Convert on board spend to GBP from USD?

[dylan400d]

Dear all,

 

We have just booked a cruise aboard the Allure of the Seas and as part of the package have $500 on board spend. When logging into the cruise personaliser we have noticed they have converted this to £370 GBP. Although this isn't a terrible rate; £13 down on a local conversion, we were wondering if there's any point in asking Royal Caribbean to keep it at $500. Would they do it? The on board currency is dollars, therefore i'm not quite sure why they have converted it over for us.

[Clarea]

I'm guessing that they are showing conversion to allow you to use the OBC pre-cruise. If you don't use it pre-cruise, it will be USD 500 once you are onboard.

[besberry]

I'm guessing that they are showing conversion to allow you to use the OBC pre-cruise. If you don't use it pre-cruise, it will be USD 500 once you are onboard.

 

That's exactly right. It's available to spend pre-cruise and so they've converted it into sterling in case you wish to spend it. If you don't, then you'll have $500 OBC.

[dylan400d]

But, if we start spending it will it be subject to another conversion? Basically, I think it might be cheaper to buy all the trips in dollars.

[Clarea]

But, if we start spending it will it be subject to another conversion? Basically, I think it might be cheaper to buy all the trips in dollars.

I would not spend it on anything that is not highly discounted from the onboard price.

[Tin can]

Dear all,

 

We have just booked a cruise aboard the Allure of the Seas and as part of the package have $500 on board spend. When logging into the cruise personaliser we have noticed they have converted this to £370 GBP. Although this isn't a terrible rate; £13 down on a local conversion, we were wondering if there's any point in asking Royal Caribbean to keep it at $500. Would they do it? The on board currency is dollars, therefore i'm not quite sure why they have converted it over for us.

 

Interesting, your $500 dollars is converted to £370 GBP and my on board $500 with my booking is converted to £356 on my cruise planner :o:confused:

[Scillycruisers]

When I had OBC last year, the sterling amount actually changed over time as exchange rates changed. I used it for things I booked online pre-cruise which were also converted from $ to £. It wasn't enough that I bothered checking the rates!

[Ergates The Ant]

If you make any pre cruise purchases, such as excursions priced in GDP, using your obc, the exchange rate will be 'locked' at that days exchange rate, which will appear on your account.

This will then mean that when you get on board, any remaining obc will be converted back to dollars, using the 'locked' exchange rate quoted on your account. Hopefully it's not fluctuating so much that I should have waited for the pound to be strong before booking my excursion!

I don't have a lot to spend the obc on, so I decided that it was worth the exchange rate risk to make sure that I got the excursion I wanted booked in advance.

The most important thing I do though, is make sure my final on board bill is given in dollars, and I do not allow the cruise line to change the currency for me. I have a credit card that does not charge commission on foreign transactions and gives a fair exchange rate.

If something fantastic happens to the exchange rate before the cruise, I will certainly consider buying some dollars while they are a bargain, and use them to settle my on board account in cash!