How Do You Pay For Your Cruise?

[Kimbopolo]

Do you

[ATL2LAS]

I book months in advance and add a monthly payment to my regular bills. A good budget is the key

[Cygneagile]

When we book it is usually several months before the cruise.

Then:

Pay the deposit to the cruise line

Pay for the airfare when book (Toronto/Rome direct flight)

Pay for cancellation insurance (we have medical travel insurance)

Pay for tranfers is necessary (not on Caribbean Cruises but Europe cruises)

So our deposit can be close to 2000.00 Canadian when we book.

 

Then we pay the balance when due.

 

 

A few years back there was a special Book now pay when you get back.

There was an administration fee and we had to pay the taxes. But that was all.

The month we returned the full amount was due. That was a good deal at the time.

But that is not the way we go now.

[Kimbopolo]

We build travel savings into our monthly budget. This is my favorite "pay yourself first" category. :D

[MSRussell]

Me, when I was ready to book, I paid for it in full. That way, if I end up in the poor house, at least I will have a vacation.

Also, I'm 61, and have learned the hard way not to plan too much ahead for a cruise, so I just book for one a few months in advance.

Of course, I put extra on my bills at home, so I won't have to worry about them. I am fortunate, as I am able to do it.

[divingmedic]

I work an extra job all year just to take vacations. I put it on a card, go to the credit union the next day, take the money, put it in my bank, go on line and pay the card off.

[Zambini]

All my travel money comes from my tax returns, that dictates how big the budget is every year. Since I am paid a large part of my pay as commissions/bonuses which are heavily taxed on the front end (about 45%), I get a large return every year. Once I know the budget, I spend wisely to make it last as long as I can...

[EGG]

I don't get the poll. I charge the deposit and pay the bill as soon as it comes in. A week before final payment, I call my TA and charge the final payment and pay my credit card bill as soon as it comes in. That way I get my points, no finance charges and a little extra insurance by charging.

 

Sorry, but I would never book a cruise unless I had the money for the cruise plus an emergency fund in the bank.

[rjm1cc]

Good question and the answer surprised me. I would have thought more people paid over time.

[Terrafreaky]

I don't get the poll. I charge the deposit and pay the bill as soon as it comes in. A week before final payment, I call my TA and charge the final payment and pay my credit card bill as soon as it comes in. That way I get my points, no finance charges and a little extra insurance by charging.

 

Sorry, but I would never book a cruise unless I had the money for the cruise plus an emergency fund in the bank.

 

Same here.

[May4]

I responded that I charge it and then pay in full. I would be uncomfortable booking a vacation unless I knew I could comfortably pay for it.

 

(One of those people who squirreled money away for 30+ years and now is having a whole lot of fun spending it.:p:p)

[PattyG12]

I save every pay check and move the money to savings. When final payment is due I charge on my Royal Caribbean credit card (double points) and then pay it off. Normally I'm able to get some OBC from using the credit card too!

[BroncosFan2010]

We don't book until we can pay for the ENTIRE cruise. That means tips, flight, drinks, excursions, etc.... We decide what we want to do, what cabin we want (some form of balcony), and what excursions we want. We then total up the cost, and if we can afford it and have the money in the bank, we book. We usually pay in full when the amount is due, but we have the $$ in the bank the whole time.

[househunter]

I don't get the poll. I charge the deposit and pay the bill as soon as it comes in. A week before final payment, I call my TA and charge the final payment and pay my credit card bill as soon as it comes in. That way I get my points, no finance charges and a little extra insurance by charging.

 

Sorry, but I would never book a cruise unless I had the money for the cruise plus an emergency fund in the bank.

 

Me too. If we didn't have the money to pay for it as soon as the bill comes we wouldn't be going. We would never "save" for a cruise or any other vacation for that matter. We wouldn't take trips if we didn't have the extra money already on top of our normal savings.

[pris993]

We book 1 year to 18 months in advance, generally with FFCs. We then save monthly to pay for the next cruise, we generally have 3 cruises booked at a time over 1.5 year timeframe.

 

I work part time (I retired from a FT position 11 years ago) everything I make on my part time job goes into a travel account to pay for tips, hotels, taxis and other expensives beyond the cruise fare.

 

We always charge everything because we earn airline miles and then pay our credit card in full each month.

 

We have FFC on Princess, HAL, Celebrity and Cunard.

[DanJ]

I book and pay with credit cards for points. I pay when the bill comes due and not before. I don't necessarily have to have the entire vacation budget sitting there in the bank at time of booking 8 or 10 months ahead of the cruise, but I do work the savings account from booking to final payment so that the money is there when the final credit card bill comes in.

 

We don't overextend ourselves for the sake of a vacation. We had booked the Oasis for next winter, but cancelled because we are doing a pool in the backyard, and didn't want to scrimp on that because of having a cruise to pay for at the same time. Do have to say I really like the points I've racked up paying for the pool with my CC LOL.

[jerry2457]

I book as far in advance as I can and pay the deposit when I book. I then break up the balance into smaller, more manageable payments until its paid in full. I try to book airfare ahead of time, at least 2 months in advance to get a good fare. I typically arrive and stay over the night before the cruise so I often use Price Line or check with sites like Travel Zoo for hotel deals. The only time I pay it all in advance is if I book at the last minute say a month or less before it leaves but I have only done that once. This year I may prepay my mandatory charges so what I do spend goes towards shore excursions or souvenirs. I tend to gravitate towards the beaches and in most ports that just means a cab ride but I do look at all options.

[southerngal479]

Even if I have saved money for this, I still won't pay in cash but use my credit card so I'd get some cash back ;) Soon as my statement comes, I pay it in full. That way, I don't pay any fees/interests and still squeeze some money out of it.

[marshhawk]

When my folks passed away the left me some money, so for the next two cruises I will use up what's left after 12 years, and then put a down payment on the third cruise I have planned and then, it will be monthly payments. I could get a part time job and use that money for cruises...oh, that's right, I already have a full time and a part time job, I'm just out of money.:rolleyes::o

[cruiserbryce]

we try our best not to spend it if we dont have it...so we'll save up...charge it to our RC Visa to get the points and pay the balance in full when the statement comes...no sense making a $700 cruise a $900 cruise with cc charges

[geoherb]

I always charge it and then pay off the bill as soon as it comes. There's no sense in paying any interest charges on something like a cruise.

 

We generally save a little bit each month to use for our vacations. We book at the last minute and try to get a good price. We'd rather go more frequently in obstructed view cabins (or even insides) than go fewer times in a balcony or suite.

[cruzin w chris]

we save as much as possible using the change jar method usually ends up around $3-400.00 and then use our tax return. works well

[uppitycats]

I didn't quite know how to answer the poll. I have to book way early, as I need a handicap-accessible room. So I pay the downpayment, trip insurance (I buy this right away, as I have a pre-existing condition), and any other related expenses with the first credit card bill, and then pay off the rest when "due". All this is on a credit card which gives me "points" -- and which is paid off every month, so there are never any interest charges.

 

We didn't start going on expensive vacations until our mortgage and car were totally paid for. We don't ever have a credit card balance, and budget for medical, dental, house repairs, etc. Then whatever is "left over" can be considered "play money", and we'll use that towards vacations. (Before we managed to pay off everything, our usual vacations were camping trips..or staying home and going to stuff around here in Wisconsin, on the "cheap".)

[melana]

I try to book as early as I can so it gives me more time to pay off the cruise. I have a job where I get travel reimbursement and I use that to make my montly payments for the cruise and to save for spending money.

 

I will pay it with my credit card but as soon as the bill comes in I send the extra money from my travel check to cover the amount put on my credit card for the cruise. It works well for me this way.

 

Because of that I usually will cruise later in the year because it gives me time pay. I always get trip insurance and with my job I am able to take off pretty much whenever I want to.

[MoYerclan]

Good question and the answer surprised me. I would have thought more people paid over time.

 

I book online with RCCL. I just make payments using my American Express (which gets paid entirely monthly) via the website up until the final payment date and then its all paid for.