What are the pitfalls of paying in full before the due date?

[Aussie Jeep]

Hello, can anyone tell me what, if any, the pitfalls are by paying in full before the due date. Thanks

[Project_gal]

I would have said none but I am in the UK. I see you are from Australia. It would help folk to answer if they knew if you booked through Celebrity in Australia, through an Australia travel agent or a US travel agent. There are different T&Cs in different countries.

 

In the UK, our deposits are non-refundable. However, we are also committed to different percentages of the cruise fare at stepped number of days pre-sailing. In theory [we have never had to try it] even after final payment, some money should be returned to us if we have to cancel after that date until very close to the cruise. It is probably/possibly similar in other countries but with different dates.

[zalusky]

Isn't it true that if you are paid in full you cannot request a lower rate if one becomes available before the 90 day mark.

[emmas gran]

Sorry to disappoint you but in the UK we definitely do not get fare reductions after paying our deposit and as said this is non refundable unless you have an insurance claim.

One time on a Princess Caribbean people had paid 50% less than us for the same grade cabin--Princess said TOUGH when I approached them.

[hobbsie65]

In the UK these t&c's apply.

 

Cancellation charges

 

The following cancellations charges apply:

5 days or less 100%

6 - 14 days 90%

15 - 28 days 75%

29 - 56 days 50%

57 days or more Deposit only

[goodycruising]

It should not make any difference if you need to cancel, the penalty times should apply just the same if you need to cancel.

 

If you are paying a TA, I would just be sure that you think they will pass the payment over ok. If you are paying the cruise line direct, then I can't see an issue.

Edited December 14, 2014 by goodycruising

[Project_gal]

Sorry to disappoint you but in the UK we definitely do not get fare reductions after paying our deposit and as said this is non refundable unless you have an insurance claim.

One time on a Princess Caribbean people had paid 50% less than us for the same grade cabin--Princess said TOUGH when I approached them.

 

I am sorry if your experience has been different but, in the UK, Celebrity definitely do honour price reductions on the same terms as in the USA, if the price reduction is not for new bookings only. You may, of course, lose additional benefits that came with your booking if they are no longer offered.

 

Princess may be different. We have never sailed on Princess.

[dkjretired]

Hello, can anyone tell me what, if any, the pitfalls are by paying in full before the due date. Thanks

 

Maybe you should ask what the benefits are, answer none.

[Sloop-JohnB]

Maybe you should ask what the benefits are, answer none.

 

Agreed.

 

And the biggest pitfall for me would be the fact that I would no longer have MY money (supposedly earning ME interest) but the Cruise Co would (have it & earn interest)

 

Seriously... You don't need to pay early / until they ask... so cannot figure out why anyone would do so

 

Cheers!

[cle-guy]

Once final payment is made, one can not transfer the reservation to a travel agent or different agency.

 

This is about the only thing I can come up with, and would be relatively inconsequential to most people, unless one books and pays in full before final payment for some special deal for some reason, and wanted to transfer to their TA, such as booking over weekend online when agency is closed in order to gain additional TA persk, but 99.9% of people would in this case simply pay the deposit needed, transfer on Monday, and pay in full by final payment date.

 

Agree with others, why pay in advance....unless one is following currency fluctuations and is taking that gamble.

 

Do beware rules vary between US, UK, Australia etc. so YMMV.

[cle-guy]

I am sorry if your experience has been different but, in the UK, Celebrity definitely do honour price reductions on the same terms as in the USA, if the price reduction is not for new bookings only. You may, of course, lose additional benefits that came with your booking if they are no longer offered.

 

 

The "nuance" here for UK travelers, is some fares allow changes and modifications subject to also adjusting for change in promotions as you say, while others are new bookings only, and thus require a cancellation of one, and therefore loss of deposit, then a new booking be made with current fares and promotions. I think a lot of times confusion in this matter with regards to UK bookings is caused by the lack of understanding of this principle.

[AnchorsAweigh2011]

Hello, can anyone tell me what, if any, the pitfalls are by paying in full before the due date. Thanks

 

We are from Canada and the Canadian dollar has dropped in value compared to the US dollar. By paying early for our upcoming cruise we actually would have saved a few dollars on our total bill.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

We are from Canada and the Canadian dollar has dropped in value compared to the US dollar. By paying early for our upcoming cruise we actually would have saved a few dollars on our total bill.

 

 

Your price is lock at the time you book so even if the Canadian drop by 10% you still pay the same

[Megan01]

Your price is lock at the time you book so even if the Canadian drop by 10% you still pay the same

 

 

Not if paying in US dollars. We always book in USD and, therefore, if the Canadian dollar fluctuates, there can be a significant advantage to paying when the dollar is doing well.

 

 

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[Ex-Airbalancer]

Not if paying in US dollars. We always book in USD and, therefore, if the Canadian dollar fluctuates, there can be a significant advantage to paying when the dollar is doing well.

 

 

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Why pay in USD, if find the exchange rate Celebrity has, a lot of times it cheaper to book in CAD then booking in USD, then I can also use my CC to get travel insurance and points

[pcur]

I always pay my cruises off early to get the credit card points to help pay for the airfare. But, I'm in the US and the change/cancellation fees aren't an issue untill after final payment date.

[Megan01]

Why pay in USD, if find the exchange rate Celebrity has, a lot of times it cheaper to book in CAD then booking in USD, then I can also use my CC to get travel insurance and points

 

 

We typically book while on board to get the OBC offered. On the last 2 cruises, Celebrity would only allow future cruises booked on board to be done in USD. Their rates in USD versus CDN both times was competitive.

 

 

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[Ex-Airbalancer]

We typically book while on board to get the OBC offered. On the last 2 cruises, Celebrity would only allow future cruises booked on board to be done in USD. Their rates in USD versus CDN both times was competitive.

 

 

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That is new, we book future cruises in CAD , I guess things are always changing

[Project_gal]

I believe, from what I have read on cruise critic, you can only book on board in the same way as you have booked the cruise you are currently on. i.e. if you used a TA for your current cruise, the new cruise is credited to the same TA and similar applies to the currency you booked in.

[poffles]

I believe, from what I have read on cruise critic, you can only book on board in the same way as you have booked the cruise you are currently on. i.e. if you used a TA for your current cruise, the new cruise is credited to the same TA and similar applies to the currency you booked in.

 

Just went through this few weeks ago and yes, without asking, the booking will automatically pass back to a TA if you used for your current cruise. I didn't want this to happen and it slipped my mind when I made the purchase. I realized the next day and had a mini panic attack because I did not want it to go back to my TA, one reason being the one I had for years no longer worked at that agency (not even a call or email that she moved on) and secondly I wanted to control the booking myself. So back I went to the Future Cruise office to inquire and agent said yes that was how it was done but I could complete a simple form to say I did not want that but wanted to own the booking myself. It sucked, however, that to do this she had to fully cancel the one done the day before and even had to refund my credit card and start over but otherwise no problem.

 

Just glad I realized before getting home because not sure how that would have worked, I would not have been a happy camper. My TA never gave me any perks anyway and I got tired of them getting credit for all my work and not finding out my personal TA of 7 years moved on until I called with a question about a currently booked trip was really sad.

 

Oh and mine was in CAD funds just as I wanted, and don't recall being asked but that may be due to the fact that mine was a "all inclusive" Canadian charter so was assumed CAD.

 

Pitfalls I would be most concerned with would be how long it takes to get all the funds back if you decide to cancel your trip. I would be more anxious to get full funds back than I would a deposit. My concern now is making sure I have it paid in full without anyone nudging me as I assume Celebrity isn't going to reach out to me and further assume I lose my trip if I'm past final pay date by a day or more ?? :)

Edited December 21, 2014 by poffles

[suekay]

We are in the UK and sometimes book via US TA, sometimes via UK if we find a good deal. When booking on board we choose either £ or $ future booking. If £, we opt to keep the booking ourself as different TAs offer different deals so don't want to be tied to one for a future booking. If buying a future cruise cert in $, we allocate it to our US TA from the start.

 

We usually pay the balance of our US booked cruises when the £ is high against the dollar as it was earlier in the year. The amount we lost in bank interest was more than offset by the favourable exchange rate, so yes, there can be advantages to playing early

[blueboro]

No benefits that I know of and no downside. We elected to pay our balance early to get airline points. Got the points and used on 2 RT airline tickets and saved around $1,000 so this worked out great for us.

Edited December 21, 2014 by blueboro