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Does Royal Caribbean have a payment plan for cruises?


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Fresh off Monarch (yesterday), now my friend and I are hungering for a longer cruise (4 days isn't nearly enough) and a much bigger ship.

 

We have our eye on Freedom of the Seas for late August. Being as the cruise is more than seven months away, does Royal Caribbean have a program where you pay a deposit, then make monthly payments toward the cruise?

 

If not, at what point does the price of a cruise usually come down?

 

Gracias! :D

Edited by crismess
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Fresh off Monarch (yesterday), now my friend and I are hungering for a longer cruise (4 days isn't nearly enough) and a much bigger ship.

 

We have our eye on Freedom of the Seas for late August. Being as the cruise is more than seven months away, does Royal Caribbean have a program where you pay a deposit, then make monthly payments toward the cruise?

 

If not, at what point does the price of a cruise usually come down?

 

Gracias! :D

 

Yes, I book a cruise on the RCCl web site, pay the deposit and use my Debit card to make monthly payments. This way it is totally paid off without a balance on my credit card. ;)

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NO RCCL does not have payment plans. You pay your deposit and then your final payment on the final payment due date.

 

Of course you can come up with your creative payment plan if you like...as long as it coincides with what RCCL wants..:rolleyes:

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In essence, cruises are like layaway plans. Your deposit serves as your downpayment and any subsequent payments you make are contributed to the outstanding balance. This of course is if you are booking far enough in advance to make payments. We generally book at least 12 months out so that we have plenty of time to save up for airfare, excursions, etc. in addition to paying off the cruise in full by final payment. If you are booking at less than 3 months out, you will need to pay pretty much in full.

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NO RCCL does not have payment plans. You pay your deposit and then your final payment on the final payment due date.

 

Of course you can come up with your creative payment plan if you like...as long as it coincides with what RCCL wants..:rolleyes:

 

Not a formal plan, but you can make payments online at the RCCL site weekly, monthly or anything in between, you do not have to just make a final payment.

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Yes, sorta, I made my own payment plan. I booked during a WOW sale, about 10 months out. Then every payday call and pay some on it. 25, 50, 75, 100. Whatever I can afford. By the time the cruise is here, I not only have the cruise well paid but have sufficient funds in my shipboard acct to party.

 

Easy as pie. and loads more fun.

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Instead of giving your money to a company sooner than you have to why not just put money into a savings account each month and then pay off your cruise when the time comes? I know interest rates are next to nothing these days but until they go to zero I can't see parting with your money sooner than necessary.

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Fresh off Monarch (yesterday), now my friend and I are hungering for a longer cruise (4 days isn't nearly enough) and a much bigger ship.

 

We have our eye on Freedom of the Seas for late August. Being as the cruise is more than seven months away, does Royal Caribbean have a program where you pay a deposit, then make monthly payments toward the cruise?

 

If not, at what point does the price of a cruise usually come down?

 

Gracias! :D

They don't have a program per se but as someone pointed out, just put a deposit on your cruise then pay monthly installments by either calling them or visiting your TA and paying that way.

 

When does a cruise price go down? Good question. I don't think there is a given time when this happens. If the cruise is selling well, it will go up. If it isn't, it will go down and you might do just fine booking last minute. If you have a cruise in mind and the price is in your ballpark, book it now. If the price drops over the coming months you can call them up and ask for the lower rate and if they do not give it to you, you simply cancel and re-book your cruise provided you are outside the final payment time - 70 days I think. Even inside the 70 days you might be able to talk them into an on board credit if the advertised price is lower. We always book our cruises many months out and we've always got the lower price. We've never seen a cruise price drop. I suppose that is because we book in late Feb/early March so its high time for cruising.

 

Long story short - if you have a cruise picked out and you like the price, strike while the iron is hot.

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Instead of giving your money to a company sooner than you have to why not just put money into a savings account each month and then pay off your cruise when the time comes? I know interest rates are next to nothing these days but until they go to zero I can't see parting with your money sooner than necessary.

 

I did this last year with job #2, one paycheck a month went towards a cruise. By the time it got to final payment, we were done paying. The interest we would have gotten on the small amount from that check would have been approximately .11 cents over the six month time frame. The peace of mind that the cruise was paid for was worth more than .11 cents to us.

 

If the cruise was more than a year away and cost a lot more, perhaps we would be better off saving the money in an account. We've done it that way before as well. There is some satisfaction to seeing the amount come down monthly, though. Kind of like watching any other debt being paid off.

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So if we put the deposit down now and make payments on it, it locks in the rate?

 

Thanks!

 

Your rate won't increase once you make deposit, no matter if you pay an amount monthly or wait until final payment. You can, however, enjoy a rate reduction if it comes down and if you are eligible (if the new rate is not for new bookings only).

 

We've gotten rate drops, residency rate drops and senior rate drops. You only have to be 55 for a senior rate. It seems weird that I can say "only 55" now :eek::)

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After the deposit, I set up a schedule for payments by month. You can pay in any amount that is comfortable for you. I also pay off our cruises before the deadline and never wait until the final payment date. An established Credit Card is used, so I call our TA to authorize the payment, she calls the Cruise lines who actually charge the payment to our Credit Card.

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So if we put the deposit down now and make payments on it, it locks in the rate?

 

Thanks!

 

Thats the best part.....

Yes your rate is locked in and can't increase. :)

I make monthly payments all the time, its fun to watch the balance due go down each month.

 

Watch your sailing date for rate drops, if you see a lower rate for your category, call RC a and they will adjust the new lower rate for you.

If you booked with a TA they are the only ones who can make changes to the reservation (they own it)

 

***

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Instead of giving your money to a company sooner than you have to why not just put money into a savings account each month and then pay off your cruise when the time comes? I know interest rates are next to nothing these days but until they go to zero I can't see parting with your money sooner than necessary.

 

This is what I do, i have an account just for cruises and add to it regularly, i hate to part with my money before i absolutely have to and I have good self control to leave the money in the account and not be tempted. :D

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By the time the cruise is here, I not only have the cruise well paid but have sufficient funds in my shipboard acct to party.

 

Silly question: How do you get funds in your shipboard account while paying the off the cruise? Or am I missing something?:confused:

 

Thanks for the answer and happy sailing:)

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Bloom I was putting money away in our Savings Acct, then we encountered car problems with my car and needed to use some of the money. It has not affected the payments for our upcoming cruise but has put a damper on one I was planning for, Fall of 2011, to cover the deposit. Now I doubt we will make that Fall 2011 cruise. The payments wern't the problem, but the deposit was. :(

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Bloom I was putting money away in our Savings Acct, then we encountered car problems with my car and needed to use some of the money. It has not affected the payments for our upcoming cruise but has put a damper on one I was planning for, Fall of 2011, to cover the deposit. Now I doubt we will make that Fall 2011 cruise. The payments wern't the problem, but the deposit was. :(

 

That is the main reason i like to have control of the money - you just never know when an emergency/ urgent situation comes up and you need that money.

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  • 4 years later...

Apologies for resurrecting this from ancient history, but I just came across this (very old !!) post about paying in installments, and I wondered if this is still something that people do?

 

I always assumed that the deposit, followed by the full balance when it becomes due, was the only way to pay for a cruise.

 

I'm not sure I would do it, but am curious to know what other people think about paying for their cruise bit by bit, if it is allowed?

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Apologies for resurrecting this from ancient history, but I just came across this (very old !!) post about paying in installments, and I wondered if this is still something that people do?

 

 

 

I always assumed that the deposit, followed by the full balance when it becomes due, was the only way to pay for a cruise.

 

 

 

I'm not sure I would do it, but am curious to know what other people think about paying for their cruise bit by bit, if it is allowed?

 

 

It's allowed.

 

So far I've only ever booked too close to final payment to come up with a sort of plan, but if I was booked far ahead I would do it, it allows you to structure it over multiple pay days and once you've paid, it's done with, you then don't have the temptation to spend the money that you are "putting aside"

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Thank you for the info. It just wasn't something I was aware of as an option, and it could be a good way to do things if we book far in advance in future.

 

I'm sure it's not something that is advertised. Does anyone know if all cruise lines allow this method of payment, or if it only applies to Royal Caribbean? I haven't come across it on the other lines we use either.

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