Credit Card Hold Upon Check In

[Britnatize]

Do the cruise ships put a hold on your credit card for on board expenses when you check in at the port similar to how hotels do? Want to make sure I'm fully prepared :p

[Cruise-Nut]

I have heard that they do. I heard that it is $500 and they renew that when you get close. I use Amex and don't ever have to worry about it because there is not a credit limit. You can always put cash down if there is a credit card limit issue.

[Britnatize]

Thanks...I wonder if they do on a debit card??

[luv2cruzfrmtx]

Thanks...I wonder if they do on a debit card??

 

We always use our debit card and have never had a problem. My husband even bought me a beautiful bracelet in Cozumel which was nearly $500 which he put on our debit card also and had no problems.

 

Usually when we get on board, the first day at sea, I usually put a couple hundred in cash on our account to hedge of any onboard expenses.

 

I cruised last November with my sister and some of our girlfriends and when I got on the ship, put a couple hundred on my acount. The ship actually cut me a check on the last day for the money I didn't spend.

[NewarkCC]

On our last cruise ('05) I found that RCI put daily holds on my cc for the day's purchases, which was fine. The problem was when they tried to charge the total amount on the final day (it was a 9 day) the holds hadn't cleared. Thus, I needed double the amount of available credit on the card than I was actually using.

 

I was able to see my account over the internet via online banking and it was real obvious what they were trying to do. Of course, the holds cleared several days after the cruise - but by simply being there, they were tying up unused actual dollars on my cc.

[Tucker in Texas]

Many years ago when we first started cruising, we once gave them a card that only had a $500 limit in case the number went "astray." You give them a number and you don't know how many people have access to the account number. We intended to settle with another card that had a much greater limit on it to cover our expenses if they exceeded $500 which we didn't think they would--drinks were around $1.50 and bingo $5 and the option of tipping put on the card was not available. Got a call from the Purser's desk about the third day that we needed to come down and make financial arrangements because our credit card had been denied. We had charged about $100 on our sea pass at that point. That's when we found out about the "hold" they put on cards which they said was $75 a day per cabin and when they chunked in 7 days worth, it got honked.

 

Don't know if they still do it because all our cards have a pretty good limit on them. We do have our son check the account daily with instructions to notify us immediately if he detects any irregularities.

 

Tucker in Texas

[Britnatize]

Texas...thanks! That's what I'm afraid of. I don't deal with credit cards, my bank account will have sufficient funds, however, I've also experienced the 3-4 day double hold with various hotels...more of an inconvenience than anything.

 

Has anyone else had similar experiences?

[cruzr4vr]

The cruise line doesn't put an actual hold the first time you hand the card to them, however they will get authorizations each day and then at the end of a cruise go ahead and charge the entire bill. If the authorizations haven't fallen off as one of the posters said you will be stuck with double the amount sitting in pending until they fall off. This is for a credit card. However, for a debit card they will authorize a daily amount on check-in to ensure that they will get paid even when you use the card for purchases off the ship. Plus with a regular credit card "pre-authorizations" generally fall off after 3 days but with a debit card the "pre-authorizations" can sit there for up to 10 business days. Letty

[spaulo]

We always use our debit card and have never had a problem. My husband even bought me a beautiful bracelet in Cozumel which was nearly $500 which he put on our debit card also and had no problems.

 

Usually when we get on board, the first day at sea, I usually put a couple hundred in cash on our account to hedge of any onboard expenses.

 

I cruised last November with my sister and some of our girlfriends and when I got on the ship, put a couple hundred on my acount. The ship actually cut me a check on the last day for the money I didn't spend.

 

I think I will do that. I did not know that we could put cash into our accounts. I will put a couple of hundred into the account when I get onbaord ship. Then use our cards off ship if we choose :)

Thanks!

[peteukmcr]

Texas...thanks! That's what I'm afraid of. I don't deal with credit cards, my bank account will have sufficient funds, however, I've also experienced the 3-4 day double hold with various hotels...more of an inconvenience than anything.

 

Has anyone else had similar experiences?

 

I don't hold a credit card anymore, but use a 'pre-paid' Mastercard where you load funds in advance so you can use it with merchants who accept Mastercard. The only problem with this is that hotels (Best Western specifically) will request a pre-authorised amount before you check in, then charge the full amount upon check out. However, the card issuer holds onto the pre-authorised amount and deducts it from your available for upto 15 business days, Best Western only release the pre-authorised amount 7 business days after check out. This caused me problems in the past and I don't know how to handle this when I check in for my next cruise.

[Aubiecruiser]

Never heard of a hold being put on a card before. I have seen where guests found out the hard way that they had too low a credit balance. It wasn't a pretty sight.

AMEX - Aubie never cruises without it.:D

It is a good idea to let your credit card company know of your travel plans or they may deny certain expenditures if they are out of your normal routine.

Aubie

[Grandeur]

The cruise line doesn't put an actual hold the first time you hand the card to them, however they will get authorizations each day and then at the end of a cruise go ahead and charge the entire bill. If the authorizations haven't fallen off as one of the posters said you will be stuck with double the amount sitting in pending until they fall off. This is for a credit card. However, for a debit card they will authorize a daily amount on check-in to ensure that they will get paid even when you use the card for purchases off the ship. Plus with a regular credit card "pre-authorizations" generally fall off after 3 days but with a debit card the "pre-authorizations" can sit there for up to 10 business days. Letty

 

I have found that on both credit card and debit card, the authorizations are made and then "drop off". Sometimes I see the final payment post and then my available balance increases because a prior authorization drops. I have found this with every cruise.