Attn non-USA Pax: Exchange rates for non-American PAX

[jocelysue]

Non USA PAX: importance of currency exchange rates!

 

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To all non-American PAX.

 

When booking a cruise please be sure to tell your TA exactly WHEN to contact the shipline and specify date of payment.Otherwise "Caveat emptor"

 

Here is my story:

 

I booked 2 cruises with an on-line TA. When I was satified both with the price quoted and the cabin cabin placement I told him to book it and charge my credit card immediately. When my credit card statement showed up, I noticed that the charge for my final payment was missing.Only the deposit had been debited.

 

I contacted the TA to express my dismay. My TA simply did not understand my dissatisfaction. He said he was waiting until the due date of the final payment so as to avoid any inconvenience on my part. He said that that this was the way most cruiseline vendors operate to avoid penalties and to permit more flexibility for their clients.

 

Unfortunately, this caused us an INCONVENIENCE and it was major. The Canadian dollar (I'm a CDN) had tumbled a goodly amount since the date I had specified for my final payment and the day the Ta decided to send in the money. So my cost price had increased by about $300 USA. This disparity between the price I had agreed to (with the date specified) and the actual cost would have allowed me to choose a different cruise provider.

 

Bottom line: there was now a more than $300 difference in the price quoted. I explained this situation to the TA. He said that the company for whom he worked simply took it for granted that payment would be made on the final day for payment without incurring any penalty and that he hadn't thought it necessary to change the usual date of payment. even if I had requested it. He did not realise that Canadians ,for example , might be the unwiiling victims of this policy. No one, apprarently, had ever mentioned that, for foreign clients, the date of payment might be an issue and of utmost importance.

 

He had NEVER been informed that the value of the $US changed from day to day and that this could cause a problem to Cdn cruisers. When I mentioned this held true for aussie and Brits also, he was flabbergasted.

 

Maybe the additional cost doesn't mean much to most people but to others this might be a deal breaker especially if pricing was one of the main criteria for choosing one particularship, cruiseline etc. In other words, if price wasn't important, why choose an on-line TA when one can receive much more personal service from a brick and mortar TA who is situated right close to you?

 

Eventually ,our Ta and we came to a meeting of the minds. Our fare was lowered by $200 US , not as much as we lost through the difference in the exchange rate ,but enough to prevent us from becoming mutineers «vbg».

 

So , international buyers, beware! Please specify IN WRITING (O.K. over internet but with a hard copy resent to yourself)that payment should be made on such and such a date if you do not wish to follow market variations . Ask for a fax confirming this. Otherwise, please accept the fact that the US dollar exchange is extremely variable and can impact your price in either a positive or negative way.Some people love to bet, others abbhor it. your choice! however, forewarned is forearmed!

 

In our case, everyone was honest. no one at tried to profit or benefit from extraneous or egregious circumstances. The TA, however, was not on the ball and this was because his parent company,the Cruiseweb, had apparently not trained him to take this concept into account

So you have the choice: buy at a set price or follow the market with its implied consentment to risk.

 

HTH. Wouls love to receive comments if this has impacted anyone else. Perhaps this is not the correct forum6 If so, please advise.

 

A tcrusing and travelling Canuck

[fiona508]

A sort of similar thing happened to me. Although my US cruise company wanted immediate payment, my UK credit card company blocked the charge as an unusual payment, even though I had called to tell them to expect it. When I spoke to them about this they said it was viewed as doubly suspicious because the cruise company had tried again the next day and the amount was "slightly different". I explained to this financial services company the concept of foreign currency floating exchange rates. I nearly lost the cruise, which was totally sold out and waitlisted. However, there was a happy ending - by the time I was charged for it the exchange rate had moved in my favour and I saved nearly $400.

 

So my separate warning would be - make sure your credit card company has processed the transaction - a large, foreign currency transaction is likely to ring warning bells for them and may be automatically stopped by the computer system.