Oddity regarding final payment...

[KKB]

Booked our upcoming cruise with a large online TA...

Confirmation says final payment is due Dec. 22; we got new credit cards so I wanted to be sure to call them with the new expiration date.

Look up my credit card statement when I am activating the cards & notice the balance oddly high.

Celebrity charged the final payment on Dec. 14--WHAT??!!

It's neither here nor there for us, but can they do that??!!

[kenevenpar]

Did Celebrity charge your card or did the TA?

 

I've never had Celebrity charged my card unless I told them to do so.

[Iamthesea]

Yep! TA's most always make final payment earlier then what the ceuiseline invoices say is the final date.

[LEtue]

Even when I have used a large on line TA the final payment date is clearly marked on the confirmation and yes it is about a week before the final payment is due to the cruise line.

 

It should not be a surprise :eek:

[Wine-O]

Did Celebrity charge your card or did the TA?

 

I've never had Celebrity charged my card unless I told them to do so.

 

My statement will read Celebrity Cruises, but the numbers come from my TA. Additionally, my TA doesn't keep my credit card numbers on file, which is a good thing. That's probably what happened.

[Ray in NH]

My statement will read Celebrity Cruises, but the numbers come from my TA. Additionally, my TA doesn't keep my credit card numbers on file, which is a good thing. That's probably what happened.

 

 

I have used the same travel Agent for a number of years (and many cruises). He always makes our Final Payment on the actual due date (from cruise line), usually with a reminder a few days ahead that the payment will be going out. Never have had any problem, doing it this way.

 

N Ray H

[wallie5446]

The Agency we used last Nov had our final date 3 weeks before people on the roll call who booked direct had to pay.

[AtleeH]

This is the procedure my TA uses.

 

I have used the same travel Agent for a number of years (and many cruises). He always makes our Final Payment on the actual due date (from cruise line), usually with a reminder a few days ahead that the payment will be going out. Never have had any problem, doing it this way.

 

N Ray H

[KKB]

Due to the fact that I activated the new cards yesterday this was primo in my mind...but I suppose on past cruises I didn't notice, just let them run the payment when it was due!

 

But good to know this is typical; we actually got our new cards several weeks ago but since DS20 has a card & wouldn't be back until after finals, I didn't want to activate until he is home.

 

Thanks, all!

 

(BTW, the charge on the credit card says Celebrity cruises)

[monicajay]

Thanks, all!

 

(BTW, the charge on the credit card says Celebrity cruises)

 

Even when processed by the TA , the charge is from the cruise line.

 

Some agencies like to process a week or two in advance. That way if a card is declined they have time to track down the client and get a new card before cruise is cancelled.

 

Never use an agency that is not having the cruise line charge your account.

[biker1972]

If the charge were to say the name of the agency and not X, you might have cause to worry. When agencies collapse for whatever reason and X did not get payment, you still owe and then have to make a claim with the CC company.

[az_tchr]

Final payments are indeed confusing. You can schedule a final payment with a TA on any day you like right up to the last day, but need to TELL them when. Otherwise they will put the charge through - shows up as a cruiseline charge - about a week early to make sure the cruiseline does not make a mistake and there is no problem with the transaction. My TA always asks when I want to make final payment. One I used in the past had a clause in the fine print that said payment was due one week earlier than the cruise line final payment date.

 

If there was a problem - a pair of numbers transposed - and payment was made on the final day you would likely lose your cruise. It is not a problem with any IATA travel agent making the payment because of large bonds if in the USA, but I know of no agents who do it that way because the problems are client payments being turned down (about 5%) over all sorts of issues. The agency does not want to be out $$ paid to a cruise line.

[Ray in NH]

Final payments are indeed confusing. You can schedule a final payment with a TA on any day you like right up to the last day, but need to TELL them when. Otherwise they will put the charge through - shows up as a cruiseline charge - about a week early to make sure the cruiseline does not make a mistake and there is no problem with the transaction. My TA always asks when I want to make final payment. One I used in the past had a clause in the fine print that said payment was due one week earlier than the cruise line final payment date.

 

If there was a problem - a pair of numbers transposed - and payment was made on the final day you would likely lose your cruise. It is not a problem with any IATA travel agent making the payment because of large bonds if in the USA, but I know of no agents who do it that way because the problems are client payments being turned down (about 5%) over all sorts of issues. The agency does not want to be out $$ paid to a cruise line.

 

Perhaps things are different in different locales or circumstances, however when my TA makes the payment (either via telephone, or on-line), he knows immediately whether, or not, the charge has been approved and accepted by the cruise-line. This is similar to most, if not all, on-line credit card transactions, in my experience.

 

N Ray H