Paying for a cruise

[Hlitner]

For those in the USA, using a major credit card comes with various protections (from both Federal Law and the credit card company) that you do not get with a cash transaction.  Also consider that with some credit cards (especially the higher end affinity cards) using a credit card can get you valuable points (to be used for other things) and various insurance coverage.  For example, the Chase Saphire Cards (both Preferred and Reserve) can get you up to $10,000 pp in cancelation insurance/interruption insurance, medical evacuation, etc.  

[Harry Lake]

21 hours ago, Mary229 said:

Chase Sapphire offers very good insurance with their card.  At my age it equals about 10% value on cruises less than $20000 plus you get around 2% back in points. 

I looked at CSR but IIRC they only offered something like $750 for medical. I got another plan..

[Roz]

57 minutes ago, Ljr51 said:

We booked at the end of October and they said we needed to pay in full by Nov. 28. 

 

For me that's a bunch of BS. 😠

[Flatbush Flyer]

23 hours ago, Ljr51 said:

It's Viking. It was specifically mentioned in the article I found online that recommended not taking that offer of a discount for paying via bank account. I am in New York, USA.

Don’t be “pennywise and pound foolish.”ALWAYS pay by credit card so that you have a built-in mechanism for disputes.Getting FF points is a bonus. And included trip insurance (albeit, most often, not as robust as it should/could be for truly comprehensive/flexible coverage) is another perk.

[Ljr51]

Thanks all for the replies. I will pay via credit card because it does add another layer of protection (I have a travel policy from Allianz as well, purchased within 14 days of my first deposit, so it will cover pre-existing conditions). I will get cash back by paying via CC at whatever rate, and it did make me nervous to think of paying with bank debit (ACH). 

[Mary229]

17 hours ago, Roz said:

 

For me that's a bunch of BS. 😠

That’s Viking.  I don’t get it.  

[Mary229]

17 hours ago, Harry Lake said:

I looked at CSR but IIRC they only offered something like $750 for medical. I got another plan..

I have an annual medical policy paired with my Sapphire.  Geoblue is a bargain.  They offer a bit more than $750.  I have compared them side by side with basic popular comprehensive plans and they are almost identical.

Edited November 27, 2023 by Mary229

[leaveitallbehind]

19 hours ago, Ljr51 said:

We booked at the end of October and they said we needed to pay in full by Nov. 28. 

Did you have to convey a deposit at the time of the October booking - and if so, how did you make that payment?

[sanger727]

I would look at the protections from a credit card and travel insurance completely differently. Travel insurance exists to reimburse you if you are unable to travel for some reason or if there is an unexpected last minute cancellation. It typically does not cover the business you are operating with going out of business or for some other reason that they failed to provide the service you bought. Credit cards include the ability to dispute a payment if the business does not offer the product that you purchased and protection against the business going bankrupt. 

 

I've paid for trips through ACH transfer to get a cash discount before. That was pre-covid and I was working with a small local travel company. Post covid I would really hesitate to pay through ACH transfer. 

[Ljr51]

leaveitallbehind: yes we had to pay $50 deposit and we used a credit card. We will use a credit card--Chase Sapphire Preferred--which has a cash back option and ample credit line to cover this. We had started using a CapOne Venture Card for travel benefits but I've become unhappy with that card--the cash back for travel seems puny and they would not give us a decent credit line even though our credit scores are in the 830 range. Not enough credit to pay for the cruise and air fare. We do not carry credit card balances. I don't get why they won't increase the credit line. I asked twice and was turned down with no explanation twice. 

 

I guess I really don't understand trip insurance--I can get a medical only policy that would be paid by the year and cover any number of trips? I must look into that. For this trip, I already bought an Allianz policy that covers trip costs and medical. Because I am in NYState the only way I could get pre-existing conditions covered was to buy that policy within 14 days of our first trip deposit, which was Oct 30. 

 

Also thanks to reading these boards we just did transfer our booking to a travel agent and will get some monetary benefits for doing that. I had no clue that this was a thing. Thanks!

[leaveitallbehind]

19 minutes ago, Ljr51 said:

leaveitallbehind: yes we had to pay $50 deposit and we used a credit card.

Thanks.  My reason for asking was to understand if Viking accepted a deposit with a booking and then deferred final payment as is typically done, but with the option at that time of the ACH payment with a discount or standard credit card payment. 

 

Or did they require full payment with the booking and only held a short reservation date without requiring a deposit.  Again, thanks for clarifying.

[Ljr51]

They asked for $50 for the two of us and said full payment was due in 30 days. So we just paid--it was due tomorrow. 

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, Ljr51 said:

guess I really don't understand trip insurance--I can get a medical only policy that would be paid by the year and cover any number of trips? I must look into that. For this trip, I already bought an Allianz policy that covers trip costs and medical. Because I am in NYState the only way I could get pre-existing conditions covered was to buy that policy within 14 days of our first trip deposit, which was Oct 30. 

 

Have you contacted a travel insurance broker, someone who deals with several travel insurance vendors, each of which probably have several different policies?

And CALL, don't just read online summaries.  The value of a broker is the discussion, where not only do you ask questions, but *they* ask you questions (usually) to help figure out the best policy for you (or for you, for this trip).

We use www.TripInsuranceStore.com - to get policies from Travel Insured.  (no extra cost to traveler to use a broker)

We've had several claims and all paid without nonsense.
Importantly, the "Q&A" in our discussions made a huge difference in terms of "when we made claims, everything worked well... no surprises..."

 

We looked into annual plans, and for several reasons, they were non-starters for us.  One thing was that IF one hit the coverage limit for a year, then it was likely going to be *too late* to start policies for remaining trips.

 

GC

[ldubs]

On 11/26/2023 at 11:37 AM, Roz said:

To get the cash discount you have to pay the entire fare upfront.  That's what I  meant by tying up cash.

 

If passengers want to do that it's their prerogative.  I prefer to wait until a few months before the cruise to make final payment.  I'm obviously in the minority, given the popularity of Viking's cruises. 

 

Thanks, that definitely throws a kink in things.  

[Mary229]

3 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

Have you contacted a travel insurance broker, someone who deals with several travel insurance vendors, each of which probably have several different policies?

And CALL, don't just read online summaries.  The value of a broker is the discussion, where not only do you ask questions, but *they* ask you questions (usually) to help figure out the best policy for you (or for you, for this trip).

We use www.TripInsuranceStore.com - to get policies from Travel Insured.  (no extra cost to traveler to use a broker)

We've had several claims and all paid without nonsense.
Importantly, the "Q&A" in our discussions made a huge difference in terms of "when we made claims, everything worked well... no surprises..."

 

We looked into annual plans, and for several reasons, they were non-starters for us.  One thing was that IF one hit the coverage limit for a year, then it was likely going to be *too late* to start policies for remaining trips.

 

GC

I second the trip insurance store.  Steve is a great asset to the travel insurance industry. He knows all of the gotchas.