend to think of airline credits like this as I have long since spent the money and paid off the card. 

 

Not sure if you use an actual credit card or a prepaid debit type card, but as someone who works in the hotel industry we have seen a lot of issues with Australian banks keeping authorization holds on US transactions for an extremely long time. If this applies at all I would highly recommend using the cash for the deposit rather than swiping a debit or prepaid card at all. 

Mainly use a credit card when on holidays but also carry a travel card (just a debit card with funds loaded directly to it) in case we need to get cash. Never heard of the authorisation issue you mention and have not noticed transactions listed as pending on my credit card account for lengthy periods but I probably just focus on whether the transactions are known to me. Always pay our ship account with the credit card and never been queried by HAL or ther cruise lines but if its a common occurrence I expect they are not alarmed and just "wait".

[Mary229]

6 hours ago, zgscl said:

Free money is always nice. I tend to think of airline credits like this as I have long since spent the money and paid off the card. 

 

Not sure if you use an actual credit card or a prepaid debit type card, but as someone who works in the hotel industry we have seen a lot of issues with Australian banks keeping authorization holds on US transactions for an extremely long time. If this applies at all I would highly recommend using the cash for the deposit rather than swiping a debit or prepaid card at all. 

Aren’t you required to have a card on file at least until you board?  They put a hold on cards per diem per person.  I simply let that hit my chosen credit card then change my method of payment. 

[richwmn]

47 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

Aren’t you required to have a card on file at least until you board?  They put a hold on cards per diem per person.  I simply let that hit my chosen credit card then change my method of payment. 

You are not required to have a card on file if you have existing OBC in an amount deemed enough for your cruise, normally $60 / day or close to it. If asked about a card at check in, all you have to do is let them know about the OBC and you are good to go.