Do you pay off your cruise upfront or wait until the due date?

[squierjosh]

So I posted this in the general cruising section under saving money, but no response. I've always just paid for cruises upfront, but I've never really booked them that far out. Our next cruise is not until Jan 2019 on Carnival. I managed to get enough discounted gift cards from AARP (10% off) and plan to use those to pay for both cabins we booked. Is there any reason I should wait to pay off the balance. I have until November 2018 to pay. The gift cards don't expire. Since I have until Nov 2018 to pay, can I get that refunded up until that date as well?

[Ziggy7]

I save the money but paid them in full only a few days before the final pmt date! That way if you have to cancel before final pmt, you only are out the deposit. Saves filing insurance claims too :)

[wemjam]

So I posted this in the general cruising section under saving money, but no response. I've always just paid for cruises upfront, but I've never really booked them that far out. Our next cruise is not until Jan 2019 on Carnival. I managed to get enough discounted gift cards from AARP (10% off) and plan to use those to pay for both cabins we booked. Is there any reason I should wait to pay off the balance. I have until November 2018 to pay. The gift cards don't expire. Since I have until Nov 2018 to pay, can I get that refunded up until that date as well?

 

The refund will depend upon what rate you booked under, each rate has its' own rules. As far as paying, you can do whatever is comfortable for you. I usually have my cruise paid off about 3-4 months before we sail, and also by 2 months out other things like gratuities, excursions (some of these I do way in advance if they are real popular and sell out quick), any fun shop purchases, etc.

 

I like having everything paid when I get on board, so I space it out throughout the time I have to pay between final payment and booking, but usually, the bulk of it is paid 2-4 months out in full.

 

Of course, I do a couple a year, so I am always focused o the next closest one too the most ;):p:cool:

[Micahs Grandad]

We pay a week or so before final payment date.

[squierjosh]

I also like having everything paid off before getting on the ship (cruise, gratuities, extras). I'm thinking I'll hold off paying until right before it's due, and just leave my gift cards in the safe until then.

[Tiggerontheseas]

I save the money but paid them in full only a few days before the final pmt date! That way if you have to cancel before final pmt, you only are out the deposit. Saves filing insurance claims too :)

 

If you are already paid in full but cancel before final payment date wouldn't you be reimbursed without filing an insurance claim? Except of course for non-refundable deposits, etc? I'm asking because my husband wants to pay off our cruise WAY before final payment and I don't want to be caught with any surprises.

[crusinpsychRN]

Due date. But watch out. I had used a card that I reported lost or stolen so CCL didn't have a good number and I lost my cruise. To save it I have a TBA cabin. Takes them forever to assign one.

[easyboy]

We pay a few days before final payment date

 

 

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[ryano]

Generally pay in full when I book or shortly thereafter. This is an age long debate here. Id rather have the peace of mind knowing my cruise is paid in full months in advance than the pennies that money would earn in a checking or savings account. My personal preference. YMMV.

[ryano]

If you are already paid in full but cancel before final payment date wouldn't you be reimbursed without filing an insurance claim? .

 

Yes, this is correct. UNLESS you book Early Saver rate. If you book ES and cancel before final payment date, you lose 50.00 per person and the rest of the deposit they put toward a future cruise credit that has to be used within 24 months. Ive generally booked ES and only when they are running the 50.00 deposit special. That way if worse comes to worse and I have to cancel, Im only out 100.00. If you have sailed Carnival before, there is a past guest rate that is generally only about 20.00 more per person and there basically are no restrictions. Next cruise I will book the Past Guest rate.

 

If he wants to pay it off early, pay it off early! The only "surprises" come with ES rate and Ive explained that above :)

[Tiggerontheseas]

Yes, this is correct. UNLESS you book Early Saver rate. If you book ES and cancel before final payment date, you lose 50.00 per person and the rest of the deposit they put toward a future cruise credit that has to be used within 24 months. Ive generally booked ES and only when they are running the 50.00 deposit special. That way if worse comes to worse and I have to cancel, Im only out 100.00. If you have sailed Carnival before, there is a past guest rate that is generally only about 20.00 more per person and there basically are no restrictions. Next cruise I will book the Past Guest rate.

 

If he wants to pay it off early, pay it off early! The only "surprises" come with ES rate and Ive explained that above :)

 

Perfect! Thanks so much. We are booked under the Early Saver and I completely understand the restrictions on the deposit for that. First Carnival cruise but I am looking forward to being a past guest and being able to use that rate instead. :)

[stargate fan]

So I posted this in the general cruising section under saving money, but no response. I've always just paid for cruises upfront, but I've never really booked them that far out. Our next cruise is not until Jan 2019 on Carnival. I managed to get enough discounted gift cards from AARP (10% off) and plan to use those to pay for both cabins we booked. Is there any reason I should wait to pay off the balance. I have until November 2018 to pay. The gift cards don't expire. Since I have until Nov 2018 to pay, can I get that refunded up until that date as well?

Seeing all the cancelled cruises due to hurricanes and reading how it's taking a very long time for people to get the refunds they're owed, I will now pay the day before final payment date, even with the Verizon gift cards.

[pe4all]

I pay our cruises off way before final payment. Have never (knock on wood) had a problem with a cruise being cancelled out from under me. I also prepay gratuities, buy water, buy bottomless bubbles and any excursion I am interested in months and months before final payment is due.

[mdsgu]

On ES rates, I know you can get price adjustments up until 48 hours before departure. I thought on other rates, you could only get price adjustments until you were paid in full. So if you pay off your cruise months before the due date, wouldn’t you be locking yourself out of any price drops?

[Pops, Esq.]

I know a lot of people hold off until the last minute because they would rather have the money in their account, not Carnival's. I can understand that. Even if you are getting a full refund, there is still some waiting time to get it back. If you have gift cards, you have already spent the money, so that doesn't really come in to play. If your plan is to use those cards to pay for the cruise, I don't see the benefit in waiting. All that can happen is you lose/misplace the cards -- not likely to happen in your safe, I know, but if you go ahead and apply them to the account, there is zero risk.

 

As for what I usually do, I just pay a little here and a little there, as I go along. Put any "found" money towards the cruise. ("found" money can be unexpected money that comes in from time to time -- something not accounted for in the budget) Something I am not likely to miss. Sometimes it's paid off before final payment date, sometimes not. If it's not, the final payment is not such a hit to the bank account.

[againin13]

We usually book about a year out, sometimes 1and sometimes 2 cruises per year. We pay the cruise fare in full upon booking,then any extras,gratuities ,drink packages ,insurance etc before final payment date!

But, my daughter books with the required deposit,divides by #of months left and makes monthly payments up to the final pmt.date ! Different methods,but the vacations have all been great!

 

 

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[CeleBrat]

Perfect! Thanks so much. We are booked under the Early Saver and I completely understand the restrictions on the deposit for that. First Carnival cruise but I am looking forward to being a past guest and being able to use that rate instead. :)

 

If you are EArly Saver, then don't pay off the cruise yet. If the price drops, you will get a reduction to your fare. If you've already paid it all off, then you will get onboard credit. While OBC is nice, I'd rather truly "save" money with a reduction.

 

CeleBrat

[Tiggerontheseas]

If you are EArly Saver, then don't pay off the cruise yet. If the price drops, you will get a reduction to your fare. If you've already paid it all off, then you will get onboard credit. While OBC is nice, I'd rather truly "save" money with a reduction.

 

CeleBrat

 

Gotcha! That is definitely something to think about. I assumed any price drop would be reimbursed back to your credit card and didn't think about it being applied as onboard credit. Although I'm sure I'll be spending money on the cruise anyway and it's not as if I've ever had any difficulty blowing through shipboard credit before. LOL!

[Drazil65]

We will use our Amex offers for $100 off a $500 payment before the expiration date of the offer (which currently is before our final payment date on our spring cruise), we purchase several discounted GC from AARP mostly and use those and whatever is left to pay about week before final payment. The discounts add up and why not save more money off the bottom line of the cruise. It is fun to see the discounts add up...plus any price adjustments we may get as we typically book about 9 or 10 months out (or more).

[riclop]

Never give them your $$$ ahead of time.

[murcor]

I wait

 

 

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[Pops, Esq.]

Never give them your $$$ ahead of time.

 

 

Too late. They already bought gift cards. Carnival has their money already.

 

 

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[GlamorousGirl]

On a cruise I am paying, I absolutely would have to pay in full at booking unless it's one of those small deposit offers. I can only afford that big an expense 3 times per year when I receive most of my income. I would have trouble paying it off with my regular paychecks, even if I could pay a large deposit, anyway. This actually works out though because once that is taken care of I can focus on the other expenses like drink packages, excursions, transportation and hotels en route, etc. If I get a comp offer from a land based casino I always, always pick it up, regardless of the line and whether it's a hassle to pick up the voucher because it's always worth it. That has really helped us out and helped us cruise a lot more than we otherwise could.

[tandemcruzr]

On ES rates, I know you can get price adjustments up until 48 hours before departure. I thought on other rates, you could only get price adjustments until you were paid in full. So if you pay off your cruise months before the due date, wouldn’t you be locking yourself out of any price drops?

 

No. You can take price drops up 'until' final payment due date. Reductions will be in the form of OBC.

[h_blond2]

We wait until the due date. That way if there are any price drops, we get that amount taken off the price we owe and not in OBC.