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Can I book onboard in both US and CDN $?


Grandmaanne7
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We took our first Celebrity cruise earlier this year and fell in love with the brand. We booked another cruise onboard in Canadian funds since we are Canadian. Celebrity automatically transferred the booking to the TA we used to book the cruise we were on. Once we decided which cabin we wanted on the cruise we actually wanted to take, (onboard we just booked the farthest out cruise available in order to hold a booking) we informed our online TA who proceeded to contact Celebrity and get things in order. There was a huge kerfuffle and our deposit (made onboard) was refunded and we had to pay the entire deposit in US funds rather than the $100 each Canadian which we paid onboard. It turns out that our TA only deals in US funds and our Canadian deposit was causing problems. Fortunately we were able to keep the 123Go and OBC and our TA gave us an additional small OBC. We are happy with the price we paid and don't want to change anything for this upcoming cruise.

 

My question is in regards to booking our next cruise onboard. I am thinking of making 2 bookings on the same cruise, 1 in US$ and one in CDN$ and then shopping around to see which TA will give me the best deal. Does anyone know if this can be done? (I'm looking to book a B2B in case this makes a difference which will mean I will have to actually make 4 deposits each.)

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As long as the bookings are for separate sailings, I think that should be technically possible as long as you get a helpful consultant onboard.

 

Keep in mind they now have the credit given to the current sailing when you make a future booking, so it will result in possibly a lot of credit for that sailing that you would then need to pay back (not refund) if you cancel as I understand things.

 

The other thing is the time limit that you have to transfer the bookings to a TA.

 

For the sake of complexity and ease given the number of bookings you're planning, since you plan to shop around anyway, I'd suggest you do that before and that way the booking can be assigned to the TA when you book onboard. Should make the consultant happier and administration simpler.

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If you get at Canadian TA to give you anything - please let me know. I remember calling the auto club and saying that if they gave me anything, even send a bottle of wine to the cabin for the booking being transferred - that I would give them my booking - not even a bottle of wine!!!

On the other hand the U.S. agents seem much more aggressive - I have received absolutely fabulous deals from them making the transfer an easy win for them and a great win for us.

As for the U.S.$$ - I always book in American money - they don't want to deal in Cdn.$$.

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If you get at Canadian TA to give you anything - please let me know. I remember calling the auto club and saying that if they gave me anything, even send a bottle of wine to the cabin for the booking being transferred - that I would give them my booking - not even a bottle of wine!!!

On the other hand the U.S. agents seem much more aggressive - I have received absolutely fabulous deals from them making the transfer an easy win for them and a great win for us.

As for the U.S.$$ - I always book in American money - they don't want to deal in Cdn.$$.

That's what I have been finding in my preliminary shopping around! Any Canadian TA can't come close to the perks given by the US TAs and the online TAs who do accept CDN bookings actually remove perks that they would give if you booked in US funds.:( Also, with the current exchange rate, booking in US$ adds significantly to the cruise cost especially when booking that far out as the dollar has dropped since we initially booked. I know there are several Canadians cruising with us on the next cruise and I was hoping to have discussions onboard to see who they book with and try a new TA since those kinds of discussions are not allowed on CC.

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When you book on board you can select either $US or $CAD and you can also remove the name of your current TA from the booking. You have to opt to do that because the default is to assign it to your TA.

 

We generally find it advantageous to book in US currency because, as an earlier poster said, Canadian TAs are not generous with their incentives. We maintain a $US bank account and credit card with our Canadian bank that we use for travel and try to put money in to match our travel budget when the exchange rate is the most favourable. In that way, when we book a cruise, we have a more accurate idea of the actual cost to us and can minimize currency fluctuations.

 

Sheila

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I find if you book though Celebrity there pricing in CAD $ is bit better then booking in US$

On our last cruise it was $499 US or $534 CAD, which if you did the converting $534 CAD it came to only $480 US

 

It is a crap shot no matter what you do :(

Then we can use our canadian point credit cArd to get point and travel insurance

Edited by Airbalancer
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I have tried both and now book only in Cad $,

 

I have to use my Cad fund credit card because it gives me cancellation insurance.

 

Once or twice, having booked in US, I had to cancel and lost $$ on the exchange.

 

On board, we pay US $ with a US fund credit card.

 

It works for us.

 

As someone pointed out, "it's a crap shoot".

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I only book future crusie in cdn and keep booking with Celebrity

Then if I want I can switch to a TA if they have some good obc

On our last cruise we probably used the same online as Grandmaanne7 did, it was beneficial to us then. We then booked a B2B onboard in Cdn. $$. as the price difference was $10 between U.S. and Cdn. $$. The exchange difference outweighed any free gratuities/OBC from U.S. online agent. We also received the free drinks and $250 OBC from Celebrity.

 

Secondly and more important, Celebrity automatically gives new bookings onboard to the agency who booked your current cruise. The FCC staff may bring this up, if not, the onus will be on you to address it. Celebrity has a form for you to sign to transfer your new booking(s) from the agency of record to Celebrity.

 

In our case, the U.S. agency did nothing to earn the new bookings, they can't/won't handle Cdn. $$; if you have to cancel, the U.S. agency charges their own $100 cancellation fee in addition to, if any cancellation fees by Celebrity and we retain control of the booking.

 

We do have one future cruise with the U.S. online agency in U.S. $$, it was the best value in that situation.

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In our case, the U.S. agency did nothing to earn the new bookings, they can't/won't handle Cdn. $$; if you have to cancel, the U.S. agency charges their own $100 cancellation fee in addition to, if any cancellation fees by Celebrity and we retain control of the booking.

We do have one future cruise with the U.S. online agency in U.S. $$, it was the best value in that situation.

 

You picked a lousy agency if they charged you a $100. cancellation fee. Every year we use a US agent and that is not their policy. Also you mentioned that they do nothing for the booking - I really don't care - I know what I want and book it while on board - and then I am looking for someone to give me a larger discount and still get to keep all my Celebrity perks.

We also have a U.S.$ bank account and when our dollar is stronger we purchase some. We also have a U.S. $ charge card so we don't have to pay the 2 1/2% conversion fees.

 

I just wish our Cdn. travel agents would be a bit more flexible and give us a discount. We did all the work, picked the cruise date, ship, cabin... and then all we did was transfer the business to them - they should bounce back some of their commission considering they also get volume rebates.

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As a Cdn you have lots of choices ... That is the GOOD NEWS

 

You can book in Cdn $ or US $ if you have Credit Cards in both types of funds (which many of us do)

 

What you cannot do is book in one currency / card and then come Final Payment, pay it off in another... That is the BAD NEWS

 

BUT you can book & pay for your cruise using one card / currency... And then use a different one when you check in for onboard / SeaPass Expenses (more often than not this is what we do... Using our US $ Card for travel out of country)

 

As others have mentioned, it is important to figure it all out BEFORE you book.

 

If you plan to switch your booking to a TA then it has to be in a Currency / Card they will accept (and you are ok with being charged against)

 

Another words, most US TAs want to deal in US Currency...

 

And as stated by the others when it comes to TAs giving perks... The Cdn ones don't tend to give very much vs the US ones

 

We have done it both ways...

 

And right now we personally find what works best for us is to book in Cdn $ (Celebrity's Rates can be exceptional) put it on our Cdn Credit Card which gives us perks (most Cdn Bank US Funds Credit Cards give no perks like Points / Airmiles etc)

 

And we manage our own Reservation vs switching to a TA.

 

We monitor Celebrity's website... And if something comes up we can deal with it ourselves without going thru a TA. Have been able to get some great "better deals" this way on short notice when it comes to price drops, better cabins available etc... Without having to freak out that I have to wait for a TA next morning / next day / after the weekend to get to make it happen or lose out

 

Cheers!

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You're missing out on a ton of OBC booking it yourself, but if controlling the reservation makes you happy, then so be it. I like cash :)

 

Lol, I like cash too :)

 

But having now done it 3 different ways (Cdn TA - US TA - Celebrity) so far this one is giving us the most flexibility and we've been able to take advantage of several Celebrity Offers as well as "catch" price drops & room changes without much hassle

 

I would like "a ton of OBC"

 

But unfortunately have not found a US TA that gives that and doesn't charge change fees etc

 

So it is all a trade off

 

As a relative newcomer, I have to admit that figuring all this out is definitely a process... And not an easy one as we cannot name names here on CC

 

Lol, maybe someday you & I will cruise together and swap notes.

 

Cheers!

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Sloop gives good advice. However, in my case, I book Celebrity cruises onboard in $CAN and within 60 days of the booking transfer to my US Travel agent who allows payment in $CAN and does not charge any cancellation fees. Maybe it's because the agency owner is a snowbird Canadian expat now living in Florida...

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Lol, I like cash too :)

 

But having now done it 3 different ways (Cdn TA - US TA - Celebrity) so far this one is giving us the most flexibility and we've been able to take advantage of several Celebrity Offers as well as "catch" price drops & room changes without much hassle

 

I would like "a ton of OBC"

 

But unfortunately have not found a US TA that gives that and doesn't charge change fees etc

 

So it is all a trade off

 

As a relative newcomer, I have to admit that figuring all this out is definitely a process... And not an easy one as we cannot name names here on CC

 

Lol, maybe someday you & I will cruise together and swap notes.

 

Cheers!

 

Yeah, we need to talk :)

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Our experience has been that when booking on board we book in either CDN $ or US $, and which option we pick is based on exchange rates. Timing is everything but sometimes Celebrities exchange rate on the CDN $ is very much to our advantage. If it is we book in CDN $

 

Some Canadian Travel Agencies do indeed provide O.B.C. Gratuities and other perks. You need to seek them out however, and it's too bad we can't provide specifics on this site, but once you find a good one, they are worth holding on to.

 

As an example in January 2014 while on board the Eclipse we booked a cruise for January 2015, in CDN $, and received the $250 OBC (U.S. $) for booking on board, the Bev Package under the 1-2-3- Program, (both from Celebrity) and within the 60 day timeframe moved the booking to a CDN Travel Agency who paid our Gratuities.

Edited by WpgCruise
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Yes, it is indeed too bad that we can't name TAs as it seems that what I want to do is doable, I just can't find the right agency to do it with. :( I will just keep investigating and hope to stumble across a good TA who will let me book and pay in CDN and actually add a perk or two. It's nice to keep our fellow Canadians in business as well. Good for them and good for me as I then don't have to budget hundreds more at final payment. :)

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If you get at Canadian TA to give you anything - please let me know. I remember calling the auto club and saying that if they gave me anything, even send a bottle of wine to the cabin for the booking being transferred - that I would give them my booking - not even a bottle of wine!!!

On the other hand the U.S. agents seem much more aggressive.

 

Not all of them. Yes, we book with a good (and highly trustworthy) US agency and get great deals and OBC.

 

But my relatives decided to go with us and book with their small town agent. They are traveling in a suite (big commission) and getting nothing -zippo!- from the agency beyond the perks Celebrity is providing.

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Some good discussion and tips here. We also have US$ bank accounts and credit cards.

 

Another option we've found great, and may be easier for some, is to use a credit card that doesn't charge a currency conversion fee...almost all cards in Canada charge 2.5% in addition to the exchange rate. This is particularly punative if you end up cancelling a cruise, as youve lost 2.5% of the deposit!

 

The cards offered by Chase Canada, to my knowledge, are the only cards in Canada without a currency conversion fee. . My favourite is the Marriott Rewards visa, as it still earns some watered down points.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Some good discussion and tips here. We also have US$ bank accounts and credit cards.

 

Another option we've found great, and may be easier for some, is to use a credit card that doesn't charge a currency conversion fee...almost all cards in Canada charge 2.5% in addition to the exchange rate. This is particularly punative if you end up cancelling a cruise, as youve lost 2.5% of the deposit!

 

The cards offered by Chase Canada, to my knowledge, are the only cards in Canada without a currency conversion fee. . My favourite is the Marriott Rewards visa, as it still earns some watered down points.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Amazon.ca card also has no fees

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Here is something for you to try to find some U.S. agencies - have you tried this - since we can't give away .com addresses on this site - just google 'compete for cruises' and the first one on the list that comes up - give them a try. That is how I found 2 U.S. agents that I have used the last 5 years and always get great pricing. They are also accessible over the telephone and do not charge cancellation fees. But I would say that if you are the type of booking that needs hand holding, then this is not the way to go for you. We always book our cruises a year ahead of time on the ship and because it is a high season sailing the cruise always sells out and never ever goes down in price. As a matter of fact our upcoming Feb. cruise right now is double what we paid.

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