Can I use multiple credits cards to settle the final bill?

[frugalsc]

Hi,.  I

 

Going on the Getaway in a couple of months.  Trying to figure out if I can use multiple credits cards to settle the final bill. If so, what is the max?

 

I used roughly 20 or so visa credit/debit giftcards to make the initial reservation thru an agent.  According to the agent he said I should be able to do the same when I settle the final bill after the cruise.

 

Thanks!

[stinkyharriet]

I think they will put a temporary hold on whatever card you use.  You would need to make sure that whatever card you use has enough credit on it to cover any charges you make on your cruise as well as the hold amount.  I think on my cruises it was usually around $100.  They didn’t charge my card but the hold will reduce the available credit you have on it.  I use a credit card with plenty of room so not having access to $100 of my credit isn’t an issue.

 

You might also be able to go to Guest Services once on board and put cash on your account.

[kenoqueen]

13 hours ago, frugalsc said:

Hi,.  I

 

Going on the Getaway in a couple of months.  Trying to figure out if I can use multiple credits cards to settle the final bill. If so, what is the max?

 

I used roughly 20 or so visa credit/debit giftcards to make the initial reservation thru an agent.  According to the agent he said I should be able to do the same when I settle the final bill after the cruise.

 

Thanks!

If you go to Guest Services you should not have any issues.  I strongly recommend not waiting until last night. It's usually pretty busy. 

[BirdTravels]

14 hours ago, frugalsc said:

Hi,.  I

 

Going on the Getaway in a couple of months.  Trying to figure out if I can use multiple credits cards to settle the final bill. If so, what is the max?

 

I used roughly 20 or so visa credit/debit giftcards to make the initial reservation thru an agent.  According to the agent he said I should be able to do the same when I settle the final bill after the cruise.

 

Thanks!

You can settle your bill however you want with Guest Services. 
 

BUT, if you are carrying a balance, the cruise line will run multiple authorizations throughout the cruise. And the credit card on file needs to have sufficient credit line to handle that (assume a little over double the balance on the room account).

 

You can make daily trips to Guest Services to pay down your account. Or you can avoid incurring any onboard charges (outside of annoying drink taxes on embarkation day). 

[schmoopie17]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Or you can avoid incurring any onboard charges (outside of annoying drink taxes on embarkation day). 

Aren't the DSC amounts broken out and applied to your account daily?

[stinkyharriet]

1 hour ago, schmoopie17 said:

Aren't the DSC amounts broken out and applied to your account daily?

You can pay them in advance, which is what I always do.

[frugalsc]

Thanks for all the responses, but just want to make sure I got it right.  It sounds like I can attach Card #1 to my room when I set up my account when I check in.  Any pre-authorization will go against this card.  Then visit guest services to settle any outstanding balances with card # 2 after day 1, then use card # 3 after day 2 to pay for any outstanding balances at guest services, basically rise and repeat until the last day of my trip. (or perhaps the 2nd to the last day of my trip to beat the rush!)

 

If my interpretation is correct, then I can use multiple cards to settle the bill.  I don't mind paying visiting guest services to pay down the bill each day.

 

Thanks!

 

[BirdTravels]

9 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

Aren't the DSC amounts broken out and applied to your account daily?

You can prepay those charges. 

[frugalsc]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

You can prepay those charges. 

What happens when I don't use up all my prepaids?  Do I get cash back if I charged it to a credit card or a debit card?

 

[dbrown84]

12 hours ago, frugalsc said:

What happens when I don't use up all my prepaids?  Do I get cash back if I charged it to a credit card or a debit card?

 

the prepay would be for the exact amount of your DSC, so there is no such thing as not using it all.  Are you asking what happens if you decide to cancel or lower the DSC?

[dbrown84]

to the OP, if you want to avoid going to GS and swapping cards each day, you can buy OBC before the cruise from each credit card.  You can actually not put any CC on the account and just go with the OBC if you know that you put enough to cover your spending habits.

[Rick&Jeannie]

3 hours ago, dbrown84 said:

to the OP, if you want to avoid going to GS and swapping cards each day, you can buy OBC before the cruise from each credit card.  You can actually not put any CC on the account and just go with the OBC if you know that you put enough to cover your spending habits.

In my opinion...this ^^^ would be the way to go instead of trying to juggle as many cards as you indicate.  You're just adding a lot of stress (potentially) to your vacation.

[frugalsc]

On 2/4/2024 at 12:35 PM, dbrown84 said:

to the OP, if you want to avoid going to GS and swapping cards each day, you can buy OBC before the cruise from each credit card.  You can actually not put any CC on the account and just go with the OBC if you know that you put enough to cover your spending habits.

I wasn't thinking about swapping out cards each day, I was thinking about leaving 1 card on record and then just settle any outstanding balances with different cards when I go to GS.  Sorry what are OBCs?  

[dbrown84]

9 minutes ago, frugalsc said:

I wasn't thinking about swapping out cards each day, I was thinking about leaving 1 card on record and then just settle any outstanding balances with different cards when I go to GS.  Sorry what are OBCs?  

yes, that's what I meant.  OBC is onboard credit.  Basically you buy money to have on your account.  You can do this before the cruise, like right before if you'd like.  So let's say you buy $500 in credits, it will be on your account when you board.  Charges would go against this balance.  Only if you use up all this credit would you have to go to GS and put a card on file.  If you don't use it all, you go to GS before departing and get the net amount in cash.  You run the risk of your charging abilities being cut off if the amount of charges becomes more than what they are able to pre-authorize on the one card.  that is why I was thinking that you'd have to keep going back to GS to pay down the account with a different card.  Of course, you can pre-pay as much as possible before the cruise so that you won't have much, if any, charges to your onboard account.

[frugalsc]

20 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

yes, that's what I meant.  OBC is onboard credit.  Basically you buy money to have on your account.  You can do this before the cruise, like right before if you'd like.  So let's say you buy $500 in credits, it will be on your account when you board.  Charges would go against this balance.  Only if you use up all this credit would you have to go to GS and put a card on file.  If you don't use it all, you go to GS before departing and get the net amount in cash.  You run the risk of your charging abilities being cut off if the amount of charges becomes more than what they are able to pre-authorize on the one card.  that is why I was thinking that you'd have to keep going back to GS to pay down the account with a different card.  Of course, you can pre-pay as much as possible before the cruise so that you won't have much, if any, charges to your onboard account.

Thanks for the clarification.  I'm good with this approach just as long as I can the cash back if I don't use up all my OBC, which sounds like I can. Now that I know what OBCs are, how do I purchase them?

 

[UKstages]

On 2/2/2024 at 8:04 PM, frugalsc said:

I used roughly 20 or so visa credit/debit giftcards to make the initial reservation thru an agent.  According to the agent he said I should be able to do the same when I settle the final bill after the cruise.

 

this is the point that nobody seems to be commenting on. the OP wished to use giftcards, which have a specific dollar value/limit attached to them. you certainly could not use a giftcard as the "card on file" because it would likely fail the initial authorization and subsequent hold authorizations. you can probably put a standard credit card on file and then visit on the next to last day and use as many cards as you want to close out your account. i just got off the getaway this morning and i did in fact see somebody use more than one card to settle their bill last night. i doubt they were using giftcards, however.

[UKstages]

8 minutes ago, frugalsc said:

Now that I know what OBCs are, how do I purchase them?

 

you can purchase on the NCL site within your account, but assuming you are using multiple giftcards, it it would probably be best if you called a cruise consultant. the transaction could be tricky and the NCL site doesn't handle anything out of the ordinary very well.

 

transactions using multiple giftcards are often mistakenly identified as fraudulent transactions.

Edited February 7 by UKstages

[dbrown84]

Just now, UKstages said:

 

you can purchase on the NCL site within your account, but assuming you are using multiple giftcards, it it would probably be best if you called a cruise consultant. the transaction could be tricky and the NCL site doesn't handle anything out of the ordinary very well.

 

transactions using multiple giftcards are often mistakenly identified as fraudulent transactions.

also know that the maximum amount of OBC you can purchase is $1000 per cruise, in case that matters

[TrumpyNor]

I have used several credit cards to pay off my ship bill when cruising - simply by going to the front desk and pay off the current "owed amount" (or any other amount if needed) with whatever credit card I want to use as often as I prefer during the cruise - this can be with other credit cards than the one you gave when checking in for the cruise. Then the originally registered credit card will only be used to pay the remaining balance if needed.

[cruiser2015]

17 hours ago, frugalsc said:

Thanks for the clarification.  I'm good with this approach just as long as I can the cash back if I don't use up all my OBC, which sounds like I can. Now that I know what OBCs are, how do I purchase them?

 

Yes, you will get your leftover money back.

Just be aware that if you do prepay funds (make deposits in advance) and don't spend them all, you must retrieve your excess payment or they will not allow you to disembark. You must got to Guest Services on the day before cruise ends to avoid that..

[cruiseny4life]

I have seen the guest services line, never stood in it, and every single time it was multiple people deep. I'd avoid going there each day. Purchasing onboard credit prior to your cruise with the gift cards sounds like a better idea. That way you don't have to stand in line.

[frugalsc]

19 hours ago, TrumpyNor said:

I have used several credit cards to pay off my ship bill when cruising - simply by going to the front desk and pay off the current "owed amount" (or any other amount if needed) with whatever credit card I want to use as often as I prefer during the cruise - this can be with other credit cards than the one you gave when checking in for the cruise. Then the originally registered credit card will only be used to pay the remaining balance if needed.

Thank you for this information!  This is the exact data point I was looking for!  The only nuance is that I want to use visa/mc giftcards as opposed to regular credit cards.  I don't think it'll be a problem as long as I'm not using one of those card as my card on record.

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, frugalsc said:

Thank you for this information!  This is the exact data point I was looking for!  The only nuance is that I want to use visa/mc giftcards as opposed to regular credit cards.  I don't think it'll be a problem as long as I'm not using one of those card as my card on record.

Check the gift cards you want to use very carefully as in the past I've seen some that specifically say they can't be used onboard a cruise ship.

[Anoynmous Phoenix]

I think that you are using a couple of different terms; "credit cards" and "gift cards".

 

I am dubious that NCL will allow you to put more than one credit card on your "folio".

 

I would check that you could use "gift cards" to pay off the debit you owe at the end of the cruise.  Check with the Finance Desk as soon as you board.   

 

The other thing you could do is to see if you could deposit the "gift cards" onto your "folio" at the star of the cruise and then take any excess off in cash at the end of the cruise.

[cruiser2015]

9 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

I have seen the guest services line, never stood in it, and every single time it was multiple people deep. I'd avoid going there each day. Purchasing onboard credit prior to your cruise with the gift cards sounds like a better idea. That way you don't have to stand in line.

Guest Services is open 24/7.

If you go at the "right" time, there is little to no line.

During boarding and the evening before disembarkation are not the right times.   😧