NCL have changed my booking from US DOllars to Euros so it costs me more!!!

[pipcarobethdan]

I need some help please. I made a booking on NCL.com for a cruise on the NCL Spirit next year. The reason I made the booking on the US website rather than the EU or UK site is that it was about £300 cheaper. I paid my deposit in US Dollars and even printed the confirmation page as it showed the cost of the cruise, the deposit that I had paid and the outstanding balance. All of this was in US Dollars. I have noticed that when I log into my online NCL account, my booking is now showing as a different amount in Euros! This means the cruise I have booked is now costing me nearly £300 more than it should. I wrote to NCL and a very unhelpful lady called Katharina Merxhani is telling me that I made the booking on their EU site even though I sent them a scan of the page I printed which quite clearly showed everything in US Dollars and even had the US website address at the top of the page. Has this ever happened to anyone else and if so, what is the best way to handle it? Thanks for any help in advance.

[SissasMomE]

Not sure why you think you could get US prices when you do not reside in the US

[Lady Arwen]

Not sure why you think you could get US prices when you do not reside in the US

 

I'm confused then. We Canadians can book in US dollars, in fact the US dollar is the default currency and you have to request NCL to book in Canadian dollars.

[Jane Don]

Not sure why you think you could get US prices when you do not reside in the US

I don't understand why anyone couldn't. I live in Canada. I can book on whichever site offers the best deal. When I shop, I often order from US Amazon instead of the Canadian one. Sometimes I use Asian websites for shopping.

 

I believe the OP has a legitimate beef. I know though, if I book through US and call to have it put into Canadian funds at an advantageous exchange rate, every subsequent booking will be in CAD. If the OP has previously booked on the UK site, it is possible that it was automatically put into the default currency and region. My advice is to call again. Keep calling until it is resolved. Threaten to cancel and book elsewhere if it comes to that.

[pipcarobethdan]

Not sure why you think you could get US prices when you do not reside in the US

 

Anyone can book on any site no matter where they reside. I dont really understand your comment but thank you for taking the time to read my post and reply to it

[pipcarobethdan]

I guess I will keep pestering NCL then. I can not really afford another £300 on top of the cost of the cruise and I don't really see why I should have to pay it when I have confirmation from them showing me the outstanding balance.

I will keep fighting this and post the outcome on here in case others are in the same situation. Thank you

[hawkeyetlse]

Have they only converted your original fare from dollars to GBP, or have they actually changed your booking office (and applied the NCL UK fares and booking conditions to your reservation)?

[Shawnino]

Do you know when it was switched?

How far out are you?

Was this affected by the fleet swap?

Etc. Etc.

[Gatorspuck]

I'm confused then. We Canadians can book in US dollars, in fact the US dollar is the default currency and you have to request NCL to book in Canadian dollars.

 

Yes that's what I did today . On the phone with NCL they .75 cents fit 1 Canadian buck . Plus if you charge to credit with non us card your credit card company will charge extra 3%

[pipcarobethdan]

I dont know when it changed and no they dont seem to have simply converted my booking from USD to EU as the outstanding balance has changed and it is now nearly £300 higher than it was. I am getting no help from NCL at all. I just keep getting told that my booking must have been made on the EU site even though it wasnt and I have paperwork showing the price in USD!

[takeadip]

Hi,

All the copies and scanning you have done lead me to believe you were afraid this was going to happen...and wanted a "trail' to show as proof that you were taking advantage of "pricing arbitrage" its a financial term...google it...

 

so basically there was a small chance that this may not work out and you knew that...i will say it was a valiant effort on your part...but alas...NCL makes and breaks the rules at their discretion...

 

NCL deals with this all the time...and when it comes to them making less or more from the passengers i bet they pick the latter...

 

-Mark

[maywell]

Yes that's what I did today . On the phone with NCL they .75 cents fit 1 Canadian buck . Plus if you charge to credit with non us card your credit card company will charge extra 3%

The difference is there's no Canadian NCL website while there's multiple ones for Europe. So the real question is - is NCL now internet- restricting Europeans who want to pay in US dollars instead of Euros? Remember the Euro has a much higher exchange than that of the US dollar, thus the fare is much higher over there. Even though it's priced €599, it's not the same as $599 (€599 =$659.92).

 

That is a very bizarre dilemma you're having, OP. I wish you best in resolving it - something tells me this not going to be a easy one because how did they switch that when it was paid in another currency? I don't think you're going to be last UK/ European(s) that's going to have that same situation.....[emoji53]

 

Sent from my SM-N910T3 using Tapatalk

[pipcarobethdan]

Hi,

All the copies and scanning you have done lead me to believe you were afraid this was going to happen...and wanted a "trail' to show as proof that you were taking advantage of "pricing arbitrage" its a financial term...google it...

 

so basically there was a small chance that this may not work out and you knew that...i will say it was a valiant effort on your part...but alas...NCL makes and breaks the rules at their discretion...

 

NCL deals with this all the time...and when it comes to them making less or more from the passengers i bet they pick the latter...

 

-Mark

 

That's a little insulting to suggest I was keeping copies to create a trail as I was expecting this to happen. Unfortunately, you could not be more wrong with your assumption. I kept a print of the page for my financial records as I used a credit card to pay the deposit and I am very careful to check every transaction on each of my monthly statements.

To save you making anymore incorrect statements, I always check numerous websites when spending £4000+ on a holiday. I had read on numerous posts on numerous websites about UK residents booking on the US site or with US travel agents as they were offering lower prices than the EU or UK website. Its that simple. The US website was offering the same cruise at the lowest price. My booking was accepted. My deposit was accepted all in US Dollars. NCL should not be allowed to change a booking once its made to simply charge their loyal, Platinum Latitudes members more money.

[hypercafe]

Next time you talk to them fax them the confirmation you have.

[Josher61]

Wow, someone prints out the page showing their deposit payment and balance due and you assume there is something nefarious in that?? That the OP is somehow trying to take advantage of APT (and no need to google it...I know what it is) Then when things get changed on him he scans that page to NCL. This proves he was being devious somehow??

 

NCL offers Canadians a break (discount) on the exchange rate. NCL doesn't offer a Canadian website. But NCL only offers the exchange rate break when asked...its not a given just because the purchaser resides in Canada. They gladly take my money in US funds if I don't ask or if I book through their US website. NCL offers websites in the UK and other countries. Does it say anywhere on those websites that one cant book on them if you are not a resident of that country? It sure doesn't say that on the US website.

 

The only thing I believe the OP was "guilty" of was trying to buy his cruise at the rate most favourable to him. Why not? I do the same. In his case booking through the US site is advantageous whereas in my case it's not. But NCL doesn't stop me from doing so. Did anything stop him? I believe that becomes a key factor. Can you book on the US site when your residence country hosts an alternative NCL site? How did NCL prevent this from happening? They took his booking on the US site. They didn't show a conversion rate. They showed it all in US dollars. The T&C of the booking become the issue, in my opinion.

 

OP, I would keep calling. I would escalate the issue. I know if a Canadian has booked through the US site they cant/wont just change the reservation to Canadian dollars. You must cancel and start all over. The one thing I agree with the above poster is that NCL can and will change what they want to. I would have a look at the T&C and see if it says only US residents may book at those fares if the purchaser is a resident of a country which NCL offers a separate website for. In other words, if your country hosts an NCL site, you cant book on US site. Does NCL say that anywhere?

 

There is another thread going on right now about a weekend promo special. The T&C clearly states...for new bookings only. People are cancelling and rebooking...or not being able to. The T&C is quite clear. That's what I would be looking at...not the confirmation page you have; the T&C of your purchase. Good luck!

[NLH Arizona]

Wonder why the cruise is more expensive in the UK, then here in the states? Are most cruises also more expensive in the UK or does it vary by itinerary? Just wondering.

[rvsullivan]

This is somewhat strange. I tried a while back, maybe 6 months ago to contact the UK NCL call center. I wanted to book from there and pay the difference in price to obtain the benefit of booking through the UK, i.e. all of the price protection and change restriction that the passenger is entitled to over there. My attention was drawn to the statements some from the UK were making about how they were protected from some of the things that had been happening here with cruises and prices changing. They would not allow it, said the protections were for EU customers only and U.S. residents could not take advantage. Is this not somewhat the same, you want to avoid the cost associated with having these guarantee's so book through the U.S.? Perhaps NCL is getting wiser? What do the terms of the U.S. contract say regarding the changes NCL is allowed to make to your booking. Do the U.S. rules offer any of the protections you want?

Probably not.

Edited October 30, 2015 by rvsullivan

[Jane Don]

Wonder why the cruise is more expensive in the UK, then here in the states? Are most cruises also more expensive in the UK or does it vary by itinerary? Just wondering.

In the UK, all taxes and fees are included in the posted price. Also, promos are truly free meaning no additional service charges (UBP 18%). I compared recently on the same cruise, and it was slightly cheaper on the UK site because of the UBP charges. Some were more in the UK.

[pipcarobethdan]

Next time you talk to them fax them the confirmation you have.

I did email them a scan of the page and they have confirmed that they received it and read it and yet they still deny I booked the cruise in USD!!!

[Donray]

I dont know when it changed and no they dont seem to have simply converted my booking from USD to EU as the outstanding balance has changed and it is now nearly £300 higher than it was. I am getting no help from NCL at all. I just keep getting told that my booking must have been made on the EU site even though it wasnt and I have paperwork showing the price in USD!

 

Was the address you used to book a USA address? Does the credit card you used have a USA billing address?

 

There is a reason that ALL cruise lines have a different price depending on were you live is that you certain guarantees depending on where you live and these cost more.

[kirsty_r]

whenever I try to book on ncl.com I always get re-routed to the EU site at some point, might this have happened?? the only way I see round it is to book through a US TA. I love my UK based NCL cruise consultant who gets me freebies, so the slight difference doesn't make it worth it to me.

 

you used to be able to pay in USD on the EU site, although that may no longer be the case.

[Demonyte]

Was the address you used to book a USA address? Does the credit card you used have a USA billing address?

 

There is a reason that ALL cruise lines have a different price depending on were you live is that you certain guarantees depending on where you live and these cost more.

 

Nope, nope and nope. Where one lives has nothing to do with it, but the companies are required to offer those "certain guarantees" in some countries if they do business there. The regulations in UK and in EU overall do not apply to a company doing business in US even if the customers lives somewhere else. And the pricing is not always better in US, we book there because the T&C are better for us (free cancellations etc) even if we got better price from our "home office".

 

I have booked all cruises I've taken through cruise lines' US offices directly or through an US TA, with a Finnish address and Finnish credit card, in USD. Even when booking onboard, I double check that my reservation is in USD before committing to it.

Edited October 30, 2015 by Demonyte

[Wavesprite]

Hi,

All the copies and scanning you have done lead me to believe you were afraid this was going to happen...and wanted a "trail' to show as proof that you were taking advantage of "pricing arbitrage" its a financial term...google it...

 

 

That is downright rude! I made screen shots and copies of everything to when I booked in the US in US currency. Why? I don't trust the websites to get it right. I don't trust NCL to get it right either.....it's not hard to do a quick screenshot and save it.

[Demonyte]

whenever I try to book on ncl.com I always get re-routed to the EU site at some point, might this have happened?? the only way I see round it is to book through a US TA.

 

In my experience only the front page redirects to local sites. When you go directly to a subpage to browse the site (for example http://www.ncl.com/vacations), one can complete the booking on US site just fine - I've done so several times.

[RDC1]

Nope, nope and nope. Where one lives has nothing to do with it, but the companies are required to offer those "certain guarantees" in some countries if they do business there. The regulations in UK and in EU overall do not apply to a company doing business in US even if the customers lives somewhere else. And the pricing is not always better in US, we book there because the T&C are better for us (free cancellations etc) even if we got better price from our "home office".

 

I have booked all cruises I've taken through cruise lines' US offices directly or through an US TA, with a Finnish address and Finnish credit card, in USD. Even when booking onboard, I double check that my reservation is in USD before committing to it.

Yes and no. It depends upon where the cruise lines are considered to have a legal presence. In some case cruise lines that have legal presence in the uk require residents of the uk to purchase under uk terms and conditions and uk prices. Not sure if NCL does or not, but with some of the others they will void or shift a reservation made on the us Web site if a uk address is shown.