What do you pre pay?

[scuddles]

We usually prepay the tips a few weeks before the cruise and have purchased a few hundred is cruise cash but we have decided in the future to buy a few Carnival gift cards.

 

We also purchase excursions a month or so in advance.

 

We prepaid our gratuities on past cruises but when I booked our next cruise I forgot to add them. Where is it that you can add them? Right now our excursions aren't showing yet so that is the only place I haven't looked...because they aren't there.

 

We normally Prepay:

Gratuities

Booze (Bottles)

Soda and Water

Any Decorations (if celebrating)

Excursions

[firemanbobswife]

While I understand that some people would prefer the rewards on a credit card, to get them means you have to use the card. I think that they are too easy to fall back on for anything other than an emergency, therefore I don't.

 

 

 

Listen, not everyone is in the same place financially. I am more than financially sound. But I prefer to save and spend out of my every day budget to pay for my entertainment. I do not consider a cruise an emergency.

 

 

 

I have managed to pull myself out of the situation my ex husband dumped on me and left me with, and even prosper, in a very short period of time. I had the black Am Ex when I was single. I know what credit is and how to manage it well. I just figured out really fast after he was gone that the best way to live within MY means is to do it without credit. And I STILL manage several vacations a year and walk away from them without a bill. Unfortunately, I walk away with no bonus points either! LOL! :(

 

 

Hey, we all have to do what's right for our lives. Just putting it out there. The banks make enough money off us. They just love when we use our debit cards. Those fees that they charge the merchants are all profit and we get zero. So I vowed a year ago to never use my debit card unless I need to get cash out of my bank's ATM machine (which has been exactly twice). It has worked well so far and I have been claiming that free money as my own. Now I have enough to pay for a good chunk of a cruise. My hotel and airfare all covered by points by using different cards instead of my debit card. Not spending anymore than I normally would, but by putting my regular, everyday stuff on them and then as soon as they post, I do an electronic transfer right out of my account.

 

But again, you have to do what's right for you. I'm not knocking it. We all know what our individual weaknesses and strengths are. I am always on the hunt for a bargain and I find it challenging. I am addicted to the thrill of how I can work the system to my advantage and absolutely love getting rewards.

 

As long as we're all cruising, it's all good!

Edited April 28, 2016 by firemanbobswife

[Cushing985]

Everything is literally paid for at least 3 months prior to leaving including water in the cabin and $500 for onboard and incidental expenses on the beach. The interest I might save is insignificant to me.

[cruzn buckeye]

If you already paid for the gift cards why hold on to them? Carnival already has the money and you risk losing track of them.

i understand this. My insurance had a reward program, from which i got 75.00 in Carnival gift cards. I don't have any idea where i put them. Or if maybe I accidentally threw the envelope away.. but it was very frustrating... i will not let that happen again..:rolleyes:

[deborahjo]

We just bought $1000 in gift cards tonight. Awwww we are done.

[Alaskan Joe]

My wife and I are in the prepay group also (well......my wife is). We booked a cruise for December on Princess Ruby and it is paid off including air.:)

[Quilcruisers]

Cruise fare - we pay deposit, then balance a few days before its due

Airfare - if we use it, paid for on Amex - paid off when the bill comes

Tips - we remove tips and tip in cash on the trip

Excursions - at first, we booked early and pre-paid, more recently, we do some things as we get to port - cash, some things are preplanned and deposit paid separately.

 

Everything else is paid in cash once it hits the sail and sign card, the remaining is paid for when we get home , again on Amex - balance in full after we return from the cruise.

 

I am not opposed to paying things in advance - it helps to plan and budget more - so if I can pay early, I have from time to time. It all depends on how many trips we take that year and how spaced out they are.

[Tripper10]

Only the things that are due. Prepaying anything else is just a psychological ploy. It's like prepaying your credit card before you have a charge on it.

 

Exactly, these pre payers baffle me.

[summersigh]

I am in the "don't pay anything until it is due" camp.

 

We pay for:

the cruise

excursions

stuff ordered ahead for the cabin like water or Crown Royal

 

Everything else goes on the credit card that I pay online when the bill comes in.

 

If we were younger and our cash flow less reliable we might considering prepaying some items as a way of enforced savings.:D

[MissCheekx]

While I understand that some people would prefer the rewards on a credit card, to get them means you have to use the card. I think that they are too easy to fall back on for anything other than an emergency, therefore I don't.

 

Listen, not everyone is in the same place financially. I am more than financially sound. But I prefer to save and spend out of my every day budget to pay for my entertainment. I do not consider a cruise an emergency.

 

I have managed to pull myself out of the situation my ex husband dumped on me and left me with, and even prosper, in a very short period of time. I had the black Am Ex when I was single. I know what credit is and how to manage it well. I just figured out really fast after he was gone that the best way to live within MY means is to do it without credit. And I STILL manage several vacations a year and walk away from them without a bill. Unfortunately, I walk away with no bonus points either! LOL! :(

 

 

Very commendable! I think it's smart to know your limitations. I, too, live a credit-free lifestyle. There are debit cards out there with rewards, as well. I have one that gives me 1.5% cash back on all purchases monthly. I make an extra 10-20 dollars a month that way. More when I'm paying for a cruise! ;)

[firemanbobswife]

If you prepay your gratuities before May 9, you save about a buck a day per person.

[MCFTJCH2V]

If you prepay your gratuities before May 9, you save about a buck a day per person.

 

Actually tips are whatever YOU want them to be.

[firemanbobswife]

Actually tips are whatever YOU want them to be.

 

 

I give the recommended and extra if warranted. They are no different to me than taxes/port fees. All a part of cruising and not negotiable. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

[vicocala]

Exactly, these pre payers baffle me.

 

I do it so that I can book exactly what I want on my cruise without fear of it selling out, I get today's prices instead of tomorrows which often saves a lot and I can use other's money and get paid for it!

 

How?

 

First you have to have excellent credit to get the best deals obviously. I find a credit card that has no foreign fees, at least a year of interest free use and if I am fortunate a big bonus for purchases in the first three months in either points or rebates.

 

I then book my cruise of choice, pay for it (no rain off my back as the money is interest free for me), book any beverage, entertainment, excursion or dining plans so I have peak availability. I then book any possible other trip related purchases such as travel and hotels, prepay my Ship Hotel charges and come up with a grand total for that trip.

 

I then make monthly payments for the entire purchase at an amount equal to the total charges and the remaining months of the deal. So I get rewards and use of others money while getting first dibs on reservations and all I have to do is make a monthly payment. If the cruise is booked further out than the remaining months, you will have paid for the cruise before you sail.

 

This requires financial discipline but it is a great way for the avg person to make the system work for you.

[MCFTJCH2V]

I give the recommended and extra if warranted. They are no different to me than taxes/port fees. All a part of cruising and not negotiable. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

 

Then you may have been lost back in the day before they put them on account and you tipped cash in envelopes. I used to like how RCCL did it. If you WANTED to put the tips on your account, YOU had to initiate it no later than 3 days before the end of your cruise. They have since changed.

[firemanbobswife]

Then you may have been lost back in the day before they put them on account and you tipped cash in envelopes. I used to like how RCCL did it. If you WANTED to put the tips on your account, YOU had to initiate it no later than 3 days before the end of your cruise. They have since changed.

 

 

I absolutely did not like the envelope method the first time we sailed on Celebrity and was happy when they went to the automatic tips. Again, it's all a part of the price cruising to me.

[firegal2539]

I look at a cruise as a way to take a vacation by making payments. There is no other vacation you can do this with. I try to book all of my cruises at least a year or more in advance. I then take the total amount due, that will include insurance, taxes/fees, gratuities, and transfers and divide that total by the amount of months until final payment is due. I then pay that amount every month. I am paying for my cruise with no interest and have at least a year to pay for it.

 

I pay for dining, beverage package and shore excursions because I found out the hard way, if you don't book early some things aren't available closer to the cruising date. I wanted Specialty Dining for 3 nights on a cruise and the only time available for dining was 8:30 p.m. Some passengers would love that time but not me, I want to eat at 6:00 p.m. and according to the restaurant manager that is the number one choice of dining times.

 

When you book a cruise you will receive an email asking you to buy the beverage package. It is usually a 20% savings over buying it on board or just a month or two out from the cruise. Same with internet (get extra minutes) and shore excursions, I am doing a Panama Canal and I have researched which ones I want to take and have watched the price increase on two of them by over $10 each. I should have booked them.

 

It is just a chance passengers have to take, whether to book early or wait until before sailing. I need to know that everything is paid for before I step on the plane to take me to the port.

[scuddles]

If you prepay your gratuities before May 9, you save about a buck a day per person.

 

I am trying to do this. We have one cabin paid in full and one with a small balance. Is there a spot online under Manage that will allow you to pay them?

[firemanbobswife]

I am trying to do this. We have one cabin paid in full and one with a small balance. Is there a spot online under Manage that will allow you to pay them?

 

 

No you have to call Carnival or your TA if you used one.

[scuddles]

No you have to call Carnival or your TA if you used one.

 

Ok thank you.

[firemanbobswife]

Ok thank you.

 

 

You're welcome

[JonathanFlorida]

Hi, sorry if this is a dumb question: We bought some carnival gift cards and would like to use them to pre-pay for gratuities and excursions (unfortunately, we already paid for the cruise itself on a credit card through a TA). Can anyone tell me how exactly to use the Carnival Gift Cards to pre pay for things? I also wanted to pay for a present for my wife (sail away gift bag thingee) to be delivered to the room, etc...Thanks in advance!

[Wanna_Cruize]

You can prepay a great deal of things with Carnival gift cards:

 

1. 
    
   

• 
   
  
• cruise fare
   
  
• gratuities
   
  
• Carnival excursions
   
  

 

I just wish you could prepay Cheers with them!

 

 

I believe that you CAN prepay Cheers, in fact it is cheaper if you do it in advance. This is a recent change, but there have been other threads on this.

[firemanbobswife]

I believe that you CAN prepay Cheers, in fact it is cheaper if you do it in advance. This is a recent change, but there have been other threads on this.

 

 

Yes you can prepay Cheers. Just not with gift cards.