kezza Posted January 8, 2016 #1 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Been wondering...with our Aussie $$ going down and the US$ on the ships, what happens to the likes of the drinks package and internet or any other package. If I wait until I embark on the ship to organise any of these will they cost me more than preordering before we leave?:confused::confused: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUT2407 Posted January 8, 2016 #2 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Been wondering...with our Aussie $$ going down and the US$ on the ships, what happens to the likes of the drinks package and internet or any other package. If I wait until I embark on the ship to organise any of these will they cost me more than preordering before we leave?:confused::confused: It will depend what line. But if on a ship that charges in US$ and Aus$ drops further you may well pay more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OzKiwiJJ Posted January 8, 2016 #3 Share Posted January 8, 2016 You could always buy OBC for yourself. Sometimes you get a better rate than the current exchange rate. We did for our recent Celebrity cruise, and for our upcoming Princess cruise. Do the maths. For our Princess cruise, which will be in USD as it's a repositioning cruise, it worked out fractionally cheaper to buy the package ahead of time than to buy the OBC to buy it onboard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OzKiwiJJ Posted January 8, 2016 #4 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Just realized your RCI cruise is very close. I suggest ringing RCI immediately to see what rate they will sell you OBC at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Kruzer Posted January 8, 2016 #5 Share Posted January 8, 2016 If the rate keeps dropping I think you will see a mass exodus of Australians from the American ships. All is not lost however as it will be cheaper for the Americans to fly down here and cruise so the ships will still be full , but full of Americans ......:D One year I can remember the Aussie dollar was down to .50c and the Kiwi to .39c. There were not many locals cruising on the ships at that time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OzKiwiJJ Posted January 8, 2016 #6 Share Posted January 8, 2016 If the rate keeps dropping I think you will see a mass exodus of Australians from the American ships. All is not lost however as it will be cheaper for the Americans to fly down here and cruise so the ships will still be full , but full of Americans ......:D One year I can remember the Aussie dollar was down to .50c and the Kiwi to .39c. There were not many locals cruising on the ships at that time. Either that or the US ships will start including more extras like drinks packages and OBC to entice locals to cruise with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kezza Posted January 8, 2016 Author #7 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Didn't know you could buy OBC...and you just won't cruise RCI as they're the only ones in Australian waters doing US$ that I've cruised on....would do more Carnival then I guess or Princess... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OzKiwiJJ Posted January 8, 2016 #8 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Didn't know you could buy OBC Yes, you can. Essentially it's just prepaying some of your onboard costs but sometimes teh cruise line sells it to you at very advantageous rates. I got our Princess OBC at AU$550 for US$500, an exchange rate of 0.90 - current exchange rate is around 0.705. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkers Posted January 8, 2016 #9 Share Posted January 8, 2016 I got our Princess OBC at AU$550 for US$500, an exchange rate of 0.90 - current exchange rate is around 0.705. Do you buy this recently? By phoning or online? On Emerald Singapore to Sydney the rate is 0.80 through cruise personalizer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OzKiwiJJ Posted January 8, 2016 #10 Share Posted January 8, 2016 I got our Princess OBC at AU$550 for US$500, an exchange rate of 0.90 - current exchange rate is around 0.705. Do you buy this recently? By phoning or online? On Emerald Singapore to Sydney the rate is 0.80 through cruise personalizer! I bought it by phoning Princess a couple of months ago. My cruise personaliser is still showing 0.90 though, or rather AU $110 for what I think is US $100. It may depend on when you booked your cruise. I heard that Princess update their rate annually at the start of the year and that it would be going up to 0.80 but that doesn't seem to have affected my cruise. 0.80 is still better than 0.705 ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kezza Posted January 8, 2016 Author #11 Share Posted January 8, 2016 well in all the cruises I've done, never knew you could buy OBC....you learn something everyday....how do you do that and are all the cruise lines the same? thanks :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OzKiwiJJ Posted January 8, 2016 #12 Share Posted January 8, 2016 well in all the cruises I've done, never knew you could buy OBC....you learn something everyday....how do you do that and are all the cruise lines the same? thanks :) Usually it's available under Gifts but if not, just phone them. Here you go https://www.royalcaribbeancertificates.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kezza Posted January 8, 2016 Author #13 Share Posted January 8, 2016 thanks Oz...I think I like the OBC you can get when you book a cruise rather than buying some. But at least the options there if you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kezza Posted January 8, 2016 Author #14 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Also just read the bottom of the 'purchase gift certificate' and it states to US residents only.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare OzKiwiJJ Posted January 8, 2016 #15 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Also just read the bottom of the 'purchase gift certificate' and it states to US residents only.... That's odd. Anyway just phone them, Kezza. It's the same phone line for RCI and Celebrity and when I phoned a few months before our Celebrity Christmas cruise they were very helpful and I got a decent rate for the OBC, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare mr walker Posted January 8, 2016 #16 Share Posted January 8, 2016 ?...and you just won't cruise RCI as they're the only ones in Australian waters doing US$ that I've cruised on....would do more Carnival then I guess or Princess... :) Some people take into account factors other than the exchange rate applicable to their onboard spend when choosing their cruise. That's the beauty these days - lots of choice :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted January 8, 2016 #17 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Celebrity are currently offering $0.77 USD ($25USD costs $32.40 AUD), this can be purchased online, through your My celebrity (personliser) or by phone. RCI needs to be done by phone. The gift certificates link provided earlier is actually for buying cruises not for OBC. Princess and Cunard also offer OBC at much better rates than the current rate as mentioned over $0.90 these can be purchased online or by phone. NOTE - Some cruise lines will not refund any of the OBC or allow you to cash out so only buy what you think you will require for the cruise. Some (X) will allow you to cash out refundable OBC at the casino for a 5% fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
springaussie Posted January 8, 2016 #18 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Celebrity are currently offering $0.77 USD ($25USD costs $32.40 AUD), this can be purchased online, through your My celebrity (personliser) or by phone.. Anyway of confirming this is still the case Unconfirmed report claims RCCL Australia is now $0.712 today. (Operators have been known to give the wrong price.) Royal Caribbean Canadian cruisers are reporting the rate has gone from $1.10 CAD buys $1 USD to $1.40 USD buys $1 USD over the last 2 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted January 8, 2016 #19 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Anyway of confirming this is still the caseUnconfirmed report claims RCCL Australia is now $0.712 today. (Operators have been known to give the wrong price.) Royal Caribbean Canadian cruisers are reporting the rate has gone from $1.10 CAD buys $1 USD to $1.40 USD buys $1 USD over the last 2 days. Yes, it is on the celebrity website, as for RCI, you would need to call then and check. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
springaussie Posted January 8, 2016 #20 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Yes, it is on the celebrity website, as for RCI, you would need to call then and check. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCHAN Posted January 8, 2016 #21 Share Posted January 8, 2016 I was just checking on the Celebrity site and it says 1 OBC unit costs $32.40aud. Does anybody know what value in USD the OBC unit has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUT2407 Posted January 9, 2016 #22 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Didn't know you could buy OBC...and you just won't cruise RCI as they're the only ones in Australian waters doing US$ that I've cruised on....would do more Carnival then I guess or Princess... :) Celebrity US$ too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUT2407 Posted January 9, 2016 #23 Share Posted January 9, 2016 I was just checking on the Celebrity site and it says 1 OBC unit costs $32.40aud. Does anybody know what value in USD the OBC unit has. Pretty sure it's US$25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted January 9, 2016 #24 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Celebrity are currently offering $0.77 USD ($25USD costs $32.40 AUD), this can be purchased online, through your My celebrity (personliser) or by phone. RCI needs to be done by phone. The gift certificates link provided earlier is actually for buying cruises not for OBC. Princess and Cunard also offer OBC at much better rates than the current rate as mentioned over $0.90 these can be purchased online or by phone. NOTE - Some cruise lines will not refund any of the OBC or allow you to cash out so only buy what you think you will require for the cruise. Some (X) will allow you to cash out refundable OBC at the casino for a 5% fee. I was just checking on the Celebrity site and it says 1 OBC unit costs $32.40aud. Does anybody know what value in USD the OBC unit has. Yes $25USD as posted yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hawkers Posted January 9, 2016 #25 Share Posted January 9, 2016 So more like 0.77 on Celebrity! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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