Exchange rate for Canadian

[CGinMTL]

Hello all

When we booked our 2023 cruise, hal had a really good exchange rate for Canadian.

 

Does anybody know if they are still doing that ?

[Blackduck59]

I think you will find the exchange rate will fluctuate just like in the real world. That being said apparently HAL does use a favourable exchange. 

[cbr663]

Depends on the itinerary.  For instance, I just compared the prices for a cruise sailing Dec 3, 2023 and the prices are on par.  Checked for a cruise sailing Dec 2024 and there is an exchange rate of about 40%.

[CGinMTL]

We are going may 2024.

I will call hal tomorrow

[ski ww]

Some times the cruise is listed in Cdn $

[retird]

4 hours ago, ski ww said:

Some times the cruise is listed in Cdn $

When i go to the Holland America site the cruise are all listed in Cdn dollars.   I book in Cdn dollars and my deposits are cdn dollars.  As an example during the $99 promo, i pay $99 cdn.  However on my invoice my OBC are in U.S. funds.  I havent figured out how to see their prices in U.S. dollars

[VMax1700]

1 minute ago, retird said:

However on my invoice my OBC are in U.S. funds.  I havent figured out how to see their prices in U.S. dollars

OBC is always in US Dollars as it it the ship board currency.  Even in Euro zone our OBC is shown in US Dollars.

 

[kazu]

12 minutes ago, retird said:

When i go to the Holland America site the cruise are all listed in Cdn dollars.   I book in Cdn dollars and my deposits are cdn dollars.  As an example during the $99 promo, i pay $99 cdn.  However on my invoice my OBC are in U.S. funds.  I havent figured out how to see their prices in U.S. dollars

 

If you go to one of the popular cruise line booking sites or a TA booking site, their prices are usually in U.S. $ and you can compare & calculate the exchange.

 

I used to book in USD but with the hard to predict exchange rates, it’s been Canadian dollars for some time.

[highscar]

Is it to my advantage to pre-pay crew and if so should I do so through my TA?

[kazu]

15 minutes ago, highscar said:

Is it to my advantage to pre-pay crew and if so should I do so through my TA?

 

It has been, so far from what I have seen.

 

No need to use your TA - you can do it on the HAL website.

[highscar]

Thank you. 

[CGinMTL]

I booked through hal in cad and saved about $150 pour person 

 

Thank you

 

Yes, I will also pre pay tips in cad before we sail 

[TiogaCruiser]

5 hours ago, kazu said:

 

If you go to one of the popular cruise line booking sites or a TA booking site, their prices are usually in U.S. $ and you can compare & calculate the exchange.

 

I used to book in USD but with the hard to predict exchange rates, it’s been Canadian dollars for some time.

It’s probably a dumb question, but I’m just curious how one books in another country’s currency. My bank has always handled that for me automatically. 
Do you buy the target currency, then wire it to the vendor?

[Blackduck59]

1 minute ago, TiogaCruiser said:

It’s probably a dumb question, but I’m just curious how one books in another country’s currency. My bank has always handled that for me automatically. 
Do you buy the target currency, then wire it to the vendor?

I think you will find that those paying for their cruises in Canadian dollars are Canadians in Canada.

[rodndonna]

3 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

It’s probably a dumb question, but I’m just curious how one books in another country’s currency. My bank has always handled that for me automatically. 
Do you buy the target currency, then wire it to the vendor?

 

As a Canadian, when I am booking, I can just tell the TA (or PCC) if I want the transaction in Canadian or US dollars and that is how they charge the card.

[lyndarra]

11 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

I think you will find that those paying for their cruises in Canadian dollars are Canadians in Canada.

Same here in Australia. HAL website shows prices in Oz dollars - AUD. I've been researching a couple of cruises and comparing HAL prices with Oz TAs. One is your last cruise Lyle and the other is 21 day Iceland, Greenland Scottish Mysteries June 2024. Choosing a cruise is not so much a problem as costing flights. Our $ has sunk even lower than CAD.

Edited November 8, 2023 by lyndarra
typo

[kazu]

32 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

It’s probably a dumb question, but I’m just curious how one books in another country’s currency. My bank has always handled that for me automatically. 
Do you buy the target currency, then wire it to the vendor?

 

I just charged it to my credit card, easy peasy.  Just like being in a hotel in another country.

 

My TA books in US or Cdn dollars - I choose the currency.  

 

A lot of cruise websites are in US dollars and they simply charge your credit card if you book with them.  of course, if you are doing serious purchases in US dollars, a US credit card is wise and yes, we have those available in Canada as well as US dollar accounts 😊 

 

And, there’s no such thing as a dumb question 😉 

[TiogaCruiser]

1 hour ago, kazu said:

 

2 hours ago, rodndonna said:

 

As a Canadian, when I am booking, I can just tell the TA (or PCC) if I want the transaction in Canadian or US dollars and that is how they charge the card.

 

1 hour ago, kazu said:

 

I just charged it to my credit card, easy peasy.  Just like being in a hotel in another country.

 

My TA books in US or Cdn dollars - I choose the currency.  

 

A lot of cruise websites are in US dollars and they simply charge your credit card if you book with them.  of course, if you are doing serious purchases in US dollars, a US credit card is wise and yes, we have those available in Canada as well as US dollar accounts 😊 

 

And, there’s no such thing as a dumb question 😉 

Thanks. That makes sense. I’ve never encountered that as I am in US and have only seen US HAL website.

 

 I’m kind of wondering if it will be that easy for us when we finally book our first Fred.Olsen cruise.

[kazu]

7 minutes ago, TiogaCruiser said:

 

Thanks. That makes sense. I’ve never encountered that as I am in US and have only seen US HAL website.

 

 I’m kind of wondering if it will be that easy for us when we finally book our first Fred.Olsen cruise.

 

It should be.  I’ve paid with a lot of currencies with my credit card.  What you might want to check is the foreign exchange charge on your credit card since this is a larger purchase.   A lot tack on around 2.5% to the exchange rate.  There are some credit cards out there (especially in the U.S.) that don’t charge it.

[TiogaCruiser]

27 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

It should be.  I’ve paid with a lot of currencies with my credit card.  What you might want to check is the foreign exchange charge on your credit card since this is a larger purchase.   A lot tack on around 2.5% to the exchange rate.  There are some credit cards out there (especially in the U.S.) that don’t charge it.

Thanks- I have one of those cards that spares me the FER.

[rodndonna]

12 hours ago, TiogaCruiser said:

 

Thanks. That makes sense. I’ve never encountered that as I am in US and have only seen US HAL website.

 

 I’m kind of wondering if it will be that easy for us when we finally book our first Fred.Olsen cruise.

 

I've booked many Marella cruises, no problem. It will be charged to your credit card as GPB and your credit card will charge you the conversion to US$ in that transaction  the same as it would using ithe card making a purchase in the UK.