Bank problem on board account

[starfish216]

Did you use your Amex card to pay for the cruise?

 

Did you try calling Amex and see if they can help you out?

 

Call Amex and explain you left your card at home and ask if they would vouch for your credit and identity if guess service called them.

 

Also, I thought when a guest use their debit card to pay for an account on board the bank will keep a certain dollar amount on hold for RC in the guest's bank. Not sure if this is true, sometimes on here I read about someone stating that RC still has a hold on their money even though the cruise is over.

 

In hindsight next time take your credit card with you and leave a copy at home with the cat sitter. If you are in good standing with your vet you can let them know that so and so will be watching your cats and if need be they have a copy of your credit card.

[Ourusualbeach]

Seeing that the OP has a credit card and internet access is there a way they can go onto their online cruising account and change the details.

 

Alternativly, could the OP's bank organise a temporary ovverdraft to cover the onboard account.

 

I am very curious as to how the OP ran up such a big bill on the ship......

 

I am also suprised that RCL arent more understanding and helpful in trying to help the OP sort this issue out. They have been upfront with customer services and have gone to them 2 days before the end of the trip - not as if they have tried to leave the ship without saying anything and then act all suprised when they are stopped!

 

Good luck getting it sorted - let us know what happens.

 

You can't do this after your ship has sailed.

[Ourusualbeach]

I don't know how it works in the US but in the UK if you don't have the cash in a debit account you can't charge anything to it, unless you have an agreement for an overdraft, so how the OP got charged anything with an empty account sounds impossible.

 

Royal allows a cash account to be set up and will allow you to charge up to $500 before being asked to pay it down.

 

In the case of the OP they had it secured with a debit card do I'm assuming that at the end of the day they try to do a hold for the funds spent that day, do in effect they are being granted credit for their daily purchases.

[Groucho]

So I talked with guest services and they said they'd call the police in Ft Lauderdale if I couldn't settle it by the end of the cruise.

 

I have an emergency American Express at home that I left specifically for my friend. He is pet sitting my cats and it is there in case they needed to go to the vet. I turned my phone on and had my friend send a picture of the card. They won't take a number of a card, they said the only way is to swipe it.

 

I can't have a friend or family member deposit that much money. I am sick and this is ruining my trip real quick.

 

Good luck with your problem.

 

Just a comment: Royal takes credit card payment over the phone all of the time for deposits, final payment, shore excursions, drink packages, etc. I don't understand why they won't take it verbally on board. Ask to speak to the Hotel Manager. If that does not work ask them to allow you to call Royal's home office, on their dime, and get as high up on the food chain as possible and explain your problem.

 

One time there was a problem with my credit card travel notice and the CC company shut down all charges as fraud protection. Guest Services allowed me to call my company from one of their phones at the front desk. The problem was corrected and charges were authorized for the remaining part of the cruise.

 

Good luck again.

[spookwife]

Ok, someone mentioned "bad decisions?" Let me get this straight. You "don't do credit cards." But you "left a credit card for a friend to use" if a vet is needed for your cat? Hmm... must trust that friend an awful lot. But here's the thing. WHY would you call your bank and tell them "not to freeze my card because I would be traveling international" if you weren't taking your credit card with you? If your friend used it at the vet, wouldn't your bank question a local charge, signed by a friend, after you have told them you were out of the country? I know mine would.

I can't believe that Royal Caribbean won't take your credit card number and run the charge to clear your account. If the charge is rejected they'd be back at step zero. But when you book on line, they don't swipe your card. So, not buying that one.

Anyway, you seem to certainly have made some "weird" decisions? I won't say "bad," but definitely "weird." My guess, more to this situation than you are really saying.

As for "no one's business" why someone doesn't like credit cards. True. Unless they come on a public forum with their financial woes, then it seems a perfectly reasonable question.

At the risk of getting totally flamed, I wonder at the validity of the OP's situation, or is he working a way to get off the ship with a $1000 debt and pay it off at his leisure (or not at all). Sorry, that's my opinion based on the "weird" decisions he says he has made.

 

 

my vet let us keep a CC on file as well as a list of names( with a notary sig) of who was authorized to make transactions/medical decisions on our behalf. we could even limit the amount of money to be spent. there was no reason whatsoever for the pet sitter to have the physical card at all, let alone a copy of the number/CVN.

 

at first I though the OP meant that their checking account had been hacked/cleared out while they were on vacation. hey. it happens. even to the most vigilant of us. then they mentioned their on board account being secured with a Debit card. now it is basically $2k tied up.. are these fraudulent charges, or are these the daily HOLDS that the Cruise line has implemented which ties up funds for ups o 30 days after the cruise ends? whats their total amount due and does their bank account have enough to cover it? I thought holds mean they got first dibs on the money?

 

when we travel internationally we can email our bank and say: we will be X place on Day y and expect to be there z length of time. (I forgot to do this last cruise and was in a mad rush after I charged a hefty sum of money in one port, far more than our usual spending habits in a place we had never been to! thank goodness I scored some free wi fi so I could send a quick text to the Credit union in the middle of the transaction)

[Havingfun2010]

I don't. I don't carry credit cards and I don't ever charge on one. I do keep an Amex at home for vet emergencies. I have 4 cats and anyone who owns a pet can attest that vet bills of several thousand can occur at any time.

 

It's irrelevant though because they refuse to take the number and photo of the card sent from home.

 

This might sound harsh, but you are traveling internationally with only $1000.00 in the bank, using a debit card that is notorious for placing holds for a week, which basically gives you no emergency money on you, but you left an AX card that can get you out of emergencies, at home, with a cat sitter, just in case your cats have an emergency. So the cats are protected but the human is not. How will the cats sign the invoice?

 

In the future, you might want to rethink things and always bring and use a credit card on International travel, which will protect you for fraud, and give you access to the number of things that could go wrong such as yourself needing medical care instead of the cats.

[NIATPAC29]

this might sound harsh, but you are traveling internationally with only $1000.00 in the bank, using a debit card that is notorious for placing holds for a week, which basically gives you no emergency money on you, but you left an ax card that can get you out of emergencies, at home, with a cat sitter, just in case your cats have an emergency. So the cats are protected but the human is not. How will the cats sign the invoice?

 

In the future, you might want to rethink things and always bring and use a credit card on international travel, which will protect you for fraud, and give you access to the number of things that could go wrong such as yourself needing medical care instead of the cats.

well said--i totally agree !

[bubba83]

Yes, and if you could look at this objectively, you would see that they are correct in doing this. I don't know that any business would take a picture of a credit card. Can you get a hotel room with a picture? What about a rental car? Could you buy a leather sectional with a picture of a credit card? See where I am going with this?

 

.

 

 

No but you can shop online for anything and everything, even pay for your cruise online without them EVER seeing your card, you are just entering the numbers!

[sr4mjc]

Credit itself cannot be evil, it is a thing. It can however be misused. For the disciplined, it can be beneficial.

[setsail]

Well, they did allow that to happen. I have $2000 in holds and $3000 in charges.

 

.

 

No, YOU allowed this to happen. You knew exactly how much you had and now you have run up a 5000$ tab ;)

[ryano]

yes they do call the cops if you cannot secure payment before leaving( and no they do not take your word for it/send you bill). this can mean anything from having someone physically bring a new credit card, to forking over cold hard cash.

 

Im calling BS on this one :rolleyes: How do you know this to be fact? I dont see local law enforcement getting involved in a civil matter like this. Im sure there have been many other instances where people could not pay their bill for whatever reason and had to sign a promissory note promising to pay. I bet this does happen every cruise and you cant tell me the law gets involved in stuff like this and make me believe it without some kind of proof. In fact, I bet RC has their own lawyers or at least a collection department that handles stuff like this.

 

What happens if someone cant bring a new credit card? Where is the "cold hard cash" coming from? Are you telling me these people go to jail if they dont pay RC on the spot? Again, BS! Unless you can provide proof, you are just making stuff up :rolleyes:

Edited January 28, 2016 by ryano

[3CatsInMA]

Maybe this would work. I have seen Royal doing sign ups for their credit card at the Crown and Anchor counter on the ship. This was on the Allure a few years ago. I heard a guy telling someone they could immediately begin using it. I don't know if they still do that or if it's on all ships but it's worth a try.

 

 

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This seems like the most sensible solution. Open a new RCI credit card account while onboard and you can use it to pay your bill. Pay off the account when you get the first statement, and if you really don't want the card then close the account after that. Quick, simple and will not cost you a penny extra.

[alora7]

Try calling the bank and having them extend your "overdraft" protection. I lost my credit card the evening before our cruise in Houston and my husband left his card with a friend who was watching our cat strangely enough. I ended up having to use my debit card for the onboard account. I had plenty of money in the bank but Royal had put 5 different $1000 holds on my account. I was able to call the bank and explained to them what was happening and they were able to verify it so they extended my overdraft protection to allow the final charge to go through. Since the other 5 holds weren't actually charges I didn't get charged any overdaft fees. We were hoping that I put my credit card in the pocket of my shorts which was in my luggage I had already given to the porters. I was so anal about making sure everything was in order before we left and in the hurry to get to the port I didn't double check I had my card before we left the hotel room. I tried just giving them the number on my card at check-in but they wanted the physical card and said they couldn't key in the numbers.

[Prissy821]

Thats assuming he will get approved for the credit card. Not everyone gets approved

Also it possible the account is overdrawn due to the holds. I stopped using debit cards because i learned the hard way. A few years ago i had enough money in my account to cover what i planned to spend plus enough to cover my mortgage payment that was set to be autopayed and a few other payments i had set up. Halfway through the cruise i decided to log into my bank account to make sure the mortgage payment processed. I was horrified to see my available balance was much less than anticipated. When i went to guest services they explained that their process is to put daily holds on the account for what is charged each day and then at the end of the cruise charge the total amount as one debit. I called my bank from guest services (they allowed me a free call) and my bank confirmed that because the total amount at the end does not match the hold amounts the daily holds would take an additional week to be released as available funds which would cause the payments due to come out for my bills to overdraft So in essence based on the process RC uses w daily holds you do need to have double the amount you plan to spend to prevent over drafting. A solution would be for the cruiseline to process the charges each day so the amounts match the holds but they will not do that. I was lucky and because i caught it early i got guest services to agree to remove the holds and let me convert to a cash account. I used the ATM machine to withdraw money to pay my account down in cash

 

 

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[3CatsInMA]

Thats assuming he will get approved for the credit card. Not everyone gets approved

 

True, but the OP did say that he has an Amex in good standing, so based on that little bit of info ;) it seems to me that the new card would be worth a shot. :)

[goldgirl2]

I have a checking account and savings account at the bank. I can transfer money from one to the other and my funds are available instantly. My thought is this. It appears that the OP does not have a savings account to cover his on board spending/holds. My advice would be to put money in a savings account instead of cruising 47 nights and going on a jewelry shopping spree. I always taught my kids to have an emergency fund. My oldest son had an issue with his septic tank shortly after he bought his home (at 22 years old). It was no problem for him to pay the $1,000 bill. He had it in his emergency fund. He has also never been on a cruise. My advice to the OP is to open up a savings account and not go on any more cruises until you have at least 3 months salary in the account. And yes.... Go return the jewelry.

[Wilson]

Florida law enforcement would not have jurisdiction except for charges made while sitting at the terminal. Most likely all other purchases (not paid for) were made outside of the US.

 

Not ready to call BS yet, but if the OP starts a "Go fund me" page I will.

[gadaboutgal]

Im calling BS on this one :rolleyes: How do you know this to be fact? I dont see local law enforcement getting involved in a civil matter like this. Im sure there have been many other instances where people could not pay their bill for whatever reason and had to sign a promissory note promising to pay. I bet this does happen every cruise and you cant tell me the law gets involved in stuff like this and make me believe it without some kind of proof. In fact, I bet RC has their own lawyers or at least a collection department that handles stuff like this.

 

What happens if someone cant bring a new credit card? Where is the "cold hard cash" coming from? Are you telling me these people go to jail if they dont pay RC on the spot? Again, BS! Unless you can provide proof, you are just making stuff up :rolleyes:

 

Yes, they can and do call the sheriff, if payment is not made on the ship. Had a hotel director we knew quite well on Royal talk about how no one got off his ship without paying. They would just sit them down in the office until the sheriff came. Charges can be filed and a court date set, but the guest may then be free pending court appearance in the future.

The criminal charge is defrauding an innkeeper.

Not saying this to scare the OP, but it is something others need to be aware of.

[Prissy821]

I have a checking account and savings account at the bank. I can transfer money from one to the other and my funds are available instantly. My thought is this. It appears that the OP does not have a savings account to cover his on board spending/holds. My advice would be to put money in a savings account instead of cruising 47 nights and going on a jewelry shopping spree. I always taught my kids to have an emergency fund. My oldest son had an issue with his septic tank shortly after he bought his home (at 22 years old). It was no problem for him to pay the $1,000 bill. He had it in his emergency fund. He has also never been on a cruise. My advice to the OP is to open up a savings account and not go on any more cruises until you have at least 3 months salary in the account. And yes.... Go return the jewelry.

 

 

I think you are being judgemental. How do you know he doesn't have money in a different bank not linked to his checking. Its possible he does have a savings account that he needs to go home to access in person. You don't know his situation.

 

 

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[Ramjet1997]

You can't fix stupid...............I agree with another poster - something is wrong here......

[nolimits]

What's your next port have Amex next day new/replacement card to port agent address is available at guest services

And if I get you rite you charged 3000$ which RC held 2000$ of already not 5000$ So u owe 1000$ Correct

[cruisinfanatic]

i bought the internet package. Still getting its use.

 

 

 

yep, lots of jewelry...

take it back!!!

Simple!

Edited January 28, 2016 by SeaUs

[cruisinfanatic]

I don't do credit cards either, I also don't do car loans, or mortgages. Credit is evil. I've been told I'm crazy, called a dead beat, immature, irresponsible, etc, etc, ad nauseam.

 

The reality is living a credit free life is much harder than living a life addicted to credit, but once the initial leg work is done and all your ducks are in a row it becomes vastly easy and the rewards are so so sweet.

 

Credit is evil?

I have credit cards, all of which are paid when due. Thousands in rewards for doing this over the years. Cruises, air (haven't paid air in years), and cash back. All left on the table if you don't take advantage.

 

Mortgage? I had my first home at 23. Of course I borrowed. Some make it the old fashioned way (inheritance) and don't need to have a mortgage.

 

Car Loan? I could pay cash, but my money put to work in an investment account far exceeds the .09 % interest paid on the car loan

[cruisinfanatic]

This seems like the most sensible solution. Open a new RCI credit card account while onboard and you can use it to pay your bill. Pay off the account when you get the first statement, and if you really don't want the card then close the account after that. Quick, simple and will not cost you a penny extra.

When is the last time you opened a credit card account and immediately got the number, exp date, and code?

[3CatsInMA]

When is the last time you opened a credit card account and immediately got the number, exp date, and code?

 

When I opened my Royal Caribbean credit card while on the ship, and was given the option of having the balance of our onboard account paid with the new card. Really. :)