Has anyone taken a cruise with Carnival and used cash for their Sail & Sign account?

Show all answers

Justin T.

I was on a Carnival Cruise 3 weeks ago. When the cruise starts, you are to go the the Pursers Desk to make a cash deposit on your account.The credit will be put in to your account. Then your can spend the credit you put on your account. You should bring as much money as you want, because they will write your a check for any remaining credit on your account.If you spent more creidt than you deposited, you will be billed for what you owe on the last night, and you must pay the bill or else you are not allowed of the cruise.

Bring 200 dollars for every place you go to.You can book tours on the ship using the Sign & Sail account (costs are ranging form 25 USD TO 150 USD) and you can use the remaining money for shopping.
In addition to the money you bring for the places you are visiting, bring some money to buy things on board. Most drinks cost money, as only coffee and juice is free.Do not worry about losing your card, because if you do, you can cancel your account.

WARNING! DO NOT SPEND TOO MUCH, AS YOU MAY NOT LEAVE THE SHIP UNTIL YOU PAY YOUR ENTIRE BILL (UNLESS YOUR ACCOUNT IS LINKED TO A CREDIT CARD COMPANY, WHOM THEY WILL BILL).

Julie T

A cash account is a great way to manage your spending.

Keep in mind, Carnival charges your on-board account for the gratuities the moment you step on board. So make sure you deposit the amount of the tips at the beginning of the cruise ($70 per guest for a 7-day cruise).

On most ships, you will notify the boarding agent your S&S account will be cash and they will direct you to visit the Purser's Office after you board.

Keep in mind, you can't charge anything (drinks, sodas, soda fountain card....) until you open your cash account.

The Purser's Office will send you a note to your cabin when you reach your deposit amount.

The spending amount depends on your plans. Consider some of these expenses that can be added to your S&S account:

- Bar drinks - $4-12 each plus 15% gratuity
- Soda - by the can - $1.75 plus 15% gratuity
- Soda fountain card - $38.50 plus 15% gratuity
- Photos - $7.99 to $21.99 (depending on size and style)
- Shore excursions - $50-200 per person per excursion.
- Spa treatments - $50-200 per treatment (but there were many specials on this last trip as many people were skipping the spa...)
- Casino. Use cash in the casino to avoid 3% fee for using card.
- Bingo cards - $5-20...depending on day and games
- Goument coffee - $3.75 and up
- Internet - 75 cents per minute
- Ship to shore phone - $7.99 per minute
- Parking at the port
- Tips for luggage porters - $1 per bag
- Tips - $70 per day per guest

With the exception of tips and parking at the cruise terminal, all of the above is optional. My sister spent less than $400 on our last cruise....

Tivogal

i ve used cash for an account on a different cruise line. Basically what happpens is that you have to have some debit or credit card at first to give them and then you have to have a sum of money that you put up at first maybe 100.00 per day per person. what you need to do is call carnival and ask them the specifics. good luck
and have a good cruise.

sweetescapes_travel

Usually they ask that you put at least $200 down on your account and then when you have spent that amount or close to it they put a reminder in your room to add more money before shutting your card off. If you don't spend all of the money that you put down, then on the last night of the sailing you can get a refund.

Bea Bea

When you sign in to the ship Carnival will ask you about you using cash or charge for your SS card. If you select cash you just give them the cash and the credit you card. If during the cruise you get low they will let you know so you can add more. If at the of the cruise you have a credit you just go to the pursers desk to get a refund.

As to how much to put on it that depend on how much you spend. Ive been on 9 cruises and usually spend about $500 on ship. You can spend less and a lot more.

Good luck and have fun.

tom4bucs

We did not drink alcohol, so we did not need a lot of on-board cash.

If you do, figure high end bar - WITH a 15% grat tacked on!
Also, if you like bottled water - stash some in your suitcase as it's $3/liter (one liter bottle) on board (when we went 5 years ago)

The most is spent offshore for souveniers. (If visiting Mexico - DON:T drink the water!) we had staff cleaning all night as 30 people M & F kept the restrooms 'filled')

The sit down dining is very nice - but we enjoyed dining on the Lido deck - more informal - like a buffet. AND in the back corner - PIZZA 10 different kinds - if not there - ready in 7 minutes!!! (24/7 until 3 hours before the cruise ends)
If you like soda - consider buying the wristband that allows you unlimited sodas - will be well worth it after the 4th day -

Breakfast is superb (eggs made your way) waffles - pancakes - bacon - sausage (link and patty) white gravy - biscuits - fruits
Lunch - not the same menus twice in a week
Dinner - same as lunch
Midnight - Burgers Dogs Fries etc
regular drinks - coffee, tea, and apple juice
deserts - o WOW - temptation city - we had Backlava one lunch!

*******************
Sail and Sign
You deposit your cash with them when you check in - OR put a credit card on file

your ROOM KEY is now GOLD - that is your on board credit card
do - not - lose - it!

if you do not spend it all - the purser will settle up when you depart
if you spend it all - they cut you off until you go to the purser and add more $$$ jingle
**************
my wife won a couple hundred at slots
and I won $200 at bingo
played the final one card bingo (BLACKOUT) and had 1 stinking number left for 4 calls - - - then somebody yelled it - and 1,000 of yelled something else (was for a CAT 5 cabin above the helm for a weeks cruise - LOL $20 k for a $2,500 cabin 0 - 0 Carnival must have laughed all the way to the bank)
*****************
idea - use the internet for weather check before you go - see the 7 day planner for cities you will visit-
was wild on our trip - we were in the 80's in Grand Cayman (the water is sooooo blue)
but when we got to New Orleans was windy in the 50's - and we knew it and packed jackets - as we left the ship - people looked at us -
WHERE did you get YOUR Jackets? -how did you know??? the weather channel

they spent a FORTUNE for jackets just off the ship in the tourist traps
--------------
the Cafe du Monde and the bengets (sp?) are not to be missed
WOWsirs!

all the best - have a great trip

PS - gratuities are NOT included - so you will get a little envelope for your waiter/your person who makes and turns down your bed and makes those crazy towel creations/ the maitre D -
so about $2 a day for the room and waiter,and $5 total for the maitre 'd
about $30-35 for two people(not each!)

cruzzer

Congrats on becoming a cruiser! You can certainly open up a cash account on the ship. It isn't hard or complicated to do. We did change our mind and used a debit card as it seemed much easier. At the end of our trip we went to the info desk and paid most of our charges with cash. The amount of money needed depends on how much you want to spend. We were on a budget and didn't spend much -about $200 which included the tips that Carnival automatically puts onto your sail & sign card (it's way easier than doing them on your own!) My friend & I had a super time with Carnival. They start entertaining you the minute you get there and the fun never stops.
I hope this helps!
Melanie

kaybird00

usually on a cruise you use a card for all your purchases. It looks like a credit card and whoever thought of the idea is a freaking genius. Basically when your on the cruise you just give them your "card" to pay for everything. It's deceiving because you aren't keeping track of your money (who wants to do that on vacation) you think your spent less, you forget about things you spent. Then on the last night on the ship you have this nice big fat bill sitting on your bed!!! I think mine was over 600.00 bucks. It's insane I almost fainted. Just really keep track of how much your spending, write it all down. When people use their cash they know how much they have left over or how much they have spent at the end of the day. When the trip is over you can either use your debit card, credit card, or cash to pay your "bill".

Good Luck and make sure you write down what you have spent at the end of your trip. Have a great time they are awesome~!

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: