Paying in Advance

[bielen]

Is there any advantage to paying for a September 2006 cruise in advance? I understand if you make full payment between 75-105 days that entitles you to book reservations, but are there any other benefits?

 

[Vanvmom]

Our final payment was due 90 days from cruising. If the balance wasn't paid by then, our deposit was forfeited and our reservation was cancelled by DCL. I'm not sure what they do about people who book less than 90 days out... maybe they have to pay in full when they make their reservations.

 

[Travelingmice]

none that I can think of. put your money in a savings account that earns a good rate and you'll be better off than lending it to Disney interest free for a year.

 

[mommasita]

There really is none..Peace of mind perhaps, knowing it is all said and done..

Also, yes if you book prior to 90 days before departure, it must be paid in full.

HTH

 

[jgalecpa]

none that I can think of. put your money in a savings account that earns a good rate and you'll be better off than lending it to Disney interest free for a year.

Technically of course, that is true. The assumptions though is that if you had the money one year out, you would actually save it in an interst bearing account.

Many people do not have that discipline.

I can tell you that I did pay my DCL bill off about 10 months early, since at the time I had the cash flow.

Maybe it did cost me maybe $35 interest. Of course, the interest is taxable income so I REALLY only lost about $20 net.

BUT, I gained an enormous satisfaction knowin it is paid for.

No matter what else comes up, my cruise is all paid up.

I have seen too many tax clients of mine elect to not pay estimated taxes (when not necessary) but "save" the money themselves.

Then, "something comes up". It always seems to.

Peace of mind for $20? For me it's worth it.

IMHO

Jim


PS Interest rates are so low these days that you are not losing much

 

[ivanova]

none that I can think of. put your money in a savings account that earns a good rate and you'll be better off than lending it to Disney interest free for a year.

Define "good rate" - my bank thinks 2% is ridiculously high for savings account interest rate.

I usually don't have the whole cruisefare at once. Instead I make payment in chunks (or monthly payments, whatever the budget can afford). So any interest that would be earned in a savings account would be miniscule.

 

[bielen]

Define "good rate" - my bank thinks 2% is ridiculously high for savings account interest rate.

I usually don't have the whole cruisefare at once. Instead I make payment in chunks (or monthly payments, whatever the budget can afford). So any interest that would be earned in a savings account would be miniscule.

There are no really good "safe" rates. ING Direct currently offers 3.3% which on $2,000 which amounts to $66.00. That does buy a few drinks on-board, but not much else.

 

[DisneyMom&Fan]

We save for all our vacations ahead of time, then I put the money away in a CD until I need to pay off the balance -- better than a normal savings account and I can't touch it without a penalty. So, hang onto your money and earn a few extra bucks in the meantime.

Also, it is easier to get your money out of a CD than it is to get a refund from Disney (or any other travel provider).

 

[HeelMD]

We paid off our 7/06 cruise simply for piece of mind and one less thing to worry about.

 

[S.Sunshine]

I would say the one benift is the ability to schedule reservations early. We paid in full at 100 days and could get only 1 Palo reservation and ended up losing that. Got waitlisted for an excursion and ended up getting that after a 45 day wait. Yes - I plan to pay in full for 9/2006 early so I am not having to do the ressie rush once we board. Peace of mind is worth the interest. (that is unless DCL messes up with their on-line reservations like they did for the Repo crusie. Oh well - I know this is relatively new so by next year they will have all of the kinks worked out)

 

[LuluLovesDisney]

I booked Oct 1st for my Dec 05-Jan 06 trip. I've charged a few hundred each month on my Disney Visa and immediately paid the balance when the statement came in. So far I have 93 Disney Reward Dollars w/o a single finance charge. It's been totally painless and easy to pay. I am able to book 105 days out now and I'm hoping I will be able to get everything I want to do on the ship (Palo, Spa, etc.) I wouldn't really enjoy a vacation unless I had paid for it in advance. I would just be worried that something would come up. I definitely feel more relaxed knowing that it's all taken care of.