Canadian to US

[homers mom]

Good news folks,

Us Canadians have worn Celebrity down. They have given in. I got my email confirmation tonight for my OBC's I purchased at CAD30.60 and like everyone else was charged CAD34.40. After discussing this with the CSR he told me I could get additional OBC's for the difference or I could get a full refund. I asked if these were refundable and the answer was negative. So I transferred to Valerie in the Resolutions department and the poor woman is so exhausted from half of Canada calling to complain that she agreed that the extra credit was refundable. I am waiting for a confirmation email from her. I am going to change my stateroom account to a cash one when we check in. This way at the end of the cruise all remaining money will be refunded to me in USD. So I really don't think anyone need worry about the extra charged to their credit card. Make the call to sort it out with Resolutions and look forward to having this wonderful exchange rate which we probably won't get here in Canada for at least a year or two.

[az_tchr]

Make absolutely - positively - 100% sure you have it in writing.

[kezami]

The price is now CAD34.40 on the website.

[Ruthk]

Well, it was bound to happen soon. I just now checked the BMO exchange rate and right now the 25.00 would cost you 36.20, so 34.40 is still a better deal than our banks.

[gold1953]

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

 

Yes we will need to have a long chat..or 2.. will be looking for at sail away

[gold1953]

Good news folks,

Us Canadians have worn Celebrity down. They have given in. I got my email confirmation tonight for my OBC's I purchased at CAD30.60 and like everyone else was charged CAD34.40. After discussing this with the CSR he told me I could get additional OBC's for the difference or I could get a full refund. I asked if these were refundable and the answer was negative. So I transferred to Valerie in the Resolutions department and the poor woman is so exhausted from half of Canada calling to complain that she agreed that the extra credit was refundable. I am waiting for a confirmation email from her. I am going to change my stateroom account to a cash one when we check in. This way at the end of the cruise all remaining money will be refunded to me in USD. So I really don't think anyone need worry about the extra charged to their credit card. Make the call to sort it out with Resolutions and look forward to having this wonderful exchange rate which we probably won't get here in Canada for at least a year or two.

 

Thanks for the update.. good news. I am hoping to change mine to a cash account as well.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

they should have a remove post button on this forum

Edited January 12, 2016 by Airbalancer

[Ex-Airbalancer]

The price is now CAD34.40 on the website.

 

Last February it was $27.50 cad :(

[LucasLounger1]

I had been meaning to purchase for the last few weeks, and today on the way to work heard more bad news about our dollar. As soon as I got in I logged in to complete the purchase and of course the quoted price is $34.40.

 

Par for the course for me, I waited on purchasing my return flight for my TA and it has gone up $60pp from the lowest (early December[?]) to now.

[gold1953]

they should have a remove post button on this forum

 

not sure what your problem is....???? We purchased what Celebrity was offering and got receipts for the website quoted cost... then a day later got a new receipt for a higher price..

money to go to onboard account for shore excursions , drinks , etc. perfectly normal. Also taking out cash for spending at ports . Lots of folks do this

Celebrity offered a deal and we accepted .. simple

If they change the deal they need to change the offer on the website..simple

[Winter2010]

After reading RCI changed the FX rate from 1.1% to 1.4% last week, I didn't want to wait any longer and went ahead with my US$ OBC purchase on Jan. 7 from the Celebrity website. I think I put in my order at the same time Celebrity was updating their FX rate. Like a few people posting in here about Celebrity charging their CC with a different and higher amount, my credit card also got charged over $100CA more. After waiting on hold for 45 mins, I got through and a few more times on hold before the issue sorted out. Celebrity could not refund the difference so I got OBC instead. Once I got the updated Invoice, it showed that this portion of the OBC is from Celebrity so it's nonrefundable. It's too much hassle to call back and request to be posted under refundable. I'm happy to got it under the old rate.

[bones43]

I am at a loss as to understand why it is not refundable ???? It is your money that they overcharged you, not something given to you for no reason.

My TA was told the same thing even the Celebrity rep agreed it is the customers money.

[lovecruzing]

Well thanks to the helpful tips on these boards, I saw this thread on Sunday and got to purchasing my OBC, locking in the rate after reading that Royal had already changed their rate. I purchased some more yesterday morning while the rate was still advertised as $30.60. I had already read that folks were receiving confirmation showing a higher rate. This info was helpful as I knew mine would be the same so it prepared me for dealing with the phone call I would have to make. Well 1 hr and 20 minutes later, after speaking with the first rep and me asking to be transferred to a supervisor or someone higher up, I was able to get a full refund of the difference back on to my credit card. So glad I found this information just in the nick of time.

[homers mom]

Good news folks,

Us Canadians have worn Celebrity down. They have given in. I got my email confirmation tonight for my OBC's I purchased at CAD30.60 and like everyone else was charged CAD34.40. After discussing this with the CSR he told me I could get additional OBC's for the difference or I could get a full refund. I asked if these were refundable and the answer was negative. So I transferred to Valerie in the Resolutions department and the poor woman is so exhausted from half of Canada calling to complain that she agreed that the extra credit was refundable. I am waiting for a confirmation email from her. I am going to change my stateroom account to a cash one when we check in. This way at the end of the cruise all remaining money will be refunded to me in USD. So I really don't think anyone need worry about the extra charged to their credit card. Make the call to sort it out with Resolutions and look forward to having this wonderful exchange rate which we probably won't get here in Canada for at least a year or two.

I thought all was well last night, but alas, no confirmation email. Called again tonight to speak to Valerie who had apparently got my email address incorrect, hence me not having received it. Turns out the extra OBCs are NOT refundable but now have a confirmation email saying that I will be getting a credit for the difference in price (correct amount stated) on my Visa card. So it seems that all is now finally sorted out...fingers crossed. I am still shaking my head in amazement at the inefficiency and lack of internal communication of Celebrity land staff.

[gold1953]

I thought all was well last night, but alas, no confirmation email. Called again tonight to speak to Valerie who had apparently got my email address incorrect, hence me not having received it. Turns out the extra OBCs are NOT refundable but now have a confirmation email saying that I will be getting a credit for the difference in price (correct amount stated) on my Visa card. So it seems that all is now finally sorted out...fingers crossed. I am still shaking my head in amazement at the inefficiency and lack of internal communication of Celebrity land staff.

 

Even if it is non refundable this amount will be used first so I am ok with it.. and my first 2 purchases came through at the quoted price so I only have one to deal with

[Ex-Airbalancer]

not sure what your problem is....????

:confused:

I screwed up on the post , I just wish this forum had a button where you can remove your post complete :D

Is that OK :rolleyes:

 

In April 2015 , we bought OBC with our Canadian CC, the left over OBC was return to our US credit card that we had tried to our cruise

The OBC from Celebrity was used up first

[homers mom]

Even if it is non refundable this amount will be used first so I am ok with it.. and my first 2 purchases came through at the quoted price so I only have one to deal with

 

We don't want more non refundable credits as we already have a fair amount from promotions and a transfer of a deposit for another cruise which we booked and cancelled but that is a whole saga on its own. We also decided to try select dining so we have already paid our gratuities too. We decided to try select dining because on our cruise last year from BA to Valparaiso the entertainment schedule was such that we missed a lot of good stuff as it was often scheduled during the late seating. I think there is a new cruise director now so maybe things will have changed.

[BCPanda]

I bought 9 units on Jan 8 and they overcharged me Cad $ 34.20 as they used the new rate instead of the posted $30.6. Like others, I called Celebrity and after waiting for 40 minutes, got a nice lady. She put me on hold and said she would check with supervisor and then she said it was an error with their computer system and they would offer me an extra $50 US OBC for the difference. This is really more than what I expected. Later the day, my TA email me with a new confirmation showing the additional $50 OBC. I am happy.

[homers mom]

As our poor Canadian dollar continues to plummet and is now under 70 cents and will cost $1.44 to buy one USD, the exchange rate Celebrity is offering at $1.37 may not be such a bad deal after all. A few more weeks and it could be a real win if we hit the 65 cent mark....I guess we have to find some humour in the situation!

[bimmer012850]

Yes, the cdn $ keeps dropping and no short term relief in site. At $34.40 it is still a great deal. Just so I understand, if you buy the OBC's and don't use them up by the end of the cruise, you can pay off your account with these credits, and any remaining balance they will give you in U.S. ? Thanks for the help.

[homers mom]

Yes, the cdn $ keeps dropping and no short term relief in site. At $34.40 it is still a great deal. Just so I understand, if you buy the OBC's and don't use them up by the end of the cruise, you can pay off your account with these credits, and any remaining balance they will give you in U.S. ? Thanks for the help.

 

Yes they will refund you, but it will go onto your credit card. A better way of doing things if you want to get USD back in cash is to ask for a cash account when you check in. I bought just in time to get the $30.60 rate and will pop all remaining cash into my USD bank account on my return as if we plan on going anywhere I will have USD on tap. I'm sorry now that I didn't buy more. However at 34.40 you are still ahead of the game as it works out at CAD 1.37 and yesterday if you bought USD in Canada it cost CAD1.44 and the way things are going it could be CAD1.50 by the time you sail. I'm going to watch the rate carefully and might still buy more as we travel a fair amount. It's going to be quite a while before our dollar rebounds so it is a pretty safe bet if you have a little cash to spare.Better than a savings account where interest rates are almost non existent.

Edited January 15, 2016 by homers mom

[homers mom]

I bought 9 units on Jan 8 and they overcharged me Cad $ 34.20 as they used the new rate instead of the posted $30.6. Like others, I called Celebrity and after waiting for 40 minutes, got a nice lady. She put me on hold and said she would check with supervisor and then she said it was an error with their computer system and they would offer me an extra $50 US OBC for the difference. This is really more than what I expected. Later the day, my TA email me with a new confirmation showing the additional $50 OBC. I am happy.

 

Just check that this extra OBC is refundable because if not and you don't use it you lose it

[bimmer012850]

Yes they will refund you, but it will go onto your credit card. A better way of doing things if you want to get USD back in cash is to ask for a cash account when you check in. I bought just in time to get the $30.60 rate and will pop all remaining cash into my USD bank account on my return as if we plan on going anywhere I will have USD on tap. I'm sorry now that I didn't buy more. However at 34.40 you are still ahead of the game as it works out at CAD 1.37 and yesterday if you bought USD in Canada it cost CAD1.44 and the way things are going it could be CAD1.50 by the time you sail. I'm going to watch the rate carefully and might still buy more as we travel a fair amount. It's going to be quite a while before our dollar rebounds so it is a pretty safe bet if you have a little cash to spare.Better than a savings account where interest rates are almost non existent.

 

So, if I understand you correctly, we can change from a credit card to a cash account when we check in and then pay off our account in cash using the OBC. Can we also convert the OBC to cash during the cruise at the Guest Services desk in order to have cash for the casino, for example? Also, do you know if there is a $ limit that Celebrity will allow you to purchase OBC's on their site? I think you can purchase up to 9 OBC ($25 each) at one time.

[homers mom]

So, if I understand you correctly, we can change from a credit card to a cash account when we check in and then pay off our account in cash using the OBC. Can we also convert the OBC to cash during the cruise at the Guest Services desk in order to have cash for the casino, for example? Also, do you know if there is a $ limit that Celebrity will allow you to purchase OBC's on their site? I think you can purchase up to 9 OBC ($25 each) at one time.

 

Yes, when you check in you do not give a credit card for your on board expenses. You ask for a cash account. They have a few rules about not spending more than $500 per day and if they see a passenger going crazy spending they ask for a credit card to cover themselves just in case. However if you have your OBC's then every time you use your sea pass they just deduct the charge from your credit balance on your account. I've heard conflicting versions of whether or not you can get cash from your OBC at guest services, but you can definitely get money at the casino but then you pay 5% commission. If you read this entire thread I think you will find someone said they were on the Summit and they were able to get cash from their OBC no problem. It just had to be cleared with management. Frankly, every time we have contacted Celebrity to get information we have been given a different answer. My brother and his wife are travelling with us and he has called and asked the identical question and we both were given conflicting responses. If you go onto the Celebrity website I think there is a section somewhere about the do's and dont's of cash accounts.

[homers mom]

So, if I understand you correctly, we can change from a credit card to a cash account when we check in and then pay off our account in cash using the OBC. Can we also convert the OBC to cash during the cruise at the Guest Services desk in order to have cash for the casino, for example? Also, do you know if there is a $ limit that Celebrity will allow you to purchase OBC's on their site? I think you can purchase up to 9 OBC ($25 each) at one time.

 

Sorry, forgot to answer about the limit you can buy. I don't think there is one, the more you buy the happier they probably will be as they hope you will spend more on the ship....that's how they make their money, not from the actual price that we pay for the cruise, but on the excursions, bars, bingo, casino, spa treatments, etc