New Canadian Exchange Rate Effective March 17th

Effective with new bookings made after March 17th, the Canadian currency exchange rate will change on 2017 and 2018 voyages to be $1 USD = $1.30 CAD.

Just a heads up. :loudcry::eek::loudcry:

 

Just a heads up. :loudcry::eek::loudcry:

Thanks for that.....at least it's going in the right direction, which is surprising since the C$ dropped below 75 cents US.

What's the current Princess rate?

What's the current Princess rate?

35%..... As a Canadian you can tell by the last two numbers in the pricing.

USD Exch $CAN

$999 1.00 $ 999.00

$999 1.05 $1,048.95

$999 1.10 $1,098.90

$999 1.15 $1,148.85

$999 1.20 $1,198.80

$999 1.25 $1,248.75

$999 1.30 $1,298.70

$999 1.35 $1,348.65

$999 1.40 $1,398.60

My Canadian bank will buy at; sell at

1.2925 1.3802

So it looks quite reasonable.

 

Just a heads up. :loudcry::eek::loudcry:

We booked our cruise in November, for Jan 2018 and it was at $1.30USD, so it hasn't changed for a while. Not sure what princess is trying to do with this announcement? Get more Canadians to book cruises??????

But hey! We're doing a land trip through Canada in June/July/August. (Going through Canada in June and probably back during August. Going to the end of the Alcan Highway. :))

This just means that the exchange rate is word for ME! Now who could possibly be more important than ME? (Other than my wife of course.)

We booked our cruise in November, for Jan 2018 and it was at $1.30USD, so it hasn't changed for a while. Not sure what princess is trying to do with this announcement? Get more Canadians to book cruises??????

The January 2018 cruise that we booked months ago at 30% is now listed at 35% (ending in .65).

The January 2018 cruise that we booked months ago at 30% is now listed at 35% (ending in .65).

Go into your cruise personalizer and check how much the OBC are being charged. When did you book exactly?

 

Just a heads up. :loudcry::eek::loudcry:[/

 

Bamelin where did you get this information?

Wait til after Mar 17 to see if the prices change. Right now I'm seeing all my saved cruises for 17/18 at 35%. That really means nearly 40% with bank and admin charges.

We booked our cruise in November, for Jan 2018 and it was at $1.30USD, so it hasn't changed for a while. Not sure what princess is trying to do with this announcement? Get more Canadians to book cruises??????

We booked our next Mexican Riviera cruise in February 2018 just last month (Feb 2017) and the exchange rate was 35%.

Paul

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't exchange rates for transactions that cross boards determined by the spot market exchange rate plus bank fees? The spot rate between US and CAD is 1.33750 based on the rate shown at xe.com

http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=USD&To=CAD

I'm not certain how a company should create its own exchange rate that remains fixed for a period of time in spite of whatever is going on in the currency exchange markets.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't exchange rates for transactions that cross boards determined by the spot market exchange rate plus bank fees? The spot rate between US and CAD is 1.33750 based on the rate shown at xe.com

 

http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=USD&To=CAD

 

I'm not certain how a company should create its own exchange rate that remains fixed for a period of time in spite of whatever is going on in the currency exchange markets.

Any onboard charges that are converted (either by Princess at a poor exchange rate) or by a person's bank will be based on the current exchange rate at that time.

Keeping a steady rate for new bookings means Princess does not have prices changing daily (or even more often) which can be very confusing for someone wanting to book a cruise that is priced in that person;s local currency. The "advertised" rate would not be valid for more than a few hours at best.

 

Bamelin where did you get this information?

I would like to know this as well! In the past no one ever seemed to know what would happen until it happened. Maybe TA's get a heads up? Ironic that they might finally lower their rate back to $1.30 from $1.35 just as the CDN takes a dive from $1.31 to $1.34.

Lots and lots of misunderstanding of how Exchange a Rates and Princess works here in this thread. This is nothing to do with the generally bad exchange rates by having Princess bill your account directly in CDN versus US after a cruise.

Princess picks an exchange rate for Canadians and likely all the other currencies that they allow citizens of those countries to book in rather than having to book in US$. The rate they pick stays until they decide to change it. This determines the CDN rate for all cruises booked in the time frame that the rate is in place. It has nothing to do with when the cruise actually begins. Next month, next year, doesn't matter.

It is easy to figure the rate you are booked at based on the chart posted preciously, just look at the fraction of a $ at the end of the cruise price and consult the chart. There are occasional anomalies for certain cabin groups that don't fit the chart but most prices will fit.

The way to get that same exchange rate that you booked the cruise at for all of your onboard spending is to pre-purchase enough OBC to cover your cruise. You will get the same exchange rate you booked the cruise at. So you might be at $1.30, I could be at $1.35, someone might still be at $1.20 (if they booked long enough ago) and we might all be next to each other on the same deck on the same cruise. So this has nothing to do with bank rates, currency conversion fees etc, it has only to do with Princesses Canadian rate at the time you booked.

If the rate drops to $1.30 and you aren't at final payment yet, you can cancel and rebook but just like any price change, you would rebook at the current prices in Canadian at the new exchange rate. That may be higher or lower than what you booked at and rebooking might change or eliminate the perks that you got when you booked.

AE_Collector

I was hoping that Bamelin would come back and tell us where the information came from indicating the upcoming change to the Canadian Exchange Rate by Princess to $1.30.

Bamelin didn't post the info but rather quoted someone in his/her first post to create this topic. Always good to indicate your sources or at least give some indication of the likely reliability of information such as this.

AE_Collector

I would like to know this as well! In the past no one ever seemed to know what would happen until it happened. Maybe TA's get a heads up? Ironic that they might finally lower their rate back to $1.30 from $1.35 just as the CDN takes a dive from $1.31 to $1.34.

 

Lots and lots of misunderstanding of how Exchange a Rates and Princess works here in this thread. This is nothing to do with the generally bad exchange rates by having Princess bill your account directly in CDN versus US after a cruise.

 

Princess picks an exchange rate for Canadians and likely all the other currencies that they allow citizens of those countries to book in rather than having to book in US$. The rate they pick stays until they decide to change it. This determines the CDN rate for all cruises booked in the time frame that the rate is in place. It has nothing to do with when the cruise actually begins. Next month, next year, doesn't matter.

 

It is easy to figure the rate you are booked at based on the chart posted preciously, just look at the fraction of a $ at the end of the cruise price and consult the chart. There are occasional anomalies for certain cabin groups that don't fit the chart but most prices will fit.

 

The way to get that same exchange rate that you booked the cruise at for all of your onboard spending is to pre-purchase enough OBC to cover your cruise. You will get the same exchange rate you booked the cruise at. So you might be at $1.30, I could be at $1.35, someone might still be at $1.20 (if they booked long enough ago) and we might all be next to each other on the same deck on the same cruise. So this has nothing to do with bank rates, currency conversion fees etc, it has only to do with Princesses Canadian rate at the time you booked.

 

If the rate drops to $1.30 and you aren't at final payment yet, you can cancel and rebook but just like any price change, you would rebook at the current prices in Canadian at the new exchange rate. That may be higher or lower than what you booked at and rebooking might change or eliminate the perks that you got when you booked.

 

AE_Collector

Sometimes we have a poster who actually knows 100% what they are talking about. Well done!!

If Princess makes the change to 1.30, it would appear to benefit some folks. That said, good luck trying to find a discount TA in Canada. Generally, much better pricing in USD from US-based TA's.

My Canadian bank will buy at; sell at

1.2925 1.3802

 

So it looks quite reasonable.

I suggest you find a new source to do currency exchanges with. ;)

Sometimes we have a poster who actually knows 100% what they are talking about. Well done!!

 

If Princess makes the change to 1.30, it would appear to benefit some folks. That said, good luck trying to find a discount TA in Canada. Generally, much better pricing in USD from US-based TA's.

Lots of US agents can book in Canadian. No need to find a Canadian agent

Wait til after Mar 17 to see if the prices change. Right now I'm seeing all my saved cruises for 17/18 at 35%. That really means nearly 40% with bank and admin charges.

What bank and admin fees? If you book in Canadian there are no extra bank or admin fees added in.

Sometimes we have a poster who actually knows 100% what they are talking about. Well done!!.

Thank you steelers36, that means a lot to me coming from you as I have learned from your informative posts here over the years as well. Also because that was my first post here in over a year and a half. Why, let's just say that another member didn't appreciate my posts quite as much and decided to attack me online for a typo. I took it until they began attacking the credibility of my opinions in another unrelated topic because of that previous typo. I logged out and stayed out until now.

So, to keep,this informative (for Canadians in particular), why do the cents of the cruise price indicate the Princess exchange rate? Because almost all Princess cruise prices in $US end in 9 (dollars with no cents). Princess multiplies the US price by exactly 10% or maybe 20% or at the moment 35% depending on what they have decided they need it to be at that time.

$999 US X 10% exchange = $1098.90 CDN thus .90 cents confirms the Princess rate is $1.10

$1659 US X 20% exchange = $1990.80 CDN thus .80 cents confirms the Princess rate is $1.20

$2379 US X 35% exchange = $3211.65 CDN thus .65 cents confirms the Princess rate is $1.35

See the chart previously posted by canadarocks.

As I previously mentioned, there are anomalies since Princess $US prices don't always end in $9. And CDN exchange rate percentages that end in 5 such as the current 35% can produce cruise prices that end in .15 cents rather than .65 cents. But you get the idea.

The key thing to consider is that if you booked cruise in $CDN rather than $US and if that exchange rate now looks appealing compared to the current bank exchange rate as you get close to boarding, pre purchase a load of OBC to get the same rate on your spending money onboard including gratuities etc.

Incidentally, to be able to book in $CDN with Princess you have to hold a Canadian passport. But Canadians also have the option to pay in $US.

AE_Collector

A Canadian passport is not required. A Canadian address is. I'm a British Citizen, Canadian permanent resident with a British passport.

Oh okay, that's interesting. There must be more than one way (Canadian Passport) to satisfy Princess that you should be able to book in $ Canadian if you want to. I recall a Princess Vacation Planner telling me that you had to hold a Canadian passport so assumed that was the "test".

AE_Collector

Bamelin got it right! Has some good connections somewhere. The Princess exchange rate in Canadian $ is now $1.30 rather than $1.35. (Most prices end in 70 cents)

I wasn't able to cash in on this for my upcoming cruise because final payment date was LAST Saturday, one week too early. I felt reasonably comfortable in cancelling the day before final payment and rebooking a week later once the exchange rate (hopefully) dropped (neither price of the cruise nor the perks had changed at all) but without any further information from Bamelin (I requested further info in this topic more than once) indicating the likely reliablility of the information it just seemed to be too big of a gamble to save just over $200.

I wonder how long this $1.30 rate will last now that the Canadian $ is closer to,$1.35. To me $1.30 is the perfect rate for Princess to charge Canadians at this time as it is just a little bit of a "deal" compared to the bank rate and "a deal" is what we are always looking for!

AE_Collector

Bamelin got it right! Has some good connections somewhere. The Princess exchange rate in Canadian $ is now $1.30 rather than $1.35. (Most prices end in 70 cents)

 

I wasn't able to cash in on this for my upcoming cruise because final payment date was LAST Saturday, one week too early. I felt reasonably comfortable in cancelling the day before final payment and rebooking a week later once the exchange rate (hopefully) dropped (neither price of the cruise nor the perks had changed at all) but without any further information from Bamelin (I requested further info in this topic more than once) indicating the likely reliablility of the information it just seemed to be too big of a gamble to save just over $200.

 

I wonder how long this $1.30 rate will last now that the Canadian $ is closer to,$1.35. To me $1.30 is the perfect rate for Princess to charge Canadians at this time as it is just a little bit of a "deal" compared to the bank rate and "a deal" is what we are always looking for!

 

AE_Collector

Doesn't look like everything has switched over yet - checking mine and see the change on 2 of my bookings but same price on the other two booked at 1.35. Will keep checking!