Curious...Why Do People Prepay Gratuities and Sign-and-Sail Card

[cruznlobo]

We always prepay tips to get it out of the way and we also buy Funship dollars as we can. $50 here $100 there. Last year Carnival wrote us a check for $16 after our cruise.

[sharecruises]

Paying in advance allows you not to be hit with a large amount on the statement. Maybe you pay airfare one month, hotel next month, final cruise payment next month, then tips... Sort of spacing out your expenses.

 

Also I've heard, it may be not about Carnival, if you have any time dining, it's a cruise line requirement - tips must be pre-paid.

 

 

It is NOT true of Carnival.

 

Other cruiselines may have different rules ...but this board (and question) are about Carnival.

[Gailerina]

I have YTD for my cruise in January and was not required to pay, but I will be prepaying just so I have more money for stuff :)

[lady_cruiser]

Pre-paying our gratitudes is one less thing that we have to pay at the end of our cruise.

 

I never heard of pre-paying your Sign and Sail card unless you mean buying several onboard gift certificates and applying them to your account once you are onboard.

[YubaSutter]

That's strange. I've never had to prepay.

 

I wonder why???

 

Because you live in the USA.

[Jana60]

I've taken a couple of cruises this year and may be cruising again later this year, so I've been reading the Carnival board with some interest. I see that some people pre-pay their gratuities and Sign-and-Sail Card when they book (months in advance) or sometime prior to sailing. Is there some economic reason for doing this of which I am unaware? I have always just waited to pay it off at the end of the cruise thinking that I should have use of that money now, not Carnival.

Am I missing something that I should know about prior to my next cruise?

 

The only economic reason I can think of would be if you have almost enough reward points on your credit card to get the flight to your cruise free and just want to spend a little more in time to use them. Personally I won't prepay anything or pay for ANYTHING prior to the time that I must (except future cruise certificates so that I can get the OBC that goes with those). I have a Carnival Credit card and will have enough points on it to pay my gratuities by the time of my next cruise so I might prepay those using the points but would not pay cash for it.

[larkz]

Well, of course, you could take that money and stick it into a savings account and gain upwards of a dollar in interest. Or throw it at the bear market, and probably lose five bucks...

 

...or prepay your gratuities and any Carnival excursions that you plan to do, and not have to worry about it while you're cruising.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Pre-paying our gratitudes is one less thing that we have to pay at the end of our cruise.

 

I never heard of pre-paying your Sign and Sail card unless you mean buying several onboard gift certificates and applying them to your account once you are onboard.

 

 

You can purchase Fun Ship Dollars (is that what you mean by "onboard gift certificates?") online and have them applied directly as OBC--you don't have to have them mailed to you and take them with you. You can also just call Bon Voyage and have them put OBC onto your account.

[PortSideCruzan]

I don't pre-pay anything. I have a trip savings account where I put money aside for my cruises. I would think it would be a nightmare getting all that pre-paid money back if for some reason you had to cancel your cruise. I would much rather save my money myself than let the cruise line have use of it so far ahead of my vacation.

 

 

* Like *

 

:)

[ATL2LAS]

I prepay the tips so I don't have to worry about them charging my sail and sign the first night. Now for a solo, its not that bad. If you are a party of 4 or more, depending on your length of cruise...well, your online cruise budget just dropped by a bit:D. Prepay...get it outta the way...LOL

[S.S.Oceanlover]

That's strange. I've never had to prepay.

 

I wonder why???

 

Me neither on ccl. On Rci yes.

 

Probably some uninformed ta.

 

Bill

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[David-n-Rita]

Also it's mandatory for some nationalities. My husband is dutch and all 3 of us have to pre-pay!

 

I have heard this before, and we have friends that are from Europe and they cruise and have to pre-pay as well. I do not think it applies to Canadians though.

 

We do it to have everything pre-paid including excursions that we book online. We would not have a good vacation if I knew we would owe a bunch of money when we got back. Everything is prepaid. We usually end up with a lot of OBC from FCC, stocks and early saver. We pick cheap cabins people upgrade from and take the early saver reduction in OBC.

 

We run it through the players club in the casino and cash it in. We bring it home and use it to pay off future cruises. Our S&S bill is always $50, that is the amount over we put through the casino to make sure all credit refundable and non refundable is off our card. We walk off the ship with a $50 bill everytime. We do not drink,do not do photos, and do not gamble. I usually have a small internet connection bill that is factored in before we remove money through the casino.

[siskokid]

Also it's mandatory for some nationalities. My husband is dutch and all 3 of us have to pre-pay!

 

 

It is the same for Australians, as we only tip for good service.

 

We still tip extra for those that look after me and my GF.

 

P.S we are no demanding :D:D Just a hello would do.

[hehrball]

I totally thought this was a joke. We all 3 had to pay cause we were Dutch? I might be wrong but when you go on a date and you each pay your own its called going Dutch right? If not I guess I will just look dumb lol. :rolleyes:

[bassmaster150]

It's called "Making sure the vacation does not follow you home". We just cruised on the maiden voyage of the Breeze and decided to do a few things different this time:

 

1. Pre-paid for all of our excursions

2. Bought about $200 in photo coupons

3. Bought about $15 in soda coupons

 

We also used a FCC as well as early saver price protection as the price dropped several times. We boarded the ship with $900 in onboard credit, and walked off with a check for $650 from Carnival. We did have an port cancel and it was one where the tours were quite expensive, so please note that we did spend quite a bit on the boat, but it was great coming home without a bill, but a check instead.

[stormynow]

Makes no sense to me to pay for anything b/4 u have too.

[pauleydm]

If we book far in advance, we prepay our gratuities so that it is one thing that we can check off our list.:)

[ccarpenter1963]

I just booked my first cruise for next year. I am prepaying tips. Since I have never cruised, and not sure what I will spend on the ship, just figured it was best to get that out of the way.

[letsgo39]

I've had YTD several times and never have had to pre-pay tips.

 

I've read this before, but it's just another rumor.

 

 

It depends on the cruise line. On Celebrity if you choose ATD you must pay your tips in advance. And no it is not a rumor.

[Room7]

still doesnt make sense to me. Why not just set the money aside in your bank account for these expenses and just have a huge S&S bill at the end. This bigger bill can be put on your credit card and paid when due a month later. I know its not much but TVM should be factored in. A few thousand dollars delayed a month or two is a free drink. Or if an emergency comes up where cash is needed, its there for you.

[ocs1985]

Paying in advance allows you not to be hit with a large amount on the statement. Maybe you pay airfare one month, hotel next month, final cruise payment next month, then tips... Sort of spacing out your expenses.

 

Also I've heard, it may be not about Carnival, if you have any time dining, it's a cruise line requirement - tips must be pre-paid.

That is NCL>

[Room7]

It's nice to have it paid off.

 

Another person posted this question awhile back. One answer they were given is that the steward gets a printout of who has prepaid and who has yet to pay. They stated that the prepay may get better service. Now, I'm not sure how true that is. I have not prepaid before and received the same treatment I do as when I prepay.

 

Why work hard if they already have their money? They might work harder if they know the tip is coming at the end.

I think the best would be to have a tip budget and tip a little every day when you get good service, like a reward system.

[kona_wahine]

I'm another that likes the prepaid tips. We cruise in February and our cruise is almost paid off. Also, have excursions booked and paid for already. Then on to airfare, which I'll have paid off by Fall. Then a week in Orlando, a week at our timeshare, so no cost there. I'll also purchase our disney & universal tickets before we go, so they are paid off. By the time we go, everything is paid for and no big bill hanging over our head. It's just less stressful. As for putting it in a savings account. Seriously, the interest probably wouldn't buy me a DOD! lol

[ccarpenter1963]

Prepaying tips for my daughter and myself will amount to under $130.00. I can't imagine any emergency that would happen, that I would desperately need that $130.00. YMMV.

[KenMo]

It depends on the cruise line. On Celebrity if you choose ATD you must pay your tips in advance. And no it is not a rumor.

 

I understand the other lines may do it differently. I've only cruised Carnival and have never had to prepay tips with YTD.

 

Since the OP was on the Carnival board, that is what I was addressing.