Paying Onboard Account in USD for non-US passengers

[West Coast]

Dispute the charge with your cc issuer.

Princess has no authorisation on file from you to charge in CAD.

Your cc issuer should send it back and then Princess should put it through again is USD.

[hansi]

As a Brit, I have had this problem a couple of times. The first time it happened I very clearly (and highlighted) the correct box on the form NOT to have it converted, but they still managed to charge me the 3% which I complained about at the desk and was given a refund of the 3%. There was a long line all with the same problem. The second time it happened, they told me I had not ticked the right box, so I asked them to produce the form, and after a lot of hassle, they did, and I had done it correctly. Always wise to take a copy of the form with you.

[Adventures ahead]

I don't remember when/how we get the form. Is it upon check-in or prior to sailing?

[hansi]

You can download it from the Princess site, it's part of your boarding pass.

[ehogan]

OK, now I am concerned again.

 

We have always had a U.S. denominated Visa card issued from a Canadian bank and we had always indicated that we wanted to be charged in USD.

 

On our last Princess cruise, they charged our USD card in CDN funds at their ridiculous rate and then we also incurred conversion fees twice. Princess reimbursed me after I send a strongly worded complaint letter. I also checked with my bank (TD) and they said that if Princess did not correct the problem, they would deal with it.

 

On our current booking our TA was allowed to charge the cruise in USD (something new)(I used to book Princess cruises through a US travel agent to avoid Princess' hefty exchange rates). When I filled out the Princess credit card authorization form for our upcoming cruise, it stated that charges to our account would be in USD unless we requested otherwise. It appeared to me, that they had changed their policy, but from some of these posts, it would seem not.

 

I guess I will have to check with the pursers office, but I may wind up just paying down the account in cash.

[caribill]

I did call my credit card company(TD Visa) to see if they charged anything above the exchange rate of USD to CAD and they did tell me that VISA International charges a conversion fee of 2.5% so you may want to check with your credit card company.

 

Visa International charges a 1% currency conversion fee. Anything above that is a fee your issuing bank is charging.

 

However, in any written statement, they will only list the total %, not breaking it down to show their own cut.

 

Some banks (such as CapitalOne in the USA) charge no currency conversion fee on their credit cards.

[sun~]

OK, now I am concerned again.

 

We have always had a U.S. denominated Visa card issued from a Canadian bank and we had always indicated that we wanted to be charged in USD.

 

On our last Princess cruise, they charged our USD card in CDN funds at their ridiculous rate and then we also incurred conversion fees twice. Princess reimbursed me after I send a strongly worded complaint letter. I also checked with my bank (TD) and they said that if Princess did not correct the problem, they would deal with it.

 

On our current booking our TA was allowed to charge the cruise in USD (something new)(I used to book Princess cruises through a US travel agent to avoid Princess' hefty exchange rates). When I filled out the Princess credit card authorization form for our upcoming cruise, it stated that charges to our account would be in USD unless we requested otherwise. It appeared to me, that they had changed their policy, but from some of these posts, it would seem not.

 

I guess I will have to check with the pursers office, but I may wind up just paying down the account in cash.

 

We have always booked our cruises in USD since 1997. It isn't new, just some travel agents may not bother. One cruise it saved us $300 as the exchange rate (it was HAL) was months out of date.

 

For years on this board (I would lurk and not post) I noticed repeated complaints about the credit card exchange rate scam that is done by Princess. Our March cruise on the CB we didn't have a problem, but this time it was a massive issue for hundreds of passengers. Clearly they do this as a revenue generating scam. Every $10 or more for hundreds of passengers in a bogus 3% fee + an unfavourable exchange rate will add up to thousands of dollars in revenue on one sailing. On the Crown Nov 7-14th obviously hundreds of passengers were furious. One angry couple from Winnipeg who were in the line ahead of us, wanted to take off the tips for the shoddy treatment at the purser's desk. I politely told them not to penalize the wait staff & stewards for the higher ups scam.

 

Watch them like a hawk.

[kruisey]

By another poster .On the new boarding cards it states 'All charges will be in USA' unless otherwise requested.

I think this answers all questions on exchange rates.:)

[katiepe]

Visa International charges a 1% currency conversion fee. Anything above that is a fee your issuing bank is charging.

 

However, in any written statement, they will only list the total %, not breaking it down to show their own cut.

 

Some banks (such as CapitalOne in the USA) charge no currency conversion fee on their credit cards.

 

I called back to to TD Visa and they do charge 2.5% conversion fee. However this time the agent didnt mention Visa International but regardless my point was that most credit cards also charge a conversion fee and TD charges 2.5%.

 

Also the Boarding Passes have always had that option -to choose USD or Princesses' conversion of 3%. Now it is a little clearer on the new boarding passes but the issue we are talking about is that princess doesnt seem to always note the non US ciitzen's requests.

[1stCruiser]

In the Travel Summary, there is a section called "Summary of this Booking" where it states the Onboard Currency. Mine says "Folio charges will be in USD".

 

This is something new. Doesn't mean I won't check my onboard account or highlight the little box on the boarding pass -if it's still there! I guess I have also been one of the lucky ones who never had a problem.

[CruiseFanUK]

I have always highlighted the bit about not converting to my own currency (GBP) and added a note that Princess are not authorised to charge any amount that is not in USD. Never had a problem so far, but that could be just luck.

[terrierjohn]

I find it is always best to visit the pursers desk during the cruise, when it is quiet, and get them to ensure that their system shows I want charging in USD, and generally they have no record of the pre boarding request. As someone else pointed out, these slips probably never make it on board, and even if they do nobody inputs the data to the system.

[Liz54]

After reading this thread, I am considering buying US$ travelers cheques. Any Canadians doing that?

[senior lady]

I always buy US travelers checks now. I was just on a 30 day cruise and paid it off half way through the cruise, and then before the huge crowds appeared I paid the rest off. There should only be a little over $100 on my mastercard when it comes.

 

Have done this for the last 6 cruises. I watch the exchange rate, and when it's high I convert money and put into a US account.

 

It really isn't that difficult, and then there is no need to stress about the "maybe" extra charge at the end of the cruise:D

[sondi 14]

As I wrote earlier in this thread, we did pay our bill in cash the day before we disembarked. That way there was only a minimal charge on our credit card.

I have also taken US traveler's cheques for that purpose after reading other thread on this board dealing with the issue.

[brutus11]

Thanks for the advice. We will talk to the purser early in the cruise. If we are not happy.., we will line up on the last morning and pay with american travellers which we always carry . We thought the ongoing problem was solved as friends of ours are cruisers and never had a problem with their credit card in us funds/ cheers:(

[caribill]

[quote name='1stCruiser']In the Travel Summary, there is a section called "Summary of this Booking" where it states the Onboard Currency. Mine says "[B]Folio charges will be in USD[/B]".

[/quote]


That means if you get a printout of charges to your account, you will see them in US $.

It does NOT mean that your credit card will only be charged in US $.