Cash account or card

I am soo confused- our travel agent advised a cash account as the money they take can take 90 days to go back on your credit card.

I really don't quite understand how they take it and what needs to go back? A bond somehow?

Can someone please explain how the two work- the pros and cons...AND in dumber than dumb language as this is really confusing me? We are travelling on Brilliance of the Seas around Mediterranean and coming from Australia

Very unlikely any refund to a credit card would take 90 days and it is unlikely you'd have a refund anyway unless you have lots of OBC. One of the reasons cash accounts have gained attention around here lately is that it prevents the cruise line form charging your card after you depart - though that's rare as well.

Use your credit card to avoid the cash hassle, especially as you'd have to convert things from Aussie $ to Euro and USD in your mind to get a sense of cost of things.

I'm guessing that the travel agent was referring to a debit card, not a credit card. Some people have reported having a "hold" put on funds when using a debit card. The hold can take some days (I've never heard as high as 90 90) to be removed.

Put a credit card on file and pay in cash on the last day. Only debits cards have holds on them. The release of the hold on the debit or credit card depends on your bank . not the cruise line.

Put a credit card on file and pay in cash on the last day.

Might not be so easy for an Aussie to get USD in Europe.;)

Put a credit card on file and pay in cash on the last day. Only debits cards have holds on them. The release of the hold on the debit or credit card depends on your bank . not the cruise line.

Not sure this is a true statement. I did this on majesty 2 years ago with a credit card and paid entire $2k balance in cash on last day and still had a hold on my credit card for 7 days. Luckily I did not need access to those funds, but it could be an issue for those who would be expecting those funds available. Ever since this cruise I refrain from ever giving RCI my credit card. Unfortunately not always possible.

Kyle

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Here's a recent cash account story from my DS. He goes on a bachelor party 4 nts and puts $250 cash on his account (no CC). Next thing he knows he can't charge a drink because his account is overdrawn.

Seems the ship mistakenly charged someone else's charges to his cabin. "No problem" we can just credit it back. Yeah, two days later and then they do it again and it takes another day to credit. So the entire cruise he has no charging privileges.

They kept saying "24 hrs" or "it will credit after midnight", which never happened. BS if you charge it instantly to my account then take it off instantly.

It varies by banks and rules in the country where you bank. I live in Canada and tell my experience here. Purchases with CC are held for three to five working before releasing funds to the merchant. Credits have similar duration . I've called my bank checked on the credit issue by merchant. They see in their system but isn't process for given time depending on the merchant.

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Here's a recent cash account story from my DS. He goes on a bachelor party 4 nts and puts $250 cash on his account (no CC). Next thing he knows he can't charge a drink because his account is overdrawn.

 

Seems the ship mistakenly charged someone else's charges to his cabin. "No problem" we can just credit it back. Yeah, two days later and then they do it again and it takes another day to credit. So the entire cruise he has no charging privileges.

 

They kept saying "24 hrs" or "it will credit after midnight", which never happened. BS if you charge it instantly to my account then take it off instantly.

Not sure how this would differ with a credit card, save for the opportunity to not notice the charges on the account until much later. And possibly far enough later that getting them reversed might be more work.