Paying cruise ahead of time

[calimn]

If I went ahead and paid off my cruise early, say 9 months and then I had to cancel 4 months ahead, would I get my money back?  I know many would say why would you do that?  But have my reasons so just asking to see if anyone has done this. Thx

[Mud_Shark]

Yes, full refund as long as you booked under a refundable deposit.  Paying it off early does not lock your money in.  

 

And I am the type that wants everything paid off as early as I can, so I get this.  There is a feeling of liberty when the vacation is all paid well in advance.  The interest I make on basic savings is negligible anyway, so paying off early is not losing me money.

 

Don

[paul929207]

As long as you cancel by the final payment date you will get a full refund with the exception of any non-refundable deposit.

[skynight]

Are Princess insurance premiums refundable? Not certain. Also, if you paid non-refundable EZ Air that is not refundable.

[c-boy]

yep, paid at time of booking. Off my books and outta my head, only thing floating around in there is the departure date.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I'm with those of you that pay your cruises off early.  I almost always do.  If the price goes down, I get my booking re-fared and get a refund on my credit card.  It's not like that money is going to get terrific interest anyway.  I like the peace of mind having all my 2019 cruises paid for at the beginning of 2018 especially when we have FC or BC airfare to pay for too.

[Desert Cruizers]

I pay off early but generally 1 to 2 months early. I need time to pay off the credit card before leaving.I have never paid off a cruise earlier then 2 months before final. The idea of hanging unto your money to gain interest isn't enough to make that worth it to me. if I have up to 3 cruises going then I need to work out the payment plan for myself on a spreadsheet so i can set up months to put toward the cruises and amount of payments. It can get rough when your dealing with 3 of them so your payments aren't at the same time. I figure how many payments to make and # of months to pay cc off. I also try and keep the cruise acct  with a high balance so payments are made from it vs my house hold acct. 

[memoak]

I refuse to let the cruise line use my money for months on end - I would rather save up the money in an interest bearing account and then pay a week before final payment is due.  We generally book about 1 1/2 to 2 years out and then change to whatever promo is going to do the best for me (sip and sail, 3 for free etc.),  In fact my PVP will often call me up to let me know I can save money by changing promotions

[Bill B]

11 hours ago, paul929207 said:

As long as you cancel by the final payment date you will get a full refund with the exception of any non-refundable deposit.

 

Depending on the type of cruise and itinerary, final payment date and the beginning of the cancellation penalty schedule do not necessarily coincide. 

[ONT-CA]

Non US citizens do keep an eye on the exchange rate of currency.  When the US dollar is low or our home currency is high it is to our advantage to pay up some if not all of the cruise.  We have at times saved a portion of the originally calculated price by watching and pre paying. 

[nukesubsailor]

Another thing to consider if paying for cruises with a credit card.  It is possible to have a cruise booked whose final payment comes due during the same billing cycle as another cruise payment or some other big bill that you pay with a credit card like home insurance or taxes.  If the monthly balance due on your credit card approaches your credit limit, your FICO credit score will be down graded.  For that reason, you may want to make partial payments on your cruises so you don't get a high balance due on any single monthly bill.

I used to hold on to my money until the last minute.  Then last year the economy really improved and I started booking more cruises and cruise tours.  Now I need to pay attention to how much is due and when so I can spread out the payments and not take a hit on my credit score or have a hard time paying my credit card bill in full each month.  The last thing I want to do is pay interest to a credit card company.  I know there are other ways to pay for a cruise than with a credit card but I prefer to use a card for the rewards points that get me a 4% return in the form of a credit card statement credit.

[Desert Cruizers]

When I use my Credit Card I make the highest amount comfortably in as few a payments as possible. 

[Thrak]

We "almost always" pay off the credit card every month. I hate interest. If it gets too high (too much cruise money all at once) we pay off most of it and let the rest, without interest, ride until the next month and pay off the whole balance that month. We never had a huge income and, since I retired, it's a lot less than it used to be. Fortunately we were frugal and have some money set aside that we use for cruising and our summer land trips. I soooooooooooooooooooooooooo love being retired!

😄

[calimn]

Thank you to everyone!  This is feedback I needed!  I have the $ now and will be retired by then. Also paying now will make me eligible to have my husband fly free all of next year. That is way better then any interest I would get.  

[framer]

8 hours ago, Thrak said:

soooooooooooooooooooooooooo love being retired!

 

I agree, I just wonder how I ever had time to work.

 

I pay for the cruise with a CC that give me the most free time before I have to pay and not give them a dime in interest and or collect any reward.