Unexpected Cruise Charges - Have You Experienced This Too?

[jwpamp]

Has anyone else had additional charges on their card from the cruise? I have $300+ in charges that are "pending".

They will drop off in 5 days if the transactions aren't "completed" by then, but was just wondering if anyone else had been charged additional by the cruiseline?

 

[BethCooks4U]

Could that be your beverage bill?

 

[jwpamp]

No, our bill was $410. That has already been charged and confirmed with the card company.

These are additional random charges made above and beyond that...if anyone else had charges "pending", let me know. That would mean that it's a normal thing. The credit card company said to check back in 5 days to make sure they are off.

 

[DebbieJ]

Nope, my charges on my card match the statement they slid under my door that last morning. What I did notice is that I had three separate charges, but together they equal my total. Hope you get it cleared up!

 

[twinkie10]

Anyone else have more pictures to share?

 

[PampMomof3]

I don't have any pending charges either! I'm so sorry Janice for your terrible luck.

 

[jwpamp]

I called Royal and had them call the credit card company to release the pending charges. I wouldn't have worried, but we spent $410 on the ship and had another $300+ being held per them.

Just didn't want to get charged twice what we spent!

 

[PamperedChefDebi]

Janice, how come we never ran into each other on the ship?

 

[jwpamp]

Janice, how come we never ran into each other on the ship?

I think there were 3000 people on that ship! It was like a small town!!

 

[PamperedChefDebi]

True! But there were so few of us from here on the Majesty, I was trying to keep an eye out! I know I was stopped three times by fellow CSers.

 

[smspamperedchef]

I called Royal and had them call the credit card company to release the pending charges. I wouldn't have worried, but we spent $410 on the ship and had another $300+ being held per them.

Just didn't want to get charged twice what we spent!

If you used your debit card (as did I) as the card for "additional" charges there was a pending amount. I wasn't real happy about it as I settled my bill with cash and then got home and looked online and said I had charges pending for the same amount I had already paid in cash. I called Royal and they just check to be sure we have funds in the account and the bank "authorizes" it. I explained that I still wasn't happy as there shouldn't have been any authorization since I paid cash and if I had known it was going to show pending I would have just paid with my debit and just deposited the cash. All you have to do is have Royal contact your bank directly, they'll need to fax over some kind of proof or something and the bank will release it. It was taken care of the day I called!

 

[jwpamp]

No, used my PC Visa Credit Card. I checked my "Available Balance" today to make sure that there weren't any other charges on the card (since I pay it off each month in full). That's when I realized that they had placed a hold on the additional $300.

They took care of it quickly, though.

 

[Shawnna]

Several years ago my husband and I went on a trip to Freeport Bahamas. I made sure our CC were paid in full long before we left so we could use them and not have to carry as much cash. We flew into Florida the night before and paid the hotel bill with his CC. We arrived in Freeport the next afternoon and when we tried to give his CC as the "hold" card it was denied. They tried several times and it was denied every time. So, I gave them my CC number and we called the CC company. They said the hotel in Florida had put a hold on his entire CC available balance...about 1500.00...in case of room problems...missing or broken items. We were furious...a $39 hotel room and they put a hold on 1500.00. It was 2 weeks before they took it off. I was so glad that we still had my CC or we would not have been able to do all the things we did. It stinks, but I guess hotels, cruise lines, etc. can do it because you might get away with one of their towels.

 

[jwpamp]

Yep, we don't carry balances on our credit cards (I don't want to pay any interest -- EVER!), and we have a lot of available credit on that card, but didn't think it was a good idea to leave the "pending" charges on there and find out later that they were actually charged....trying to fix it after the fact would probably be a mess.

We have never had problems before, but why wait til now?? I am sure that they do this to everyone's card and if you don't check your "available balance", or have previous balances on your card, you would never know -- and they would probably drop off after the 5 days as the cruiseline said.

I can't believe that they can put THAT much of a hold on your card though, Shawnna ($1500 for a $39 charge!!). That is crazy!

 

[Shawnna]

I guess hotels have a lot of customers who vandalize the rooms and steal stuff. It is sad that everyone has to pay for that sort of thing. That is why hotels won't take cash anymore unless you give them a deposit too. The first year I went to conference I paid cash for my room when I checked in and had to give them a $100 deposit also...I got it back at check-out, but it was still agravating.

 

[NooraK]

It sounds like the initial hold the credit card placed when you first gave them your card. Check for the "Transaction Date" if the card company's website shows it. If it is the same as, or before, the transaction date of the official charge, then that's the case. As long as it's just an authorization, you're not responsible for paying for it, and it will fall off, usually in 5 days.

The credit card company will probably not take it off unless the cruiseline calls to request that, which is unlikely, and probably unnecessary. It's nothing to worry about though, just the way credit cards work. Unfortunately, since you're not responsible for paying for it as an authorization, there isn't much that can be done to dispute it yet either. The charge must be posted to do that.

The good news is that with a credit card you have lots of rights as a consumer. You have usually 60 days to dispute the charge, plus you're not required to pay on the charge while it is in dispute. This means your money's not tied up waiting on the credit. Any fees or finance charges caused by the disputed charge are also credited to you when the charge is credited.

This of course, is only if the charge posts, which it doesn't sound like it will. I work for the fraud and authorizations department of the credit card division of a very large national bank, and I see it every day.

If you have more specific questions, feel free to PM me, but I don't think you have anything to worry about.