What's wrong with Holland America

[Lucy Jane]

I'm a five star mariner, I've never had a problem with my credit card. When I booked my cruise online, I gave them my credit card information no problem. I just got a notice in my cabin saying that I had exceeded my credit limit and then I needed to go down and either bring cash or my credit card so I can continue using my signing privileges to enjoy all the services on board. I'm really disturbed, it's the same card I have always used and now they're putting a limit on me. They say I've had an excess of $500.07. I don't understand this at all they must be really in the money. It's always the same card number. I've always used. I've never had a problem. I pay it in full every month. I think they're financially in big trouble. That's just my thoughts. But it's strange. I've never had this happen before. 

[julia]

Before you ranted here, did you log into your credit card and double check the balance??  Holy cow, I would be more worried about that than anything Holland is doing!

[CruiserBruce]

19 minutes ago, Lucy Jane said:

I'm a five star mariner, I've never had a problem with my credit card. When I booked my cruise online, I gave them my credit card information no problem. I just got a notice in my cabin saying that I had exceeded my credit limit and then I needed to go down and either bring cash or my credit card so I can continue using my signing privileges to enjoy all the services on board. I'm really disturbed, it's the same card I have always used and now they're putting a limit on me. They say I've had an excess of $500.07. I don't understand this at all they must be really in the money. It's always the same card number. I've always used. I've never had a problem. I pay it in full every month. I think they're financially in big trouble. That's just my thoughts. But it's strange. I've never had this happen before. 

So you think they are scamming money off you? Couldn't be human error, or a problem with the credit card company? Agree with the previous poster...investigate before ranting. 

 

Not sure how posting twice solves anything. 

[Mary229]

There is a glitch somewhere.  As @juliamentioned my first action would be to check my credit card account.   

[Banditswife]

I answered on the other thread.  It may have been in order to protect you, the card holder.

[Hlitner]

This likely has nothing to do with being a 5 Star Mariner 4 Star or no Star.  It might be a mistake (HAL makes plenty of those) or it might be an issue with the credit limit on your card.  When you cruise on HAL they put a "credit hold" on your card and I believe it is $60 per passenger day (for cruises up to 24 days) and $30 per person/day for longer cruises  So a little math tells us that if you took a 24 day cruise, HAL would put (at embarkation) $2880 credit hold on your account.  If you do not have that kind of available credit limit then there is going to be an issue.  Consider that a couple doing a World Cruise would have over $6000 put on hold.

 

Just so folks understand, you are not actually charged a credit hold amount, but the credit card company may show it as a "pending charge" and reserve that amount out of your credit limit.  That credit hold may not be released until well after your cruise has finished.

 

Hank

[canadianbear]

I’d be terrified that my credit card got compromised.   I’d also be at the front desk pronto to sort this out.  

[Don Kehote]

Sometimes, a quick walk down to Guest Services is a better use of time than a post on CruiseCritic.  

[Banditswife]

30 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

This likely has nothing to do with being a 5 Star Mariner 4 Star or no Star.  It might be a mistake (HAL makes plenty of those) or it might be an issue with the credit limit on your card.  When you cruise on HAL they put a "credit hold" on your card and I believe it is $60 per passenger day (for cruises up to 24 days) and $30 per person/day for longer cruises  So a little math tells us that if you took a 24 day cruise, HAL would put (at embarkation) $2880 credit hold on your account.  If you do not have that kind of available credit limit then there is going to be an issue.  Consider that a couple doing a World Cruise would have over $6000 put on hold.

 

Just so folks understand, you are not actually charged a credit hold amount, but the credit card company may show it as a "pending charge" and reserve that amount out of your credit limit.  That credit hold may not be released until well after your cruise has finished.

 

Hank

I had forgotten about that $60 hold per person.  in our case we were on a 19 day cruise for 2 people= $2280 credit hold.  We rarely charge that much, so our credit card company may have questioned it. It was easy enough to sign an authorization.

[canadianbear]

20 minutes ago, Banditswife said:

I had forgotten about that $60 hold per person.  in our case we were on a 19 day cruise for 2 people= $2280 credit hold.  We rarely charge that much, so our credit card company may have questioned it. It was easy enough to sign an authorization.

What bothers me these days is the credit card company doesn’t want to know you’re away.  In the “good old days” we could tell them we were going on a cruise and to expect certain charges. We have a very high limit on our cards  but would prefer no hassle when on a cruise. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

7 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

What bothers me these days is the credit card company doesn’t want to know you’re away.  In the “good old days” we could tell them we were going on a cruise and to expect certain charges. We have a very high limit on our cards  but would prefer no hassle when on a cruise. 

 

I agree. They say "Don't worry. If there's a problem, we'll contact you." But I'm not online all the time at sea, or even when I'm traveling on land, so I may not get a text or email for a day or two. 

 

I would ask the Front Desk what's going on and check with my credit card company asap.

[canadianbear]

1 minute ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I agree. They say "Don't worry. If there's a problem, we'll contact you." But I'm not online all the time at sea, or even when I'm traveling on land, so I may not get a text or email for a day or two. 

 

 

Exactly.  When we are out of Canada we have our phones on airplane mode & rarely buy wifi either so we’d never know unless our card was declined. 

[GeezerCouple]

55 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

I agree. They say "Don't worry. If there's a problem, we'll contact you." But I'm not online all the time at sea, or even when I'm traveling on land, so I may not get a text or email for a day or two. 

 

I would ask the Front Desk what's going on and check with my credit card company asap.

 

I know that the charge cards usually tell card holders not to bother calling about travel, or maybe not even the online notification.

However, before any major trip, or any trip overseas, I *always* call and tell them just which countries we'll likely be in, and also any expensive purchases that we even "might" make.  In some cases, they may have already seen pre-paid hotels, so that helps.  But because we use awards for our air travel, no card company is likely to see any sign of "going somewhere".

One year, when we were going to spend some extra time in Italy, I thought, well, what IF I see something particularly nice in terms of clothing or jewelry...?  So I called Amex Plat and asked, "IF something special appealed", what kind of amount could I charge.  (Amex doesn't have strict "credit limits" like some other cards.) They asked how much I thought I might spend, and I had no idea, because it wasn't likely anyway, but I sure didn't want to be in the process of buying something nice and then get declined...  So I gave them a nice round figure, and the rep said, "How about if I make a note $X?" - which was considerably *more* that the amount I had mentioned.   I never managed to go "shopping" on that trip anyway, so it didn't matter.

 

We haven't traveled since December, 2019 (surprise! 😞 ), so when we do, our "regular spending patterns" will be well in the past.  I'll probably call again, to several card companies, to remind them that we'll be "back to our old patterns" or something.

 

We also need to keep good credit limits "just in case" of a medical emergency, so we can cover anything before being reimbursed by insurance later!

 

We figure it is better to take a few extra steps pre-emptively than to risk having an unexpected problem...

 

But it OP's case above, I'd first check with Guest Services of some sort, and then with the card company - at the least checking balances and recent charges online!

... before asking on a public forum what's "wrong" with HAL or any other vendor.

 

GC

[canadianbear]

@GeezerCoupleThe one recent time our credit card company listened to us was when we were purchasing a boat motor for $25,000 and didn’t want our card refused.  That worked at least.  We also haven’t cruised since December 2019.  When we do I want a nice long cruise so will advise/insist  our credit card to make a note.  

[julia]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

This likely has nothing to do with being a 5 Star Mariner 4 Star or no Star.  It might be a mistake (HAL makes plenty of those) or it might be an issue with the credit limit on your card.  When you cruise on HAL they put a "credit hold" on your card and I believe it is $60 per passenger day (for cruises up to 24 days) and $30 per person/day for longer cruises  So a little math tells us that if you took a 24 day cruise, HAL would put (at embarkation) $2880 credit hold on your account.  If you do not have that kind of available credit limit then there is going to be an issue.  Consider that a couple doing a World Cruise would have over $6000 put on hold.

 

Just so folks understand, you are not actually charged a credit hold amount, but the credit card company may show it as a "pending charge" and reserve that amount out of your credit limit.  That credit hold may not be released until well after your cruise has finished.

 

Hank

I was not aware of the credit card hold, (not a problem), so this is VERY valuable info for our upcoming 35 nights on the K'dam!

[scottsol]

Your problem is not with HAL. You need to contact the bank that issued the card. If you have an HAL branded card, the issuing bank is Barclays and it is Barclays that controls the operation of the card.

[Ready2go11]

I received a similar notice in my cabin on my September cruise on the Zuiderdam. I use an app to control my credit card and often lock it to avoid fraud, and the card I registered to my online account was locked when they tried to do the authorization. 
 

i unlocked the card, went to guest services and they re-ran the authorization and had me sign a credit slip. All fixed and all my fault in the first place. I will admit to being a bit peeved when I saw the notice until I realized the why. 

[Mary229]

@Lucy Jane  did you sort it all out?   I am curious what was the underlying cause.   Thanks for any update you can provide 

[cat shepard]

10 hours ago, canadianbear said:

What bothers me these days is the credit card company doesn’t want to know you’re away.  In the “good old days” we could tell them we were going on a cruise and to expect certain charges. We have a very high limit on our cards  but would prefer no hassle when on a cruise. 

 

Not sure if all CC offer this, but mine allow me to go online and update my account with the dates I will be away and the countries to which I am traveling. 

[canadianbear]

6 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

 

Not sure if all CC offer this, but mine allow me to go online and update my account with the dates I will be away and the countries to which I am traveling. 

Wow, that would be great.  No, none of ours have that feature.

[CruiserBruce]

11 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

 

Not sure if all CC offer this, but mine allow me to go online and update my account with the dates I will be away and the countries to which I am traveling. 

My bank requires that for ATM use outside of the US. My CC used to require that, but no longer. 

[Cruising-along]

20 minutes ago, cat shepard said:

 

Not sure if all CC offer this, but mine allow me to go online and update my account with the dates I will be away and the countries to which I am traveling. 

Both of our banking institutions do the same. We always make sure to do this before any trip, it covers all Credit card and ATM transactions. Peace of mind!

[BetsyS.]

49 minutes ago, Cruising-along said:

Both of our banking institutions do the same. We always make sure to do this before any trip, it covers all Credit card and ATM transactions. Peace of mind!

I agree with you. I did the same.  Peace of mind is important. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Quote is from Benjamin Franklin.

[silversneakers]

14 hours ago, Lucy Jane said:

I'm a five star mariner, I've never had a problem with my credit card. When I booked my cruise online, I gave them my credit card information no problem. I just got a notice in my cabin saying that I had exceeded my credit limit and then I needed to go down and either bring cash or my credit card so I can continue using my signing privileges to enjoy all the services on board. I'm really disturbed, it's the same card I have always used and now they're putting a limit on me. They say I've had an excess of $500.07. I don't understand this at all they must be really in the money. It's always the same card number. I've always used. I've never had a problem. I pay it in full every month. I think they're financially in big trouble. That's just my thoughts. But it's strange. I've never had this happen before. 

It may be a daily limit imposed by the cruise line.  They usually test the credit card which usually shows a "pending" status on the charge just to be sure the credit is available.  I don't think I've ever been contacted directly so I would think this is an error on their part.

[ontheweb]

Cards used to say to let them know when you are travelling, but now seem to say not to bother. I still like to call or use the online chat feature to let them know. They will say it is not necessary, and then thank you for letting them know.