Does anyone wait until the DUE date to make final payment?

[LGinPA]

2 hours ago, zgscl said:

As far as the cruise line is concerned paying on final payment date is totally fine, just know that it will most likely auto cancel at the end of the day if it has not been paid in full by the end of the day, so don't forget! 

 

Also you can probably pay one day before and be OK. It should take at least a day or two for the charge to post to your statement. 

 

Thank you!

And thanks to all who replied.  I will pay the day before, and keep fingers crossed that it doesn't post until the next day, or later.  It's really no big deal, but I just wanted to stretch our travel budget out a bit. 🙂

[cruiseny4life]

I don't recommend my approach, but it worked out ok for us. Our final payment date for our March cruise came up in November. We remembered the day before and figured we'd just call our PCC the next day (final payment date). Well, wouldn't you know, we totally forgot until about 10 PM that night! Guess what website was having technical issues? You guessed it! NCL's. 

 

So, we didn't make final payment date that evening. We contacted my husband's PCC the next day. She didn't call us back. We contacted her the next day. She still didn't call us back. So now, we were two days beyond final payment date. That evening we called the NCL main line and were able to make payment over the phone as the website wouldn't allow us to make a payment (not sure if glitch or because we were past final payment date). 

 

Our PCC reached out to us on day three to apologize. She had some health issues with her family going on. Totally ok and understandable. Family should always come first! She did explain to us that NCL doesn't automatically cancel a cruise or charge any extra fee for late payment, so we would have been ok on day three even. Eventually the cruise would have been canceled, but apparently three days is typically fine. 

 

Again, I sure don't recommend this approach, but hey, it worked out for us. It was a surprise for us as the other three cruises we've been on were all booked inside the final payment date so we never had to worry about paying a deposit, then paying at final payment. If we ever book outside final payment again (unlikely to do so), we'll definitely pay on the final payment date and not forget...I hope. 🙂 

[reeinaz]

11 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

Ah ha!  You sound like an experienced NCL cruiser 🙂

LOL. I've seen enough of the "uh oh. looks like this page took a vacation" messages to know better.

[NYMama]

I prefer to make final payment a few days in advance of due date, unless there is a credit card deal.  I was able to utilize two AMEX deals prior to final payment on my upcoming cruise and ended up saving $600.

[Peachypooh]

I pay about a week before. I have seen enough technical issues with NCL to be wary of waiting until the last minute. Also calling on the phone last day sometimes won't be an option. If there is bad weather or

a recent cruise cancellation for other reasons their phone lines can be busy. 

[fsa1155]

21 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Paying on the due date is fine. That's what we do (and we cruise at least 6 times  a year)

WOW!!  You are my hero.  I can't wait until we are both retired and can cruise 6 times a year.  😀

[spanishguy1970]

yes we do, no point in giving them the money ahead of time.

[LGinPA]

It's about 10 days before our final payment and I just learned something no one mentioned, so I'll pass it along. 

 

You can put your CC on file and have NCL process the final payment automatically ON THE DUE DATE! 

 

I learned this from the email NCL sent, but it took a bit of hunting around to find out how to do it. Here's how:

 

1. Sign into MYNCL and go to the Payment section, and select Make a Payment.
2. It defaults to Pay in Full, so you need to select Pay Other Amount. 
3. You need to enter any measly amount to pay, and enter your CC info in the section.  This payment will process immediately. I almost paid just $1, but I decided to pay the loose dollars and cents,  $30.14.
4. Immediately below that is the area to have NCL pay your balance in full on the due day. Fill that out, check the usual boxes to agree and now you don't need to think about making your final payment. 
5. I received both a confirmation email on the payment with new balance due, and a confirmation email on the auto pay. 

 

🙂 

 

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by LGinPA

[bortman23]

On 1/17/2023 at 4:59 PM, LGinPA said:

With my credit card it's Ok to pay it on the actual due date.  So I'm wondering if it's OK to do this with NCL and if anyone else does it. I'm new to NCL and cruising and don't want to risk any issues with my payments and account.  

 

Also, my NCL due date is the first day of my CC cycle, and if I make the payment on the due date,  my CC payment won't come due for another 8 weeks. But if I make the NCL payment the day before my due date, my CC is due in 4 weeks!  Those extra 4 weeks of holding onto my travel savings will earn me enough interest for a drink, maybe. 😉 

 

I always pay on the final payment date. I don't see any advantage to pay it early.

[Red-Sol]

I'm mostly good about making final payment at least a day or two (or more) before final payment date. A number of years back it totally slipped my mind at I made final payment about a week or so AFTER the due date. Nothing happened as a result of my forgetfullness...no cruise cancellations....etc. so just paid it. While I don't recommend pushing the envelope like that...at least once for me being late wasn't a problem. 😉

Edited February 25, 2023 by Red-Sol

[LGinPA]

14 minutes ago, bortman23 said:

 

I always pay on the final payment date. I don't see any advantage to pay it early.

 

I totally agree.  But now I have comfort in knowing that it'll be paid automatically on the due day (see my last post, #33). 

 

I have a grandbaby due the same week as my NCL final payment date. So now I don't have to think about the payment.  It's too bad that I was required to make a payment in order to enable the autopay section and enroll in autopay. 

Edited February 25, 2023 by LGinPA

[ashkay16]

I typically pay a few days beforehand . I call every 3-4 weeks to see if price has dropped . Last year price dropped 3 times before pay in full date . Cruise this July price dropped once already ( pay in full is 4/1/23 )   Im calling again tomorrow then again about week before pay in full date . 
I will add last year i called after pay in full date and price dropped again ( got $900 

FCC )    

[ChiefMateJRK]

17 minutes ago, ashkay16 said:

I typically pay a few days beforehand . I call every 3-4 weeks to see if price has dropped . Last year price dropped 3 times before pay in full date . Cruise this July price dropped once already ( pay in full is 4/1/23 )   Im calling again tomorrow then again about week before pay in full date . 
I will add last year i called after pay in full date and price dropped again ( got $900 

FCC )    

Many find it much easier to just mock a new booking on NCL.com to see if the price has dropped.

[bortman23]

6 hours ago, LGinPA said:

see my last post, #33

Great tip!

[bortman23]

2 hours ago, ashkay16 said:

got $900 

FCC

 

Ditto here, we got a $633 FCC, always worth checking after final payment to see if there's a drop.

[ashkay16]

Just got off the phone with my PCC . Price dropped another $ 500 so since booking 

1/2/23 for 7/30/23 cruise price has dropped

$750 . Pay in full is 4/1/23 so will call again about a week before that and will also call after paid in full . I will say i am in the haven this cruise and checked family member on same cruise not in the haven and their price actually increased . Lesson is be persistent and always check !!!