Canadian Princess Cruisers

[Liz54]

I am so confused! Just called Princess and they said my account was in US Dollars. They could not say why that was, and Rep was being careful - VERY careful because they are not supposed to tell you anything if you used a TA. He STRONGLY urged me to call her and ask why a Cdn TA would bill a Canadian, living in Canada in US Dollars. Is the TA pulling a fast one? That was the vibe I got from the rep.

 

Do I ask the TA to change the account to Canadian, and then put Canadian OBC on the account ASAP to cover whatever I can think of - gratuities, wine etc?

[AE_Collector]

Another question will be what happens if one has $$ left in their account at the end of the cruise?

 

I have heard of people having to go cash out at thread of cruises when they still have a positive onboard account. Other OBC's seem to state that they are not refundable if not used up.

 

So if I were able to prepay my onboard spending and paid too much presumably I would square up a day before the last day, likely with a refund to my credit card.

 

Terry

[canadarocks]

I am so confused! Just called Princess and they said my account was in US Dollars. They could not say why that was, and Rep was being careful - VERY careful because they are not supposed to tell you anything if you used a TA. He STRONGLY urged me to call her and ask why a Cdn TA would bill a Canadian, living in Canada in US Dollars. Is the TA pulling a fast one? That was the vibe I got from the rep.

 

Do I ask the TA to change the account to Canadian, and then put Canadian OBC on the account ASAP to cover whatever I can think of - gratuities, wine etc?

 

Unless it has very recently changed, the cruise itself should have been billed in Canadian funds at par. At this point I don't think anyone has confirmed that they have actually paid for anything else at par.

[Gunner22aa]

First living in Canada you can elect to pay for your cruise in Cdn or US dollars. When the Cdn dollar was above par with the US one and the cruise price was the same in both currencys I paid in US dollars because it worked out cheaper by a bit. I keep a very healthy US dollar account at my bank and always add to it when the exchange rate is favourable. Not doing much of that these days though! I don't think you were being deliberatly lied to. If the cruise price was the same in both currencies today I would be paying in Cdn for sure.

 

As to OBCs. Although they all achieve the same effect, that is reducing your final bill on the ship, they are not all the same. You can pre gift yourself or someone OBCs. Basically you are paying something up front to offset the final bill. Lots do this to help avoid the sticker shock at the end or for budgeting purposes. This type od OBC is fully refundable if not spent. It is afterall your money. The second type of OBC is given to you by the cruise line. It may bbe because you are a share holder, in or were in the military (Princess) or a special promotion offered when you booked. These are the use them or loose them OBCs because they wern't your money to start with. Hope this clears the waters a bit.

[Gunner22aa]

My second purchase was on the account much quicker than I thought it would be but likely because the 9th of the month is my monthly billing date. My $62 dollar purchase was billed at $62 dollars so it was treated at par again.

[canadarocks]

Although you can certainly use money you put in OBC for gratuities, you can also pre-pay them specifically:

 

Item #0597 on the Gift Services form.

[Liz54]

Just spoke to my TA. She books in either based on which is cheaper. We booked this way out and got a great price and nice price drop. It is sold out now, but when there were cabins available in our category they had climbed to $500 pp more - perhaps partly due to the exchange.

 

We did put $$ into a US dollar account so will use that.

 

My understanding is that since my account shows as US dollar any OBC purchased now would be dinged the exchange.

 

Now, if princess would just process the shareholder credit all would be fine!

[CruisinFinsUp]

My second purchase was on the account much quicker than I thought it would be but likely because the 9th of the month is my monthly billing date. My $62 dollar purchase was billed at $62 dollars so it was treated at par again.

 

Just curious - did you book thru a TA or direct with Princess?

[Gunner22aa]

The cruise itself was booked my TA whom I have had for over ten years even though she no longer resides in the same city as me. The extras like the wine and coffee cards and such were done direct by me with 1-800-PRINCESS, option #2 on the voice menu. I don't bother her with stuff like that as she has a busy enough day.

[AE_Collector]

I noticed that only the prepaid gratuities item on the order form specifically mentions that it will be billed in US$. All other items that I checked not specifically mention a currency.

 

I also noted that the PDF form says something like "good through" Dec 31 2013.

 

Has anyone been able to confirm that either prepaid gratuities or the onboard credits that can be purchased have been billed in Canadian $?

 

Terry

Edited January 11, 2014 by AE_Collector

[yvr49]

I purchased $200 onboard credits for each of the 2 cruises we have coming up. I just checked my MasterCard statement and 2 charges @ $200 each from Princess Cruises Santa Clarita have been noted on there - no mention of exchange rate or conversion at this point.

 

I had also seen the specification on the Personalizer that prepaid gratuities would be billed in US$ which is why I chose the option of $100 per person in "gift" onboard credits instead.

 

Ultimately I don't know if an exchange rate will come into effect if my $200 CDN purchases are converted into USD when deposited into my OBC account but I figure it's worth a try, worst case is we will end up paying exchange the same as if we hadn't prepaid. Best case is it's one less bill to greet us at the end of the cruise!

[SadieN]

Not for this Canadian.

 

I see your problem. You live in Ontario.

 

Princess is headquartered in Valencia, CA. Just 60 miles from Ontario, CA.:p Our airport is ONT.

 

Our office used to be in Ontario, CA. One year the CA CPA Society changed our address to somewhere in Canada. Took the several months to get that changed. At least we never got paid in Canadian funds but our friends who own a travel agency have been many times.

 

(I know Ontario is a province. Is there a city/town named Ontario in Canada?)

Edited January 11, 2014 by SadieN

[CruisinFinsUp]

The cruise itself was booked my TA whom I have had for over ten years even though she no longer resides in the same city as me. The extras like the wine and coffee cards and such were done direct by me with 1-800-PRINCESS, option #2 on the voice menu. I don't bother her with stuff like that as she has a busy enough day.

 

Thanks! I'm going to do the same and see what happens - with the dollar dropping, everything we can get still at par helps!! :)

[happycr]

The cruise itself was booked my TA whom I have had for over ten years even though she no longer resides in the same city as me. The extras like the wine and coffee cards and such were done direct by me with 1-800-PRINCESS, option #2 on the voice menu. I don't bother her with stuff like that as she has a busy enough day.

 

I live in Ontario, Canada and a family member phoned Princess this week and paid for computer time plus beverage card as gifts for me. She has confirmed that charge has gone through her credit card from Princess Vancouver in Cdn funds as you've indicated. Dollar for dollar - no conversion.

 

Sue

[canadarocks]

I've gone back and rechecked all my credit card charges. The gratuity payment had the exchange added. I'm assuming if I had just put that amount of Canadian money into an OBC it would be converted into US funds onboard, ending up costing me the same. Or even higher depending on the exchange rate when we sail. But it's possible it would be treated at par as well? :confused:

 

But the payment I made for the soda+ cards did go through in Canadian funds at par! :D

 

Very confusing...

Edited January 12, 2014 by canadarocks

[AE_Collector]

I called and just bought a couple of the the "beer packages" (6 bottles of beer for $23.25 Gratuity Included) and it showed the person putting it through that it was being billed in Canadian for us. Our trip was all booked in Canadian on a Canadian credit card.

 

I then asked about trying to purchase one of the $100 OBC's and as soon as she entered it, it showed that it would charge in US$ to our credit card. I didn't go ahead with it.

 

Odd that some things would bill in canadian and others in US. Looks like our on board bill is going to be paid in the new reality...a 92 cent (or worse) dollar. The beer package will help in more ways than one. I may have to buy some more.

 

Terry

Edited January 13, 2014 by AE_Collector

[Christine Frances]

I don't know if Princess's website will let you do it, but on Celebrity you can change your "country" on the home page and your prices will reflect that country (works for US and Canada - haven't checked other countries). Due to reading this thread we just bought $200 OBC at $207.20 online:) Is there anyway you can try that? I use this feature to compare pricing in both currencies before booking.

Edited January 13, 2014 by Christine Frances

[dylandog25]

Lucky you. I've never had that happen. Anything I purchase ahead of time is always billed to me in US funds' date=' with conversation costs added on my credit card.[/size']

I think perhaps this was an error by whoever processed it, rather than their policy? But I certainly hope I'm wrong!!!

 

I have just made two pre purchases both were billed in CDN then I did wonder if because I was signed in to princess and they knew my info that maybe it was already quoted in Canadian so I went onto another device and did not sign in and it clearly said priced in $US and I was once again billed at par

[AE_Collector]

Called in again (second time today) as I had faxed in my Shareholder Benefit and had them find the fax and process it. While talking with them I again asked for clarification about items being charged in Canadian $ versus US $. This person explained it to me that any "items" pre purchased would be billed to me in Canadian $ since our trip is booked in Canadian. Any "deposits" to our on board account would be billed in US $ since the onboard account is always in US $.

 

Someone on here bought OBC and it went through in Canadian so maybe they are able to make a mistake or maybe it will be converted to less US $ once on board. Hopefully they will report back after the trip.

 

Terry

[canadarocks]

This person explained it to me that any "items" pre purchased would be billed to me in Canadian $ since our trip is booked in Canadian. Any "deposits" to our on board account would be billed in US $ since the onboard account is always in US $.

 

Someone on here bought OBC and it went through in Canadian so maybe they are able to make a mistake or maybe it will be converted to less US $ once on board. Hopefully they will report back after the trip.

 

Terry

 

Thanks for the clarification Terry. That explains what happened in my case at least.

[caribill]

Called in again (second time today) as I had faxed in my Shareholder Benefit and had them find the fax and process it. While talking with them I again asked for clarification about items being charged in Canadian $ versus US $. This person explained it to me that any "items" pre purchased would be billed to me in Canadian $ since our trip is booked in Canadian. Any "deposits" to our on board account would be billed in US $ since the onboard account is always in US $.

 

 

Makes me wonder which way a gift of casino credit would be billed. That does not go on the onboard account. It results in the notice in the cabin of a gift that must be taken to the casino which will exchange the notice for US$.

[AE_Collector]

There is a very similar discussion to this one on the Celebrity forum at the moment. It sounds as though IF you are booked in Canadian on Celebrity you can buy OBC's before your cruise and each US$ of OBC gets charged at $1.035 Canadian to your Canadian card and it shows you this right on the web page when selecting the item to purchase.

 

I have still been unable to get a positive indication from Princess that either OBC or prepaid gratuities would actually be billed in Canadian to a Canadian card rather than bing a US amount converted to Canadian by the credit card company at full pop.

 

All I have one is bought a couple of the beer 6 packs at $23.25 Canadian, exactly the same as the US price $23.25 US.

 

Here is the Celebrity discussion:

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1977141

 

Terry

Edited January 26, 2014 by AE_Collector

[Bubble-Ont.]

I purchsed the ultimate drink card and also paid my grauities in advance a few days ago. My drink package was charged at par in canadian dollars but the gratuities were charged in US dollars and my credit card company did the exchange. I actually talked to Princess by phone. The purchases apparently are made through 2 different departments.

 

Terry

[AE_Collector]

You specifically prepaid gratuities rather than purchasing on board credit?

 

Prepaying gratuities online DOES say that it will be charged in US$ whereas pre purchasing OBC (that can be used for anything) does NOT say that it will be charged in US$. Just like coffee cards, drink or beer packages that wind up being charged in Canadian at par if the cruise was booked in Canadian.

 

Terry

Edited January 27, 2014 by AE_Collector

[cdnphotogirl]

Any one have info for excursions? If I pre-pay for excursions will it be in US or Cdn dollars?