Pre-paid grats vs. sail and sign

[cruisin_baker]

We have always paid our gratuities on our sail and sign account and they appear about the second day. I read on these boards how some people pre-pay them...does that mean you pre-pay them before you board? And what are the pros and cons?

 

 

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[riffatsea]

I think some people just like to pre pay as much as possible so they don't feel like they are getting an extra bill during the cruise. It just helps them with their budgeting. It doesn't save any money as the amount will be the same.

We also just pay on our sail n sign because it all goes on the credit card and then we have one bill and that's that.

We don't spend much on board so the bill is never over the top. Each person has their own way of handling spending/money etc. so it is up to you to decide the best way for your individual needs.

[cruisin_baker]

Okay, that's what I thought, I just wanted to check. Thanks!

 

 

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[hockeyluver]

We always prepay them way before we cruise, we budget that into our cruise cost and its one more thing out of the way. Even if we get crappy service in on part of the ship we wont hold back our gratuities from the other service people that they go to. But we do tip a little extra on the ship for great service. We put cash down on our sail and sign.

Edited January 19, 2014 by hockeyluver

[Katoo]

I prepay at the time of booking. If you don't prepay when you book, you have to call. I also book early saver. Then any obc we get can be spent on something fun.

[Meyer2]

We always pre-pay our tips/grats. For us, it's just easier to pay months in advance before going.

[morganboys]

we prepay since we like to have most of our trip paid for prior to getting there?

[pbsteve]

Pre paid. We own no credit cards at all. I like it that way. So we prepay everything we can and usually buy credit for cheers so all that's on our account at the end are extras like pictures. It's nice to have it paid for all up front so when we get to the end we don't have odd charges or holds. Using a debit card is a terrible idea fyi since carnival puts large holds on the account

 

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[Purvis1231]

I do not prepay at the time of booking since I like to control my money as long as possible. I have called a week in advance a paid them. I also purchased cruise cash (OBC) at the same time for what we plan to spend.

[luv2cruzfrmco]

We like to prepay. I want that out of the way and we usually book so early that it just makes my trip more fun because I know that all the money I get on the ship with is just for US. USUALLY when we get on board, I g put a few hundred in cash on our S & S account so very little hits out credit card at the end.

 

I love to cruise and try to make it as affordable as possible.:)

[golfadj]

I see no reason for us to pay bills early unless they do give us discount.

 

However what works for us doesnt necessarily work for others.