Daily CC hold?

[bazzaw]

I think that Cunard place a hold on funds in the Credit card that we give them details of when boarding and also think it is a daily amount. Anybody know what that is please?? 

[lissie]

Didn't happen in 2022 - and I was using a debit card. They took a $1 a few days before boarding to confirm the card (I think that bounced back after a few days/weeks). Then they just charged the amount for the end of each sector of the cruise 

[Winifred 22]

Not sure about non U K based  banking practices but overwhelming advice for U K bank users  is do not register a debit card but use a credit card. Apparently the daily holds plus then the full balance taken at the end can cause some folk problems until the daily holds are removed which are according to your bank’s timetable and out of Cunard’s hands. I have never had a problem with a credit card and the holds are removed quickly. The $1 registration charges sometimes sits there for a while. 

Edited February 27 by Winifred 22

[david63]

11 hours ago, bazzaw said:

Anybody know what that is please?? 

They are pre-authorisations for any onboard spend that you have incurred that day once any OBC has been used. At the end of the cruise/sector the balance outstanding will be collected from your credit card and the pre-authorisations released. Depending on your bank those pre-authorisations will roll off anytime from one to 10 days.

 

This is standard practice for all Carnival brands.

[D&N]

In June 2022 we used a Wise debit card. I believe that's what @lissie used as well.

We didn't have many transactions because we bought the drinks package a week at a time for the two weeks onboard. But did buy three bottles of wine not included in the package, a photography package, internet, laundry and a handbag when they were at 25% off for a day.

Each time a debit or credit transaction was processed I got a notification virtually in real time on the Wise app of the revised charge Cunard were going to make. That included some drinks charged on the first day that should have been in the package and were eventually credited.

I assume they put a hold for the actual amounts spent on the card at any time. I didn't have any chance to test that as there was an adequate USD balance on the card that I had no reason to attempt to use for other purposes.

 

Other debit card providers may operate differently but from our experience Cunard doesn't put a large speculative hold on a card in the same way as some hotels do.

[majortom10]

The main issue with pre authorisation on cards is more of an issue on debit cards rather than credit cards unless you go over your card limit.

[lissie]

10 hours ago, D&N said:

In June 2022 we used a Wise debit card. I believe that's what @lissie used as well.

We didn't have many transactions because we bought the drinks package a week at a time for the two weeks onboard. But did buy three bottles of wine not included in the package, a photography package, internet, laundry and a handbag when they were at 25% off for a day.

Each time a debit or credit transaction was processed I got a notification virtually in real time on the Wise app of the revised charge Cunard were going to make. That included some drinks charged on the first day that should have been in the package and were eventually credited.

I assume they put a hold for the actual amounts spent on the card at any time. I didn't have any chance to test that as there was an adequate USD balance on the card that I had no reason to attempt to use for other purposes.

 

Other debit card providers may operate differently but from our experience Cunard doesn't put a large speculative hold on a card in the same way as some hotels do.

Yes I had a Wise card. I'd pre-loaded the US$ whne the rate was better for my home currency so I'd researched this heavily and it worked exactly as it would have with my credit card (without the additional  charges and por exchange rate of my credit card). It was nothing like using it for a hotel pre-authorisation which does reduce the balance for up to 10 days after checkout (and is annoying and I don't use if for that anymore) 

[D&N]

Another thing I don't think I made clear; although Cunard only pre-authorise actual spend many hotels put a block on a daily figure for duration of stay regardless of whether you intend to spend anything in the hotel. Some cards are reputed to take a period of time to release those authorisations when the hotel cancels them.

That was not the case with the Wise debit card. I used it for pre-authorisation at Sofitel New York, realised it was blocking a large part of our intended USD daily spending money, told reception to change to one of the credit cards I had with me, and within seconds I had notification on the Wise app that it had been removed and the full balance was available to spend.

 

I'm sure that will also be the case with some other providers and it might be worth checking card policies when choosing/changing banks or providers if you might find prolonged blocking of balances inconvenient.

 

 

[godfreyb]

I queried these daily pre-authorizations with the Grills concierge.  She gave me an interesting response.  They do it daily, instead of waiting until the end of the cruise because cards can expire before the end of the cruise, or be cancelled by the passenger, in which case Cunard is left out to dry..........it reminds me of the occasion on our last cruise in Grills when my breakfast was served with just one egg - I asked 'what sort of boarding house are you running here?'

[david63]

4 minutes ago, godfreyb said:

because cards can expire before the end of the cruise, or be cancelled by the passenger

Or the passenger does not have enough credit available

[Solent Richard]

On 2/28/2024 at 1:25 PM, godfreyb said:

I queried these daily pre-authorizations with the Grills concierge.  She gave me an interesting response.  They do it daily, instead of waiting until the end of the cruise because cards can expire before the end of the cruise, or be cancelled by the passenger, in which case Cunard is left out to dry..........it reminds me of the occasion on our last cruise in Grills when my breakfast was served with just one egg - I asked 'what sort of boarding house are you running here?'

But surely a credit card expiry date is clearly embossed on the card?

 

In the rather odd event  it would expire before the cruise ended then it would be rejected.

 

In my experience the 'expiry date' is always the second question asked by the merchant.

[david63]

56 minutes ago, Solent Richard said:

In the rather odd event  it would expire before the cruise ended then it would be rejected.

Knowing what Carnival's IT systems are like then it is highly possible that it only looks at the expiry date at the time of boarding and does not "look ahead"

[Cruise Junky]

On 2/27/2024 at 2:48 AM, david63 said:

They are pre-authorisations for any onboard spend that you have incurred that day once any OBC has been used. At the end of the cruise/sector the balance outstanding will be collected from your credit card and the pre-authorisations released. Depending on your bank those pre-authorisations will roll off anytime from one to 10 days.

 

This is standard practice for all Carnival brands.

That’s not correct. HAL takes a set amount per day PP at the beginning of the cruise.  
 

its now dropped, it used to be $60 pp pd

 

The day you board, Holland America Line places an initial hold on your credit or debit card for $30 per person per cruise day  Once you’ve spent the initial hold amount, we will authorize your card for the total of your onboard purchases to date plus an additional $30 per person per day for the remainder of your cruise. Please note that there may be multiple authorizations throughout your cruise, and that some banks may keep the hold in place for up to 30 days.

[Solent Richard]

On 3/1/2024 at 2:09 PM, david63 said:

Knowing what Carnival's IT systems are like then it is highly possible that it only looks at the expiry date at the time of boarding and does not "look ahead"

And that David is surely the exact time  they check it.

[Solent Richard]

5 hours ago, Cruise Junky said:

That’s not correct. HAL takes a set amount per day PP at the beginning of the cruise.  
 

its now dropped, it used to be $60 pp pd

 

The day you board, Holland America Line places an initial hold on your credit or debit card for $30 per person per cruise day  Once you’ve spent the initial hold amount, we will authorize your card for the total of your onboard purchases to date plus an additional $30 per person per day for the remainder of your cruise. Please note that there may be multiple authorizations throughout your cruise, and that some banks may keep the hold in place for up to 30 days.

Priceless. 😉😉