OBC on ships sailing from Australia

[triple7tahoe]

Prior to the shutdown, we found that when we sailed on a ship from Australia any OBC from things like stock ownership, military service, etc. was given in AUD. I am now seeing on our booking new cruises (2023) that credit is listed in US$; Has anyone been on cruises out of Australia that can tell me what they are really doing? i.e. If I show having $200USD as OBC, will that get converted in AUD$ at going rate or will they just make it one for one? One booking I have, shows $700 US for OBC (military and stock) and $1100AUD for casino credit.

[Mud_Shark]

I believe it is still the same way as it was before COVID.  Just about all OBC is 1 for 1 transfer to AUD.  I could be wrong, as we don't sail there until 2023, but looking at how OBC is applied to excursion reservations, it certainly looks like all OBC is 1 for 1 AUD.

 

Don

[Mud_Shark]

I will add though that if you are doing a pacific crossing that originates or terminates in North America, then your OBC will be in USD.

 

Don

[triple7tahoe]

55 minutes ago, Mud_Shark said:

I believe it is still the same way as it was before COVID.  Just about all OBC is 1 for 1 transfer to AUD.  I could be wrong, as we don't sail there until 2023, but looking at how OBC is applied to excursion reservations, it certainly looks like all OBC is 1 for 1 AUD.

 

Don

I remember that there were some major hassles when we tried to convince the folks on the ship that, when converted at 1 to 1, we were losing money. Drinks certainly were more expensive. I also remember that while staying on the same ship as it sailed on to the Orient, items went back to US $. I guess the good news is that the transpacific will be in US and the Australia cruise is a "Casino free(?) cruise" 🙂 

[Mud_Shark]

Ya, we had our first planned set of Australia cruises set up and booked pre-covid (but they never sailed) and I recall being a pit put-off by the 1 to 1 rate of USD OBC to AUD OBC when I discovered this is how they convert.  But this year, in booking for 2023, I knew to expect this and just decided to suck it up as "one of those things".  

 

Don

[paradiselivin1]

We are sailing on the Majestic next month out of NZ but the onboard accounts are set in AUD. Our OBC came over as 1:1. To be clear, our $150 USD OBC is now listed as $150AUD. Not the same at all. I find it interesting that as Americans we paid for our cruise in USD but everything else where we should stand to benefit is in AUD. 

[PescadoAmarillo]

1 hour ago, Mud_Shark said:

Ya, we had our first planned set of Australia cruises set up and booked pre-covid (but they never sailed) and I recall being a pit put-off by the 1 to 1 rate of USD OBC to AUD OBC when I discovered this is how they convert.  But this year, in booking for 2023, I knew to expect this and just decided to suck it up as "one of those things".  

 

Don

We’ve always just considered it the Australian surcharge. One bit of advice:  do not leave the ship with any remaining refundable OBC…well, ever, really, but especially if it’s in Australian dollars. It was one of the biggest hassles I’ve ever dealt with to get that money refunded, and it took over six months. 

[Mud_Shark]

good tip.  thx.

 

[AZjohn]

This is a little disturbing to me as our OBC if from gift cards we purchased ourself with $USD.

Not something we planned but result from cancelled cruises in 2020.

Guess I rather be upset about it now and get over it rather than learning about it when we board.

 

Still just doesn’t feel right though

[paradiselivin1]

Agree. I'm almost over it and consider it "chump change" compared to the outrageous sums of money we are paying to fly there having booked last-minute. Still very much looking forward to our cruise next month!

[Mud_Shark]

You might find they convert your gift cards at a proper exchange rate.  I have no knowledge there, but as I recall, there were a few exceptions to the 1 for 1 transfers.  Yours sounds like it might be one of them.

[Minimama]

On 12/2/2022 at 5:42 PM, paradiselivin1 said:

We are sailing on the Majestic next month out of NZ but the onboard accounts are set in AUD. Our OBC came over as 1:1. To be clear, our $150 USD OBC is now listed as $150AUD. Not the same at all. I find it interesting that as Americans we paid for our cruise in USD but everything else where we should stand to benefit is in AUD. 

So now, if the OBC is 1 to 1 I assume the gratuities will be in AUD as well. 

Edited December 4, 2022 by Minimama

[beach bunnie]

If this 1 to 1 conversion is correct, it is just not right.  We're considering the world cruise out of Australia and if this is true, it could be a deal breaker.  We would get $2000 in OBC.  Converting 1 to 1 would short us $950.