cash or credit?

[bonbon663]

I'm new to cruising, and have a question about onboard charges. Can I put cash to create an account, or do I have to have a credit card?

 

Thank you

[geoherb]

I think you can do it with cash. I've always used a credit card. One option you could consider is using a credit card for convenience and then paying down your balance with cash near the end of the cruise.

[dkjretired]

I would never do that personally. I have read of too many mistakes made with the accounts not to have the protection of a credit card behind it. The cruise lines are generally very good but mistakes can be made and not caught until your off the ship.

[CaroleSP]

We use the Celebrity rewards card and rack up the cabin credit as a bonus. We had an extra $200 on our last cruise and are working diligently toward a big one for October.

[bonbon663]

Thanks for the advice. I was just worried about them holding a certain amount of credit on my card, then, being surprised when I went to buy something in port.

[CaroleSP]

Don't forget to tell your credit card companies that you will be out of the country. You don't want to be denied because they find the charge out of the ordinary.

[Rachelsmemom]

You can check your Seapass charges throughtout the trip using the interactive TV. You can report any discrepancies immediately and they will be corrected.

[Jimsgirl]

I have heard that sopme passengers deposit a lump sum into their account as soon as they board,however I have never done that myself.

 

I have a credit card I use almost exclusively for my trips (payment of cruise,air ,hotel etc) I notify the credit card company a few days before I leave that I will be on the ship, visiting certain islands etc. This ensures they do not "block" my card for suspected theft.

 

I do ensure that the amount on the card is far more than I would spend no matter what length of cruise. This is in case of needing to buy tickets to get home in emergency.

 

One tip I would pass on, is have the front desk run your charges about 5th day into the cruise on a 7 day cruise and on 10th day on a 12-14 day cruise. You can then check that everything is correct ( I assume that you do save your charge sheets from bars, ship shops etc) If an error has been made you can have it cleared up BEFORE the last morning.

 

The other plus for a credit card is that you do not have to stand in line on the last evening to pay your account.

[fiveparty]

I just completed the set sail pass/on-line check-in but need some advice regarding the Onboard Expense Account choices. Which is the best choice: charge to credit card account or do not set up. I'm afraid that if my 3 children go wondering off to the shops and start charging everything to our account - our bill at the end of the cruise will be huge.

Any suggestions???:confused:

 

If I choose the "do not charge to anything" - 3rd option - does anyone know if I'd be able to pay for goods with my credit card if we buy some things??

[dkjretired]

I just completed the set sail pass/on-line check-in but need some advice regarding the Onboard Expense Account choices. Which is the best choice: charge to credit card account or do not set up. I'm afraid that if my 3 children go wondering off to the shops and start charging everything to our account - our bill at the end of the cruise will be huge.

Any suggestions???:confused:

 

If I choose the "do not charge to anything" - 3rd option - does anyone know if I'd be able to pay for goods with my credit card if we buy some things??

 

If you don't make a choice it will have to be done at the pier. There is no cash used on board, everything is put on the Onboard Account. You can limit what the kids can charge. I know you we were able to set up the account so the kids could only buy sodas and not anything else. You can't use your credit card on the ship for individual purchases just to back up your account.

[lvz2cruz]

Each of your family will get their own seapass, which is room key/credit card. You designate whether they have signing privileges or not. You can monitor on your tv how much they have charged and possibly take away their charging privilege. I don't let mine all charge because if they see something they want in a shop and explain they don't have charging priveliges, the workers will hold it til I come to pay. Each cruise someone loses their card and it's easier knowing someone cannot pick it up and go on a shopping spree.

Have fun with your 5!

[fleckle]

I just completed the set sail pass/on-line check-in but need some advice regarding the Onboard Expense Account choices. Which is the best choice: charge to credit card account or do not set up. I'm afraid that if my 3 children go wondering off to the shops and start charging everything to our account - our bill at the end of the cruise will be huge.

Any suggestions???:confused:

You are the one who authorizes who may charge to your account, so just don't list your children's names when you set up your shipboard account on your credit card. If the children need to ask you to buy them things they want, then there won't be any surprises.

 

(If your spouse or partner is not extra nice to you, you may decide not to list him/her either. :D)

 

Another plus for using a credit card is that you can get cash back, or reward points, or airline miles, or cabin credits, whichever you prefer depending on the type of card you choose to use.

If you pay cash, you get nothing back.

 

Still another plus to using a credit card is the float. You don't actually have to pay anything at all until weeks later when the bill is due, after you get home.

 

[Offtune Angel]

Thanks for the advice. I was just worried about them holding a certain amount of credit on my card, then, being surprised when I went to buy something in port.

Worth the concern, especially if you are fixed income or your investments only pay once monthly. We had this happen to us on Infinity last year. We keep a low limit card just for travelling and pay it off in full each time the statement arrives. Payday came in the middle of the cruise and we had arranged (love internet banking) for the credit card to be paid in full, so that any onboard charges we had would be able to be charged to the credit card with no problem.

 

Imagine our shock at Hilo Hattie's when the card was declined -- for a $40 purchase. We used our backup card at Hilo Hattie's and contacted the credit card company. :eek:

 

It turns out that Infinity uses a company that processes SeaPass accounts nightly and every night places holds on the amount you have charged to your SeaPass. The holds stay for three to five days, before they are withdrawn. The holds stay, even if you pay the amount of your SeaPass within the three days. Apparently the holds can only be removed if Celebrity doesn't actually post the transaction as a firm sale after five days.

 

The irony is that we had a bon voyage gift of $1000.00 OnBoard credit. Knowing this, we got a Cash advance for $500.00 from the Casino. What we didn't know is that the Bon Voyage gift wasn't credited until eight days into the cruise and the Cash Advance was on Day Three (we were at sea a long time:D). Hilo Hattie's was Day Six.

 

Even more ironic -- Celebrity didn't actually charge the SeaPass amounts (which by that time were only $3.54 because of the $500 balance of the OnBoard Credit) to the credit card until four days after we disembarked from the cruise.

[wa.mama]

My 2 cents worth -

 

after reading about post-cruise charges on credit cards, we used cash accounts on board. Piece of cake. When going thru the check in process online, we opted for "cash" account. Once on board, we were able to simply charge everything to our account, even without depositing cash in it. The cash account limit is $500.00, and when we reached it the bank simply called and asked us to settle, either using credit card, cash, or traveller's check. There was no open credit card for miscellaneous charges once we left the ship, and best of all, no large credit card bill when we got home!

[bububr]

Can you say DIVORCE?????????

 

If John ever did that to me, I'd give him a good slap upside the head:D :D

 

Dave:eek:

[nodumblond]

Never mind. ;-)

[kitty9]

wa.mama, they won't let you charge to the sign and sail account if you don't have something on file to back your charges. So, I'm wondering, what are you talking about when you say "even without depositing something"? I know that when Am Ex was driving me crazy about my on board charges, Celebrity put a hold on my sign and sail card, and didn't allow me to charge one dime until I cleared up the problem with Am Ex.

 

You most certainly cannot charge anything on the ship unless you have either cash or a credit card on file to back the charges.

[Lois R]

wa.mama, they won't let you charge to the sign and sail account if you don't have something on file to back your charges. So, I'm wondering, what are you talking about when you say "even without depositing something"? I know that when Am Ex was driving me crazy about my on board charges, Celebrity put a hold on my sign and sail card, and didn't allow me to charge one dime until I cleared up the problem with Am Ex.

 

You most certainly cannot charge anything on the ship unless you have either cash or a credit card on file to back the charges.

 

Darcie, look at the date on this thread....its from 2006:eek:

[kitty9]

Well, duh me. Someone in the thread before mine was really dredging up some old threads. Thanks, Lois.:rolleyes:

[jackdiamond]

Carole,

Thank you for posting.

Jack

[dkjretired]

Darcie, look at the date on this thread....its from 2006:eek:

 

Wanted to see if things changed.....