Exchange Rates

[travel09]

Does anyone know what the situation is regarding exchange rates, for example if you book a cruise special, advertised in US dollars, and pay in another currency, AUD,or whatever the country of your origin, do you get the current exchanges rates for that day/time.?

Do different Cruise lines have different policies.?

[fann1sh]

You get your own credit card company's exchange rate at the time the transaction is posted. If they charge US$499 on September 15, your bank/charge card will exchange it to (maybe) AU$590 on the same (more likely, the next) day.

 

Some of my credit cards have better exchange rates (C$) than others. Most charge around 2 - 4% above the "official" rate.

[brucory]

We have purchased all of our cruises in USD and paid in AUD. The exchange rate comes up at a provisional amount for the first day or two, and the final rate is taken from when the purchase is cleared, usually 2 - 3 days after purchase. As Fannish mentioned, institutions (banks) tack on their own added percentage for purchases involving exchange. Make sure you know how much your bank charges as they vary and can make a big difference on a pricey cruise. The card we use claims to charge no conversion fees and we have been satisfied it has always been very close to the "official" rate...

 

:D:D:D

[Bodger]

It depends who is doing the currency conversion. I always ask for the US$ and the CDN$ rates so that I can compare. If, as mentioned above, you buy in US$ and have your credit card do the conversion you will pay the going nominal exchange rate plus a fee (2.5% on my card).

 

If you have the cruise line doing the conversion the rates can be significantly different than the above scenario. On our last cruise the CDN$ rate was more favourable, in the past we have booked in US$ when that was advantageous.

 

The cruise lines tend to have a conversion rate that works to their advantage and covers them for dollar fluctuations. You are wise to check out your options.

 

Bodger

[luvcruisn']

It depends who is doing the currency conversion. I always ask for the US$ and the CDN$ rates so that I can compare. If, as mentioned above, you buy in US$ and have your credit card do the conversion you will pay the going nominal exchange rate plus a fee (2.5% on my card).

 

Bodger, I don't know if they can do this in Australia, but in Canada we can now get a US dollar credit card, and pay in US dollars, so there is no need to pay an extra 2.5% conversion rate. I just change my Canadian dollars into US to pay the credit card amount off in US dollars.

[Warren1]

Does anyone know what the situation is regarding exchange rates, for example if you book a cruise special, advertised in US dollars, and pay in another currency, AUD,or whatever the country of your origin, do you get the current exchanges rates for that day/time.?

Do different Cruise lines have different policies.?

 

If you are just trying to get a general idea of the dollars to pounds or whatever currency. type in your search engine Currency converter. a load of web sites will come up and pick one.

[OVgirl]

It looks like the cruiselines adjust the exchange rate every six months (ie. not very frequently). When comparing $US to $CAD, it looks like HAL is using $1.20CAD as the rate. If you check the bank rate, I think today it's running around $1.07CAD. That makes quite a difference on the cost of the cruise. We usually asked to be charged the US$ rate. It might even go to par before we have final payment due (I can hope).

[travel09]

Lots of good, helpful, advice. Thanks.

[mattR]

It looks like the cruiselines adjust the exchange rate every six months (ie. not very frequently). When comparing $US to $CAD, it looks like HAL is using $1.20CAD as the rate. If you check the bank rate, I think today it's running around $1.07CAD. That makes quite a difference on the cost of the cruise. We usually asked to be charged the US$ rate. It might even go to par before we have final payment due (I can hope).

 

Do you have to ask for the ship to charge you in $US if you are Canadian with a Canadian CC? Most ships we have been on always just charge you in $US and the CC converts it.

[Warren1]

Do you have to ask for the ship to charge you in $US if you are Canadian with a Canadian CC? Most ships we have been on always just charge you in $US and the CC converts it.

 

when we did our cruise and paid for it we asked for it in Canadian funds. At the time it was amost par. and was able to pay it off in installments. once it was set. it didn't matter what the american dollar was worth.

our trip is about $28000.00 we were able to save on the dollar going up and down. our friends went the american dollar route, and paid about 3000.00 more. then they had planned. its a matter of timing

[mattR]

when we did our cruise and paid for it we asked for it in Canadian funds. At the time it was amost par. and was able to pay it off in installments. once it was set. it didn't matter what the american dollar was worth.

our trip is about $28000.00 we were able to save on the dollar going up and down. our friends went the american dollar route, and paid about 3000.00 more. then they had planned. its a matter of timing

 

What about your ship board account do thay charge it in $US or dose HAL convert it to CAN at there inflated rate?

[MightyQuinn]

What about your ship board account do thay charge it in $US or dose HAL convert it to CAN at there inflated rate?

No, your shipboard account is charged by HAL in USD & then converted by your CC at their exchange rate to CAD.

[brucory]

What about your ship board account do thay charge it in $US or dose HAL convert it to CAN at there inflated rate?

 

Good question. Princess offers you to charge your shipboard account in your own currency. Nice to get the option as you can calculate the rate to see if you are getting value on the exchange. Shame they don't offer it on HAL. The Exchange disparity on HAL (for cruises purchased in other currencies) can work to the consumer's advantage or disadvantage dependent on which way the dollar has gone... Its a good idea to keep an eye on it when making big purchases!!!

 

:D:D:D

[fann1sh]

Good question. Princess offers you to charge your shipboard account in your own currency. Nice to get the option as you can calculate the rate to see if you are getting value on the exchange. Shame they don't offer it on HAL. The Exchange disparity on HAL (for cruises purchased in other currencies) can work to the consumer's advantage or disadvantage dependent on which way the dollar has gone... Its a good idea to keep an eye on it when making big purchases!!!

 

:D:D:D

 

 

HAL does offer this choice as well. However, the front desk couldn't tell me what rate would be charged (August, Ryndam).

[iancal]

We keep US and CAD bank accounts and credit cards. When booking, we get quotes in both currencies. It usually works out that USD for booking is best however this past June we booked a Celebrity cruise and the CAD pricing was better than the USD pricing. Once on board, our experience on of the the cruise lines that we have been on is that they charge is very high premium for exchange. If you are paying with a CAD credit card, Princess will take your USD, convert to CAD (at a rate about 5-7 percent above what Visa would charge) and then bill you. We have found that we save a considerable amount of money by keeping a US account and US credit card.