Diamond Princess Currency

[Wastegirl]

A couples of questions for those of you that have sailed on this ship. Looking at booking a cruise on the Diamond Princess to the South Pacific in October. Is the on board charges, ie currency in USD or AUD? Also are gratuities extra as per other US lines, eg HAL or Celebrity or built into the price like the Australian Princess ships or P&O.

 

Thanks for your assistance.

[rkmw]

A couples of questions for those of you that have sailed on this ship. Looking at booking a cruise on the Diamond Princess to the South Pacific in October. Is the on board charges, ie currency in USD or AUD? Also are gratuities extra as per other US lines, eg HAL or Celebrity or built into the price like the Australian Princess ships or P&O.

 

Thanks for your assistance.

 

the currency will be AUD and the gratuities will be included in the fare

[PrincessC15]

Hi there

 

It is best read read the fine print on Princess.com and check under FAQ: Onboard Experience and under subheading Onboard Currency.

 

We got charged USD on all onboard charges on the Diamond Princess.

 

Happy cruising.

[Wastegirl]

Thanks for responding so quickly, the confusion is why I posted, some people say USD for the Diamond and some AUD, it is quite confusing. The reason I ask is that I have some USD I got when the price was good and if my trip in October is on the Diamond and they charge USD I will use it to pay my bill at the end, otherwise I will leave it at home. I don't like taking large amounts of cash no matter what the currency.

[megsie]

When we cruised on Diamond Princess in December, 2014 - SYD/MEL/SYD - 6 days/5 nights. Currency used aboard was USD. Gratuities were definitely NOT included in the price, they were extras, added automatically, daily to you onboard account. $11.50 per passenger per day (including for children) for a stateroom. Suites and mini suites were $12 per passenger per day. A 15% gratuity is added to bar charges, dining room wine accounts and Lotus spa services. Just copied this from the Welcome Aboard flyer as delivered to our room during the cruise. Hope this helps. Really enjoyed the ship.

And I think I saw the coffee cards had 15% to be added as well.

Just went and found the coffee card info if you're interested - Save 20% when you purchase a card - $29 + 15% gratuity for 15 cappuccinos, espressos, lattes or mochas.

Edited January 4, 2015 by megsie

[ozmonkeyboy]

Yes there does appear to be some confusion around this subject. Am currently on board diamond princess and on board charges are in $USD and gratuities are added to your account daily if you don't take them off.

 

This will however change for your October 2015 cruise as the onboard will change to $AUD and the fare paid in Australia will include the gratuities, so it will operate like the sun class ships in oz with no daily gratuities added to your on board account.

 

All Princess ships sailing out of Australia after April 2015 will have on board charges in $ AUD and no extra gratuities added onto any pricing.

 

Hope this clarifies this issue.

 

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[Kinkacruiser]

Yes there does appear to be some confusion around this subject. Am currently on board diamond princess and on board charges are in $USD and gratuities are added to your account daily if you don't take them off.

 

This will however change for your October 2015 cruise as the onboard will change to $AUD and the fare paid in Australia will include the gratuities, so it will operate like the sun class ships in oz with no daily gratuities added to your on board account.

 

All Princess ships sailing out of Australia after April 2015 will have on board charges in $ AUD and no extra gratuities added onto any pricing.

Hope this clarifies this issue.

 

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Monkeyboy,

I'm more confused now. Are you saying tips will be included in the fare for our 2016 Syd-LA cruise?

Where did you learn of this change? Thanks

Edited January 4, 2015 by Kinkacruiser

[rkmw]

Monkeyboy,

I'm more confused now. Are you saying tips will be included in the fare for our Syd-LA cruise?

 

Anna the Golden will be AUD and no tipping whilst cruising here from october 2015 till april 2016 and going by the princess moderator on facebook it will revert back to USD and tips to be paid on a daily basis

[Kinkacruiser]

Anna the Golden will be AUD and no tipping whilst cruising here from october 2015 till april 2016 and going by the princess moderator on facebook it will revert back to USD and tips to be paid on a daily basis

 

Thanks Bob....I'm not a FB follower :o so I'm left in the dark about trends.

[megsie]

That is really good news. We are booked on Diamond in November 2015, cruising around Fiji Is and Sth Pacific. We thought we had a really good deal with a good price and plenty of onboard credit, now it's even better - happy cruiser. But we still tip individually, as warranted, even if gratuities are added.

 

 

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[GUT2407]

Some asked about the Syd-LA at the end of the season here, does anyone actually know what the situation is on that one?

[ozmonkeyboy]

Some asked about the Syd-LA at the end of the season here, does anyone actually know what the situation is on that one?

 

I have been told by Princess that the ship will revert back to $USD once it leaves Australia/NZ and will convert back to $AUD when it arrives back next season.

Cruises coming to (at the start of the season) and leaving Australia (at end of the season) will have $ USD dollars operating on board as well as gratuities.

 

Best to seek this information direct from TA and/or Princess direct as we all know information from one source can conflict with another.

 

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[GUT2407]

I have been told by Princess that the ship will revert back to $USD once it leaves Australia/NZ and will convert back to $AUD when it arrives back next season.

Cruises coming to (at the start of the season) and leaving Australia (at end of the season) will have $ USD dollars operating on board as well as gratuities.

 

Best to seek this information direct from TA and/or Princess direct as we all know information from one source can conflict with another.

 

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Thank you, I had been told that the US to Syd leg was US$ and tips, but wasn't sure about the Syd-US leg.

 

Certainly if end up doing it I'll confirm first.

[MicCanberra]

I have been told that Princess (International ships) will be AUD for all Oz cruises this does not include the Trans Pacific's from/to the US or Asia at the start or end of the Aussie cruise season.:D

[PrincessC15]

Hi there and to all,

 

It doesn't matter where you are. When I called Princess to explain something, they couldn't give me an answer. Just to be safe, USD on these big ships. Always read the fine print on their website. It can only be amended in fine print.

 

We were on the Diamond too, from Sydney to Melbourne back to Sydney.

We had the gratuities $11.50 taken off at the main desk, but the alcohol gratuities is compulsory. We tipped the staff who looked after us instead.

 

Happy cruising.

[Wastegirl]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Now let us see if I have this straight:

• So far the Diamond has been making charges in USD
  
• As from April 2015 which effectively means from their first fully Australian cruise in October, they will now convert to AUD while doing Australian cruises
  
• So technically the trip I want should be AUD
  

 

This new rule does not include Trans Pacific cruises.

 

However I still have a problem (why isn't life easy) the cruise I want is not listed under the Australian/NZ cruises on the Princess web site but the South Pacific/Tahiti cruise section, so technically according to their web site even though it is a Sydney to Sydney South Pacific cruise, it is not an Australian cruise.

 

At this point picture me pulling my hair out :D

[GUT2407]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Now let us see if I have this straight:

• So far the Diamond has been making charges in USD
  
• As from April 2015 which effectively means from their first fully Australian cruise in October, they will now convert to AUD while doing Australian cruises
  
• So technically the trip I want should be AUD
  

 

This new rule does not include Trans Pacific cruises.

 

However I still have a problem (why isn't life easy) the cruise I want is not listed under the Australian/NZ cruises on the Princess web site but the South Pacific/Tahiti cruise section, so technically according to their web site even though it is a Sydney to Sydney South Pacific cruise, it is not an Australian cruise.

 

At this point picture me pulling my hair out :D

 

 

As I understand it, if it's between Oct 15 and April 16 it'll be Aussie $, they're not gong to change everything for one cruise I suspect.

[ozmonkeyboy]

Thanks everyone for your replies. Now let us see if I have this straight:

• So far the Diamond has been making charges in USD
  
• As from April 2015 which effectively means from their first fully Australian cruise in October, they will now convert to AUD while doing Australian cruises
  
• So technically the trip I want should be AUD
  

 

This new rule does not include Trans Pacific cruises.

 

However I still have a problem (why isn't life easy) the cruise I want is not listed under the Australian/NZ cruises on the Princess web site but the South Pacific/Tahiti cruise section, so technically according to their web site even though it is a Sydney to Sydney South Pacific cruise, it is not an Australian cruise.

 

At this point picture me pulling my hair out :D

 

Hi W

 

Your cruise will be in $AUD as it is embarking and disembarking from Sydney within the Oct 15 - Mar 16 period.

Enjoy.

 

Oz

 

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[MicCanberra]

NOTE: If you do end up pulling all your hair out make sure you bring extra sunblock.:eek:

[Wastegirl]

Well I am now officially going bald (quite a feat for someone with as much hair as me), I will definately have to take extra sunblock MicCanberra :D

 

The cruise I want to book leaves Sydney on 12th October, so is still officially USD by the dates mentioned by GUT2407.

 

Now if I really wanted to send myself into a spin, I could start thinking "will they change it while on board on the 15th" :rolleyes: But that's me just being silly, so it looks like my cruise will be USD. Maybe I should consider shifting to the Golden Princess on the 18th at the same price.

[GUT2407]

Well I am now officially going bald (quite a feat for someone with as much hair as me), I will definately have to take extra sunblock MicCanberra :D

 

The cruise I want to book leaves Sydney on 12th October, so is still officially USD by the dates mentioned by GUT2407.

 

Now if I really wanted to send myself into a spin, I could start thinking "will they change it while on board on the 15th" :rolleyes: But that's me just being silly, so it looks like my cruise will be USD. Maybe I should consider shifting to the Golden Princess on the 18th at the same price.

 

 

Sorry my bad, I didn't mean 15th of October when i wrote Oct 15 but October 2015 [the ' was left out]. Your cruise will be in good old fashioned Aussie dollars.

 

You know those brightly coloured ones, not those dull borng Yanky ones that all look the same.

Edited January 5, 2015 by GUT2407

[Wastegirl]

Thanks for the clarification GUT2407, that makes sense. However I still have a sneaky suspicion that being the first cruises from Sydney for the season and not being included in the Australia/NZ booking section, this one will be USD. I didn't even realise this cruise existed at first because I was looking for an Australian cruise and was only searching in that section.

 

Its actually better priced per day than the official Australian Diamond Princess cruises, so I suspect they have factored in the gratuities for those so I don't think I will be out of pocket.

[GUT2407]

Thanks for the clarification GUT2407, that makes sense. However I still have a sneaky suspicion that being the first cruises from Sydney for the season and not being included in the Australia/NZ booking section, this one will be USD. I didn't even realise this cruise existed at first because I was looking for an Australian cruise and was only searching in that section.

 

Its actually better priced per day than the official Australian Diamond Princess cruises, so I suspect they have factored in the gratuities for those so I don't think I will be out of pocket.

 

 

For more abundant caution you might want yo give Princess a buzz, but I did see an "official report" that all the cruises in the season from Aus were in Aus$ with grats included, that's why I was asking about the Syd-LA cruise.

[rkmw]

Thanks for the clarification GUT2407, that makes sense. However I still have a sneaky suspicion that being the first cruises from Sydney for the season and not being included in the Australia/NZ booking section, this one will be USD. I didn't even realise this cruise existed at first because I was looking for an Australian cruise and was only searching in that section.

 

Its actually better priced per day than the official Australian Diamond Princess cruises, so I suspect they have factored in the gratuities for those so I don't think I will be out of pocket.

 

i'm booked on the Golden Princess on her first cruise out of Sydney in october this year and if you check in your personalizer under booking summary it will have the onboard currency.....mine says this

 

Onboard Currency: Folio charges will be in AUD

[Wastegirl]

Ahhh rkmw, a definitive answer :D

 

I haven't actually booked yet, my TA is doing that at present, so once that is complete I will organise my Personaliser and check it out. I think this is handy for us all to know.

 

Sometimes it is the obvious.

 

Elise