Carnival Australia Sail & Sign Card. How it works for cruise payments onboard

Heading out for an adventure on the high seas aboard one of Carnival Cruises (CCL.LON) luxurious ships? While you’re no doubt excited to experience this unique way of travelling Australia, there are a few logistics to consider. One is how payments work when you want to shop and buy things aboard the boat.

To make your life easier this article is going to let you know how it all works, including what cards can be used on the ship and how the Carnival Cruise onboard account card works.

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Carnival Cruises Australia

Carnival Australia is a popular international cruise line with a global fleet of 28 ships that carry around 5 millions guests a year.¹ They offer trips in multiple locations around the world, including cruises in Australia.

How to pay onboard Carnival Cruises in Australia

Once you’ve boarded your Australian Carnival Cruise ship and are ready to set sail, life becomes cashless.² Instead of using your normal cards to pay, all shipboard expenses are charged to your onboard account.

What is the Carnival Sail & Sign Card?

The Sail & Sign Card is an onboard payment card that’s linked to your Carnival Cruise account.² To charge expenses to your account, you simply need to provide the card when buying something.

How to set up the card

Setting up the Sail & Sign Card is done as part of the boarding process when you start your cruise.³ The card and onboard account are linked to your valid payment card and then the account is settled before you disembark. Here are the types of cards you can link to your onboard account.

• Visa debit card
• Visa credit card
• Mastercard debit card
• Mastercard credit card
• AMEX credit card

How to add money to the card

As well as linking your Sail & Sign account to a valid Mastercard, AMEX or Visa card, it’s also possible to pre-load it with cash.⁴ To do this you need to go to the Cash Desk on Deck 3 or use a Kiosk on embarkation day.

If you want to add additional cash to the account during your cruise that’s also possible. Again you have the option to use a Kiosk, or you can visit the Guest Services Desk instead.

Extending the card to other members of your family or travel group

It’s no problem if you want to attach multiple Sail & Sign cards to a single account so that your kids and other members of your group can use them as well.⁵ Just keep in mind that if it’s linked to a credit card or debit card, you’ll be responsible for paying all of the charged items at the end of the cruise.

A useful feature to help avoid any unwanted surprises at the end of your holiday is setting a spending limit. By visiting a Cash Desk or Kiosk, you can preset spending limits on each of the Sail & Sign cards linked to your account. Once the spending limit amount is reached no more can be charged without you increasing the limit.

Checking your Sail & Sign Card balance

You can check your Sail & Sign account balance any time using one of these methods.⁴

• Visit Guest Services
• Use a self-service Kiosk
• Check on the Interactive TV if available in your cabin

Keep in mind

On the day you embark on your cruise, a bank hold of $100 to $200 will be placed on your debit or credit card by Carnival.⁶ The actual amount depends on where your cruise is and the duration of the trip.

The hold is done to ensure the card is valid, but if your onboard expenses exceed that hold, more holds will be placed to check you still have sufficient funds. These holds will be released at the end of your trip and the lump sum of your expenses will be charged instead.

It can take some time for the funds to be returned, with some banks taking up to 30 days depending on their policies. You should keep that in mind because Carnival stipulates that they can’t be held responsible if your account is overdrawn and the bank charges fees as a result.

The easiest ways to avoid this happening are to ensure you have money in your account and track what you spend, or load cash onto your Sail & Sign account instead. There are ATMs on the ship if you need them to facilitate option two.

Carnival Australia Contact details

If you have any questions and want to get in touch with Carnival Cruise in Australia, the easiest thing to do is just give them a call on 13 331 94.

Travel with Wise

With a Wise Account you can hold money in 40+ currencies and spend it in 150+ countries. You can also order local account details in popular world currencies like AUD, NZD, USD, EUR, GBP to receive local and/or international payments like a local.

Whenever you exchange currencies it’s done using the mid-market rate with a conversion fee shown upfront.

To make everyday spending easier you can order a Wise Debit card for your Wise Account and generate virtual cards as needed. If you have the local currency in your Wise Account the Wise card will use it. If you don’t have local currency converted, it uses smart technology to auto-convert your money at the mid-market rate, for a conversion fee.

The Wise card may suit you better if you’re to spend money that you’ve stored in different currencies within an existing Wise Account, and benefit from 2 or less free cash withdrawals under $350 AU, or foreign equivalent, per month (keep in mind that ATM providers may charge their own fees). You can see our full fee breakdown for ATM withdrawals here.

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