Credit card or Cash?

[moonlitmagik]

I don't have a credit card. I do however, have a visa debit. I do not like giving my debit card number to anybody for any reason and I certainly don't like businesses that take imprints of my card. For any reason what so ever. The number will be in plain sight for anybody who has access to that information to see and that makes me nervous, really really nervous.

 

I used that card to pay for my deposit through my TA and will use that card to future pay on the cruise. HOWEVER... I do NOT (repeat do not) want to link that card to my onboard account, I feel much more comfortable using a set amount of cash, as we are probably going to book our shore excursions in advance and pay for them. I'm just worried about my bank account being drained! (happened before locally with a gas station, they did a card imprint because their validaters were down, two days later account was EMPTY)

 

Can I feasably do this, tell NCL that the same card I paid for is either not mine or whatever and that I plan on giving them a set amount of cash (once it's gone it's GONE) and if they don't like it well I dont know what I'll do...or do they already have that card number and wil they use it for the seapass thingie to begin with (henceforth me being screwed).

[kat89447]

I was on the Spirit in June and like you I only have a Visa Debit card. I do not use regular credit cards and am very protective of my bank account debit card. I booked most of my shore excursions separately and direct with the company and used cash for my on board account. It was very easy and would do that in the future as well. When you go thru embarkation you will fill in your passenger stuff at one table and then have to go to the purser's table to hand over your cash deposit. It is one extra step in the process, but it took about 10 extra minutes. You need to put down enough to cover your auto gratuities and figure out what your daily charges might be. You can add to it throughout the cruise, but cannot draw off of it like you could with a credit card. I also suggest that you check at least every other day to check charges in case you have a weird charge or to find out where you are with your credit. Auto gratuity is charged one day at a time, not one big chunk. I used to go by the desk late at night (10:30) and never had a line to wait in so it was easy. The last morning of your cruise they will have certain hours to get back any unused money (8am -9am on my cruise). They pay you back in cash and once again it was easy.

I do suggest you check your account often because mistakes can happen and are easily fixed if you don't wait till the end of the cruise. Another suggestion is that if you are unsure how much to put down initially, then put down a minimal amount. I was unsure how much I would spend in San Juan and this was my "shopping" port, so I put down a couple hundred in the beginning and added to it after I did my shopping. I had a budget in mind for the total trip and this helped me stick to it. A general rule of thumb most people seem to go with is a $100.00 dollars a day per adult, this seems to be pretty accurate in my opinion.

[moonlitmagik]

thank you for that information, I appreciate it. My husband and I are not shopaholics, nor do we drink alcoholic beverages. Our cruise is only 4 nights long and I hear the international bazaar in freeport is not really worth going to. I don't think we'll spend quite near 200 dollars a day between the two of us but maybe 100 a day between the two of us is more like it.

 

I just do not like giving my bank account information to anybody, and knowing my luck they'll see a charge from a foreign country and freeze my accounts totally and I won't be able to fix it until I come back home.

 

That won't help me if I'm stuck in miami and need cash for a hotel room!! lol

[skf]

Another possibility would be to get yourself a Visa (or whatever) gift card for use when you do not want to carry much cash. There is only a limited amount of $$$ and it is in no way connected to your bank accounts.

Steve

[moonlitmagik]

I never thought about that!! I keep seeing those commercials for greendot cards. Has anybody used those for cruise purchases and excursions, etc?

Also I do not want to carry my purse in ports with me, and a money belt seems rather absurd what can you guys reccommend?

[skf]

I haven't used greendot, but some here at CC do like it. You can get a little wallet & passport holder at a luggage shop. They hang around the neck. I keep a few dollars in my pocket & only have to go into the wallet occasionally.

Steve

[fann1sh]

Moonlitmagik, Greendot has fees: to initiate the card, and to refill it. I wouldn't normally consider this the best use of money....but it may be worth it to relieve your anxiety, save time+ hassle in a credit card-centric world.

 

If you used cash, that line up on the last day to settle your account/get back balance of your deposit can turn into a real circus. It depends how many people are using cash on your particular voyage.

 

Have you settled on which cruise line you'll be travelling with? See how many dollars per day they preauthorize/put a hold on the credit card, or want as a deposit. It may be MUCH higher than what you plan on spending.

 

Perhaps the best way to find that preauthorization amount is to post on the boards here. The customer service departments of some lines give wildly different and contadictory advice, depending on which agent you talk to. :rolleyes:

[moonlitmagik]

fann1sh: march 3rd norwegian sky 4 night bahamas round trip miami. Are greendot's fees quite high? I really do not want anybody having access to my debit card so that's why I ask. I am one of the millions of americans with crappy credit, and as long as I dont have a credit card I can keep my spending under control. It's just that if they do an imprint, and then do a high dollar amount authorization, that amount could EASILY overdraw my bank account and cause my bills etc that I may have paid before hand to come back BOUNCED. I don't want to relive that nightmare again TYVM, i just went through it a couple months ago.

 

NVM... I just discovered through my TA's website (AAA southern oregon) that they carry Visa TravelMoney cards, which is great, that means that they can be used for purposes just like this. Ingenious!

[Sarae]

I have one called All Access from netspend dot com. I have used it on every cruise. I put an amount I want and then I am set. However,you won't be able to add money to the card when onboard. So make sure you add enough at the beginning. I figure $75-100 per day - to include my tips.

[moonlitmagik]

thanks for the info sarae. Is it visa or mc? I might want one that I can add to while onboard just in case... but then again using their satellite phones even to dial a 1800 number is probably really expensive. lol

[TexasCPA]

I just do not like giving my bank account information to anybody, and knowing my luck they'll see a charge from a foreign country and freeze my accounts totally and I won't be able to fix it until I come back home.

It's important that you call your financial institution and let them know that you will be out of the country and when. My bank even makes notes of where I'll be on what days so they can double check that it's really me. They'll also refuse charges for anyone using it again in a country/place I've visited earlier in my trip. For anyone using credit cards, I do STRONGLY recommend calling those companies as well as many will also take similar notes and place similar restrictions on later purchases.

 

Hope this helps.

[trvlgalnguy]

I will be going on a princess cruise,in a few days,they have my credit card info,is that all I need for the spending acct. we are also bringing cash but i would like to charge whatever I am spending on the ship.Is that how it works?

[Plant]

I will be going on a princess cruise,in a few days,they have my credit card info,is that all I need for the spending acct. we are also bringing cash but i would like to charge whatever I am spending on the ship.Is that how it works?

 

If you've put your credit card info into the Princess site you'll be fine.

[Sarae]

moonlitmagik - the netspend is a visa card. I really like mine - have been using it for several years - in fact any time I travel.

[Sarae]

My netspend is a visa - however I think they have mc also. I use my for all my travel -for several years now. I never use my debit card for travel --don't believe in credit cards. My ex had run 2 that we had up so high that it took me 5 years to pay it off..he paid nothing on it.

[moonlitmagik]

Good info TexasCPA! I will call my financial institution, but for this case I think I'm better off leaving it at home in my safe. Only things I'm bringing with me are one of our cell phones, our passports, driver's licenses just in case, and the prepaid visa. nothing else... I don't want to risk it and while I know visa has a no fault policy, I don't know how that applies to my bank and I'd rather be safe than sorry. just leave enough in there for the bills that month and withdraw the rest (which probably won't be much at this point.)

[blackrose602]

Everyone's onboard spending choices are different. Like you, we do not deal with credit cards and do not enjoy giving out our debit card numbers. We've found that cash works well!

 

Dad doesn't drink at all, and I drink infrequently. Neither of us are big shoppers. We sometimes play Bingo, and pay cash for the cards. We also put a few dollars cash into the slot machines, and don't otherwise gamble.

 

We did two 7 night cruises in the past month, one to the Eastern Caribbean from Port Canaveral, and the other from NY to New England and Nova Scotia. Our shore excursions were paid for in advance (one in each port in the Caribbean, and only a single excursion in Nova Scotia).

 

We found that on both cruises, posting $200 per person cash for the onboard account was way more than enough. We bought soda cards, I did my handful of drinks, we did a little shopping, and we both got cash back at the end. We also took $200 cash per person to use in ports, for extra tips and for Bingo cards/raffle tickets. Again, we had cash left over.

 

I know our spending is low compared to many other people's, but we really didn't go out of our way to keep costs down. That's just how much it cost.

 

So, my vote would be to post a minimal amount of cash onboard (maybe $100 each for your 4 day cruise), and bring an equivalent amount to use in port. Just my two cents.

[moonlitmagik]

we're not big spenders or drinkers. Gambling shmambling, we do that in vegas or reno (both of which are close to home.) we went on the ship for the amenities... pools, relaxing, shows, etc. my opinion you've seen one casino you've seen them all. lol

[simplelife]

My Credit Union offers prepaid Visa cards at no fee or a very nominal one.