CDN $ Rate Not Consistent with US rate.

[If only]

I went to book a cruise for Nov 2, on the Equinox but noticed that the rate of exchange was $1.43 for CC class which is way above the going exchange rate of $1.32.  The suite rate is $1.36, & outside cabin rate was $1.50.  . We have been on many Celebrity cruises & usually the rate is very close to what it should be.  I just wondered if anyone else from Canada has noticed this.

Edited July 31, 2019 by If only

[tjc73]

Hmmm. As I recall when we booked our cruise in December for this August (ocean view) the exchange rate was pretty accurate. About 1.35 which was the buy rate at that time (vs bank rate which is always a few cents less). 

Also, our onboard credit when we booked excursions was exchanged at 1.34 and was locked in at that rate. Again, in line with the buy rate on that day. 

Strange that the prices vary, but I have also never seen a cruise line that changes their prices almost weekly. 

[Cruise Junky]

I find it so bizarre that different categories have different exchange rates. It’s ridiculous. 

[If only]

4 minutes ago, Cruise Junky said:

I find it so bizarre that different categories have different exchange rates. It’s ridiculous. 

That’s what I thought.

[bkbarrym]

Booked late January for June cruise and exchange rate was quite reasonable, in line with bank rate. Exchange rates you note are definately not within reason and shouldn't vary between cabin options. Worth a call to Celebrity to get clarification. Maybe computer glitch. Otherwise you may have to consider booking in $US but will face credit card exchange.

 

 

[Cruise Junky]

1 minute ago, bkbarrym said:

Booked late January for June cruise and exchange rate was quite reasonable, in line with bank rate. Exchange rates you note are definately not within reason and shouldn't vary between cabin options. Worth a call to Celebrity to get clarification. Maybe computer glitch. Otherwise you may have to consider booking in $US but will face credit card exchange.

 

 

You see it all the time on the exciting deals. It’s whacked. 

[If only]

2 minutes ago, bkbarrym said:

Booked late January for June cruise and exchange rate was quite reasonable, in line with bank rate. Exchange rates you note are definately not within reason and shouldn't vary between cabin options. Worth a call to Celebrity to get clarification. Maybe computer glitch. Otherwise you may have to consider booking in $US but will face credit card exchange.

 

 

Tried that but Celebrity doesn’t really care.  It’s not like we’re new to Celebrity this would be our 64th cruise with them & our luck that the one cruise we wanted to book is showing a $1.44 rate for verandah. It’s bad enough at $1.35 but the added extra for no reason doesn’t make sense.

[RickT]

We’ve also seen this (especially with Xciting deals).  We’ve called and spoken to a few X employees who don’t seem to understand our concern with currency exchange rates.  Worst case scenario is we booked the cruise in US $ (directly with Celebrity) and got the benefit of the lower exchange.  With an Xciting deal you’re close enough to sail date you shouldn’t have to worry about any huge swings in the Canadian $.

[ScubesDad]

I noticed this "phenomenon" about 12-15 months ago.  we were considering cancelling a booked cruise and moving it to a new date.  I did the same comparison you did with the same results...significant difference in exchange rates used for different categories.  however, I did have some rates which were considerably skewed in my favour as it was about 10 percent lower than the current rate.  I then did a comparison between total cabins available in each category and it seemed that categories with a higher percentage of available cabins had a better rate attached to it, and lower availability had a higher rate attached.....I concluded the bean counters had found a way to increase their spread.....just my theory.

[Fogfog]

We have friends in Canada and they do biz in the US as well.

So they run both calculations..whether to pay in US or Canadian for everything related to travel etc.., They saved several hundred on their last cruise with Celebrity because of the crazy rate preference to Canadian currency

 

[bkbarrym]

55 minutes ago, ScubesDad said:

 I then did a comparison between total cabins available in each category and it seemed that categories with a higher percentage of available cabins had a better rate attached to it, and lower availability had a higher rate attached.....I concluded the bean counters had found a way to increase their spread.....just my theory.

I agree with your theory. If this is indeed the case, it's plain wrong and discriminatory.  Thanks for the heads up. Will definitely watch this closely next time we book. Maybe a question worth posing to LLP.

Edited July 31, 2019 by bkbarrym

[RickT]

This thread got me thinking so I looked at the March 8th, 2020 sailing of the Equinox.  SV - Sunset Verandah

 

Canadian - $2,125 total cost per person.  Rate includes two perks

US             - $1,492 total cost per person  Rate also includes two perks

 

Based on above, exchange rate used by Celebrity is 1.42%

Current Exchange rate is 1.31% according to the Bank of Canada

Even factoring in my Credit Card currency conversion cost (2%) this cruise would cost me only $1,984 CDN if I booked in US dollars.  A savings of $140 per person (or approx value of Standard to Premium Bev Package upgrade).  Didn't look at other categories.

 

Looking at TD bank forecast they expect the conversion rate to stay relatively flat between now and final payment date.

 

One thing I did notice is that the current sale offers a $200 US per person discount and on the Canadian Pricing that is $280.

 

[rick160158]

One way to handle this, is to get a U.S. Credit card with your Canadian bank. Simply charge your cruise, which is in US dollars, to your U.S. credit card. Then you have 2 options to pay it off. One being, go to a Money Exchange outlet(rates are usually better than the banks), which are located in all Canadian cities,  and purchase U.S. dollars to pay off your US credit card at the Canadian bank affiliated with the US credit card, or, simply buy the US dollars at your Canadian bank to pay off your U.S. credit card.

Edited August 1, 2019 by rick160158

[bebe08]

I've seen this discrepancy with drink packages.  The exchange rate for premium being  significantly different than for classic package.

I've never actually compared the US to CDN price before booking a cruise...we typically book onboard in CDN and transfer to our US based TA.  I guess my concern about booking in US $ is we typically book at least a year out...if the exchange rate changes significantly before final payment then we could end up paying more.  I suppose we could just cancel or rebook at this point.  Definitely food for thought and something I will keep an eye on in future.

 

[C 2 C]

50 minutes ago, rick160158 said:

One way to handle this, is to get a U.S. Credit card with your Canadian bank.

 

Scotiabank Passport does not charge an exchange fee, Home Trust Preferred, a non-fee card has the same policy and throws in a free car break down perk.

I have heard from one CDN TA that the prices online are not necessarily the same as his screen.

 

I think this is part of the "Buy American Policy" 😉

 

[bkbarrym]

2 hours ago, rick160158 said:

One way to handle this, is to get a U.S. Credit card with your Canadian bank. Simply charge your cruise, which is in US dollars, to your U.S. credit card. Then you have 2 options to pay it off. One being, go to a Money Exchange outlet(rates are usually better than the banks), which are located in all Canadian cities,  and purchase U.S. dollars to pay off your US credit card at the Canadian bank affiliated with the US credit card, or, simply buy the US dollars at your Canadian bank to pay off your U.S. credit card.

Further to this get a US $ bank account. If you can afford to do it buy and hold US dollars when exchange is favourable and use it to pay off US dollar credit card. We have TD Borderless account as well as TD US visa credit card. It's very easy to transfer between the two, $US to $US. Purchased some US $ several years ago when exchange was a little over par to $US and then a while back when exchange was around .82.

[tjc73]

So to me it makes sense (kind of) if exchange rates are higher for a cruise being booked a year or more in advance because there is nothing worse than being told you owe more money because the dollar tanked. However, if the exchange rate has gone down by final payment, so should the price! It also makes no sense that exchange rates would vary by class of stateroom. That’s crazy. 

I know in Canada, it is illegal to profit of currency exchange in the travel industry. Apparently in the US you can!