Pre-Paid Debit Cards

[derekthesailor]

I've just been told by NCL (UK office) that pre-paid debit cards are not accepted for on-board expenditure:mad:

[Philob]

I belive that is also the case on this side.

 

Its the "pre-paid" debit card, not one linked to a bank account.

[nyflush]

On our Feb Gem cruise we used a prepaid visa for my son's friend to check in with, It had a $300 limit and it was not a problem to use for his onboard account at that time. Maybe they changed it? I would call again.

[Tink35]

I was also wondering....could we put down cash or traveler's checks to cover the onboard account? Thanks for the help in advance.

[Philob]

I was also wondering....could we put down cash or traveler's checks to cover the onboard account? Thanks for the help in advance.

 

Yes, but you should check your account regulary and recharge as needed.

[garycarla]

Yes, you can do cash.

Yes, you can do regular debit cards, but I would suggest against it. They do a hold, and unless you have lots of extra funds, you never know what can happen.

 

Credit cards are the very best way to handle this stuff. If you pay it all off when you get home, there is no charge. No hassle. AND, you have extra funds available if there is a problem, like having to fly home or emergency medical, etc.

[derekthesailor]

I'll just have to use cash, with a credit card back-up.

 

I don't want to use a credit card because you don't know the exchange rate you are getting until the bill arrives, and with the present volitility in the markets, I don't want a nasty suprise.

 

If I get Dollars from my bank now, I should get $1.92 or so and can budget my excursions.

[lincslass64]

I was also wondering....could we put down cash or traveler's checks to cover the onboard account? Thanks for the help in advance.

 

Yes you can,its $300 per cabin minimum.

[FairFX]

Hi Folks

 

We made a quick call to NCL this morning and made it clear that our card was a Prepaid Mastercard - it's accepted anywhere you see the MasterCard logo which includes NCL :)

Our US Dollar card rate today is $1.95.

 

David

FairFX

[terrymtex01]

I've just been told by NCL (UK office) that pre-paid debit cards are not accepted for on-board expenditure:mad:

 

Derek.. Worse comes to worse you can always just take the cash out of your debit card and use that as a deposit on your room. So either way you should be covered. Happy Sailing.

[lincslass64]

Derek.. Worse comes to worse you can always just take the cash out of your debit card and use that as a deposit on your room. So either way you should be covered. Happy Sailing.

 

Good idea to do this :) Our neighbour just tried to pay for her cruise using a tuxedo prepaid mastercard and she had over £4000 on it for this purpose it was refused,this card is also backed by the Newcastle Building Society as is the FX card.

[blindrid]

There are lot of subtle issues with prepaid cards so a lot of merchants don't bother. As to the subjet of using debit cards, don't get me started and search prior discussions on the use of debit cards.

[Kwynot]

Last year I used a pre-paid credit card for my cabin. I had no problems because the card was worth more than I spent, and when I got home, I just had to wait 2-3 weeks for NCL to clear up my account & I had credit still left to use.

 

I intend to do the same thing again this year. I would never use a debit card attached to my personal banking accounts because the carrier could just block out my entire account & it would take a while to get that straightened out. :eek:

[salty dingo]

I believe you could use the pre-paid debit card to secure your account. Here's how: before you board, go to a bank and convert the card to cash. Then secure your card with the cash.

 

NCL will accept a cash account, however there is a minimum amount (so make sure your debit card plus any cash you add meets that amount.)

 

Also, if you approach your spending limit, your ability to make purchases with the card will cease. The good news is you can still use it to get into your room and on and off the ship.:D

[terrymtex01]

There are lot of subtle issues with prepaid cards so a lot of merchants don't bother. As to the subjet of using debit cards, don't get me started and search prior discussions on the use of debit cards.

 

I don't know if all of this got started because of me saying "prepaid debit card".. but I meant a prepaid credit card. I just assumed that with a prepaid credit card you would be able to take it to a ATM machine, put in a PIN and get some of the cash you have on the prepaid card. To me that is a debit card.

 

I WOULD NEVER give ANYONE my debit card attached to one of our checking accounts. I don't even use them to buy things at mini markets, etc. I only use them to get cash at the ATM machines whenever i need that. PLEASE think twice before you use a debit card attached to your checking account for something like onboard charges on a cruise cause they could tie up thousands of dollars from your banking account and it take weeks to get it cleared.

[Philob]

I don't know if all of this got started because of me saying "prepaid debit card".. but I meant a prepaid credit card. I just assumed that with a prepaid credit card you would be able to take it to a ATM machine, put in a PIN and get some of the cash you have on the prepaid card. To me that is a debit card.

 

While there might be a technical difference, I think the terms can be used interchangeably. I recently got my cell phone rebate in the form of a Visa debit card (says so on the front); but the instructions says to tell the cashier to treat it as a credit card transaction :confused:

[blindrid]

I don't know if all of this got started because of me saying "prepaid debit card".. but I meant a prepaid credit card. I just assumed that with a prepaid credit card you would be able to take it to a ATM machine, put in a PIN and get some of the cash you have on the prepaid card. To me that is a debit card.

 

I WOULD NEVER give ANYONE my debit card attached to one of our checking accounts. I don't even use them to buy things at mini markets, etc. I only use them to get cash at the ATM machines whenever i need that. PLEASE think twice before you use a debit card attached to your checking account for something like onboard charges on a cruise cause they could tie up thousands of dollars from your banking account and it take weeks to get it cleared.

 

Yes, I was talking about a debit card. There have been some pretty spirited discussions on the issue. As you stated, you just don't have the same protection as a CC.

[garycarla]

Debit Cards @#$%^$

 

Just had a friend that had his debit card numbers stolen. Charges went wild. Sure, they will get their money back in time, but meanwhile the mortgage did not get paid, the power company did not get paid, the cable company did not get paid. All their checks were bounced. They have no money to get to. What a mess.

 

Use a credit card and pay it off. So much easier.

[Guest carlogesualdo]

Credit and debit are accounting terms. Anytime the bank has your money up front and you spend using the card, that's a debit card. If you spend with the card first, then pay it back later, that's a credit card. So a prepaid card is a debit card, even if it has a Mastercard or Visa logo. Rental car companies don't like debit cards and evidently neither do cruise lines. It would seem the cruise lines want you to be able to run a basically unlimited tab and a (prepaid) debit card doesn't really allow for that. Plus, if you have other charges against it, they could get in the way of the cruise line getting what is owed to them, I suppose. Consider this, though...if you handed your hard-earned money over to buy one of those cards, you really should reconsider. Those things are generally loaded with fees - monthly account maintenance fees, ATM withdrawal fees, expiration dates, etc. For that, you may as well get a checking account and use a regular debit card, even temporarily. At least you get a few more consumer protections.