I was recently (4/4/2010) on the Carnival Spirit for the first time and enjoyed my cruise except for one thing. This was my first time on Carnival, and I had been to the Mexican Rivera five times before. On Saturday, on our way up the line to San Diego I received a letter from Guest Services stating they needed to see me. I went to the desk and was told my credit card wasn’t working. I carry a zero balance every month so I was perplexed with my card being denied. The desk ran the card again and again it was denied. So, I called my bank and it turns out there were fraudulent charges in the Philippines. HMM…I have never been there, was on the ship at the time, and used the card last in San Diego to set up my Sail N’ Sign account. I left my cards in my room safe the whole time. I was stumped on how my cards were compromised while on the ship? The charges were from the day before on Friday. I filed a complaint on the ship, and with Carnival in Florida. They all told me it was impossible for it to happen on the ship. They are now giving me the run-around. I would advise everyone to keep your cards on you at all times and do not trust the room safes or your Room Stewards. I found it odd how after I made my complaint on the ship I didn’t see the Room Steward (who was from the Philippines) again and my room was not serviced for the rest of the voyage. CRUISERS BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Theft on the carnival spirit 4/4/2010
- Thread starter YFTHUNTER
- Start date
Theft of your card number may have taken place in one of the ports you made purchases in if you used that card.
Carnival also has the bad habit of placing holds far in excess of the amount of any on board purchases and it may take months to get them to clear the holds. This is what caused my card to be rejected when I tried to pay for a hotel room while I had to wait until the following day for my flight. I think this is becoming a much more frequent occurrence on all cruise lines.
Carnival also has the bad habit of placing holds far in excess of the amount of any on board purchases and it may take months to get them to clear the holds. This is what caused my card to be rejected when I tried to pay for a hotel room while I had to wait until the following day for my flight. I think this is becoming a much more frequent occurrence on all cruise lines.
MisterD21
If you take me serious, it's your problem
I would have the CC company trace who the recipient of the charges were, trace then to see if it was any link to the cabin steward. Most likely nothing will come back to the steward, but if he was involved in taking your card and personal info, he needs to be prosecuted, lose his job, and possibly face prison time. Identity theft is not a victimless crime. You are the victim by having to clear your name, the credit company is a victim because they either have to eat the charges, or spend money tracking and prosecuting those responsible. ALSO... i would have Carnival investigate the possibility that your steward was involved. If nothing else, it lets carnival know they might have a problem with one of their staff, and two... it might "scare" this person into thinking twice before pulling such a stunt again.
I totally agree with you, i store no valuables in the cabin safe. If i really must secure something in a safe, i take it to the pursers desk and have it stored in the ship's safe. as for credit cards and such, i keep them with me at all times(including while in the pool/spas). When offshore i only use the cards at areas where i can see them swipe my card(no manual card machines that imprint my number). But I usually carry some cash so i can choose to use that instead of my card.
I've always wondered why they allow the stewards access to the safes. You would think there would be a supervisor who after disembarkation, checks the rooms and safes before allowing the next guest to enter. it eliminates the number of people who have access to the safes and makes tracking issues easier.
I totally agree with you, i store no valuables in the cabin safe. If i really must secure something in a safe, i take it to the pursers desk and have it stored in the ship's safe. as for credit cards and such, i keep them with me at all times(including while in the pool/spas). When offshore i only use the cards at areas where i can see them swipe my card(no manual card machines that imprint my number). But I usually carry some cash so i can choose to use that instead of my card.
I've always wondered why they allow the stewards access to the safes. You would think there would be a supervisor who after disembarkation, checks the rooms and safes before allowing the next guest to enter. it eliminates the number of people who have access to the safes and makes tracking issues easier.
NiteStar
Safety Officer
Do the room stewards really have access to the safes???? On any cruise I've ever been on, we had to use one of our credit cards to lock and unlock the safe. One time, when we got to our stateroom on the first day of a cruise, the travelers before us had shut the safe and locked it with their credit card (I'm sure they did this by mistake), so of course the safe would not open for us using our credit card. Someone from the pursor's office had to come and open the safe for us and clear the previous traveler's "lock code".
Mbandy
Staff Captain
It probably didn't happen on the ship. There are many ways someone can get at your card info without being anywhere near you.
About a year ago I went to get some cash from the ATM. I was denied. When I called the bank I was told that there was a hold on my account due to suspicious activity. I told them I had not made any unusual charges so they started going over recent charges. They said there were two purchases from Target on the two previous days. NOT ME!! I asked if it was at a store or on line. They said at a store. I asked where the store was located. They said Florida. NOT ME!!! I hadn't been in Florida for almost a year. Since the charges were made at a store, someone would have had to have a card with them (counterfieted). Mind you, I never have my card anywhere but my back pocket so I was amazed that someone who is over 2,000 miles away could counterfiet my card. Long story short, B of A put the nearly $400 back in my account immediately and I had to go to a branch to get a new card. They sent me an affidavit to fill out ststing I was in possion of my card the entire time and that I did not know who made the bogus charges.
One of the supervisors where I work used to work at Citibank. She says things like that happen all the time.
About a year ago I went to get some cash from the ATM. I was denied. When I called the bank I was told that there was a hold on my account due to suspicious activity. I told them I had not made any unusual charges so they started going over recent charges. They said there were two purchases from Target on the two previous days. NOT ME!! I asked if it was at a store or on line. They said at a store. I asked where the store was located. They said Florida. NOT ME!!! I hadn't been in Florida for almost a year. Since the charges were made at a store, someone would have had to have a card with them (counterfieted). Mind you, I never have my card anywhere but my back pocket so I was amazed that someone who is over 2,000 miles away could counterfiet my card. Long story short, B of A put the nearly $400 back in my account immediately and I had to go to a branch to get a new card. They sent me an affidavit to fill out ststing I was in possion of my card the entire time and that I did not know who made the bogus charges.
One of the supervisors where I work used to work at Citibank. She says things like that happen all the time.
Cruizer
Staff Captain
Your credit card info could have been stolen before you even boarded the ship. Don't go blaming someone when you have no proof. I've had fraudulent charges show up on my credit card when the card never left me and I was still at home. The charge may have occurred while you were on the ship, but the actual theft may have occurred anytime.
goldwinger88
Deck Crew
I have been the victim if fraudulent use of my CC on 2 diffferent occasions.
The first time was a JCWhitney order placed in my name and sent to address on Navy housing to a empty billet, but next door was a Jeep Cheorkee just like mine. My card number had been used by a clerk at the nearby gas station that I used for my gas.
The second time BOA let me know of some unusual activity and I had to call security.
Sometime in the past, someone had gotten my card number and was testing the waters.
The kicker was the this credit card had been locked up in my safe at home for months and I was traveling on business.
So don't be so quick to jump to conclusion thinking it had just happened. and be sure to constantly check your bank and cc accounts.
The first time was a JCWhitney order placed in my name and sent to address on Navy housing to a empty billet, but next door was a Jeep Cheorkee just like mine. My card number had been used by a clerk at the nearby gas station that I used for my gas.
The second time BOA let me know of some unusual activity and I had to call security.
Sometime in the past, someone had gotten my card number and was testing the waters.
The kicker was the this credit card had been locked up in my safe at home for months and I was traveling on business.
So don't be so quick to jump to conclusion thinking it had just happened. and be sure to constantly check your bank and cc accounts.
Mbandy
Staff Captain
Amen to that!
And as a PS to my other post, kudos to B of A for watching my back.
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