Any advantage or disadvantage to paying early?

[finny2]

I have been wondering. Since there are options I can't take and things I can't buy or sign up for until after final payment, would I be able to buy them if I paid before final payment is due? Or when they say final payment do they really mean final payment due date.

And if I do pay early is there any downside.

[FLAHAM]

No advantage.

[perditax]

5 hours ago, finny2 said:

I have been wondering. Since there are options I can't take and things I can't buy or sign up for until after final payment, would I be able to buy them if I paid before final payment is due? Or when they say final payment do they really mean final payment due date.

And if I do pay early is there any downside.

 

Some things may increase in price, such as daily service charge, internet and spa packages, etc. When they increase the daily service charge (a few times a year now) they usually let you pre-pay at the old price. 

[casofilia]

One advantage in paying early is that if the price goes down you can cancel and re-book; if it goes up you have saved money.   Also, as Perditax says, if you prepay and the price goes up you are already paid and those things never go down.

[Birdie And Sue]

5 minutes ago, casofilia said:

One advantage in paying early is that if the price goes down you can cancel and re-book; if it goes up you have saved money.   Also, as Perditax says, if you prepay and the price goes up you are already paid and those things never go down.

 

 

You can do that regardless of whether you have paid off your cruise early.

[bonvoyagie]

Pay early and NCL gets the interest on the $$ - keep it and you get the interest.

[Birdie And Sue]

1 hour ago, bonvoyagie said:

Pay early and NCL gets the interest on the $$ - keep it and you get the interest.

 

 

LOL gee the current savings rate is about 3% annually.   The interest on the amount in question is highly insignificant.

[CroozFanatic]

Studies support that passengers spend more overall when they are allowed to book items in advance vs. the old method of only beginning your purchases once you get on the ship.

Edited June 9, 2019 by CroozFanatic

[don't-use-real-name]

There is a benefit to keeping the money in your own hands until the last moment when final payment is due.

That benefit is your credit score rating.

The money that is in your bank CU financial institution represents spending power and increases your credit rating.

Less money your credit rating may take a dip.

But if you can purchase anything for less money that too is a savings not to be ignored.

NCL is in constant flux (always going UP) with the gratuities DSC etc. - pay the cheapest rate possible.

That DSC you can remove some or all of it at your discretion - why it is needed remains a mystery - a sort of

hidden cash bank for NCL - and do they really distribute the proceeds equitably to the non-customer contract crew ???

Marketing ploy charging less for the fare but then adding hidden (DSC) charges - - -

Simply why can't NCL charge a flat rate (disregard seasonal competitive markets) for cruises and then leave the

tipping gratuities to the customer. An employee performing well will be compensated and a goof-off well not so much.

Taxes and port fees are like the proverbial "Death and Taxes" and can't be avoided but the foul Gratuities DSC and

alike that leaves much to be desired.

I am all for removing the DSC and tipping only my Cabin steward Butler and Concierge based on use and need ! 

Any other crew member waiter bartender dining host/ess if doing an extra service maybe compensated for the

service at the moment.

 

What bothers me most is take the DSC times the number of guests and divided by pool of eligible crew members

does this result in a significant monetary payment to the crew (FDR nickel and diming) or something substantial that

the crew members can write and pay forward to their home - - -

NCL PULL THE CURTAIN ASIDE AND LET ME SEE THE FACTS AND STATS  !

[ged1967]

We are UK based and the $ to GBP exchange rate is kept at the exchange rate when you book. 

We benefited greatly on our last cruise as the exchange rate was good when we booked. At time of the cruise the rate was much less. 

However we got the exchange rate at time of booking. 

 

So so if your UK based and you believe the exchange rate is good. Book it. 

[finny2]

Good info. Thanks for all your input!

[SouthLyonCruiser]

This may be an illogical reason for some but, we always pay far in advance. It makes one less upcoming bill to pay and we know that almost whatever happens, we are going cruising.

[Peachypooh]

We wait until a month before final payment is due. That way if we need to cancel we are only waiting to

have our deposit refunded not for the thousands our cruise usually costs.

[adam_s_allen]

I had a similar thought this morning. I’m a few months away from final payment date and want to just pay in full now. I feel like it would be easier to get a price adjustment if the price comes down further before I paid in full though.

[Paul Bogle]

15 minutes ago, adam_s_allen said:

I had a similar thought this morning. I’m a few months away from final payment date and want to just pay in full now. I feel like it would be easier to get a price adjustment if the price comes down further before I paid in full though.

 

If you feel more comfortable paying in full before final payment is due, that alone is a good reason to do so. We suffer no such discomfort so we pay in full at the stated date. In our experience getting a price adjustment if fares drop before final payment has always been pro forma. We call our booking agent and it is done.

[adam_s_allen]

2 minutes ago, Paul Bogle said:

 

If you feel more comfortable paying in full before final payment is due, that alone is a good reason to do so. We suffer no such discomfort so we pay in full at the stated date. In our experience getting a price adjustment if fares drop before final payment has always been pro forma. We call our booking agent and it is done.

I’m comfortable either way. I just don’t really like a balance owing for anything. But I hear about people waiting months for refunds from NCL.

[delaware32]

We generally make final payment a few weeks in advance . On our Fall Breakaway cruise our PCC called and refunded to our credit card the price difference between our booking and cost just prior to final payment due date .

[FredT]

If we have the money in our pocket, we often pay early (through our double miles credit card) to bump up miles (to be able to afford the airfare) Are we cheap bastards?  Heck yes.  But then again by flying cheap, booking cheap, taking inside staterooms, and using ff miles, we can go on a LOT more cruises than we could otherwise afford......

[ColeThornton]

11 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

.......There is a benefit to keeping the money in your own hands until the last moment when final payment is due.

That benefit is your credit score rating.

The money that is in your bank CU financial institution represents spending power and increases your credit rating.

Less money your credit rating may take a dip......

 

 

Incorrect.  Your savings or lack of does not influence ones credit score.

[vince_g]

3 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

Incorrect.  Your savings or lack of does not influence ones credit score.

I was going to post that, but I figured I'd let someone else do it.  The credit bureaus do not even know what you have in your deposit accounts.  This was pasted and copied straight from Life Lock (But the person who posted this garbage will say they are wrong...)

 

What doesn’t impact your credit score

There are several other financial factors that have no impact at all on your credit scores. Your job or how much money you earn each year does not cause your credit score to rise or fall. The same holds true for your savings: A large savings account won’t help your credit score, while an empty one won’t hurt it.

[Paul Bogle]

What helps your credit score is timely payment of bills, especially loan payments. What hurts your credit score is failure to use credit, failure to make payments on time and too many credit inquiries.

[vince_g]

1 minute ago, Paul Bogle said:

What helps your credit score is timely payment of bills, especially loan payments. What hurts your credit score is failure to use credit, failure to make payments on time and too many credit inquiries.

And don't forget too much DEBT.

[FLAHAM]

1 hour ago, adam_s_allen said:

I had a similar thought this morning. I’m a few months away from final payment date and want to just pay in full now. I feel like it would be easier to get a price adjustment if the price comes down further before I paid in full though.

Since you can always rebook at a lower price as a matter or right prior to final payment date, this makes no sense.

[Paul Bogle]

4 minutes ago, vince_g said:

And don't forget too much DEBT.

 

Now your are getting into the realm of ability to pay; where income and assets play a significant role.

 

Credit scores measure your diligence in making payments on time.

[Greenpea2]

11 minutes ago, Paul Bogle said:

What helps your credit score is timely payment of bills, especially loan payments. What hurts your credit score is failure to use credit, failure to make payments on time and too many credit inquiries.

Exactly. I was trying to figure out how the heck paying early hurt anyone’s credit. I pay my cc off every month and I have great credit. I will pay mine a little early just to get it out of my hair.