Canadian cruisers -- is the US/Cdn $ exchange rate affecting your plans?

[CowPrincess]

Just wondering if anyone is scaling back, cruising closer to home, cutting back on shorex or even (heaven forbid!) not cruising due to the exchange rate these days?

 

We still have some cheap-ish US$s, but as we are re-building our cruise account we are really noticing the difference in what $100 Cdn buys in US currency :eek:

 

Thank goodness I had enough cheaper in our US account to cover my upcoming cruise!

 

So what effect is it having on your plans?

[Sue from Canada]

Just wondering if anyone is scaling back, cruising closer to home, cutting back on shorex or even (heaven forbid!) not cruising due to the exchange rate these days?

 

We still have some cheap-ish US$s, but as we are re-building our cruise account we are really noticing the difference in what $100 Cdn buys in US currency :eek:

 

Thank goodness I had enough cheaper in our US account to cover my upcoming cruise!

 

So what effect is it having on your plans?

 

No scaling back here. I try to buy a little US$ here and there when our dollar is over 90 cents.

[sail7seas]

Please save me the research.

What is the Canadian Dollar at vs U.S. ?

Thanks.

[kazu]

Just wondering if anyone is scaling back, cruising closer to home, cutting back on shorex or even (heaven forbid!) not cruising due to the exchange rate these days?

 

We still have some cheap-ish US$s, but as we are re-building our cruise account we are really noticing the difference in what $100 Cdn buys in US currency :eek:

 

Thank goodness I had enough cheaper in our US account to cover my upcoming cruise!

 

So what effect is it having on your plans?

 

It has really been He double toothpicks for us. We booked our P'dam cruise in US $ and because HAL chartered another cruise I have a really nice obc - but if I switch to Cdn $ I lose it. I can't tell you how many times I have played with numbers trying to figure it out. But, there is stuff bought and if I switch that is all cancelled too and then we lose again because the rate to 'buy' and the rate to 'sell' are not the same.

 

For our Westerdam cruise we switched it to Cdn $ but in the process, lost out as the room rate went up between the time I started and the time I finished.

 

We usually do USD $ and know there will be an exchange rate, but what has happened is not what was forecast last year so it definitely has really thrown us for a loop.

 

the drop in the dollar has a massive effect as well on costs for the cruise whether you are visiting ports in Europe or the Caribbean. And of course, the on board bill with HAL is USD $ so you KNOW you are going to pay about 15% more than what the actual bill is. uggh.

[cruz chic]

The rate is around $1.09 but if you went to buy it would likely be around $1.12.

 

I don't like the exchange rate but it doesn't effect me hugely because I don't live that close to the edge.

[sail7seas]

Please save me the research.

What is the Canadian Dollar at vs U.S. ?

Thanks.

 

 

Okay, So I did the research. :)

 

What do you think is the reason for the drop in your exchange rate?

 

[kazu]

Okay, So I did the research. :)

 

What do you think is the reason for the drop in your exchange rate?

 

 

Apparently the Bank of Canada wants it down to encourage exports. As well, the U.S. economy is improving so people are flocking to the green back in the investment circles.

 

U.S. exchange rate on a credit card (which is how we pay for cruises) has varied from nearly 14% to 12.5% over the last 3 months.

 

To the best of my knowledge, we don't have any of those credit cards here in Canada where there is not a fee charged on the credit cards for foreign exchange. The standard fee is 2.5% so you can tap that onto the exchange rate that was previously quoted which accounts for my discrepancy in the exchange rates I paid.

[kazu]

What adds to the grief for Canadians is that we have to choose between an FCD in Canadian dollars or one in US dollars. Aggravating. We don't have crystal balls. Since the US $ is traditionally higher than the Canadian dollar, I don't understand why HAL doesn't let us buy those and let us use them in either currency. Right now I am sitting with unused ones because of the exchange rate.

[I_r_a]

Hi Sail7,

 

>What is the Canadian Dollar at vs U.S. ?

 

Enter "100 canadian = USD" in the search box on your browser.

 

Ira

[sail7seas]

Thanks, Kazu.

And thank you, I R A. That is exactly what I did. :)

 

[Vict0riann]

I try not to think about it!:D That's where at least the tours organized privately on the roll calls come into their own - except maybe Europe, because of the Euro.

[cruz chic]

Thanks, Kazu.

And thank you, I R A. That is exactly what I did. :)

 

 

....or you could look at the rate I posted.

[cruz chic]

What adds to the grief for Canadians is that we have to choose between an FCD in Canadian dollars or one in US dollars. Aggravating. We don't have crystal balls. Since the US $ is traditionally higher than the Canadian dollar, I don't understand why HAL doesn't let us buy those and let us use them in either currency. Right now I am sitting with unused ones because of the exchange rate.

 

How could they let you switch between the two? Do you mean top it up? The charge goes thru your credit card in either cdn or usd.

[sail7seas]

....or you could look at the rate I posted.

 

 

It seems you didn't notice your post was at 3:04, and mine was at 3:05.

 

I was typing when you were posting. :cool:

Didn't see your post.

 

But thanks anyway for your help.

 

[Kinta]

Apparently the Bank of Canada wants it down to encourage exports. As well, the U.S. economy is improving so people are flocking to the green back in the investment circles.

 

U.S. exchange rate on a credit card (which is how we pay for cruises) has varied from nearly 14% to 12.5% over the last 3 months.

 

To the best of my knowledge, we don't have any of those credit cards here in Canada where there is not a fee charged on the credit cards for foreign exchange. The standard fee is 2.5% so you can tap that onto the exchange rate that was previously quoted which accounts for my discrepancy in the exchange rates I paid.

 

Kazu- you might like to have a look at the no-fee Sears Mastercard. You can order it on-line. We have used it when out of the country with great success.

[gigianne]

I am on the same cruise at Kazu and originally booked in US $ using US FCC. When our Canadian $$ started losing against the US $ I had a choice - cancel the cruise or call my TA and get the cruise switched over to Canadian $$$. Funnily enough the price of AA cabin was less expensive in Can $$ then in US $$. It doesn't stop there because just last week I changed to 2 segments of the cruise rather then the collectors that we originally booked - saving even more money. One has to be creative and also have a very patient and hard working TA. While the Canadian $$ is trading below the US $$ we will continue to book in Canadian $$ if at all possible.

[Alberta Quilter]

No change in plans for this Canadian. I'm just "sucking it up" as some say.

 

I, too, booked a year ago in US$ and got stung when the C$ dropped by the time final payment was due. Oh, well.

 

We're still going to have a wonderful time and that's what counts!

[cruz chic]

Kazu- you might like to have a look at the no-fee Sears Mastercard. You can order it on-line. We have used it when out of the country with great success.

 

Thank you for that info. I think I will likely get one of these.

[iancal]

We have a Canadian Visa card that does not charge the 2.5 percent admin fee on foreign exchange. Previous to that we used a US dollar Visa card and we do maintain a USD bank account in which we deposit the occasional USD cheques.

 

Canadian banks, on balance, are extremely uncompetitive when it comes to FX, FX accounts, and out of country ATM fees. We never buy foreign currency at the bank...we go across the street to the FX exchange store-save 2 points and get a much better choice of denominations.

 

The Chase Canada Bank Visa comes in two flavours that I am aware of. One is the Amazon Chase card-no fee, and the Marriott Chase card-fee but includes free Marriott nights. I have checked the FX rates on the day posted with that on our Chase Marriott card. The rates are identical, given the usual daily variance in FX rates. For every $10,000. of foreign exchange charges we save $250. in admin fees. This really adds up.

 

Exchange rates do impact our travel plans. We have many USD cruises over the past few years and vacationed in the US. We delayed a South African trip by one year and were able to save about 20 percent on the land portion simply because of currency fluctuations. We plan to pass on a Caribbean cruise over Christmas this year in favour of extending a winter vacation to Thailand and Malaysia. Exchange rates did play a part in that decision.

Edited May 11, 2014 by iancal

[kazu]

How could they let you switch between the two? Do you mean top it up? The charge goes thru your credit card in either cdn or usd.

 

Well, my wild and crazy thought would be....

 

since USD is always more expensive - let us switch it to Cdn if need be (no difference to be paid by HAL - we will eat it) so at least we have a choice.

 

Right now, HAL's pricing in Cdn$ is quite decent - I know that will change when they redo their hedge funds but for the time being it is decent.

 

It's frustrating to have FCD's we can't use because we chose the wrong currency to buy. You can't win for losing sometimes ;)

[cruz chic]

Well, my wild and crazy thought would be....

 

since USD is always more expensive - let us switch it to Cdn if need be (no difference to be paid by HAL - we will eat it) so at least we have a choice.

 

Right now, HAL's pricing in Cdn$ is quite decent - I know that will change when they redo their hedge funds but for the time being it is decent.

 

It's frustrating to have FCD's we can't use because we chose the wrong currency to buy. You can't win for losing sometimes ;)

 

Charging it in usd would work. Have you suggested it? I always buy mine in cdn and let the chips fall where they may. Im not into playing games long term.

[ger_77]

No, it hasn't changed our plans, but then we sailed on a millennium cruise in December, 1999 when the Canadian dollar was at .68 US. We plan on a vacation and see it through, come hell or low dollar! There are certain things that are worth it - and cruising, for us, is one of them.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

[cruz chic]

No, it hasn't changed our plans, but then we sailed on a millennium cruise in December, 1999 when the Canadian dollar was at .68 US. We plan on a vacation and see it through, come hell or low dollar! There are certain things that are worth it - and cruising, for us, is one of them.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

 

I remember that. Now that is something to complain about. I hope we don't return to that.

[DaveOKC]

Just wondering if anyone is scaling back, cruising closer to home, cutting back on shorex or even (heaven forbid!) not cruising due to the exchange rate these days?

 

We still have some cheap-ish US$s, but as we are re-building our cruise account we are really noticing the difference in what $100 Cdn buys in US currency :eek:

 

Thank goodness I had enough cheaper in our US account to cover my upcoming cruise!

 

So what effect is it having on your plans?

 

The exchange rate did not seem to slow down the Canadians on our cruise last week. They were differently in the majority - must have been over 60% of the cruisers on the Alaska cruise.

[kazu]

Charging it in usd would work. Have you suggested it? I always buy mine in cdn and let the chips fall where they may. Im not into playing games long term.

 

yes, I certainly have suggested it :D

 

We mainly buy USD FCD's but I had to make a switch in that quickly. so some USD $ are sitting unused.