CaptainPanda Posted March 6, 2020 Report Share Posted March 6, 2020 Possibly more a question for MEI Travel, but does anyone have an idea about the timeframe your cruise needs to be paid by? Like, the last payment should be made ________ before your sail date? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJones Posted March 7, 2020 Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 Not sure about shorter / longer cruises, but for 7-night cruises it's 90 days from sail date. Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 7, 2020 Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 It'll be on your invoice. Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted March 7, 2020 Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 @CaptainPanda... As @SpeedNoodles stated, check your invoice or call MEI directly to be 100% sure. If booked through Royal directly, it's usually 90 days from sail date. We used a major travel agency for our next 2 cruises and they require final payment 2 weeks earlier than Royal's policy (90 days + 14 days in our case) to make sure Royal is paid in full and to ensure that there are no issues. Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neesa Posted March 7, 2020 Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 @CaptainPanda~ when the date draws near I do a last price check also, sometimes the price will drop for who knows what reason, maybe even for a day or two so I lock it in BEFORE final payment, nothing worse then seeing a price drop after that final payment. My TA and I both check...just in case! Have a great sailing :) I never pay early for just this reason RWDW1204, Baked Alaska and Mikeb1892 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainPanda Posted March 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 1 hour ago, SpeedNoodles said: It'll be on your invoice. I don't have an invoice yet, we haven't booked the next cruise. I'm trying to budget things out, and wanted to see if there was a buffer zone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KristiZ Posted March 7, 2020 Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 Depends on the region you're sailing, too -- Asian rules have final payment 60 days prior. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 7, 2020 Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 7 minutes ago, CaptainPanda said: I don't have an invoice yet, we haven't booked the next cruise. I'm trying to budget things out, and wanted to see if there was a buffer zone. Gotcha. Well, if you let us know how long your sailing will be and where (ballpark), we should be able to give you a better answer. Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainPanda Posted March 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 15 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said: Gotcha. Well, if you let us know how long your sailing will be and where (ballpark), we should be able to give you a better answer. Right on! We're looking at a 6-7 Night Western Caribbean. In late January/early February, if it helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted March 7, 2020 Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 3 minutes ago, CaptainPanda said: Right on! We're looking at a 6-7 Night Western Caribbean. In late January/early February, if it helps. I'm pretty sure that final payment will be at 90 days prior, as mine have been. Neesa, Chadster and Baked Alaska 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chadster Posted March 7, 2020 Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 Everything I've seen indicates 90 days for cruises longer than 5 days. I'll tell ya -- I'll never again pay in full weeks ahead of the final payment date; the travel agency I booked with before I found this blog and MEI has been a pain ever since they got that money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted March 7, 2020 Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 4 hours ago, Chadster said: I'll never again pay in full weeks ahead of the final payment date; the travel agency I booked with before I found this blog and MEI has been a pain ever since they got that money. This is probably lesson #1 in the professional cruiser manual. It is also the first and hardest lesson I learned. Never, ever pay off a cruise early. Who would even think such a rule could be “a thing” ? It is. You just have to learn. Sometimes it’s a hard lesson - but it’s one you never forget ! RWDW1204, Mikeb1892 and Chadster 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VACruiser Posted March 7, 2020 Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: This is probably lesson #1 in the professional cruiser manual. It is also the first and hardest lesson I learned. Never, ever pay off a cruise early. Who would even think such a rule could be “a thing” ? It is. You just have to learn. Sometimes it’s a hard lesson - but it’s one you never forget ! As a relatively new cruiser do you mind expanding on your statement I’m not sure I understand the between the lines discussion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted March 7, 2020 Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 2 hours ago, Tim B. said: As a relatively new cruiser do you mind expanding on your statement I’m not sure I understand the between the lines discussion? Once you make final payment on a cruise there it is much less flexible. For instance, a fully paid cruise cannot be transferred to a travel agent. Under certain circumstances a fully paid cruise cannot be repriced (this is not 100% true in all cases). It is always advisable to leave at least a small balance on your cruise until right around final payment just in case you may want to adjust price or make other changes. It just provides flexibility that a fully paid cruise does not. FManke, KristiZ and VACruiser 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FManke Posted March 7, 2020 Report Share Posted March 7, 2020 5 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: It is always advisable to leave at least a small balance on your cruise until right around final payment just in case you may want to adjust price or make other changes. It just provides flexibility that a fully paid cruise does not. This is the situation with us. Do to having our cruised re-priced twice, thank you Danette at MEI, we only owe $250. We are waiting until it's due in July, just in case the price drops more. I think with the uncertainty of the cruise market with the Covid-19, I don't know if it makes sense to pay it off early. WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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