Money Question?

[2crazcruzrs]

My wife and I are taking about $1200 - $1500. How much should we take in cash, travelers cheques, debit card, etc?

 

6/12 Carnival Triumph!

[KTW35]

ALWAYS take a VISA card or =. $100 pppd is a good starting amount to take.U are pretty close.I am not a big fan of travelers checks myself; so I can't advise on that subject.

 

 Since We Cruised On Triumph.

 Until We Cruise On Glory.

 

[bjkeen]

I always carry traveler's cheques and put them on my account as needed. At least if I loose them there is a recourse, if I loose cash I'm just out the money.

 

Becky

http://community.webshots.com/user/bjkeen100

 

Miracle Cruise

 

May Eastern Caribbean Carnival Cruise 2006

Miracle 2004

Pride 2003

Regent Rainbow

Sensation 2000

Fantasy 1996, 2001

 

[L2J]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by bjkeen:

I always carry traveler's cheques and put them on my account as needed. At least if I loose them there is a recourse, if I loose cash I'm just out the money.

 

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Exactly.

 

Liv...Winds are 15 knots and holding....the whole world is a drop zone!

 

 

 

 

NCL Sky 2/02

[cruzn_soon]

For some reason I am having a mental block with totally understanding this Sail & Sign thing.. I know it's just me, but.. So if I take most of my spending money in travelers checks, then I just take those to the pursers office and place those on my account.. Then as I spend money on the ship, the balance from the travelers checks I've applied there decreases? I still have about 68 days for remedial instruction if necessary.. I am getting so excited about this trip, that I will be brain dead before long anyway..

 

Days Until Our 1st Cruise!!

[CruiseFever]

Great Question, thanks for asking!

 

Personally, we like to take an assortment.

 

We bring a debit/atm/visa check card to guarantee our shipboard account charges. For cash then, we concentrate on bringing the small bills that ATM machines will not dispense. ones, Fives and Tens, for tipping mainly pre, post and during the cruise.

 

The latest and greatest in secure funds though is the American Express Travel card that lets you "load" a predetermined amount of money onto it. This one satisfies even the pickiest person who has rejected the idea of an atm or credit card in the past for security purposes.

 

The only thing I don't like about travelers checks is that while they CAN be replaced if lost or stolen I don't want to go through the hassle. So while we may bring some travelers checks we consider them cash for all practical purposes and keep them locked in the safe for sure.

 

Also important to us is to split all this up between me and my traveling companion. That way if one of us loses something we're not out all of it.

Here's more on all that:

http://www.lifeiscruising.com/how_much_cash_

 

Happy Cruising

 

Chris

 

www.LifeIsCruising.com

 

Next up:

Caribbean Princess 06/26/04

Star Princess 10/24/04

Diamond Princess 12/22/04

Carnival Miracle 03/13/05

Carnival Valor 10/30/05

[LornaT]

I use Traveler's Checks for the deposit on my S & S Card.

If I need to add more, they'll let me know. If I don't spend all of it, I get a check back for the balance which can be cashed at the Purser's desk before leaving the ship.

I used my ATM Debit Card once and since there were 3 of us, they put a hold for the minimum for all three on it, but by bank had problems later in not releasing the HOLD before posting the actual Debit. Took me weeks to clear that up, since it literally put me over, but with Courtesy Pay, they covered it then charged me fee's for the Courtesy.

Now I only take enough in Traveler's Checks for just doing the S & S Card deposit.

Hope this helps.

[Cyt4SoreEyes]

Good idea Chris on splitting the dough..I will be sure to pass that by my hubby...hehehe!!

 

We too use the credit card or bank card for when we board then if we need more use cash that we bring as well. And there is always an atm onboard the ships..not sure if it will dispense money everyday while onboard but for some days it will. We were on one cruise where it ran out of money until the next stop..that was just crazy!!!!!! Thats another reasonto have cash or travelers checks to back up when those type of machines down.

 

Cyt

 

Atlantic

Oceanic

Norway

Enchantment of the Seas

Destiny

Voyager of the Seas

Conquest March 30th 2003

Glory May 29th 2004

Caribbean Princess Oct 23 2004

 

 

 

 

[cruisinonmymind]

Cruzn_soon:

 

what ship and when are you leaving? We are on the Sensation July 24 out of Tampa. Unless my #s are wrong, are you sailing out on the 24th of July as well?

 

Married on Fantasy 9/95

Ecstasy 3/2001

Fantasy 9/2002

Sensational Cruise 7/24/04

[garycarla]

Not sure why people would not just but the Sail n sign on a charge card?? Why bother with travelers checks or lots of cash????

 

Unless of course your card is maxed out, and the other one is maxed out and the spare one is maxed out.

 

And then there are those danged debit cards. These are NOT any good where people put holds on your money like car rental, hotels, sail n sign etc. Personally I see no need for debit cards either, they just suck the money out of your account faster than you can say "bounced check"

 

Alaska via Spirit 6/2/04

[Tera821]

I put my visa on S&S. I take an ATM card and approximately $200.00 in cash. I got change for a few $20s at the pursers desk. It worked out fine. I took about $60 onto the different islands and that's it. I'm not a big shopper so it worked wonderfully.

 

...until the Carnival Miracle October 3, 2004

 

[CruiseFever]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> Not sure why people would not just but the Sail n sign on a charge card <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

 

Good Question

 

Lots of people DO use a credit card and that works just fine.

 

For us the first reason is that we stopped using credit cards a long time ago and started paying cash for everything we do. If we don't have the cash we don't do it.

 

There are those that argue that using a credit card and just paying it off when the bill comes is, in effect, the same thing plus you get the protection offered credit cards.

 

That's true but the same protection is afforded us using our VISA or MasterCard check card.

 

I suppose it's more a matter of not trusting myself to pay it off when that bill came. I'm a big believer in NOT going into debt to go on a cruise. I think one of the coolest parts is that when you walk on that ship you know that 85% of the cost of your vacation is paid for in advance. That's a great feeling and one I think I'd miss if I knew there'd be some bill to pay when I get home.

 

Another concern some have voiced about using credit cards ashore when in port are the occasional horror stories about some clever merchant who took credit card number and continued to charge things to your account after you'd sailed away. I think those stories are highly suspicious but they do come up from time to time. When they do I wonder "So why didn't you call the credit card company and report this?"

 

The idea of taking multiple forms of payment is an old travelers plan that goes way back befor my time but makes a lot of sense. You mentioned three "maxed out" credit cards. Well those will surely do nobody any good but we do have three different debit cards one I get, one my traveling companiion gets and the other we share. In addition each of us gets half the cash, half the travelers checks and a book of regular checks from our bank accounts. After that we take our individual pile of payment stuff and split it up, like half my cash in my carryon and the other half in my pocket, etc. That way there's yet another level of security.

 

Travel wallets, fanny packs and the like have been popular for years and make it difficult for pick-pockets to get your money.

 

Also, don't forget if you have a passport that those are valuable too along with other ID you might carry. We usually keep all this stuff in our cabin's safe but there are those that keep half in the safe and half elsewhere.

 

All this may seem like a lot of precautions to take and I doubt that most people take all of them but each one utilized provides an extra measure of security and a little less worry.

 

Happy Cruising

 

Chris

 

www.LifeIsCruising.com

 

Next up:

Caribbean Princess 06/26/04

Star Princess 10/24/04

Diamond Princess 12/22/04

Carnival Miracle 03/13/05

Carnival Valor 10/30/05

[Cyt4SoreEyes]

Been there done that as well being charge twice from cruiseships even after we got off the ship so it does happen. Its just a chance we all take by ways of paying for things now days.

 

Cyt

 

Atlantic

Oceanic

Norway

Enchantment of the Seas

Destiny

Voyager of the Seas

Conquest March 30th 2003

Glory May 29th 2004

Caribbean Princess Oct 23 2004

 

 

 

 

[cruzn_soon]

Hey cruisnonmymind..

 

We are actually out of Miami on 7-25 -- Paradise.. Getting all of this info straight in my head has been interesting.. I'll be in dire need of that cruise by the time it rolls around.

 

Desiree

 

Days Until Our 1st Cruise!!

[imsulin]

All bank debit cards are not the same. Some have a daily charge limit, and some do not. Some have protection from the bank, and some do not. Always call your bank ahead of time to let them know where you're going, and the dates that you'll be gone, and that you plan to use that card out of the country. (Do the same with your credit card). Find out what kind of debit card you have. There are ATM machines in the casino, but they always seem to run out of cash by day 2 or 3, and they're not re-stocked. Also, you can't get a cash advance on a bank debit card like you can on a credit card.

[bld24]

I never leave home without the American Express. With no limit on funds, in the event of any emergency you're safe. I carry this card off in every port we're at. They always side with the consumer. Over the years we've had to dispute charges occasionally and I've never had the dispute go against us. They have a low-price guarentee on your product purchases, they extend all warranties to double the manufacturer, any if lost they are right on it. I always have this fear that we'll miss the ship and it will cost thousands to get to where we need to go and I know with the AMEX, we'll never be out of luck.

 

13 cruises I won't bore you with them all

 

Pending: Fantasy(5/4),Mariner(9/04),Splendour(2/05

 

http://community.webshots.com/user/bld24