Do Holland America Oosterdam charge US dollars on Aust/NZ cruise

[Janderra]

Hi

 

First time cruisers in Australia and have booked on Holland America Oosterdam cruise on 19/12/2014, 14 days to N.Z for Xmas and New Year.

Chose this cruise mainly because of destinations and also very few cabins on any cruises left when we booked recently.

 

Now I am not sure we made the right choice because the travel agent took the full price at the time of booking. That was fine.

Now says that the cruise company want $800 each security on our credit card now (a month before), before they will issue the paper work for the cruise.

I have never had this before. Always pay it just before boarding or on day of boarding. I think taking that much money a month before sailing is a bit rich.

 

The travel agent says she thinks this may also be charged in US dollars but she isn't certain, and will only know when she puts the credit card details in and gets the paperwork. I cant find this information anywhere even though I have searched their webpages.

Why would this be they are sailing in Australia, New Zealand waters so why aren't they charging in AU Dollars, or even NZ dollars.

This means not only will I be paying their exchange rates, but also a overseas transation fee of 3% on everything.

 

When we sail in Europe we pay by Euro, when we sail in America we pay in US dollars. That makes sense. But this doesn't.

Can someone please clear this up for me, as it will perhaps change the amount I charge up when on board.

 

Janderra

[Lotsasmiles]

Definitely $US charged to your room account (all drink prices etc are actually quoted in $US) so your final credit card account is $US also.

Have never heard about them wanting the security deposit so far out. It is only a 'hold' tho and not a 'charge'.

Anne-Marie

[DeeBee76]

Hi Janderra

 

We are on that cruise too, once on board yes it is US$$. IS the security deposit your talking about the $60 per person per day CC hold? If it is this is not done until the 19th Dec, it is a hold on your CC to ensure there are enough funds to cover you on board, yes this is US$$ as your ship account is in US. IF it is not that talk to your TA as we did not have to pay any security deposit

 

D

[Wastegirl]

Been on the Oosterdam 3 times, once booking directly and twice through a TA. We were not asked for a security deposit at any time. However when we did our on line registration we were asked to submit the details of the credit card that we would be using on board. I understand that they put a 'hold' on the card (I don't know the amount) and remove the hold at the end of the cruise once you have paid your account or they have processed your final bill through your credit card company. This is to make sure you don't give them a bogus credit card and skip out on paying the bill I suppose. To be honest I never noticed the transaction taking place, just my credit card charged with what I had spent.

 

Being a newbie has your TA told you about the $11.50 USD per day per person Gratuity Charge that is put on your account. If you have not sailed before on a US ship you might not know about this and it could come as a nasty shock if you haven't budgeted for it. It is put on to replace 'tipping', it can be removed on request if you want to do your own tipping direct to staff, I prefer to leave it on as I have no idea about US tipping protocols.

 

Yes everything is in US dollars, unfortunately not a good exchange rate at present. However if you notice the Aussie dollar going up before your trip you can purchase On Board Credit ahead of time at that rate to cover what you intend spending (if you don't spend it all they return it to you).

[Janderra]

Hi

 

Thanks for the replies. I was told it would be $800 each charged to the card when I gave them the number, but the travel agent could not tell me if US or Australian until I had given them the number. This is for 14 days cruise Also that the cruise line may also charge a credit card fee but couldn't tell me what it will be.

 

Travel agent has said that all gratitiues already paid in the cost of the cruise, so will be very unhappy if this is not the case.

 

Also wondering what happens Xmas Eve, Xmas Day and New Years eve on this cruise, as no details anywhere in the itinery. So don't know what dress is required. Is there a formal night and if so, must the men wear a suit to attend.

 

Cant find any of this information to plan ahead.

Janderra

[boards]

Hal does not charge a credit card fee. There is a hold placed on the card, but at the end of the cruise only the amount charged to your account on the cruise will be charged against your card. We have cruised 12 times with Hal and had no problems concerning the use of our card and the charges.

[DeeBee76]

Our TA confirmed no merchant fees are charged, this was one of our questions too.

 

I think you need to go back and check the contract about gratuities though. HAL charges $11.50 a day per person or $12 in a suite, this is in $US. We were a little mislead on this one as we were told it was adults only but it turns out we have to pay for our 1 and 3yr old as well. Unless the TA added the fees to your quote they are not normally pre paid or at least they were not in all the quotes we got

[Alberta Quilter]

Hi

 

Thanks for the replies. I was told it would be $800 each charged to the card when I gave them the number, but the travel agent could not tell me if US or Australian until I had given them the number. This is for 14 days cruise Also that the cruise line may also charge a credit card fee but couldn't tell me what it will be.

 

Travel agent has said that all gratitiues already paid in the cost of the cruise, so will be very unhappy if this is not the case.

 

Also wondering what happens Xmas Eve, Xmas Day and New Years eve on this cruise, as no details anywhere in the itinery. So don't know what dress is required. Is there a formal night and if so, must the men wear a suit to attend.

 

Cant find any of this information to plan ahead.

Janderra

 

HAL puts a hold of $60/day/person on the credit card. For a 14 day cruise, this comes to $840/person. This is not a charge, just a hold to ensure there is enough money to cover the final bill. Your credit card will only be charged at the end of the cruise for the charges you incurred while on your cruise.

 

The currency onboard is US$. It doesn't matter where the ship is sailing, anything you purchase onboard such as the hotel service charge, beverages, spa services, bingo, etc. will be in US$. If you register an Australian credit card the conversion to AUS$ will be done by your credit card company at the time the charge is processed.

 

As to whether or not your gratuities (hotel service charge) is included in your fare, that should be on the information from your TA. As previously mentioned, the HSC is $11.50/day/person or $12.00/day/person if you're in a suite.

 

I saw that someone mentioned that you can choose to remove the HSC and tip on your own. This is not recommended as the HSC is distributed to more staff (behind the scenes) that contribute to your cruise than just the staff that serve you directly. If you remove the HSC, the staff that are tipped directly have to turn the tip into the HSC pool for distribution to all staff. It's just easier to leave the HSC in place. You may also choose to tip above and beyond the HSC; if you do this, the staff can keep the extra tip and don't have to pool it with others.

 

I'm not sure of your itinerary so don't know if Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Years Eve are on port days or not. Generally, these will be formal nights, particularly if they're sea days. You won't know what evenings will be formal until you board. Your documents will tell you how many formal nights there will be, though. For men, I believe the suggested dress is jacket and tie. Some men wear tuxedos, some wear suits. Ladies can wear dresses, long skirts/blouses/sparkly tops, pant suits, etc.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Janderra]

Hi Everybody

 

Thank you all for your help. I will double check with the travel agent again about the tips, but I know she said it is all inclusive as they don't want there to be any nasty surprises at the end.

 

Xmas Eve, Xmas day, New Years Eve and New Years will all be spent at sea.

 

Always before I was able to find out about formal nights prior to leaving, how do you know what to pack if you don't find out until you are on board.

 

Has anyone done this cruise to NZ 14 nights with Oosterdam please.

 

Janderra

[take us away]

So the bottom line to your initial questions is that all HAL charges will be in US$ as HAL is a US company and it was their choice to only use the one currency. As someone who used to travel internationally for business, do understand why HA made that decision as doing the exchange rates on expense vouchers was a bit of a nightmare. Sorry about the exchange fees on your card - maybe you can look into a credit card that does not charge foreign fees?

[RuthC]

Always before I was able to find out about formal nights prior to leaving, how do you know what to pack if you don't find out until you are on board.

Your final documents will tell you how many formal and smart casual nights there are planned for your cruise. You get those documents about 50 days in advance of the cruise, which is plenty of time for planning and packing.

When you get on board you learn which nights are the formal ones. True, the number of nights for each level of dress can be changed, but normally isn't. If it is, and if you had planned to wear something more than once anyway, you will have plenty already packed.

[Cakeyandbeano]

Our TA confirmed no merchant fees are charged, this was one of our questions too.

 

I think you need to go back and check the contract about gratuities though. HAL charges $11.50 a day per person or $12 in a suite, this is in $US. We were a little mislead on this one as we were told it was adults only but it turns out we have to pay for our 1 and 3yr old as well. Unless the TA added the fees to your quote they are not normally pre paid or at least they were not in all the quotes we got

 

My TA was told by HAL on the phone when completing by booking for next July that the children wouldn't pay the gratuities just adults in the cabin. I must admit I thought they did pay so this was a surprise but some clarification would be good

[maxout]

My TA was told by HAL on the phone when completing by booking for next July that the children wouldn't pay the gratuities just adults in the cabin. I must admit I thought they did pay so this was a surprise but some clarification would be good

 

That is incorrect, all occupants will pay the HSC (unless you opt out).

[DeeBee76]

I think hsc and kids is one of the areas of confusion for TA's and obviously some HAL customer service people.

 

We still haven't got any docs and we are 29 days out. It's this normal or has our TA dropped the ball again?

 

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Forums mobile app

[RuthC]

We still haven't got any docs and we are 29 days out. It's this normal or has our TA dropped the ball again?

Unless things are done differently for Australians (possible; many things are), your documents should be available on line about 50 days before the cruise sails.

[shrimpboat123]

I think hsc and kids is one of the areas of confusion for TA's and obviously some HAL customer service people.

 

We still haven't got any docs and we are 29 days out. It's this normal or has our TA dropped the ball again?

 

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Forums mobile app

 

Your TA doesn't send out the docs.

 

You should have gotten an email from HAL saying to print out your edocs. Assuming you have filled out the Check-In Online documentation and you are less than 50 days out and final payment has been made.

 

Perhaps you should contact your TA.

[aussiedisneyfan]

Janderra, I have done numerous HAL Xmas cruises in Australia, one on the Oosterdam.

 

As the others have said the $800 is most likely the CC hold that is placed when boarding. Has your t/a given you your booking details? If not ask for them and you can log on to HAL and add all your details and book some things online.

 

With regards to the USD it is US ship visiting our area, that is why it remains in USD. If you are worried our banks conversion fees, have a look at a 28 degrees credit card, they charge no fees and no conversion costs, you pretty much get what the tv/radio is quoting the exchange rate. I have saved hundreds of $$ using it over the years.

 

We have found that They usually have 3-4 formal nights on a 14 night cruise and have usually included Xmas Eve and NYE with Xmas night optional formal. I just looked up your itinerary and since you are in Akaroa on the 24th I am guessing it won't be. My guess would be 21/25/31.

 

We have also always had gratuities charged for our daughter. I have not heard of prepaying the gratuities on HAL and wonder if you may be given an OBC equivalent to the amount of the daily gratuity charge.

 

My email address link is in my signature if you want to ask me anything else.

 

ADF

[take us away]

Only time I have heard of truly prepaid hotel charges / gratuities was on the grand cruises for some of the cabin categories. Agree you more than likely have OBC to cover the charges. BTW, you can go to the front desk and clarify if your small child will be charged the daily hotel charge and if they say yes, you do have the option of having that cancelled for her.