02/09/2024
Found this information on another site which was put together by another fellow cruiser around the subject of spending, which hopefully answers some questions for 1st time cruisers
Just a heads up for First Time Cruisers.
Payment for Goods on Board All the P&O ships are a totally cashless environment, all cruise ships are. When you purchase something, you will have your Cruise Card swiped, to confirm payment. This happens on every purchase when on board and the amount will be placed into your on-board account for settling when the cruise has finished. All transaction on P&O ships are in UK£ Sterling.
How Does This Work?
When you completed your on-line check in you will need to have registered a credit card or debit card, I will explain cash accounts later. Then at the end of your cruise, your card will be billed for the full amount of your spend. If you are travelling as a couple if you register only one card then you will only get one final bill.
Debit/Credit Card: Out of the two, a credit card is better. This is because every evening P&O will put a pre-authorisation with your bank, and against your card, for the amount you have spent that day, this is to ensure that they will get the payment. This is not new, many in the travel industry, including hotels etc, do this. Then when the cruise is over, they take the full amount you owe.
Now, for a credit card there is no problem. However if you register a debit card these pre-authorisations are against your actual bank account and although the money is taken from your account at the end of the cruise the pre-authorisations can stay on for up to 7 days and in some rare instances up to 28 days. This may then cause a problem because you have had an amount, the actual bill, taken from your account and a similar amount, the pre-authorisations, still being held. So, this may put you in difficulty accessing money from your account and may make you overdrawn. Now, it is up to your bank to remove these authorisations, once payment has been made, not P&O, but many banks do not and wait until they drop off naturally, normally about 5-7 days. If this happens to you then contact your bank, only they can sort it out.
Now, every bank is different, some will remove the pre-authorisations straight away and some wait until they drop off, so there is no one answer to fix everything.
Cash Accounts: Firstly, on on-line check in you will need to register a credit/debit card. This will allow you to print off your Boarding Card. Then when you get on board go straight to reception, remove the card and put some cash down on your cabin number, you then use your cruise card as normal. Keep an eye on your cash balance and if you need to, top it up as you go along, otherwise your cruise card will be refused when you try and pay if you do not have the correct funds. Finally, on the last night before you retire go back to reception and ask for any money left in your account to be returned. Now, if you have a cash account it is 100% up to you to keep your account in credit so just keep an eye on your spending as you go along.
The other way of using cash is to pay off your account at the end. So, even if you have registered a card, on the last night visit reception with your cash and tell them you want to pay off your account. However, even this way there may well be pre-authorisations against your account.
On Board Credit: If you are fortunate enough to have received On Board Credit (On Board Spend) for your Cruise, the first thing to note is that this can only be used once you have boarded the ship, i.e. it is for use ‘On Board’.
If you are travelling as a couple if you register only one credit card, the on board credit for both passengers will be linked automatically. This means the on board credit can be used by either person.
Any purchases you make then your OBC will be used first before your account starts getting actually charged.
OBC can be used for anything except:
i. Any purchases prior to embarkation via My P&O Cruises. i.e. you need to be actually on board the ship.
ii. Medical charges (including services, prescriptions and supplies)
iii. As full or partial payment against a future cruise or charter flight seat reservations and upgrades
iv. Foreign currency exchange
v. On-board gaming (including the casino)
vi. Shore experience cancellation charges
There are others on the P&O Web site.
If you are fortunate enough to have a Peninsular Tier discount, then this is only applied on purchases after all the OBC has been spent.
However, Peninsular Tier Discounts will be applied to any purchases made prior to embarkation.
HAPPY CRUISING DAYS.X