Paying in sterling?

[fue-fue]

This will be our 1st Princess cruise.

 

We will be registering our credit card at check in but Can we reduce the total of our onboard account by paying a cash amount in sterling £, whilst on board? I realise that the amount on the bill will be in $.

 

We tend to do this when sailing with P& O but of course the account with them is in £.

 

Hope this makes sense.!

[paul929207]

You can pay your onboard account in sterling. However, you will get a poor exchange rate from Princess. You will generally do better if you can convert the sterling to dollars and pay the bill with dollars.

[saltypeer]

This will be our 1st Princess cruise.

 

We will be registering our credit card at check in but Can we reduce the total of our onboard account by paying a cash amount in sterling £, whilst on board? I realise that the amount on the bill will be in $.

 

We tend to do this when sailing with P& O but of course the account with them is in £.

 

Hope this makes sense.!

 

Don't pay any Sterling onto your Princess account. The Princess exchange rate will not be good. Best to get some Dollars prior to going onboard and then pay those Dollars onto your account.

 

We will be exchanging some GBP for USD before boarding and then going to the pursers desk and paying those USD over to them to add to our account.

 

The other option is, give Princess UK a call and ask them what Dollar rate you would get if you bought some Onboard Credit. It's like a 'gift to yourself' so that when you get onboard that 'gift' is waiting for you to spend on anything you like.

 

What we have found is that the Dollar rate for the exchange is calculated from the date you actually booked your cruise.

 

I called them and we can get $1.53 to the £1 if i bought myself an onboard credit 'gift'.

 

I am currently watching the exchange rates and if i can better the $1.53 elsewhere, then i will get Dollar Currency myself. If i can't beat the $1.53 then i will ring Princess nearer to cruise date and purchase some onboard 'gifts' for myself.

 

Pete

[majortom10]

Just leave the onboard account in dollars and make sure that at the end of your cruise that Princess dont convert it to Sterling leave it in dollars and let your credit card company convert it you will get a better rate.

[fue-fue]

Don't pay any Sterling onto your Princess account. The Princess exchange rate will not be good. Best to get some Dollars prior to going onboard and then pay those Dollars onto your account.

 

We will be exchanging some GBP for USD before boarding and then going to the pursers desk and paying those USD over to them to add to our account.

 

The other option is, give Princess UK a call and ask them what Dollar rate you would get if you bought some Onboard Credit. It's like a 'gift to yourself' so that when you get onboard that 'gift' is waiting for you to spend on anything you like.

 

What we have found is that the Dollar rate for the exchange is calculated from the date you actually booked your cruise.

 

I called them and we can get $1.53 to the £1 if i bought myself an onboard credit 'gift'.

 

I am currently watching the exchange rates and if i can better the $1.53 elsewhere, then i will get Dollar Currency myself. If i can't beat the $1.53 then i will ring Princess nearer to cruise date and purchase some onboard 'gifts' for myself.

 

Pete

 

Thanks Pete, that's just what I needed to know.

[saltypeer]

Thanks Pete, that's just what I needed to know.

 

No worries Sue. Glad to help.

 

Pete

[dwhe]

When I registered my credit card for my next cruise, Princess said if I let them take care of the conversion and it turned out my card issuer was cheaper, they would refund the difference.

[CCFC]

When I registered my credit card for my next cruise, Princess said if I let them take care of the conversion and it turned out my card issuer was cheaper, they would refund the difference.

 

I have heard that too. It would be good if that was true as the £v$ is heading back in our favour at the moment, its up to $1.53 from a low of $1.48 a couple of weeks ago.

[Gettingwarmer]

When I registered my credit card for my next cruise, Princess said if I let them take care of the conversion and it turned out my card issuer was cheaper, they would refund the difference.

 

It always is cheaper with your card and it is an awful lot of trouble getting the money back when you are home, it is not done automatically.

 

 

I also bought onboard credit some years ago when the difference was really dramatic as I had booked the cruise 18 months or so before.

[caribill]

When I registered my credit card for my next cruise, Princess said if I let them take care of the conversion and it turned out my card issuer was cheaper, they would refund the difference.

 

It always is cheaper with your card and it is an awful lot of trouble getting the money back when you are home, it is not done automatically.

 

 

 

Princess uses a poor (for you, good for them) exchange rate and adds a 3% charge for the "convenience."

 

Although many credit cards will also charge 3% (at a better exchange rate), there are credit cards available in many countries that will charge 0% or 1% for the currency conversion.