question about on board account

[tigerkiss]

Hi. Ok when you astablish your on board account can it be with a check visa? If so do they do check to see how much is in the acc? I plan on using that but want to be sure I leave money in there. I also plan on paying cash each day for my account. I dont want it to build up till the end of the week. Anyone with info on this??
Also friends we are going with wants to know if there are ATM;s on board..I guess he plans on loosing all his cash in the casinos..HAHA
Linda

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=191970&cdt=2004;6;6;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]  Until First Cruise

[smeyer418]

A couple of things. 1. You can if you want establish a cash account on your debit card(with the logo) and pay some extra every day and have them take out a fixed amount to start and they will credit back any overage at the end.. 2. Tell your friend that the ATM charge on a ship is outrageous. You can get cash that comes out of your credit card as a purchase not a cash advance at the casino.

Remeber that debit cards with logoes have less protection than credit cards

Proud charter member of the PPS-Passport Pusher Society

Mother's Day on the Dawn
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[email]smeyer418@yahoo.com[/email]
Celebrity, NCL, Overnight Ferry, hydrofoil between countries, car ferries and river cruise and of course the Staten Island Ferry

[helicopter]

Tigerkiss, NCL ask for a $250.00 cash deposit per person. Now remember $70.00 of that will go to automatic tipping. You can always add more money on the account if you run low. If for example you have a $500.00 deposit (with whomever your roommate is) and you have only spent $200.00 + $140.00 for tips, you can always go to the casino on the last night and get cash off your account (in this case about 160.00). You might want to leave a little on there. You can check your balance anytime as often as you want to see how much you have spent. I recommend this over your check card, since NCL also "holds" some extra money over the anount you spend (they can increase the hold if they see you are spending alot of money, this happen to us). It can take weeks for NCL to release the hold on the unused money from your account.

[tigerkiss]

Hi..I just called NCL to see what they said and she told me the only thing they charge on your account right away is the tips. So thats 140.00 Then I asked if on Tues I want to come down and pay off my charges for the last few days in cash can I? She said she had to check and came back and said yes I can. So thats cool.

Linda

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[immargaret]

I just looked at my Freestyle Dailys from the SEA in April and the on board credit desk was open every day from 8-10 AM and 4-7 PM. I did see people dealing with cash during the week at that desk.

Until we cruise again........NCL SEA 4/17/04
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[tigerkiss]

Thanks for the info. I think I will feel more at ease knowing I can pay each day. This way I can keep track of my spending.
June 6th is coming closer and closer..I feel bad for them on the Dawn today. It was raining when I looked at the bridge cam around 2:30 today. I hope they hit some good weather the rest of the week.
Linda

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=191970&cdt=2004;6;6;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img] Until First Cruise

[helicopter]

Well tigerkiss, now I'm a little unsure - NCL told me you had to put down $250.00 per person. After that you could add if needed, and what wasn't spent would be refunded. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif[/img]

[tigerkiss]

helicopter, I was a bit unsure after that also so I called NCL again. She told me they only authorize 100.00pp Ok so now we heard 100, 170 and 250...well at least it hasnt gone up...lol. I also asked about travles checks and she said places on the ship take them but casinos cash only..
I guess we will see when we get there. I am going to do as low as possible then I can pay cash the rest of the week. I just dont want to tie up my account with a 500 autho that wont clear for 30 days.

Linda

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[helicopter]

Thanks tigerkiss, I also called back and finally got hold of someone who had been with NCL for a long time and seemed to know what she was talking about. She also said $100.00 per person. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]

[corkscrew]

I just used my Wachovia Visa Check Card for the onboard account on the Dawn, placing both my wife and myself as cardholders. Charged over $800 in ship charges and over $500 in withdraws and card purchases. I didnt hear a word about the onboard account again until I recieved the settled bill at the end of the week for which I needed to do nothing except write it off my checking account.

[DivaG]

Corkscrew - thank you so much for your post. I really wanted to use my "debit" card instead of cash and now I know we have an option.

We're crusing the Dawn - our first cruise - in September and I'm trying to sort through a few things early. I hope you had a great trip.

G

[jkrislc]

In the NCL Hawaii brochure, they acknowledge that Visa Check Cards are accepted, but caution that a hold is placed on the account and that some banks may take up to 30 days to release the hold. I can't imagine that it would be that long, but it is conceivably possible that you'll have money in your account that you wont be able to access for awhile.

KLC
UPCOMING CRUISES:
---------------------
MONARCH OF THE SEAS (04/04)
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PRIDE OF ???????-HAWAII (01/05)
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PREVIOUS CRUISES
-------------------------
RCI's Monarch of the Seas (01/04)
Star Princess (6/03)
RCI's Rhapsody of the Seas (4/01)
Carnival's Ecstasy (6/96)
RCI's Viking Serenade (1/94)

[tigerkiss]

Hi..Well if NCL is correct they will just put a hold on 200.00 per couple and then I will use cash the rest of the trip and then use the 200.00 hold money to go to the tips which should then only be 60.00 left to credit me. That I can live with.. But if we were talking 500 credit that I would have to wait for there would be no way..
Linda

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=191970&cdt=2004;6;6;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img] Until First Cruise

[helicopter]

Tigerkiss, I can only go by what happen to us on our cruise aboard the Sea in 2000. We used our debit card (16 of us, kids, 2 of their friends, nieces, nephews, and sister) the trip was our treat, so all the charges were on our debit card. The total bill at the end of the cruise was a little over 6200.00. When we arrived home a few days later I was doing some banking and noticed that there was still about a 2200.00 hold on our account. I called the bank (the 6200 or so had already paid) and then I had to have the bank three-way with NCL to get the hold released. Because of this experience I am a little leary, although I agree it is convenient. This hold could have been put on at anytime during the trip (since it was obvious we were going to have a high bill, but that didn't seem reasonable since the Purser told me the daily charges were debited daily from the card - so why the hold? [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]

[SweetEmi]

I heard that the amount of time the bank holds whatever amount NCL decides on is up to the bank and not NCL. It was suggested before that you call your bank and find out how long they hold up the funds. In my case, it was 5 days and so technically by the end of the 7 day cruise, the hold will have been lifted. What I did was give them a regular credit card at the beginning of the cruise and I think they put a hold on that of $250 or $300 each (I know because I gave them the wrong card and it didn't have enough room on it) and then at the end I paid with my debit card instead.

Emi

NCL Star-08/31/03 in Hawaii!
NCL Star-11/13/04 to Mexico!
Alaska summer 2005!

[jkrislc]

To expidite checkin, I always use a "real" credit card and then just pay off the account the last night in cash. Speeds up checkin and is less of a headache.

KLC
UPCOMING CRUISES:
---------------------
MONARCH OF THE SEAS (04/04)
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=800080&cdt=2004;4;16;17;30;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]
PRIDE OF ???????-HAWAII (01/05)
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=800080&cdt=2005;01;2;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-1000[/img]

PREVIOUS CRUISES
-------------------------
RCI's Monarch of the Seas (01/04)
Star Princess (6/03)
RCI's Rhapsody of the Seas (4/01)
Carnival's Ecstasy (6/96)
RCI's Viking Serenade (1/94)

[tigerkiss]

Hi..Well I am thinking that using my visa logo card should be ok. I called and asked and the 2 people I talked to said that it was ok. So now its a matter of how much they autho and go from there. I am getting so excited each day. I cant believe I am finally going on a cruise.
My hubby and I will be married 18 yrs and this is a dream come true. I am going to have the best time even if the food is horrible..LOL
Linda

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[jeanied]

Has anyone tried those prepaid travel cards, like the one offered by American Express?