Vee2525 Posted March 19, 2018 Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 Hello, Going on a cruise soon! In May 2018. So excited but a Little confused on how the on board expense account works. In particular I would like to know if they put a hold on the credit card in the beginnng of the cruise or is the hold as u spend? Also any insight into on board expense account and anything u think I should know before cruising would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted March 19, 2018 Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 The holds are placed per purchase and aren’t applied until disembarkation (in case you dispute anything or have any credits applied). For this reason, you want to be sure to use a credit card and not a debit card when setting up the account. You can ask to make it a cash-only account if you would rather not have a bunch of holds on your card, but you then need to be sure to have enough cash to pre-load it when you board. If you run out, you won’t be able to buy anything more on the ship until you put more cash on your Sea Pass card. Vee2525, PrincipalTinker and coneyraven 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted March 19, 2018 Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 (edited) Welcome aboard Vee! Feel free to ask any and all questions you may have, there is a wealth of experienced and knowledgeable cruisers here! The on board expense account is an accrual of your daily expenses from 12:00 a.m to 12:00 p.m. It will show you all of your on board charges for the day and totals from day to day. The best way to handle payment at the end of the cruise is to set up auto payment with a credit card of your choice and that can very easily be done when you do your on line registration. Just be sure to indicate whose charges your on board account will also pay (like a wife, friend, etc). There is no hold on your credit card. Some folks like to pay cash at the end of the cruise, but that will mean standing in line (which will be long) to pay off your on board account so you can disembark. And, no, claiming you do not have enough money so you'll just have to stay on board and clean dishes won't work. I know, it's been tried! Let us know which ship, the itinerary and how many and who (wife, friend, kids, parents, etc) will be with you. You will get a LOT of info that way! Oh yeah, be sure to call your credit card folks and give them a travel notification (where your going and when), that way they won't deny any charges you make with it when you're off the ship! Edited March 19, 2018 by rjac Additional info added Vee2525 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted March 19, 2018 Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 1 minute ago, rjac said: There is no hold on your credit card. @rjac, are you sure about that? I read several posts here from folks asking about using a debit card and being advised against it because of all the holds that would be put on the card, tying up the money in the account until final settlement. Is that something unique with how debit cards are handled, even when used as a credit card instead of direct debit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted March 19, 2018 Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 Just now, JLMoran said: Is that something unique with how debit cards are handled, even when used as a credit card instead of direct debit? Joe, Don't know about a debit card. But, I always use a credit card and have not had any problems in a port off the ship, making final payment on board nor an charges on the card after we get off the ship travelling back home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vee2525 Posted March 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 11 minutes ago, rjac said: Welcome aboard Vee! Feel free to ask any and all questions you may have, there is a wealth of experienced and knowledgeable cruisers here! The on board expense account is an accrual of your daily expenses from 12:00 a.m to 12:00 p.m. It will show you all of your on board charges for the day and totals from day to day. The best way to handle payment at the end of the cruise is to set up auto payment with a credit card of your choice and that can very easily be done when you do your on line registration. Just be sure to indicate whose charges your on board account will also pay (like a wife, friend, etc). There is no hold on your credit card. Some folks like to pay cash at the end of the cruise, but that will mean standing in line (which will be long) to pay off your on board account so you can disembark. And, no, claiming you do not have enough money so you'll just have to stay on board and clean dishes won't work. I know, it's been tried! Let us know which ship, the itinerary and how many and who (wife, friend, kids, parents, etc) will be with you. You will get a LOT of info that way! Oh yeah, be sure to call your credit card folks and give them a travel notification (where your going and when), that way they won't deny any charges you make with it when you're off the ship! So it's me and my boyfriend and we plan on using a debit card if that makes a difference? But, we plan on having atleast 1k on the debit card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vee2525 Posted March 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 15 minutes ago, JLMoran said: The holds are placed per purchase and aren’t applied until disembarkation (in case you dispute anything or have any credits applied). For this reason, you want to be sure to use a credit card and not a debit card when setting up the account. You can ask to make it a cash-only account if you would rather not have a bunch of holds on your card, but you then need to be sure to have enough cash to pre-load it when you board. If you run out, you won’t be able to buy anything more on the ship until you put more cash on your Sea Pass card. What are u saying? That the hold for purchases can't be used to pay for the bill at the end of the cruise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted March 19, 2018 Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 I think at this point it’s best if I stop and let the others who’ve spoken on this before chime in. It seems I’m either missing some piece, or misunderstanding something about how debit cards are handled and why it’s not recommended vs using a credit card. It could be that the specific issue I’m thinking of is for bank account debit cards, and for a general purpose pre-loaded debit card like you can get at a store or online, there are no concerns. Vee2525 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted March 19, 2018 Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 13 minutes ago, Vee2525 said: So it's me and my boyfriend and we plan on using a debit card if that makes a difference? But, we plan on having atleast 1k on the debit card. Can't help you with a debit card, sorry, never had one. Best to call/visit your bank and talk to a specialist there. I'm sure some other folks will chime in here tonight. So, which ship & itinerary? Vee2525 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vee2525 Posted March 19, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2018 Just now, rjac said: Can't help you with a debit card, sorry, never had one. Best to call/visit your bank and talk to a specialist there. I'm sure some other folks will chime in here tonight. So, which ship & itinerary? Adventure of the seas Bahamas cruise may 11, 2018. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 2 minutes ago, Vee2525 said: Adventure of the seas Bahamas cruise may 11, 2018. ? Nice! A lot of happy cruisers here that LOVE the Adventure of the Seas. Pretty sure you'll enjoy the itinerary. Book anything and everything (excursions, shows, specialty dining, etc) you can on line before you leave home. Trying to do that once you get on board is a crap shoot. Excursions fill up quick and you may find yourselves standing in line for maybe 30 minutes, or more, only to find it's booked. That's 30 minutes you could have been exploring the ship or sitting by the pool. You're on your FIRST CRUISE! Enjoy it, do what you can head of time on line! Vee2525 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vee2525 Posted March 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 1 minute ago, rjac said: Nice! A lot of happy cruisers here that LOVE the Adventure of the Seas. Pretty sure you'll enjoy the itinerary. Book anything and everything (excursions, shows, specialty dining, etc) you can on line before you leave home. Trying to do that once you get on board is a crap shoot. Excursions fill up quick and you may find yourselves standing in line for maybe 30 minutes, or more, only to find it's booked. That's 30 minutes you could have been exploring the ship or sitting by the pool. You're on your FIRST CRUISE! Enjoy it, do what you can head of time on line! Thanks! Yea we booked drink packages, a cabana in cococay, and a message. Well see what else comes up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 9 minutes ago, Vee2525 said: Thanks! Yea we booked drink packages, a cabana in cococay, and a message. Well see what else comes up. Good for you! Smart planning. I do not recommend any of the Atlantis excursions in Nassau. EXPENSIVE and really not worth it in my opinion as well as others here. Get off the ship, walk around some, get back on the ship (which will be pretty empty, be the way) exercise your drink packages and have fun! ellcee and Vee2525 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vee2525 Posted March 20, 2018 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 Thanks so much! @rjac Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razerbkfan Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 Debit cards are typically handled differently than credit cards. Because the system you are ultimately touching is your checking account rather than a credit account travel providers such as hotels and I assume cruise lines place a hold on the funds as you charge them. They then release the hold a couple of days later if you don't actually incur a charge. This can lead to problems because as holds stack up on a debit card it can reach an internal maximum the bank may have on your account. The bank sets this maximum because all debit transactions are not always instant post, especially when traveling so they typically set a limit on how much you can run against your debit card per day even if your actual balance is larger. Another issue is the provider is allowed to place hold for an amount they assume you might spend. So a hotel might hold $500 when your room charge is only 150 under the idea you might have dinner and drinks that night and it will take a day to know for sure. It is really better to use a credit card to avoid this issue. As others have mentioned you can always go down to the service desk before you leave and pay cash to reduce the amount that they will charge to your credit card. One last tip is diffinitely notify the company that issues your card, the number is on the back of the card, where and when you are traveling. Card companies have a pretty good idea of what your normal spending habits look like. If you live in the Northwest and suddenly start spending money in Florida they might place a hold on your account until you call them. Hard to do when your sipping drinks on a cruise. Hope this helps. Have a great trip. Vee2525, JLMoran and Lovetocruise2002 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skid Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 23 minutes ago, Vee2525 said: Thanks! Yea we booked drink packages, a cabana in cococay, and a message. Well see what else comes up. @Vee2525 , there is a cruise planner sale going on right now---ends at midnight. Drink packages and some excursions are at some of the lowest prices I have seen. If you paid more than what it is now, you can easily cancel and rebook at the lower price. Check it out and hopefully save some money. But hurry--like I said the sales ends at midnight. Good luck and enjoy your cruise. Vee2525 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjac Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 @Razerbkfan Thanks for your post. I've never dealt with a debit card, I'm sure that will help Vee in their planning. Vee2525 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 @Razerbkfan, what if the debit card is not one linked to a bank account, but simply something like a Visa Bux card or other pre-paid / pre-loaded Visa / Mastercard? I think I’ve seen those available at my local super market, or at least online. The sort of cards parents can get for older teens going on a trip who want to be able to use a credit card instead of carrying a wad of cash. Are those treated the same as a card tied to a checking or savings account? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Razerbkfan Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 Honestly don't know how prepaid cards are handled. It probably comes down to reading the fine print which I never do. For example when you check into a hotel they will have a statement at the front desk If you are using a debit card you acknowledge that we may place a hold on your account of X until X days have expired. I just know I've never seen a hold place on my credit card. Vee2525 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrysea13 Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 vee welcome to the blog I have had extreme experience with debit card holds to avoid it being a problem put at least twice what you expect to spend in your debit card they will release the holds in a very few days after the cruise but if you have bills and such about to draw against the card figure them also in 2012 the problem was terrible but this and last year they have stream lined the procedure by watching your spending and only hold what they need to in the past they would hold much larger amounts then necessary (in my opinion)but in this world everyone out there is not honest and they are only protecting themselves check from time to time to see what you have in there and what you spent and customer service will be glad to assist you and this is a common problem faced on board in your situation I would set up a cash account with what you anticipate yes the lines can be long first day but there is no rush at dinner time or later at night first day use cash or use your debit to set up your cash seapass acct you know what you spent against your balance if you need more just add it once again welcome to the blog if I can ever be of help post here and I or one of these very knowledge seasoned cruisers will help CRUISE ON MY NEW FRIEND Vee2525 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsTryThisPlace Posted March 20, 2018 Report Share Posted March 20, 2018 It also depends on the type of debit card. Here in the Cayman Islands, we have been using the visa debits for a very long time. Whereas, in the US they are relatively new. If you a visa debit as a visa card (ie they process it as a credit card) it will have the same holds that they would have put on a credit card and not an overestimation. This is what we have done in the past when using our debit cards at hotels and have never had an issue. I would confirm with your bank, however, to ensure they don't have any fees (I have a Canadian card that charges for this). Also, they hold purchase by purchase from my experience. So I do agree, make sure you have double of what you plan to spend so that you can handle the holds. I am not sure what your spending habits are but at least for onboard 1000 should be enough but don't know about at the stops. Vee2525 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange Crush Posted March 21, 2018 Report Share Posted March 21, 2018 I always link a credit card, but I did notice nightly holds on my credit card account in the $50-$75 range that were cancelled and replaced with the total seapass balance at the end. I imagine there would be similar holds placed on debit cards. Vee2525 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boston Babe Posted March 21, 2018 Report Share Posted March 21, 2018 On 3/19/2018 at 7:38 PM, Vee2525 said: But, we plan on having atleast 1k on the debit card HI V! I would advise not using your debit card UNLESS you don't have an issue with a hold. The reason they hold Debit cards (and hotels do too) as it's attached to a Checking or savings account and they don't want to end up "eating" the charges in case someone runs out of money. You may see those charges up to a week or so even once you are home. Vee2525 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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