Paying your onboard account using a credit/debit card that is not USD based........

[cruzisme]

we have had this problem with Princess and RCI too. We always check off the correct box, visit the Pursers' Desk to check etc. and yes, they still make mistakes.

So, we try to use cash as much as possible to pay off the statement and if necessary, a very small amount would go onto the US dollar credit card. And we keep our fingers crossed big time that it all goes through properly.

As it is July 1st, it is Canada's 141st birthday (just for anyone's info):D

Have a good one, everybody from sunny British Columbia, Canada.:)

[uktog]

I go through this hassle every time.

See you at the Pursers desk on 28th/29th!!!

[keela1eva2]

C2C

 

How are you? Our paths don't seem to be crossing these days. We are both still around.

My next venture is Summit 27th August in the Med. In November I am doing the Auckland/Sydney but extending the holiday with a stop in Singapore stop in Auckland and from Sydney flying to Perth 7th Dec. Spending Christmas and NY down under and not coming back until the 13th January.

 

That's my winter and spring holiday rolled into one. I see you are doing the new Soltice and also doing Millennium 2009/2010. Good for you! Regards to your wife.

 

Also I didn't know that this problem was so widespread until I see all the posts on here. As you say it may be a computer glitch but surely they can iron this out!

 

Have a great summer and enjoy your cruises!!

 

Sue

[2irisheyes]

This thread is beginning to read like a Nationwide advertisement. I'm all for it as I have used Nationwide debit card for years to obtain cash abroad and always get good exchange rate. This year I also got NW credit card to use abroad - Summit cruise in May - only to discover that X converted the bill to sterling using a rate of $1.81 instead of $1.95. The difference was refunded after a phone call to X in the UK with no quibble. They didn't request any proof so they must know they are in the wrong. If they are allowed to get away with it they are laughing - all the way to the bank. Princess didn't try this trick two years ago. Rant over - for now.

[excitedofharpenden]

Just to update, prior to me completing the formal dispute form with my card company I received a credit to my account from Celebrity in the US which settled the difference. The UK Captains Club office obviously forwarded all the information to the US to support the expected dispute and they arranged the refund anyway. So the matter is closed and the trouble I have had to go to in order to sort it out will remind me in future to make sure of the correct recording of details at check-in.

 

Phil

[uktog]

Glad you got it sorted Phil

Fingers crossed for next week for us

A

[j!m]

i guess we've been lucky lately. i do use a $us c/c and i do check the box but i have made a habit of going to the bank and paying off our onboard a/c with the c/c the day before we leave the ship. so all that is left for X to deal with is maybe a cpl of drinks on the last night. we havent had a problem in last couple of years on any of our 4 cruises. touch wood.

[travelteach326]

I have a group of 75 cruisers leaving for Alaska on 8/1. I have 2 passengers joining us from the UK.

 

What advice can I give them when using their UK credit cards on board. I have read the previous posts and did not have any idea of this major problem. I would like to TRY to handle cc problems beforehand.

 

Does anyone have the phone number for Witchita?

[uktog]

There is no problem using UK cards, however, if the traveller wants the on board account billed back to their card holding company in dollars (ie that X are not doing the currency conversion) they have to be very sure when checking in on line and at the pier, that they have ticked the correct box to indicate this. They will then need to also go and check at the pursers to make sure their wishes have been met. I usually highlight the printed copy of my online checkin form to make my wishes even clearer

Your travellers may be happy to let X do the conversion; it all depends which UK credit card they have. Nationwide and the Post Office are cards which do not impose any handling fees to apply currency debits to the card, other UK cards impose up to 2.75% fee so if the traveller has one of the high fee accounts, like a Halifax card they might be as well to let X do the conversion. Only the traveller will know the fees that are applying (if indeed even they know as many are not aware of these hidden costs)

 

A

A

[Ron n Jon]

... here in canada, we can obtain a $US c/c from a canadian bank. i have done so and since then have not had any problems with X and foreign exchange.

 

Yes, we too have a US Currency card that we present to the cruise lines registration. Not only do we tick the box that tells them that they are not to convert our shipboard account to Canadian currency, they do so anyway. For the last cruise we added the comment again in red. Again they converted the account into Canadian currency.

 

In each and every case with each and every line (save for Oceania) we go through the steps to retrieve the difference and we do succeed. But what a hassle. On our last correspondence we ask Princess just what it would take to have the account billed to our US currency card in US currency and they simple said, "tick the box..." Perhaps literacy tests should be administered to employees.

[gosport11]

hi we also use nationwide,had the same problem last year on rcl and this year on azamara inspite of ticking the us dollar charge we were charged in pounds with the conversion being done on board,we also cruised celebrity last year ex southampton and it seemed a suprise when we asked to be billed in us dollars but they did just a word of warning the practice of chargeing in pounds in europe is becoming wide spread with the shops doing their own conversion from euros espically in the touristy areas :cool: :) ps i didnt realise you could query this you live n learn

[MAXII]

i guess we've been lucky lately. i do use a $us c/c and i do check the box but i have made a habit of going to the bank and paying off our onboard a/c with the c/c the day before we leave the ship. so all that is left for X to deal with is maybe a cpl of drinks on the last night. we havent had a problem in last couple of years on any of our 4 cruises. touch wood.

 

 

Aha - Jim I think you may have given us Canadians with a US$ credit card issued in Canada a solution! When you pay your oboard bill with the US$ credit card while on the ship, do they encounter any difficulty doing this when they realise its a USD cc issued outside of the US? Thanks.

[j!m]

max

 

hav NEVER hada a problem making the payment onboard with $us c/c

 

they simply produce an onboard a/c showing balance paid in $us

 

never had a problem with any remaining charges like wine on last night either

 

give it a try

 

good luck

[j!m]

max

 

hav NEVER hada a problem making the payment onboard with $us c/c

 

they simply produce an onboard a/c showing balance paid in $us

 

never had a problem with any remaining charges like wine on last night either

 

give it a try

 

good luck

[excitedofharpenden]

Glad you got it sorted Phil

Fingers crossed for next week for us

A

Ann, have a great cruise and I hope the weather cooperates for you.

 

Phil

[MAXII]

Thanks J!M, I will try doing this and report back though it will be late November time.

 

Have a good day everyone.

[Davlin]

Glad you got everything sorted out.

Maybe I'll give them another chance - the Nationwide rate is much better than having to take ca$h.

Linda

[excitedofharpenden]

Glad you got everything sorted out.

Maybe I'll give them another chance - the Nationwide rate is much better than having to take ca$h.

Linda

Linda, thanks. Keep persevering with it and make sure you confirm with them at check in that you don't want it converted. I too prefer the card rate to the cash rate. I was going to say that regardless of the cash rate you get the card rate is better until I worked out the rate that Celebrity gave me. Truly awful:eek:

 

Phil

[drakes2]

As the old saying goes, "Cash is King". I am a Cdn citizen and hold a US Visa card issued by my Canadian bank. On our cruise in 2008, my CC was converted to Cdn $$ even though I pointed out it was a US card and billed in US currency by my bank. Minutes prior to debarkation, the cruise line reversed all the charges and I paid out our onboard account in cash which only amounted to a few hundred $$$. From that point on I only pay onboard charges in cash. I keep an eye out on the exchange rates and transfer into my account when they are favourable.

PS. Had I left the charges on my USD CC, my bank would have converted in back to US currency and I would have lost twice on the exchange rate.

Linda, thanks. Keep persevering with it and make sure you confirm with them at check in that you don't want it converted. I too prefer the card rate to the cash rate. I was going to say that regardless of the cash rate you get the card rate is better until I worked out the rate that Celebrity gave me. Truly awful:eek:

 

Phil

[Cote d'or]

We had the same problem several times in the past, but we learned there's an easy way to check which conversion method is used, while you're still onboard :

Halfway the cruise you will receive a temporary print-out of your seapass account (or you can ask for one at Guest Relations). If it shows a conversion list at the bottom for different currencies, it means the conversion will be done by Celebrity. If there's no conversion list on the print-out, that means the conversion will be done by your credit card company. So if you see that list : go to the Guest Relations desk with your credit card, ask them to change the conversion method and check a new print-out to see if the list is gone. Since then, we don't have any unpleasant surprises anymore, once back home.

[smoothy]

We had the same problem several times in the past' date=' but we learned there's an easy way to check which conversion method is used, while you're still onboard :

Halfway the cruise you will receive a temporary print-out of your seapass account (or you can ask for one at Guest Relations). If it shows a conversion list at the bottom for different currencies, it means the conversion will be done by Celebrity. If there's no conversion list on the print-out, that means the conversion will be done by your credit card company. So if you see that list : go to the Guest Relations desk with your credit card, ask them to change the conversion method and check a new print-out to see if the list is gone. Since then, we don't have any unpleasant surprises anymore, once back home.[/quote']

 

I'll have to remember that trick for the future. I have always setup my account initially as a cash one, then once on board, had guest services link my card. I have never had problems with the charge going through as CA$ as opposed to my requested US$.

[LeftcoastBC]

Over the years I have never had a problem with this until our last cruise on Solstice in the spring. Our$$ was pretty well par then so it really dind't matter much on a 7 day cruise. BUT you know it's just a pain and it shouldn't happen.

 

Thanks for the update. Will see what happens next week.

 

 

We had the same problem several times in the past' date=' but we learned there's an easy way to check which conversion method is used, while you're still onboard :

Halfway the cruise you will receive a temporary print-out of your seapass account (or you can ask for one at Guest Relations). If it shows a conversion list at the bottom for different currencies, it means the conversion will be done by Celebrity. If there's no conversion list on the print-out, that means the conversion will be done by your credit card company. So if you see that list : go to the Guest Relations desk with your credit card, ask them to change the conversion method and check a new print-out to see if the list is gone. Since then, we don't have any unpleasant surprises anymore, once back home.[/quote']

 

I will try this Thanks also.