carribean cruise spending...

james3333

hi guys, iam off to the carribean in dec, a cruise.
i have a halifax one card, but i dont think i can spend on this abroad without chrarges. i have 9 months 0% left on it)
what is my best bet?
not sure with a cruise wether or not EACH transaction is counted or wether all my spending goes onto a tab and then its a SINGLE TRANSACTION at the end of the holiday, indeed, does this make any difference?
or should i just balance transfer to a free abroad spending card?

jillie1974

hi
on a cruise ship you are usually given a swipe card and you hand this over everytime you purchase a drink etc... the last night on board you then settle the bill. this can be done usually by credit card or travellers cheques. some companies allow you to pay in advance so you can budget bettre but not all do this!

ckerrd

In my experience you sign for everything and then pay one bill at the end.

So only one transaction.

I thought the golden rule of 0% balance transfer card was never ever use them for spending?

sandy2_2

On the last evening of a 1 week cruise you get an itemised bill.
When you get your cruise documents there will probably be an advance credit card registration form so you don't have to queue on the last night of the cruise to pay the bill. On the registration form look and check if they will make a charge for currency conversion, ie American Cruise companies charge in dollars and then add about 3% charge to convert to Sterling if that what your credit card bill is paid with. Check with your credit card compnay now to see what their charge will be for conversion. Don´t forget they will also add a daily per person charge for tipping to cabin steward, dining room staff and the back room people (KPs and the like) but there will be an automatic service charge added to your bar bill for each of your drinks orders. Quite often you will find that odering a coffee in the bar, means you will be charged for it, whereas if you went to one of the self service restaurants it´s free.
Which cruise line are you going with?

james3333

iam going with P&O on the 'oceana' cruise ship.
i have a few grand in savings but i wanted to pay for the cruise and all my spending on the ship on a credit card and keep my saving intact.
is this not the best way to do it?

iam not bothered about a 'few quid' charges for conversion.

so, i go on the ship, at the end of the holiday i get an itemisewd bill for e.g £300.
i then pay this £300 with my credit card and incure a 3% charge for conversion making a total of £309

correct?

sandy2_2

I think Pand O have their billing system in sterling, whereas Princess their sister company use US dollars.

sandy2_2

Yes that´s right, but you could check with Pand O to confirm billing will be in sterling