USA VS AUS site

Hello guys!!

Squid again, my husbands decided that he will do a cruise with me [emoji322] we are thinking to go for our anniversary next year from Sydney to New Zealand on the Ovation (been dying to try this one out!!)

Doing some hunting around today to work out a rough budget and I’ve noticed we can save about $1,300 on the US royal Caribbean site (even after the conversion) due to a good sale they’re running right now.

Before I hit buy, I was wondering if anyone on here had purchased a cruise on the US site but lived in Australia? This could possibly be a silly question for some and I apologise!

Many thanks,

🦑

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You will be defaulted back to the Oz site for payment, at Oz cost.

This is the type of situation where people discuss using TAs in America.

But note, the US fares have various add-ons that are included in Oz.

Several people buy on the US sites, but probably usually on cruises in other parts of the world. Often, the Australian cruises are not cheaper on US sites. Just make sure that you include all taxes and port fees that are usually not included in the price initially quoted on US sites.

Hello guys!!

 

Squid again, my husbands decided that he will do a cruise with me [emoji322] we are thinking to go for our anniversary next year from Sydney to New Zealand on the Ovation (been dying to try this one out!!)

 

Doing some hunting around today to work out a rough budget and I’ve noticed we can save about $1,300 on the US royal Caribbean site (even after the conversion) due to a good sale they’re running right now.

 

Before I hit buy, I was wondering if anyone on here had purchased a cruise on the US site but lived in Australia? This could possibly be a silly question for some and I apologise!

 

Many thanks,

🦑

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

the price you've been quoted does it include taxes and gratuities because most US sites dont include them

i've priced some and the AU price was cheaper

I find online agents are cheaper.

Us agents are about the same price as local agents.

Unfortunately we can’t name agents.

I’ve been on the ovation 4 times and I’ve learned not to book way in advance unless you want a suite.

We just booked a junior suite for December 2019 and I think we got a good deal.

If you want a run of the mill cabin wait till 3 months before departure.

Ovation is a big ship and they usually have trouble filling it.

For a balcony expect to pay $200 a day.

We ended up booking it through the AUS site, just paid the deposit with the rest to pay off.

There was only one balcony cabin left on deck 8, which is what we wanted.

Let the countdown and research begin

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If you want to purchase on the US site you need to have a address in the United States. And if you read the fine print you must live in the United States (resident) . So while you can do this it may not be a great idea. Also take into account that the daily service fee is not included on the US Site but on the AU site it is. And then when you pay using your credit card from AU depending upon your cards terms you could have a foreign currency conversion fee, foreign use fee in addition to the currency conversion rate.

You should really look closely at this. For example most US Visa Cards have a 1% fee charged by Visa International outside the United States, I have a Visa and a MasterCard both same back, the Visa has the extra 1% fee.

I have used US TAs and such for some bookings as it worked out better. Just note that the US pricing often excludes all taxes, port fees, gratuities and obviously the conversion rate. Do the research and just make sure the US site is offering a better price for the total fare. Also note that sometimes with a currency fluctuation, it may erode any savings you thought you may have, so pay it all to avoid this if you think our dollar may drop and don't pay if you think it will rise. Another issue is how you pay, if using a Credit card, they often impose a surcharge of 1-3%. You may also incur international fees and a different conversion rate by your own bank.