Can full payment be made early?

[yarramar]

I have probably left it a little late, but when our dollar was close to the US$ I thought I should make full payment for our upcoming cruise. I looked at my invoice but could not find explicit instructions and assumed they would send a final invoice with instructions.

Now our $ has dropped 10% in the last week and it will cost me an extra $1000.

 

I dont know if I should wait till the final date (June 7) or pay now if I can in case our $ goes lower.

[LHT28]

You can pay anytime... contact your TA and get them to put the payment through now

Our friends paid about 2 mths before final payment date when the dollar was good;)

 

Lyn

[Aruba]

If you do pay now, make sure the charge is made TO Oceania Cruises, not to the travel agent for them to hold on to the money until final payment date.

I'm saying that not because of the fluctuation in exchange rate but because you run the risk of the travel agency going out of business before it remits payment to Oceania. This happened to us. The travel agency (an internet agency) offered us an additional 5% discount if we pre-paid the entire balance upon booking. We were surprised to find on our credit card statement that $1,500 was charged to Oceania and the balance charged to the on-line travel agency. We contacted them, told them to reverse the charge and that we preferred to pay the original undiscounted rate.

60 days later when the agency still had not refunded our money we filed a dispute with the credit card company which reversed the charge. Shortly after, the travel agency went out of business. They were running a ponzi scheme -- and we got out just in time. Don't risk that.

[hondorner]

Aruba is correct. As long as your payment is credited properly to Oceania, you can pay as much as you like in advance, and it will all be returned to you in the event you have to cancel before the date of full final payment being required.

[Aruba]

Don't fall into the trap that we did -- make sure the charge goes to Oceania Cruises.

I can't tell you the effort, not to mention anguish, we went through in getting this resolved. It was many, many thousands of dollars that we could have lost.

[LHT28]

Don't fall into the trap that we did -- make sure the charge goes to Oceania Cruises.

 

I do not think the OP is being offered a discount to pay early they just want to get a good exchange rate from AUD to USD

 

If it sounds too good ..well you know;)

 

Lyn

[yarramar]

I do not think the OP is being offered a discount to pay early they just want to get a good exchange rate from AUD to USD

 

Lyn

 

That is correct.

It has just gone up 3c overnight. I don't know if I should wait.

Oh well its only money

[gillianrose]

The travel agency (an internet agency) offered us an additional 5% discount if we pre-paid the entire balance upon booking.

 

Does Oceania offer a discount for payment, say six months in advance?

[LHT28]

Does Oceania offer a discount for payment, say six months in advance?

 

I doubt it

[LHT28]

That is correct.

It has just gone up 3c overnight. I don't know if I should wait.

Oh well its only money

 

I understand what you mean

 

I was buying USD while the exchange rates were good so when final payment time came along I have the funds already at a good rate.

Fortunately in Canada we can open a USD account so I can stockpile some $$;)

 

Lyn

[gillianrose]

I doubt it

 

So is there any benefit to paying before scheduled final payment date?

[LHT28]

So is there any benefit to paying before scheduled final payment date?

 

Only if you are paying with a foreign currency like Canadians, Australians or other Countries, which is what the OP was referring to.

 

We may want to pay in advance when the exchanges rates are good for us.

People from the USA do not need to worry about currency exchange rate when paying their cruise payments people from other Countries do.

It can add a bit to our bottom line in our currency

 

EG: today's rates

$1 USD = $1.20 AUD, $1. 06 CAD

so a $1500 USD deposit would be

$1811. AUD or $1596 CAD

[Jancruz]

Does Oceania offer a discount for payment, say six months in advance?

 

No Oceania does not offer a discount and be careful of anyone that offers you that option!

You can pay whenever you want to Oceania ..you can save money if you are paying with foreign currency.

Jancruz1

[gillianrose]

Thanks LHT28 and Jancruz. I will be paying in American currency and will wait until the very last minute to pay, since there is no discount for paying earlier.

[meow!]

If you do pay now, make sure the charge is made TO Oceania Cruises, not to the travel agent for them to hold on to the money until final payment date.

Good idea, tell your TA that you want written proof of their having paid it in full to the cruise line within one week. One week later, call the cruise line yourself to verify that it has received full payment, if not, chase after the TA right away!

[JimandStan]

Good idea, tell your TA that you want written proof of their having paid it in full to the cruise line within one week. One week later, call the cruise line yourself to verify that it has received full payment, if not, chase after the TA right away!

 

Better yet, use a TA that you trust.

 

FYI, these days an agent can log onto O's TA site and process your credit card payment directly. It is not even necessary to speak with an Oceania employee, and confirmation of the transaction is available as soon as the charge is processed.

[Jancruz]

Better yet, use a TA that you trust.

 

FYI, these days an agent can log onto O's TA site and process your credit card payment directly. It is not even necessary to speak with an Oceania employee, and confirmation of the transaction is available as soon as the charge is processed.

 

That is true, but putting a credit card on the web can be dangerous, you get confirmation by calling in..in the form of an invoice emailed to you immediately. That should be sent to you in a timely manner.

Jancruz1

[Aruba]

I do not think the OP is being offered a discount to pay early they just want to get a good exchange rate from AUD to USD

 

If it sounds too good ..well you know;)

 

Lyn

Yes I realized that the OP was not offered a discount to pay early. My primary concern was that if OP does pay early -- for whatever reason -- make sure the charge is made directly to Oceania, not to a TA. To explain my reasoning, I used the example of the problem we had when we paid early because of the 5% early payment discount offer from the TA.

 

I agree that if something sound too good to be true...you know the rest. But a 5% discount (yes, I realize this is not the OP's question) wasn't "too" good to be true. It was good...lord knows we can't earn 5% on short-term savings in these days, but not unbelievably good. Problem was the TA was a crook.

[LHT28]

I agree that if something sound too good to be true...you know the rest. But a 5% discount (yes, I realize this is not the OP's question) wasn't "too" good to be true. It was good...lord knows we can't earn 5% on short-term savings in these days, but not unbelievably good. Problem was the TA was a crook.

 

YUP but it is a good thing you did get your money back some were not as lucky

 

I had read that many people used the TA in the past without incident but the economy changed .

 

Lyn

[JimandStan]

That is true, but putting a credit card on the web can be dangerous, you get confirmation by calling in..in the form of an invoice emailed to you immediately. That should be sent to you in a timely manner.

Jancruz1

 

How could it be dangerous? If you give the # by telephone to an O rep, they use the same system.

[Jancruz]

How could it be dangerous? If you give the # by telephone to an O rep, they use the same system.

 

I am not that computer savvy but I wouldnt put your credit card number on my computer and send it to anyone else..maybe I am just old fashioned..

Jancruz1

[lgcochran]

I put my credit card number on the computer on a non-secured web site. It was an e-mail to a small B&B where we were booking a reservation. Within two weeks, there was credit card fraud....not by the B&B - snoops are casing the internet for this info.

 

Keep in mind the exchange rates that you see in the newspaper or internet are not what we are getting as consumers. These are the big banking transactions. Granted, it gives you the indication of % going up or down; but we don't benefit from the exact rate.

[Wendy The Wanderer]

I am not that computer savvy but I wouldnt put your credit card number on my computer and send it to anyone else..maybe I am just old fashioned..

Jancruz1

 

Jan, you're talking about emailing your credit card number, right? Not a secure server? I would never do the former, but do the latter frequently and have for well over ten years. And millions of people do this every day.

[JimandStan]

I put my credit card number on the computer on a non-secured web site. It was an e-mail to a small B&B where we were booking a reservation. Within two weeks, there was credit card fraud....not by the B&B - snoops are casing the internet for this info.

 

 

I don't think that it pays to get anecdotal about credit card fraud via the internet as the Oceania site IS secure, and the information input onto it is completely safe.

 

Like any responsible merchant, Oceania recognized that clients must feel and be secure when dealing with them online, so internet security was a TOP priority in setting up their web site.

 

All of us have been inputting our various guest registration information onto the Oceania Web Site for years without the merest hint of an issue.

[caribbeansun]

Just curious - you and the other members of your agency all phone in credit card numbers to O rather than process via the internet or intranet?

 

That is true, but putting a credit card on the web can be dangerous, you get confirmation by calling in..in the form of an invoice emailed to you immediately. That should be sent to you in a timely manner.

Jancruz1

 

Don't you store customer cc #'s on your computer or do you strictly maintain paper records of cc #'s?

 

I am not that computer savvy but I wouldnt put your credit card number on my computer and send it to anyone else..maybe I am just old fashioned..

Jancruz1

 

Lots of new regulatory requirements of late ie.Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) compliance is now a mandatory requirement for all merchants who wish to continue processing credit card transactions.