Do you pre-pay everything?

[trvlgirlmq]

As someone who takes 1 vacation a year and has to budget for it the planning is very important. I work, I have a kid in college and a kid in high school and I can't just go at the drop of a hat. Booking a year in advance let's me plan, save and make any necessary budget adjustments.

[buddylover]

Yes I prepay as much as possible with 10-15-20% off Carnival gift cards.

 

Repeated from another thread:

I prepay as much as I can ahead of time like gratuities and BB so that's one less thing I have to factor in on the ship. I start with a clean slate and I like it that way. And no, I don't care about the minuscule "interest" or the fact that I'm giving Carnival a "free loan" because again, they are paid for with discounted Carnival gift cards so the gift card people already had my money to begin with.

 

We are with both of you! We do exactly the same.....and buy GC's with discount.......the amount from just us is miniscule interest to CCL. However, I do wait to give the $$ over to CCL.....I pay towards the end, but accrue all the $$ to pay it over the course of my booking. So at final payment due time, we don't have very many surprises at the 'end' of the cruise...we are fairly 'paid off'.

[Doggielover68]

I prepay as much as I can with discounted gift cards, but purchase the gift cards over time so it's never one big bill. I don't like to worry about the budget while I'm on the actual trip.

 

 

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[jackparts]

I prepay everything asap. I even try to prepay the excursions direct. I have kept the cruise a secret this year so I have paid for St Marteen, Bernards ...St Thomas Brendas Tours And Thenford Grey in St. Lucia. Still trying to prepay The Boatyard in Barbados as they are not comfortable prepaying the $20 per person and St Lucia? . Since there are 5 ports, too much cash to carry for 11 people, and credit cards carry a % out of the states as well as fraud problems.

[Drazil65]

Yes, we book well in advance each year for any cruise we plan on taking within 12 months and have plenty of time to get discounted GC, price drops ;pand offers like the AMEX card offers for $100 statement credit for a $500 payment....so it makes sense as it makes the cost of the cruise much less than what I booked for....

[mediccruzin]

Since my job only allows me to book time off between 2 and 6 weeks in advance I always pay full price for the cruise and also make sure the grats are paid, pre pay for Cheers and waters.

[cruizinisthebest]

Yes. Everything that can possibly be prepaid, we go ahead and pay it. Tips, obc, drink packages, bottles for the room, Internet packages, all paid for. and I for one thank Carnival for allowing gift cards to be used in the fun shops. Made my desire to have everything paid for much easier. I also prepay any hotel stays, car rentals -any and everything I can. I don't load it all up on credit cards either. Just book early then onward to planning and paying. Love doing it that way. Not everyone does.

[tef43]

Absolutely not. No reason to give Carnival an interest-free loan, that's just financially irresponsible.

[deborahjo]

I prepay as much as I can. The rest we pay cash for. That way when I get off the ship I have no outstanding bills.

 

People will say don't because you are only putting money in Carnivals bank. You are losing the interest. I don't worry about this.

 

I like getting off the ship and not owing a dime. Makes my vacation more memorable.

 

 

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[cruizinrican]

I prepay everything ahead of time: hotel the night before, gratuities, FTTF, CHEERS, spa treatments, specialty dining and excursions and I do so w cash. I don't really care what others think or how they do it. This works for me and I love coming home and owing nobody a thing. I even put cash to spend at each port in an envelope marked w island name so I can open safe, grab and go. No stopping to count out money. But I do bring a credit card w me just in case I see something I must have but this rarely happens. I also put $1's in a an envelope for room service tipping.

 

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[firemanbobswife]

Absolutely not. No reason to give Carnival an interest-free loan, that's just financially irresponsible.

 

But if I already bought gift cards at a minimum of 10% off what does it matter?

[rufflesmom]

We pre-pay gratuities always, just consider it part of the cost of the cruise. This time we have booked all of our excursions already, but we don't always do that. We do it for budgeting purposes. That is what works for us. Might not work for everyone but to each his own.

[mikel24m]

You can also use them to pay for your cruise. I have saved so much money between those and the Amex offers.

Do you buy the gift cards with your Amex? My best thing we do is use my Amex to buy cards and get 6% cashback. We also use my wife's citi card and buy $500 cards for $450 plus 50 points. It adds up fast for us

 

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[firemanbobswife]

Do you buy the gift cards with your Amex? My best thing we do is use my Amex to buy cards and get 6% cashback. We also use my wife's citi card and buy $500 cards for $450 plus 50 points. It adds up fast for us

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No I don't know about the Amex thing, but I did get to take advantage of the $100 off a $500 charge offer 3 times.

 

I get the Citi or AARP cards for 10% off. I was also able to buy 3 $100 GCs through a travel promotion someone posted on here for 15% off. Last year (I think) eBay also ran specials for 20% off. But when I do buy the GCs I also get points on the CC I use to buy them so it's a win all the way around.

[cruizinisthebest]

But if I already bought gift cards at a minimum of 10% off what does it matter?

It doesn't. Although I was a pre-payer before the wondrous world of discounted gift cards. Lol

 

Like I said, it may not work for everyone but I love knowing mostly all of my expenses are paid for. No debt to payoff. What we take to spend is free and clear. My kids are in private school. We book early with a cheap deposit (less to lose if you need to cancel) and pay as time passes. Vista in 4 weeks after booking 15 months ago. Everything I could pay for, is.

 

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[firemanbobswife]

It doesn't. Although I was a pre-payer before the wondrous world of discounted gift cards. Lol

Like I said, it may not work for everyone but I love knowing mostly all of my expenses are paid for. No debt to payoff. What we take to spend is free and clear. My kids are in private school. We book early with a cheap deposit (less to lose if you need to cancel) and pay as time passes. Vista in 4 weeks after booking 15 months ago. Everything I could pay for, is.

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Just making sure. I don't get the aversion to prepaying or why one worries about "giving Carnival an interest free loan." I'm not loaning them money and it makes no difference to me because my gift cards have been bought and paid for at a very decent discount for probably months.

[FinallyCruisinAgain]

We are prepaying as much as possible this cruise to avoid the "sticker shock" when we see our sail and sign account on the last night. We're not doing Cheers because we found that doesn't work for us with my hubs being a much bigger drinker than I am. We've analyzed our last several cruises and think that if we buy $500 worth of "bar cash" precruise that should almost cover it. We see it like having Cheers, but without the limits that Cheers imposes - we can get buckets of beer and souvenir glasses (I'm a sucker for the shooters in the MDR and the servers all know it...lol) and I can get my husband's beer, my son's n/a Miami Vice and my margarita all at the same time without each of us making our own trip to the bar. And we're still $300 less than Cheers for 2 adults.

 

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[cruizinisthebest]

Just making sure. I don't get the aversion to prepaying or why one worries about "giving Carnival an interest free loan." I'm not loaning them money and it makes no difference to me because my gift cards have been bought and paid for at a very decent discount for probably months.

 

Exactly.

[n6uqqq]

I guess I'm in the minority that would feel worse paying for something with no benefit today that can wait until a year from now. 95 out of 100 may say it makes their life easier not to "worry"; well, I'm in that 5 out of 100...just a different discipline. Never missed a payment in my life, never paid a cent of interest on a CC, never use more than 5% of my credit, never carry a balance unless it is 0%.

 

You are my long lost twin! This is me to a " t ". I also pay my entire cruise with Verizon cards which typically saves me $250 dollars or more per cruise. But I don't pay it off until final payment is due.

[firemanbobswife]

You are my long lost twin! This is me to a " t ". I also pay my entire cruise with Verizon cards which typically saves me $250 dollars or more per cruise. But I don't pay it off until final payment is due.

That's like me as well. I think people are interchanging "prepaying" with "paying before final payment" which are 2 different things. Prepaying in my book means paying gratuities, drink packages, internet, or whatever else can be ordered and paid ahead of time instead of waiting until you're onboard. It does not necessarily mean paying before final payment. I think there is some confusion going on.

[cruizinisthebest]

That's like me as well. I think people are interchanging "prepaying" with "paying before final payment" which are 2 different things. Prepaying in my book means paying gratuities, drink packages, internet, or whatever else can be ordered and paid ahead of time instead of waiting until you're onboard. It does not necessarily mean paying before final payment. I think there is some confusion going on.

I think so. Because I see no reason to pay a cruise off way ahead of time ; especially if you are booked early saver.

 

Even using gift cards, I just hold on to them until a few days before final payment. Not that I'm hung up on Carnival gaining interest on my money. I'm not. And you're right. Prepaying and paying off your cruise months ahead of time are two different things. Of course if that floats your boat, feel free.

 

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[firemanbobswife]

I think so. Because I see no reason to pay a cruise off way ahead of time ; especially if you are booked early saver.

Even using gift cards, I just hold on to them until a few days before final payment. Not that I'm hung up on Carnival gaining interest on my money. I'm not. And you're right. Prepaying and paying off your cruise months ahead of time are two different things. Of course if that floats your boat, feel free.

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Agree.

[tea4ular]

We prepay as much as we can, over as long a period of time as we can. No coming home from vacation to a bill that needs to be paid off. Taxes, tips, insurance and other items that can be prepaid.

[Gloworm2]

Yes prepay for everything. Only onboard spending is extra gratuity for cabin steward and dining room staff. Maybe a couple of t-shirts.

 

 

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[k2excursion]

I pay what is required at the time it is required to be paid by. I do not voluntary pay early for anything unless there is financial advantage or reason to for me. Paying early does not make things "easier" for me mentally. I *will* pay ahead if there is an advantage to me doing so; such as the Amex $100 credit with a $500 payment

 

I'm the exact same way. I will only prepay things if there is some type of financial benefit in doing so. I paid off my last cruise extra early, just so that I could get a lot of extra hotel points for spending enough money in the first 3 months on that credit card. Otherwise, I wait until closer to the due date. I have friends who always pay things off immediately, so that they "don't have to worry about it". I have never understood what they're worrying about or why they worry. I never worry about it. I just pay it off when it's due, or maybe a week or so early. It's just different personality types, and it's all good.

 

The gratuities make no sense to me. There's no possibility of forgetting to pay those, since they will be on your on-board account. I do understand if people are worried that they'll end up spending that money on something else before they leave on the cruise, and then they won't have any money to pay their gratuities. I personally don't live like that. I'm not wealthy; I just set the money aside and don't touch it. But not everyone can do that, so good for them to know that about themselves. With gratuities especially, I would rather not have to make the extra step of prepaying those, when not prepaying them is easier.