newbiecruiser2022 Posted July 7, 2022 #1 Share Posted July 7, 2022 Sorry if this question has been asked and answered already but is there any financial benefit to prepaying the service charge? Is it any cheaper or more expensive, prior to boarding versus at the end? Someone on my group thinks it's cheaper to prepay but I don't really see why they would think so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiefMateJRK Posted July 7, 2022 #2 Share Posted July 7, 2022 It's only cheaper if you prepay them and there is an annual price increase between that time and your sail date. I never prepay them. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raitch Posted July 7, 2022 #3 Share Posted July 7, 2022 I prepay just to have one less thing to pay down the road. That’s it. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbiecruiser2022 Posted July 7, 2022 Author #4 Share Posted July 7, 2022 And follow up q- I have an onboard spending credit can I use that for service charges? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfclam2003 Posted July 7, 2022 #5 Share Posted July 7, 2022 Just now, newbiecruiser2022 said: And follow up q- I have an onboard spending credit can I use that for service charges? Yes you can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njhorseman Posted July 7, 2022 #6 Share Posted July 7, 2022 7 minutes ago, newbiecruiser2022 said: And follow up q- I have an onboard spending credit can I use that for service charges? 6 minutes ago, surfclam2003 said: Yes you can. If it's refundable on board credit, yes. If it's non refundable on board credit, no. OBC from NCL is non refundable. Credit from a travel agency is in most cases refundable. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Sailing12Away Posted July 7, 2022 #7 Share Posted July 7, 2022 I prefer to prepay. They never go down... there's always a chance they'll go up. And as someone else already said, I prefer to have one less thing to be charged for. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbiecruiser2022 Posted July 7, 2022 Author #8 Share Posted July 7, 2022 12 minutes ago, njhorseman said: If it's refundable on board credit, yes. If it's non refundable on board credit, no. OBC from NCL is non refundable. Credit from a travel agency is in most cases refundable. My credit is the platinum perk from American Express travel I guess we'll find out! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
complawyer Posted July 7, 2022 #9 Share Posted July 7, 2022 it's actually totally up to you. there is no right or wrong answer. there is no upside or down side to prepaying, or paying at the end of the cruise. prepaying just means your final bill will be smaller, but in exchange you paid upfront. ' either will do Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njhorseman Posted July 7, 2022 #10 Share Posted July 7, 2022 33 minutes ago, complawyer said: it's actually totally up to you. there is no right or wrong answer. there is no upside or down side to prepaying, or paying at the end of the cruise. prepaying just means your final bill will be smaller, but in exchange you paid upfront. ' either will do There is an upside to prepaying as you can avoid having to pay a service charge increase announced after you book your cruise. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare shof515 Posted July 8, 2022 #11 Share Posted July 8, 2022 another nice benefit of prepay the service charge is it makes reviewing the final statement at the end of the cruise a bit easier 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare destar Posted July 8, 2022 #12 Share Posted July 8, 2022 I also prepay, just one less thing to worry about and a smaller tab at the end of the cruise. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare CTCruiser001 Posted July 8, 2022 #13 Share Posted July 8, 2022 (edited) 2 hours ago, newbiecruiser2022 said: My credit is the platinum perk from American Express travel I guess we'll find out! Just FYI...The AMEX perk is a non-refundable OBC...You won't be able to use it for your service charges. Edited July 8, 2022 by CTCruiser001 typo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoCruiseFan Posted July 8, 2022 #14 Share Posted July 8, 2022 2 hours ago, surfclam2003 said: Yes you can. Only if it is a refundable credit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
julig22 Posted July 8, 2022 #15 Share Posted July 8, 2022 DSC price increase was effective April 1. If you booked prior to that date AND you pay before you board, you pay the lower rate. Otherwise, you pay the current rate whether you pay in advance or have it billed to your room. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfclam2003 Posted July 8, 2022 #16 Share Posted July 8, 2022 44 minutes ago, MoCruiseFan said: Only if it is a refundable credit. Thanks I didn't know that's. Always prepay gratuities when I do final payment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbiecruiser2022 Posted July 8, 2022 Author #17 Share Posted July 8, 2022 20 minutes ago, julig22 said: DSC price increase was effective April 1. If you booked prior to that date AND you pay before you board, you pay the lower rate. Otherwise, you pay the current rate whether you pay in advance or have it billed to your room. So I booked in May for a July cruise, sounds like it doesn't matter then 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChiefMateJRK Posted July 8, 2022 #18 Share Posted July 8, 2022 Do you folks prepay your December rent to "get it out of the way" and have "one less thing to think about?" 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruising Lynne Posted July 8, 2022 #19 Share Posted July 8, 2022 I don't pre-pay the service charge anymore. It is one less thing to worry about getting refunded if the cruise is cancelled. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare KeithJenner Posted July 8, 2022 #20 Share Posted July 8, 2022 You do not need to prepay the service charge in case there is a price increase. Whenever NCL increase them you can still get the old price as long as you prepay before the cruise, so you can wait until it is announced before deciding. Of course they may change the way they do it, but that has been consistent for years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare cruiseny4life Posted July 8, 2022 #21 Share Posted July 8, 2022 For both of our cruises we pre-paid the gratuities, but each time we booked it was already after the final payment date. If we plan a cruise far enough in advance so as not to have to pay everything all at once, we would wait until final payment date, except in the case of a gratuity increase occurring. Yes, we were those cheap arse cruisers who pre-paid the gratuity ahead of April 1st, rather than paying the higher rate after April 1st this year. @ChiefMateJRK - to answer your question. We always pre-paid our rent at least two months in advance when we rented. Now, we pay our mortgage a month in advance as it's double the rent we were paying. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alysonofagun Posted July 8, 2022 #22 Share Posted July 8, 2022 I took credit rather than a cash refund from NCL for a cancelled cruise, and was able to use this to prepay service charges earlier this year (although could only use the original 100% and not the bonus 25% or however much it was for this). UK booking. Just an FYI in case anyone has bits of leftover refunds sitting in their account! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MSUjohn Posted July 8, 2022 #23 Share Posted July 8, 2022 (edited) i always always always prepay my: gratuities premium meal package water shore excursions onboard credit certificate that is just my personal preference. Edited July 8, 2022 by MSUjohn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travelling2Some Posted July 8, 2022 #24 Share Posted July 8, 2022 15 hours ago, KeithJenner said: You do not need to prepay the service charge in case there is a price increase. Whenever NCL increase them you can still get the old price as long as you prepay before the cruise, so you can wait until it is announced before deciding. Of course they may change the way they do it, but that has been consistent for years now. I have found this to be true also. We generally book cruises far in advance and if they raise the gratuity rate then they will give you the heads up and a choice to pay the rate you booked under before a certain date. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Greenpea2 Posted July 8, 2022 #25 Share Posted July 8, 2022 I always prepay. It locks in the price and one less thing to worry about. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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