NCL Onboard Expense Account...Cash, Credit?

[luddite]

We have chosen not to have a credit card. Would it be a better choice for us to use our debit card or cash?

Never, ever use a debit card for this. It is a disaster waiting to happen.

[kba1988]

I guess you've never heard of Dave Ramsey:)

 

 

Whoohooo....are you an FPU graduate?? :p We took his course, and our lives have never been the same. We live by cash-and-carry. We have no credit, but most importantly we have no DEBT!!! Love Dave Ramsey and his work.!!:o

[glittergal1]

I am a strictly cash person too and on previous cruises with Thomson and RCI have always settled the bill in cash on the last night , do NCL insist that you put cash on the account at the beginning? I will only have a budget of $400 maximum for the whole cruise surely they wont make me put $100 a day on ?

[Bug & Sprouts]

Just got off the Dawn last sunday. I told the guy at check in that I was using cash and he just told me to go to the service desk after I got on board.

 

I did have my DSC pre paid but I don't think it would have made a difference anyway. I had $115 OBC from ncl and the bhg(?) promo so the only extra money I put down was $150 to pay for my Future Cruise Certificate.

 

No one ever made any mention to me about needing to do the $100 a day thing Ive read on here.

Edited January 18, 2013 by Bug & Sprouts

[AquamarineBreeze]

No, the Jade is the same as all the other ships. The different websites (and regional companies) are only for marketing purposes.

 

The currency onboard Jade is USD and from what I've read from here lately, you just inform them that you want to pay with cash in the checkin and then go to the guest services where you deposit money to the onboard account. In guest services you can give them euros and they will credit the account in dollars.

 

Thanks for answering :)

Do you know if the Jade insists on the 100 dollars a day thing?

[canehdn]

This will be my first cruise that embarks from a foreign port. Can anyone tell me if international services fees apply (if you have a CC that charges these fees) if your NCL cruise embarks and disembarks out of a foreign port? Thanks

 

Cdn in KS

[Demonyte]

This will be my first cruise that embarks from a foreign port. Can anyone tell me if international services fees apply (if you have a CC that charges these fees) if your NCL cruise embarks and disembarks out of a foreign port?

 

If I remember correctly, the charges made on the Jade are billed "from" the HQ in the US just like the ticket fares etc. They don't change the way the charges are relayed based on where the ship is.

 

So unless you use the onboard ATM which has costs of it's own, there should be no extra costs for using the CC to settle your onboard account.

[canehdn]

I appreciate your answer. Happy cruising :)

[galleycook]

I have but I don't think Mike was saying increase debt but to use the protection the cards offer and use you cash to pay it off every month. I am sure Dave would approve of using someone else's money free.

 

Actually Dave would not. He uses Visa debit cards which offer the same protection as a credit card while using money his own money. Too many people take for granted that they will never over extend themselves and pay their bills off at the end of the month. Some are disiplined enough but many are not. Just look at the amount of debt the country holds as proof to that. No one has ever become wealthy collecting credit card points!

[galleycook]

Whoohooo....are you an FPU graduate?? :p We took his course, and our lives have never been the same. We live by cash-and-carry. We have no credit, but most importantly we have no DEBT!!! Love Dave Ramsey and his work.!!:o

 

Excellent!! Now you can afford to cruise without having to worry about being forclosed on.:D

 

Never taken the course but have read his books.

[glittergal1]

I don't have a credit card or know how they work on a ship ,but if I get 1 for the cruise can I register the credit card at the beginning of the cruise but pay off my account on the last day using all cash? so that the card is not actually used? or is the money added on the the credit card and charged every time you use it rather than all at the end?

 

Sorry if I sound dumb but I am a total cash user and have never had to pay cash upfront before or had a problem paying cash on the last day with other cruise lines

[Demonyte]

I don't have a credit card or know how they work on a ship ,but if I get 1 for the cruise can I register the credit card at the beginning of the cruise but pay off my account on the last day using all cash? so that the card is not actually used? or is the money added on the the credit card and charged every time you use it rather than all at the end?

 

Sorry if I sound dumb but I am a total cash user and have never had to pay cash upfront before or had a problem paying cash on the last day with other cruise lines

 

They will make authorizations through out the cruise but no actual charges will be made until at the end of the cruise (last night). So you can do just fine what you described, use the CC to a "deposit" and then settle the balance with cash - I always pay off at least some of the balance with cash if I get lucky in the casino tables. :D

[glittergal1]

Hi thanks I think this seems the best option

[UPNYGuy]

As per the updated NCL FAQ page...

 

Cash/Traveler's Checks Procedures

You can deposit cash or US Traveler's Checks into your onboard account.

A cash deposit may be placed on your account in the following amounts:

7 day cruises - $300/person

Less than 7 days - $150/person

More than 7 days - $450/person

Once you have exceeded the deposited amount, your account will be closed to further charges. You can deposit as much money as often as you'd like throughout the cruise, however, refunds cannot be made until the day of disembarkation for any excess. US Traveler's Checks can be cashed onboard and are the same as cash.

**Personal checks will not be accepted, nor can they be cashed onboard.

[KeithJenner]

Actually Dave would not. He uses Visa debit cards which offer the same protection as a credit card while using money his own money. Too many people take for granted that they will never over extend themselves and pay their bills off at the end of the month. Some are disiplined enough but many are not. Just look at the amount of debt the country holds as proof to that. No one has ever become wealthy collecting credit card points!

 

It may be true that nobody has ever become wealthy collecting credit card points, but very few people are so wealthy that they wouldn't get some benefit from them.

 

I understand the concern about not paying the bill off in full at the end of the month, but I always wonder why these so called experts have never noticed that you don't need to wait until then to pay it off. You can make payments at any time on every credit card that i know of. If people are worried about getting into debt there is nothing to stop them from clearing the balance each week or by transaction if you want.

 

Credit card points haven't made me wealthy, but the three months free grocery shopping we had at the start of this year (admittedly due to an Amex error) certainly didn't make us poorer. I wasn't wealthy when I flew back from New York after the Breakaway in business class for less than others paid for economy. Getting free breakfast and a free drink every time I stay at a hilton plus a few free nights and room upgrades doesn't make me wealthy, but it makes things a lot nicer.

 

Obviously some people do struggle with debt, and some can't be bothered, but too many people are scared away rather than looking at options which protect them.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free

[Dappydoll]

Hi

 

I am new to cruising and will be going my first cruise in May 2015 on Epic , I don't use credit cards so will be using cash for my onboard account as I have read NCL don't like debit cards . My question is does the cash have to be in dollars as it's a European cruise so will be using Euro off ship and would have to get dollars especially for the cruise

[Demonyte]

Hi

 

I am new to cruising and will be going my first cruise in May 2015 on Epic , I don't use credit cards so will be using cash for my onboard account as I have read NCL don't like debit cards . My question is does the cash have to be in dollars as it's a European cruise so will be using Euro off ship and would have to get dollars especially for the cruise

 

Hi and welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

The currency onboard is USD so it is cheapest for you to have dollars with you for the onboard account - you can give them euros too but the exchange rate isn't that good and they also add a fixed fee on top of every transaction.

 

For example here in Finland we have some foreign exchange companies that will buy currency back with the daily rate of the date of original purchase. Even if that causes extra hassle, it's usually a lot cheaper than using the ship for exhanges. As we are from an euro country, once we buy dollars and there are some "leftovers" after the trip, we store them to be used on the future trips.

 

Also, the "do not use debit card" is not a NCL thing, same thing applies to all cruise lines, hotels and car rental agencies etc that make authorizations to the card before actually making the charge.

 

It is not to say that one couldn't use a debit card but if one does, they need to be aware of possible problems (this applies especially if one doesn't have a lot of money on the account that the card is tied to) and the fact that authorizations can stick up to several weeks on the account - but this can happen even with ATMs, my friend tried withdraw money with a foreign debit card here in Finland and even though the withdrawal didn't succeed and there was no charge on the account, the atm left an authorization on the account and it's still there several weeks after.

[kabbie]

Can someone tell me what the latest amount the hold is on a credit or debit card?

[darkprayer]

My last cruise I bought a bunch of OBC throught NCL.com before we left with the Debit Card. I used the debit card for the OBC card on file. I watched the charges daily and always made sure I had a $150 cushion. Nothing was ever charged to the card because of all the OBC I bought. If you are a cash person or only have a debit card I suggest this way. I was told by NCL phone rep that they can choose or not to, to require $100 per person per day. I did over buy the OBC and got a check 4 weeks later. It was a nice little bonus my vaca paid me back afterwards. I could see why some people might be upset waiting that long but it is what it is!

 

I also prepay all that I can before I leave. Gifts, spa, drink packages, ect..... SO I don't ruin my vacation with the bills at the end. Yea, yea! I've heard it before why give NCL a loan without interest before. No need to flame my butt again over this part of the topic!

Edited October 16, 2014 by darkprayer

[darkprayer]

Can someone tell me what the latest amount the hold is on a credit or debit card?

 

One NCL rep said $100 to start. Another rep said $250 and they can keep placing holds are you charge and near $100 as your balance.

 

So if you spend $150 on board and they already had $250 hold they can hold another $100 if you spend the $250 then they hold another $100 and so on. That was what was explained to me last year.

[moonieelf]

I'm confused here. When I booked for the Dawn for this upcoming week, we were told if we were paying in cash we needed $300 total for the week or we could put it on a credit card.

[Demonyte]

I was told by NCL phone rep that they can choose or not to, to require $100 per person per day.

 

 

 

I'm confused here. When I booked for the Dawn for this upcoming week, we were told if we were paying in cash we needed $300 total for the week or we could put it on a credit card.

 

 

The old guideline was $100pp/day, nowadays it's $300pp for a week long cruise.

[moonieelf]

The old guideline was $100pp/day, nowadays it's $300pp for a week long cruise.

 

Thank you! It's my first cruise, so I'm more than a little nervous/confused about things.

[garycarla]

The amount of cash need appears to vary from almost none to $100 or more per day. We see different answers here all the time.

 

Debit cards actually freeze whatever amount on your account.

 

Credit cards are different, assuming you are within your limit, which then means no problem.

 

Credit cards continue to be the easiest way to handle the onboard account. Many folks opt to take their chances with debit cards, for whatever reason.

[Freckles83]

so am i to understand that after my cruise when i get home theres a chance that i will have money charged to my credit card that i didn't actually use ?

 

and that money will be refunded in a couple weeks?

 

 

sorry this thread is confusing me. in the past I've cruised with HAL and they would do almost a "Hold" on my credit card to make sure it was a valid card. But I've never come home and had anything of the sort actually show up on my credit card bill though, it was more or less held up until the end of the cruise just to make sure we didn't dip out on our bill. Is that essentially what NCL does or is it different ?