Charging

[WINTER]

Can you charge everything you buy that isn't included on the shop, ie bar drinks, shopping on the cruise?

 

[bedgraynexl]

Yes, your credit or debit card is attached to your room key. The ship is pretty much cashless these days though you might have some paper bills on hand for cash tips for room service

 

[MomOTwins]

Couple of exceptions:

1. Placeholder: you can't charge to your onboard account is the placeholder deposit to get 10% off a future cruise. You can still pay with a credit card on file (assuming it loads, the app is glitchy and I did have to re-enter my credit card info, so that is annoying if you've already put the card in the safe), but it will be charged separately to the card and won't show up on your stateroom account.
2. Purchases on excursions: You can charge to your room at any of the food/drink/mech locations on castaway cay, but if you are in a different port on an excursion and want to buy a drink or souvenir (including if you are on a DCL excursion and buying from the excursion vendor--e.g., drinks on a boat tour or a beach club), you need to have a credit card.
3. Tips for porters, excursion vendors and bus drivers: While your core team on the ship gets automatic gratuities on your stateroom account (if you haven't pre-paid them), and while bar, adult-only dining and spa also have an auto-gratuity and you can add more in the app, I don't believe there is a way to charge tips for luggage porters, bus drivers on DCL transfer to/from port, or excursion hosts.

 

[daedelus]

Couple of exceptions:

1. Placeholder: you can't charge to your onboard account is the placeholder deposit to get 10% off a future cruise. You can still pay with a credit card on file (assuming it loads, the app is glitchy and I did have to re-enter my credit card info, so that is annoying if you've already put the card in the safe), but it will be charged separately to the card and won't show up on your stateroom account.
2. Purchases on excursions: You can charge to your room at any of the food/drink/mech locations on castaway cay, but if you are in a different port on an excursion and want to buy a drink or souvenir (including if you are on a DCL excursion and buying from the excursion vendor--e.g., drinks on a boat tour or a beach club), you need to have a credit card.
3. Tips for porters, excursion vendors and bus drivers: While your core team on the ship gets automatic gratuities on your stateroom account (if you haven't pre-paid them), and while bar, adult-only dining and spa also have an auto-gratuity and you can add more in the app, I don't believe there is a way to charge tips for luggage porters, bus drivers on DCL transfer to/from port, or excursion hosts.

1) Correct - and you can charge it to a different card if you like. This was a snap when the Future Cruise desk was operational, and yes, the app is just the worst. I was able to book my placeholders easily enough, but several folks just called Guest Services and had them assist with it. That's where you can use a different card.
2) Correct - depending on where you're going, you might also want to have some cash on hand. Many of the local merchants, especially the "tourist traps" near the port, take plastic but some of the smaller ones might not. And while almost everyone will take the US dollar, you might get local currency in return. Not a big deal if it's a small transaction, but you definitely don't want to end up with a pile of Caribbean dollars - hard to get rid of.
3) Correct - none of the non-ship's crew get auto or electronic gratuities. We always make sure to have some tens, fives and singles for those people. It's also a nice gesture to give a couple of dollars to the room service waiter/deliverer too, but that's totally up to you.

 

[Akck]

One other thing to remember is that if you plan on using a Disney Visa card, you won’t get the shipboard shop discount charging it to your room. You have to present the card for purchases.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

One other thing to remember is that if you plan on using a Disney Visa card, you won’t get the shipboard shop discount charging it to your room. You have to present the card for purchases.

Has this changed? We have always used our KTTW card to charge to the room-linked Disney Visa and received the discount. I think there is a $50 minimum purchase requirement.

 

[Akck]

Has this changed? We have always used our KTTW card to charge to the room-linked Disney Visa and received the discount. I think there is a $50 minimum purchase requirement.

I don’t know if it changed, but my wife bought some things in the Wonder gift shop and didn’t initially get the discount (she didn’t have her wallet on her and I had lost mine, later found). We had to return with the CC and they processed the discount the next day.

 

[LeiaOfAlderaan]

Has this changed? We have always used our KTTW card to charge to the room-linked Disney Visa and received the discount. I think there is a $50 minimum purchase requirement.

Yes, this was the new policy on the Wonder last October. I had no idea they had changed the policy so they held my stuff at the register while I went back to my room to get the cc from the safe.

 

[Ralph&Pam]

Yes, this was the new policy on the Wonder last October. I had no idea they had changed the policy so they held my stuff at the register while I went back to my room to get the cc from the safe.

Good to know. We’ll be on the Wonder for the Hawaii cruises this April/May.

 

[Calantha]

One other thing to remember is that if you plan on using a Disney Visa card, you won’t get the shipboard shop discount charging it to your room. You have to present the card for purchases.

Not necessarily true. On the Dream in January, I presented my card at Guest services and they put a sticker on my KTTW card. I didn’t need to show my Visa card to any of the stores and I got my discount every time. I just presented it with the sticker up so they’d see it.

 

[Intr3pid]

About giving cash to anyone on board, try not to. They can't leave the ship and are too smart to spend it on board at the prices Disney quotes them.. Give them a gift card they can use online or additional tips charged to the room.

 

[happycamper47]

And if your are Gold or Platinum CC level you get a discount anyway with the KTTW card.

 

[DisneyMusicMan]

Not necessarily true. On the Dream in January, I presented my card at Guest services and they put a sticker on my KTTW card. I didn’t need to show my Visa card to any of the stores and I got my discount every time. I just presented it with the sticker up so they’d see it.

They used to have “DV” printed on my KTTW card. Have they stopped that?

 

[Calantha]

They used to have “DV” printed on my KTTW card. Have they stopped that?

I don’t know why they had to give me a sticker - but that’s what the sticker said (i.e., DV). They had my credit card from the time I checked so maybe part of them simplifying the cards (like no more dining rotation)?

 

[Ralph&Pam]

They used to have “DV” printed on my KTTW card. Have they stopped that?

Yes, that’s why I never had a problem getting the discount. I just checked the KTTW card from our last cruise (January, 2020, so pre-Covid suspension), and it was coded DV. Of course, it also noted that we are Platinum, so I may have been getting the Platinum discount instead. Whatever works!

 

[Starwind]

And if your are Gold or Platinum CC level you get a discount anyway with the KTTW card.

And generally with no minimum spend unlike the Disney Visa discount which requires a $50 minimum spend.

Once we became eligible I much preferred the Gold discount because it meant we could buy things as we saw/wanted instead of havign to wait until things tallied up to the minimum.

 

[Akck]

And generally with no minimum spend unlike the Disney Visa discount which requires a $50 minimum spend.

Once we became eligible I much preferred the Gold discount because it meant we could buy things as we saw/wanted instead of havign to wait until things tallied up to the minimum.

I’m sorry to say that we had no problem making the minimum with each shop purchase.

 

[Calantha]

I’m sorry to say that we had no problem making the minimum with each shop purchase.

Same.

 

[Starwind]

I’m sorry to say that we had no problem making the minimum with each shop purchase.

We usually didn't either, but on some visits to the stores we would want to get something small like a magnet or ornament.

 

[lilmc]

I was able to show them an image on Apple Pay that it was a Disney Visa on the account. Once that was verified, she called Guest Services to add that notation on my account for future purchases. Saved a trip back to the cabin.