Using Cash VS Credit Card Question

[macdays1]

I have never given NCL a CC at check-in. Never.. I have always told them when they asked for a CC that I will be using cash. They send me down to a desk at the end of check in and I give them $500 in Travelers Checks and they give me a receipt. During the cruise I check my account. When I need to add more, I do it in $100 increments at the desk. Never had a problem..

 

I'm so glad to hear you say this. I was beginning to think I was the only one who did this. I have never had a problem either. Maybe they do it differenly elsewhere, but in Boston, for the Majesty, they tell me to go to the desk once onboard. That's exactly what I do. Only once, a few years ago, I had to wait for someone from the Purser's Desk to come down to check-in to take my money. She gave me a receipt, and I was on my way. Every other time I have done it at the Purser's Desk onboard. They are fine at check-in once you tell them you are making a cash deposit.

[LFM]

IMHO, the only way to go is with an airline credit card. Last August DH and I went from Washington, D.C. to Vancouver with return from Fairbanks - using FF miles on Northwest. It was a real savings for us. Those credit card miles pile up fast.

[Notaveragelady]

I've used cash, credit cards, debit cards and combinations of all.

 

For the 'pay as you go' society, there is also the option of a prepaid credit card. Several banks sell them. No one knows they are 'prepaid', and they handle the same as a regular credit card, up to the point of the money that is charged/allowed on them.

 

When you check in, if not using a regular credit card, you need to inform NCL of how much you want to put on the 'deposit' or they will put in $1,000. That can be killer on some checking accounts when the hold doesn't clear until several days after the cruise.

[JPAU]

Maybe I'm not too smart, but don't understand the FEAR of using a credit card. A card like NCL or GMC or any of a number of other cards that offer "points" for use and whose bills are paid when due offer great benefits. I have taken $2k off of two recent cruises by using the NCL CC and about $4k on GMC vehicles in the past 5 years. As long as you don't run a balance - you're getting free money. If you have the cash why not use theirs?

[cruisequeen10]

2 years ago I went on the Norwegian Sun to Alaska. I also pay cash for my purchases, as I am a Canadian and some charge cards charge an admin fee over and above the exchange rate. I put down $25 cash when I boarded and every day they hounded me for more money. Every day when they apply the tip, they require that some money is on your account. On the last day, I had paid up for everything I had charged, then at the last minute I went to purchase the video of the cruise and they wouldn't let me charge it because my account had been paid in full. I had to put down some money, then go back so they could charge it to my account. What a hassle. But still I am going to pay my account in cash.

[cruizinwithkids]

Maybe I'm not too smart, but don't understand the FEAR of using a credit card. A card like NCL or GMC or any of a number of other cards that offer "points" for use and whose bills are paid when due offer great benefits. I have taken $2k off of two recent cruises by using the NCL CC and about $4k on GMC vehicles in the past 5 years. As long as you don't run a balance - you're getting free money. If you have the cash why not use theirs?

 

Let's see, today I charged Taco Bell and McDonald's (two kids, two choices). My husband charged his coffee at Dunkin Donuts. I handle the money and tell him to do this, of course I'm too embarrassed too:D The cc bill at the end of the month is outrageous, but there is plenty of money in the bank because we haven't used any cash.

 

I put other people's cruises on my cc. I have gotten their checks but haven't gotten my bill yet.

 

I have seen in the past where people take money from the casino just to up their NCL spending activity. I don't think I can do it because I would be too nervous about losing the money. Has anyone done this?

[macdays1]

Maybe I'm not too smart, but don't understand the FEAR of using a credit card. A card like NCL or GMC or any of a number of other cards that offer "points" for use and whose bills are paid when due offer great benefits. I have taken $2k off of two recent cruises by using the NCL CC and about $4k on GMC vehicles in the past 5 years. As long as you don't run a balance - you're getting free money. If you have the cash why not use theirs?

 

It is NOT a FEAR of using a credit card. It is simply a matter of choice. You choose to use a card, I choose not to. I don't have a bill to pay when my cruise is over, and I'm not concerned about getting and using points from a credit card. It's just not worth it to me. You don't miss something you never had in the first place. I like to deal strictly with cash. It works for me.