Cash or Debit?

[readysetcruise]

DH and I are taking our 2nd cruise on the 28th of August. Last time we just used our Credit card for our sign and sail. We've decide this time to either use cash or our debit card. Can anyone give me the pros and cons of each? Also, I'm trying to remember when we set up the account for our sign and sail. After all, it's been 4 years. We're long overdue for a cruise.

Thanks

[Cotton]

At check-in, they swipe my Visa debit card. I never hear anything else about anything from anybody. It's a done deal. I don't think about again until I get home.

 

Others have said different things. I still can't understand why it's a problem for some. Something about a 'hold'...???

[jetskier]

The problem with using a debit (and sometimes a CC) is that the cruiseline will put a hold on the account for a certain amount depending on cruise length. This hold will be in addition to the regular charge at the end of the cruise. It takes a couple of days for the hold to expire releasing your funds. It can cause NSF's and CC declined if you do not have enough of a balance to cover it.

 

When you get your Sail and Sign, just tell them you are going to pay cash. Once onboard, go to the purser's desk to setup your account. They will require a minimum amount depending on cruise length. You can also just set it up initially as a CC or debit at the Sail and Sign desk, and then pay cash the last night on board so that you dont have a balance.

Dave

[tommygirl31700]

Like the previous poster said the cruise will put a hold on your account for a certain amount. The problem comes with your bank some banks release the funds as soon as the cruise does (the day you disembark) while others hold it for a few days, mine holds it for 5 business days. If you are going on a 5-8 day cruise the minimum deposit is $200 per person, if you start running out of cash they will notify you if you have a balance at the end of your stay they will return it to you in check form. Hope that helps.

[veryhotred]

Like the others said, make sure you have enough in your checking account to cover any checks that you have already written AND the amount the ship will put on hold. There will be a set amount on hold until the end of the cruise and then the real amount you charged will be charged but you will still have a hold and your bank could keep that hold for a few days and cause your balance to show you do not have the amount available. If you keep a lot of extra cash in your checking, you will be fine, if you don't keep extra in your checking you may run into problems. We took traveler's cheques and gave them toward our S&S account and the last morning we got a check under our door for the amount we did not use. I took the check the the pursers desk and cashed it, I was done, no waiting for any holds to come off or anything, it was done and over with. You can also take the check and deposit it once you get home.

[zqvol]

Ask at check in about a hold. In May on Elation Carnival did not put any hold on my card.

 

You might consider using a credit card that has a zero balance and then pay it off when the bill comes. You get the use of your money a few days longer and if you have a card that earns miles or points you get the credits.

 

If you do this and then find a great deal on the ship you don't accidentally overdraw your checking account.

[readysetcruise]

Like the others said, make sure you have enough in your checking account to cover any checks that you have already written AND the amount the ship will put on hold. There will be a set amount on hold until the end of the cruise and then the real amount you charged will be charged but you will still have a hold and your bank could keep that hold for a few days and cause your balance to show you do not have the amount available. If you keep a lot of extra cash in your checking, you will be fine, if you don't keep extra in your checking you may run into problems. We took traveler's cheques and gave them toward our S&S account and the last morning we got a check under our door for the amount we did not use. I took the check the the pursers desk and cashed it, I was done, no waiting for any holds to come off or anything, it was done and over with. You can also take the check and deposit it once you get home.

 

Oh, so you can cash a check of left over cash at the purser's desk? Great! I think I just made my decision. Just didn't want to carry a check home and have to wait til after Labor day to deposit it back in the bank. Bye the way, do you get a receipt when you give them cash? Just don't want any mix ups at the end of the cruise. Thanks

[veryhotred]

You can cash the check at the Purser's desk, that is what we did so I could use the cash on the way home. :D We took only carry on luggage so we got off the ship early and when we woke up the check was under our door. The ship took our deposit (the travelers cheques) and then during the cruise things were charged to the account and a check was issued to us and placed under our door that last night. We had no problem cashing it that last morning. We took a 3 day cruise and had placed $300 on our account and got back a little over $60. I liked not having to worry about a hold on my checking account. We don't use credit cards, we only use cash and like it that way and it's easier, no unexpected or forgotten bills.

[PACURN]

I used my debit card on the last cruise and didn't have any issues. I have a seperate account that is for vacations so I don't have to worry about any household stuff getting messed up.

[osiebosie]

My daughter's and son-in-law's account got really messed up using a debit card. I couldn't even begin to tell the story.

 

We just use cash and traveler's checks. I think the idea of using the tc's and (hopefully) getting a bit of a refund is a good idea.

 

Shay

[Cotton]

Perhaps the bottom line when using a debit card is that you must have LOTS of available funds in your checking account?

[aggieastrosfan]

Perhaps the bottom line when using a debit card is that you must have LOTS of available funds in your checking account?

 

I think that's the key. I personally don't keep THAT much extra money in my checking account to cover my shipboard bill and the hold. I'm not 100% sure on whether they do the hold or not, but I'm not going to find out. We either prepay shipboard credit, or use a credit card just for securing the account. Then we go down the last night and pay the bill off with cash or our debit card.

[tankersbabe]

Hubby and I secure our S&S with our credit card, and pay off the bill in cash by the end of the cruise. No muss, no fuss, no bill when we get home. We carry traveller's checks and cash those at the purser's desk for shore spending, and put the remaining on our bill.

 

Personally, they are not touching my debit card.

[GoinCruisin]

Perhaps the bottom line when using a debit card is that you must have LOTS of available funds in your checking account?

 

Bingo!! Then you will never notice the hold (most people don't, it's invisible, but they make sure they have a hold on their money :p LOL)... if you have plenty of money in your account, you aren't going to be affected by the hold. Otherwise, just use cash, or a credit card. I've done it several different ways and don't prefer one over the other, just whatever is more convenient at the time. I don't care for credit cards, so debit and cash work better for me, but they may not for others. To each their own...

[Pinge]

Yikes!

I am sailing on Valor 9/17 and am footing the bill for 4 on my little legal secretary's salary. This has been months in the planning. I have booked private excursions and wanted to purchase the embarkation photo onboard and buy some drink coupons ahead of time - and that's all! I will be "creative" with my access to onboard cocktails as I have learned here on the boards. ;) My plan was to set up my onboard S&S card with my debit/credit card or I was going to pay $350.00 cash to cover the automatic grats and at least one picture. I called my TA she said I would have to put $300.00 pp plus the $70.00 pp on a hold in checking account - that's way more than our airfare we have from Cincy to MIA! I called my bank and asked about the "hold" and they said that carnival actually asks for an authorization and she does not know what they would do if the money is not in the account. I think it is rotten that carnival has a right to hijack my account for a week for that much. I will pay just the automatic grats in cash onboard and was wondering if I would have to put a "block on everyone's S&s card if that's the only way they will not put a hold on it. Otherwise, I will not have any money for these excursions - anyone ever done this? Just wondering if there are other cruisers that pay good ole American cash for everything and don't have deep pockets - like me. Only way I get to do this is to stick to my budget.

Forget a credit card - my ex took me for a ride and ruined my credit - still recovering.

By the way, I have sailed with NCL, once with Imperial Majesty and once with the now bankrupt Regency Cruise line - I paid cash!

Sorry for the rambling...

Hope you have some insight...

[GoinCruisin]

Yikes!

I am sailing on Valor 9/17 and am footing the bill for 4 on my little legal secretary's salary. This has been months in the planning. I have booked private excursions and wanted to purchase the embarkation photo onboard and buy some drink coupons ahead of time - and that's all! I will be "creative" with my access to onboard cocktails as I have learned here on the boards. ;) My plan was to set up my onboard S&S card with my debit/credit card or I was going to pay $350.00 cash to cover the automatic grats and at least one picture. I called my TA she said I would have to put $300.00 pp plus the $70.00 pp on a hold in checking account - that's way more than our airfare we have from Cincy to MIA! I called my bank and asked about the "hold" and they said that carnival actually asks for an authorization and she does not know what they would do if the money is not in the account. I think it is rotten that carnival has a right to hijack my account for a week for that much. I will pay just the automatic grats in cash onboard and was wondering if I would have to put a "block on everyone's S&s card if that's the only way they will not put a hold on it. Otherwise, I will not have any money for these excursions - anyone ever done this? Just wondering if there are other cruisers that pay good ole American cash for everything and don't have deep pockets - like me. Only way I get to do this is to stick to my budget.

Forget a credit card - my ex took me for a ride and ruined my credit - still recovering.

By the way, I have sailed with NCL, once with Imperial Majesty and once with the now bankrupt Regency Cruise line - I paid cash!

Sorry for the rambling...

Hope you have some insight...

 

Carnival isn't the only company that does this. Hotels do this, gas stations, etc. Why would they allow you to come, without making sure they are going to get paid???? They have to make sure. Now, if you have small kids, you might be able to get by without putting down a deposit for them (just the tips), and just deactivate their cards. That might help. You can put a cash deposit down, and just use your debit card for excursions. That way there will be no hold. But there is a minimum you have to put down when you pay cash (it's on the website and in the brochure, I don't know off the top of my head), if you deactivate the kids, maybe you can just pay a smaller deposit.

 

I have not used a credit card outside of my business card, in probably 5 years or more. I pay cash for everything... some people like having them, and that is fine. I prefer not to have one. To each his/her own.

[woohoo4ue]

We did both on our last cruise. We put down $500 cash. When our balance got low we went and put our debit card on our account. You can keep track of your balance on the TV. We didn't experience any holds on our bank account. Carnival just charged the 80 something bucks to our debit card. I've never had holds overdraw my checking account eithier because my bank doesn't deduct the holds from my balance until they come thru as actual purchases. So if Carnival would have put holds on my account it wouldn't have affected my spending. I guess it's just something use should ask your bank. I personally did not like carrying around that much cash!

[veryhotred]

Like another poster stated, a hold is needed so that a business can get the money you may charge. Businesses have every right to have this money held, if they didn't they would lose a lot of money. If you are worried about a hold then use cash, that is what we did. We put travelers cheques on our S&S so we did not have to worry about any holds since we do not keep a lot of extra money in our checking and do not own any credit cards. I know it is hard to live on cash (we do) but in the long run it's worth it. My husband lost his job over a year ago and our finances came crashing down on us. Now we are trying to build our cash flows back up and pay things off and are on a three year "pay everything off and use only cash" plan. We have twop more years to go to be debt free. I wish you luck and have a great cruise! :p

[PACURN]

I'm there with you. Cash only. I have no credit cards. I use my debit card to pay everthing. It's the only way to go.

[Tamara]

Instead of credit cards I have steered my kids (2 high school-2 college) to use visa Gift cards, and credit cards only in a real emergency. They are the cards you get at the bank and load them with your $$$, stores, etc. accept them as a credit debit, can you use this type??? -Tamara

[Tamara]

I read my docs and to answer my own ? the answer is no. -tamara

[iluvdoxies]

Never have had a problem using our debit card- used it many times.

[Caribbean Buckeye]

I apologize in advance if any of my comments are repeats of prior posts but I didn't have time to read through the many posts on this topic.

 

I'm in favor of using a major credit card (if you have one) and here's why:

 

1. You receive rewards points for any and all charges associated with the card. Some offer cash back, some offer airline miles, some give you rewards points which can be redeemed for other things (like another cruise).

 

2. You have no concern about what kind of hold they place on the card. In fact, you can use that same card when you go into the ports. You don't have to worry about running out of cash or going back to the purser's desk at the end of your cruise to claim your balance. Believe me, that line at the purser's desk on the last day is ridiculous. With a credit card, you don't have to do anything on the last day but get off the ship. They give you statements every 2 or 3 days throughout the cruise showing your charges up to that point. They slide it under your cabin door.

 

3. If there is a dispute over any of the charges, your credit card company will handle it for you. Usually, if you're a good card holder, they'll take your side and reverse the charges. For example, if you pre-book an excursion and then it's cancelled due to weather or you miss it for some reason. Usually they remove it from your S&S, but it's nice knowing it can be removed by your credit card company if necessary.

 

Now, I know not credit cards are not for everyone. There are those who spend recklessly when they are using cards. You have to have the discipline to pay the card off every month. If this isn't an option for you, go with the traveler's checks or cash deposit like some mentioned.

 

IMHO, the debit card is the worst option. If you have a problem with overcharges or fraud on a debit card, it can take days for your bank to resolve the problems. If all you have is a debit card and something goes wrong and locks up your cash, you better have a credit card or something to fall back on. Rather than using a debit card, I'd withdrawal the money from your account beforehand and go the deposit route on your S&S.

 

Sorry if I stepped on anybody's toes. I know debit cards are popular and I use mine for gas and groceries, but I don't want to risk any unnecessary headaches when I'm on vacation.

[stephandjim1070]

i like the pre paid cc idea... or start saving fun dollars ..

 

steph

[cruisinbuddy]

And then again, why not just leave the $ at home in your account

and use your cc. Now you have 20-some days before interest starts

so pay it off before the statement date. I'ts a lot easier.

Vacations are supposed to be stress free don't let a hold on

your account mess up a payment for something.