Paying for onboard account

[Cosmic Rays]

When you pay by credit card I assume that Cunard send the bill in US Dollars to them for the Credit Card Company to change into 'your' own currency? Princess have the habit of converting it for you prior to sending the bill to the CC company at THEIR exchange rate which is generally vastly inferior to that of the banks...............

[Austcruiser84]

We have just been on the Queen Victoria and we deposited $600 ( $300 per person) when we first boarded. We then kept a running total and knew when we needed to deposit more funds. The purser's desk will give you an update on your account at any time. We also had cash to come back to us at the end, again we received that down to the last cent, no problem. We would certainly do this again as we also do not have a credit card and have no intention of getting one.:D

 

Will they give it back in USD only or can I request any left over cash in pounds (as I'm disembarking in Southampton)?

[3rdGenCunarder]

I'd be very suprised if only $300 was required in advance as a deposit for on-board charges without a credit card back-up for a more substantial amount.

 

It may depend on the length of the cruise. Holland America says on its website that the hold is $60 per person per day. From what I've read on the HAL board, if you don't register a credit card, they ask for a cast deposit to cover the whole cruise when you check in. I don't know if Cunard has a set minimum, or if they trust you to come back with more cash during a voyage if they ask for it.

 

 

That reminds me...

 

Does everything go on your inboard account? If I buy things at the inboard bookstore/shop (QM2) can I pay cash there and then or does it go on my account?

 

All purchases on board go on the onboard account. It saves staff the trouble of making change and it makes it soooo easy to spend money. The one exception I can remember from past Cunard trips was postage. If they posted cards for us or sold us stamps, I recall having to pay in cash. I haven't bought stamps on a ship in a long time, so I don't know if that's still true.

 

And for your other question, you will probably get your extra money back in US dollars. You can have them exchange it for pounds, but the rate may not be favorable, or there might be exchange fees. I haven't changed currency on a ship in a long time, either, so I'm not sure about how this works these days.

[scifisteve]

We have just been on the Queen Victoria and we deposited $600 ( $300 per person) when we first boarded. We then kept a running total and knew when we needed to deposit more funds. The purser's desk will give you an update on your account at any time. We also had cash to come back to us at the end, again we received that down to the last cent, no problem. We would certainly do this again as we also do not have a credit card and have no intention of getting one.:D

 

 

Did you have to specify that this was not to purchase OBC, would not be happy if at the end of the trip they said, Sorry thought you where purchasing OBC.

 

Actually what is the difference between OBC and running a cash account ?

[3rdGenCunarder]

Did you have to specify that this was not to purchase OBC, would not be happy if at the end of the trip they said, Sorry thought you where purchasing OBC.

 

Actually what is the difference between OBC and running a cash account ?

 

OBC is bought in advance. Often, TAs give an OBC as a gift for booking with them. Friends can give OBC gifts, too. Some people buy themselves OBCs so that they don't have to bother with the cash transaction on board. The problem with giving yourself an OBC to cover your account is that Cunard won't refund any leftover money from an OBC. I can understand this if Cunard gave you the OBC as part of a promotion. But if it's your money, you should get it back. (But you don't)

[suzyed]

(See post #4). You're quite right. This is how I read it; A passenger's daily spend is "pre-authorised" with the card company/bank each night by the cruise line. These pre-authorisations stay on the card for between 7 and 30 days. At the end of the voyage the line then charges the card with the accrued total of each day's spend.

In practical terms this means that the card can have double the spent amount "deducted" from it. Which on long voyages, or for a high spending passenger, could mean, to put it crudely, that there are not enough funds available to pay the bill, despite the passenger knowing that he/she has spent nowhere near the card's limit :mad: .

I would presume the lines "pre-authorise" each night so that they they can stop a passenger spending if the card is declined, rather than wait till the end of the trip to find out they've been "had".

The pre-authorisations drop off the card after 7-30 days and the funds become available to the passenger once more. My concern would be for the passenger who gets off the ship after a voyage thinking they've funds still available on a card only to find that card declined everywhere they go :mad: .

That's how I read it, if I'm wrong, I am sorry and willing to be corrected.

 

You are correct!

[suzyed]

I disagree I've never owned a credit card and never will, I had no problem using my debit card n the US booked and paid our hotel, tickets, food, and even paid cabs.

 

Jason

 

I have credit cards, but I use my debit card for almost everything! For me, it's easier to keep track of what I am spending because I can access my account online each day and monitor it.

 

Again, when you use the debit card on a cruise there is a "hold" which extends beyond the end of your cruise. If you are confident with how much you have in your account to cover this hold, then using the debit card should not be a problem.

Since each cruise line has it's own policy for this, I would ask once I got on board, what the hold it for Cunard.

 

With that said, we will most likely use DH's American Express card, since it has no limit (not that we plan on spending THAT much). We also have $400 OBC, so that will go toward our onboard spending. :)

[suzyed]

That reminds me...

 

Does everything go on your inboard account? If I buy things at the inboard bookstore/shop (QM2) can I pay cash there and then or does it go on my account?

 

It goes on your onboard account.

[Salacia]

I think that $300 is the amount required to activate your cruise card. Once you have reached that amount the Pursers Office will 'deactivate' your cruise card so that you can not charge anything to it until you have deposited more funds with the Pursers Office. This way you cannot run up large debts.

 

You can also use this method with children's cruise cards where you can put a limit on their spend $50 or what ever you wish so that they cant spend large amounts in the shops and on soft drinks/mock tails etc. You can also deactivate their cards so that they can not charge anything to their card.

 

If I remember correctly the Pursers Office will notify you when you have spent a certain amount so that you have time to deposit more cash before your card is deactivated/ refused in a bar/shop

 

Hi MrsNobby. Thanks for explaining, I was having trouble understanding how that worked, but now I understand. (Using that method for children's cruise cards seems like an expecially good idea.)

 

I register my Amex Card at check in and that has always worked well for me, but I can understand others objections to using credit cards. Cheers, -S.

[BMWX5]

Thank you everyone for this post I am cruising for 72 days on QM2 in Jan 13' and I do not have a credit card either, don't need one as Mastercard Debit Card here in Oz works in same way, I love it. I was going to get a credit card just for this cruise but now I know they take cash i'll do that I much prefer it. Just a comment, people have posted how Cunard request $300 cash pp & they go to the pursers to give more cash when that is spent. Now hypathetically if you took $5000 spending money on the cruise with you wouldn't you be safer to place the whole lot into your account at the start rather than you keep it in your safe & then Cunard returns the balance to you at the end if you still have money left over, the money would be safer in their hands & give the responsibility to them should a theft occur. I would feel more comfortable doing it this way, stranger things have happened & computer safes have failed!

[L & S]

Will they give it back in USD only or can I request any left over cash in pounds (as I'm disembarking in Southampton)?

 

Sorry, but I can't answer that one.

 

We got our cash back in USD, but we are going to the USA in May so it didn't matter to us.

[Austcruiser84]

Thank you everyone for this post I am cruising for 72 days on QM2 in Jan 13' and I do not have a credit card either, don't need one as Mastercard Debit Card here in Oz works in same way, I love it. I was going to get a credit card just for this cruise but now I know they take cash i'll do that I much prefer it. Just a comment, people have posted how Cunard request $300 cash pp & they go to the pursers to give more cash when that is spent. Now hypathetically if you took $5000 spending money on the cruise with you wouldn't you be safer to place the whole lot into your account at the start rather than you keep it in your safe & then Cunard returns the balance to you at the end if you still have money left over, the money would be safer in their hands & give the responsibility to them should a theft occur. I would feel more comfortable doing it this way, stranger things have happened & computer safes have failed!

 

That's a good idea, although you might want to keep cash for when you go ashore.

[BORDER REIVER]

I copied this from Cunard FAQ's.

 

How do I settle my on board account?

 

At the start of your voyage, you will be asked to register a credit card. The balance of your account at the end of your voyage will automatically be charged to this card. We accept MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Diners Card and Visa debit / Delta cards. If you prefer to pay with cash, please speak to the purser after embarkation.

We cannot accept cheques Switch / Maestro, Mastercard Debit cards, Corporate cards, Solo, Visa Electron, prepaid credit cards or travellers cheques.

 

I always use a debit card because some cruise lines charge a % for use of a credit card.

I always notify my bank where I'm going beforehand, in case they think my card is being used fraudulently