Way for CDN pax to save a few $'s

[Craigster-diver]

What with the $CDN hitting bargain-basement lows, it's time to remind my fellow CDN passengers that you can save cruise money by prepaying gratuities and pre-buying OBC all in $CDN at what I consider to be a very favourable exchange rate.

 

You can call Princess and it'll cost you $1.35 CDN for $1.00 US (as of 01/13/16), and that's a fair bit better than what most any bank will give you today & miles ahead of what your credit card and/or Princess will do currency conversions at the end of your cruise when they close out your folio!!

 

For example: at bank rates today buying $400 US would have cost $584 CDN. I paid Princess $540 CDN for $400 US OBC.

 

Happy travels!

[avcruz]

For my December cruise on the Crown (which I booked last June) I'm paying $1.20 for $1.00 so I couldn't agree with you more! :D

 

On our recent cruise on the Royal, for the first time in years we took shore excursions offered by Princess because when I factored in that 20% exchange rate, their prices were the same or less than paying USD directly to the private tour operators in the ports.

[Gwendy]

For my December cruise on the Crown (which I booked last June) I'm paying $1.20 for $1.00 so I couldn't agree with you more! :D

 

On our recent cruise on the Royal, for the first time in years we took shore excursions offered by Princess because when I factored in that 20% exchange rate, their prices were the same or less than paying USD directly to the private tour operators in the ports.

Hi guys, feel your pain, check out the Aus dollar in comparison. Makes you want to go into the foetal position when you change money to go overseas. Will I stay home? Nah, just complain a little bit and maybe tighten the belt lol

[sueandkent]

We booked our cruise this March last May at 1.20 as well. We will enjoy that favorable exchange rate.

[Steelers36]

OP - It would have been better to post this on the Canadian Princess Cruisers thread. But, yes, the dollar is in the tank and Princess has made multiple exchange rate bumps recently. I would not be surprised to see them go to 40% soon as we are nearing time of year when they made annual rate changes.

[Pushka]

This works for the Aussie dollar too.

 

OP - It would have been better to post this on the Canadian Princess Cruisers thread. But, yes, the dollar is in the tank and Princess has made multiple exchange rate bumps recently. I would not be surprised to see them go to 40% soon as we are nearing time of year when they made annual rate changes.

 

 

Thanks for the timing tip. Time to buy some more then.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Pushka

[OzKiwiJJ]

This works for the Aussie dollar too.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the timing tip. Time to buy some more then.

 

Princess have just changed from .90 to .80 on the AU-US rate, however check your personaliser - mine was still showing AU $110 for (presumably) US $100, other people are seeing AU $125. It may depend on when you booked your cruise.

[icat2000]

My March cruise is still showing $100 US for $110 Australia. So it might be when you booked the cruise.

Edited January 14, 2016 by icat2000

[Pushka]

Advice please. This is what my personaliser shows:

 

Am I safe to presume I am purchasing $25USD for $31.25? (Xe.com says $31.25 = $21.25USD).

Trouble is my personaliser also shows I have bought $250AUD (that is what I paid in AUD)in OBC but not the USD equivalent amount.

So I reckon its a big ambiguous.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Pushka

[OzKiwiJJ]

Advice please. This is what my personaliser shows:

 

Am I safe to presume I am purchasing $25USD for $31.25? (Xe.com says $31.25 = $21.25USD).

Trouble is my personaliser also shows I have bought $250AUD (that is what I paid in AUD)in OBC but not the USD equivalent amount.

So I reckon its a big ambiguous.

 

Yes, I think so, you're getting the .80 rate. It is ambiguous and there is no way to prove it other than phoning Princess or waiting until you get onboard.

[Pushka]

I emailed Princess a few weeks ago and they simply said $250 Aud. Which to me suggests that possibly I wont get anything like I might expect in USD and that perhaps it will be left to the credit card bank to convert (and never in our favour) to USD. This is for an Alaska cruise.

Edited January 14, 2016 by Pushka

[jennyg2610]

Advice please. This is what my personaliser shows:

 

Am I safe to presume I am purchasing $25USD for $31.25? (Xe.com says $31.25 = $21.25USD).

Trouble is my personaliser also shows I have bought $250AUD (that is what I paid in AUD)in OBC but not the USD equivalent amount.

So I reckon its a big ambiguous.

 

 

You would be getting an exchange of 75cents to the dollar. ie $125 aud for $100 usd. Not that great but better than below 70cents you would be getting from the bank.

[crochetcruise]

My March cruise is still showing $100 US for $110 Australia. So it might be when you booked the cruise.

 

My original 2 night cruise Melbourne-Sydney 04/17/2016, was booked 01/24/2015, and transferred to the current 3 night Sydney-Melbourne cruise on 05/07/2015. My Cruise Personalizer is showing USD$100 = AUD$125 for On Board and Casino Credits. HTH.

[sawtooth]

I feel your pain.

The pendulum swings both ways.

We experienced the unfavorable exchange rate against the US dollar when we traveled to Canada 2 years ago and also when we visited Australia last time.

We are actually buying some foreign currency now to have for some upcoming trips.

You never know when the pendulum will swing the other way.

[Smitty251]

Whats the difference between OBC and casino credit? I logged into my personalizer and it only has OBC now - no casino credit is available?

 

Anyone else seeing this?

 

thanks

Smitty

[triple7tahoe]

My March cruise is still showing $100 US for $110 Australia. So it might be when you booked the cruise.

Folks there is a reason I love cruise critic. I was thinking that I should go out and buy locally (in the USA) a boat load of AUD at the present rate to take on my upcoming Princess cruises on the Diamond Princess. They were all showing $110 AUD in OBC where I normally get $100US. With the info I found in this blog about Princess finally deciding it should be $125 AUD per 100 US I checked to see if my credit had been updated-It had not so I called Princess and was told that the adjustment will be made on board (I am not holding my breath). The rep then went on to tell me that the ship uses Bank of America rates and it changes accordingly every 14 days. Well, I am guessing that we all know that is not the case for OBC. I suggested that the ship might use the BofA rates for currency exchange at the Passengers Service Desk but not the case for OBC. Now I don't know what to do but will wait until we board in Auckland and then decide if it is worthwhile to go out and buy AUD using my Bank debit card.

[icat2000]

My original 2 night cruise Melbourne-Sydney 04/17/2016, was booked 01/24/2015, and transferred to the current 3 night Sydney-Melbourne cruise on 05/07/2015. My Cruise Personalizer is showing USD$100 = AUD$125 for On Board and Casino Credits. HTH.

 

Well the booking date for your cruise would be the 5 July 2015. I booked mine early than that. I would have to go back and check but it was sometime after the last cruise I did on the Diamond in March 2015.

[Pushka]

My original 2 night cruise Melbourne-Sydney 04/17/2016, was booked 01/24/2015, and transferred to the current 3 night Sydney-Melbourne cruise on 05/07/2015. My Cruise Personalizer is showing USD$100 = AUD$125 for On Board and Casino Credits. HTH.

 

 

Are you sure it is showing USD? I am on an Alaskan cruise and it doesn't show the currency it is using - it just says $250. When I emailed they said it was AUD so it hasn't been converted to USD yet.

[crochetcruise]

Advice please. This is what my personaliser shows:

 

Am I safe to presume I am purchasing $25USD for $31.25? (Xe.com says $31.25 = $21.25USD).

Trouble is my personaliser also shows I have bought $250AUD (that is what I paid in AUD)in OBC but not the USD equivalent amount.

So I reckon its a big ambiguous.

 

Yes. I've just checked my Personalizer, and these are the rates shown:

 

USD$ 25.00 = AUD$31.25

UDS$ 50.00 = AUD$62.50

USD$100.00 = AUD$125.00

 

HTH. I tried to line it up neatly, but it didn't work! :eek:

 

So you should have purchase USD$200 with that AUD$ amount. HTH.

 

Personally, I'm thankful the conversion for me, is a straightforward-divide USD$ by 4, and multiply the result by 5 to get the AUD$ value. It's simple and I don't need a calculator!

[Pushka]

Yes. I've just checked my Personalizer, and these are the rates shown:

 

 

 

USD$ 25.00 = AUD$31.25

 

UDS$ 50.00 = AUD$62.50

 

USD$100.00 = AUD$125.00

 

 

 

HTH. I tried to line it up neatly, but it didn't work! :eek:

 

 

 

So you should have purchase USD$200 with that AUD$ amount. HTH.

 

 

 

Personally, I'm thankful the conversion for me, is a straightforward-divide USD$ by 4, and multiply the result by 5 to get the AUD$ value. It's simple and I don't need a calculator!

 

 

 

 

Thankyou. My personaliser gives me no US rates at all. Just AUD so I was assuming/hoping that $31.25 = $25 US

 

It lines up perfectly in the App. :p

Edited January 15, 2016 by Pushka