Question re: Debit card and cash tips on royal Caribbean

Hi everyone myself and soon to be husband will be sailing on Harmony next June 12th for our honeymoon. We don't have a credit card and I know we can use a debit card, but is there anything we need to know about that? Will the pre-authorise a certain amount to ensure the funds are there? Also I see from other posts here that we should too the porters and for room service but what currency would that be in? Were from Ireland and cruising in the Med so euros is what I would imagine but will I have to get dollars for those particular tips? Thanks in advance. Aoife x

You should post your question in the Royal caribbean board for getting the best answers.......

For me personally I would never use a debit card due to the hold the cruise line will put on the account and a debit card does not have as much protection as a credit card.

Congratulations on your wedding and I hope you have a wonderful cruise!!

Thanks very much I'll do that now. We could bring my dad's credit card I suppose but the debit card is visa so it's the same protection as credit card. Thanks for the reply

The issue with a debit card is the hold. It might take up to a week for the funds to be released.

Debit cards are dangerous if they don't have the new chip in the them. We had a 1300 dollar charge airplane ticket charged to ours after using it in a public place. The card was never stolen, someone just got our info from a card stealer. Miraculously, a month later we got it all back. Our bank did have the fraudulent charge refund option. But it was a nightmare, and that account with the little bit of money we did have in there was frozen.

A prepaid debit with a limit or borrow one from your family would be safer

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There's a difference between a credit card and a debit card that looks psychological but can be real. Both claim to give similar protections against unauthorized charges. In the case of a debit card you will not have to pay disputed amounts. In the case of a debit card the unauthorized charge removes money from your account (possibly affecting your ability to make other anticipated payments) and you and the bank both have to take actions to get your money back in a reasonable amount of time.

As you've mentioned, with a debit card the ship will place a "hold" on a certain amount of your bank balance upon check in so they know it will be there when its time for them to get paid. After the cruise the amount in excess of your final bill will be released back to you but it can take a couple of weeks for the hold to be released. If your bank balance is high enough that this won't affect other scheduled payments this might not be a problem but some people don't have high bank balances.

Get a credit card!!!:eek:

Not a possibility unfortunately

I agree tha a prepaid debit card or cash on the sailing account may be preferable to a normal debit card

I agree tha a prepaid debit card or cash on the sailing account may be preferable to a normal debit card

Cruise lines do not accept those pre paid cards. Any card you use on a cruise ship will have to be one with your name embossed on it. They don't take those pre-paid cards because there's no way to know the amount is on that kind of card, and they insist on every card having the cardholders name embossed on the card.

OP, you can back your on board purchases with cash. That's probably the best thing to do if you can't get a credit card. They will not allow you to use your dad's credit card because they have no way of knowing if the card is stolen or whatever. With a bank debit card, the cruise line can put a hold on your bank account for as long as two weeks, where you won't have access on that money at all.

You must find out what your daily limit is on your bank debit card, because some can be as low as $50 a day, and that won't get you much on the ship.

To the OP: If your father is willing, he maybe able to order a second user credit card under your name, but still his credit card account. You can settle with him upon your return.

I think there is an Amex card called Bluebird you can order with a name, if cruise companies accept amex(?)

Hi everyone myself and soon to be husband will be sailing on Harmony next June 12th for our honeymoon. We don't have a credit card and I know we can use a debit card, but is there anything we need to know about that? Will the pre-authorise a certain amount to ensure the funds are there? Also I see from other posts here that we should too the porters and for room service but what currency would that be in? Were from Ireland and cruising in the Med so euros is what I would imagine but will I have to get dollars for those particular tips? Thanks in advance. Aoife x

I have used a Visa Debit card on a couple of cruises, no problem. The only time you will need to tip the Porter is when you drop off your cases, a couple of Euros are fine fir this, as after your cruise they are on a carosel and you collect them yourself. Normally you pre pay your gratutues for the onboard tips, so inless you want to give extra then you dont need any extra cash for this.

Not a possibility unfortunately

If either one of you have a parent who could make you an Authorized signer, even temporarily for the purpose of this cruise and then cancel it when you return? When the bank does this they send you a card with your own name on it.

Now this is how it works in the States it could certainly be different where you are.

I just did this for my niece for her honeymoon and she got a card for her use when she checks into her cruise. When she comes home I will remove her from the Acct and destroy the card...

Just noticed they sail the same date as you!

Different ship ;)

We used a Visa debit card with NO problems on our last cruise. The problem people talk about the hold is people who don't have enough of a balance to backup that hold. If you have sufficient funds in your account, you will have no problem. We were told by numerous people to NOT use our debit card, but after speaking to our bank, increasing our limit, we had NO problems. You run the same risk using a credit card as you do using a debit card!!

You run the same risk using a credit card as you do using a debit card!!

You may have the same fraud protection, but there's a difference between getting a charge removed from your bill and getting back the money that was taken out of your account.

Don't use a debit card. They're too easy for people to steal your info. We had a 1300 dollar charge from using it in an airport...and it was never out of our possession. Took us a month to get that money back and the account was frozen the whole time

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

If you can obtain a credit card in the next few weeks, this might be a good idea. Credit card give you certain protections not given to Debit card users. Using a credit card in the US gives you lots of protection because of certain federal laws (I believe there are at least 5 different laws) whereas your protection with a debit card is really limited.

Hank

Just use cash. You put $150 American at start an when it gets low they ask for more. No need for credit or debit cards. I just got this info from Royal Caribbean now

Cruise lines do not accept those pre paid cards. Any card you use on a cruise ship will have to be one with your name embossed on it. They don't take those pre-paid cards because there's no way to know the amount is on that kind of card, and they insist on every card having the cardholders name embossed on the card.

 

OP, you can back your on board purchases with cash. That's probably the best thing to do if you can't get a credit card. They will not allow you to use your dad's credit card because they have no way of knowing if the card is stolen or whatever. With a bank debit card, the cruise line can put a hold on your bank account for as long as two weeks, where you won't have access on that money at all.

 

You must find out what your daily limit is on your bank debit card, because some can be as low as $50 a day, and that won't get you much on the ship.or

I'm presuming "Harmony" is RCI's Harmony of the Seas.

As per Kitty's response, pre-paid cards aren't usually accepted - it's not possible to put a "hold" on money on those cards, so the cruise lines can't be sure there will still be sufficient funds on the card to settle your on-board spend at the end of the cruise.

And it's normally not possible to use the card of someone who's not present - at least it's not possible without liaising with the cruise line in advance eg JVilleGal's suggestion.

The big difference between a credit card and a bank account-linked debit card is that whilst most folk have a high credit limit on their credit cards, many don't have sufficient funds in their bank account to cover both the daily hold and the actual on-board spend. You'd reasonably expect the hold to be automatically released when the actual spend is debited on the last day of the cruise - but the hold isn't normally released until up to a week or more after the end of the cruise so you don't have access to the held funds even though you've paid the on-board account. In this day & age of instantaneous transactions that's pretty disgusting, but it's the way it is - with hotels, car rental agencies, etc, as well as cruise lines.

Using cash resolves these problems - but most folk on this thread have missed the fact that you're from Ireland, the land of the euro.

Ship's currency is US dollars.

If you use cash euros to set up / settle your on-board account, RCI will give you a truly rotten exchange rate - typically about 5% to 8% poorer than exchange bureaux in Ireland, and up to 10% worse than the average rate given by credit / debit card suppliers. :eek:

Getting cash US dollars in Ireland before you cruise will give you a much better exchange rate, but of course you'll not know how many you'll need. So either you'll have a double-whammy of currency exchange rates by changing left-over dollars back to euros, or you'll be topping up any shortfall with euros at ship's awful exchange rate. So using cash isn't very cost-effective. But if you do end up using cash, to avoid losing out too much you most certainly need to hand over US dollars, at least for the bulk of your spend.

I think in the circumstances the best option is to persuade dad to lend you some money to put in your bank account before the cruise, use your debit card to settle the on-board account, and pay him back a week or two after the cruise when the hold has been released.

This also gives you the convenience of not having to keep going to the purser's desk to top up your account with cash, and not having to join a sometimes-long queue at the purser's desk on the last day to sort out who owes who & how much (in dollars).

Important. If you use a credit or debit card RCI will offer to charge your card in euros, the currency of the card. Decline that kind (:rolleyes:) offer and allow your card to be charged in US dollars - your card supplier will convert from US dollars to euros as a much better exchange rate than the ship - up to 10% better.

The USA is the king of card fraud, partly because it has a much higher proportion of internet payments than the rest of the world and partly because the USA lags behind in chip & PIN technology - chip & PIN isn't widely used there for face-to-face transactions.

You'll be aware that using your debit card in Europe is pretty safe, and is the most cost-effective way of drawing cash. And I'd rate paying a cruise line by debit card as 100% safe. :)

I agree with c8fish that, other than the delayed release of the ship's hold, for this cruise your debit card is as safe as credit card.

But do remember to tell your card supplier about your trip.

Since your cruise is in euroland, cash tips in euros for room service etc are just as acceptable as dollars. In fact, more acceptable than US dollars for luggage handlers at the port - though tipping luggage handlers at a port is a very American thing, like most Europeans we only tip them at US ports.

Hope this helps more than it confuses :p

JB :)

Just a gentle reminder that not everyone has established enough credit to get a high-limit credit card, or may have other factors in play.

I'm in the same boat for my two cruises next year. I don't have and can't and wont be getting a credit card. So it'l be cash or debit card for me too. I also am from Ireland :)

I'm in the same boat for my two cruises next year. I don't have and can't and wont be getting a credit card. So it'l be cash or debit card for me too. I also am from Ireland :)

Be sure you understand exactly the requirements for using cash and a debit card. Call the Cruiseline and have them explain their requirements for traveling on there ships using cash. Also see if you can also purchase On Board Credits for your Acct prior to leaving home and then you would not need to bring so much cash.

Check out your options and understand the rules for cash.

I would suggest that you get a secured credit card. Since your trip is next June you have plenty of time to obtain one. It works pretty much the same as a debit card, yet gives your the protection of a regular credit card. A secured card will not require a credit check, however you have to secure the funds of the credit limit that you are requesting. For example you would pay $300.00 upfront to the secured credit card company and in return your credit limit would be $300.00. This type of card is easy to get from any bank or financial institution and also insured by the FDIC and reports to the credit reporting agencies.

I would NOT use a debit card, since the cruise line will place a hold on the card for "projected expenses" and the hold may not be released up to 30days after your travel.

Or you can also opt to pay a cash deposit for all expenses when you board the ship.

I would suggest that you get a secured credit card. Since your trip is next June you have plenty of time to obtain one. It works pretty much the same as a debit card, yet gives your the protection of a regular credit card. A secured card will not require a credit check, however you have to secure the funds of the credit limit that you are requesting. For example you would pay $300.00 upfront to the secured credit card company and in return your credit limit would be $300.00. This type of card is easy to get from any bank or financial institution and also insured by the FDIC and reports to the credit reporting agencies.

 

I would NOT use a debit card, since the cruise line will place a hold on the card for "projected expenses" and the hold may not be released up to 30days after your travel.

 

Or you can also opt to pay a cash deposit for all expenses when you board the ship.

Please note that some of the posters who are having the issues in this thread are not located in the US. They seem to be in Ireland and another in the UK. What is available to US posters may or may not be available to those posters.