What is too earlly/too late to payoff Cruise??

[Dremac373]

I have seen plenty of threads where cruisers have great tips on how to save and payoff their cruises. I have read threads where cruisers have booked as close to 6 months from departure to as far out as almost 2 years. What I want to know is what's the earliest or latest you have paidoff your cruise and what are the benefits and downfalls if any???

[OceanDreamin]

Personally I am a planner, and I love having something to look forward to. I book my cruises months and months out, and put down just the deposit. I don't pay it off in full until the last day that final payment is due. Even if I have the cash, why let the cruise line earn interest on it?

 

The other advantage to booking early is that prices usually go UP and you lock in the lower rate. However, you can keep an eye on the prices, and if they do go down before final payment is due, you can call your travel agent and ask them to get it adjusted down for you (I got two downward price adjustments and an upgrade in the months leading up to my cruise on Carnival Pride). If you book directly with the cruise line, you may even be able to get on board credit applied to your account if the price drops AFTER final payment.

[LHT28]

I pay on the due day or the day before for final payment.

We have booked cruise up to 18 mths in advance.

The PRO's for paying earlier is that you can have it done & overwith and start saving for the other thing on the trip

I get to earn interest on my money in the bank

 

CON's..if you have to cancel before final payment you will have to wait for the refund in some cases weeks

If the price goes down you may not get cash back but an OBC

[megr1125]

I generally put down the deposit and pay some along the way......the interest i would get on the money is minimal, and i like watching the balance go down.............just my preference................

[Dremac373]

Kool, I have seen in some cases that one would wait til that last day to pay it off to watch for price drops to take advantage of them and that it is easier to cancel cruise air if need be if the trip is not paid in full, is that sort of true??

[firefly333]

Carnival and Royal Caribbean are both good about giving refunds if the price drops right up until date of sailing....even if it is past final payment.

 

My only reason for waiting to pay off is I have 6 cruises booked at this time I think, that would be too much $$$$ to tie up. I have one in January that is a guarantee, and dont want them to assign a cabin until the category is sold out lol. So Ill wait to pay that one off.

[Dremac373]

Carnival and Royal Caribbean are both good about giving refunds if the price drops right up until date of sailing....even if it is past final payment.

 

My only reason for waiting to pay off is I have 6 cruises booked at this time I think, that would be too much $$$$ to tie up. I have one in January that is a guarantee, and dont want them to assign a cabin until the category is sold out lol. So Ill wait to pay that one off.

 

Quick question, what is the benefit of this, does this help with possible upgrades or better location??

[kitty9]

You have to pay for the cruise at least 70 days before your cruise departs, unless you book with less than 70 days, and then you have to pay in full. If you cruise with Crystal, and choose to pay 180 days out, you get a 3.5% reduction in fare and you can pre-book your alternate restaurant reservations and spa appointments.

[Dremac373]

I thought it was something like 45 day for 5 days or less and 70days for more than..maybe I am wrong

[Benita]

The only time I pay early is for Crystal (3% off) and for trips with Vantage Travel (up to 10% off, depending on how far in advance you pay). Other than that, I rather keep control of my money and I pay a couple of days before it is due.

[old grey mare]

There is a disadvantage in paying early. Was booked on NCL b2b last year and paid by credit card when the final payment was due. Two weeks before had to cancel becasue of medical reasons and they and insurance Co. refunded. However the cruise line would only refund as a credit on my credit card. Therefore, I had to charge a quite a bit to get my money back.

[Dremac373]

Old Grey I am sorry that happened to you, I hope that it all worked out..So basically what I am understanding and correct me if I am wrong, but its beneficial to pay right at due date unless its Princes and you get a 3% discount??

[Benita]

The 3% discount is with Crystal, not Princess

[Happy ks]

There is a disadvantage in paying early. Was booked on NCL b2b last year and paid by credit card when the final payment was due. Two weeks before had to cancel becasue of medical reasons and they and insurance Co. refunded. However the cruise line would only refund as a credit on my credit card. Therefore, I had to charge a quite a bit to get my money back.

 

I've had a large credit on a credit card before. I had to wait 2 cycles and they sent me a refund check.

[Happy ks]

Carnival and Royal Caribbean are both good about giving refunds if the price drops right up until date of sailing....even if it is past final payment.

 

My only reason for waiting to pay off is I have 6 cruises booked at this time I think, that would be too much $$$$ to tie up. I have one in January that is a guarantee, and dont want them to assign a cabin until the category is sold out lol. So Ill wait to pay that one off.

 

 

That's a new one, I've never heard of waiting to pay to get an assignment. I always thought you had to pay by the final payment date, or they would cancel your reservation.

 

We've only used GTD categories twice, one time the assigned us a cabin immediately, we had changed from a specific cabin to an upgrade GTD. The other time we didn't know our cabin assignment until we go to the port.

 

I don't care to pay anyone before the funds are due. I want to hang onto my $$ as long as I can :) . We always pay by credit card, so our card is automatically charged the day of final payment, we don't have to do a thing except send in our check when the CC bill comes in.

[kitty9]

Dremac, I've not gone on a cruise less than 7 days, but for every line I've been on, the payment due date has always been 70 days out. And the 3.5% discount is on Crystal only, not Princess. And, it's 3.5%, not just 3%. On Crystal cruises, that 3.5 % can work out to be a nice savings plus you are able to book their alternate restaurants, which are always completely booked within the first couple hours of embarkation.

 

And Happy KS is right. If you don't make final payment by the date they require, they cancel your reservation within a couple of days.

[Dremac373]

The 3% discount is with Crystal, not Princess

 

Thanx I got the the names mixed up sense I know it had something to do with a females name :p

 

Oh yeah I know they will cancel your cruise if not paid by the due date, thats a given for just about anything.. And I just did some research and RCCI is 70 days prior and 90 for Holiday cruises. I guess what I am asking is in some of your experiences which is better, to pay off early if so what are the benefits if any and the downsides or do you pay just at the due date and what are the pluses/minuses??

[serene56]

i book my cruise as soon as pricing comes available so i can get the well sought after cabin. I am now booked for February 2009 for at least 6 weeks now. We wanted C753 and got it after 3 days of waiting for it to come back online.

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I dont like paying it off early because if the price comes down I want some kind of leverage. (i watch prices once a week) I make monthly payments.

But if my price has went up a considerable amount.. which it has always in the past I will pay it off early and whatever i have each month left over I buy cabin credit or casino credits.

[megr1125]

There is a disadvantage in paying early. Was booked on NCL b2b last year and paid by credit card when the final payment was due. Two weeks before had to cancel becasue of medical reasons and they and insurance Co. refunded. However the cruise line would only refund as a credit on my credit card. Therefore, I had to charge a quite a bit to get my money back.

 

Just a ??- since it sounds like you paid off the balance, couldn't you have asked the CC company to send you a check sonce you had a credit balance?? just wondering....

[megr1125]

On some shorter cruises, like our Bermuda one on RCL, I think final was due 50 or 60 days out-it was a 5 nighter.

[serene56]

Quick question, what is the benefit of this, does this help with possible upgrades or better location??

 

 

Paying off early does not affect possible upgrades either. Even if you pay it off early you will still wait until cabins are set.

(IMHO-- if you paid cheap dont expect to be upgraded- people who have paid the most get upgraded first...so if you booked a long time ago like we do-- pick a set cabin instead of a gurantee

[CC Help Michell]

I book a cruise as far out as I know I want to go, for cabin selection. I don't pay them off until the day final payment is due. In the meantime I work on "paying it off" along the way by paying myself; I divide the balance due by number of months between booking and the cruise, and every month I put that amount of money into a money market account, plus another $50 or so to save for gratuities, excursions, drinks, etc. The month before final payment I withdraw the final payment amount and send it to my credit card company to create a positive balance, so I can pay for the cruise by credit card and receive the protections, and cash back, my card gives me. The rest of the money I pull out right before we cruise and that, plus what I've socked away since final payment, is our vacation money.

 

I like this method because if for some reason we have to cancel the cruise prior to final payment, we still have a good bit of vacation money socked away to use for the replacement cruise (which we'll be booking much closer to final payment date). I don't like anyone having the use of my money all that time, except me. :)

[CaptData]

I'm Canadian and I put down the deposit at least one year in advance. As for paying off I watch the the dollar and pay off when I think I will get the best deal.

[Dremac373]

Paying off early does not affect possible upgrades either. Even if you pay it off early you will still wait until cabins are set.

(IMHO-- if you paid cheap dont expect to be upgraded- people who have paid the most get upgraded first...so if you booked a long time ago like we do-- pick a set cabin instead of a gurantee

 

serene56 I understand that but how is it the fault of the person who paid less and cant get a even crack at an upgrade?? example; The Tuesdays sales prices I hear about and the emails I get from from RCCI and online TA's. Then there are the forever changing price dancing...my last cruise the price danced around so much before departure date I though it was auditioning for the Rockets... one does not get the same chance at an upgrade because (s)he paid less then another because they took advantage of what the cruise line was offering?? Is that fair?? is that really what the cruise lines do??

[serene56]

serene56 I understand that but how is it the fault of the person who paid less and cant get a even crack at an upgrade?? example; The Tuesdays sales prices I hear about and the emails I get from from RCCI and online TA's. Then there are the forever changing price dancing...my last cruise the price danced around so much before departure date I though it was auditioning for the Rockets... one does not get the same chance at an upgrade because (s)he paid less then another because they took advantage of what the cruise line was offering?? Is that fair?? is that really what the cruise lines do??

 

i didnt say that was the way it is== I stated that was MY opinion based on what has happened to me== and by taking a poll about 2-3 years ago.

With Royal-- there is no sales-- one price is what you see.. agents are not allowed to discount.. they can give away freebies.. but can not change the price of the cruise.

Dont factor your decision based on what you read here either. Cruise critic people represent less then 1% of the sailing public.

By reading these boards it would sound like almost everyone gets upgraded but that is not the case== most people only get upgraded within their category they booked. It is rare you will find someone that booked 2 years in advance and booked the most cheapest cabin and got upgraded all the way to the suites. (this does happen when sailings are not selling so well-- (right after 9/11) or right after a hurricane hit.

Rare will you find upgrades during spring break or high peak family sailing time-- ex- holiday sailings