On board account in USdollars

[xxpinksaltxx]

I have the 28 degrees MasterCard and its great, just remember to let them know where you are going to be. Unfortunately my card my frozen when Celebrity tried to charge my card (my own fault). You can have your purchases charged to a cash passport as this is what I ended up doing when my 28 degrees card was frozen.

I just put my name down as how I did to apply for the card, the crew didnt have a problem with that. Two things to be mindful of, you need to have enough on your card to cover your purchases and the hold amount. I spent $700 so I needed to have about $1400 loaded into the card. The second thing is the hold amount took 5 weeks to be realised from my card, that means I didn't have access to $700 of my own money for that long.

I'd recommend you don't put a cash passport on your account, it was too much hassle.

[fishtaco]

Originally Posted by Kiwi Kruzer

They may be issued free....but how much is charged to cash them?

I havnt had a travellers cheque since the late 1980,s but I have never been charged a cent to cash a TC when it was in the currency I was purchasing or cashing up in?

If you cash TCs into currency other than what currency they are issued in you get a lesser exchange rate than changing foreign cash.

Has it changed? do you no longer get the face value of a Travellers cheque?

If I cash a $100 US Travellers cheque on a US ship do I get less than $100 US?

Den

[fishtaco]

Originally Posted by xxpinksaltxx

I have the 28 degrees MasterCard and its great, just remember to let them know where you are going to be. Unfortunately my card my frozen when Celebrity tried to charge my card (my own fault). You can have your purchases charged to a cash passport as this is what I ended up doing when my 28 degrees card was frozen.

I just put my name down as how I did to apply for the card, the crew didnt have a problem with that. Two things to be mindful of, you need to have enough on your card to cover your purchases and the hold amount. I spent $700 so I needed to have about $1400 loaded into the card. The second thing is the hold amount took 5 weeks to be realised from my card, that means I didn't have access to $700 of my own money for that long.

I'd recommend you don't put a cash passport on your account, it was too much hassle.

Yes this is what I read on the Carnival forum last year before my cruise.

One of the reasons I decided against cash passports in US dollars for our USA trip was the long holds some had experienced.


Den

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Originally Posted by fishtaco

I havnt had a travellers cheque since the late 1980,s but I have never been charged a cent to cash a TC when it was in the currency I was purchasing or cashing up in?

If you cash TCs into currency other than what currency they are issued in you get a lesser exchange rate than changing foreign cash.

Has it changed? do you no longer get the face value of a Travellers cheque?

If I cash a $100 US Travellers cheque on a US ship do I get less than $100 US?

Den

I have no idea. I did not think Travellers Cheques were still around. Like you , I last used them way back in the 80's, but I do recall that if we cashed them at a Hotel or on board , even if it was in the currency of the country concerned, they charged a pretty hefty fee , (of which I do not recall) and I vowed never to use them again.

[fishtaco]

Originally Posted by Kiwi Kruzer

I have no idea. I did not think Travellers Cheques were still around. Like you , I last used them way back in the 80's, but I do recall that if we cashed them at a Hotel or on board , even if it was in the currency of the country concerned, they charged a pretty hefty fee , (of which I do not recall) and I vowed never to use them again.

Strange as I have never paid a cent for cashing a TC years ago?

There was a charge for buying the TC,s in the first instance which was in part the insurance for lost or stolen but Aus post charges nothing for them these days.

I do recall changing AU TC,s in Asia Pound Stirling TC,s in Europe and US TCs in Mexico all with a lesser value than the cash rate!

Some small money changers in places charged high commission on TC,s but that was usually because the TCs were being exchanged from one currency to another.

Its was best then as it is now to avoid any commission based money changers unless in desperation. They all charge in one way or another though.

I used to pay for meals and clothing while overseas with TC,s and get change in cash!

I wouldnt use TC,s myself these days but they are a good option for those who dont like cash on them and have problems with Credit Cards,not so if you get charged to cash then though

I would however choose TC,s over a Debit card or Cash Passport any day.

Den

[Mothballs]

I accidently ended up with $1000 U.S in travellers cheques in 2011.I cashed them in on our cruise on the Radiance of the Seas as I was doing a cash only onboard account.No problems and no extra charges.
Regards Elaine.

[Kiwicruiser25]

Travellers Cheque's are still around, I purchased $10,000 to put away
for a rainy day.

Also if you only want to use cash to check in with and no credit card
how much do you have to pay upfront at check in?

I always use a credit card myself, but for others who may be curious someone might post the answer..

[The_Big_M]

Originally Posted by Kiwicruiser25

Also if you only want to use cash to check in with and no credit card

how much do you have to pay upfront at check in?

It varies by cruise line. I think HAL's the worst. I think I saw $300/person with another cruise line though. (I also use credit cards so haven't paid a lot of attention to the specifics.)

[MMDown Under]

Originally Posted by Kiwicruiser25

Also if you only want to use cash to check in with and no credit card
how much do you have to pay upfront at check in?

$300 US pp with Princess.

[handp]

Originally Posted by gbenjo

You cannot use a cash passport to activate your onboard account when checking in. The card you use (credit/debit) must have your name on it. you use the cash passport to withdraw money from the ATM onboard and pay your account with that. I always suggest that guests set up their account with a credit card as a backup but use cash if that is what they want to do. The ship will not accept a "cash card" to pay your onboard account...only credit card or cash.

We do have a credit card, with which we can register and pay our account if it is the only way, but if there is an ATM on board which will give USD and we can use our Cash Passport card to withdraw cash, we would like to pay with that cash.