send in final payment or wait?

[connieleebones]

DH and I are going on our belated honeymoon (or 5 yr anniversary) cruise on the Conquest on July 23. Thanks to Uncle Sam, we now have the money to make our final payment. I checked both Travelocity and Priceline, and the price has not dropped one bit since we booked. Is it better to go ahead and send in the final payment, or wait a little longer for the price to drop and try to get some on board credit? Any advice would be appreciated.

P.S. Our room is a balcony (V8336) just below the grand buffet on the Lido deck. What is the noise level like below a busy deck like that? We don't spend much time in our room during the day, but I don't want to be kept awake at night!:cool:

[BlueHerons]

DH and I are going on our belated honeymoon (or 5 yr anniversary) cruise on the Conquest on July 23. Thanks to Uncle Sam, we now have the money to make our final payment. I checked both Travelocity and Priceline, and the price has not dropped one bit since we booked. Is it better to go ahead and send in the final payment, or wait a little longer for the price to drop and try to get some on board credit? Any advice would be appreciated.

P.S. Our room is a balcony (V8336) just below the grand buffet on the Lido deck. What is the noise level like below a busy deck like that? We don't spend much time in our room during the day, but I don't want to be kept awake at night!:cool:

 

I'd want to pay to get it out of the way. You are cruising during peak summer season so the prices may not drop.

[kujobie]

You can pay in full and still rebook to take advantage of a price drop at any time prior to the date that final payment is required, which is usually 70 days prior to the sail date. So, if you pay in full today and the price drops next week, they will just refund the diference to your credit card or give you onboard credit.

[NRWO]

Your logic is off. It's about penalty date, which coincides with final payment date. If you withold final payment, the only thing you are doing is leaving the possibility open that your cruise could cancel (rare for slightly late payment, but possible) if that particular sailing happens to be overbooked. Probably not a good idea, and absoultely no baring on getting a lower rate. In fact, a supervisor is more apt to look at your reservation and say, "forget, they don't even have their final payment in yet" when determining whether to apply a new discount after the penalty date has passed.

[joepeka]

Your logic is off. It's about penalty date, which coincides with final payment date. If you withold final payment, the only thing you are doing is leaving the possibility open that your cruise could cancel (rare for slightly late payment, but possible) if that particular sailing happens to be overbooked. Probably not a good idea, and absoultely no baring on getting a lower rate. In fact, a supervisor is more apt to look at your reservation and say, "forget, they don't even have their final payment in yet" when determining whether to apply a new discount after the penalty date has passed.

Just some rough calendar math tells me that with the 75 day full payment requirement, the OP still has about a month before final payment is due. As such it would not hurt to hold out for a bit and see if the prices go down. But, as NRWO says, since it's a July sailing it's unlikely prices will go down and you certainly do not want to miss the full payment deadline.

[kujobie]

Just some rough calendar math tells me that with the 75 day full payment requirement, the OP still has about a month before final payment is due. As such it would not hurt to hold out for a bit and see if the prices go down. But, as NRWO says, since it's a July sailing it's unlikely prices will go down and you certainly do not want to miss the full payment deadline.

 

Just to clarify, you can book a cruise a year or more in advance and pay in full and cancel at any time and receive a full refund or cancel and rebook to take advantage of a price drop prior to the final payment date/penalty phase. There is no disadvantage to paying in full prior to that date, unless your TA has a cancellation policy that differs from the cruise line's. If that is the case, I would find another TA or book directly with Carnival. You would, of course, want to make sure you paid the full amount due prior to that date or your reservation could be cancelled.

[VentureMan_2000]

Sounds like you have the money now. Will it be hard to hold onto...? If so, then pay off the cruise now.

[zqvol]

I would hold off until about 10 days before final payment is due. No point in giving Carnival the money before you have to, Carnival seems to be pretty good about credits if prices come down but that is a busy time of year and with fuel costs rising again I would be surprised to see much price drop. (Of course I could be really off base.)

[tef43]

There is zero upside to making final payment any earlier than you are contractually required to.

[connieleebones]

Thanks so much for the quick replies. The only reason I posed the question was that I read that once you make your final payment, you lose your leverage in requesting credit. I had not, however, considered that we are traveling during peak season and the rising cost of fuel. I'm going to send it in now before something happens to that money! Thanks again for the help.:)

[VentureMan_2000]

There is zero upside to making final payment any earlier than you are contractually required to.

 

I disagree... there appear to be plenty of folk who have a hard time holding onto their cruise money and wouldn't have it later for a cruise...

 

A bird in the hand... or in this case... a cruise in the hand...

[zqvol]

I disagree... there appear to be plenty of folk who have a hard time holding onto their cruise money and wouldn't have it later for a cruise...

 

A bird in the hand... or in this case... a cruise in the hand...

Me thinks you are both right. If you can put the money in the bank and leave it alone you make a very little interest and you lose nothing., however if you can't leave the money alone then you probably need to pay now so that you have it when you need it.

[tef43]

there appear to be plenty of folk who have a hard time holding onto their cruise money and wouldn't have it later for a cruise...

It's all about taking responsibility for one's own actions. A trait that seems to be lacking among many. :rolleyes:

[Forchunut1]

It's all about taking responsibility for one's own actions. A trait that seems to be lacking among many. :rolleyes:

 

Well, it's a little more than that. "Stuff" happens where the money is needed for other things. The car breaks down, unexpected doctor bills, etc. Lots of people live paycheck to paycheck (and not because of irresponsible financial management), so if you've got the money it's a done deal if you pay your cruise in full.

[heyitsmejudy]

We're sailing in December. Final payment due in October. Because WE might have to cancel, (sick dad) we're waiting. I'd rather wrangle over getting $900 in deposits back than $2500 if we're full paid.

[NRWO]

Ok I apologize. I was under the impression you were contemplating withholding payment after final payment date. Still, when to pay final payment has no baring on applying price drops. If the cruise rate falls before final payment due date, regardless of whether you are paid in full or not, there's no difficulty in applying the lower rate.