Paying off cruise before due date?

[dreday3]

Interest is so low do what makes you happy. One thing to consider is regarding insurance. I paid off our last cruise about two weeks early. Then my parents told me my mom might need surgery. We couldn't get insurance because we had made final payment. After many hours in the phone I got Royal to refund $100 in their room. I bought insurance, then paid the final $100. It can be done, but it was a pretty big hassle.

 

I can't think of any other disadvantage to paying it off early though.

 

I can't get insurance if I pay my cruise off?

[Kamloops50]

Depending on which airline we are flying . We can't select seats until the cruise is paid off . Then we have to request early ticket release.

[cindivan]

I can't get insurance if I pay my cruise off?

 

 

I used travel guard but I think they are all similar. Once final payment has been made you can't add insurance, even if final payment isn't truly due for another month or whatever.

 

Of course you can do what I did and spend hours on the phone getting them to refund some. Or if you are unsure about whether you want insurance pay it all but $100 or similar and then you can still add insurance until you pay the last $100.

[EbayCruiser]

Sometimes I make payments along the way but I usually do not pay it off until just a few days before final payment. That is also when I purchase the insurance.

 

Learned early on (from my mistake) not to purchase insurance until final payment. You do NOT get that money back if you need to cancel the cruise before final payment.

[DirtyDawg]

At .99% interest, I'm with those who hang on to the money as long as possible. Between now and when my final payment is due, just what is due on the cruise will generate about $8 interest which equates to a drink-of-the-day!

 

If the only alternative for the OP is to stick the money in a bank you are 100% correct.

 

But if they want to short the bond market it the money..................;):p

[Missymo]

It's never too late to get trip insurance with a private insurer if you are still at home and haven't left yet. Some companies allow you to get travel insurance up until the day before you travel . And some allow day of travel. Pre existing conditions usually mean you must get it within a small window after initial deposit. Check online .Getting travel insurance as soon as possible maximizes your benefits should someone get ill or injured

[dreday3]

It's never too late to get trip insurance with a private insurer if you are still at home and haven't left yet. Some companies allow you to get travel insurance up until the day before you travel . And some allow day of travel. Pre existing conditions usually mean you must get it within a small window after initial deposit. Check online .Getting travel insurance as soon as possible maximizes your benefits should someone get ill or injured

 

thanks! I was nervous because I made my final payment this morning!:eek:

 

I called insuremytrip and she helped me pick out a plan - Nationwide $110 for the two of us -good coverage for the usual and because today was the day I made final payment, I was still able to get extra coverage like - return home early, port of call change, shipboard service disruption, missed connection, non-medical evacuation.

[cajuncowgirl13]

I don't cruise till mid December and I am paying mine off this week. Also have gratuities paid and my sea pass account money set aside. I pay everything as early as possible so I can enjoy the days leading up to the cruise without worrying about money. I also have my suitcase partially packed. :o

 

 

:) sounds like me

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Murphs]

We always hold off on making final payment until the date that final payment is due. Only reason I do this is that if there is a price reduction we call in and take advantage of it. Otherwise I have always been told that if the price drops after final payment that they wont give you anything. Our last cruise dropped by over $300.00 per person and we were able to take advantage of that, however several other people in our party who had already paid in full were told that there was nothing they could do since they were paid off.

 

Mike

Edited June 4, 2015 by Murphs

[Cruise a holic]

Pay it off.

 

You'll have a great feeling and you will not have to worry about it anymore.

 

Then start sticking money aside for shore excursions, drinks, photos, etc. :)

 

What if you decide to cancel before the "official" pay in full date? Would you get all of your money back? Anybody have experience with this?

[Clarea]

What if you decide to cancel before the "official" pay in full date? Would you get all of your money back? Anybody have experience with this?

Yes, you would get all your money back if you booked under US/Canadian rules and cancelled before final payment date.

[dixieva]

We always buy insurance at the time we book a cruise. I need to have pre-existing conditions covered so I have to buy within a few days of making our deposit to book. But, and this is the good news, I only have to insure the deposit amount and when final payment is due then I call and purchase the whole amount. And I have the pre-existing conditions covered. At least this is the way it works with the insurance I buy.

[ryano]

however several other people in our party who had already paid in full were told that there was nothing they could do since they were paid off.

 

Mike

 

They got a very misinformed rep on the phone then and should have called back. :(

 

Price reductions have NOTHING to do with when you pay your cruise off but EVERYTHING to do with RC's published "final payment date" for your cruise :)

 

For instance, say your final payment date for an upcoming cruise is not until January 2016 BUT you went ahead and paid your cruise in full today. You are entitled to all priced drops up until January 2016 unless its some special promotion for "new bookings only" but even then, lately, there seems to be no problem getting the price drops anyway.

 

UK rules are very different and I do not know them that well.

[Desert Cruizers]

I generally pay ours off 2 months ahead of the due date. I paid our Oct cruise off last month as I have a couple tours I am paying for and travel expenses to set up so makes it easier on the planning. Since we did our Australia trip last year I have maintained a separate acct for cruises and keep it up so anything pertaining to our cruise comes out of that. At the end of the cruise our onboard charges will come out of that and not our personal accts.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Desert Cruizers

[KS Sunflower]

I never pay off any cruise until they tell me final payment is due. Just the way I do things. Don't like paying things off early. I like to hold on to my money until the last minute:)!

 

Do whatever works best for you.

 

My sentiments, exactly!!! :D

[MisterFidgetpants]

We paid off a Royal Caribbean cruise two months earlier than scheduled final payment date through our travel agent; we had a bit of extra money unexpectedly and decided it would be nice to have one less thing to think about.

 

Big mistake. Well, not the biggest mistake ever or anything, but it turned into aggravation.

 

Called in on a price drop and the TA was having a hard time adjusting the invoice and getting partial refund. TA had to call Royal Caribbean who were only willing to offer a discounted upgrade (did not want, and was besides the point anyways) or to offer the difference in the lower rate as OBC. This was unacceptable. The TA had to go a few rounds with Royal Caribbean to get a partial refund to us. If we had not paid early we would not have had to deal with that at all.

 

From now on I will pay when the payment is due (or a few days before at most so I don't miss the date). Lesson learned.

 

It seems people have a variety of different experiences, so, of course, your mileage may vary as they say.

[NightOne]

I can't get insurance if I pay my cruise off?

 

Perhaps they are talking about buying the insurance sold through the cruise line. You can certainly buy insurance from 3rd parties (which is also who provides the insurance for the cruise line to sell you) after your cruise is paid off. :)

[KS Sunflower]

If you have trouble holding onto money that's sitting there in your account already earmarked for something, I would highly recommend the software called You Need A Budget. I'm not trolling. It's a sincere recommendation. I've been using it for a year now, and it really is a game changer..

 

This is good advice for anyone who does not pay their credit card in full, every billing period, no matter what they're charging.

 

If, they should be cruising or not, when they carry credit card debt, is another story.

 

Someone mentioned a no interest credit card but the problem is, that debt has to be paid off eventually. :(

[LMaxwell]

 

Someone mentioned a no interest credit card but the problem is, that debt has to be paid off eventually. :(

 

Divide balance by 0% period term; make installments at 0%. Works like a charm.

 

Clearly there are pitfalls to paying early. May not fall into one, but they exist. Other than "feeling good" can't see a reason to pay early. Just budget appropriately and avoid hassles and headaches.

[NewSalt]

Until we had a pre-existing condition that we needed to cover, I never bought trip insurance before the final payment was made. It was never an issue.

[ewenix]

Hey, just another option... I'm willing to hold that money for you until the week before final payment, then I'll give it all back to you.

 

I'll do this for any of your future cruises.... I'm just that kinda guy!

[DebJ14]

I like to hold onto my money too. It's not so much the interest, it's the liquidity. I have an account that's just for vacation monies set aside in ING or whoever they are called now. When you pay off your cruise early, it's on your credit card, which you then pay off. If for some reason, emergency, etc and you have to cancel, you will end up with a credit back to your credit card. That's not the same thing money back in your wallet.

 

Although I suppose you could use a debit card and have an put back in your account if it came to that, but then you don't earn any miles or points :D

 

So I just set it aside, not to be touched, until I know it's time to use and I didn't need it for any other emergency that may not have been able to be paid with that credit.

 

If you have a large credit on your credit card from canceling a cruise and don't plan to use it up, just call the credit card company and they will cut you a check.

[DebJ14]

Perhaps they are talking about buying the insurance sold through the cruise line. You can certainly buy insurance from 3rd parties (which is also who provides the insurance for the cruise line to sell you) after your cruise is paid off. :)

 

But, 3rd party insurance will not cover lots of things like financial default of the supplier and pre-existing conditions if you don't buy it within days of paying the initial deposit. Some require purchase within 10 days and some 14 days.

[awhfy]

I'm paying a cruise off this month instead of waiting till final payment cause I'll get 50,000 air miles. Worth it to me

[NightOne]

But, 3rd party insurance will not cover lots of things like financial default of the supplier and pre-existing conditions if you don't buy it within days of paying the initial deposit. Some require purchase within 10 days and some 14 days.

 

 

From what I have seen of the RCCL insurance it does not cover pre-existing conditions even if you buy it when booking the cruise.