Canadian to US

[travelzooer]

We just got off the Summit and pre purchased $900 OBC before we left(our cruise was boomed in CAD). I went to guest relations desk on day 3 of 7 and asked for cash. After some consultation with management I was given the cash with no penalty.

Reserve cruise in CAD and purchase OBC before you go! Can't lose!

[Grandmaanne7]

We just got off the Summit and pre purchased $900 OBC before we left(our cruise was boomed in CAD). I went to guest relations desk on day 3 of 7 and asked for cash. After some consultation with management I was given the cash with no penalty.

Reserve cruise in CAD and purchase OBC before you go! Can't lose!

Did you have your account set up as a cash settlement or tied to a credit card?

 

Sent from my SM-G386W using Tapatalk

[Cruisennerable]

As long as you booked in CDN $ you can purchase units of $30.60 & receive $25.US onboard at least that was the price yesterday. You just go to gifts by Celebrity at the bottom of Celebrity Cruises put in your booking code & make sure you have Canada as the country & you can do it yourself. Works great, you cruise has to be booked in Canadian $.

 

Thanks so much- exactly what I needed to know:D

[Cruise Junky]

Just a heads up, RCL changed their OBC rate last night. X might have as well.

[Elusive_Cruiser]

We just got off the Summit and pre purchased $900 OBC before we left(our cruise was boomed in CAD). I went to guest relations desk on day 3 of 7 and asked for cash. After some consultation with management I was given the cash with no penalty.

Reserve cruise in CAD and purchase OBC before you go! Can't lose!

 

Thank for posting this recent experience. We purchased $1K OBC to use exactly as you did and saw conflicting posts here. Hopefully I will have the same experience on the Equinox next month. I will be changing my on board account to a cash account upon check in.

[homers mom]

Thank for posting this recent experience. We purchased $1K OBC to use exactly as you did and saw conflicting posts here. Hopefully I will have the same experience on the Equinox next month. I will be changing my on board account to a cash account upon check in.

 

I contacted Celebrity about the possibility of cashing my Refundable OBC and was told that only at the end of the cruise, should there be a credit balance on your account will you be given cash. Quote "It is called an OBC as it is meant to be used on the ship." This conflicts with what the Summit passenger said. ( sorry I don't have your name in front of me). I asked if I could get cash in the casino and the answer was yes, but would have to pay 5% on every withdrawal.

Also, if you already have an OBC provided by your travel agent, or a Celebrity promotion, you need to go to the pursers desk and make quite sure that they use your non refundable credit first for any purchases on the ship. Otherwise you could stand to lose it. As Canadians with a terrible exchange rate at the banks the Celebrity exchange of CAD 30.50 for USD 25 is a wonderful rate hence my desire to buy a lot of OBC's and even if I don't use the money when we get back to Canada I will just deposit it into my USD account in readiness for my next trip.

[gold1953]

I contacted Celebrity about the possibility of cashing my Refundable OBC and was told that only at the end of the cruise, should there be a credit balance on your account will you be given cash. Quote "It is called an OBC as it is meant to be used on the ship." This conflicts with what the Summit passenger said. ( sorry I don't have your name in front of me). I asked if I could get cash in the casino and the answer was yes, but would have to pay 5% on every withdrawal.

Also, if you already have an OBC provided by your travel agent, or a Celebrity promotion, you need to go to the pursers desk and make quite sure that they use your non refundable credit first for any purchases on the ship. Otherwise you could stand to lose it. As Canadians with a terrible exchange rate at the banks the Celebrity exchange of CAD 30.50 for USD 25 is a wonderful rate hence my desire to buy a lot of OBC's and even if I don't use the money when we get back to Canada I will just deposit it into my USD account in readiness for my next trip.

I plan to take cash from the casino to use in ports.. even with the 5% loss it is good

[Cruisennerable]

I contacted Celebrity about the possibility of cashing my Refundable OBC and was told that only at the end of the cruise, should there be a credit balance on your account will you be given cash. Quote "It is called an OBC as it is meant to be used on the ship." This conflicts with what the Summit passenger said. ( sorry I don't have your name in front of me). I asked if I could get cash in the casino and the answer was yes, but would have to pay 5% on every withdrawal.

Also, if you already have an OBC provided by your travel agent, or a Celebrity promotion, you need to go to the pursers desk and make quite sure that they use your non refundable credit first for any purchases on the ship. Otherwise you could stand to lose it. As Canadians with a terrible exchange rate at the banks the Celebrity exchange of CAD 30.50 for USD 25 is a wonderful rate hence my desire to buy a lot of OBC's and even if I don't use the money when we get back to Canada I will just deposit it into my USD account in readiness for my next trip.

I called Celebrity today to buy OBC which was at a rate of 30.60/25 and the representative told me I could cash some out at Guest Services while on the cruise. Fingers crossed this will work as I was told

[homers mom]

I called Celebrity today to buy OBC which was at a rate of 30.60/25 and the representative told me I could cash some out at Guest Services while on the cruise. Fingers crossed this will work as I was told

 

I must be quite honest but I am really starting to get a little frustrated with the service that Celebrity offers. It's really strange that I was told the complete opposite, after being on hold for just short of an hour. The customer service rep. Put me on hold as well, when I asked her to double check and she came back and told me she had spoken to the resolutions department and the answer was definitely no to cashing the OBC. Regardless I am still going ahead and buying them as I cannot foresee the CAD exchange equalling the Celebrity OBC rate for at least a year and I will just hold onto any leftover dollars. Incidentally my brother who is also coming on the cruise with us sent an email several days ago to them and as he didn't get a response he decided to call them. Lucky guy, he only was on hold for 25 minutes and managed to get his question asked and then he was put on hold and after another 30 minutes he was cut off. Starting to wonder if we should be looking at sailing another cruise line in the future.

[Elusive_Cruiser]

I must be quite honest but I am really starting to get a little frustrated with the service that Celebrity offers. It's really strange that I was told the complete opposite, after being on hold for just short of an hour. The customer service rep. Put me on hold as well, when I asked her to double check and she came back and told me she had spoken to the resolutions department and the answer was definitely no to cashing the OBC. Regardless I am still going ahead and buying them as I cannot foresee the CAD exchange equalling the Celebrity OBC rate for at least a year and I will just hold onto any leftover dollars. Incidentally my brother who is also coming on the cruise with us sent an email several days ago to them and as he didn't get a response he decided to call them. Lucky guy, he only was on hold for 25 minutes and managed to get his question asked and then he was put on hold and after another 30 minutes he was cut off. Starting to wonder if we should be looking at sailing another cruise line in the future.

 

Well, the very very good news, if you have not yet read, is that the onboard experience is NOTHING like the service you get while on land. We've had nothing but a stellar experience, from the second we put our foot onboard!

[homers mom]

Well, the very very good news, if you have not yet read, is that the onboard experience is NOTHING like the service you get while on land. We've had nothing but a stellar experience, from the second we put our foot onboard!

 

I certainly agree with that, as we have travelled many times with Celebrity and always found our experience 5 star. However the lack of knowledge and conflicting answers that we have gotten on land, and the long wait times trying to speak to someone when you don't get a response to an email is 1 star at best. I'm just venting because I'm sooooo frustrated......maybe a relaxing cruise in the warm weather is just the antidote I need😀😀😀😀😀

[vanman]

Yesterday I booked more onboard credits for two upcoming cruises. When I did, the booking it showed them at 30.60 CAD for 25USD. My email confirmation from Celebrity showed 34.40CAD per 25USD. Called Celebrity today and was told that the exchange rate has changed but the online booking system hasn't been updated yet. After a bit of back and forth they honoured the booking rate of 30.60CAD but the new rate appears to be 1.3740. FYI, if you check now the website still shows an exchange rate of 1.2260.

[If only]

I was also on the phone with Celebrity today as I bought 9 units on Jan 6 @ $30.60 & it has gone through as $34.40 X 9, I was advised that they could not change it because the rate has changed but their website has not been updated even by this morning. After talking with Resolution they are giving me an OBC to make up the difference.

[homers mom]

Yesterday I booked more onboard credits for two upcoming cruises. When I did, the booking it showed them at 30.60 CAD for 25USD. My email confirmation from Celebrity showed 34.40CAD per 25USD. Called Celebrity today and was told that the exchange rate has changed but the online booking system hasn't been updated yet. After a bit of back and forth they honoured the booking rate of 30.60CAD but the new rate appears to be 1.3740. FYI, if you check now the website still shows an exchange rate of 1.2260.

 

Thanks for your posting as this spurred me on to buying a bunch more obc's. I can't believe they have the audacity to charge more than the quoted price online...here in Canada the price you see is the price you pay! If they are so tardy with their website upgrades they should have to swallow the difference! I can see a big blow up ahead when I have to deal with the same issue....not looking forward to this one.

[homers mom]

Yesterday I booked more onboard credits for two upcoming cruises. When I did, the booking it showed them at 30.60 CAD for 25USD. My email confirmation from Celebrity showed 34.40CAD per 25USD. Called Celebrity today and was told that the exchange rate has changed but the online booking system hasn't been updated yet. After a bit of back and forth they honoured the booking rate of 30.60CAD but the new rate appears to be 1.3740. FYI, if you check now the website still shows an exchange rate of 1.2260.

 

And I nearly forgot to mention, I got a confirmation number for each transaction but I have not received any emails from celebrity confirming my purchase. Maybe they are going to come back to me and try weasel their way out of the deal

[gold1953]

And I nearly forgot to mention, I got a confirmation number for each transaction but I have not received any emails from celebrity confirming my purchase. Maybe they are going to come back to me and try weasel their way out of the deal

 

 

 

Each one of my transactions took at least another 24 hours for the official receipt to arrive,. The first 2 a few days prior came through at the quoted rate . the one form Saturday came in at 34.40 and they offered an obc for the difference after I bluntly told them that quoting one price on my order and charging more was illegal.

I have a load of 25$ units now so I am happy.. I wasn't trying to take advantage but want what is offered and no less

[gold1953]

They are still offering the $30.60 rate this morning on the web!!

[homers mom]

They are still offering the $30.60 rate this morning on the web!!

 

Interesting. I printed off my confirmation receipts and interestingly they all have the same reference number. Do yours also? I wonder if they are allocating the same number to all the "problem" purchases. I think we will have a lot to chat about on board as we both think exactly the same way. Looking forward to meeting you

[Cruisennerable]

I was also on the phone with Celebrity today as I bought 9 units on Jan 6 @ $30.60 & it has gone through as $34.40 X 9, I was advised that they could not change it because the rate has changed but their website has not been updated even by this morning. After talking with Resolution they are giving me an OBC to make up the difference.

 

I just realized even though my statement from Celebrity Gift showed I was charge 30.60 I too was charged more on my credit card statement. Do you mind saying how much extra OBC they gave you as compensation? If they give a good enough deal I will call and ask for that otherwise I will ask my CC company for a charge back with the proof of receipt they gave me.

 

Thanks

[Cruisennerable]

The first 2 a few days prior came through at the quoted rate . the one form Saturday came in at 34.40 and they offered an obc for the difference

 

So instead of 25$US OBC per unit what did they offer you for the mistake?

 

I have the same issue and want to make sure they don't try and get out of fixing it. Celebrity seems to be very inconsistent

[Barwick Cruiser]

So instead of 25$US OBC per unit what did they offer you for the mistake?

 

I have the same issue and want to make sure they don't try and get out of fixing it. Celebrity seems to be very inconsistent

 

If you paid for your cruise in $US then you won't get the $30.60Cdn rate. That's something that is catching a few others on here.

[bones43]

I just realized even though my statement from Celebrity Gift showed I was charge 30.60 I too was charged more on my credit card statement. Do you mind saying how much extra OBC they gave you as compensation? If they give a good enough deal I will call and ask for that otherwise I will ask my CC company for a charge back with the proof of receipt they gave me.

 

Thanks

I was overcharged by 45.60 and was given 2 more units or $50.00 US

but I understand from my TA that is a non refundable credit which is unfair it is my money.

[Cruisennerable]

Celebrity seems even worse than I thought

I had purchased 3 different gifts, the first 2 they charged a higher amount then the receipt I was sent which turned out to be the problem everyone else is having of charging 34.4 instead of the 30.6 quoted and receipted at. The 3rd was even worse I purchase 6 units which my receipt shows I paid 183.60 CAD and they billed my CC 309.60 which seems to be the higher cost for 9 units.

Not only are they charging whatever they want for a unit they are adding units that were not purchased either. Sadly their wait time is over the top again

[Ruthk]

Yesterday I called the Captains Club and the attendant that I questioned stated that if you booked your cruise in US dollars then the OBC you would purchase also had to be in US dollars, as others here had mentioned.

 

I challenged this because when purchasing OBC, it says CDN funds and nothing about Celebrity converting afterwards. She went on to read the fine print and agreed with me. Also, if I was buying it as a bon voyage gift for someone, and saw this quote in CDN it should not be my penalty if the cruise was booked in US dollars.

 

She then went to clarify with her supervisor. The supervisor said it made no difference if the cruise was booked in CDN or US dollars. If you are using a CDN dollar charge card and your OBC receipt states 30.60CDN, then that is what you would be charged.

 

I have both their names if a problem develops. I have photocopies of the receipts ready in the file. If a mistake occurs then I will just refuse payment on my charge card and let Master Card and Celebrity fight the dispute.

[vanman]

So instead of 25$US OBC per unit what did they offer you for the mistake?

 

I have the same issue and want to make sure they don't try and get out of fixing it. Celebrity seems to be very inconsistent

 

The difference they charged me for 9 units was 34.20 CAD. They gave me 35US in additional onboard credit which I thought was more than fair.