Payment options?

[fljelad]

I understand that on board ship, all charges for non covered items and services are "billed" to your room. At the end of the cruise when you "check out", is it then possible to pay for everything with cash rather than charging it to a CC?

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

Yes, but there are a couple of wrinkles to this. First, you have to secure your account with a credit card. They'll keep it on file but not charge to it unless (and this is my second point) your balance reaches a certain amount. I think the threshold is $400. At that point, they'll automatically charge the balance to your card.

What you can do is to stop by Guest Services every couple days to check the balance and pay it off with cash.

 

[LAMPSKIES]

Or you can write a check.....The big days are usually the first day...if you have prebooked shore excursions and the day you put your tips on your tab.....you can always go to guest services and pay for the tips.

 

[fljelad]

Lampskies, you say that the first day is a "big day" for spending. Can you clue me in?? (This will be my first trip!)

 

[markºoº]

The first day is big if you have prebooked excursions through DCL. Regardless of what day the excursion is on, your account is charged for all DCL excursions on the first day of the cruise. Also, if you sign up for the unlimited internet and photo packages on the first day these will be included on your bill.

Thus, if you want to pay with cash and you have prebooked excursions, you will probably want to make a cash deposit when you board that will then be used towards your charges.

As stated, DCL will want a CC on file for room charges. DCL does not wait until the end of the cruise to settle the account. As stated, DCL will automatically charge your CC once your account hits a certain level. If you want to pay with cash, you can "prepay" with a deposit that is used towards your account and if you keep your account balance low your CC will automatically be charged.

I believe DCL will accept cash later in the cruise and issue you a credit towards your credit card for any amounts all ready charged but I have never tried this.

 

[ivanova]

another option is for any expenses you know of before boarding (like prebooked excursions) you can purchase stateroom credit in advance of your cruise - you have to give a c/c or debit card for that, but if you have the cash in your checking account you can use your debit card for purchasing your stateroom credit in advance.

 

[LAMPSKIES]

When we did our "replacement sailing" for our cancelled 02 Eastern sailing I wanted to pay cash because of the "refund" DCL owed me. They charged my credit card at the end of the days over 400.00 and I wrote a check the night before for the total amount.....DCL then credited my charge card back...