Planning for 10/10

[Treeguy]

I would like to surprise my DW with a cruise for our 25th anv. It will be late Oct of 2010. I see that some of the cruise lines are just now coming out with their 2010 shcedules. We like Royal Caribbean and would want to do maybe Eastern Caribbean or maybe something different in the west. Looking for 7-8 day cruise.

 

My concerns is I want to surprise her during our anv in '09, so I can't use any credit card or cash. What is the best way to schedule a cruise and maybe pay a little at a time, kind of like lay-away? :confused: Would it be best to go through a travel agent? Would RC let me do anything like this direct?

 

Also I would invite friends and family to come with us.

 

We only been on 1 cruise before and someone else planned it, so I amd kinda of new to this.:eek: Any info would be helpful.

 

Thanks

[ssantow]

I would like to surprise my DW with a cruise for our 25th anv. It will be late Oct of 2010. I see that some of the cruise lines are just now coming out with their 2010 shcedules. We like Royal Caribbean and would want to do maybe Eastern Caribbean or maybe something different in the west. Looking for 7-8 day cruise.

 

My concerns is I want to surprise her during our anv in '09, so I can't use any credit card or cash. What is the best way to schedule a cruise and maybe pay a little at a time, kind of like lay-away? :confused: Would it be best to go through a travel agent? Would RC let me do anything like this direct?

 

Also I would invite friends and family to come with us.

 

We only been on 1 cruise before and someone else planned it, so I amd kinda of new to this.:eek: Any info would be helpful.

 

Thanks

 

Your best bet will be a local Travel Agent. There is no way around having to pay a deposit to hold your cruise so you will need to at least come up with that. By using a local agent you will be able to "drop by" from time to time to make payments.

The only other alternative I can come up with is to have a relative pay for it with their credit card and you pay them back as you have the money. This could bring up many complications so unless you are real close with them you might not want to do it.

[Treeguy]

Those are the two ways I was thinking of doing. Just not sure what other options there were out there or if anyone has some creative way of doing things.

[sail7seas]

Open a separate account for just this reason and pay incrementally from that account. Start saving and depositing now and you will be able to handle the finances without her knowing about it.

 

What a wonderful surprise!!!

Congratulations .....a bit in advance. :)

[cb at sea]

Or, buy a "pre-paid" Visa card and use that to make your secret payments!

[clackey]

Open a separate account for just this reason and pay incrementally from that account. Start saving and depositing now and you will be able to handle the finances without her knowing about it.

 

What a wonderful surprise!!!

Congratulations .....a bit in advance. :)

I have my doubts about this one. There is NO WAY a woman would not catch this. It would go right over a man's head, but not a woman's. ;) Any institution is going to send a monthly statement, be it paper or electronic. I'm betting she would know by the second month. Unless you have a real good imagination and a great poker face, you might want to consider cb's suggestion about the pre-paid VISA.

[arlodog]

Our bank allows you to set up a seperate vacation account that you can have a portion of your paycheck direct deposited. You have plenty of time to divert a little bit of money (unless your DW is like me and counts every penny and would question where the extra money has gone)

One of my friends started writing checks at the grocery store for over the amount of purchase every time she went and deposited this into a seperate account so her DH wouldn't know ($25 adds up quick if you are doing it 2-3 times per week) These would be some options to consider.

Have fun planning and I hope you can keep it a surprise!

[Treeguy]

Thanks for the suggestions. I didn't think about the vacation account. I know my CU does this, I'll have to talk to them and see if they can set something up and not send it to the house.

[hajekfam]

If you are looking to book a cruise for Oct 2010 and going to tell your wife in Oct 2009, all you have to worry about is the down payment (anywhere from $250 to $500 per person depending on length of the cruise) to reserve your cruise. Final payment isn't usually due until 90 to 60 days before the cruise which would be after she would know.

[sail7seas]

I have my doubts about this one. There is NO WAY a woman would not catch this. It would go right over a man's head, but not a woman's. ;) Any institution is going to send a monthly statement, be it paper or electronic. I'm betting she would know by the second month. Unless you have a real good imagination and a great poker face, you might want to consider cb's suggestion about the pre-paid VISA.

 

 

DH and I have our own computers. With a shared computer, sure.....DW would see the statement but not if each have their own.