Sail and Sign Card

[TEMPLE]

I have a bunch of onboard credit for an upcoming cruise and do not plan on spending cash onboard. Do I still need to add cash or give a cc to open my sail and sign account? Will they still put a hold on my credit card if I open it with a card? I'm trying not to tie up my credit card with unnecessary holds and keep my cash on me if I can. 

[nwcruiselover]

Yes, you still need to put a CC on your account, and they put a temporary hold on it.  I think the only way around that is to put cash on deposit, which would be returned to you if not used.

[TEMPLE]

2 minutes ago, nwcruiselover said:

Yes, you still need to put a CC on your account, and they put a temporary hold on it.  I think the only way around that is to put cash on deposit, which would be returned to you if not used.

ok Is there a certain amount of cash they will want to open the account?

[Schoifmom]

It is absolutely NOT necessary to put a card on your account.  When they ask at the port, simply tell them that you have sufficient OBC for your needs.  I've done it before.

 

Just keep an eye on your account and if you feel like you need to add to your account, then you can go add your credit card information at the kiosk.

[Schoifmom]

Just now, TEMPLE said:

ok Is there a certain amount of cash they will want to open the account?

You do NOT need to do this.

[ladysail2]

39 minutes ago, TEMPLE said:

ok Is there a certain amount of cash they will want to open the account?

I don’t believe that there is a minimum.  I’ve given about $200 to register the sail & sign account. They have never said it wasn’t enough. I don’t usually have any OBC, and I don’t like handing over my cc. The cash account works well. As someone suggested, keep an eye on it and either add more cash if necessary or put a cc on account if your spending needs it.  Make sure you go collect any leftover the night before the cruise ends. 

[Purvis1231]

1 hour ago, TEMPLE said:

I have a bunch of onboard credit for an upcoming cruise and do not plan on spending cash onboard. Do I still need to add cash or give a cc to open my sail and sign account? Will they still put a hold on my credit card if I open it with a card? I'm trying not to tie up my credit card with unnecessary holds and keep my cash on me if I can. 

On our recent cruise, we just set up a cash account and to used the credit. We did not attach a credit card. 

Edited July 21, 2022 by Purvis1231
typo

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

1 hour ago, TEMPLE said:

I have a bunch of onboard credit for an upcoming cruise and do not plan on spending cash onboard. Do I still need to add cash or give a cc to open my sail and sign account? Will they still put a hold on my credit card if I open it with a card? I'm trying not to tie up my credit card with unnecessary holds and keep my cash on me if I can. 

There is actually no hold put on your credit card. Only an amount after it is first posted to it. That is if you use up all your OBC first. If they did put a hold on it you could not use it on shore. To answer your question. Yes. You will need to put a CC when filling out your cruise documents.

[Schoifmom]

1 hour ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

There is actually no hold put on your credit card. Only an amount after it is first posted to it. That is if you use up all your OBC first. If they did put a hold on it you could not use it on shore. To answer your question. Yes. You will need to put a CC when filling out your cruise documents.

1.  There is no require to fund your S&S card at all, and certainly no requirement to use a credit card to do so.  You can simply select "cash account" when doing your online check-in.

2.  That is simply not how holds work. A hold simply "pre-charges" the credit card, thus reducing the amount of credit line available.

3.  They do put an initial hold on a credit card of the amounts listed below.  Once your charges reach that amount, they then put additional holds on the card.  That is why using a debit card is a bad idea, because you are tying up twice the amount of cash necessary.

 

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

1 hour ago, Schoifmom said:

1.  There is no require to fund your S&S card at all, and certainly no requirement to use a credit card to do so.  You can simply select "cash account" when doing your online check-in.

2.  That is simply not how holds work. A hold simply "pre-charges" the credit card, thus reducing the amount of credit line available.

3.  They do put an initial hold on a credit card of the amounts listed below.  Once your charges reach that amount, they then put additional holds on the card.  That is why using a debit card is a bad idea, because you are tying up twice the amount of cash necessary.

 

As I said there is no hold placed on your card. 

[Schoifmom]

1 minute ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

As I said there is no hold placed on your card. 

Evidence?  Carnival's website clearly states that they place a hold on your card.  Are you confusing a hold (like every hotel and restaurant places) and a freeze (which means that you cannot use your card at all)?

[n6uqqq]

Just choose a cash account and you have no worries. You won't have to plop down any cash if you don't want to. Then if you get low on OBC you can add money at your leisure at a kiosk ( easy way) or guest services ( not so easy way). 

Edited July 21, 2022 by n6uqqq

[ALWAYS CRUZIN]

1 hour ago, Schoifmom said:

Evidence?  Carnival's website clearly states that they place a hold on your card.  Are you confusing a hold (like every hotel and restaurant places) and a freeze (which means that you cannot use your card at all)?

I think you are missing the point. A hold is not put on the card itself, you are basically saying they lock the card from use. That is not the case. It is a hold AMOUNT they put on the card. Example $100 or $200 pp. Again, if that was the case you could not use the card for purchases off of the ship.

[carohs]

4 hours ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

I think you are missing the point. A hold is not put on the card itself, you are basically saying they lock the card from use. That is not the case. It is a hold AMOUNT they put on the card. Example $100 or $200 pp. Again, if that was the case you could not use the card for purchases off of the ship.

Where I'm from a hold on a card means the same as an amount hold. Where I'm from when a card is stopped from further use, that's a freeze or a block. 

[mz-s]

11 hours ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

I think you are missing the point. A hold is not put on the card itself, you are basically saying they lock the card from use. That is not the case. It is a hold AMOUNT they put on the card. Example $100 or $200 pp. Again, if that was the case you could not use the card for purchases off of the ship.

that’s not what hold means.

[Schoifmom]

15 hours ago, ALWAYS CRUZIN said:

I think you are missing the point. A hold is not put on the card itself, you are basically saying they lock the card from use. That is not the case. It is a hold AMOUNT they put on the card. Example $100 or $200 pp. Again, if that was the case you could not use the card for purchases off of the ship.

 

 

There are two basic types of holds that can be placed on a credit card (1) an authorization hold, which is commonly referred to as a "hold."  This ties up a specified amount of credit in anticipation of a final charge being placed against the credit limit. (2) an administrative hold, which is commonly referred to as a "freeze" and can only be placed by the credit card agency.  

 

A reasonable person would understand that that in the context of a cruise and the application of a hold against a credit card, that the first type of hold is being discussed.  

 

 

 

[ProgRockCruiser]

I guess we're back to normal cruising if we're arguing over the nuances of the term "hold" for CCs.

 

😏

 

Carnival themselves just used the term "hold" (not prefaced by "authorization" nor "administrative"), as shown in the section quoted from the website by @Schoifmom, with those terms nicely defined by that same poster just above. 

 

"...an initial bank hold of up to $200..."

 

And in that context, there is no way you should mis-interpret that to mean admin hold (freeze), and there is no way anyone would reasonably expect a company/vendor like Carnival to be able to place an admin hold on any passenger's card.

[Rudyard]

You do NOT have to put a CC on file. I had a lot of OBC for my last two cruises. When I did the online check in I put that I would be using cash for my account. When I checked in at the terminal and they asked me for cash or a CC, I told them I had OBC. They saw it in the computer and told me to have a great cruise, no cash or CC necessary.