Busy Mum Posted July 8 #1 Share Posted July 8 Hi all, Hubby and I will be on our Cunard cruise (Queen Elizabeth - 5 nights) this coming November. Just a very quick question, which I have tried to find the answer to, can I settle our account with US dollars before we disembark or must it be paid with my credit card? This will be our first Cunard cruise and we are very much looking forward to it. Thank you for any help you can give me. Vicki 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Pushpit Posted July 8 #2 Share Posted July 8 Yes, you can pay up at the Purser's desk at any time, and thus head off all, most or some of the bill. You can also put cash into your account at any point and that will boost your OBC. Unlike OBC that is part of your booking deal, any cash addition is refunded if unused. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Mum Posted July 8 Author #3 Share Posted July 8 23 minutes ago, Pushpit said: Yes, you can pay up at the Purser's desk at any time, and thus head off all, most or some of the bill. You can also put cash into your account at any point and that will boost your OBC. Unlike OBC that is part of your booking deal, any cash addition is refunded if unused. Thank you so much Pushpit, your reply is very much appreciated. Vicki 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Pushpit Posted July 8 #4 Share Posted July 8 One thing to watch is that if your bill gets too high mid voyage, Cunard will look to get that covered via a preauthorisation on the card. Normally they just preauthorise 1 dollar to check the card is still valid but at some point they will seek a higher preauthorised amount. But if you pay say 90% of your estimated bill early in the sailing then pay off the rest on the last evening, that should deal with that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Mum Posted July 8 Author #5 Share Posted July 8 1 hour ago, Pushpit said: One thing to watch is that if your bill gets too high mid voyage, Cunard will look to get that covered via a preauthorisation on the card. Normally they just preauthorise 1 dollar to check the card is still valid but at some point they will seek a higher preauthorised amount. But if you pay say 90% of your estimated bill early in the sailing then pay off the rest on the last evening, that should deal with that. Wonderful, thank you again, it’s very much appreciated. 🙂 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Amo Posted July 8 #6 Share Posted July 8 On a similar vein, but probably not worthy of its own thread, can anyone advise whether the charge to the card is considered a UK transaction? This would have an influence on which card I give them to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Victoria2 Posted July 8 #7 Share Posted July 8 11 minutes ago, King Amo said: On a similar vein, but probably not worthy of its own thread, can anyone advise whether the charge to the card is considered a UK transaction? This would have an influence on which card I give them to use. The account is in $$ if that has any bearing. We just stick it all on Amex. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PORT ROYAL Posted July 8 #8 Share Posted July 8 4 hours ago, Busy Mum said: Hi all, Hubby and I will be on our Cunard cruise (Queen Elizabeth - 5 nights) this coming November. Just a very quick question, which I have tried to find the answer to, can I settle our account with US dollars before we disembark or must it be paid with my credit card? This will be our first Cunard cruise and we are very much looking forward to it. Thank you for any help you can give me. Vicki 🙂 A personal experience which changed one’s approach…. Did initially elect to pay cash and deposited a significant amount to cover perceived expenditure, in addition to Line’s OBC. At end of cruise had a balance, ask for a refund, only to be told that Lines OBC was not refundable. Cunard used the deposited cash first After months of land side “negotiation” monies refunded. Also, in the past, have had erroneous deductions from the CC, weeks following post disembarkation. Again months of correspondence. Now, one first elects to pay by CC. Then very late on the final night pay the statement by cash, with instructions to remove CC details and have the account made cash only. Since the introduction of this protocol there have never been any CC problems. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busy Mum Posted July 8 Author #9 Share Posted July 8 8 minutes ago, PORT ROYAL said: A personal experience which changed one’s approach…. Did initially elect to pay cash and deposited a significant amount to cover perceived expenditure, in addition to Line’s OBC. At end of cruise had a balance, ask for a refund, only to be told that Lines OBC was not refundable. Cunard used the deposited cash first After months of land side “negotiation” monies refunded. Also, in the past, have had erroneous deductions from the CC, weeks following post disembarkation. Again months of correspondence. Now, one first elects to pay by CC. Then very late on the final night pay the statement by cash, with instructions to remove CC details and have the account made cash only. Since the introduction of this protocol there have never been any CC problems. Thank you very much for your experience with this, it’s very much appreciated. Vicki. 😀 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Amo Posted July 8 #10 Share Posted July 8 38 minutes ago, Victoria2 said: The account is in $$ if that has any bearing. We just stick it all on Amex. Thanks Victoria. It's whether there is likely to be one or more foreign transaction fees. It's been a fair while since I've sailed Cunard, so I can't remember. I'll probably just stick it on my Starling card to be on the safe side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Pushpit Posted July 8 #11 Share Posted July 8 (edited) 34 minutes ago, King Amo said: Thanks Victoria. It's whether there is likely to be one or more foreign transaction fees. It's been a fair while since I've sailed Cunard, so I can't remember. I'll probably just stick it on my Starling card to be on the safe side. Yes, Starling has a low fee for forex transactions, so it's always best to use a card with zero or low forex handling fees. However, if it's a debit, rather than credit, card - which most of Starling's cards will be, then that poses other problems on authorisations. So one route would be to use any old credit card for authorisation, notably for online and in person check-ins. Then use the Starling card a few times onboard to keep the balance down (on longer sailings) then if the final $10 has a 5% fee on that credit card then that's not so bad compared to say a $500 balance. Cunard onboard is always USD and will often attract a merchant fee of some sort if you don't use a USA based account. Edited July 8 by Pushpit 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare LadyL1 Posted July 8 #12 Share Posted July 8 2 hours ago, King Amo said: On a similar vein, but probably not worthy of its own thread, can anyone advise whether the charge to the card is considered a UK transaction? This would have an influence on which card I give them to use. There are a few credit cards on the market (UK) where there is no foreign transaction charge. We have one which we use on the ship. This might be worth looking into. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winifred 22 Posted July 8 #13 Share Posted July 8 2 hours ago, King Amo said: On a similar vein, but probably not worthy of its own thread, can anyone advise whether the charge to the card is considered a UK transaction? This would have an influence on which card I give them to use. I use a U K CC, one with no transaction charges to be on the safe side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Amo Posted July 8 #14 Share Posted July 8 Thanks all. I've just sorted a Nationwide credit card with zero fees, so will just use this as a cruise card in future. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winifred 22 Posted July 8 #15 Share Posted July 8 2 hours ago, King Amo said: Thanks all. I've just sorted a Nationwide credit card with zero fees, so will just use this as a cruise card in future. Lots of folk do that. I opened a current account with them too just for the insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Amo Posted July 8 #16 Share Posted July 8 53 minutes ago, Winifred 22 said: Lots of folk do that. I opened a current account with them too just for the insurance. Insurance only now comes with the fee-based current account, as for the last couple of years I've had to arrange separate cover. Shame, as that used to be a very good perk for the standard free account. I guess much will depend on individual circumstance, but for us it is significantly cheaper to buy the insurance separately than pay the £13 per month fee. The other perks (breakdown and no foreign transaction fees on the debit card) I get through other banks, so don't need these through my Nationwide one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poole Boy Posted July 8 #17 Share Posted July 8 6 hours ago, King Amo said: On a similar vein, but probably not worthy of its own thread, can anyone advise whether the charge to the card is considered a UK transaction? This would have an influence on which card I give them to use. No, its a international transaction because Cunard bill in $ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
majortom10 Posted July 8 #18 Share Posted July 8 2 hours ago, King Amo said: Insurance only now comes with the fee-based current account, as for the last couple of years I've had to arrange separate cover. Shame, as that used to be a very good perk for the standard free account. I guess much will depend on individual circumstance, but for us it is significantly cheaper to buy the insurance separately than pay the £13 per month fee. The other perks (breakdown and no foreign transaction fees on the debit card) I get through other banks, so don't need these through my Nationwide one. If you can get a worldwide annual policy for a couple for an annual fee of less than £156 then you are very lucky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Amo Posted July 8 #19 Share Posted July 8 1 minute ago, majortom10 said: If you can get a worldwide annual policy for a couple for an annual fee of less than £156 then you are very lucky. £89.94 for couple and child, including optional cruise cover. Wouldn't call it lucky, as it's just the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exlondoner Posted July 8 #20 Share Posted July 8 52 minutes ago, King Amo said: £89.94 for couple and child, including optional cruise cover. Wouldn't call it lucky, as it's just the price. The good luck is in still being so young that that is the price, meaning you probably have more happy years of cruises ahead than many of us do. 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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