Credit Card Deposit

[damdamsels]

Does anyone know if it has to be a credit card on deposit or can a debit card be used. I think my Mom only has a debit card. Will she be able to use that for her shipboard account?

[DFD1]

A HAL representative advised me a few days ago that a debit card was fine. She cautioned me to be sure to have an adequate balance to cover the $70.00 per person per day hold they put on it when you board and to be sure your balance stays ahead of your daily spending on board.

I'm going to use a credit card and pay it off when I get home and use the debit card for on-shore purchases in various ports.

This in the for-what-its-worth department. Have fun

[CaptData]

the other problem with debit card is how long they hold it after the cruise. Sometimes it will be for about a week. Once they have their money they will release the rest of the hold. It can take awhile and in the mean time she will not be able to use the money in her account even if the line only needed $70.00 of the hold of 70 x 7 = 490.

Another problem is how much can she take out in one day ie the $490.00 or is it less. she will have to speak to her bank to make sure they know that she will be away and to expect this. She may need an increase for the time of the cruise.

[ekerr19]

Also, keep in mind - some debit cards have a transaction limit amount... my brother ran into this problem once on the Statendam - he had a transaction limit of $500 per day. You may want to look at traveler's checks or another alternate payment method. You could also put your mother's account on one of your credit cards -

Our debit card has an extremely high daily limit and transaction limit - but because it holds cash from our bank accounts, we've found it to be safer to use a credit card.

[RevNeal]

My check-card has a $1000 per day transaction limit. This can become annoying if it's a long cruise, but for 7 days it's no problem. An alternative, would be to take the amount you'd like to deposit for your account in travelers checks and deposit those. That way you don't tie up your account. $490 isn't much, really, and that's how I'm going to secure my onboard expenses in Feb.

[Krazy Kruizers]

revneal

I know we will be meeting you (hopefully on the Veendam, Nov 26, 2005) - but what ship will you be on in February?