Canadian cruisers!!

[caribophile]

Thought I'd purchase some on board credit in advance for our upcoming cruise on the Serenade - for our shore excursions mostly. Called RCL and received $400 USD for only $440 Canadian dollars - an outstanding exchange rate since our bank would have charged me $552 CAN to purchase $400 USD today. So pleased with myself for having saved almost $100!

[BrooklinNorth]

Thanks for the tip with our $ being what it is, every penny helps.

[Alaska Newbie]

I did too!

[Ourusualbeach]

Current thread.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2159570&page=58

[Tired of Snow]

Thanks for the great info.

 

Just called Gifts and Gear and got $300 us for $330 cdn. Received email confirmation also. I printed it out and will take a copy with me on our cruise.

 

Total of 5 minutes on the phone and the person that helped me was really nice.

 

Thanks again.

 

_____________

Mary and Shane

[bluemeansgo]

What's the phone number for gifts and gear?

[Clarea]

what's the phone number for gifts and gear?

800-722-5443

[Tired of Snow]

800-722-5443

 

Yes that is the number I called. Sorry I should of added that. I guess I was just so excited and wanted to let everyone know that this great deal is still available.

 

Thank you again.

 

_____________

Mary and Shane

[KiwiGal117]

HEHEHEHEEEE... just called and added $400, for $440. My cruise isn't for 363 days, so they have my money for a while, but at these great rates, it's worth it. I may call and add more another day.

[KiwiGal117]

Thanks for the great info.

 

Just called Gifts and Gear and got $300 us for $330 cdn. Received email confirmation also. I printed it out and will take a copy with me on our cruise.

 

Total of 5 minutes on the phone and the person that helped me was really nice.

 

Thanks again.

 

_____________

Mary and Shane

 

I just received my email and it doesn't say I purchased US$400 anywhere, just the cost of Cdn $440. Did your email specify the amount purchased??

[hancogran]

I just received my email and it doesn't say I purchased US$400 anywhere, just the cost of Cdn $440. Did your email specify the amount purchased??

 

That's exactly what everybody's email shows.. just what you paid in Canadian. Those of us who have already been on our cruises after purchasing the U.S. dollars at this special rate, got the exact amount in U.S. dollars that we were expecting so don't worry about it.

 

If you read the earlier posts (when the thread started), you will see most of us were concerned but again, no need to worry! :D

Edited August 28, 2015 by hancogran

[KiwiGal117]

Thank you!!! I appreciate the reply. I've been following this thread for a while but finally bit the bullet today.

[Tired of Snow]

I just received my email and it doesn't say I purchased US$400 anywhere, just the cost of Cdn $440. Did your email specify the amount purchased??

 

Just shows what I paid in Cdn.

 

Glad you got in on the deal.

 

So Happy!

 

_____________

Mary and Shane

[ronandannette]

My mum called to add $300 to her account. She asked if they still have the 10% exchange special and they told her no. She then asked how much it would cost in CAN$ to buy $300 US. They told her $330 CAN$. Someone didn't know what 10% is or that it's a very good exchange rate.

 

LOL - honestly, this does not surprise me whatsoever regarding the RCCL call centre. :D

[TOCruisers]

Thank to your posts, I also bought USD OBC with no problem, 2 different amounts $499 and $500, a big deal.

 

Should we have a problem if we do not allocate these OBCs to each of our names, say U$500 and U$499? Currently all under my name.

 

I somehow recall that the cash account requires a minimum balance of $500? Is this by a cabin or by person?

 

If we withdraw some cash and the balance becomes below a minimum required, do we have to supply a credit card number?

 

What is everybody's experience at the end of the cruise:

US cash refund; US refund to US$ CC, US refund to CAD CC

 

Any issues with these options?

Edited August 29, 2015 by TOCruisers
Adding

[Ourusualbeach]

Thank to your posts, I also bought USD OBC with no problem, 2 different amounts $499 and $500, a big deal.

 

Should we have a problem if we do not allocate these OBCs to each of our names, say U$500 and U$499? Currently all under my name.

 

I somehow recall that the cash account requires a minimum balance of $500? Is this by a cabin or by person?

 

If we withdraw some cash and the balance becomes below a minimum required, do we have to supply a credit card number?

 

What is everybody's experience at the end of the cruise:

US cash refund; US refund to US$ CC, US refund to CAD CC

 

Won't be a problem with it all in one name.

 

Having a cash account means you can spend ( owe Royal) up to $500 before they ask you to pay down the amount you owe.

 

End of cruise you can cash out many ways,

 

US$ cash from guest services,

Credit in US$ to US$ CC

Credit in US$ to CDN CC.

Edited August 29, 2015 by Ourusualbeach

[Tina&James]

Does anyone have any experience onboard with cancelling a shore excursion that was prepurchased, in order to rebook it using obc? We purchased a must do excursion online, and are hoping to be able to cancel it onboard.

 

Thanks on advance. Have bought 1000$ obc so far and hope to be able to use it on this excursion.

[Clarea]

Does anyone have any experience onboard with cancelling a shore excursion that was prepurchased, in order to rebook it using obc? We purchased a must do excursion online, and are hoping to be able to cancel it onboard.

 

Thanks on advance. Have bought 1000$ obc so far and hope to be able to use it on this excursion.

If you cancel onboard, you will not get a credit to your credit card. You will get OBC. So when you rebook, it will be a wash as far as using OBC.

[Ourusualbeach]

Does anyone have any experience onboard with cancelling a shore excursion that was prepurchased, in order to rebook it using obc? We purchased a must do excursion online, and are hoping to be able to cancel it onboard.

 

Thanks on advance. Have bought 1000$ obc so far and hope to be able to use it on this excursion.

 

There is no point in cancelling it once on board. It would only be refunded in OBC to your account BUT you still paid for it ahead of time at the very high exchange rate. You won't be saving anything unless you are going to not spend all your OBC and bring some US$ home with you to convert back to CDN$.

Edited August 29, 2015 by Ourusualbeach

[ronandannette]

Thank to your posts, I also bought USD OBC with no problem, 2 different amounts $499 and $500, a big deal.

 

Should we have a problem if we do not allocate these OBCs to each of our names, say U$500 and U$499? Currently all under my name.

 

I somehow recall that the cash account requires a minimum balance of $500? Is this by a cabin or by person?

 

If we withdraw some cash and the balance becomes below a minimum required, do we have to supply a credit card number?

 

What is everybody's experience at the end of the cruise:

US cash refund; US refund to US$ CC, US refund to CAD CC

 

Any issues with these options?

 

We started out with $1,100 pre-purchased OBC and by the end of the second day of the cruise we had withdrawn $600 cash and spent about $300 more. No one ever contacted us to ask for further payment and we just tracked our balance daily on the interactive tv. We knew we'd exceed our OBC by a little so during the last sea day DH went to guest services and gave them a credit card number. So easy. Don't leave the last bit until departure morning though - the line was miserable-looking!

 

Also, although others have made out better, we were UNABLE to withdraw our cash at the casino without the 5% fee, even though we challenged the cashier on it. Maybe the policy varies ship to ship or we just got unlucky. (At 10% for the initial exchange we decided not to go to war over the additional 5% - it still felt like we'd come out way on top! :))

Edited August 29, 2015 by ronandannette

[Magicat]

So the consensus is, if you have purchased an OBC then when checking in, check in as a cash account. On our Grandeur cruise, our OBC didn't appear on our account until the next day. When you check in, do you have to give them cash to start your account?

Edited August 29, 2015 by Magicat
Punctuation

[ronandannette]

So the consensus is, if you have purchased an OBC then when checking in, check in as a cash account. On our Grandeur cruise, our OBC didn't appear on our account until the next day. When you check in, do you have to give them cash to start your account?

 

No. Nobody ever asked; I presumed they could "see" our substantial OBC credit balance but maybe not. We did have all of our paperwork documenting the OBC purchase with us just in case. Curious to know if one could establish a cash account without any actual cash or pre-purchased OBC. :confused:

Edited August 29, 2015 by ronandannette

[Krickett]

Hi All,

 

Thanks for all the great info everyone has provided on this thread.

 

I was able to purchase $1000.00 in onboard credit for our Anthem cruise.

 

Edited to say: :ofound the answer to my question LOL.

So just a Thank You for the info :D:D

 

 

 

 

Thanks Kar

Edited August 29, 2015 by Krickett
found answer

[Ourusualbeach]

So the consensus is, if you have purchased an OBC then when checking in, check in as a cash account. On our Grandeur cruise, our OBC didn't appear on our account until the next day. When you check in, do you have to give them cash to start your account?

 

Cash accounts are allowed to charge up to $500 before being asked to pay down their balance. It does not matter if you have OBC or not.

[Ourusualbeach]

Hi All,

 

Thanks for all the great info everyone has provided on this thread.

 

I was able to purchase $1000.00 in onboard credit for our Anthem cruise, but i just received the receipt and it does not say that it is $1000USD it just states that we paid $1100CAD, is this the kind of receipt everyone else has?

 

Just concerned that it may not be $1000USD once we board.

 

Thanks Kar

 

Do not worry. This has been discussed many times on this thread and NO ONE has ever had an issue.