Do all cruise lines do a $$/day per pax credit hold?

[Don_In_AZ]

I just found out, much to my dismay, that HAL demands a pre-authorization on your credit card (or a cash deposit) of $60/day per passenger upon embarkation. For our 15 day Hawaii cruise this is $1800 which temporarily doubles the cost of our cruise... I'm not a very happy camper about this but there isn't much I can do about it, and I have no-one but myself to blame for not reading the fine print on the HAL website.

 

I'm also very thankful to CC and it's members over on the HAL boards for alerting me to this issue in advance so I have to time to plan for it...

 

But I was curious if this is standard industry practice or if different lines do it differently?

 

Thx,

Don

[Mary Ellen]

I really don't see how a hold is doubling the cost of your cruise. You aren't charged anything until the end of the cruise - and then only for the amount you have actually charged to your account.

 

I know that where we vacation when we're not cruising (a well-known central FL vacation resort) puts a $1500 hold on our charge card when we check-in.

 

This is a VERY wide spread practice. Heck, even gas stations put a hold on your credit (or debit) card when you swipe it at the pump.

 

You might find this thread on USA Today interesting. It REALLY is a common practice.

[sail7seas]

All hotels, cruise lines and some car rental companies do the same.

 

Your credit card is never charged anything until the actual bill is determined but the funds are set aside and reserved to be sure you have enough credit to cover the anticipated amount of your bill.

 

People may not be aware hotels are doing this but they all do and have for a great many years.

[Aquahound]

Not everyone does it the way you explained HAL does. On RCI, they do pre-approvals every couple of days, as opposed to all at once in the beginning.

[paul929207]

I think Princess puts a $300 hold per person and raises it whenever you reach the hold.

[concour]

I feel that there is a big difference in a cruise line and a hotel putting a hold on your credit card. Your are actually accruing fees for the room when you are staying in a hotel. On a cruise they are putting a hold on the credit card for potential purchases you may or may not make. We seldom drink or buy pictures on board. One cruise last year we had a final bill of $0.45 after OBC. I would hate to have a thousand dollars tied up on a hold if I wanted to buy something on shore.

[Don_In_AZ]

On RCI, they do pre-approvals every couple of days, as opposed to all at once in the beginning.

 

I think Princess puts a $300 hold per person and raises it whenever you reach the hold.

 

Either of these is a more reasonable approach in my opinion.

Don

[greatam]

Either of these is a more reasonable approach in my opinion.

Don

 

 

You can check in using CASH. You are required to put up XXXX dollars (varies depending on cruise and anticipated expenses, like shore excursions). When you get close to using up your cash reserve, they ask you to put up more cash.

 

My employees who go to Alaska for work every year have used this method on Celebrity, HAL and RCCL. They use the last Southbound cruise as a cheapie way to get back to the lower 48 with a little vacation thrown in. Most of them only have debit cards and found out the hard way just how much the cruise lines tie up in pre authorization. If you don't mind carrying a lot of cash (or traveler's checks), this method may be an option.

[Krazy Kruizers]

This is getting to be a pretty common thing.

Just make certain that your credit does have a high limit so that when you go ashore you can still make purchases.

OR

Use a different credit card for purchases ashore.

[G'ma]

I use cash for my onboard account. I start with a certain amount and, if it starts running low, I'll add to it.

 

No surprises, no credit card hold, no problems.....

[retiredonthesea]

This is a common practice for NCL also, (not sure how much they require, but do know enough to cover the service chrg's). We use two cards, one for the ship (stays in the safe) and another one we take onshore for shopping along with small amount of bills for the little things.