anyone ever pay off cruise BEFORE final payment?

[ryano]

For my upcoming cruise on the Radiance in February, I paid 40% as a deposit and then a month later paid another 40% leaving 20% of the cruise fare left with a final payment date of December 7, 2010.

 

I am really wanting to pay off the remaining 20% at the end of this month when I get paid so I can get it over with. The VERY SMALL amount of interest I would gain by keeping my money in a checking or savings acct isnt really worth the piece of mind of having my cruise paid in full early.

 

Does anyone ever do this or am I crazy for letting RC have all my money before I absolutely have to? :o

 

Also, if I have paid in full and there was a price drop BEFORE my final payment date, could I get OBC ?

 

TIA! :)

[Caliterp07]

I've never done it with a cruise (we never book early enough to have the luxury of waiting to pay, lol!) but we did it when we bought a car. They were offering 0% financing for 3 or 5 years, but after 3 months I was sick of car payments and paid it off in full. The little bit saved in interest wasn't worth the annoyance of having a car payment each month!

 

And yes, you are eligible for price drops up until the final payment date, not when you pay it.

[uksimonusa]

For my upcoming cruise on the Radiance in February, I paid 40% as a deposit and then a month later paid another 40% leaving 20% of the cruise fare left with a final payment date of December 7, 2010.

 

I am really wanting to pay off the remaining 20% at the end of this month when I get paid so I can get it over with. The VERY SMALL amount of interest I would gain by keeping my money in a checking or savings acct isnt really worth the piece of mind of having my cruise paid in full early.

 

Does anyone ever do this or am I crazy for letting RC have all my money before I absolutely have to? :o

 

Also, if I have paid in full and there was a price drop BEFORE my final payment date, could I get OBC ?

 

TIA! :)

 

Yes I have, and if you do, and there is a price drop before December 7th, then if you call they will credit the credit card you paid with for the difference

[MikeNJ1109]

I can see doing it as well, and will probably do it for our 11/2011 Freedom Cruise.

 

I'm assuming that if the stuff hit the fan, and we had to cancel, we could do so without penalty up to the "Final Payment" drop dead date? Can anyone confirm?

 

Michael

[orville99]

For my upcoming cruise on the Radiance in February, I paid 40% as a deposit and then a month later paid another 40% leaving 20% of the cruise fare left with a final payment date of December 7, 2010.

 

I am really wanting to pay off the remaining 20% at the end of this month when I get paid so I can get it over with. The VERY SMALL amount of interest I would gain by keeping my money in a checking or savings acct isnt really worth the piece of mind of having my cruise paid in full early.

 

Does anyone ever do this or am I crazy for letting RC have all my money before I absolutely have to? :o

 

Also, if I have paid in full and there was a price drop BEFORE my final payment date, could I get OBC ?

 

TIA! :)

 

We always pay ours off in the billing cycle that includes the final payment date, so that the bill doesn't show up on the RCI CC until the month after we get back. I may only earn $1/month on my savings account, but it's my $1 - why give it to RCI before I have to?

[didiaust]

I have paid my last 2 cruises off in one installment when booking because the exchange rate was so good.

 

 

I am in Australia and booked with online TA

 

First time in US$ when rate was 93c when we boarded the ship 4 months later it was 61c

 

This year with a UK company so was in pounds- hasn't dropped much this time as the Aussie dollar is doing OK still

 

Di

[sailawayjack]

:cool: YES Every Time. It is known as peace of mind, and one less thing to worry about. Damn the interest - full payment ahead. :cool:JACK IS SAILING AGAIN:cool:

[ZoeyVictoria]

We pay ours as soon as possible, with a rewards credit card that is paid in full each month to get the rewards (2 percent on travel) but never pay interest. The next month we pay transportation (parking or Cruise Connection bus because we live within two hours of ports) and excursions. Last week there was a price drop and RCI refunded the difference to our credit card. It is a good feeling to have a paid-in-full cruise to look forward to. Like money in the bank, but more fun :p

[ryano]

:cool:It is known as peace of mind,

 

Good point! PEACE being the keyword there! I said "piece" of mind :o I am so not with it today :p

[mom2cuties]

How does one know when there is a price drop? Do we just have to keep checking the RRC website? Thanks!

[dixieva]

Nope not me! I pay it off when the final payment is due. Just the way I've always done it.

[Ocean Boy]

No I don't pay off cruises early. Besides the interest, which is not so great, I would rather have as little money as possible at risk should I have to cancel.

[ryano]

No I don't pay off cruises early. Besides the interest, which is not so go, I would rather have as little money as possible at risk should I have to cancel.

 

Cant we get a FULL refund up until final payment date though? :confused:

 

I dont guess I am seeing the risk there unless it takes RC months to credit back the money?

[mtebor]

I have been paying on Oasis for over 2 years for this Nov Cruise. I am down to the last $100.

[Ocean Boy]

Cant we get a FULL refund up until final payment date though? :confused:

 

I dont guess I am seeing the risk there unless it takes RC months to credit back the money?

 

Yes you can get a full refund. I just look at it as there is less risk when the money is in my bank account than when it is in RCI's.

[toriwc]

How does one know when there is a price drop? Do we just have to keep checking the RRC website? Thanks!

 

Yes. Even if you book with a TA, you should check because few TA's are vigilant about checking. I do all cruise booking, port planning, and packing. My DH's job is to check the rates every week. It works for us!

[Blue46]

We usually book almost 2 years out, so we can pay over time. I usually get the cruise paid off 2 or 3 month early, that way I can start booking excursions.

[cruzingduo]

I only paid it off early once when we were almost at 125,000 RCL Visa points. After it was paid I used our points for a free cruise.

[melana]

On my first cruise with NCL I paid in full way before final payment.

 

This time I am doing the same thing. My Dec. FOS cruise will be paid off after my next payday. I find it much easier to go ahead and pay it off if I can. That way I can start saving $$ for excursions and on-board expenses.

[Cruise-Nut]

Sure all the time. I have paid 100% before just because I didn't want to deal with it.

[yellosno]

I book it, pay for it and forget it. then get on with booking hotels, airfare and excursions.

[GoGator]

I paid my cruise off a month early because Discover CC offered me 0% interest on any vacation charges made in July. After calling Discover to make sure my cruise was covered in their offer I paid off the balance (sort of, I owe Discover the balance and not RCC). :D

[LostNParadise]

We paid ours off within a month and a half of booking it, including tips, etc. Wanted to get it out of the way, in case something should happen down the road and money gets tight, plus it helps us put up additonal money for extras and my cocktails!!:D

[done it]

I book it, pay for it and forget it. then get on with booking hotels, airfare and excursions.

indeed. It's hard to fathom the fact that people "finance" a cruise??:rolleyes: I didn't even know that was an option but it does make me laugh to think people actually DO finance a cruise!!!-WOW!:rolleyes:

[NancyIL]

I understand the psychology of wanting to have it paid off, but I prefer to delay parting with my money as long as possible!