Deposit dilemma

[christinasreadytocruise]

So my fiance and I are planning a cruise for April 23rd on the Liberty. It's been 5 years since our last cruise with a baby keeping us busy in between and I am chomping at the bit for this cruise. Daydreaming all day about it!

 

So we will be using some of our tax return to pay for this cruise. Taxes have been filed and accepted, expected delivery of funds is late February.

 

My question is what happens if I go ahead and put the deposit on the cruise to snag our spot and then don't get our taxes in time to pay the remainder by Feb 22nd which is the due date. Will they work with you at that point or do we lose our deposit and spot. Can we pay more but not all on it to keep it past the due date?

 

Also, if we instead choose not to deposit and just wait to book in full in late Feb early March what is the likelihood of huge price increases or boat filling up for that close of a date? I've never booked this close to the cruise date before. It's always been super far in advance so I'm paranoid about missing out on this cruise and scrambling to try to find another one that fits out schedule and budget.

 

Thanks for any insight you all can give.

[Living4acruise2day]

Can't you just put it on your credit card and then just pay off your CC when the bill comes in and you have your tax check? :confused:

[FloridaMommyof3]

Put it on a CC and then pay of the CC with your refund. You can get some nice reward points if your CC offers them.

[Californiacruizers]

Your reservation will be cancelled if the payment is not received by the deadline. The cruise line may send you a reminder prior to the deposit due date, however they will not allow more time to pay.

 

Also, Depending on how close you book to the actual sail date you may lose the entire deposit if you cancel. I would suggest that you hold off paying the deposit until you know for certain that you will be able to meet the deadline or book something a little further out so that you will have more time to pay.

[christinasreadytocruise]

I did myself a favor a couple years back and abolished alll my cc debt after being behind for years and closed them all out. What a weight off my shoulders. But I may consider opening one for this and immediately paying it off. Thank you!

[asalligo]

Have I not heard that Carnival actually cancels you 10 days post due date?

[Californiacruizers]

I did myself a favor a couple years back and abolished alll my cc debt after being behind for years and closed them all out. What a weight off my shoulders. But I may consider opening one for this and immediately paying it off. Thank you!

 

 

For the most part I did the same thing (I only have one CC for emergencies). I now follow Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace Plan" and live on a cash only system… sorta.

 

Is there any way you can plan for a later cruise date to avoid having to get a CC? If not I guess "ya gotta do what ya gotta do"

Edited January 26, 2017 by Californiacruizers

[christinasreadytocruise]

For the most part I did the same thing (I only have one CC for emergencies). I now follow Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace Plan" and live on a cash only system… sorta.

 

Is there any way you can plan for a later cruise date to avoid having to get a CC? If not I guess "ya gotta do what ya gotta do"

I could plan for one this fall or spring of next year I suppose (but who wants to wait that long!! 😝) and prices on cruises skyrocket in the summer months. We found a sweet spot for our budget and time frame with this cruise so hopefully I can figure something out to make it work. I know our credit union will give us a loan if necessary and we could just turn around and pay it off. That seems a lot more comfortable to me than a credit card for some reason.

 

I'll have to look into that Dave Ramsey plan. Sounds right up my alley!!

[christinasreadytocruise]

Have I not heard that Carnival actually cancels you 10 days post due date?

Gasps!! That would be perfect!! I may just call and speak to someone with carnival directly about the issue and see what they have to say.

[suzycruiser2]

You can book a past guest or some other fully refundable rate and then it will not cost you anything if you need to cancel before the final payment date. Since the cost and down payment will be more than early saver, you will just have to decide if it will be best to book that way or to book one of the low deposit ($50) offers and know that you will lose your deposit if you cancel.

[Micahs Grandad]

Have I not heard that Carnival actually cancels you 10 days post due date?

 

They will and it happened to us years ago when we didnt realize it was time to pay. Luckily I checked shortly after and got it reinstated.

[Micahs Grandad]

For the most part I did the same thing (I only have one CC for emergencies). I now follow Dave Ramsey's "Financial Peace Plan" and live on a cash only system… sorta.

 

Is there any way you can plan for a later cruise date to avoid having to get a CC? If not I guess "ya gotta do what ya gotta do"

 

Sounds like you will be better off planning on a later cruise after you have your tax refund well in hand.

[orlandobull]

Do your research on credit cards. Some provide bonuses for spending money in the first month or 3 months. I just opened one, 0% for a year, $150 bonus if you spend $1000 in the first 3 months, plus, 1.5% cash back on everything.

 

Everyone has do do what they are comfortable with, but, if you use credit cards responsibly and are able to pay them off every month (or, within a 0% int period), you're doing yourself a disservice by not using them. I have 1 that gives me 3% back on gas, one that is 2% on everything.

 

I never use cash or my debit card, do all of my purchases at 2% cash back or better. Depending on your individual spending, the cash back can add up. I have been letting the rewards add up for a bit, so, when my bill comes in after our next cruise, I'll apply the rewards and likely our on-board spending will be completely covered with no extra money out of pocket.

[christinasreadytocruise]

Do your research on credit cards. Some provide bonuses for spending money in the first month or 3 months. I just opened one, 0% for a year, $150 bonus if you spend $1000 in the first 3 months, plus, 1.5% cash back on everything.

 

Everyone has do do what they are comfortable with, but, if you use credit cards responsibly and are able to pay them off every month (or, within a 0% int period), you're doing yourself a disservice by not using them. I have 1 that gives me 3% back on gas, one that is 2% on everything.

 

I never use cash or my debit card, do all of my purchases at 2% cash back or better. Depending on your individual spending, the cash back can add up. I have been letting the rewards add up for a bit, so, when my bill comes in after our next cruise, I'll apply the rewards and likely our on-board spending will be completely covered with no extra money out of pocket.

Very smart! I'm sooo much more responsible nowadays where as my younger cc habits kind of scarred me and I swore I'd never have another. But you're right having one good cc with the right perks can be a strategic way to benefit in a lot of ways.

[CJHAN]

I did myself a favor a couple years back and abolished alll my cc debt after being behind for years and closed them all out. What a weight off my shoulders. But I may consider opening one for this and immediately paying it off. Thank you!

We did the same but we keep a few rewards cards just for this type of situation or in case of emergency. And for any reason that might exhaust our emergency fund. Credit cards are not bad its how we manage them that gets people into trouble.

 

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[cb at sea]

We did the same but we keep a few rewards cards just for this type of situation or in case of emergency. And for any reason that might exhaust our emergency fund. Credit cards are not bad its how we manage them that gets people into trouble.

 

Sent from my SM-G935P using Forums mobile app

 

Exactly! Everyone should have a credit card.....don't have to run it to the limit, but they are awfully handy if you need it! Can't rent a car without one!

[ZoeyVictoria]

Go to the IRS's "Where's My Refund" site for up-to-date info on the status of your refund. Generally the early filers get refunds very quickly.

Edited January 26, 2017 by ZoeyVictoria

[CoffeHound]

I did myself a favor a couple years back and abolished alll my cc debt after being behind for years and closed them all out. What a weight off my shoulders. But I may consider opening one for this and immediately paying it off. Thank you!

 

I'm curious as to how you are going to handle your on board account? I am not an experienced Carnival cruiser, but thought I read you needed a credit card even if you set up a cash account? I also seem to recall a couple of problems with holds being placed on someones checking account when they used a debit card to secure their on board account?

 

I may be mixing up my cruise lines. Can someone with more carnival experience comment?

[tmg698]

No I have never been asked for a credit card if I set up a cash acct. you just have to keep an eye on your acct and make sure you keep enough money in it to cover your purchases. This gets old so now we set ours up on credit card and pay it off when we get home.

[wendynat]

You can use cash only for your onboard account, no credit card needed. We've done it this way four times now. Some ports can take the cash at check in, while others require you to go to Guest Services when you get on board.

[sfaaa]

For onboard cash account, be sure to budget in $12.95 pp DSC that will show up on your statement prior to disembarkation. Prepaid everything upfront if you don't want surprises or are not frugal at tracking your spending.

[Jobeth66]

If you're truly not comfortable with a credit card (and I completely understand that!) then I would absolutely get a signature loan from the credit union and pay it back once you get your tax refund. You've already planned and budgeted for this and it fits in your schedule, the credit union loan won't present an issue of returning to old habits, and you'll have peace of mind of not stressing over your tax refund every day. If it comes in before your final payment date, great - if not, you're ready to go.

[mosiegirl]

I'm curious as to how you are going to handle your on board account? I am not an experienced Carnival cruiser, but thought I read you needed a credit card even if you set up a cash account? I also seem to recall a couple of problems with holds being placed on someones checking account when they used a debit card to secure their on board account?

 

I may be mixing up my cruise lines. Can someone with more carnival experience comment?

 

We set up our onboard account using Cash the day we sail. As soon as we board, we go straight to guest services and deposit $400 into our onboard account.. and then we adjust throughout the week by adding here or there as needed. We don't drink at all so our spending are very low.

[christinasreadytocruise]

I'm curious as to how you are going to handle your on board account? I am not an experienced Carnival cruiser, but thought I read you needed a credit card even if you set up a cash account? I also seem to recall a couple of problems with holds being placed on someones checking account when they used a debit card to secure their on board account?

 

I may be mixing up my cruise lines. Can someone with more carnival experience comment?

No not unless they've changed something. I've been on 4 carnival cruises and I've never needed a credit card. A debit card will suffice but yes they will place holds on funds throughout the cruise. However you can load cash into your onboard account when you get on the ship and they will use up the cash amount 1st. We also will be doing the cheers package and prepaying grats so our onboard spending will be minimal.

Edited January 26, 2017 by christinasreadytocruise

[Drazil65]

You do not need a CC to open or run a cash S&S account onboard.

 

We pay cash for everything and when we open our S&S acct on each cruise we typically bring gift cards that we purchased at a discount. We will put $500 to start the account and add a couple of gift cards ($100 cards purchased during the year and saved for future cruise) to account if needed.

 

Not hard to keep track for us as everything is paid BEFORE the cruise (excursions, beverages (wine pkg, soda, bar cash), anything else that we feel we need to have) so there is very little for us to charge. We always setup a charging limit for our son (14) for the week so he knows what he has to work with.

 

We normally have a credit on the last night to cash out. Not hard at all. ;)