Royal Caribbean Card issues threatened with arrest

We have "ALERTS" on all of our credit cards. Every time we charge something, we get a text from the CC company. "You have a charge for $28.00 from Kohls. Did you make this purchase?" Then you hit the yes, no button. I think everyone should set their accounts up to do this for safety reasons. If you hit the "no" button, they freeze your account.

Not always true. I was in the US and my CC was frozen and I did not call prior because I was assured that with the chip it's not needed by capital one. I flew from San Diego to Houston to Mississippi using my card in an airport at those stops. When I got to the hotel in MS and attempted to pay for dinner they had frozen my card. Which I can see because it was used in 3 states in one day. I purchased the flight on that card as well. I normally call when leaving the country but not in the US because I fly monthly for work and it's not a change in spending patterns .

 

 

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And this is exactly why I'm calling cap 1 to reconfirm my travel plans even though they told me the same thing

Just because cap 1 says you don't have to call them that DOES NOT mean that they won't block something if they suspect fraud

I'm even going as far as to tell them to expect hotel charges from specifically named hotels

Although, since I monitor my cards activity on line on a 2x daily basis I do know that my hotels have been running the 1st night charges through my account...to make sure it's a valid credit card...on a daily basis

It shows as pending for a few hours and then disappears

Additionally I've been in touch with the hotels reconfirming my stay and accommodations so if there were an issue I'd probably know it by now

Oh and I'm traveling with 3 cards from 2 different bank plus sufficient euro from home for my needs that I know must be paid in cash upon arrival and then some

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We have "ALERTS" on all of our credit cards. Every time we charge something, we get a text from the CC company. "You have a charge for $28.00 from Kohls. Did you make this purchase?" Then you hit the yes, no button. I think everyone should set their accounts up to do this for safety reasons. If you hit the "no" button, they freeze your account.

Of course if traveling abroad this MAY require keeping cellular data on and being sure your phone has international use capacity arranged with the cell provider. Hopefully you do indeed get the alert as a text and not a message or that it can come through as a text if sent as a message in a prompt manner

Messages(blue) use data so mg is being used

Texts (green)do not but usually you get unlimited incoming texts anyway

The problem with alerts for everything is that the phone must be on at all times and able to be heard or felt

I mostly use airplane mode and turn my phone into a camera when out and about so

Any urgent call or text or message from home has to wait when in airplane mode If I'm choosing to go that route

Although I do admit that just turning cellular data off and voice roaming on accomplishes the same thing and assures that blue messages come through as green texts and I also do that ...but the problem I have is that it uses the battery too quickly at times.

I need to make sure I have updates off. I think that's my battery problem issue. I'll ask my 16 yo. Lol

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We had cc problem buying gas in Hawaii last year. Didn't think we had to notify company in advance since we were going to be in the US. Now we notify them if we travel out of state whether we need to or not. Just don't want the hassle.

I know that credit card companies need to be careful but there are times they go over the line. One Christmas several years ago I got a phone call from my cc company asking me if I had just used our card at XX ski shop because it was a large purchase and flagged their system. Well I was out on my own doing a bit of shopping, not with that card, for Mrs. Dawg and the boys. I was just about to inform the nice lady on the phone that no I had not used their credit card at XX ski shop when I realized Mrs. Dawg was out buying my Christmas present! Thank You Master Card for ruining the surprize!:mad:

But at least I knew now that my original gift for Mrs. Dawg wasn't going to cut it.:D

We have "ALERTS" on all of our credit cards. Every time we charge something, we get a text from the CC company. "You have a charge for $28.00 from Kohls. Did you make this purchase?" Then you hit the yes, no button. I think everyone should set their accounts up to do this for safety reasons. If you hit the "no" button, they freeze your account.

Unfortunately that only works/helps when you have access to a phone. When I'm on the ship I don't have cell service. We each carry 2 different cards - just in case we have trouble with one.

the problem with the initial card is they sent out a new card that had to be activated once I recieved it (kinda hard when I'm at sea) and they said they could not activate this card since a new card had already been issued

This is the part where you lose me. You boarded the ship with a functioning credit card. You put it down on the account and they began charging it. Why did the bank put a new card in the mail? The only time I've had that happen is if I call and tell them my card was lost or stolen. Or that happens when the bank has confirmed fraudulent activity.

So I am Assuming they did it on their own because they suspect fraudulent activity and couldn't get ahold of you? Or is there more to the story?

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No, it's not their responsibility to call and get it resolved--that's your responsibility. The employee was not wrong. I wouldn't take a photo of a cc either.

I thought it would be a good idea if I photo'd my credit card, SS card, etc. VISA notified me before the trip that I was ok to use my card out of town since I charged my airline tickets. I did have the actual cards with me. Photo not a good idea. Next a Facebook message appeared and wanted to know if I wanted a slide show of my latest photos to be posted and before me pics of my cards etc were put to music. I immediately deleted the photos but I would exposed credit cards etc. Beware!

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Alison they could of easily called Miami and dealt with it .... the "Poor RCCL" employee was obviously wrong

Hi

You can continue to insist that it was others were the cause of your unhappiness, but ultimately you do understand that you are primarily the cause of the situation. At best you should be getting upset with your credit card company in they couldn't find a solution at the time you were in need.

The lesson learned (we hope) is that you should do things right the first time and also have an alternative plan, because sometimes others won't accommodate you (no matter how right you think you are). In your outrage, I guess you didn't tell them that they can keep their OBC because there is no way you would give them another dime after treating you this way. That is what you are supposed to do when you have really been hurt by a companies action, otherwise your complaints mean nothing.

RCCL was doing was they should have done. You could have been using a stolen card and they have to protect themselves against that. Otherwise they would be in all kinds of legal trouble.

How hard is that to understand? You need to take a step back and look at it from there point.

So you are saying that it is RCCL policy that when they suspect they are dealing with someone who is committing a felony to inform them that the authorities will be waiting for them when they return home, giving the suspected criminal time to plan a way to escape the situation? Isn't it a crime to assist someone wanting to avoid arrest?

More logically, someone...ok, apparently everyone...in Guest Relations wasn't thinking "outside the box" and looking for a way to help their customer resolve an issue. It was more important to issue a threat.

That said...the OP bears most of the responsibility. They received an apology and an offer of consideration to make up for any unnecessary stress resulting from their "misguided" comments.

Time to learn and move on.

Why did the bank put a new card in the mail? The only time I've had that happen is if I call and tell them my card was lost or stolen. Or that happens when the bank has confirmed fraudulent activity.

 

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No confirmation necessary, can just be suspected without the customer doing anything different from their usual purchase patterns at home. Card numbers can be compromised without the customers' doing. Happened to us a few days before an overseas trip.

We were on the Seranade last year and when we came back on board we had a message on the phone to come to the Purser desk.When we got there they informed us that our card was locked out.The officer at the desk took us to the side and let us use the ships phone to call our CC with the phone number on the back,after we talked to our card company and gave them all the info that they requested, they reset it and we put the officer on the phone and after talking to the company told us our card was ok.Maybe you should have ask to use their phone.

So you are saying that it is RCCL policy that when they suspect they are dealing with someone who is committing a felony to inform them that the authorities will be waiting for them when they return home, giving the suspected criminal time to plan a way to escape the situation? Isn't it a crime to assist someone wanting to avoid arrest?

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I had the same exact thing happen on ncl escape. They called my credit card company from the ship and I had the hold removed. It took 5 minutes and was no problem. I'm not sure why rc couldn't simply do the same thing.

 

 

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This is exactly correct. Had you called the bank and spoken with them the Freeze would have been removed. Happens all the time. Call your bank before leaving on vacation and ALWAYS have 2 cards for just this very reason.

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No confirmation necessary, can just be suspected without the customer doing anything different from their usual purchase patterns at home. Card numbers can be compromised without the customers' doing. Happened to us a few days before an overseas trip.

We have had one credit card company whose standard operating procedure seems to be to issue new cards at any sign of suspected activity. No turning back on the old numbers. A couple of times new cards just show up in the mail without any notice, years before the expiry date.

We have "ALERTS" on all of our credit cards. Every time we charge something, we get a text from the CC company. "You have a charge for $28.00 from Kohls. Did you make this purchase?" Then you hit the yes, no button. I think everyone should set their accounts up to do this for safety reasons. If you hit the "no" button, they freeze your account.

I do also. I LOVE this feature. My AMEX sends an email saying "Card Not Present for Transaction". Same .... was this you ... yes or no. ALSO, I get email alerts for Refunds when they hit my account. I like that feature also.

We were on the Seranade last year and when we came back on board we had a message on the phone to come to the Purser desk.When we got there they informed us that our card was locked out.The officer at the desk took us to the side and let us use the ships phone to call our CC with the phone number on the back,after we talked to our card company and gave them all the info that they requested, they reset it and we put the officer on the phone and after talking to the company told us our card was ok.Maybe you should have ask to use their phone.

Earlier in all of the posts, OP stated that the card was CANCELLED. It was NOT frozen. The bank completely CANCELLED the card and had already put a NEW card in the mail. The NEW card needed to be authorized/activated before being able to use it. SO they did call the bank.

Well was the card cancelled because he didn't pick up the phone & call? It's amazing to me that so many people don't travel with 2 cards for this very reason.

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We have had one credit card company whose standard operating procedure seems to be to issue new cards at any sign of suspected activity. No turning back on the old numbers. A couple of times new cards just show up in the mail without any notice, years before the expiry date.

Well, perhaps that is OPs card. Unfortunately with that strategy, it left OP stranded with no way to pay his bill. Woulda been much worse if it was in a foreign country and had just racked up a large restaurant bill and they called the police when he couldn't pay. Most cards (and all the ones I've used) simply freeze the account so there can be no new activity until they contact you. That way, if the charges are good, it can be immediately turned back on and used instead of being stuck somewhere with no credit and no way to get credit.

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This is exactly correct. Had you called the bank and spoken with them the Freeze would have been removed. Happens all the time. Call your bank before leaving on vacation and ALWAYS have 2 cards for just this very reason.

 

 

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3 banks under 4 accounts used to turn off our cards every single time we informed them of our traveling. They were smaller basic charges of hotels, gas, and food to visit our parents, nothing big or crazy. They stopped canceling our cards when we stopped telling them. This usually happened on the weekend so no ability to call them. And they always said it would take 10+ days to get the new card. That's sure fun on vacation

Well, perhaps that is OPs card. Unfortunately with that strategy, it left OP stranded with no way to pay his bill. Woulda been much worse if it was in a foreign country and had just racked up a large restaurant bill and they called the police when he couldn't pay. Most cards (and all the ones I've used) simply freeze the account so there can be no new activity until they contact you. That way, if the charges are good, it can be immediately turned back on and used instead of being stuck somewhere with no credit and no way to get credit.

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Perhaps it was. The OP recognises he goofed up by not carrying another physical card but RC also goofed up by 1; threatening arrest and 2: not letting him use the non-physical card on the ship (they did after the ship docked). The guy dropped 7 grand in two days! And that 7 grand was high margin business. As I said earlier I'd want him as a customer and do everything in my power to keep his business. If that meant bending company policy a bit so be it, as long as I got paid. Goofing up with these 'Whale' type customers is not a wise business strategy on RC's part.

Again, we need to keep in mind the matter of perspective. One person's "threat" is another person's "obligation to warn". I would want the cruise line to warn me about the consequences of my actions or inaction rather than springing it on me without warning, wouldn't you?

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Again, we need to keep in mind the matter of perspective. One person's "threat" is another person's "obligation to warn". I would want the cruise line to warn me about the consequences of my actions or inaction rather than springing it on me without warning, wouldn't you?

 

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Personally I would want the cruise line to say; "So we have a problem, Let's figure out a solution that benefits both parties. And let's do it quickly and painlessly so you can get back to spending lots and lots more money with us."

This is not the first passenger to have CC issues. I'm betting it happens multiple times every day for a variety of reasons.

Personally I would want the cruise line to say, So we have a problem, Let's figure out a solution that benefits both parties. And let's do it quickly and painlessly so you can spend lots and lots more money with us.

There is a limit to how much doing so can preclude people from perceiving the message differently. That's especially true when someone wants things to be there own way, say, letting them leave the ship and to let them work out the financial aspects later. As you point out, the cruise lines' interest is in the revenue and so they're invariably going to do what's best to, as you say, find a solution. Sometimes that'll be well-received and sometimes it'll be perceived as an attack.

This is not the first passenger to have CC issues. I'm betting it happens multiple times every day for a variety of reasons.

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