Foreign transaction fee charge on cabin bill supposedly charged in USD

[Marylebone37]

Quick question if anyone should know. I just returned from a 10 night voyage in Cloud, Barcelona to London. My cabin bill was approx 1,000 which according to the onboard pursar was charged in US dollars (as all purchases on board were).

 

When I received my credit card statement, I also got charged an approximately 30 USD foreign transaction fee. My credit card company (bank of america) said that Silversea charged my card from London from their offshore bank account in a currency other than USD. Hence, the foreign transaction fee applies. I don't think it should apply as I was informed onboard by SS that my credit card would be charged in USD. Obviously the 30 bucks is no big deal, but I think SS is doing something inappropriate when it comes to billing.

 

Has anyone had a similar issue?

 

I called Silversea about it today but they told me they "have a skeleton crew available on Saturdays" and asked that I call back on Monday.

 

Thank you for any insight you may be able to provide.

[jpalbny]

This happens from time to time when the charge originates from an overseas location, though it's not (yet) happened to us. It's not limited to SS. See these threads for more details; there are many more threads on CC if you search for "foreign transaction fee" but these should give you an idea. Best bet is to call SS on Monday, as you're planning.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1200798&highlight=foreign+transaction+fee

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1172425&highlight=foreign+transaction+fee

[lord of the seas]

Just ask for the transaction fee to be refunded.It probably made sence for Silversea to use their uk banking facility.

 

Oceania are always having this problem when US guests book a cruise because their bank is in Ireland.They just refund the fee when a guest complains.

[Marylebone37]

Thank you very much. I wonder how many people just pay it and not look at the detail? Very helpful and I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

[Keith1010]

This happened to us. We had a very large on board credit so that transaction fee was relatively small. We noticed it but did not followup. This was the first time that we have been charged via a country outside the USA on any of our cruises.

 

Keith

[ging466]

This is a 'stock standard' for Australians when travelling anywhere. Our banks charge roughly 3% for the foreign transaction. Therefore when I buy a SS cruise, I factor in an additional 3% because I pay for the cruise in US$ on my credit card.

 

The latest problem for Aussies is, with the advent of chip credit cards, when travelling overseas and paying a bill, say in US$, the merchant then uses 'dynamic currency conversion'. In other words, charges u in your home currency (in my case Aussie $). Later, u discover that they have ripped u off by using a very unfavourable exchange rate. Merchants are 'supposed' to ask u what u wish to do but the unsuspecting don't know about this.

 

Princess has been doing this in Oz and people have been complaining bitterly, especially when the Aussie $ was up in the 90's and Princess was converting at around 70c on the foreign conversion.

 

Just be aware that this practice is going to become more & more popular.

 

Cheers

Jennifer

[Keith1010]

I should have mentioned that had I known that the charge would be UK rather than USA based I would have charged our shipboard account to our Capital One Credit Card which is one of the few USA based credit cards that does not tack on an international transaction fee.

 

Keith

[jpalbny]

I should have mentioned that had I known that the charge would be UK rather than USA based I would have charged our shipboard account to our Capital One Credit Card which is one of the few USA based credit cards that does not tack on an international transaction fee.

 

Keith

 

BOA Amex Accolades card never charges any kind of forex fee, whether the charge is in USD or any other currency, and the exchange rates are very close to on-par with the bank rates listed on xe.com. We use it overseas everywhere Amex is accepted... Which admittedly isn't everywhere, but all in all it works pretty well for us.

[ging466]

If anyone is interested in learning more about this DCC practice, have a read of this link:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_currency_conversion

 

Cheers

Jennifer

[TLCOhio]

THANKS to Stines, Jennifer, Keith and the others for highlighting and commenting on this issue! When we get on the Silver Cloud this coming Thursday in Copenhagen for our first cruise on Silversea, we will check on BOTH . . . any questions on how our on-board charges will be sent to our credit card, US versus a UK bank, plus any charity charges being hidden away on our bill.

 

We appreciate these "tips" on what to look for with our billings, etc. Lots of good and helpful info on these boards. I am planning on doing a LIVE "Silversea Virgins" report as we do our Norway Coast, Fjords and Land of the Midnight Sun cruise. I'll update on this posting for how the front-desk reacts on these issues and questions. I know some top Silversea staff in Florida, including the super helpful Laura, monitor comments on these boards. Hopefully they will pass the word to cut out such "tricks" that really make good customers super mad. It's not the amount, but the principle of being "SNEAKY" in the ways business should NOT be done with a true first-class cruise line. Honesty is important!

 

Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[Silver Spectre]

Quick question if anyone should know. I just returned from a 10 night voyage in Cloud, Barcelona to London. My cabin bill was approx 1,000 which according to the onboard pursar was charged in US dollars (as all purchases on board were).

 

When I received my credit card statement, I also got charged an approximately 30 USD foreign transaction fee. My credit card company (bank of america) said that Silversea charged my card from London from their offshore bank account in a currency other than USD. Hence, the foreign transaction fee applies. I don't think it should apply as I was informed onboard by SS that my credit card would be charged in USD. Obviously the 30 bucks is no big deal, but I think SS is doing something inappropriate when it comes to billing.

 

Has anyone had a similar issue?

 

I called Silversea about it today but they told me they "have a skeleton crew available on Saturdays" and asked that I call back on Monday.

 

Thank you for any insight you may be able to provide.

 

If you look at the T's & C's (general information), it states that all onboard payments are in US dollars. If SS wishes to use a non-USD account to debit your card then the currency fee should be at their risk. They should refund you this amount.

 

We always pay SS using Amex, and always get charged in US dollars. Ok, Amex charge a currency fee because its a sterling Amex account, but thats all.

[Keith1010]

If you look at the T's & C's (general information), it states that all onboard payments are in US dollars. If SS wishes to use a non-USD account to debit your card then the currency fee should be at their risk. They should refund you this amount.

 

We always pay SS using Amex, and always get charged in US dollars. Ok, Amex charge a currency fee because its a sterling Amex account, but thats all.

 

On our cruise last Summer to Alaska were were charged an inernational fee because the charge was from the UK. First time on any cruise line. As I mentioned earlier, it was a small fee because we had just a slight amout due to a hefty on board credit. As such, we did not follow up.

 

Again, first time we have ever experienced this on any cruise line.

 

We just assumed this is the way it's always done on Silversea.

 

It didn't take away from our enjoyment of the cruise.

 

I'm only mentioning this because this obviously happens for whatever reason.

 

Keith

[wripro]

I agree with Silver Spectre (great name for the next SS ship!)

[lord of the seas]

I agree with Silver Spectre (great name for the next SS ship!)

 

Assuming the finance is in place.

[DaveA]

This practice is common-place with Royal Caribbean and other big lines. In my experience they have always included a question in the very small print at check-in. Are you happy for the cruise line to have your account charged to your credit card in the currency of your credit card (the default option that makes more profit for the cruise line) or do you want the card charged in USD so that your card provider performs the conversion into your local currency?

 

I had hoped that this practie wouldn't extend to Silversea but I'll be watching closely when we check-in next Werdnesday.

 

Dave

[Marylebone37]

Well... I talked to Silversea today and they will NOT refund the transaction fee. They insist that the cabin charge was processed in USD but with a UK credit card processing facility, and it's my bank's issue. The woman was quite abrupt and said she never got a request like this before and no one complains about it. I would not say she was rude, just terse and held to her line/script. I just can't believe this was a first time request for this woman.

 

I explained that this really is not fair, quite sneaky, not disclosed to passengers in advance, and re-iterated that all of the SS literature/documents on board talk of charging everything in USD. At the end of the call, she did take note of my name and other details, so we'll if anything transpires. If not, SS has lost me as a customer forever after just one experience. It wasn't an exceptional cruise to begin with for the price paid, and this unfortunate event coupled with the hard-sell and booking of a future cruise by the on board sales consultant (which I did not authorize and later canceled) and some of the other negative comments I'm reading in your posts spell the end of the line for SS & me.

 

I will post an update if they re-contact me about the issue, and if not, I'll see you all over on the Seabourn board.

[Silver Spectre]

Well... I talked to Silversea today and they will NOT refund the transaction fee. They insist that the cabin charge was processed in USD but with a UK credit card processing facility, and it's my bank's issue. The woman was quite abrupt and said she never got a request like this before and no one complains about it. I would not say she was rude, just terse and held to her line/script. I just can't believe this was a first time request for this woman.

 

I explained that this really is not fair, quite sneaky, not disclosed to passengers in advance, and re-iterated that all of the SS literature/documents on board talk of charging everything in USD. At the end of the call, she did take note of my name and other details, so we'll if anything transpires. If not, SS has lost me as a customer forever after just one experience. It wasn't an exceptional cruise to begin with for the price paid, and this unfortunate event coupled with the hard-sell and booking of a future cruise by the on board sales consultant (which I did not authorize and later canceled) and some of the other negative comments I'm reading in your posts spell the end of the line for SS & me.

 

I will post an update if they re-contact me about the issue, and if not, I'll see you all over on the Seabourn board.

 

I know its a pain after you have tried to deal with this on the phone, but I would suggest that you contact Guest Relations either by e-mail or preferably in writing. It will give someone with more seniority/experience the chance to fix the problem and repair the damage caused to your opinion of SS.

[wripro]

Stines,

 

Might I also suggest that you have your TA contact SS regarding this. If the agent does a fair amount of business with them his request and pressure might carry more weight.

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friends:

 

Silversea does process their credit cards in U.S. dollars. Some large U.S. banks pick this up as a foreign transaction, even though they did not provide any currency conversion service.

 

Other banks do not treat the charge that way. For example, I just got off the Spirit on August 12 and we live in Spain. The charge came through in U.S. dollars converted by our bank in Spain to euros. There was no charge for the conversion.

 

Your argument is with your bank as to why they charged you a foreign transaction fee when your bank performed no foreign currency conversion service whatsoever because the charge is in U.S. dollars, no matter what country Silversea used to process the charge (it is common practice nowadays for large companies to use foreign-based credit card processing systems).

 

Please read your credit card contract carefully to see if this charge can be made by your bank just for the mere fact that the credit card transaction was processed outside of the United States, or whether that fee can only be charged when a foreign currency conversion service is performed.

 

That being said, I do think that Silversea should refund your $30 in the name of good customer relations and goodwill and the customer service representative should not have acted in that manner.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[TLCOhio]

Here's the reply and detail I got back yesterday: "Foreign transaction fees are imposed by the bank issuing your credit card; and not Silversea Cruises. As you are traveling internationally and our corporate office is based in Monaco, we have no control over fees you are assessed by your bank. Onboard expenses are charged in US dollars through a UK processor. You have the option of settling your onboard charges with cash, check or travelers check to eliminate the chance of a foreign transaction fee."

 

Not sure why Silversea needs to do this through a UK processor. Is that the "problem" on this issue? Using the UK processor means we get hit with the added 3% cost/fee that most credit cards do when making purchases in Europe. Right? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[Keith1010]

Here's the reply and detail I got back yesterday: "Foreign transaction fees are imposed by the bank issuing your credit card; and not Silversea Cruises. As you are traveling internationally and our corporate office is based in Monaco, we have no control over fees you are assessed by your bank. Onboard expenses are charged in US dollars through a UK processor. You have the option of settling your onboard charges with cash, check or travelers check to eliminate the chance of a foreign transaction fee."

 

Not sure why Silversea needs to do this through a UK processor. Is that the "problem" on this issue? Using the UK processor means we get hit with the added 3% cost/fee that most credit cards do when making purchases in Europe. Right? THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

Terry you have this right. We were charged by a UK processor.

 

In my case I would never have brought this item up because we owed so little the charge was small but it really is something they should mention at check in.

 

I could have easily given them a Capital One Credit Card where there would have been no international fee.

 

Now what is interesting is we did an on board booking and that amount was done separate from the shipboard account which is the first time I have experienced that on any cruise line and that one was not charged using their consolidator so no fee was added on.

 

Anyway, for us it was a nit but nevertheless something that one would think could be avoided by SS.

 

Keiht

[SFL]

Terry you have this right. We were charged by a UK processor.

 

In my case I would never have brought this item up because we owed so little the charge was small but it really is something they should mention at check in.

 

I could have easily given them a Capital One Credit Card where there would have been no international fee.

 

Now what is interesting is we did an on board booking and that amount was done separate from the shipboard account which is the first time I have experienced that on any cruise line and that one was not charged using their consolidator so no fee was added on.

 

Anyway, for us it was a nit but nevertheless something that one would think could be avoided by SS.

 

Keiht

 

 

You may also wish to checkout Charles Schwab, they have a no international transaction fee credit card(for Merchant charges) The only charge is for cash/atm advances. I have used this card for Intl purchases and I pay the "Inter Bank Rate" for the currency exchange

[Marylebone37]

I wrote to SS today on this issue, and will let you know if they reply with the same response as Keith notes. If they would have just let passengers know, at the time you check in and/or when preparing the final cabin bill statements, that:

 

"Onboard expenses are charged in US dollars through a UK processor. You have the option of settling your onboard charges with cash, check or travelers check to eliminate the chance of a foreign transaction fee."

 

Then all would be fine. I would have used a different card to settle by cabin bill as a previous poster noted. SS was not up-front explaining their billing practices, and as a result, many passengers I'm sure have paid $ to their credit card companies over the years for no good reason. Very sloppy on SS's part.

[Marylebone37]

I did get a reply from SS as follows:

 

Please allow us to explain. The foreign transaction fees are imposed by the bank issuing your credit card; and not Silversea Cruises. As you were traveling internationally and our corporate office is based in Monaco, we have no control over fees you are assessed by your bank. Onboard expenses are charged in US dollars through a UK processor. We are unable to issue any monetary compensation. We understand this is not the answer you want to hear from us. When settling your onboard charges in future you have the option to pay by cash, check or travelers check to eliminate the chance of a foreign transaction fee. On behalf of Silversea Cruises, we thank you again for your correspondence. It is our sincere wish that you consider Silversea again when arranging future travel plans.

 

To which I replied:

 

Thank you for your response. However, it is not satisfactory. If SS would have been more straighforward and alerted me of your UK processing arrangement (which I had no idea of whatsoever!), then I would have used a different credit card to settle my account which does not charge a foreign conversion fee.

 

All SS would have to do is state something on the bill like:

 

Please note that Silversea uses a UK-based credit card processing facility. So kindly note that when settling your onboard charges, please be aware of this arrangement and know that you have the option to pay by cash, check or travelers check to eliminate the chance of a foreign transaction fee being assessed by your credit card company. Thank you.

 

My goodness, how simple is that. Just imagine all the negative press and comments SS could avoid my (easily) improving their very poor communication on this issue and abmissal guest relations. A real pity.

 

==

So my fellow cc'ers... be aware of the $ that you'll be assessed if you use any US credit card that imposes foreign currency conversion fees. And all because SS can't be more explanatory about their post-cruise billing details. Oh well - lesson learned for me and I hope others. Good luck Silversea in your future... like I said in my original Silversea v Seabourn comparison thread - I wonder about the long-term viability of this line. Time will tell.

[lord of the seas]

Yet another big mistake by Silversea after the "We say that you donate to our Italian Charity" fiasco.

There are quite a few of us that have a few hundred days with Silversea that have found alternative accomodation in the last year or so.Thank God for Seabourn.

Good luck Silversea,you are on a slippery road.