Credit Card Payment?

First time Cruisers....I have £3000 to pay on our cruise. The agent is ATOL registered as well as IATA and a member of CLIA. Is there any advantage to paying with my credit card (which will cost me 2.5%, £75!) Re credit card protection, or am I being over cautious? Thanks. !

I would pay with a credit card . It gives some protection if the agent doesn't process the payment .

Check to make sure that payment is made to the cruise line not the agents name or company. Never accept a different payment schedule from the cruise lines.

Being in England things might be a little different . That's what I do here in Canada or the US.

Use your credit card but why is payment not being processed directly to cruise line? I would never permit TA to put the charge through them and expect them to pay cruise line. Bad policy.

The OP didn't mention whether the TA was taking payment or charging directly through the cruise line. I've seen previously the lines sometimes assess a credit card charge for payment for English bookings, Cunard included.

First time Cruisers....I have £3000 to pay on our cruise. The agent is ATOL registered as well as IATA and a member of CLIA. Is there any advantage to paying with my credit card (which will cost me 2.5%, £75!) Re credit card protection, or am I being over cautious? Thanks. !

Hi,

I always pay by CC, mostly for the peace of mind it gives me but also it is so much easier and quicker to go through the card provider than other routes if things do go wrong.

Pete

When I have used a TA for something, I pay them...they pay whatever needs paying...it's usually how it's done....of course, using a reputable TA is the key!

I booked through an agent so naturally I pay the agent who, in turn, pays the Cruise line. It is a reputable compay. Thst said I think i am asking more about the ATOL or IATA guarantees which might save me £75 unnecessary cost.

When I have used a TA for something, I pay them...they pay whatever needs paying...it's usually how it's done....of course, using a reputable TA is the key!

I firmly disagree.

Perhaps you have heard of people who paid TA's for their cruise. The TA never sent the funds to cruise line. The cruise was not paid for. The TA went out of business and/or filed bankruptcy and the client was out of luck. It is very bad idea to pay to TA expecting them to pay cruise line.

In my experience (reputable TA in the US) I give the TA my credit card number but it is processed directly by the cruise line as presented on my credit card statement.

Hi, Not-Rod,

With the greatest of respect to members on the other side of the Pond you really need advice from folk in the UK, where you get the safeguards given by ABTA (Assoc. of British Travel Agents) etc should one of their members go belly-up, run off with your money, etc. I don't think there's a similar organisation in the US, so the system is different & the risks perhaps higher.

Using your debit card to pay a bonded ABTA member is as safe as using your credit card.

It slightly concerns me that you haven't mentioned ABTA. That's very much the name I look for, & I wouldn't book through an agency that wasn't a member.

The other organisations that you mention are of course very reputable & have standards that they expect their members to match. But I don't know whether they maintain a contingency fund as ABTA do.

If in doubt, google the cruise details & you'll doubtless get the same offer, mebbe even better, from other cruise specialist T/A's.

And I believe (but stand to be corrected) that T/As & cruise lines in the US normally don't charge that credit card fee.

In the UK, as you are doubtless aware, most agencies (travel, cruise, airline etc) and some cruise lines do charge that fee - the 2.5% fee that you quote is typical.

Therefore you can save that £75 fee without risk if the agent is a member of ABTA. You need advice from someone else about the safeguards offered by the others.

BTW, cruise lines don't charge a fee for paying your on-board account by credit card.

Except Thomson, and possibly one or two "boutique" cruise lines.

So we settle our on-board account by credit card on most ships, but by debit card on Thomson ships.

You can check the veracity of the T/A's ABTA membership on the ABTA website - very occasionally there are fly-by-night scam T/A websites & they quote fictitious ABTA membership numbers.

You seem confident about that particular T/A so that's not likely the case, but checking the ABTA website will put your mind at rest.

BTW don't quote the T/A's name on this thread - naming T/A's for any reason is banned on Cruise Critic & likely to result in this thread being deleted by the moderators.

Hope this helps.

JB :)

We do not pay the TA.

Instead our TA uses my credit card to directly make payment to the cruise line.

John Bull. Great answer pal. Will check out everything. Thanks.

When I have used a TA for something, I pay them...they pay whatever needs paying...it's usually how it's done....of course, using a reputable TA is the key!

You pay them by cash? credit card ?

does the name of the TA show on your CC statement or the cruise line name ?

In my experience (reputable TA in the US) I give the TA my credit card number but it is processed directly by the cruise line as presented on my credit card statement.

That is how mine have also been done as well when I've used a TA.

All Sorted thanks.

Just didn't want to pay 2.5% on Credit card on £3000+. All sorted now after calling my Credit Card Provider. Bear in mind I Never use Credit Cards which is why I posed the question. Its the protection a card offers on top of ATOL protection etc. Anyway, as said, after speaking to provider you only have to pay a percentage on your card to be protected, so that's what I have done. And yes, I pay the TA and they pay the cruise line and yes, the TA obviously makes their bit but hey, I still get a better deal than booking direct with the Cruise line.

Thanks for your advice.

Agree with John Bull. No way would I pay the surcharge.

Do the travel agents charge you a fee to use a credit card for booking cruises?

Or is it the cruise line ?

Here we are encouraged to use a CC for payments no extra fee to do so

Do the travel agents charge you a fee to use a credit card for booking cruises?

Or is it the cruise line ?

 

Here we are encouraged to use a CC for payments no extra fee to do so

Most TA's give your CC number to the cruise line . The cruise line then charges your card in either Canadian or US depending on the currency used to book the cruise. Canadian TA's normally forward the CC # to the cruise line or airline when payment is made. For some cruise lines Canadian TA's go thru a third party provider for some cruise lines.

Most TA's give your CC number to the cruise line . The cruise line then charges your card in either Canadian or US depending on the currency used to book the cruise.

since the OP is in the UK it may be different there

I am well aware of how it works here

Do the travel agents charge you a fee to use a credit card for booking cruises?

Or is it the cruise line ?

 

Here we are encouraged to use a CC for payments no extra fee to do so

Both, Cruise lines may charge less, my last cruise was booked direct and I think I was charged 1.5%.

In the UK if you book through an agent you pay the agent not the cruise line direct.

Both, Cruise lines may charge less, my last cruise was booked direct and I think I was charged 1.5%.

 

In the UK if you book through an agent you pay the agent not the cruise line direct.

Thanks for the info

We've cruised a few times (about 25) and never been charged a credit card fee.

Host Hattie,

Since the op's question has been answered and all is well I hope you and they don't mind me "highjacking". Just noticed your location. I have friends in the Vale (Llantwit Major) and have been there several times. Love it and would like to return but airfares are a killer these days.:o

Host Hattie,

 

Since the op's question has been answered and all is well I hope you and they don't mind me "highjacking". Just noticed your location. I have friends in the Vale (Llantwit Major) and have been there several times. Love it and would like to return but airfares are a killer these days.:o

Apologies to the OP, small world, I lived in Llantwit Major for quite a while & now live about 3 miles away.

I booked through an agent so naturally I pay the agent who, in turn, pays the Cruise line. It is a reputable compay. Thst said I think i am asking more about the ATOL or IATA guarantees which might save me £75 unnecessary cost.

If you want to save money when booking a cruise through a UK ABTA Travel Agent but not want to pay 2.5% on the deal by using a credit card; but nevertheless want your credit card company to be there just in case. You can get full protection for the whole amount if you have paid part of the bill using a credit card. I tend to pay the deposit only using a credit card thus paying the 2.5% on a small proportion of the bill. This covers the whole amount of the transaction (see Moneysavingexpert site).

Regards John