Final payment question: 134 days and counting

[Rocket4Oh]

As a newbie to cruising I’d like to run this plan before the experienced ones and get some feedback on its value.

We are approaching the 4 month date before the start of the cruise, which is 1 month before the date that the final payment is due to Oceania. Having read (past) threads about some travelers who have made a final payment to their TA and not had it sent to Oceania and the horror stories that have ensued, I am probably overly cautious. I am planning to send in the final payment for the cruise soon to ensure that it will be received by Oceania before the 3-month due date. I am, taking the advice of others, making payment by credit card. I can then check on when the payment was received by Oceania both on my statement and on the Oceania website under “Already Booked”.

Questions: Does this sound like a good plan? Is there anything that I’ve missed? When do the ship’s excursions need to be paid for (we’re planning on doing 3)

[cruzmaven]

If you are concerned that your TA is not going to timely forward your final payment to O, perhaps you need to get another TA.

 

This should just be a matter of giving your credit card info to your TA and instructing them to make the final payment. The charge should go from your card directly to O and show up on your credit card account within a few days. If the charge is going to the TA, then maybe you do have something to be concerned about.

 

IMHO, a good TA should be contacting you reminding you that final payment is coming due, not the other way around.

 

You should be able to book excursions directly on the O website without involving your TA. Admittedly, I've never pre-booked an O excursion but I'm sure others will correct me if I'm wrong about this.

[Paulchili]

You can indeed pre book your excursions online before the cruise (if they are available already). You must pay for them when you book them unlike some other lines (Princess) where you can book and pay later with your shipboard account. The booked excursions are cancellable onboard according to the rules (?48 hrs before) - I am not sure if you then receive OBC or refund to your CC, as I haven't done this.

You can also book them onboard and pay with your account. If you are concerned about not getting your choice due to limited numbers (or times), book it online.

[LHT28]

If you want to book excursion in advance they are payable at the time of booking ..if you book online through the O website it will ask for your cc when you complete the transaction.

 

If you wait until you board the ship they will be added to your ship board account & payable with you CC on the last night.

 

as for final payment I have never had a problem my TA puts the on my CC on the due date & sends me an updated invoice that day.

 

If you have paid the TA directly & not Oceania then you may well have a problem

 

You can pay it off anytime you want before the due date ..our friends do that when the exchange rates are good for the USD

Lyn

[LHT28]

Y The booked excursions are cancellable onboard according to the rules (?48 hrs before) - I am not sure if you then receive OBC or refund to your CC, as I haven't done this.

 

as long as you are within the cancellation deadline you get a refund

[Rocket4Oh]

If you are concerned that your TA is not going to timely forward your final payment to O, perhaps you need to get another TA.

 

This should just be a matter of giving your credit card info to your TA and instructing them to make the final payment. The charge should go from your card directly to O and show up on your credit card account within a few days. If the charge is going to the TA, then maybe you do have something to be concerned about.

 

IMHO, a good TA should be contacting you reminding you that final payment is coming due, not the other way around.

 

You should be able to book excursions directly on the O website without involving your TA. Admittedly, I've never pre-booked an O excursion but I'm sure others will correct me if I'm wrong about this.

Thanks to all for your responses.

The intial payment made through my TA went through with no problem. But as I said, there were a number of threads which indicated that cruisers had no problem with the initial payment but with the changing economic landscape their TA went out of business and the final payment not being cvredited ON THE FINAL DAY meant that they didn't go on the cruise!. Do I think that my TA will go belly up and abcond with my money? NO. But to quote Inspector Callahan (Clint Eastwood), "Do ya feel lucky, punk? Well do ya?" If you can be absolutely, 100% guaranteed about anything that will happen...in the future, well, let me know who you are picking to win the Kentucky Derby.

As far as my TA notifying me that my last payment is due, I , again, have full faith that they will. Of course, if I were them I would notify me when we were within 2-3 weeks of the due date and not, as it sits now a bit over 6.

[LHT28]

Thanks to all for your responses.

The intial payment made through my TA went through with no problem. But as I said, there were a number of threads which indicated that cruisers had no problem with the initial payment but with the changing economic landscape their TA went out of business and the final payment not being cvredited ON THE FINAL DAY meant that they didn't go on the cruise!.

In those cases they had paid the TA UPFRONT the full payment with the promise of a big discount.

The TA in question paid the deposit then used the clients money to pay for other client's trips but then the bottom fell out more people were hanging onto their funds until final payment day.

The cash cow dried up for the unscrupulous agent.

There are several threads on the different cruise boards on how many people almost or did lose their cruises.

 

If you have not paid in full to your TA at the time of booking I think you should be OK;)

 

Lyn

[YoHoHo]

In Canada in order to provide protection to customers, some provinces require TAs to be licensed and also to pay into an 'insurance' fund to assist covering costs for travellers who suffer a lose from fraudulant or bankrupt agencies (and to some degree related suppliers). I can imagine it is not much fun arriving at the airport to find out your tickets are not paid for or the charter is cancelled and you have to find your own way home.

 

That said, for my current booking I am dealing with a US based agent and so have no such protection. I am taking the risk though would prefer to use a 'covered' agent.

I am not concerned with my current agent as the deposit was charged to my Credit Card by O and not the agent. The final payment I suppose could be 'scooped' by the agent. I'd know within a day or two of giving my approval for the final payment until I see it on my Visa statement. If the charge is made by the agency and not by O I'd suspect trouble is brewing. The time window until one can see a mishap is fortunately now small if there is on-line access to your CC. If you do have such access you could contact the agent for clarification and your CC supplier for help if the charge is not as you expect.

[Rocket4Oh]

In Canada in order to provide protection to customers, some provinces require TAs to be licensed and also to pay into an 'insurance' fund to assist covering costs for travellers who suffer a lose from fraudulant or bankrupt agencies (and to some degree related suppliers). I can imagine it is not much fun arriving at the airport to find out your tickets are not paid for or the charter is cancelled and you have to find your own way home.

 

That said, for my current booking I am dealing with a US based agent and so have no such protection. I am taking the risk though would prefer to use a 'covered' agent.

I am not concerned with my current agent as the deposit was charged to my Credit Card by O and not the agent. The final payment I suppose could be 'scooped' by the agent. I'd know within a day or two of giving my approval for the final payment until I see it on my Visa statement. If the charge is made by the agency and not by O I'd suspect trouble is brewing. The time window until one can see a mishap is fortunately now small if there is on-line access to your CC. If you do have such access you could contact the agent for clarification and your CC supplier for help if the charge is not as you expect.

Same here. The initial charge was charged by O and not my TA so I am minimally worried. However, to cover that 0.00000001% chance that something could go wrong (A compuetr glitch:eek:) I am paying in advance of my "due date". Like you, within two or three days of the transaction I will know whether it went through and to which company.

With my original posting I was, in essence, asking if there was anything I was overlooking. It's amazing and very interesting, the many interpretations and answers and I am appreciative of the varied responses.

And, most importantly we are looking forward to cruising on O based on the extremely strong positive feedback about the quality of the product....137 days can't fly by quickly enough!

[hondorner]

Actually, the solution is fairly simple. Oceania sends your agent an invoice that lists all your fees and payments. My agent simply forwards that invoice to me. If yours does not, it may be an indication that they are hiding something. Ask for a copy of the Oceania invoice.

[Rocket4Oh]

Actually, the solution is fairly simple. Oceania sends your agent an invoice that lists all your fees and payments. My agent simply forwards that invoice to me. If yours does not, it may be an indication that they are hiding something. Ask for a copy of the Oceania invoice.

good idea. Thanks Don.