Confusion re US $ and Can.$ fares

[david,Mississauga]

This posting may be of interest to Canadians who look at Cunard's booking site. Although I would never book with Cunard on-line, I often check for fares and other information.

 

There have been some recent changes to the site. Cunard always knows I am from Canada when I search the site and they quote fares and the cost of transfers in Canadian $.  But now the small print says that fares are in U.S.$. At the second stage of booking (or just checking, as I do) it says the same. Only at the third stage does it concede that the fares are in Can.$.

 

If those fares were actually in U.S.$ they would be shockingly high for Canadians and I think they could discourage bookings.

[Underwatr]

Perhaps it means that although they're showing you the price in C$, they're actually booked in US$, so your final cost in C$ would be subject to variations in the exchange rate.

[NorthernHiro]

I was a bit miffed that I could only get access to the cunard.com/en.us site,  so I too was a bit confused. But,  Cunard has dedicated Canadian pricing and the online booking engine always gave me quotes in CDN funds.  But I also noticed that the website has changed and the look and functionality isn't nearly as good as it used to be. Also, the online booking engine did not ask for past pax status.  So, like you, I used it for reference but not to make my booking. 

[bluemarble]

David, I too am getting some odd results when I set up a vpn connection here in the US to make it look like I'm in Canada. It looks like I may be getting some slightly different results from what you've reported, but here's what I'm seeing for comparison.

 

At the bottom of the initial voyage search results screen it states "Fares shown are in Canadian $" for me. And when I start a booking by clicking "Book now" it states the same thing. But then when I select a specific cabin category and click "View fares", at that point it states "Fares are shown in US $" for the same fare (doubled for two passengers). Clicking "Book now" from there then produces a screen that states "Fares are quoted in CAD" for the total fare with taxes, fees and port expenses included.

 

So yes, definitely some confusion going on between various screens all quoting the same fares which do appear to be in Canadian dollars regards of what the fine print says.

 

==========

 

NorthernHiro, the Cunard booking process does request your Cunard World Club number (for past passenger status), but it's pretty late in the booking process. That request appears on the "Guest information" page after you've selected your cabin and fare. I've found on the Cunard US site, if there is a past passenger discount in effect for the voyage I'm looking at, it will then apply that discount on the final page where you submit your payment. That's very late to find out there's a past passenger discount, but that's been my experience from experimenting with the booking process on the Cunard website.

[Canuker]

As a Canadian, I can identify with the OP.

It would be very easy to confuse currencies on Cunard's website, as I too have done.

It is not easy to establish which currency is being offered, despite being acknowledged as a non-US user.

Buyer beware.
 

My suggestion would be

1. Have good idea of current exchange rates and
2. Go to a well-known third party travel agent and compare their (invariably $US) price with that of Cunard's.

[david,Mississauga]

5 hours ago, Underwatr said:

Perhaps it means that although they're showing you the price in C$, they're actually booked in US$, so your final cost in C$ would be subject to variations in the exchange rate.

 

For the past 10 years at least, Cunard has established fares in Canadian $. Although it is difficult for me to compare the U.S. and Can. $ rates, from time to time this is possible. From 2009 until 2017 Cunard has given us a good deal by setting the Can. $ fares at a favourable rate, far less than what we would pay our banks if we booked in U.S. $  For several years most fares that I was able to compare were set at a mere 20% over the U.S.  fare. The bank would charge us 30 to 35%, variable of course.

 

Although it appears to me that Cunard does not adjust the fare difference often, as of a year or so back they have increased the Can. $ rate by 25 to 30% depending on the cruise or crossing. At its worst, it is still a good deal for us. Two years ago the future cruise deposits  and coach transfers that we booked were priced at 20% above the U.S. rate. Last year I purchased two FCDs and airport transfers and the rate was 30% higher in Can. $.

 

Today I checked the fares for the two voyages we have booked for next year. The fares that currently are indicated as U.S. $ (at the first two stages of booking) are the same as what we booked at in Can. $, so it appears this is an error.

Edited November 3, 2019 by david,Mississauga
clarification

[bluemarble]

1 hour ago, david,Mississauga said:

... Although it appears to me that Cunard does not adjust the fare difference often, as of a year or so back they have increased the Can. $ rate by 25 to 30% depending on the cruise or crossing. ...

 

David, just because I like to dig into details like this, I just did a comparison of fares between the US and Canadian Cunard sites. I'm finding the fares currently shown on the Canadian site (in Canadian dollars) are exactly 30% higher across the board on all voyages compared to the fares on the US site (in US dollars). That's based on a comparison of the lowest "From" fares listed for all 518 voyages currently displayed in the search results on both sites.

[Bigmike911]

That the Cunard web site continues to have issues and doesn't perform as it used to, is not news to anyone who has been here for a while. As a customer and shareholder I continue to wonder why fixing the most customer facing interface the company has isn't a high priority for Cunard. 

[david,Mississauga]

11 hours ago, bluemarble said:

 

David, just because I like to dig into details like this, I just did a comparison of fares between the US and Canadian Cunard sites. I'm finding the fares currently shown on the Canadian site (in Canadian dollars) are exactly 30% higher across the board on all voyages compared to the fares on the US site (in US dollars). That's based on a comparison of the lowest "From" fares listed for all 518 voyages currently displayed in the search results on both sites.

 

Thanks, bluemarble, for your efforts. I know there are programmes available that would permit me to disguise my location but I can't be bothered with all that.  I have sent an e-mail to Cunard about this obvious error. Based on many experiences with that office in California, I don't have much faith in them. (I let my travel agent deal with them for anything important.) But there is always a chance.

 

This error doesn't affect me, but as I said it could discourage Canadians from booking with Cunard when they see fares like that. On the shorter of the two voyages we have booked for next year, the fare for our sheltered balcony is approximately Can.$ 2400 pp.  If someone sees that and doesn't realise it is erroneously listed as U.S.$ they will figure another 30% is needed to make it Can. $, i.e.  $3120. Many, if not most, may think that is too much for a seven-night crossing. I know I wouldn't pay that much. We got Princess Grill for that a couple of times not too many years ago.

 

 

Edited November 3, 2019 by david,Mississauga