I've paid my deposit, is there any benefit in paying the balance early?

[molly361]

I've had more than one person tell me not to pay off a cruise early as it makes it harder to take advantage of price drops.

 

 

As long as the price drop is before the actual final payment date you should get any drop in price.

[kencruisefever]

I read that you could get a stateroom assignment from a guarantee booking by completing the online check-in and paying off the balance. It DOES say that the room can be assigned any time but any thoughts on whether that happens?

[LMaxwell]

I read that you could get a stateroom assignment from a guarantee booking by completing the online check-in and paying off the balance. It DOES say that the room can be assigned any time but any thoughts on whether that happens?

 

If that were to happen it would be more coincidental than causal; meaning paying off the reservation does not really determine whether or not they are going to assign a number on a GTY reservation.

[help04me]

We live debt free, and don't even have a true "credit card" just our debit card that can be used as credit (because cruises, car rentals and hotels require them). The day I call and book we have the complete payment, plus airfare, port transfer, soda package, taxes, etc. all in their own "travel savings account" ready to go, separate from our other accounts. This way if life does throw a curve ball (like needing a new car 2 weeks after the trip!), oh well, it does not affect us as our regular accounts are untouched.

 

Actual RCI benefits are none, except the surprise in the agent's voice when you pay in full at booking. Considering the peace of mind that comes from not having a payment in the world, and knowing when we get back there is not a bill waiting for us, and knowing that the weeks leading up to the trip are completely free of the stress of money (because getting travel docs and bags packed and pet sitter's lined up is enough) more than makes up for the 17 cents I would have saved in interest.

kudos to you financial peace live style LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE TODAY SO YOU CAN LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE TOMORROW

[LMaxwell]

kudos to you financial peace live style LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE TODAY SO YOU CAN LIVE LIKE NO ONE ELSE TOMORROW

 

Proper budgeting and having cash on hand is always key, but using a credit card that gives you benefits (as long as you are disciplined) is a great tool to have. I get a % back of everything I spend. I also have travel protection, luggage protection, price difference protection, extended warranties, and rental car coverage all through my credit card at no extra charge.

 

In addition many of my cards are 0% APR for 12 - 18 months. This allows me to budget while still holding on to my money; in essence a double emergency fund.

 

If you use a debit card and get screwed you are SCREWED but good (most cases). If you are disciplined enough to follow the Ramsey doctrine regarding saving and spending you should definitely (IMO) be using a credit card to maximize benefits and minimize risk. Some of his advice is great, some not so much.

 

The critical component to making any financial scheme work in your favor is discipline. Without that all is lost.

[help04me]

Proper budgeting and having cash on hand is always key, but using a credit card that gives you benefits (as long as you are disciplined) is a great tool to have. I get a % back of everything I spend. I also have travel protection, luggage protection, price difference protection, extended warranties, and rental car coverage all through my credit card at no extra charge.

 

In addition many of my cards are 0% APR for 12 - 18 months. This allows me to budget while still holding on to my money; in essence a double emergency fund.

 

If you use a debit card and get screwed you are SCREWED but good (most cases). If you are disciplined enough to follow the Ramsey doctrine regarding saving and spending you should definitely (IMO) be using a credit card to maximize benefits and minimize risk. Some of his advice is great, some not so much.

 

The critical component to making any financial scheme work in your favor is discipline. Without that all is lost.

100 % agree without question a large per cent do not budget that way but agree 100 %

[molly361]

I read that you could get a stateroom assignment from a guarantee booking by completing the online check-in and paying off the balance. It DOES say that the room can be assigned any time but any thoughts on whether that happens?

 

 

We just got a GTY cabin assignment and all we have paid on the reservation is the deposit

[dllyon]

I've always paid my balance for each cruise just a couple of days prior to the balance being due, but does paying the full amount any earlier on RCI allow you to book specialty dining, or other perks any earlier?

 

I have a cruise in June and have already paid it off,

1) It is done and over with, no worries about how to get money for the cruise. Some of this I paid with RCCL points

2) I have time to book excursions (pay them off) Most companies want their money right away in full, this is now done.

3) Airfare which wants it money right away in full, this is now done.

4) I already have the douple points on my RCCL card and will used for onboard credit, which I plan on doing in January after my Christmas purchases or as soon as I have enough points to get the amount of credit I want.

5)Now nothing to do until RCCL opens up for dining reservations and other stuff you have to wait until 30-90 out.

[dfishner]

I just set up a transfer from my bank account to a seperate savings account I have twice a month and pay no attention to it until final payment is due. I also put enough in for after the cruise so if there are any on board charges which we made I have it covered.

[Desert Cruizers]

I generally pay our cruises off 2 months before the final date, this way I know they are paid for. For Next years

Australia trip I set up a separate acct and funds went into that to cover the trip so no out of pocket expense. I also did a spreadsheet to show all expenses since we have 3 cruises + 9 days land between cruise 1 & 2.

[jndsilver31]

DW and I book (pay deposit) about a year before the cruise, then when we get our tax refund, usually in Febuary, we payoff the cruise. We then have enough time to pay for the excursions, pay for the soft drink packages, and dining fees.

 

Then everything is worry-free for us.

[LMaxwell]

DW and I book (pay deposit) about a year before the cruise, then when we get our tax refund, usually in Febuary, we payoff the cruise. We then have enough time to pay for the excursions, pay for the soft drink packages, and dining fees.

 

Then everything is worry-free for us.

 

If you're getting enough of a refund to pay for a cruise adjust your withholding. You should be aiming to get $0 or even owe. Now THAT'S really worry free :cool:

[Cigar King]

I read that you could get a stateroom assignment from a guarantee booking by completing the online check-in and paying off the balance. It DOES say that the room can be assigned any time but any thoughts on whether that happens?

 

We have a cruise in January with a guarantee (js) and so far no assignment. we paid it off in full when we booked it that was several months ago.

[Desert Cruizers]

Cigar King I have never paid a cruise off quite that early however one cruise due to misfiguring on the cruise lines part I suddenly see a credit to the credit card which was an amount we had never paid, I spoke to our TA who called them on it. What ended up happening, because we still had a balance, take that off what they credited me for I had to pay them back the differance, thus paying our cruise off 6 months early. I probably confused everyone on that post.

[mplusj]

For my next cruise in August I have a savings account with an auto transfer arrangement set up so the account will be topped off by end of Jan. I haven't decided yet if I will just pay the cruise balance in Feb or wait until final payment due date.

I don't consider owing my cruise balance a debt because I'm not being charged interest on my balance nor do I consider peace of mind a factor in paying it off early.

[knittinggirl]

I've had more than one person tell me not to pay off a cruise early as it makes it harder to take advantage of price drops.

We had a Princess cruise booked through a TA and made final payment at booking. When I saw the price drop, the TA said she couldn't find it. It wasn't until I called Princess direct asking about the price then calling the TA back that I got it. They had to cancel my current reservation and rebook. Since I'd paid in full with a credit card, I had to wait a month or for the payment to return to my account. That was the last time I booked anything with that TA. Lots of mistakes, including getting my name wrong.

 

Now, we wait until a week before then make final payment.

 

 

The last few cruises we took had a price drop AFTER final payment. So, we couldn't take advantage of it.

Edited November 25, 2013 by knittinggirl

[gaechann]

I use a similar tactic, except I make it a monthly payment. I set up an Outlook reminder and, as strange as it may sounds, having a cruise "activity" to do every month helps with the withdrawal between sailings.

 

I pay an equal amount every month as well! As you state, it seems that I'm involved in a cruise activity regularly that way so keeps me excited and interested during the waiting period as well.

[Desert Cruizers]

For our Tansatlantic back in 2011, I made set payments from my SS to pay for that one. Normally I don't like to pay small monthly payments as it makes more work for our TA in sending our new invoices and prefer to make fewer and larger payments. We are never in a position to make a deposit, then one large payment close to the payoff date. It is easier for us to make several smaller ones.

 

Whether one uses a travel Agent or books directly, the important thing, is we are happy with the results and service. I agree there are some TA's that have messed up terribly ones bookings, but there are far more excellant ones to watch over your booking and make sure something doen't go wrong. One booking just recently, our TA was notified we were moved to a differant room forward and quickly told the agent to move us back to our mid ship cabin. I just happened to be checking our booking and noticed the change, calling our TA ASAP, she had just gotten off the phone with the agent and informed me what happened. I thanked her big time for watching over us.

Edited November 25, 2013 by Desert Cruizers

[Little Buddy's Mom]

I don't consider owing my cruise balance a debt because I'm not being charged interest on my balance nor do I consider peace of mind a factor in paying it off early.

 

I agree with you. I consider cruising a luxury and if I had to budget or scrimp in order to cruise, I'd give up cruising. Going into debt, to cruise, is not something I would ever do.

 

I like to hold on to my money as long as possible, so never pay off a cruise early.

 

It surprises me that people will search for the best price on a cruise but will book with a no perks agent, who only provides them with a service the client can easily do for themselves. The perks can add up to a considerable amount of money, often thousands of dollars.

[smeck]

I very rarely pay early. I have a special account in our company credit union and have a direct deposit set up much like an Christmas club. I never see the money and can't spend what I don't have. I too live credit free and found the above system works best for us.

[believer33323]

I for one would rather pay off late as possible. I would rather wait for a few hundred dollar refund than a $2,000.00 plus refund if I needed to cancel.