Any reason NOT to pay in full before you have to?

[donaldsc]

Many of today's cruisers are living paycheck to paycheck.

They cannot afford to pay for the cruise until absolutely necessary.

 

Another thought. If you are truly living from paycheck to paycheck which means that if you miss 1 or 2 paychecks you are in trouble - can you really afford to do a cruise?

 

DON

[DirtyDawg]

Another thought. If you are truly living from paycheck to paycheck which means that if you miss 1 or 2 paychecks you are in trouble - can you really afford to do a cruise?

 

DON

 

Dear DON,

 

Of course they can!

 

Signed,

 

A Cruise Line Shareholder

 

P.S. And if they need to finance their cruise with a payday loan, I can reccomend a couple of firms which I also own stock in. ;)

Edited December 13, 2016 by DirtyDawg

[sparks1093]

Another thought. If you are truly living from paycheck to paycheck which means that if you miss 1 or 2 paychecks you are in trouble - can you really afford to do a cruise?

 

DON

 

Since it doesn't affect me I don't worry about it.

[reedl]

I use a Capital One 360 savings account to put the money into for my upcoming cruise when I book the cruise. Given that some of my cruises are very expensive, I always transfer into the account (and only into) the amount I need to each month to have enough to pay for the cruise on final payment date.

 

Then I pay the cruise with a credit card, and a couple of days before I need to pay the card, I transfer the money from Capital One to my checking account to pay the credit card.

 

This way, I keep the money and typically (depending on the closing date of the credit card, and the final payment date of the cruise), have my money in my account at least 70 days before departure, and can have it at most 40 days before departure. This is done when the closing date of the card is the day before you have to make the final payment. You then have 20 days to pay the card after the 30 days you would wait until the card closes for the next month. On my last cruise for example, the closing date on my card was the 5th. The final payment was on the 6th, so the amount was not put onto the statement until 29 days after final payment, and I had an additional 20 days after that to pay the card. That gave me 49 days after final payment before I had to send the money somewhere.

 

Since my last cruise was $8000, I made about $50 on the interest. Not a lot of money, but it was $50 I did not have.

[reedl]

As to someone living paycheck to paycheck, using a online savings account (like Capital One 360) is a great idea since you can put money into it every month to gather the amount needed for the cruise. Just have the commitment to not take money out of that account.

[Viv0828]

I wouldn't pay off a cruise till the money was due in case there was some sort of emergency and I had to cancel.

 

Insurance companies are far happier to pay a claim for a small deposit than for a final price that might be 10K or more.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited December 13, 2016 by Viv0828

[Cruise Junky]

I wouldn't pay off a cruise till the money was due in case there was some sort of emergency and I had to cancel.

 

Insurance companies are far happier to pay a claim for a small deposit than for a final price that might be 10K or more.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Ha? Why would it hit your insurance? If it's before final payment you just cancel and get your money back. Takes about a week in most cases

 

Some of these responses are ridiculous. What does living paycheck to paycheck have to with anything? The OP is excited and wants to pay off his cruise. No biggy

[Ninotchka]

Wow. People have strong feelings about this! I was checking to see if there were any cruise-specific reasons -- concerns that wouldn't apply to any bill that were paid before its time.

 

I went ahead and paid it off, because the zing I get from looking forward to our paid-off cruise is greater than the amount of interest we would've gotten in four months.

 

I appreciate the input!

[Gogie]

I'm surprised on one mentioned what might be the biggest risk in paying in advance. What happens to your payment if the cruise line goes bankrupt? You'll probably end up in line with all the rest of the company's creditors and be lucky to get back pennies on the dollar after all is said and done. This is undoubtedly a very low risk outcome, but nonetheless a risk that doesn't need to be incurred in advance. There may be mitigating circumstances that protect you - different jurisdictions have different regulations and protections - but at the end of the day why put your money at risk any sooner than necessary?

Edited December 13, 2016 by Gogie

[BruceMuzz]

I'm surprised on one mentioned what might be the biggest risk in paying in advance. What happens to your payment if the cruise line goes bankrupt? You'll probably end up in line with all the rest of the company's creditors and be lucky to get back pennies on the dollar after all is said and done. This is undoubtedly a very low risk outcome, but nonetheless a risk that doesn't need to be incurred in advance. There may be mitigating circumstances that protect you - different jurisdictions have different regulations and protections - but at the end of the day why put your money at risk any sooner than necessary?

 

Or you could get struck by a meteor. This is also a low risk outcome, but nonetheless a risk that doesn't need to be incurred in advance. Or the earth could explode, or maybe a walking dead invasion.......

Some of us might be watching a bit too much television.

[iancal]

Not much risk if you pay by credit card.

 

Never, ever pay for by cash or debit when you can use your credit card and get some protection. That is besides never paying earlier than necessary.

[DirtyDawg]

Not much risk if you pay by credit card.

 

Never, ever pay for by cash or debit when you can use your credit card and get some protection. That is besides never paying earlier than necessary.

 

That is very true. We were able to recoup our funds from the credit card company when an airline we had purchased tickets on went belly up.

 

My brother and SIL were not as fortunate. They bought a bedroom set for their young DD. Didn't bother with a deposit, just paid in cash up front. By the time delivery was to occur the store had gone bankrupt. A new owner bought the assets and did offer a solution. Unfortunately he was a water bed store. DD was likely the only kid in kindergarden with a water bed.

[Gogie]

Or you could get struck by a meteor. This is also a low risk outcome, but nonetheless a risk that doesn't need to be incurred in advance. Or the earth could explode, or maybe a walking dead invasion.......

Some of us might be watching a bit too much television.

 

Seriously??? Perhaps you can explain the connection between your inane comments and my post. In my case I was simply pointing out that paying in advance leaves you at risk if a company goes bankrupt. Not sure how a meteor strike equates to that, but whatever.

[Cruise Junky]

Seriously??? Perhaps you can explain the connection between your inane comments and my post. In my case I was simply pointing out that paying in advance leaves you at risk if a company goes bankrupt. Not sure how a meteor strike equates to that, but whatever.

 

I think a meteor strike is more likely than a Royal Carribean going bankrupt

[Gogie]

I think a meteor strike is more likely than a Royal Carribean going bankrupt

 

Perhaps that's true, but I have yet to see a case where someone had to pay in advance to get hit by a meteor. And by the way, it wasn't that many years ago when people felt big banks couldn't fail. That didn't stop Washington Mutual and its $307 billion in assets going belly up. It didn't stop Lehman Brothers from going under. Stuff happens - why subject yourself to risk, no matter how minimal, if you don't have to?

Edited December 14, 2016 by Gogie

[navybankerteacher]

While you can get a refund (if entitled) there is certainly more comfort in knowing that you control the funds than in having someone obligated to refund it to you.

 

If the satisfaction of knowing that the thing is paid for is important, you might consider what we do: we have a separate savings account which holds all funds we have committed for travel (one cruise and two land trips at this point). Sure, the interest is negligible, but having the funds set aside gives the same comfort, while still having access to it if an emergency might come up. At the very least, such contingency access is a comfort which would not exist if we had paid it out unnecessarily early.

[h-sar]

I pay attention when the big Canadian banks make predictions about the CDN dollar dropping (sadly, they've never been wrong), and pay it all off before that happens. Even pay off grats, soda cards, etc, etc if the dollar is decent.

[mamasylvia]

I paid for our cruise about 4 months before final payment was due. I just find it less stressful to have it paid off than to be monitoring when it is due. (Not to mention that I've wound up unexpectedly hospitalized twice this year and sure would not want to miss a final payment because I was sick!) I'll sacrifice the few months of interest for peace of mind. That's *my* choice, YMMV.

[sloopsailor]

I paid for our cruise about 4 months before final payment was due. I just find it less stressful to have it paid off than to be monitoring when it is due. (Not to mention that I've wound up unexpectedly hospitalized twice this year and sure would not want to miss a final payment because I was sick!) I'll sacrifice the few months of interest for peace of mind. That's *my* choice, YMMV.

 

Another advantage of using a good TA. She has our credit card number on file and makes the payment for us five days before final. And if she forgets - which has never happened - as a TA she has more influence with the cruise lines and can get it corrected. Besides, according to my TA, most cruise lines give people a few days leeway if they are late. They would rather give you a bit more time than lose the booking and have to sell it off at a discount to fill the room.

 

Oh, and the $490 OBC we got from her on our next cruise doesn't hurt, either! Try getting THAT when working directly with the cruise line. With the additional $400 that the cruise line gave us during the promo that we booked under, for a total of $890 OBC, we're going to live it up!!!

Edited December 14, 2016 by sloopsailor

[sparks1093]

Perhaps that's true, but I have yet to see a case where someone had to pay in advance to get hit by a meteor. And by the way, it wasn't that many years ago when people felt big banks couldn't fail. That didn't stop Washington Mutual and its $307 billion in assets going belly up. It didn't stop Lehman Brothers from going under. Stuff happens - why subject yourself to risk, no matter how minimal, if you don't have to?

 

Some are more risk tolerant than others and in this case the OP is comfortable with that slight risk versus the gratification of knowing the cruise is paid for, so it works for the OP.

[Gogie]

Some are more risk tolerant than others and in this case the OP is comfortable with that slight risk versus the gratification of knowing the cruise is paid for, so it works for the OP.

 

And I absolutely agree with this sentiment. At the end of the day it comes down to personal choice. I was simply pointing out one factor for the OP to consider. That, and other factors put forward by other posters, can be weighed against one's own personal desires and a final decision made. There is no one right answer in cases such as this and I was never advocating otherwise. I, for one, appreciate getting varied opinions and facts when I ask a question and then I use that information to make my own decision based on what matters most to me.

[sparks1093]

:)

And I absolutely agree with this sentiment. At the end of the day it comes down to personal choice. I was simply pointing out one factor for the OP to consider. That, and other factors put forward by other posters, can be weighed against one's own personal desires and a final decision made. There is no one right answer in cases such as this and I was never advocating otherwise. I, for one, appreciate getting varied opinions and facts when I ask a question and then I use that information to make my own decision based on what matters most to me.

 

Yep:).

[luvtheships]

I paid for our cruise about 4 months before final payment was due. I just find it less stressful to have it paid off than to be monitoring when it is due. (Not to mention that I've wound up unexpectedly hospitalized twice this year and sure would not want to miss a final payment because I was sick!) I'll sacrifice the few months of interest for peace of mind. That's *my* choice, YMMV.

 

 

Lol all you had to do was direct your Ta or PCc to just pay it at final payment by charging the amount to the card you put the deposit on

 

You could have set this up when you booked

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[mamasylvia]

> Another advantage of using a good TA.

 

I've never disputed that there are advantages to having a *good* TA. Unfortunately, I don't, and I'm not the only one - and I sure wouldn't trust the lousy TA I used for our first cruise to exert herself on our behalf. So those of us in that boat need to look out for ourselves.

 

> I, for one, appreciate getting varied opinions and facts when I ask a question

 

I do too, and when I respond to a question, I try to include my rationale so the questioner can bear that in mind when deciding what course to take. I responded here because most of the posts had been in favor of waiting until the last minute to pay, and I wanted to show another valid point of view. In so many of the discussions here, there IS no "right" answer. What cruise to take? What type of cabin to travel in? What ports to hit? What excursions to take? Through the cruise line or privately? Fly or drive? Checked baggage or just carryons? And those are just the biggies that come up time after time. Even the responses that aren't actually useful to me, often because of some limitation that the responder wasn't aware of, often trigger consideration of some element that hadn't occurred to me before.