General QuestionS

[jenelabri]

First of all, to all of you all who are regulars on this site THANK YOU!!! This site is AMAZING! I read this forum eveyday and always go home telling my husband the things I've learned. He tells me I'm not gonna have any suprises if I keep researching but oh well. Now for my questions. We are first time cruisers.....period. I am full of questions. There are 8 of us going on this cruise (6 adults and 2 kids). NONE of us have ever cruised so here are our questions.

 

Disney Wonder May 24-28, 2009 (Memorial Weekend)

 

1. We are making a 13 hour drive to Florida (coming from KY) and was wondering what the ealiest we could board the ship is?

 

2. Trying to pack us all a light as possible, but does the boat provide soap, shampoo exc for everyone or do I need to add that to my packing list?

 

3. I read somewhere that you had to pay your "charges" off w/ a credit card. Is a debit card ok? We don't have credit cards.

 

4. We are having the tips added to our room but was wondering if I could give some extra cash to the help that we really liked. Can they take cash or do you have to use a card so thier tips can be tracked?

 

5. We are visiting some family after we get off the boat on Thursday. That is another 7 hour drive (on top of the 13 hour drive home). We are scheduled to arrive back at Port Canaveral at 7:30 on Thursday. Does that mean we have to be packed, paid and ready to leave or is there a grace period we have? Trying to get some times together to see if we need to add a extra night to our vacation.

 

Thanks to all for your help. I know I'm full of questions but we honestly don't know the answers so I'm choosing you experienced cruisers to help me out. :p

[ducklite]

1. I do'nt believe you can get into the parking deck at the Port until 10:00, and it can be a couple more hours hanging around the terminal until you can board, so unless you've got a real need to get there early, there's really no reason to.

 

2. Soap and shampoo are provided.

 

3. You can use a Visa or M/C Checkcard, but not a debit card that requires a PIN. You need to keep in mind that you might have a set daily maximum and if your charges are more than that, you'll have to settle up another way. Check with your bank to be sure.

 

4. You may give cash as well as having the tips added.

 

5. Just because the ship arrives in Port Canaveral at 7:30 doesn't mean you can get off then, although they do require you to be off around 9:00 am. Keep in mind that there's always a possibility of arriving late into port. It doesn't happen often, but it certainly can and does happen.

[mom x4,grandma x4]

#3 debit card question:

 

since you cant use your debit card, you do have a couple of good choices.

 

You can put cash down on your ship board account upon checking in at the terminal. Keep track of your spending. Then add to your account as the cruise progresses so you dont run out of money in your account and dont have alot to be refunded to you either.

 

Just go to the guest services desk when ever you want to add money to your account.

 

Or many stores sell the prepaid Visa cards. You pay how ever much you want to apply to it. Then use that for your on board account when you check in.

You can still go to the guest services desk at anytime with cash to add your your account during the cruise.

[crusing4fun]

I love the cash idea! That is what we do and you don't spend more than you take.

[jenseib]

I also have been told you can get Disney gift cards and apply them to account to. Which I may do. I might start buying some here and there and then have them for the trip. I may ask for some for DD for her b-day and x-mas as well ,so she can then get a few things on the ship as well that she might like. (and my family always goes way over board on gifts, so this will keep the amount down.)

[SuzanneE]

We have a new credit card (Visa) that requires a pin number to be punched in. Do you think that will be acceptable?

[ducklite]

We have a new credit card (Visa) that requires a pin number to be punched in. Do you think that will be acceptable?

 

Probably not, as I don't think they have PIN pads. Otherwise debit cards could be accepted as well.

[jenseib]

I don't think it's considered a credit card if you hae to punch in a pin, but rather a debit. But most debit cards can be used two ways..one where you pucnh in the number, and usually your account gets charged a fee each time for that, and then as a credit card, where nothing is punched and you account doesn't have a fee. I use my debit all the time, but I use it as credit. Whebn it comes up to ask for my pin on the pad, I tell the cahsier credit and she clicks something and it goes through, or on self ones, alot of time it will ask you if it's credit or debit, and I always chose credit. Or hitting enter usually takes you to the credit spot.

I am guessin your card is through your bank, coming out of your account, right? If so, do the credit option.

[JadedRaverLA]

We have a new credit card (Visa) that requires a pin number to be punched in. Do you think that will be acceptable?

 

If it has a Visa logo, then it should be able to be run as a Visa card without a PIN. Many stores will recognize it as a debit card and ask for your PIN, because they don't have to pay Visa processing fees if they run it through that way. (Many grocery stores and large retailers that use touchpads, you'll see CREDIT and DEBIT show up for you to select. If you select CREDIT it should work even though its a debit card. But Visa's authorization system doesn't use PINs, so if it has that logo, you most definitely should be able to use it.

 

Bear in mind, though, they WILL place a hold on your funds and that will likely continue to increase throughout the cruise, and in the end, the hold will almost certainly be more than you actually spend. Now, they'll run the card at the end, and then its your bank's responsibility to clear the hold and make your funds accessible again, but if money's tight you might consider the other options in terms of putting up a cash deposit, etc. to prevent an overly large hold from being placed on your funds.

 

Have a great trip!

[deborahjo]

As far as your luggage. You will have to put it out the night before. Make sure you keep clothes for the nest day so you are not leaving the ship in your pj's

[jenseib]

If it has a Visa logo, then it should be able to be run as a Visa card without a PIN. Many stores will recognize it as a debit card and ask for your PIN, because they don't have to pay Visa processing fees if they run it through that way. (Many grocery stores and large retailers that use touchpads, you'll see CREDIT and DEBIT show up for you to select. If you select CREDIT it should work even though its a debit card. But Visa's authorization system doesn't use PINs, so if it has that logo, you most definitely should be able to use it.

 

Bear in mind, though, they WILL place a hold on your funds and that will likely continue to increase throughout the cruise, and in the end, the hold will almost certainly be more than you actually spend. Now, they'll run the card at the end, and then its your bank's responsibility to clear the hold and make your funds accessible again, but if money's tight you might consider the other options in terms of putting up a cash deposit, etc. to prevent an overly large hold from being placed on your funds.

 

Have a great trip!

 

Or a Master card logo, which mine has.

[JadedRaverLA]

Or a Master card logo, which mine has.

 

Exactly. As long as the hold isn't a problem, you're good to go.

 

Also, since I didn't see anyone mention it specifically, yet... about the tipping. Disney handles tipping differently than other lines. Whether you charge the tips to your room or want to give cash or both doesn't matter. They give you envelopes for all the "tipped" service personnel for you to personally hand to them. If you charge to your room, they give you cards to put in the envelope that the staff then turn in for their money. Obviously if you want to give cash you can just put it directly in the envelope. I thought it was a nice personal touch, though we ate at Palo the last night so we were a bit concerned about getting the dining room staff their tips. They were all there for breakfast on debarkation day, though, so it wasn't a problem.

[SuzanneE]

My Visa Avion Infinity card is a Visa card only and not a debit card. It has a chip in it and we enter our pin number for a transaction. If the establishment where we are charging does not yet have the chip reader, the card can still be swiped and we sign. This card is just out and is supposed to be more secure than just a signature. It also comes with fantastic trip insurance.