How Onboard Spending Works
At check-in you attach a credit or debit card to your account; every purchase aboard goes on it, and the final bill posts the last night. Debit cards work but the lines place holds against them during the cruise, which can tie up money for days after: a credit card is the smoother choice. Cash can also be deposited to an account at guest services if someone prefers not to use a card at all.
The casino is the one place cash still matters. As of September 2026, Royal Caribbean lets you charge chips and slot play to your room key up to a daily limit, with a convenience fee on table-game charges; Carnival lets you load slots from your room card without a fee but charges for cash at the tables; Princess charges casino play to the stateroom account with no cash-advance fee. Every casino cage also takes cash.
Ashore, most ports take cards but small vendors, taxis, and beach chairs often don't, and U.S. dollars are accepted throughout the Caribbean. A modest amount of small bills per person covers it.
Accurate as of September 2026; cruise-line policies change, and your line's own documents govern. When in doubt, ask your line, or ask us, which is free and comes with opinions.
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