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Paying off your cruise


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1 minute ago, hallyluhopper said:

Just curious;when is the best time to pay off a booked cruise? Is it better to pay off your cruise right away/ASAP, or wait until you get close to the final payment date? Please explain.

There really is no advantage to paying it off early, except that you've paid it off early.

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I agree with @FManke; there's no benefit to paying off your cruise early and giving a free loan to the cruise line. That said, don't wait until the very last minute, either. I usually pay the cruise off about two weeks before final payment date.

If I'm having to pay for expensive airfare, I might pay the cruise off a bit early so that the airfare and final payment don't hit the credit card at the same time as I don't carry a balance and would prefer not to have both in the same billing cycle.

 

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2 minutes ago, DocLC said:

I agree with @FManke; there's no benefit to paying off your cruise early and giving a free loan to the cruise line. That said, don't wait until the very last minute, either. I usually pay the cruise off about two weeks before final payment date.

If I'm having to pay for expensive airfare, I might pay the cruise off a bit early so that the airfare and final payment don't hit the credit card at the same time as I don't carry a balance and would prefer not to have both in the same billing cycle.

 

That makes sense. I  don't like carrying a balance either. We are flying to Miami from Seattle, so I will take that into consideration.

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14 hours ago, hallyluhopper said:

Just curious;when is the best time to pay off a booked cruise? Is it better to pay off your cruise right away/ASAP, or wait until you get close to the final payment date? Please explain.

As many have mentioned there is no right or wrong answer for this.

For some, they will prefer to pay a certain amount each month off the total to avoid having to find a large lump on the payment due date. If you don't regularly save and find it tempting to dip into savings then this is a great idea.

Personally, I do something simular but instead of paying the money to RCL I put the money into a separate savings account and then pay a lump sum the day before the cruise needs to be paid off. In our case this because we have an offset mortgage (i.e any positive funds in our bank accounts reduces the principle we have to pay interest against) it is better for us to keep the money in our own accounts as long as possible which reduces the interest charges on our mortgage. If I didn't have a history of saving I would probably pay off a certain amou8nt each month but I am confident of not touching the money so in our case it is better to not pay it until the last moment possible.

It really is up to you and what makes you feel more comfortable.

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I'm also in the "pay a bit each month" camp. I try to pay the same each month so when final payment comes around it's a few hundred left.

I combine that with purchasing one shore excursion / drink package / internet service package each month leading up to final payment. Pay in full each month, and by cruise time it's all paid for and I can get off the ship with no extra balance due.

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1 hour ago, EmersonNZ said:

As many have mentioned there is no right or wrong answer for this.

For some, they will prefer to pay a certain amount each month off the total to avoid having to find a large lump on the payment due date. If you don't regularly save and find it tempting to dip into savings then this is a great idea.

Personally, I do something simular but instead of paying the money to RCL I put the money into a separate savings account and then pay a lump sum the day before the cruise needs to be paid off. In our case this because we have an offset mortgage (i.e any positive funds in our bank accounts reduces the principle we have to pay interest against) it is better for us to keep the money in our own accounts as long as possible which reduces the interest charges on our mortgage. If I didn't have a history of saving I would probably pay off a certain amou8nt each month but I am confident of not touching the money so in our case it is better to not pay it until the last moment possible.

It really is up to you and what makes you feel more comfortable.

Hmmm, I have done this too. My mom always taught me to save everything I needed for a vacation, even fun money. This helps when the cruise is over cause I can go on with my life not owing anything.

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1 hour ago, JLMoran said:

I'm also in the "pay a bit each month" camp. I try to pay the same each month so when final payment comes around it's a few hundred left.

I combine that with purchasing one shore excursion / drink package / internet service package each month leading up to final payment. Pay in full each month, and by cruise time it's all paid for and I can get off the ship with no extra balance due.

This is my thinking too. I've even taken what I owe and divide it by the months I have left to figure out my payments. I haven't thought of figuring the other stuff though. Good idea!

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1 hour ago, EmersonNZ said:

As many have mentioned there is no right or wrong answer for this.

For some, they will prefer to pay a certain amount each month off the total to avoid having to find a large lump on the payment due date. If you don't regularly save and find it tempting to dip into savings then this is a great idea.

Personally, I do something simular but instead of paying the money to RCL I put the money into a separate savings account and then pay a lump sum the day before the cruise needs to be paid off. In our case this because we have an offset mortgage (i.e any positive funds in our bank accounts reduces the principle we have to pay interest against) it is better for us to keep the money in our own accounts as long as possible which reduces the interest charges on our mortgage. If I didn't have a history of saving I would probably pay off a certain amou8nt each month but I am confident of not touching the money so in our case it is better to not pay it until the last moment possible.

It really is up to you and what makes you feel more comfortable.

I do the same.  I have it set up where a set amount of money goes into a savings account each week.

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3 hours ago, EmersonNZ said:

As many have mentioned there is no right or wrong answer for this.

For some, they will prefer to pay a certain amount each month off the total to avoid having to find a large lump on the payment due date. If you don't regularly save and find it tempting to dip into savings then this is a great idea.

Personally, I do something simular but instead of paying the money to RCL I put the money into a separate savings account and then pay a lump sum the day before the cruise needs to be paid off. In our case this because we have an offset mortgage (i.e any positive funds in our bank accounts reduces the principle we have to pay interest against) it is better for us to keep the money in our own accounts as long as possible which reduces the interest charges on our mortgage. If I didn't have a history of saving I would probably pay off a certain amou8nt each month but I am confident of not touching the money so in our case it is better to not pay it until the last moment possible.

It really is up to you and what makes you feel more comfortable.

We sort of do the same think we have a fund we call extra and put money away every week so we have enough for vacation and any spending money needed that way when we get back from vacation everything has been paid then just start the whole process over again plus I still referee so all that money goes for vacations also.

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We usually just pay it off several weeks before the final due date; however, this last cruise we booked directly with RCI instead of a travel agent and I decided to pay monthly (sort of).  We just booked an Alaska cruise/inland tour for July 2018 and thinking we will pay monthly again this time to boost up my airline points so we can use those for our flight in July.

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  • 1 year later...
23 minutes ago, Susie said:

You cannot price match like getting a refund back after final payment date but you can get an upgrade if it is available. The upgrade is not guaranteed either. So just pay when it close to the final payment date. 

Well, we are out of upgrades (we're in the top tier suite). Top suites are sold out and before they sold out they were $1800 more than we paid. Thanks for your help!!

Edited by Baked Alaska
corrected dollar amount
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On 8/11/2017 at 5:05 PM, hallyluhopper said:

Haha, so true. I have over 460 days until I board ?

A fellow Seattle cruiser, sweet. So I just had this same thought. I have 469 days until my next cruise(way too far away), but I also plan on booking a summer 2020 cruise. I wanted to pay off this one so I could then better budget for the next one as well as the airfare. I'm also way up here in Seattle area, so as you know the flight can cost as much as the cruise! The only reason not to is if you are worried about getting OBC instead of cash if there is a price drop or you change your cruise to a cheaper one. For my situation this is very unlikely to be more than a few bucks which I will easily use on board. Or do like Matt suggested and leave a few hundred bucks unpaid. 

And maybe... just maybe... having my future cruises paid in advance will make free me up to budge a last minute cruise if the right situation comes up(yes I know the math is the same, but the state of mind changes)

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On 10/27/2018 at 2:50 PM, Susie said:

You cannot price match like getting a refund back after final payment date but you can get an upgrade if it is available. The upgrade is not guaranteed either. So just pay when it close to the final payment date. 

I think you can get OBC if there is a price drop, just not money back

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No, you won't get any OBC or a refund after final payment date. The only thing you can do is upgrade.

If you book an inside cabin and after final payment date, the price drops below what you paid, you can(and should) price an oceanview or balcony. If the oceanview is the same or less, you can upgrade for free(still no refund).

Sometimes the balcony cabin drops down to be only a couple hundred more than you paid for your interior. You can pay the difference to upgrade. RCI is always willing to accept more money.

None of the above has anything to do with paying off your cruise before final payment date. Before final payment date you can (and should) reprice and get your money back if you pay off before final payment date. If you haven't paid off early, you will just owe less.

Probably 60% of the time, we change cabins between booking and sailing. Better location, up to a higher class, price reduction on a certain class of cabin, etc., etc....................

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On 10/27/2018 at 5:20 PM, Baked Alaska said:

@Matt So, once it's paid off you cannot apply a price drop/rebook?

No, if you are paid off early and then there is a price drop, it just makes for a slower process to get the money back. It's simply easier to reprice a cruise while owing money.

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