Credit Card Pre-authorization hold

[Iheoma]

Hi everyone, 

We’re going on our first RCI next Friday (yay!!) and I’m curious about pre-authorized credit card holds. I can’t seem to find a clear answer online or the RCI site. Is there a set amount. (e.g. $50 per day/per person)  or lump amount? We’ve already pre-gratuities and we have the drink package, so this would be for onboard spending. 

TIA

[Bakerette]

I have put a credit Card attached to my sea pass account one 4 different cruises and not once did I have a pre-authorized hold on my credit card any of the 4 times that I added a credit card to my sea pass card/account

The daily charge amount is $500 a day per person for 7+ night sailings & $300 a day for 2 - 5 night sailings, if you go over the daily limit the cruise ship will charge your credit card that is linked with your sea pass card once you have reached the daily limit on your sea pass account.

Once you reached the daily limit the ship will call the guest to inform them that the daily limit has been reached and that they need to pay their bill so that you can continue to charge things to your sea pass account & your sea pass account has been paid after reaching the daily limit you can begin charging things to your sea pass account again the same day that you pay your sea pass account once you have reached the daily limit for each day of your cruise.

[DMLM]

First, enjoy your first cruise!  I expect you will love it and become addicted like the rest of us.

I agree with Bakerette.  I have been on around 14 cruises and always attach a credit card to the seapass account and have not been charged a pre authorization.  We are not really big spenders on the account, and with the OBC we have had,  we typically only have a charge in full at the end of the cruise.

We also have the Royal Caribbean Visa and use that to get double the points for more OBC.  We only use the card for Royal Cruises.  No annual fee so it works for us.

D 

[whitsmom]

I think if you use a debit card then they may put a hold on your card (I've never done this though).  I always use a credit card and have never had any holds.

[AGSLC5]

2 hours ago, Iheoma said:

Hi everyone, 

We’re going on our first RCI next Friday (yay!!) and I’m curious about pre-authorized credit card holds. I can’t seem to find a clear answer online or the RCI site. Is there a set amount. (e.g. $50 per day/per person)  or lump amount? We’ve already pre-gratuities and we have the drink package, so this would be for onboard spending. 

TIA

Whatever amount you charge that day. That night they put a hold for that amount.. Its very annoying because at the end of the cruise you have all these holds AND they do a final charge at the end and you have to wait for all the daily holds to drop off which can take up to 2 weeks.. But there is nothing you can do except have a cash account. 

[Iheoma]

4 hours ago, AGSLC5 said:

Whatever amount you charge that day. That night they put a hold for that amount.. Its very annoying because at the end of the cruise you have all these holds AND they do a final charge at the end and you have to wait for all the daily holds to drop off which can take up to 2 weeks.. But there is nothing you can do except have a cash account. 

Thanks everyone for the information. I don't really understand this statement. How can there be a final charge and the daily hold? Is the final charge the gratituties? 

[AshleyDillo]

5 minutes ago, Iheoma said:

Thanks everyone for the information. I don't really understand this statement. How can there be a final charge and the daily hold? Is the final charge the gratituties? 

A daily hold is like a pre-authorization.  The final charge is what the net result of your on board account is when they add any onboard credit and subtract what you have spent.  

[Yo2slick]

On our cruise last month I had daily holds for our purchases that fell off quickly.  On disembarkation day I had 2 holds still present and the final charge.  The holds fell off the next day no problem.  This was an American Express card and I went with AMEX after reading some people having issues with holds (probably Debit cards) but AMEX was quick to release these holds.  

[AGSLC5]

1 hour ago, Yo2slick said:

On our cruise last month I had daily holds for our purchases that fell off quickly.  On disembarkation day I had 2 holds still present and the final charge.  The holds fell off the next day no problem.  This was an American Express card and I went with AMEX after reading some people having issues with holds (probably Debit cards) but AMEX was quick to release these holds.  

This is exactly what you should do use Amex.. I use a Royal Caribbean Visa and it takes 2 weeks for all the holds to fall off. 

[TXcruzer]

I just set my account up as a cash account, we don't spend much on board, pre pay most all we can.  Early debarkation morning (around 5:00 or so as I am an early riser) I go down to GS, there is never a line, and pay the final bill with my AMEX, never any holds, never any "suspect" charges after the fact, as they can not charge anything else to that card but for the one single transaction. 

[F1guynz]

We are on Independence at the moment. On our credit card I see the pre authorisations applied. We have paid our on board bill with casino winnings so these charges will eventually just drop off our credit card.

As gratuities are built into the fare when booking from Australia / NZ we don’t have a daily gratuity charge, only charges for on board purchases.

[WAAAYTOOO]

3 minutes ago, F1guynz said:

We have paid our on board bill with casino winnings

Woohoo !  Congratulations 

[Rob&Ana]

We just got back from a cruise and they did a hold/pre-authorize for each days charges and the last day the took the total for the 10 days. Most of our holds were gone before the final charge but we still have 1 pending. It's always been like this for us.

[Bakerette]

15 hours ago, Yo2slick said:

On our cruise last month I had daily holds for our purchases that fell off quickly.  On disembarkation day I had 2 holds still present and the final charge.  The holds fell off the next day no problem.  This was an American Express card and I went with AMEX after reading some people having issues with holds (probably Debit cards) but AMEX was quick to release these holds.  

On 4 different occasions I have added a debit card to my sea pass account each of those 4 separate times & another time I have added a credit card to my sea pass account and when I added a debit card to my sea pass all 4 times  & also when I added a credit card to my sea pass I did not have any pre-authorization holds on my credit card & debit card.

[whenismynextcruise]

I am curious as to why the holds matter at all? I always put a card on my account (AMEX) and I have never even looked at the account during the cruise. We get the final statement at the end of the cruise. I review that and then look for the charge when I get home. I have never had a problem with the 2 of them reconciling. So I guess I dont understand what the holds even really mean.

[Yo2slick]

3 hours ago, whenismynextcruise said:

I am curious as to why the holds matter at all? I always put a card on my account (AMEX) and I have never even looked at the account during the cruise. We get the final statement at the end of the cruise. I review that and then look for the charge when I get home. I have never had a problem with the 2 of them reconciling. So I guess I dont understand what the holds even really mean.

They are essentially charging your card temporarily to make sure you can cover it.  That affects your available credit available and if it takes 2 weeks to fall off you are holding onto charges you have already paid for on your final bill.  No different than buying something and returning it to the store.  They take your money right there and it takes them 3-5 days to return your money back to your account.  Thats why I like using my AMEX because the holds fall off very quickly.

[WAAAYTOOO]

I have never had any kind of issue when using a credit card on Royal (except for the time that we forgot to tell the CC company ahead of time.  Never made that mistake again).  Our bill is usually in the $15-20K range when we finally disembark and we’ve never had a hold or maxed out our credit or anything of the like.  Maybe it’s the difference between using a CC and a debit card ?

[AGSLC5]

6 hours ago, whenismynextcruise said:

I am curious as to why the holds matter at all? I always put a card on my account (AMEX) and I have never even looked at the account during the cruise. We get the final statement at the end of the cruise. I review that and then look for the charge when I get home. I have never had a problem with the 2 of them reconciling. So I guess I dont understand what the holds even really mean.

Well the holds eat up available credit.. Now if you have a card with a large credit limit then it wouldn't matter to you at all at you wouldn't notice.. But if you are someone with more limited means and only have a credit card with lets say a $1,000 or $2,000 limit you don't want your card being eaten up by pending charges because then you can't use the card fully.. So really that's the only reason I can think of where it matter lol. 

[AGSLC5]

29 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I have never had any kind of issue when using a credit card on Royal (except for the time that we forgot to tell the CC company ahead of time.  Never made that mistake again).  Our bill is usually in the $15-20K range when we finally disembark and we’ve never had a hold or maxed out or credit or anything of the like.  Maybe it’s the difference between using a CC and a debit card ?

Rate it totally depends on which card you use and which bank backs the card.. If I remember you use Royal Caribbean Visa Correct? I have the same card and the only issue I have is it takes 5-10 days for the daily holds to drop off.. Not really a big deal just slightly annoying.. But My friend uses Amex and he never has an issue.. Then one time I used my Chase Visa and also never had an issue lol so I think it might be which bank backs which card but I could be wrong. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

6 minutes ago, AGSLC5 said:

Rate it totally depends on which card you use and which bank backs the card.. If I remember you use Royal Caribbean Visa Correct? I have the same card and the only issue I have is it takes 5-10 days for the daily holds to drop off.. Not really a big deal just slightly annoying.. But My friend uses Amex and he never has an issue.. Then one time I used my Chase Visa and also never had an issue lol so I think it might be which bank backs which card but I could be wrong. 

Yes, we have the RCCL Visa card.

[HeWhoWaits]

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I have never had any kind of issue when using a credit card on Royal (except for the time that we forgot to tell the CC company ahead of time.  Never made that mistake again).  Our bill is usually in the $15-20K range when we finally disembark and we’ve never had a hold or maxed out our credit or anything of the like.  Maybe it’s the difference between using a CC and a debit card ?

If you're taking multiple trips a year and spending $15000 or more ONBOARD each trip, I'm available to be adopted!

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 minute ago, HeWhoWaits said:

If you're taking multiple trips a year and spending $15000 or more ONBOARD each trip, I'm available to be adopted!

Lol. Not spending...just charging.

[HeWhoWaits]

2 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Lol. Not spending...just charging.

In that case, you're either losing too much in the casino or carrying off a large sum of cash!

[AshleyDillo]

1 hour ago, HeWhoWaits said:

In that case, you're either losing too much in the casino or carrying off a large sum of cash!

Yup..carrying off that large sum of cash and paying off the credit card bill immediately.  Then reaping the rewards from the credit card points!!!

[Clive]

I am baffled. We gave RC a pre-pay Revolut Mastercard card to swipe when we boarded. I topped this up as we went along, but when we came to leave the ship we were stopped at the gangplank and had to queue for an hour to pay 'an outstanding balance'. By the time I got to the desk I was too exhausted to argue so paid what they said I owed. When I got home I checked my Revolut statement and found that at the time I tried to leave I had in fact already paid more than the total bill and when I added up what they took in total it was twice my bill. I did get money back about 3-4 weeks after after making 2 phone calls, but I got no explanation or apology. I put in a complaint and got a call from RC, but what I got amounted to a justification and there was certainly no intent on RC's part to look any further into what happened - it seems this kind of treatment is normal, well it's never happened to me before with any other cruise line, car hire, hotel etc, and it won't happen again with RC as I will not be taking any future cruises with them.

[ChessE4]

33 minutes ago, Clive said:

I am baffled. We gave RC a pre-pay Revolut Mastercard card to swipe when we boarded. I topped this up as we went along, but when we came to leave the ship we were stopped at the gangplank and had to queue for an hour to pay 'an outstanding balance'. By the time I got to the desk I was too exhausted to argue so paid what they said I owed. When I got home I checked my Revolut statement and found that at the time I tried to leave I had in fact already paid more than the total bill and when I added up what they took in total it was twice my bill. I did get money back about 3-4 weeks after after making 2 phone calls, but I got no explanation or apology. I put in a complaint and got a call from RC, but what I got amounted to a justification and there was certainly no intent on RC's part to look any further into what happened - it seems this kind of treatment is normal, well it's never happened to me before with any other cruise line, car hire, hotel etc, and it won't happen again with RC as I will not be taking any future cruises with them.

I am sorry you had such a frustrating experience.  In 15 cruises the only issue I had was when my credit card issuer sent me a new card just before the cruise, so the information Royal had online wasn't up-to-date.  That forced me to check with Guest Services on disembarkation.  This sort of situation could have happened with any cruise line.  So I always check my account status on the TV in the stateroom just to make sure there are no surprises at the end of the cruise.  On departure day, I always check the provided paper statement.  I find that since we carry off our luggage, we must get up early.  There is no line at Guest Services around 6:30 AM should anything be amiss....Best of luck on your next vacation, whatever you choose to do.  Royal should have apologized.  If it makes you feel better, they didn't apologize when they lost my wife's suitcase, either.

[Mr. Candyman]

1 hour ago, Clive said:

I am baffled. We gave RC a pre-pay Revolut Mastercard card to swipe when we boarded. I topped this up as we went along, but when we came to leave the ship we were stopped at the gangplank and had to queue for an hour to pay 'an outstanding balance'. By the time I got to the desk I was too exhausted to argue so paid what they said I owed. When I got home I checked my Revolut statement and found that at the time I tried to leave I had in fact already paid more than the total bill and when I added up what they took in total it was twice my bill. I did get money back about 3-4 weeks after after making 2 phone calls, but I got no explanation or apology. I put in a complaint and got a call from RC, but what I got amounted to a justification and there was certainly no intent on RC's part to look any further into what happened - it seems this kind of treatment is normal, well it's never happened to me before with any other cruise line, car hire, hotel etc, and it won't happen again with RC as I will not be taking any future cruises with them.

Is it just me or has anyone noticed that some members that have said they will never sail with Royal again, it's usually their first and only post and that post is always towards the tail end of a topic, that they didn't even create.....but yet they are on a Royal Caribbean based forum.  

[GrandmaAirplane]

30 minutes ago, Mr. Candyman said:

Is it just me or has anyone noticed that some members that have said they will never sail with Royal again, it's usually their first and only post and that post is always towards the tail end of a topic, that they didn't even create.....but yet they are on a Royal Caribbean based forum.  

These “one-post-wonders” are a pest infestation all over Internet forums. Ignore them and FGS don’t feed them!

[Mr. Candyman]

7 minutes ago, GrandmaAirplane said:

These “one-post-wonders” are a pest infestation all over Internet forums. Ignore them and FGS don’t feed them!

Even with most one post wonders, I can understand coming into a place to "vent" where others may have experienced something similar and/or can relate.  But having already made up their minds about the company, and then lurk around the boards waiting for that one specific post that coincides with their experience, makes no sense.  I already spend way too much time online looking up stuff I'm interested in.....definitely don't have time to troll.

[GrandmaAirplane]

53 minutes ago, Mr. Candyman said:

But having already made up their minds about the company, and then lurk around the boards waiting for that one specific post that coincides with their experience, makes no sense.  I already spend way too much time online looking up stuff I'm interested in.....definitely don't have time to troll.

Exactly. It reduces what may have been a legitimate gripe, at some point in time, to the worthless status of a troll post.

[twangster]

1 hour ago, GrandmaAirplane said:

Exactly. It reduces what may have been a legitimate gripe, at some point in time, to the worthless status of a troll post.

They are often founded in ignorance as well. 

The amount of time a hold takes to fall off a card is set by the bank that provided the card.  With debit cards and prepaid credit cards they extend the time a hold remains so they don't find themselves stuck if a charge later actually posts.  It's not Royal that sets this timer, the card provider does to prevent fraud that often occurs with debit cards and prepaid credit cards.