Paying Final Payment for a World Cruise on a Credit Card?

[wishIweretravelling]

On 4/10/2021 at 4:13 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

Others can confirm, but I suspect most, if not all, cruise lines with World Cruises/Grand Voyages will zero the onboard account and charge to a credit card multiple times during the cruise.

 

On Regent and Crystal, unless you request otherwise, the charges accumulate and you pay at the end of the full cruise. Of course, Regent is inclusive of the major expenses, and Crystal of many of the major expenses, so the accumulation of charges isn't that large (but you sure do pay for it all beforehand as part of the fare). And both tend to offer fairly generous OBCs, which do get credited against your charges as you go along.

[zalusky]

While it wasn’t a world cruise I did try paying a final payment on a Viking cruise through my Chase card.  I did a prepayment of the full amount which was way above the credit limit.  I presupposed that meant my credit limit would have been higher because the initial negative balance but Chase would not bite.  The trick would have been to have Viking charge in credit limit chunks and let them process from pending to transacted before doing the next chunk.  I should have done that but I wound up splitting the charge among multiple cards.

[Smokeyham]

On 4/16/2021 at 11:51 PM, zalusky said:

While it wasn’t a world cruise I did try paying a final payment on a Viking cruise through my Chase card.  I did a prepayment of the full amount which was way above the credit limit.  I presupposed that meant my credit limit would have been higher because the initial negative balance but Chase would not bite.  The trick would have been to have Viking charge in credit limit chunks and let them process from pending to transacted before doing the next chunk.  I should have done that but I wound up splitting the charge among multiple cards.

Looking at Princess' website, it shows that you make partial payments in advance of the final payment date.  Does anyone know if this is typical for most cruise lines?

[zalusky]

3 hours ago, Smokeyham said:

Looking at Princess' website, it shows that you make partial payments in advance of the final payment date.  Does anyone know if this is typical for most cruise lines?

I have never been required to make payments beyond deposit and final payments except for prepurchasing shipboard expenses or insurance.

[rkacruiser]

20 hours ago, Smokeyham said:

Looking at Princess' website, it shows that you make partial payments in advance of the final payment date.  Does anyone know if this is typical for most cruise lines?

 

I think doing such is possible for any long cruise payment.  Why would they not want to accept your money on a regular basis?  Particularly, now, when their cash flow is near zero.  

[Smokeyham]

17 hours ago, zalusky said:

I have never been required to make payments beyond deposit and final payments except for prepurchasing shipboard expenses or insurance.

The question was for those of us who want to make smaller payments in advance of the final payment date so that we do not exceed a preferred credit card's spending limit.

[zalusky]

2 hours ago, Smokeyham said:

The question was for those of us who want to make smaller payments in advance of the final payment date so that we do not exceed a preferred credit card's spending limit.

I can easily imagine everybody would allow that in front of final payment just go to make a payment  and make it a partial.

Edited April 19, 2021 by zalusky

[Smokeyham]

25 minutes ago, zalusky said:

I can easily imagine everybody would allow that in front of final payment just go to make a payment  and make it a partial.

That what seem to make sense. I can't see a downside for the cruise lines.

[Hflors]

On 4/10/2021 at 11:23 AM, Heidi13 said:

 

Depends on which WC you are booking, but for booking a WC, I suggest a minimum of $30 to $50K

 

Mass market mega ship cruise lines have a lower base price, but I doubt $10K is sufficient, even for 1 person. Our 2015 Princess WC in a midship's balcony was about $35K pp.

 

If booking a premium/luxury line, expect prices of $50K + pp. Note - by the end of the cruise, the per diem price will be almost identical, as on premium/luxury lines you have no, or minimal bill upon departure.

 

Another consideration, since WC's are selling our quickly, I doubt you will see any price discounts. If anything, price increases are probable. Our 2023 WC, which we booked in December is sold out, with our cabin having increased $6k pp.

Heidi13 can you point me to your price comparison between mass market and luxury per diem costs?   I looked at your blog, but I didn't see anything.  Sorry, I am notsure very computer savy.   Thanks.   Helen

[Heidi13]

2 hours ago, Hflors said:

Heidi13 can you point me to your price comparison between mass market and luxury per diem costs?   I looked at your blog, but I didn't see anything.  Sorry, I am notsure very computer savy.   Thanks.   Helen

 

Hi Helen,

 

On our blog I have completed a number of posts outlining our onboard experiences between mega ship and luxury/premium world cruises, but don't recall completing a discussion of cost comparisons.

 

I completed a quick cost comparison on the World Cruise Board almost a couple of years ago, which I found. Here is a link post # 66 on page 3.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2550755-which-company-for-inexpensive-worldwide-trip/page/3/

 

Please note that this is just our experience and is only a comparison of our 2 world cruises on Princess and Viking Ocean.

[winemama]

i make the WC payments work for me, I apply for Credit cards with high spend but lots of points or miles..then i use the new cards to make payments   I'm figuring when I'm done paying  off my WC 2023 I will have  acrued a half of million points of some sort.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

On 3/8/2021 at 11:17 AM, 2552phxcrzr said:

I simply pay the final amount in installments over a period of couple of weeks by paying off the CC balance in full before making the next installment payment.  Another alternative would be to use multiple credit cards, but I prefer to collect my miles/points on a single card.

simply pay the final amount in installments over a period of couple of weeks 

we do the same thing

[BVILady]

I transfer a chunk of money to my credit card account and then make daily partial payment for the amount limited on that card. Like to use one particular card because it gives me airline-miles, works out better for me then the cash-back on my card with the higher limit. Just doing that for an outrageous Home-insurance bill (looking forward to the points 🙂)

 

[gerryuk]

Can you not get the bank details of the cruise line and transfer the money over directly from your bank account, without any card involvement? 

[Heidi13]

1 hour ago, gerryuk said:

Can you not get the bank details of the cruise line and transfer the money over directly from your bank account, without any card involvement? 

 

Our preferred cruise line does accept bank transfers and provide a 3.3% discount. However, I calculated the miles received from our credit cards are worth well over the 3.3% discount, so we use credit cards.

[Smokeyham]

On 10/22/2021 at 1:37 PM, gerryuk said:

Can you not get the bank details of the cruise line and transfer the money over directly from your bank account, without any card involvement? 

As @Heidi13 notes the objective of using the credit card is to get the points - especially on such a costly purchase as a world cruise.

[rkacruiser]

On 10/23/2021 at 5:35 PM, Smokeyham said:

As @Heidi13 notes the objective of using the credit card is to get the points - especially on such a costly purchase as a world cruise.

 

I used a Marriott Rewards card to pay for mine.  Received many points that provided for several free nights at Marriott properties.  

[spookyfudge]

On 10/22/2021 at 4:37 PM, gerryuk said:

Can you not get the bank details of the cruise line and transfer the money over directly from your bank account, without any card involvement? 

No my travel agent requires only a credit card to make the final payment on the $70 cruise fare.  You can not use a bank transfer nor do you want to in case the agency goes bust. The CC will reimburse you it that occurs.