Paying with a credit card at Princess shops

[charliedalrymple]

The title of the thread is misleading, because it is apparently impossible to pay directly for items from the shops with a credit card.  I found this out in December when attempting to buy a very pricey item that was meant to be a surprise Christmas gift. The shop personnel refused to accept my credit card as payment and said it would be billed to my room account--which is precisely what I wanted to avoid.  Since the shops are independent contractors, this didn't make sense to me.

 

Has anyone been able to pay in the shops with a credit card, or is this a policy across the Princess brand?

[Steelers36]

AFAIK, the only form of payment is charge to the cabin account with a Medallion scan or manually entering cabin nbr and verifying name in the system.

 

Idea:  If sailing with a friend, bring friend and have it charged to their cabin.  Go to GS and ask them to make a payment on friend's account using your credit card. 

 

I presume you are concerned your mate sees it.  In my case, I see and pay all the credit card bills and details with online banking, so I'd know about a charge anyway and may or may not pick up on something.

[charliedalrymple]

Just now, Steelers36 said:

I presume you are concerned your mate sees it.

 

Yep, that was exactly the issue.  I'm basically the Administrative Officer of our marriage, so DH would never have seen the bill.  

[mrmarklin]

3 minutes ago, charliedalrymple said:

The title of the thread is misleading, because it is apparently impossible to pay directly for items from the shops with a credit card.  I found this out in December when attempting to buy a very pricey item that was meant to be a surprise Christmas gift. The shop personnel refused to accept my credit card as payment and said it would be billed to my room account--which is precisely what I wanted to avoid.  Since the shops are independent contractors, this didn't make sense to me.

 

Has anyone been able to pay in the shops with a credit card, or is this a policy across the Princess brand?

I’m not sure. I bought my wife a fairly expensive necklace in one of the shops on Discovery Autumn 2022. I had to pay with my AMEX.  The item was over USD 8,000.  Other than that purchase, I’ve only ever used medallion. Frankly, I prefer to use the medallion and leave my wallet in the safe. 

[Steelers36]

1 minute ago, mrmarklin said:

I’m not sure. I bought my wife a fairly expensive necklace in one of the shops on Discovery Autumn 2022. I had to pay with my AMEX.  The item was over USD 8,000.  Other than that purchase, I’ve only ever used medallion. Frankly, I prefer to use the medallion and leave my wallet in the safe. 

Ahh... so, @charliedalrymple just needs to pony up more to surprise his mate and he can use a credit card.  😉

 

[charliedalrymple]

11 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Ahh... so, @charliedalrymple just needs to pony up more to surprise his mate and he can use a credit card.  😉

 

Indeed.  I'm talking about a measly $600 watch....

[Guest Snaxmuppet]

I thought that the shops on board didn't have the credit card equipment to take card payments so couldn't take cards even if they wanted. Is that wrong?

[Lady Arwen]

4 hours ago, Snaxmuppet said:

I thought that the shops on board didn't have the credit card equipment to take card payments so couldn't take cards even if they wanted. Is that wrong?

I was thinking exactly the same thing.  Years ago I tried to pay by credit card and was emphatically told it was not possible.  It was in the spa and I was wanting to buy some products on my personal cc and not the ship account.  

[beg3yrs]

I "ponied up" a few years ago at an Effy shop for an anniversary gift for DW. Used a CC at the shop to avoid her seeing it in advance on the folio. Didn't really work as what the Effy folk really did was put the charge on my folio and then used the CC to pay off the folio. So much for a surprise gift ...

[memoak]

There are no venues on board where you can use a credit card everything goes on the folio once you are on board. This has been the case since the 1990’s

[lahlah57]

Yep.....they couldn't take it without a register or card scanner....so medallions are the one and only option! 

[jbcallender]

I wouldn't be surprised if part of the shop rental contract provides Princess with a percentge of revenue from the shops.  Processing all sales through the ship ensures that all revenues are taken into account and there are no side deals going on.

 

That also gives Princess use of the cash from credit card settlements for a few weeks prior to having to settle with Effy and the other shop lessees.

Edited March 5 by jbcallender

[Arizona Wildcat]

Try asking guest relations if they can set up a second Folio for your cabin.