How to pay for a cruise

Hi there! Getting ready to book my first cruise and it appears in previous posts here that holding off on last payment in case of cancellations is the wAy to go. Can this be confirmed? What worked best for all you cruise lovers? Any help is appreciated, thanks!

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We never make final payment until it's due... :cool:

Yes you can hold off final payment till due. Better if you choose deposit that is refundable in case you change your mind.

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Hi there! Getting ready to book my first cruise and it appears in previous posts here that holding off on last payment in case of cancellations is the wAy to go. Can this be confirmed? What worked best for all you cruise lovers? Any help is appreciated, thanks!

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

We like to hold off final payment as long as possible.

On a US booking you can get your money back after you've made final payment as long as it's before the deadline for final payment.*

Cancellation penalties are determined by how close it is to sailing, not specifically whether you've paid 100%. Paying early doesn't change that.

*Some cruise lines begin to assess a cancellation penalty at 120 days before sailing but all you risk at that point is the deposit. Again, regardless of whether you've paid more since the deposit.

Just be sure if you are booked through an agent that they don't miss the deadline.

Most people pay pretty close to when the final payment is due unless they are booked with a cruise line that offers an early payment discount.

Keith

Some cruise lines at certain times will say "nonrefundable deposit". Be sure to check the fine print!

We prefer to pay a little at a time after we've booked instead of putting it in the bank (we normally book well over a year prior to sailing) but as long as you pay before the final payment date you are fine (and as mentioned understand the cancellation penalties involved both of the cruise line and the TA you are using).

We never pay for anything until the due date. Cruises included.

I make final payment a week or two before it is due. That gets one more thing out of the way

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

We don't pay off the cruise until the final payment date.

We also buy refundable air line tickets in case we do have to cancel -- which has happened a few times.

Even if you pay everything in advance, but cancel BEFORE final payment date, you will be refunded whatever is due to you. The date you pay doesn't change their cancellation policy.

Even if you pay everything in advance, but cancel BEFORE final payment date, you will be refunded whatever is due to you. The date you pay doesn't change their cancellation policy.

^^^^ This; however, be certain to read the fine print. You don't say which cruise line you are planning to book with, but at least Carnival (and perhaps others) have special fares with stringent rules about cancellation. Always read the fine print and be certain you are okay with the restrictions before booking.

We normally book the cruise with our deposit and make payments in increments until it is all paid prior to the final payment date.

It seems virtually no one wants to pay the fare before they have to -- which makes sense to me. But why do so many like to pre-pay service charges to "get it out of the way"?

It seems virtually no one wants to pay the fare before they have to -- which makes sense to me. But why do so many like to pre-pay service charges to "get it out of the way"?

Sometimes "getting it out of the way" is enough.

It seems virtually no one wants to pay the fare before they have to -- which makes sense to me. But why do so many like to pre-pay service charges to "get it out of the way"?

Agree...to get it out of the way and also just in case the cruise line increase their service charges before your cruise.

Sometimes "getting it out of the way" is enough.

The question was - why is "getting it out of the way" attractive in the case of service charges, when it isn't in the case of fares.

The question was - why is "getting it out of the way" attractive in the case of service charges, when it isn't in the case of fares.

It's quite possible that those responding aren't pre-paying the service charges so it's not attractive to them.

The question was - why is "getting it out of the way" attractive in the case of service charges, when it isn't in the case of fares.

I think that you'll find that those (like me) that cruise on a "cash basis" like to get expenses out of the way early so that there isn't (1) a chance of going over budget and (2) a comfort level that everything is taken care of. Also, those who like to get all of the expenses out of the way up front are also more likely the people who want to get their cruise paid as early as possible. I don't stress over paying the cruise early, but still want to get everything I can paid ahead of the cruise. I treat cruising like a bill, making payments or paying service charges (gratuities) or purchasing flights or putting away money for things that you can't prepay a little very payday. I never have a bill at the end of the cruise, I'm busy paying for the next one :)

The question was - why is "getting it out of the way" attractive in the case of service charges, when it isn't in the case of fares.

Hi, in my experience, once you make your final payment you and until days before you sail, you can pre-pay for things like drink packages and service charges… Doesn't have to be at the time you book And the benefit, for us anyway, is that you won't get a huge bill at the end of the cruise - same cost just mentally a little easier to pay ahead of time and not after when all the fun is over [emoji12]!

Not every cruise line offers this option for prepaying service charges but when they do it's a nice thing for us! Enjoy your cruise!

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The question was - why is "getting it out of the way" attractive in the case of service charges, when it isn't in the case of fares.

Two reasons. Fares are a much larger amount than the service charges, so that is a major difference. I don't like having that much money tied up in someone else's bank where I have no access to it, so that if I cancel I will need to wait several weeks to get it back if I need it for the emergency that caused the cancellation. And, if I am making the final payment at the required time, I have decided to actually take the cruise. It is then that I pay the service charges since I now know that the chances of my cancelling are slim to none, and because I consider them to be part of the cost of the cruise and not a "optional" fee based on my whim during the cruise, and so I pay them together.

It seems virtually no one wants to pay the fare before they have to -- which makes sense to me. But why do so many like to pre-pay service charges to "get it out of the way"?

The only thing that can keep me up at night is knowing I owe someone money. So if I pay the gratuities in advance I sleep better [emoji16]

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I book and make regular payments. About half the time I end up paying it off long before final payment due date. I also always tack gratuities on to the amount I am paying off. I do t make any money by holding on to it until due date and I don't begrudge the cruiseline having it sooner

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I paid my half in full shortly after booking, my boyfriend just made his final payment about a month in advance.

...now if the cruise line offered an incentive to pay off the balance early I would consider doing it.