Paying Cash

[LNLisa]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm trying to figure out the money, and I have a couple of questions.

 

I'd rather pay cash/traveler's checks for everything as I go--anything charged to my sea pass card. I know that I can easily go and do that at the end of my cruise.

 

But I think I remember reading that as soon as you board the ship a certain amount of money is reserved on your credit card? If so, how much is that? Can I put some money on my sea pass when I board to counteract this, or is it just a fact of life?

 

Thanks!

[veryhotred]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm trying to figure out the money, and I have a couple of questions.

 

I'd rather pay cash/traveler's checks for everything as I go--anything charged to my sea pass card. I know that I can easily go and do that at the end of my cruise.

 

But I think I remember reading that as soon as you board the ship a certain amount of money is reserved on your credit card? If so, how much is that? Can I put some money on my sea pass when I board to counteract this, or is it just a fact of life?

 

Thanks!

 

You do not have to use a credit card at all. We only used cash on our first cruise and here is what we did. You have to put some type of payment on your sea pass account. If you want to pay cash, you can. Go to the purser's desk and give them money for your account. They will ask how much you want to put down. I recommend more than you will spend so that you do not go over because then they will page you to come to their desk if you do go over! If you do not use all the money you put down you will get a check back the morning of the last day of the cruise. You can take the check home and cash it or back to the purser's desk and cash it in there. (You can only pay with your sea pass while on board btw so you must give them something they can use to pay your charges.) You can also pay using traveler's checks if you prefer. I have done that too on a cruise. You can also give them a credit card and then when you get your sea pass charges go pay them in cash, thus avoiding a charge to your credit card. However they may put a hold on your account during the cruise for charges that may ensue so if paying cash, I would put the cash or traveler's checks down.

 

Hope that makes sense! Using a credit card takes away worries that you do not go over a certain amount (cash) you put down. Cash down or traveler's checks makes it easy because you go home with no bills coming due later and keeps you on a budget. It is entirely up to you! My last cruise I did my sail and sign at home and listed cash as what I would use for my sea pass charges, then I got to the pier and changed to a credit card. So you decide how to pay but you have the option of cash, traveler's checks or cc!

[ecmcm]

On our B2B on the Mariner at the beginning of the month, we set our seapass cards up as cash. No need for a down payment or a credit card number at all. At the end of the first week, I paid the balance in cash and at the end of the second week I paid that balance with a credit card. (On a B2B, you have to settle at the end of each week as you get new seapass cards.) When your card is set up as cash, you have to keep your balance below $500 which wasn't a problem for us. If you spend more, you could just pay during the week as well as the end with cash or traveler's cheques.

 

em

[LNLisa]

Thank you both so much for your responses! This clears up for me how I want to handle this. :D

[boaterette]

Just as an added aside. When we were on the Monarch last week my MIL put cash down and she had to put a minimum of 2oo. this is for the four day. So there is a minimum that you will have to put down. We were told it was 500 per person on a seven day cruise. My MIL got 186 back at the end.

[robtulipe]

On our B2B on the Mariner at the beginning of the month, we set our seapass cards up as cash. No need for a down payment or a credit card number at all. At the end of the first week, I paid the balance in cash and at the end of the second week I paid that balance with a credit card. (On a B2B, you have to settle at the end of each week as you get new seapass cards.) When your card is set up as cash, you have to keep your balance below $500 which wasn't a problem for us. If you spend more, you could just pay during the week as well as the end with cash or traveler's cheques.

em

Just as an added aside. When we were on the Monarch last week my MIL put cash down and she had to put a minimum of 2oo. this is for the four day. So there is a minimum that you will have to put down. We were told it was 500 per person on a seven day cruise. My MIL got 186 back at the end.

 

ecmcm is correct. The $500 is the amount that you can charge up to before you have to make a payment to your onboard account.

For my last three cruises, which were all on RC, I set our onboard acccount as a cash one since being Cdn. we've had problems in the past with RC's automatic CC billing converting our billing to $CAD against our wishes. Each time I was advised of this amount.

You can put down some cash as a deposit anytime if you wish but if your onboard account doesn't go above the $500 it is not necessary to do so.

I wouldn't put any down any more than you expect to spend onboard to avoid having to get a refund at the end of the cruise like boaterette had to. At the end of the cruise, you can pay off your account in cash/TC or have the balance billed to your CC with not having to use the automatic CC billing.

[annf]

One more thing to add to the mix for this topic......I got back from a 5 night on Grandeur this morning and had a rather frustrating problem with having not set my card up to pay with cash.

 

I had myself, my mom and my brother all on the same account for this cruise - and secured the sail card with my debit card. Never again - it will be cash on future cruises.

 

Authorizations were done that didn't match the charge that was put through (the explanation from the purser's desk was that a purchase was made after the authorization and before the charge that changed the amount being charged at the end of each day). This resulted in the authorization not being removed. So, we got on board on Monday - and I had a very comfortable $2000 sitting in my checking account - thinking that we wouldn't possibly go even close to that amount on a 5 night cruise. Because of the way that RC did the authorizations and charges - I had to put another card on the account on Wednesday night.

 

The authorizations done by any company should match the amount charged in order to remove the authorization and replace it with the actual charge. When the numbers don't match - your bank (debit or credit cards) will keep the original authorization (for up to 7 business days) and the charged amount as separate transactions - causing your available balance to decrease by double what you actually spend.

[Robkatcruisers]

Just as an added aside. When we were on the Monarch last week my MIL put cash down and she had to put a minimum of 2oo. this is for the four day. So there is a minimum that you will have to put down. We were told it was 500 per person on a seven day cruise. My MIL got 186 back at the end.

 

 

 

Nov of 2007 my DH and I were on Mariner and we have no credit cards what so ever and did not have to put a minimum down. I had actually called their gifts and gear line and gave myself gift certificates about a month early because I had the money at the time and didnt want to end up spending it. The amount I put in gift certificates was like 150. I did that as the standard tips. So I had something but it was money for the tips so that I didnt feel like I wouldnt have it. We then gave a whopping 5 bucks cash extra as it was all we had. My DH and I are not drinkers or gamblers and really have no money but the cruise was a gift from my dad for graduating college.

[jdh]

We always put a determined amount of cash on our seapass when we board as we do not have credit cards. We always determine the amount and have never been told there was a minimum. On the morning we leave the ship we cash out and have always gotten cash back. It's our choice to use only cash and keeps us on budget.....so we get to cruise more often! Yea!!! March 3rd a 4-nighter to the Bahamas is a Christmas gift from our sons to celebrate our 41st anniversary, Now deciding on a cruise for November. So much fun.

[Gma&Gpa]

I recently filled out my on-line sea pass (I think that is what it's called) and put down my CC to be used for my account. However,after reading some things on here about holds, etc I'm unsure, and may decide that I want to use CASH instead, or even possibly, a different CC if I decide to go that way. Will this be a problem when I get to the port - to make that change?

[LNLisa]

Thanks everyone for all the helpful information! We board today! :D So I'll be putting all your good advice to use! Thanks!!

[mdohertyjr]

I second that thank you, the wife and I cruise in three weeks, and I will be putting down cash instead of using our debit card.

[ecmcm]

For my last three cruises, which were all on RC, I set our onboard acccount as a cash one since being Cdn. we've had problems in the past with RC's automatic CC billing converting our billing to $CAD against our wishes.

 

On our recent cruise, I made two charges through RCI on my credit card (a seapass balance and a Next Cruise deposit). As a Canadian, I asked that the amounts be put through as US$ so our credit card company would do the conversion and there was no problem. I checked the statement as soon as it arrived and my request was followed as it should have been.

 

<may decide that I want to use CASH instead, or even possibly, a different CC if I decide to go that way. Will this be a problem when I get to the port - to make that change?>

 

Our travel agent told us we could make a change at the port if we changed our minds between cash and a credit card. In the end I paid one seapass balance with a credit card after setting it up as cash. As long as you pay, I don't think they care how you do it.

 

em