Princess Australia Cruise -- Daily Gratuities for U.S. Citizens?

[Astro Flyer]

1 hour ago, pompeii said:

Yes, there is a fee for using a credit card for your onboard account. When we were on in November, it was 1.1%. 

Thanks again for your help to know what to expect on our Australian cruise as Americans.

 

[triple7tahoe]

We were on a series of cruises out of Australia, arriving home on November 20, 2023 after being gone for two months. A couple of things to add. 1. We had quite a bit of OBC and most of it was converted at one to one $US to $AUD so we lost out on the conversion but knew that happened. One thing that surprised us was the $200 pp deposit we paid for the casino cruises was exchanged at the rate for exchange on the ship and we were given over $300 Aud. Pleasant surprise but I was prepared to fight for the exchange as "contract" said $200US. 2. We did not pay daily gratuities even though we had paid our fare in US$. We waited until we got onboard and bought cheaper drink (Plus?)  package. It was the equivalent of $47US but wait--Clearly does not include tips and gratuities. Not sure how that works but I am happy 🙂

 

[triple7tahoe]

55 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Thanks again for your help to know what to expect on our Australian cruise as Americans.

 

My credit card did get charged the 1.1% but my DW used a debit card and it was not charged.

[Astro Flyer]

31 minutes ago, triple7tahoe said:

My credit card did get charged the 1.1% but my DW used a debit card and it was not charged.

Thanks…was her USD to AUD debit card conversion rate good?
 

My chargecard uses the best daily conversion rate however having never used our debit card I do not know how that conversion rate works. If it’s the same conversion rate then will decide whether our best option is a fee-free debit card or paying a 1.1% chargecard fee.

 

As I recall, purchasing discounted gift cards such as from AARP is another option…does anyone know how Princess determines the USD to AUD conversion rate? When they had currency machines onboard the rates were poor for the conversion & were bad like when purchasing currency at airports.

 

[triple7tahoe]

8 minutes ago, Astro Flyer said:

Thanks…was her USD to AUD debit card conversion rate good?
 

My chargecard uses the best daily conversion rate however having never used our debit card I do not know how that conversion rate works. If it’s the same conversion rate then will decide whether our best option is a fee-free debit card or paying a 1.1% chargecard fee.

 

As I recall, purchasing discounted gift cards such as from AARP is another option…does anyone know how Princess determines the USD to AUD conversion rate? When they had currency machines onboard the rates were poor for the conversion & were bad like when purchasing currency at airports.

 

She had the same rate as my credit card-Neither was all that good 😞 We have used the AARP cards as well with close rates. IMHO-I don't think Princess goes out of their way to make these transactions in our favor.

[Astro Flyer]

7 minutes ago, triple7tahoe said:

She had the same rate as my credit card-Neither was all that good 😞 We have used the AARP cards as well with close rates. IMHO-I don't think Princess goes out of their way to make these transactions in our favor.

Thanks again…agree, they’ll benefit themselves.
 

I checked our c/c T&Cs & it gives us a 3% rebate on travel purchases so that might be our best option if discounted AARP gift cards are unavailable.

 

 

[azbirdmom]

4 hours ago, triple7tahoe said:

One thing that surprised us was the $200 pp deposit we paid for the casino cruises was exchanged at the rate for exchange on the ship and we were given over $300 Aud.

 

I would have been unhappy if it wasn't converted as it was cash that we paid out of pocket.  Sure enough the $200 casino deposit converted to $312.60 AUD.  The rest of our OBC (Shareholder, from FCD, and Goodwill) wasn't converted.  Basically anything that comes from cash and is refundable is converted, everything else is 1:1.

[azbirdmom]

6 hours ago, pompeii said:

Yes, there is a fee for using a credit card for your onboard account. When we were on in November, it was 1.1%. 

 

Still the same in December.  We paid a fee to use a credit card everywhere in Australia.

[Torfamm]

4 hours ago, Astro Flyer said:

Thanks…was her USD to AUD debit card conversion rate good?
 

My chargecard uses the best daily conversion rate however having never used our debit card I do not know how that conversion rate works. If it’s the same conversion rate then will decide whether our best option is a fee-free debit card or paying a 1.1% chargecard fee.

 

As I recall, purchasing discounted gift cards such as from AARP is another option…does anyone know how Princess determines the USD to AUD conversion rate? When they had currency machines onboard the rates were poor for the conversion & were bad like when purchasing currency at airports.

 

When using USD gift cards to purchase shore excursions or OBC pre cruise, the exchange rate is 1:1. I’ve heard that it’s the same onboard but have no firsthand experience.

[boeckli]

1 hour ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Still the same in December.  We paid a fee to use a credit card everywhere in Australia.

 

Pls clarify whether the fees you encountered were charged by your bank or the relevant Australian retailers. 

Princess does charge a fee for payments by credit cards but not for debit cards. 

[coo359a2]

7 hours ago, boeckli said:

 

Pls clarify whether the fees you encountered were charged by your bank or the relevant Australian retailers. 

Princess does charge a fee for payments by credit cards but not for debit cards. 

Not sure that you would consider a restaurant a retailer or not but  in November we were charged a fee for using our credit card to pay for a meal in New Zealand while on a tour outside Auckland.  Have ate in various restaurants around Australia and some have charged a fee and others did not.  There was a sign by the cash register stating the fee for using a credit card. 

 

We use a credit card that has no foreign transaction fees when used outside the US and it has a good conversion rate when posting the charges to our credit card statement - at least we think so.

Edited December 27, 2023 by coo359a2

[azbirdmom]

9 hours ago, boeckli said:

 

Pls clarify whether the fees you encountered were charged by your bank or the relevant Australian retailers. 

Princess does charge a fee for payments by credit cards but not for debit cards. 

 

It's by the retailers.  We saw signs up at some places we shopped but this was on on the reservation confirmation from the Sydney Harbour Marriott (although the Credit Card Surcharge shown on the final bill was a bit higher):

 

[jwattle]

On 12/26/2023 at 4:11 AM, Torfamm said:

This is a confusing topic. Shareholders credit is not converted, it is given in AUD in the amount stated on for the period covered by the benefit agreement. There is no exchange rate.You can see the full document here

https://www.carnivalcorp.com/static-files/bc1b7f04-a3e8-4176-91ac-a529290fe45d

 

USD gift cards used to purchase shore excursions or OBC pre-cruise are exchanged 1:1 for AUD, which is a terrible exchange rate. OBC available in USD from the $200 pp deposit for casino cruises however, is converted to AUD at the current exchange rate, it ended up being about 300 AUD in September and October.

 

21 hours ago, Torfamm said:

When using USD gift cards to purchase shore excursions or OBC pre cruise, the exchange rate is 1:1. I’ve heard that it’s the same onboard but have no firsthand experience.

We used USD gift cards to purchase OBC in advance and onboard. Both were converted to AUD. This was Majestic last month.

[Torfamm]

2 hours ago, jwattle said:

 

We used USD gift cards to purchase OBC in advance and onboard. Both were converted to AUD. This was Majestic last month.

What was the exchange rate? 

[jwattle]

Give or take 1 1/3. Decent. 

[azbirdmom]

13 hours ago, Torfamm said:

What was the exchange rate? 

 

Our $200 cash deposit was converted to $312.60 OBC which was pretty much the published exchange rate.

[Torfamm]

47 minutes ago, azbirdmom said:

 

Our $200 cash deposit was converted to $312.60 OBC which was pretty much the published exchange rate.

Same for me with cash.