Atm Fees!

[Cruise lover 01010]

How about everyone getting together to protest the absolutely usurious ATM fees charged onboard. Talk about being trapped. This is shameless price gouging by Carnival.

[GoinCruisin]

It's not just Carnival... it is the same way at many nightclubs and independent stores... you pay quite a fee for the service... Just bring plenty of cash/travelers cheques and you should not need to use them.

[Cruise lover 01010]

It's not just Carnival... it is the same way at many nightclubs and independent stores... you pay quite a fee for the service... Just bring plenty of cash/travelers cheques and you should not need to use them.

Well I've been using ATMs since the first one came out and I've travelled to 126 countries to date and never seen the charges that high!

[INCHARGE]

How much is the fee?

[tef43]

So just don't use the atm on board. Nobody is holding a gun to your head.

 

Proper budgeting on your part and this is a non-issue.

[GoinCruisin]

The fees must have gone up, I only used it once and I thought it was $5 or $6, which is about what I expected... If they have gone up, I would definitely suggest you bring enough cash on board. I've seen one as high as $8, but it was in a very out of the way place, it was explained to us that they were charged a much higher fee for the machine and maintenance and it was passed on to the customer, fair enough... If I don't have enough cash, it's my problem, not theirs. These places are in the business to make money...

[Cruise lover 01010]

Here's my real point. You are all correct. No one is holding a gun to my head and everyone is in business to make money and if I plan I won't need it etc. etc. BUT-this is one of those IN YOUR FACE charges that piss people off and hurt the reputation of the line. We all pay through the nose everyday on the ship for all sorts of things and we have the tacit understanding that this is how the cruise lines make a significant portions of their revenues. However, the one ATM on board is utterly insignificant and Carnival could do itself a big favor by charging the usual say, $2 fee. People have a general aversion to paying for their own money and they don't need to be reminded just how trapped they are. No skin of my back but if I were a marketing expert for the line I'd think about the cost benefit of that particular fee.

[GoinCruisin]

Cruiselover, I understand your point... but all of the others charge the same fees (I don't believe HAL has ATM's yet?), but RCI and Celebrity (and I'm sure Princess) charge the same fees... so it's not a problem with the "line", it's the nature of the beast... Carnival is charged fees, so in turn, we pay those... if we want to use that particular service. I don't really like paying $20 for a 8x10 photo and being held hostage to buy that photo before I can get other sizes, but if I want it... I have to pay it. We live in a society of greedy people and greedy business.... I am sure we have not seen the worst of it....

[Snowball]

So just don't use the atm on board. Nobody is holding a gun to your head.

 

Proper budgeting on your part and this is a non-issue.

As much as I hate to admit it :p , I completely agree with Tef on this one. Providing an ATM machine for its passengers's convenience is a service that Carnival provides, and as such they get to decide how much to charge for that service. If you think that the charge is too high, then don't use their ATM.

[serene56]

Supply and demand...as long as people use that machine with the high fee they will charge tht fee. Funny that machine is always out of cash half way through the cruise too.

[Saymyname]

I searched google for an option to the high ATM fees.

This is what I found in a Carnival review:

 

"you can get an advance in the casino $3 for a hundred in chips, at the table, then cash the chips in at the cashier’s cage."

 

Hope this helps.

[LornaT]

No Flaming please........................but when I looked and used the ATM on the Glory last year , it is NOT Carnival's ATM, it is a privately owned ATM from a company/bank that arranged with Carnival to provide the service to us.........as such, Carnival is in no way responsible for the fee's that company charges for it's service (must be the reason they run out of money within a few days of leaving Port, they can't be refilled until the ship comes back to port and the servoce tech comes to the ship to refill it)..............kind of like how the shops on board are not owned or operated by Carnival but by an independant company that pays a fee (I would assume, or gives Carnival a cut of the take) to Carnival for the space they take up. If you check out the Carnival web-psite for FUN JOBS for the shops it redirects you to the independant companies (Starboard Cruise Services in Miami) web-site.

 

So maybe we need to complain to the company the installed and operates the machines on board.

[sashapoo]

The fee is pretty on par with others that I have seen at different places. At most casinos it is at a minium of $5.00. The compay that owns it knows that we will pay the fee if we want the cash bad enough.

[ama8122]

There is a way around the fee...the casino will give you money using your check card as well. Their fee was a lot less, although I don't remember the exact amouth they charged. I think it was a percentage, and it was worth it to me when I didn't want too much cash

[LornaT]

The casino charges a fee of 3% for getting cash out of your sail & sign card.

So say you want $200.00 your paying them a fee of $6.00 which is a dollar more than the $5.00 ATM Fee.

[imsulin]

The casino will NOT give you money using your bank ATM card. They WILL give you a cash advance on a credit card, or on your Sign & Sail card. LornaT is also correct about the ATM machines being leased (not owned or controlled) by Carnival. It's there for your convenience, so if you don't like the fee, don't use it. I've never used an ATM machine on a ship...I always bring T-checks, and can get small bills from the casino with no fee at all. LornaT and tef...great posts!

[SATXLady]

I guess I don't understand. I thought that on-board, we would charge everything to our sign and sail and just settle that at the end of the cruise. Why would you need to use the ATM on-board? If it's for port excursions, aren't there ATMs at the port which possibly charge lower fees?

 

Since I haven't been on my first cruise yet, I guess I'm also wondering what I would need additional cash for since I plan to put everything on-board on my sign and sail charge it to AmEx so I get the rewards points.

[GoinCruisin]

Carroll, you need cash for tips onboard... also, it helps in the casino because you are charged an upcharge for using your S&S card... there are things that just seem to come up... also, remember, on an excursion or port, you are in a foreign country... there are valid reasons to have cash, but moreso when you are in port and for tips...

[DebBrown]

Here's my real point. You are all correct. No one is holding a gun to my head and everyone is in business to make money and if I plan I won't need it etc. etc. BUT-this is one of those IN YOUR FACE charges that piss people off and hurt the reputation of the line. We all pay through the nose everyday on the ship for all sorts of things and we have the tacit understanding that this is how the cruise lines make a significant portions of their revenues. However, the one ATM on board is utterly insignificant and Carnival could do itself a big favor by charging the usual say, $2 fee. People have a general aversion to paying for their own money and they don't need to be reminded just how trapped they are. No skin of my back but if I were a marketing expert for the line I'd think about the cost benefit of that particular fee.

Don't get me wrong, money is money but if I were a plastic surgeon/model, the ATM fee would be the least of my worries on the ship....beating the men off would be!! :D

[dbarry]

I have only been on one Carnival cruise - that was in 2000. I am now booked for next year on the Glory. I am completely clueless and maybe someone could help me out here. I have sailed a few times with RCCL and if I needed cash I could just go to the casino and "charge" it to my sign and sail card. There was never any charge for this, except of course I paid for what ever I charged at the end of the cruise. I'm getting that Carnival doesn't do this? Or if they do, there is some kind of service fee? Could someone fill me in on this please? Are there any other differences between RCCL and Carnival that I need to be aware of?

 

Darlene

[serene56]

Royal doesnt charge for getting money at the casino with the sign and sail card.. Carnival does.

 

Now wondering the difference as I have sailed with both.