Making Final Payment Early

[nanak915]

Is it better to make the final payment early or should I wait till it is due? If the price goes down on the cabin I booked would they give me a refund if I have made my final payment? Is the chance of getting an upgrade better if I pay my final payment early? Any answers will be greatly appreciated.

[patseacruiser]

I can't tell you if it's better to wait or not but if a price drop occurs you will get a refund whether you made final or not if it's before final is due. However if after final is due, depending on the line, you will get on board credit. Some lines you will not get anything.

[BonnieVA]

I personally don't know of any benefits to paying the balance off early. I believe you could get a price reduction up until the final payment due date regardless of whether you've paid it or not (not sure though). But I would hold on to the money if I were you. No need to let the cruise line have it so soon.

[cb at sea]

Upgrades have nothing to do with your payments.....most don't ever get "upgraded"..ever! A few lucky ones do, and no one knows how or why that happens...it's a mystery!

I've seen 1st timers get really good upgrades....and sometimes, a high-level "repeat" customer will be upgraded....but this is NOT the norm.

Book what you'll be happy with, as an upgrade is rare!

[grandmato4]

No advantage to making final payment early other than the knowledge that your cruise is paid. The disadvantage of paying off your cruise early is that you are allowing the cruiseline to hold onto your money longer. If for some reason you were to decide to cancel your cruise before the final payment due date(when you go into the penalty phrase) you would have to wait for the cruiseline to refund your money to you which rarely happens immeidately but usually takes a few days.

 

For most cruiselines, if you are still before the final payment deadline but have paid off your cruise and you find that your price has gone down and call or have your TA call the cruiseline you will recieve an OBC for that amount. That can vary by cruiseline but seems to be the most common way its deal with.

[nanak915]

Thanks for all the good advice. I think I will wait to pay off my cruise until closer to the final due date. It is not due until June 2010.

[eandj]

Thanks for all the good advice. I think I will wait to pay off my cruise until closer to the final due date. It is not due until June 2010.

 

Keep your money in the bank and earn a few dollars in interest. Why hand your money over early? No advantages what so ever.

[iancal]

Like others have said..why pay now? Besides, you may decide to cancel at some point and there will be less money to be refunded. We never pay until the due date.

[electro]

I am Canadian so I try to make my final payment when the Canadian dollar is high so I don't lose as much on the exchange.:D

I can lose a lot more on exchange rates than I can gain on interest by waiting till the last minute if our dollar goes down:eek:

[pjn1]

Upgrades have nothing to do with your payments.....most don't ever get "upgraded"..ever! A few lucky ones do, and no one knows how or why that happens...it's a mystery!

I've seen 1st timers get really good upgrades....and sometimes, a high-level "repeat" customer will be upgraded....but this is NOT the norm.

Book what you'll be happy with, as an upgrade is rare!

 

 

Hi We get upgrades. Book direct with the company. We don't book with a travel agent. We get discounts and upgrades frequently from Australia with American companies they're the best. Try it.

[FLAHAM]

Keep your money in the bank and earn a few dollars in interest.

 

Very few. My credit union offers 1% APY on six-month certificates of deposit. $2,000 on deposit would earn $10. After tax, you could just about buy one beer on the cruise.

[nanak915]

I guess I will hold off for a while before I make final payment. I have until beginning of June. I have booked a cabin I will be happy with but thought if there were some steps that would help the upsell fairy find me I would take them. I booked last August for my upcoming cruise in August 2010 to make sure we would get cabins we would be happy with.

[CanWeGoYet?]

I know with celebrity I got onboard credit when the price dropped after final payment. With carnival, I am not certain they would give me anything if the price dropped after I made final payment (if I payed early). I didn't book ES, so I held off until the last day to pay.

[Wannagotoo]

I can't tell you if it's better to wait or not but if a price drop occurs you will get a refund whether you made final or not if it's before final is due. However if after final is due, depending on the line, you will get on board credit. Some lines you will not get anything.

 

Would the on board credit equal the price drop or some percentage of it??:rolleyes:

[Smithkids5521]

Keep your money in the bank and earn a few dollars in interest. Why hand your money over early? No advantages what so ever.

 

I was just thinking the same exact thing. My final payment isn't due until June also, but I had been thinking of just paying it off when we get our income tax return- just for the peace of mind that it is paid in full. Now, instead of giving Carnival my money early I am just going to put it into the savings account until due date... it may not earn much interest in 3 months, but even an extra dollar is a $ I didn't have before, right? ;)

 

Take care,

Diana:)

[CanWeGoYet?]

Would the on board credit equal the price drop or some percentage of it??:rolleyes:

 

If you booked directly with the cruise line & with one that gives post final payment price drops (or in a way that honors price drops, i.e. ES with carnival) the on board credit should equal the amount of the price drop. Just take care if booking with a travel agent - you should have a prior agreement with them that price drops will be passed on to you & know if they will tack on fees in this event.

[geoherb]

I'm used to paying in full when I book cruises--but that is because I wait until after the final payment date to book them. I did find a deal for our upcoming cruise and booked it a week before the final payment date. The price went down three days later. I sent my TA a message, and he had Princess give us a credit on my credit card.

 

When we have booked way ahead of the final payment date, I let our TA know when to make the final payment, usually a week before the cruise's final payment date just in case anything goes wrong with the transaction we'll have time to fix it.

[knittinggirl]

I paid early on RCCL and tried to redeem a coupon later. Couldn't because it said in the fine print it was good only for new bookings and unpaid balances.

[cruizinrican]

Upgrades have nothing to do with your payments.....most don't ever get "upgraded"..ever! A few lucky ones do, and no one knows how or why that happens...it's a mystery!

I've seen 1st timers get really good upgrades....and sometimes, a high-level "repeat" customer will be upgraded....but this is NOT the norm.

Book what you'll be happy with, as an upgrade is rare!

 

 

I have cruised over 20 times and we have never been upgraded and have never been asked to dine with the Captain!? So if NCL is reading, could you hook a sister up on our March cruise?! My parents cruised 4th cruise last year with a new-tocruising couple and they were upgraded from an oceanview to a SUITE!? So to say the least, my Dad was not happy (this was on Celebrity)! LOL I think it is just luck of the drawl. We have always booked our own suites when we could afford it.