canadianbear Posted January 25, 2012 #1 Share Posted January 25, 2012 We did a future cruise deposit when on the Eurodam and booked a Panama Canal cruise for April 2013. Today I noticed a price drop and phoned HAL. Upon further checking she found that the price drop is in Canadian funds but because we had booked using the FCC while on the Eurodam that was in US funds. So, the options were: 1) cancel the cruise and re-book in Canadian funds to get the $300 price drop but then we would have to pay the $800 each as a deposit because we couldn't use the FCC as it was in US funds 2) leave it as it was and phone them every month to see if there is a price drop. She was quite surprised (as was I) that the Canadian price had dropped lower than the US fare. I asked if there was a way I could watch the website for price drops in US funds but she said because we are Canadian our "server" only goes to their Canadian prices. I left the booking as is for now. Does anyone know of any way I can "fool" our computer to think we are US to check for price drops on this cruise in the coming months? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mar56 Posted January 25, 2012 #2 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I sent you an email are this. Mar56 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted January 25, 2012 #3 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I sent you an email are this. Mar56 all I have ever done is use the on line travel sites to try to determine price drops. If there is a way to check the HAL US prices for Canadians, would you be kind enough to share this with me as well? thanks so much.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mar56 Posted January 25, 2012 #4 Share Posted January 25, 2012 all I have ever done is use the on line travel sites to try to determine price drops. If there is a way to check the HAL US prices for Canadians, would you be kind enough to share this with me as well? thanks so much.:) done - check your email. Mar56 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare kazu Posted January 25, 2012 #5 Share Posted January 25, 2012 done - check your email. Mar56 thank you very much:D Muchly appreciated:):) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iancal Posted January 25, 2012 #6 Share Posted January 25, 2012 There are two ways that we get US and CAD fares. Your Canadian TA has the ability to quote your fare in USD and in CAD. These are seperate quotes and we have found a difference in pricing when there has been changes to the cruise lines's exchange rate or in the market. A GOOD TA is very familiar with this. IF you get a blank look from your Canadian TA when you ask for USD as well as CAD pricing then it is time to get a new TA. This is fairly basic stuff for a good TA. If we log in to the cruise line site and the prices show as CAD we drop off and log in thru another source, like google or something else. It seems to shield our ID and give us US pricing. We primarily use an on line US TA who is very responsive and very price competitve. I think that all but one of our last 10 cruises were booked in the US. We maintain a US dollar bank account and a US dollar VISA card. Makes it much easier and we avoid VISA's userous exhange rates. Keep in mind that the US price that you see when checking with a US on line TA site is NOT the price that you pay. You will typically get a rebate of anywhere from 8-12 percent or more of the basic fare in the form of an on board credit or prepaid gratuities. You need to call, speak to a live person, and ask how much OBC you will get by booking with them. This rebate usually covers our daily gratuity charge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johanna7 Posted January 25, 2012 #7 Share Posted January 25, 2012 When we get the Future Cruise Certificates, we always specify US now as we no longer book with Canadian TAs. They always promote their insurance which is no good for us due to the excessive cost and the fact they are age dependent. We are both over 70 now and it is out of this world and they want you to fill in a long questionnaire with all your previous conditions. The US insurance is no trouble at all, cheap, no 8% sales tax and not age dependent and if paid for when booking, covers previous conditions. I have been happy with US TAs and they give shipboard credit. Never had that from Cdn TAs, maybe a soft drink card and I seldom drink pop. Prefer tea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alisamontreal Posted January 25, 2012 #8 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I check my US prices on ***********. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianbear Posted January 26, 2012 Author #9 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Thanks everyone for your answers (and e-mail)...appreciate it. We haven't transferred our booking to a TA as yet just dealing with HAL as they have our future cruise deposit holding this sailing for now. I had hoped just to monitor HAL site for price drops etc for awhile. Lots to think about-thanks again for everyone's help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ger_77 Posted January 26, 2012 #10 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Can I also be privy to how to find prices not in Canadian funds? I usually email friends who live in the US and ask them to check for me. Not the easiest, especially if I'm in a hurry, but it works. I tried going into the HAL site from the google toolbar, but that didn't work either. My email is ger underscore 77 at yahoo dot com - I appreciate any assistance you can provide! Smooth Sailing! :) :) :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanni-shanni Posted January 26, 2012 #11 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Look it up here. http://www.westwood.cruiseshipcenters.com/Home.aspx Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plan.B Posted January 26, 2012 #12 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Can you also send the instructions on how to get US prices on the HAL website. lsisler at cogeco dot ca. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianbear Posted January 26, 2012 Author #13 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Yes, we still need to figure out how us Canadians can get on HAL's U.S. website with American dollars showing instead of always in Canadian funds. We can look at online US agencies for prices but I'd really like to get on HAL's U.S. website to monitor them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeriatricNurse Posted January 26, 2012 #14 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I check my US prices on ***********. Care to share? :confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkeye3d Posted January 26, 2012 #15 Share Posted January 26, 2012 I've used Hide my IP ( http://www.hide-my-ip.com/ ) it costs a small amount but can be worth it. You can also call HAL directly and they will give you prices in US$ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare boards Posted January 26, 2012 #16 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Look it up here. http://www.westwood.cruiseshipcenters.com/Home.aspx Tom I can get a better price in Cdn. funds from Hal's website for a Nov. 2012 we are considering than from website shown above. I would tell which one but I want it available when we book next month. I know, not smart to wait, but DW says we have too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAHLO Posted January 26, 2012 #17 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Can you also send the instructions on how to get US prices on the HAL website. lsisler at cogeco dot ca. Thanks. Could I bother you too for this information? Our cruise is booked in American $ also and would like to keep a eye on price. email fdemeyere@amtelcom.net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mar56 Posted January 26, 2012 #18 Share Posted January 26, 2012 Could I bother you too for this information? Our cruise is booked in American $ also and would like to keep a eye on price. email fdemeyere@amtelcom.net I copied and pasted your email and sent you a reply but it said it wasn't delivered. Could you email me at sam dot watt at hotmail dot com and I'll reply with the info. Mar56 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wandrr Posted January 27, 2012 #19 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Care to share? :confused: Do a Google search for a web site that contains the words "cruise" and "fish". ;):rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mar56 Posted January 27, 2012 #20 Share Posted January 27, 2012 Thanks Arnie. Wasnt sure if i was allowed to post that on these boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcook052 Posted January 28, 2012 #21 Share Posted January 28, 2012 When buying FCCs just specify US or Cdn. Agree. Just because you are Canadian doesn't mean your FCC automatically comes in CAD$ and you can ask for either USD$ or CAD$. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canadianbear Posted January 28, 2012 Author #22 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Agree. Just because you are Canadian doesn't mean your FCC automatically comes in CAD$ and you can ask for either USD$ or CAD$. I still think that everyone should have the option of checking prices on HAL's website in Canadian and/or US dollars without having to have a friend in the other country do it for them. Everyone is told to monitor the cruise you are booked on for price drops and this just makes it more difficult. Guess we just keep calling HAL to check for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koshlong Posted January 28, 2012 #23 Share Posted January 28, 2012 We book in either CDN or US $ depending on the price difference at the time of booking. Our TA checks both for us. However, every web site I've tried (including travel agencies) always directs us to CDN prices, no option seems to be given. Can you send me the information about checking this? My email is in my signature. I know my TA would check for us if we asked her, but I don't think it's fair to bother her regularly with this kind of question. Thanks, I hope, Marnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcook052 Posted January 28, 2012 #24 Share Posted January 28, 2012 I still think that everyone should have the option of checking prices on HAL's website in Canadian and/or US dollars without having to have a friend in the other country do it for them. Everyone is told to monitor the cruise you are booked on for price drops and this just makes it more difficult. Guess we just keep calling HAL to check for us. As mentioned earlier, a good TA can check both currencies easily and let the client decide which currency they would prefer. However you can't change the currency of the FCC so you're stuck with what you selected. The good news is that there's mercifully little difference bewteen the two currencies these days unlike once upon a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjust4fun Posted January 28, 2012 #25 Share Posted January 28, 2012 I sent you an email are this. Mar56 Would you mind sharing this information with us, we booked a 37 night cruise on the Meds with a US TA and we sure would love to know this information. Any savings would help and we would like to be able to track the prices since we still have 8 months to wait. Our email is charlebd2003 at yahoo.ca Thank you so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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