Hi all.
Just a poll to see how many actually can pay for your cruise and air, etc. BEFORE you go?
Or do you charge it and then pay throughout the year?
Thanks
Lexy

Question:
Just a poll to see how many actually can pay for your cruise and air, etc. BEFORE you go?
Or do you charge it and then pay throughout the year?

Choices:
Pay before your cruise?
Pay after your cruise?

 

We have done it both ways. But if we "charge it" we typically don't take too long to pay it off. And then on a couple of cruises, I have paid off the balance before leaving the ship from casino winnings... those are the best ones..

My rule is: don't ever go in debt for a vacation. I always use a card to pay for my cruises, and for the onboard charges, but I always have the assets to pay it off.

We pay for our cruise and excurions before we sail. If we have anything on the sign and sail card it is paid off at our next billing cycle or before.

Don't go into debt for anything but your house...life is much better debt free....pay for your vacation up front....you'll have a much better time!

Totally agree with all the above; if you can't pay up front, don't go.

Two words..Tax Refund! my way to pay for my yearly vacation.

When we book our vacation a year in advance, then I placed it on my American express and had them charge it over 5 months, paying the balance off every month and also getting the "points" paid tips also

We book our cruise almost a year in advance, so we have plenty of time. We pay it off BEFORE we cruise. Also, we pay the gratuities before we go as well.

paid in advance and gambeling money is saved as well. then an extra $500.00 is set aside for sail & Sign (Bar Tab). I come off the cruise relaxed as I should ,,,and not stressed about the money blown (in the Casino) or drank away. Thats exactly what it was allocated for. altho I do feel guilty blowing $1600.00 on a short three day cruise in the casino 2 weeks ago. could have paid off my October 13th 8 dayer on the Liberty this year. I better get singing I only have 9 months left before I cruise.
MrOctober my space

we always paid up front, however I love to cruise and would charge if I saw a great deal and did not have the cash on hand. I am in Carnival Vacation Club now and use points, not real money atleast thats how it feels.

Thanks for everyones' replies.
We are able to cover the air and cruise cost and pre and post cruise hotels and car rentals but don't have a heck of a lot left over. Ah well ya can't take it with ya and the kids are only young once so we really love to enjoy them and take fun family vacations when we can. Yeah there's guilt about the money (what else we could use it for - like the house) but this is the fun we work so hard for all year !

Lexy

We don't have any debt (even the ole house is paid off). We use dividends to fund our cruises.

your killin me LHP quit your braggin
lol...must be nice !!!.

quote:

Originally posted by MrOctober:
your killin me LHP quit your braggin
lol...must be nice !!!.

You are so funny!!

Yes, we are very blessed.

I grew up in a family that traveled and when we were married 19 years ago we started saving a portion of our pay check every month for vacations. We have been saving every month since. We always pay for a vacation before we go. I don't think I could enjoy it if I had to worry about a big bill when I got home.

I too have done it both ways. Here is my take on it. If you have a good deal or if you have around 80% of it paid for then go ahead and have a good time. The reason why I say this is because you will be able to pay the remaining balance off in just a few month afterwards. Don't cut you vacation short because you don't want to go into a little debt. Now i would not go any more then 20% of the total cost into debt other wise it is just to hard to catch up from it. This of course is if this is the trip of a life time thus far for you and your kids. I have taken a second job bartending saturday night a month before to give us a few hundread dollars more for the trip. It's all about where can i cut from the regular month to month budget and how can I raise my income to be able to save the extra 400 per month for a cruise a year. My fiancee and myself ended up saving over a thousand dollars a month by watching our money more carefully and her picking up two extra shifts a month and myself in sales spend two nights a week at the office late prospecting for new business. Now we are only 23 yrs old so that's easy to do but come up with your own. We are going to Hawaii in the Fall for our honeymoon, flying first class there and back plus a cat 11 suit just by doing though's things for the last year.

Sorry two nights at the office a month.

After our first cruise,I realized I have a passion for cruising....... I was hooked!!
So now, I have a vacation fund in which I put a portion of my check into every payday., along with any extra over-time pay that I would not have been expecting that paycheck. Then, when final payment for the cruise is due, I have it in the bank awaiting it's final destination. I try and average it out so that we also have some fun money left available to us when cruise day comes along too!
My motto is....I work so that I can vacation!!

Well fortunatly for me I am a Florida resident, we get great discounts on cruises being a resident.. can go for 400 to 500 dollars, and no airfare needed... So i always pay up front as it is not an extream cost.. What else could you do for a week with food included for 400 bucks... I love to scuba dive so most of my shore excursions are cheep I just rent a tank or two bring the rest of my gear and either do a shore dive or get a local to take me out on his boat for a small fee...