What's
an option? Taking
an option is cruise line lingo for reserving
space on a particular date, ship, and
category. It may involve reserving a particular
cabin. For the duration of the option,
you have locked in a particular rate for
what it is you have reserved. It is in
fact the only way to assure that the price
and space you have been quoted will still
be good 5 minutes from now (yes, I've
simplified by ignoring groups for the
moment). When the space is reserved with
the cruise line, your agent is given two
dates: the option date and the final payment
date. If the cruise line does not receive
your deposit by the option date, their
computer will automatically cancel your
reservation. Usually a cruise line will
give a 5-7 day option for a cruise far
enough in the future. If it is for a sailing
date next week, you might only get a 3
hour option.
How
Do I Pay For My Cruise? There
are two basic ways to pay for your cruise:
credit card or check. We find that about
95% of our clients like to pay their cruise
deposit and final payment with a credit
card. The payment information is relayed
to the travel agent who then turns around
and phones it into the cruise line (it
should be the cruise line that debits
your credit card, not the travel agency).
Paying by check is a bit more complicated
and risky. Cruise lines only accept checks
written by a Bonded & Licensed Travel
Agency. This means that your travel agent
must first deposit your check into their
own account, and then write a check to
the cruise line. Because options are a
maximum of 7 days, timing becomes an issue.
Many banks require 3 days or more for
an out of state check to clear (funds
to actually become available). In order
to not lose your booking because of the
option expiring, your travel agent will
usually require you to pay with a Bank
Cashier Check or Money Order, and send
it by overnight or priority mail.
When
Are Cruise Payments Due? The
deposit for your cruise is due at the
time of booking. For a 3 or 4 day cruise
the deposit required is usually around
$100 per person. For a 7 day or longer
cruise, the deposit is usually $250 per
person. Alaska, Panama Canal, and other
parts of the world outside of the Caribbean
sometimes require higher deposits, with
$300 - $450 per person being common. Each
passenger, whether child or adult, is
subject to the deposit requirement. Thus,
if you are traveling alone on a 7 day
cruise your deposit due might be $250.
If sailing with your spouse and two children,
the deposit usually quadruples to $1000.
The balance due, or final payment, is
usually due 70 days before sailing for
a 7 day or longer cruise. Some shorter
cruises allow final payment to be delayed
until 45 days prior to sailing. Since
the due date is when the funds are due
in the hands of the cruise line, expect
your travel agent to request payment up
to two weeks in advance of the official
final payment date. This is especially
true if paying by check.
