My Fellow Canucks - Canadian $ vs US $ ?

[dmk]

I am hoping one of you can help me out.

I just received my cruise docs. On the page with your credit card "stuff", there is an option to either have Celebrity convert your account balance from USD to CAD or have your credit card company do it. Naturally, I would like my own Canadian Visa to do it.:D

The problem is that the page with the Credit card "stuff" is so wordy that I don't know which area I should tick or sign.:eek:

HELP!!! We can't let Celebrity make 3% of my balance and Visa also.:rolleyes:

[Offtune Angel]

I am hoping one of you can help me out.

I just received my cruise docs. On the page with your credit card "stuff", there is an option to either have Celebrity convert your account balance from USD to CAD or have your credit card company do it. Naturally, I would like my own Canadian Visa to do it.:D

 

The problem is that the page with the Credit card "stuff" is so wordy that I don't know which area I should tick or sign.:eek:

 

HELP!!! We can't let Celebrity make 3% of my balance and Visa also.:rolleyes:

 

Hi Doreen. I can't remember the wording on our docs October 2005. I erred on the side of caution and went through the online checkin process and found the financial part of the online process much easier to work through. My own M/C did the converting.

 

When I printed the Express pass the M/C information was printed on the sheet. I highlighted it in yellow and presented the sheet at the pier. I had my document book from Celebrity, too, but Pier staff weren't interested in any of the papers from it.

BTW The Express Pass is much easier to read (larger print) than the Document book documents.

 

Terry (from Millennium October 2004)

[Danno]

I expect the difference will amount to one Alexander Keith's either way...pick one and forget it...I think cruise mellowness is setting in....:p

[Susan-M]

I would recommend putting a check mark in the box which indicates that you want to have your on board expenses billed in U.S. $.

Better to have your credit card company do the conversion from U.S. to Cdn, as Celebrity uses a generous exchange rate if they convert it.

[BrendaJ]

I agree with Susan. When Canadian exchange was around 16%, Celebrity was charging 30%. The on-line docs make your choices pretty clear, and I even went to the front desk on the ship and ensured that my account would be charged in U.S.

On another note, I have found that, if you want to book excursions on-line for your cruise before you leave, if you indicate while opening Celebrity's site for the first time that you are Canadian, you will be charged in Canadian at Celebrity's exchange rate (which was worse), and there is no way to switch to U.S. dollars. Not sure how to avoid that particular problem, other than perhaps booking your excursions from a computer that does not have the cookie indicating you are Canadian.

Brenda

[spearmint]

I would recommend putting a check mark in the box which indicates that you want to have your on board expenses billed in U.S. $.

Better to have your credit card company do the conversion from U.S. to Cdn, as Celebrity uses a generous exchange rate if they convert it.

 

--I agree. That's what we do. :)

[Susan-M]

When Canadian exchange was around 16%, Celebrity was charging 30%. .

Brenda

 

Last May when my credit card was charging 25%, Celebrity was charging 40%. When you put tips on your on-board account, along with all of your other expenses, that extra 14 or 15% adds up. I was glad I had checked the box.... and highlighting it is also a good idea, as some people have reported that Celebrity missed seeing the checkmark.

[Susan-M]

On another note, I have found that, if you want to book excursions on-line for your cruise before you leave, if you indicate while opening Celebrity's site for the first time that you are Canadian, you will be charged in Canadian at Celebrity's exchange rate (which was worse), and there is no way to switch to U.S. dollars. Not sure how to avoid that particular problem, other than perhaps booking your excursions from a computer that does not have the cookie indicating you are Canadian.

 

When I booked my upcoming cruise, I did it by phone with Celebrity and had it billed in U.S. $$. Then when I called back to add air, they automatically priced it in U.S. Their exchange rate for cruise prices is not too bad.... about 2-3% more than what our credit card charges, but still worthwhile asking for U.S. pricing.

 

If you deal with a TA you can also request U.S. pricing. Perhaps this is a way to get your excursions also added in U.S. $ ??

[dmk]

Hi Terry:)

Thanks for the advice re the express pass. I have printed my express pass. Now I see very clearly where it is marked.

I have also hi lighted in yellow as Susan-M recommended. I had a problem last cruise. Eventhough I had checked the box they converted it anyway:mad: I will also check my account while on board.

But for my next cruise, I am going to book it all in US funds. Celebrity's exchange rate is poor :eek: and it comes out cheaper in USD.

[cadcruiser]

We just got off the Millennium and were sure to highlight and check appropriate boxes for Celebrity not to convert our charges. We even checked twice (once at the beginning and at the end of the cruise) with guest relations to confirm our request.

 

Despite all the precautions, we've noticed on our Visa statement that Celebrity did their own conversion without our authorization.

[dmk]

cadcruiser:

That is exactly what happened to us on our last cruise. Will you be trying to pursue the matter? I would be interested in knowing.

[Offtune Angel]

We just got off the Millennium and were sure to highlight and check appropriate boxes for Celebrity not to convert our charges. We even checked twice (once at the beginning and at the end of the cruise) with guest relations to confirm our request. Despite all the precautions, we've noticed on our Visa statement that Celebrity did their own conversion without our authorization.

This had to be very frustrating for you. Especially when you don't find out until you check your statement. It puts a real downer on your vacation. The good news is that you DID check your statement.

Did you register for your cruise online and print a copy of your Express Pass or was it the page from your Document book? Either way, take it up with Celebrity, either independently or through your travel agent. If you have a copy of the Express Pass it might speed things up. I think sometimes their data entry people are just too tired to see properly.

It may take a couple of weeks -- Celebrity will say they have to wait for Millennium to get back to Disembarkation port and/or Embarkation port and/or Port Everglades, so they can check the ship's records -- apparently paper records don't get to Head Office quickly -- but, if you keep reminding them, politely(what am I thinking we're Canadian -- of course we're polite :D ), they will correct their error.

If it is you and not your TA dealing with Celebrity, be prepared to repeat the story afresh each and every time you call because you will get a different person each and every time you call. Remind X that this surcharge is costing you interest. It will already cost you more because we always lose in a 're-conversion'. I'd ask for those monies, too.

 

I know in some cases the amount seems too low to trouble with, but, if X keeps making these 'mistakes' without being called to account, it will being the rule - rather than the exception. The money is better in your pocket than in X's.

 

Good luck,

Terry

[Susan-M]

It might be a good idea to bring a photocopy of the page with the checkmark on it and ask the person at the check-in desk to sign your copy to acknowledge that charges are to be made in U.S. $. Sad that it's this difficult to get such a simple thing right.

[Offtune Angel]

It might be a good idea to bring a photocopy of the page with the checkmark on it and ask the person at the check-in desk to sign your copy to acknowledge that charges are to be made in U.S. $. Sad that it's this difficult to get such a simple thing right.

That's a good idea Susan. We had the second copy, but having the person at check-in sign it (or both) would be additional insurance. Life definitely gets easier when you have a name and an acknowledgement:)

[chuckchopper]

Hi all ... Just another few thoughts on this.

 

Probably the cheapest to do it is to set up a US$ account at your bank (I happen to use TD but I am sure the others must offer a similar service) and then get a US$ credit card (probably with the same bank, but avoid the Citi USD bank card as it is difficult to pay directly from your account). Then charge your cruise and all extras to the US$ card. If you give them a US$ card, and indicate you want your charges in US$, then you appear no different than a customer from Texas to the cruise line. This way you get to choose to exchange the money at an appropriate time in advance when the rates are favourable, and then store it in your account if necessary until needed (usually at higher than Canadian $ interest rates I might add). You then avoid the extra 2-3% charge for computing the rate (highway robbery considering this is in addition to the credit card company's "spread" between their buy and sell exchange rates! :eek: --- I guess they have to pay for all those rewards point programs somehow!)

 

On a second point ... a "feature/bug" of the X website seems to be that your "My Celebrity Account" will only give you your quotes in USD if you first change your profile address info to show that you live in ... say Toronto, <some state>, United States. You might have to fiddle with it a bit until you get a combination that fools the system into working for you. You also may have to remember to correct this "address error" when you do your final documents for each cruise, but in the meantime, you will be quoted and charged in USD for all services. Make sure that your credit card billing street address is correct though. A small proviso with this "workaround" is that you may have to go back and delete all cookies before you next enter the X website so that the web site doesn't "remember" that you are really from Canada. This also got around another problem that once occurred to me when I had used a US travel agent to do the final booking on a reservation that I had originally booked online and then tried to access it online, to find that I was told that my Canadian place of residence didn't match my US agents country of business (not sure why that should matter but appearently it did). Celebrity's web helpdesk didn't seem too concerned about correcting this "minor incovenience" any time soon, for the few pesky Canadians who would likely be affected by it. :rolleyes:

 

THIRDLY ... If you have an expensive holiday(s) to cover or if you spend lots of money in the US in a year, you might also want to look into using a Currency Exchange Brokerage such as Custom House (home based in Victoria BC, but with offices all over Canada and the world) as their rates are much better than the banks ... often by one or two % (usually a half-way split between the buy and sell rates offered by other institutions). Another option with a currency exchange is to put out an "overnight bid" on the rate that you would like to get and see if someone bites on it. It might take a few days to get a "buyer", but if you plan ahead, you can save there as well. There is no charge to try this, other than you have to commit to the purchase if someone accepts your offer - otherwise you have nothing to lose but a little extra time to set it all up. Plus ... once you establish an account with them ... they can actually do the exchange online, usually in the same day with internet banking and "wire transfers". If you are not comfortable with electronic transfers, they can arrange for a courier exchange of certified cheques (ie. you see theirs before you give the courier yours). The downside is that these firms usually want to make transactions in excess of $15k to $25k to make it worth their while and to get you the best exchange rates. Yes, its not as convenient as just charging your existing CAD$ card, but if, for instance, you exchange $25k or more in a year, you will likely save in excess of $500 - $700 on average.

 

Hope this info helps some of you.:)

[brrgrr]

I believe the cruise lines set the exchange rates for the year at the beginning of the year, and don't make adjustments as the rates change. On my cruise last November, the bank rate was less than 20%, yet I believe they were charging ~ 38%.

It highway robbery, in my opinion. I always take US cash and settle my account the night before departure. It's fun to watch them counting all those $5's and $10's....makes up for the shafting they gave me a couple of years ago when I didn't understand their "policies".

 

Don't get mad, get even!! )))))

[dmk]

chuckchopper:

I am interested in your idea of setting up a USD bank account and getting a USD credit card.:D Could you tell me is there a minimum balance you must keep in this account or any other related fees?

[dam1050]

Have the cruise line charge you in $USD.

 

The rate of conversion to $CDN will favour you when your own Canadian Bank Visa (or Mastercard) invoices you.

 

Dave

[Eliger]

On my last cruise I had tried to get the answer from the Celebrity customer service people. It was very difficult to get to the bottom of the question. I got different answers depending on who I was talking to. I think the final word that I got on this was that Celebrity only charges the conversion once for the entire account, and that charge, if I'm not mistaken, is $75.00. Therefore, if your charges were to be very high, it could have been better to let Celebrity do the conversion, but for a couple of hundred dollars, no way!

 

Now I believe this is what I got from the various conversations I had with Celebrity. At least this is what I got from someone who assured me that this was the way it worked.

[Susan-M]

I think the final word that I got on this was that Celebrity only charges the conversion once for the entire account, and that charge, if I'm not mistaken, is $75.00.

 

But they would have to first convert it from U.S. to Cdn ... and then add $75.00? Even on $500. worth of purchases this is an extra 15%. I've never heard of it being done this way.... maybe something new?

[Guest debbiejohncruise]

As you know we are Canadians living in Belgium. We checked off that check mark.......we paid for our tours in Euros through our European Mastercard - you think you have exchange currency problems!!! LOL. All this stress over currency conversions! Lets enjoy our holidays! I don't understand how Celebrity charges on the shipboard charges........we will pay with our Euro Mastercard yet again! Debbie and John:)

[Eliger]

But they would have to first convert it from U.S. to Cdn ... and then add $75.00? Even on $500. worth of purchases this is an extra 15%. I've never heard of it being done this way.... maybe something new?

Yes, the $75.00 was after the exchange. I understood that the exchange rate was the "real" rate, before any commission is added, then the $75.00. The way I figure it out, the card company and bank commission usually comes to 3%, so your bill would have to be more than $2500 to be worth exchanging via Celebrity.

[Susan-M]

All this stress over currency conversions! Lets enjoy our holidays! I don't understand how Celebrity charges on the shipboard charges........we will pay with our Euro Mastercard yet again! Debbie and John:)

 

Anytime a business in another country converts charges from their currency to yours, it's a win-lose situation.... they win & you lose (sometimes big time!)

 

It's such a simple matter to have your on-board charges billed in U.S. $$ - all you have to do is put a checkmark in the box that indicates that you do not want them to convert the charges to the currency of your card. Have them bill in U.S. $ as they should be doing, and let your Mastercard do the conversion.

If you have a "who cares" attitude.... then Celebrity deserves the extra money that you are willing to give them .... I'll keep mine for a few extra luxuries on the cruise:)

[Danno]

Glad you posted this...this verges of the laying of a "trap" and in a worst case, fraud :o ...I will make it very clear when checking in I want the charges left in $US.

[Danno]

I just read this xpress pass again...if the wording isn't meant to be confusing, then it's just plain sloppy. At a glance it's easy to make a mistake.

 

Thanks group...I expect you saved me a couple hundred dollars!!