My TA moved my final payment date up! Can they do this ??!!

[honeywell]

Last evening I received an email changing my final payment date to a few days sooner than the original. When I called for an explanation I was told this was because the office would be closed for the holidays. Nothing on my booking info says they have the right to demand early payment. Aside from being irritating, can they do this?

[HurricaneSally]

Last evening I received an email changing my final payment date to a few days sooner than the original. When I called for an explanation I was told this was because the office would be closed for the holidays. Nothing on my booking info says they have the right to demand early payment. Aside from being irritating, can they do this?

 

 

Yes, they can. It is up to your TA to get your final payment to the cruiseline on time. If they are closed then they have to do it before they leave for the holidays.

[skyking]

Last evening I received an email changing my final payment date to a few days sooner than the original. When I called for an explanation I was told this was because the office would be closed for the holidays. Nothing on my booking info says they have the right to demand early payment. Aside from being irritating, can they do this?

 

Yep they sure can....We used to move it up 10 days from the cruise line final payment date....We did this for many reasons, one of which is not being able to get a hold of the customer and then final payment time comes and goes...It gives them more time in case they cant find you...I dont see what the big deal is, it's done to protet you!

[Sue L]

Is is a good business decision, this way everything is taken care of before the holidays. Not sure why this is a big deal. A few days shouldn't matter to you but it is nice for your agent to have that stuff out of the way.

[HorrorFan]

Is is a good business decision, this way everything is taken care of before the holidays. Not sure why this is a big deal. A few days shouldn't matter to you but it is nice for your agent to have that stuff out of the way.

Exactly. Our final payment was due Jan 1. I emailed our TA last night to go ahead and pay it now. She did and seemed happy to do it. What difference does a week make? None to me. Maybe more (or not) to my TA.

No big deal.:rolleyes:

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

I'd say you have a good TA.....what would happen if they didn't do that and your final was past due and ..............:eek: :eek: :eek: fill in the blanks!

 

 

 

Happy Holidays!

 

***

[honeywell]

I guess I was just annoyed with a surprise notice saying "payment due in 3 days" instead of the 10 days I had originally been told.

[Retired LEO]

If the payment goes in late you'll be waving bye bye from the dock.

[hazeleyez3]

Is is a good business decision, this way everything is taken care of before the holidays. Not sure why this is a big deal. A few days shouldn't matter to you but it is nice for your agent to have that stuff out of the way.

 

I am not saying this is the case with the OP; however, if between the 3rd and 10th day there is a payday it could be a big deal.

[kyriecat]

That's a good point. If the TA was going to move it up, the OP should have been informed about it more than 3 days in advance to give him/her time to make arrangements if s/he was expecting a paycheck to come through before final payment. Having final payment so close to Christmas (and Christmas bills/taxes coming due) can be a real problem for some people.

[RevSmith]

Actually they can...but you don't have to submit your final payment until the actual due date. Just give them a call...and tell them...they will understand.

[firefly333]

My TA collects final payments 2 weeks early. Seems to me if that is their date, I will just pay it when they said they need it to have time to process it to pay it ontime to the cruiseline. Im paying Jan 11th for my april 5th cruise.

[Son of a Cruiser]

My TA sent me an email saying that final payment for our cruise was due Dec. 29 and that they would need all payment info by Dec. 19. I sent her the credit card info and told her to go ahead and make payment, which she happily did. We booked a looooong time ago and didn't want to risk losing our selected cabin should something fall through the cracks during all the holiday festivities;).

[cruisinfanatic]

That's a good point. If the TA was going to move it up, the OP should have been informed about it more than 3 days in advance to give him/her time to make arrangements if s/he was expecting a paycheck to come through before final payment. Having final payment so close to Christmas (and Christmas bills/taxes coming due) can be a real problem for some people.

Their final shouldn't be due till middle of next month.

[kyriecat]

Post #7 from Honeywell states that the notice said payment was due in 3 days (Dec. 22nd) instead of the expected 10 days (Dec. 29th). There is nothing said about payment not being due until mid-Jan. Some TAs move the cruiseline due date up a week or two to give themselves time to process the payment to the cruiseline before the actual due date.

[mclou]

Post #7 from Honeywell states that the notice said payment was due in 3 days (Dec. 22nd) instead of the expected 10 days (Dec. 29th). There is nothing said about payment not being due until mid-Jan. Some TAs move the cruiseline due date up a week or two to give themselves time to process the payment to the cruiseline before the actual due date.

 

Possibly Crusinfanatic is calculating the date based on the OP's countdown clock showing a 4/4/09 sailing which would make RCI's due date 1/24.

[kyriecat]

Moving the due date up a month from RC's date is overkill on the TA's part. I've got a cruise for 4/10. Normally final payment wouldn't be due until 1/30 but my TA wants it by 1/23 so they have a week to process the payment.

[cruisinfanatic]

Moving the due date up a month from RC's date is overkill on the TA's part. I've got a cruise for 4/10. Normally final payment wouldn't be due until 1/30 but my TA wants it by 1/23 so they have a week to process the payment.

I don't have a problem with a week. I always tell my clients when I'll be contacting them. Usually about a week ahead. Any more than that is not necessary.

[gbcruise]

So how difficult is it for the TA to take your credit card info & call the day they receive it & get immediate confirmation that it's paid in full? I've used various TA's over the years & I've never been asked for my payment earlier than a day or two from final payment & all has been well.

[caribbeanboy]

If the payment goes in late you'll be waving bye bye from the dock.

 

 

Or getting even a better deal!

[FLACRUISER99]

Maybe the TA needs the money to pay for Christmas spending:eek:??

[spbflseas]

So how difficult is it for the TA to take your credit card info & call the day they receive it & get immediate confirmation that it's paid in full? I've used various TA's over the years & I've never been asked for my payment earlier than a day or two from final payment & all has been well.

 

Bingo...assuming a credit card is being used, there should be absolutely no problem in getting the card processed in a matter of minutes...online. By the way, this is the vast majority of all travel bookings. However, not all people (a very small minority) pay with a credit card. Some TAs need to collect a check and cut a check back to Royal Caribbean by the time the payment in full is due.

[honeywell]

I guess I just felt like they were holding me to the fire, demanding immediate, unexpected payment in 72 hours. When I booked in June, I was fully aware of the final payment date (and yes, I realized it was a tad far out from my cruise date of 4/4/09, but didn't have a problem with the TA wanting to have all monies collected in advance - even if it was way in advance).

 

Then they send me an email saying, essentially, "pay up early and do it right now" because we've decided to take a few extra days off.

 

I can only compare this to "how would it make you feel if your bank called and said you had to make your mortgage payment a week early, and only gave you three days to do it -- all because they decided to close for the holidays?"

 

Yes, I budgeted for this, it is an anticipated expenditure, but to give me so little notice about a last minute change they made for their own convenience put me off.

 

Thanks everyone for your comments and input. I just wanted to vent among friends and seasoned cruisers. I've paid for my cruise in full and am ready to look forward to only positive things!

[uksimonusa]

I guess I just felt like they were holding me to the fire, demanding immediate, unexpected payment in 72 hours. When I booked in June, I was fully aware of the final payment date (and yes, I realized it was a tad far out from my cruise date of 4/4/09, but didn't have a problem with the TA wanting to have all monies collected in advance - even if it was way in advance).

 

Then they send me an email saying, essentially, "pay up early and do it right now" because we've decided to take a few extra days off.

 

I can only compare this to "how would it make you feel if your bank called and said you had to make your mortgage payment a week early, and only gave you three days to do it -- all because they decided to close for the holidays?"

 

Yes, I budgeted for this, it is an anticipated expenditure, but to give me so little notice about a last minute change they made for their own convenience put me off.

 

Thanks everyone for your comments and input. I just wanted to vent among friends and seasoned cruisers. I've paid for my cruise in full and am ready to look forward to only positive things!

 

I don't see how the holidays have anything to do with this TA's request. We are on your cruise, actual final payment date is January 24th, and I understand that some TA's like to move this up 7 - 10 days to help with some of the possibilities already posted by others.

 

BUT, your TA has already made their final payment date 3 1/2 weeks earlier than the cruise line, that's more than enough time to proccess payments, overcome any problems etc. This can all be done after the holidays.

 

How does your TA process your payments, do you pay them and then they pay RCI, or do they us your credit card directly with RCI?? If it is the former, then I smell an end of year cash flow problem at the TA's office

[firefly333]

So how difficult is it for the TA to take your credit card info & call the day they receive it & get immediate confirmation that it's paid in full? I've used various TA's over the years & I've never been asked for my payment earlier than a day or two from final payment & all has been well.

 

Iv used more than one TA that the TA does not do the actual credit card processing. They refer to some vague in house processing department. The TA or phone rep takes the credit card information and gives it to their in house processing dept. I can live with that. Im sure it depends on the size of the TA too.