Curious - booking in Canadian dollars

[Tesser26]

Hi, have my first Ncl cruise booked for November. I booked in Canadian dollars directly through Ncl and saved a bundle!

 

I'm curious about booking shore excursions... can I pre-book excursions (or other stuff like photo packages or spa pass) in Canadian dollars as well, or do I have to book in US dollars? This would be another big saving since the Canadian dollars is so crappy right now.

 

Thanks in advance!

[pisenor]

Hi, have my first Ncl cruise booked for November. I booked in Canadian dollars directly through Ncl and saved a bundle!

 

I'm curious about booking shore excursions... can I pre-book excursions (or other stuff like photo packages or spa pass) in Canadian dollars as well, or do I have to book in US dollars? This would be another big saving since the Canadian dollars is so crappy right now.

 

Thanks in advance!

 

You sure can! Anything you purchase before you sail will be charged to your cc in CAD. If you wait till you are on the ship you will be charged in USD.

 

I have 2 cruises booked with NCL and are locked in at an $1.11 exchange rate. Before we go I plan on loading up on OBC to cover any extras we may need/want. I am also planning to cash out some of the OBC in the casino for off ship expenditures. This method is saving me money as well. The casino has a 3% fee to get cash from your on board account but even added to the exchange rate I am locked in at will still be cheaper than the current exchange rate plus the added bank fees for international transaction on a cc or from an atm.

 

It is a win win for us canucks!

[loupana]

We have Escape and Getaway booked B2B this fall and this morning I just purchased some $100 on board credit. Awesome rate. $200.00 USD for $222.22 CDN. Will be buying much more before we go...

[marbleski]

You sure can! Anything you purchase before you sail will be charged to your cc in CAD. If you wait till you are on the ship you will be charged in USD.

 

I have 2 cruises booked with NCL and are locked in at an $1.11 exchange rate. Before we go I plan on loading up on OBC to cover any extras we may need/want. I am also planning to cash out some of the OBC in the casino for off ship expenditures. This method is saving me money as well. The casino has a 3% fee to get cash from your on board account but even added to the exchange rate I am locked in at will still be cheaper than the current exchange rate plus the added bank fees for international transaction on a cc or from an atm.

 

It is a win win for us canucks!

 

Pisenor

 

We checked with our agent today about purchasing OBC prior to our Spirit cruise in a couple of weeks just in case we decide to purchase a shore excursion or two once onboard the vessel (because of the exchange rate now compared to on the ship). NCL indicated if we don't use the credit we cannot get it back. However we can put it on a gift card and it is good for 13 months.

 

Cashing in at the Casino would be better than a future gift card. How does it work with regards to cashing in at the Casino. Is it as simple as giving them your stateroom number and keycard and they look up your OBC and give you cash right on spot (minus the 3%).

 

Also we have a NCL $25 credit for the inside cabin and $75 for the balcony, do they use this $100 first and then our purchased OBC or is all combined as one OBC and not really matter.

 

Thanks

[jb456]

Pisenor

 

We checked with our agent today about purchasing OBC prior to our Spirit cruise in a couple of weeks just in case we decide to purchase a shore excursion or two once onboard the vessel (because of the exchange rate now compared to on the ship). NCL indicated if we don't use the credit we cannot get it back. However we can put it on a gift card and it is good for 13 months.

 

Cashing in at the Casino would be better than a future gift card. How does it work with regards to cashing in at the Casino. Is it as simple as giving them your stateroom number and keycard and they look up your OBC and give you cash right on spot (minus the 3%).

 

Also we have a NCL $25 credit for the inside cabin and $75 for the balcony, do they use this $100 first and then our purchased OBC or is all combined as one OBC and not really matter.

 

Thanks

 

Are you sure about this?

 

I have read and heard that OBC given as a promotion is non refundable.

 

However OBC that you buy yourself is refundable. If I buy $1000 OBC only spend $500 how can NCL justify keeping my other $500?

 

I also want to take advantage of the great CAD exchange rate and cash out in the casino but I want to make sure 100% that if for some reason I can't cash out in the casino that I will at least get my money back on my credit card.

 

Can anyone confirm that when you buy $100 OBC gift cards if you don't spend the money you will get the money back to your credit card??

[pisenor]

Pisenor

 

We checked with our agent today about purchasing OBC prior to our Spirit cruise in a couple of weeks just in case we decide to purchase a shore excursion or two once onboard the vessel (because of the exchange rate now compared to on the ship). NCL indicated if we don't use the credit we cannot get it back. However we can put it on a gift card and it is good for 13 months.

 

Cashing in at the Casino would be better than a future gift card. How does it work with regards to cashing in at the Casino. Is it as simple as giving them your stateroom number and keycard and they look up your OBC and give you cash right on spot (minus the 3%). See my explanation below.

 

Also we have a NCL $25 credit for the inside cabin and $75 for the balcony, do they use this $100 first and then our purchased OBC or is all combined as one OBC and not really matter.

 

Thanks

 

Are you sure about this?

 

I have read and heard that OBC given as a promotion is non refundable.

 

However OBC that you buy yourself is refundable. If I buy $1000 OBC only spend $500 how can NCL justify keeping my other $500?

 

Any purchased OBC you don't spend you can do one of two things. You can ask for a refund at the end of the cruise (which takes a few weeks for the cheque to arrive) or you can cash out your balance at the casino.

 

I also want to take advantage of the great CAD exchange rate and cash out in the casino but I want to make sure 100% that if for some reason I can't cash out in the casino that I will at least get my money back on my credit card.

 

Can anyone confirm that when you buy $100 OBC gift cards if you don't spend the money you will get the money back to your credit card??

 

This will be my first time doing this as well. However it has been a common practice that others have shared on many occasions. One simply goes to the cashier at the casino, ask for $X for the "slot machines" to be charged to your room account and away you go. From what I understand you can do this with both purchased and promotional OBC. Technically you are not requesting a refund for you promotional non refundable OBC. But you are only requesting a cash advance from your on board account to be spent in the casino. Both parties are happy. NCL is charging the 3% fee and making a little money from you up front and you get the cash at a far better rate than the current exchange.

 

I would prefer to lose 3% to NCL plus my locked in exchange of $1.11 than pay the crazy amount the banks charge for exchange and foreign country transaction fees any day. The total cost is far less than what we as Canadians can get from any bank.

[littleengine]

If you buy the OBC online in advance of your cruise and on' spend it all, you most definitely get it back. The question is, how quickly/easily will that happen. For some it sounds like it happens automatically. For others... Not so much.

 

For my Feb 2015 cruise I purchased some OBC and had about $45 left at the end. Not a huge amount, but given how crappy the Canadian exchange rate was doing, I wanted to keep as much US as possible. After waiting 2 months I called them. They initially seemed confused, but finally said a cheque (US funds so I could deposit it into my US account and not lose out on the exchange) would be cut that day and sent out the next. Clearly they weren't on top of it and needed the prompting before taking action.

 

After 2 weeks I called back... I hadn't gotten the cheque and wanted to know how long it was supposed to take given a) they "said" it was being sent out the day after our call and b) I'm only in Toronto. Really, not that far.

 

Again, the person on the phone seemed confused. It took awhile to find the information, but finally confirmed it had been sent out. They said they allow 3 weeks delivery for "International" deliveries, so tomgive it another week.

 

To be generous, I gave it another 2 weeks before I called again. So. First call was 2 months after cruise ended. This call was now 3 months after the cruise ended. Again, they seemed confused and it took them some time to find the information in their system.

 

I explained the cheque hadn't arrived. They said there was no way to track it since they send refunds out via regular mail. They said I could have another cheque sent out (but there was no guarantee it would arrive either). My only option at that point was to have my US $ refund applied to the Cdn $ credit card they had on file from when I check in at the port (there was no way to have it applied to any other cc). Oh, and it couldn't be done right away. They only do cc refunds on certain days so I had to wait until the following week, but it finally went through and I had it a few days later.

 

So, long story short... Don't expect they'll process the refund automatically, don't be afraid to call them to follow up, and do keep good notes of who you've talked to in case you have to call back. It will show up eventually.

[jb456]

This will be my first time doing this as well. However it has been a common practice that others have shared on many occasions. One simply goes to the cashier at the casino, ask for $X for the "slot machines" to be charged to your room account and away you go. From what I understand you can do this with both purchased and promotional OBC. Technically you are not requesting a refund for you promotional non refundable OBC. But you are only requesting a cash advance from your on board account to be spent in the casino. Both parties are happy. NCL is charging the 3% fee and making a little money from you up front and you get the cash at a far better rate than the current exchange.

 

I would prefer to lose 3% to NCL plus my locked in exchange of $1.11 than pay the crazy amount the banks charge for exchange and foreign country transaction fees any day. The total cost is far less than what we as Canadians can get from any bank.

 

I asked on another thread and someone "apparently heard" they don't allow Canadians to cash out obc in casino. Can you confirm this is not true?

 

From my understanding if I order ten $100 obc cards that the OBC is waiting for you in your room in the form of ten $100 dollar cards. Is it like that or will it be a $1000 of OBC on the account?.

 

I am a bit confused at this point. LOL

 

Here is what I was thinking how it would play out in my head. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

Get the 10 cards in the room, go down to the casino cashier hand them in and say "Can I have cash for these" they charge me 3% and I end with $970 cash.

 

Or do I have to do something with the slot machines? I am not a gambler so not sure how they really work or what to do?. Do I have to put the $1000 in the slot machine, spin it once then cash out?

 

And if none of that worked at end of cruise I thought it would be as simple as going to guest services and says " I did not spend the $1000 I bought please refund my credit card. Thanks"

 

Any help will be appreciated as it's our first time on NCL

Edited August 9, 2015 by jb456

[ilovetotravel1977]

I had purchased OBC and didn't use it all. We received a refund on our credit card days later.

 

If you set up a cash account, it may take longer to get your refund as they would have to send you a cheque (?)

[Boorin]

My question is.. We buy and pay the OBC in Canadian ..... Charged my credit card in CAD as well.... When does it get transferred to USD?

[ilovetotravel1977]

When you get to your cabin, they will have obc print outs there waiting for you and it will be added to your account in us dollars when you go to the tv account review channel. You should see each transaction purchase listed. It will also note if it is refundable obc (credits you bought) or non refundable (promo credits by ncl)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Boorin]

Is it going to be the same rate as I paid for my cruise?

[paradiseawaitsme]

We can use the OBC we pre-purchase in Cdn $$ to buy the UBP for our Mother, who is sharing our cabin, correct? We got it as a promo, but added Mum as the 3rd person free, so she only has soda pkg. We tried to purchase the UBP for her before, but they are telling us we have to wait until we board. Want to pay as much as we can at NCL Cdn rate before the cruise.

[CanadaJulie]

I asked on another thread and someone "apparently heard" they don't allow Canadians to cash out obc in casino. Can you confirm this is not true?

 

I can't confirm anything but I think the people at the casino would have no way of knowing how, or in which currency, you pre-paid for your OBC. If you go to the NCL.com site, click explore and plan, you can book supper reservations, shows and pre-purchase gifts such as cakes, spa packages and OBC. You buy the OBC, which is in USD.

 

 

Get the 10 cards in the room, go down to the casino cashier hand them in and say "Can I have cash for these" they charge me 3% and I end with $970 cash.

 

Or do I have to do something with the slot machines? I am not a gambler so not sure how they really work or what to do?. Do I have to put the $1000 in the slot machine, spin it once then cash out?

 

And if none of that worked at end of cruise I thought it would be as simple as going to guest services and says " I did not spend the $1000 I bought please refund my credit card. Thanks"

 

Any help will be appreciated as it's our first time on NCL

 

I'm curious of the exact mechanics on this as well. I pre-purchased 600$OBC (which cost me 666.66). What exactly do I have to do now to get this in cash ?

[scoobie]

We purchased our cruise through an online TA in USD. Because we are Canadian can we go on our NCL reservation and purchase OBC in CDN dollars?

[pisenor]

We purchased our cruise through an online TA in USD. Because we are Canadian can we go on our NCL reservation and purchase OBC in CDN dollars?

 

Simple answer is no. You must book with NCL or a US based TA that can/will book you in CAD in order for any purchases to be made in CAD. If you are currently booked in USD, all purchases and expenditures will be processed in USD.

 

Sorry for the bad news :(

[gergles]

I'm curious of the exact mechanics on this as well. I pre-purchased 600$OBC (which cost me 666.66). What exactly do I have to do now to get this in cash ?

 

Walk to the casino cashier. Give them your room key. Ask them for $600 to use at the tables. Take your $600 in cash.

[CanadaJulie]

Walk to the casino cashier. Give them your room key. Ask them for $600 to use at the tables. Take your $600 in cash.

 

Perfect - that's what I was hoping it would be

[ibrinn]

We purchased our cruise through an online TA in USD. Because we are Canadian can we go on our NCL reservation and purchase OBC in CDN dollars?

 

Can you cancel this reservation and rebook with Norwegian? We originally booked through a PCC at Norwegian who forgot to offer to book the reservation in Can $ when he realized that we are Canadian. I only found out about the benefits of booking in Can after reading several threads on Cruise Critic.

 

I contacted him immediately and he apologized and took responsibility for the miscommunication. However, it took almost 3 weeks to get it switched from US to Can. Unfortunately, the new reservation was now in a different month with different perks (not as generous) After several more "discussions" with the PCC, Norwegian Revenue, Supervisors, NCL agreed to offer more OBC to compensate. Now, everything that I have since added to our cruise (excursions, Spa pass, etc) is billed in Canadian.

 

A big difference between $1.11 with Norwegian and $1.30 plus on a Canadian credit card.

 

It was tough, but well worth the 3 weeks of "discussions"

 

Perhaps you could have a similar outcome!

[mrsbucketlist]

So glad I came upon this post. We just booked yesterday through a TA in CDN$. How often does the exchange rate fluctuate? Has it been $1.11 consistently for a while or should we buy credit, etc now even though our cruise is still months away (and we still haven't paid the balance haha).

 

I saw someone say they were "locked in" at that rate? What does that mean?

 

Thanks!

[Saraphine]

I am very glad for this post to explain a few more of the mechanics behind cashing out the OBC at the casino. I am curious: is there a limit to how much one can cash out, either at one time or in total? We don't intend to cash out a lot, perhaps less than $800 to pay for stuff on the islands and for hitting up Universal Studios post cruise, but it would be good to know if there is a total, and if it is better to divide up the transactions or to just take everything out in cash at once.

[pisenor]

So glad I came upon this post. We just booked yesterday through a TA in CDN$. How often does the exchange rate fluctuate? Has it been $1.11 consistently for a while or should we buy credit, etc now even though our cruise is still months away (and we still haven't paid the balance haha).

 

I saw someone say they were "locked in" at that rate? What does that mean?

 

Thanks!

 

I have been told by my PCC that NCL sets their exchange quarterly (every three months). If I have been tracking the rate correctly, January through March was set at $1.11. When they reset the exchange in April it was set at $1.19 as I have read reports from other Canadians that was the rate they received but from reading here it appears they may have reset their rate again back to $1.11 which is great news for those of us north of the border.

 

Regardless if the rate changes from now until you cruise, you are `locked in`at whatever rate you originally made your booking at. If, God forbid, our dollar dropped to a $1.50 rate your rate is protected at your booked rate. Hence the term locked in.

 

Hope this helps answer your question.

[jb456]

I have been told by my PCC that NCL sets their exchange quarterly (every three months). If I have been tracking the rate correctly, January through March was set at $1.11. When they reset the exchange in April it was set at $1.19 as I have read reports from other Canadians that was the rate they received but from reading here it appears they may have reset their rate again back to $1.11 which is great news for those of us north of the border.

 

Regardless if the rate changes from now until you cruise, you are `locked in`at whatever rate you originally made your booking at. If, God forbid, our dollar dropped to a $1.50 rate your rate is protected at your booked rate. Hence the term locked in.

 

Hope this helps answer your question.

 

We booked July 20th 2015 at a rate of 1.11.

 

Another poster mentioned that when they check prices for 2015 it's 1.11 but when they go into cruises at 2016 its at 1.19. So maybe those that got 1.19 in the recent months booked trips for 2016?

Edited August 10, 2015 by jb456

[pisenor]

We booked July 20th 2015 at a rate of 1.11.

 

Another poster mentioned that when they check prices for 2015 it's 1.11 but when they go into cruises at 2016 its at 1.19. So maybe those that got 1.19 in the recent months booked trips for 2016?

 

That does not add up. I sailed once this year, January 2015 (booked in 2014), and for that booking I was given CAD at par. I now have two bookings for future cruises one for this coming January 2016 and one for January 2017. Both are locked in at the $1.11 rate.

 

I guess what I am trying to say is that the date of the actual cruise has nothing to do with the exchange rate but it is the date of when you book and make deposit that controls the rate.

 

Like I already explained in the other related thread you are subscribed to, NCL sets their exchange rate quarterly, based on the current state of the dollar. It is set for a 3 month period then reviewed. If a change is needed in the rate, it will change. However if the current rate is still competitive, no change required. So the info provided by the other poster is, in my opinion, is not correct.

[jb456]

That does not add up. I sailed once this year, January 2015 (booked in 2014), and for that booking I was given CAD at par. I now have two bookings for future cruises one for this coming January 2016 and one for January 2017. Both are locked in at the $1.11 rate.

 

I guess what I am trying to say is that the date of the actual cruise has nothing to do with the exchange rate but it is the date of when you book and make deposit that controls the rate.

 

Like I already explained in the other related thread you are subscribed to, NCL sets their exchange rate quarterly, based on the current state of the dollar. It is set for a 3 month period then reviewed. If a change is needed in the rate, it will change. However if the current rate is still competitive, no change required. So the info provided by the other poster is, in my opinion, is not correct.

 

I don't think that is entirely true.

 

Here is an example.

 

You can use a Canadian travel site sell........off...... which displays the rates in CAD the same price NCL would charge by calling in.

 

I took a random cruise in Sept 2015 on NCL is $299USD on other site is $332CAD ---- 1.11 rate

 

I then took a random cruise in March 2016 on NCL is $324USD on other site is $386CAD ..... 1.19 rate

 

So they are using two rates already.

Edited August 10, 2015 by jb456