Magicat

Here's what happened for anyone following: Called up and confirmed that the $500 OBC for $550 was not accepted. No problem, the person helping me sent me the Amenity Confirmation for the original OBC purchased in December. So I decided to purchase another $500 OBC at the 1.41 rate. For some reason the computer would not make this transaction. After 45 minutes on the phone they finally got a acceptance but not a payment confirmation.

We determined that the problem might stem from the fact we already purchased an OBC at one rate and the program has issues dealing with purchase another at another rate. That's the theory anyway. So this morning the payment has still not been put through my cc. So we will see what happens.

Has anyone else had problems purchasing additional OBC? I did it 4 times back in Sept and Oct.

An update on my computer glitch. So the $550 charge has not appeared on my credit card even though they sent me a $500 OBC Amenity confirmation. I've been busy at work but will call today to see if in fact I got the OBC or if the computer spit it out. I'll report back with what I find as I want to purchase more OBC.

As to booking in CAD or USD: If you are confident that our dollar will stay this low for some time and the deal is good in US then go for it. Just be prepared that you will be paying more or less for the cruise when it's time to pay the piper. Remember they did mention that a $0.62 Canadian dollar was not impossible by the end o f the year.:eek::eek:

Ok, so called on Monday to purchase more OBC for our up coming cruise in March. I was resigned to the fact that I would be paying the exchange of 1.41 that the CSR at Royal quoted me. But when she entered my credit card she said her computer froze then showed the old 1.10 rate for the OBC. It was fantastic. So I tried to add another $500 but the rate came up as $705 CND. Dang! So I am going to call back today to see what rate comes up. At least I was able to get $1000 for $1100.

 

Has anybody else have this happen? I'll report back with what I come up with today.

Quality Inn and Suites airport/cruise port south. Great hotel, located near mall with shuttle from airport, to cruise port then you can arrange a transfer back to the airport after your curise.

We use this search engine to look up flights from neighbouring airports. Niagara airport just on the other side of the border is another airport you can fly out off. Check it out.

 

https://matrix.itasoftware.com/

So what is the current new rate of exchange that Royal is offering? Is it better than 1.45?

Ditto for us. We took some cash to last for the first day or so, then used ATMs to get more cash. Also tried to use our credit card as much as possible to reduce the amount of cash we had to have on hand. Just be aware that credit cards are not as widely used as here. Have fun!

I believe that was the issue. We did not have any issues ordering drinks most of the day but in the evening we started having the problem. I assume it's because they did not post the charges to the account until later. Guest services ended up writing a note on a business to give to bartenders telling them to still serve is lol.

 

Maybe I'm missing something, but if you purchased a drink package, why did you have issues getting drinks in the evening because your card was maxed? Shouldn't the drinks have been free? :confused:

No worries, I'm sure it will be there. If you call you can ask for a copy of your "Amenity Confirmation". This document will have a record of your OBC, you can print it off and bring it with you.

 

Note: don't be afraid when it says Currency CAD. You OBC is in USD.

As stated before, each ship is different. We were on the Serenade 3 weeks ago and were able to take out $500 at the casino with no service charge on our cash account. The OBC showed on our account on Day 2 of the cruise. The casino cashier did check our account to ensure it was a cash account so no 5% fee was charged.

Use this converter and select the cash rate as that will give you the exchange of most credit cards I believe.

http://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/exchange/daily-converter/

We need to start purchasing some OBC for our upcoming cruise in March so we'll see how much we can buy.

Thanks for your views, they are very helpful. On formal we are in a tux and gown (not at the same time:rolleyes:;)) would we be overdressed in your opinion? Would the nightlife/disco be happening in the evening for our early 20 nieces?

Hi there!

 

We broke down every aspect of the onboard experience for Norwegian Cruise Line vs. Royal Caribbean International" http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1884. We hope it might help with your decision!

 

Happy Cruising,

 

~Brittany Chrusciel, Associate Editor, Cruise Critic

 

Awesome comparison! We are also looking at taking our nieces on a cruise and were looking at NCL. So reading the comparison it raises some questions:

 

1. How bad in the "nickle and diming"?

2. For dining, are the formal nights ship wide or restaurants that offer formal affair?

3. Do passengers get dressed up for dinner or is it very casual?

4. What is the entertainment like in the bars?

5. RCI has Quest, Love and Marriage, Battle of the Sexes, etc...what does NCL have or offer?

 

We are familiar with the goods and bads with Royal, so what are the goods and bads with NCL?

Thanks!

I have called 4 times purchasing $500 OBC without any issue. It all depends on who you talk to when you call.

Thanks for the responses. We enjoyed them on the Oasis and were hoping that they would be offered on our Serenade cruise. Oh well, guess we will need to find somewhere else to nibble at. LOL

Not every ship has tapas at Vintages - Serenade doesn't - and my understanding is that the menu Norbert's Niece posted isn't offered on Oasis since her drydock.

 

So the Serenade has a Vintages but does not offer a tapas menu?

Someone mentioned on the Princess thread, that Princess sets their rate in Feb each year for cruises after a certain date, it was $1.10, now $1.20 and it has been mentioned $1.30 for next . RC might set their rates at a certain time period.

 

If this is the case, then immediately following our Oct cruise we will start to purchase OBC for next year's cruises.

So I just purchased my fourth OBC of $500, bringing us to $2,000 altogether. I was told if I wanted to buy anymore I would have to email the request because it looked like duplications??? She didnt really seem too confident in her answer but you never know. I am sure the OBC is there but wonder what would happen if I tried to purchase more? I also tried doing this thru crown and anchor and thet said no and just transferred me. :rolleyes:

 

I call the C&A desk and they take my order with no issues. They even ask if there is a note I wish to attach to the OBC when it is delivered to my stateroom the second day of the cruise. I put "Have a great cruise!" LOL

The deal is still going strong. Just purchased $500 USD for $550 CAD. I could even have purchased more than the $500 if I wanted.

Baroner: We have friends joining us from Vegas and Los Angeles so it made more sense and cheaper to have them fly into TO and then drive to Quebec.

 

I'm going to call today to add more OBC to our cruise. Let's see if it still is going strong.

Small world monctonguy, we are from Shediac.

 

I was stationed in Oromocto, does that count? :D

Barnoner: not to far, just on the other side of the Hammer! How are you getting to Quebec? Sorry everyone for derailing the subject of this thread.

 

This will be the first time we are using a cash account. Too bad we're on MTD and we paid our Gratuities with our cruise. Might have been able to save the exchange. I wonder what the maximum OBC you could purchase? Can you purchase $10,000 ($500 at a time) and then cash out at the end of the cruise essentially making over $1500? Just a question for inquiring minds.

Barnoner: I see we're on the same cruise in 6 weeks or so. Where in Canada are you? We're just north of Milton Ontario.

You can ask for a copy of your "Amenity Confirmation" and that will show your OBC. I will take a copy of mine to be on the safe side.