Canadian cruisers!!

[hancogran]

Just wondering if anybody can view their credit card charges for recent OBC purchases yet? I purchased $300 U.S. yesterday ($330 Canadian) but I still need actual proof that my $330 Canadian will give me $300 U.S. My receipt only says $330 Canadian bought.

 

I know in a few days, I will be able to view my recent VISA charges and I'm sure the onboard credit purchase will be there . I'm just hoping it shows as $300 U.S. purchased at $1.10 = $330 Canadian.

 

Anybody been able to see how it's actually shown on the credit card statement? Yes, I'm still a bit of a doubter and like others have said, what's to stop them from saying we have $330 Canadian OBC which would be converted at the current rate when we cruise.

[leyla]

Purchasing OBC Cnd $220 for 200 US funds would also defeat the purpose as deposits for Canadians would be $100 Cnd per person and not US funds. :)

[mapleleafvoyage]

sigh,.... I have so much to learn...because I thought our reservations had to always be in US... ?

 

oh well, we are fine for now.. our cruises coming up are paid for... hopefully by the time we book another one, there won't be so much confusion :D

 

Happy cruising all

[JessyCruises]

I just booked a cruise the other day and it is was $2066 CAD. The same cruise was coming up as $2003 USD - same cabin, same discount (Canadian resident rate). So the conversion on the cruise fare was just over 3%. Can't beat that!!

 

 

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[Ourusualbeach]

Just wondering if anybody can view their credit card charges for recent OBC purchases yet? I purchased $300 U.S. yesterday ($330 Canadian) but I still need actual proof that my $330 Canadian will give me $300 U.S. My receipt only says $330 Canadian bought.

 

I know in a few days, I will be able to view my recent VISA charges and I'm sure the onboard credit purchase will be there . I'm just hoping it shows as $300 U.S. purchased at $1.10 = $330 Canadian.

 

Anybody been able to see how it's actually shown on the credit card statement? Yes, I'm still a bit of a doubter and like others have said, what's to stop them from saying we have $330 Canadian OBC which would be converted at the current rate when we cruise.

 

 

Your credit card will only show a purchase of $330 to Royal Caribbean. It will not show what it was for. No different than purchasing a beverage package or booking a specialty restaurant. The best way to think of this is you purchasing a product and not doing a currency conversion. The product just happens to be US OBC.

Edited February 1, 2015 by Ourusualbeach

[JessyCruises]

sigh,.... I have so much to learn...because I thought our reservations had to always be in US... ?

 

 

 

oh well, we are fine for now.. our cruises coming up are paid for... hopefully by the time we book another one, there won't be so much confusion :D

 

 

 

Happy cruising all

 

 

If you book online and your country is set to Canada, the rates will be in CAD. They also charge you out of Vancouver so the credit card is charged in Canadian funds.

 

 

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Edited February 1, 2015 by Canadian Disney Mom

[Ourusualbeach]

I just booked a cruise the other day and it is was $2066 CAD. The same cruise was coming up as $2003 USD - same cabin, same discount (Canadian resident rate). So the conversion on the cruise fare was just over 3%. Can't beat that!!

 

 

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I have also been able to find a lot of good resident rates that has brought the price in line with the US rates. Even for March break and Christmas.

[Ourusualbeach]

sigh,.... I have so much to learn...because I thought our reservations had to always be in US... ?

 

oh well, we are fine for now.. our cruises coming up are paid for... hopefully by the time we book another one, there won't be so much confusion :D

 

Happy cruising all

 

Of 12 cruises I only had one where it was cheaper to book in US funds. All the rest were done in CDN$

[JessyCruises]

I have also been able to find a lot of good resident rates that has brought the price in line with the US rates. Even for March break and Christmas.

 

 

This is the main reason we just booked the Freedom. We already had a cruised booked on Indy for Feb 28. We decided to do a B2B for March 8 and were looking at the Epic or the Breeze to try something different, but with being charged in USD by Carnival and NCL it was not worth it. It also did not hurt that I got a $300 OBC from MyVegas for the Freedom. :)

 

 

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[mapleleafvoyage]

Of 12 cruises I only had one where it was cheaper to book in US funds. All the rest were done in CDN$

 

another question for you.. how/where did you book?

 

I am currently using an online US cruise outlet, and not impressed at all.. in order to get the big perks, I need to book higher rooms.. (for us, we need to book insides -so we can cruise twice a year)

[marcoigna]

Just wondering if anybody can view their credit card charges for recent OBC purchases yet? I purchased $300 U.S. yesterday ($330 Canadian) but I still need actual proof that my $330 Canadian will give me $300 U.S. My receipt only says $330 Canadian bought.

 

 

 

I know in a few days, I will be able to view my recent VISA charges and I'm sure the onboard credit purchase will be there . I'm just hoping it shows as $300 U.S. purchased at $1.10 = $330 Canadian.

 

 

 

Anybody been able to see how it's actually shown on the credit card statement? Yes, I'm still a bit of a doubter and like others have said, what's to stop them from saying we have $330 Canadian OBC which would be converted at the current rate when we cruise.

 

 

It won't show an exchange rate. Simply RCI Vancouver 330.00. Same as a drink package.

 

 

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[Haber]

Definitely check about paying your gratuities up front. On my cruise this March and my one last December I paid less in CDN$ than what they were charging in US$. I paid $11.82 pp per day CDN$ vs $12.00 US$. I had booked these cruises using next cruise certificates that I had bought a year and a half ago so the exchange rate was locked in at that time.

 

So as long as I pay up front my gratuities will be locked in at the rate they were 10 months ago when I booked? That's fantastic! That'll probably be an even better rate than the 10% exchange On OBC.

 

I adore this board. :p

[Ourusualbeach]

another question for you.. how/where did you book?

 

I am currently using an online US cruise outlet, and not impressed at all.. in order to get the big perks, I need to book higher rooms.. (for us, we need to book insides -so we can cruise twice a year)

 

I book direct with Royal. Over the phone, not online. I haven't been able to find any CDN TA's that offer any worthwhile perks so I'll keep control of my reservation. I also switch ships and cabins quite often searching for better deals so, like you, we can escape the cold twice per year.

Edited February 1, 2015 by Ourusualbeach

[Ourusualbeach]

So as long as I pay up front my gratuities will be locked in at the rate they were 10 months ago when I booked? That's fantastic! That'll probably be an even better rate than the 10% exchange On OBC.

 

I adore this board. :p

 

Maybe. It did for me but I'm not sure if that's because I used an older NCC or because of when I booked. Call to check. You can't just ask what the rates are. They have to pull up your reservation and go in to actually book it before they see the appropriate rate.

[Ourusualbeach]

This is the main reason we just booked the Freedom. We already had a cruised booked on Indy for Feb 28. We decided to do a B2B for March 8 and were looking at the Epic or the Breeze to try something different, but with being charged in USD by Carnival and NCL it was not worth it. It also did not hurt that I got a $300 OBC from MyVegas for the Freedom. :)

 

 

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Nice.:) 2 weeks away from the cold. Lately it seems as if they are declaring an extreme cold weather alert every other day or so.

[vacation_junkie]

$220 just got us $200 US OBC..on the phone right now with them !!

Thanks so much for this tip!!

[CruisinCanuck63]

Just called and was able to prepay gratuities for our March cruise. Instead of paying $168 USD ($12 x 7 days x 2 guests), I was able to pay $165.58 CAD. That is a pretty decent savings considering the current state of the Loonie. I also purchased the soda package for $64.36 CAD, which is a small savings over the cost onboard when you consider 15% gratuity and a 30% exchange rate.

 

I called Gifts and Gear as well, asked for confirmation about the OBC purchase and was told that it will appear as USD on the ship, so I purchased $300 USD at a cost of $330 CAD. I can only imagine that RCI will have to adjust their exchange rate sooner rather than later.

 

I usually wait and pay gratuities on board, however, I will certainly be taking a closer look at this for future cruises.

[PLW0520]

Got ours yesterday and I requested that an e-mail be sent and it was. Purchased two $300 OBC for each week of our B2B. So is it a good idea to pay the daily gratuities when we board using part of the OBC?

[CruisinCanuck63]

Got ours yesterday and I requested that an e-mail be sent and it was. Purchased two $300 OBC for each week of our B2B. So is it a good idea to pay the daily gratuities when we board using part of the OBC?

It is worth the call to see what price you are quoted to prepay your gratuities before you board. I called today and the price to prepay was cheaper in Canadian dollars ($82.79 CAD pp) than it would be pay in US dollars on the ship ($84 USD pp). That's before you even factor in the exchange on the $84.

[Ourusualbeach]

It is worth the call to see what price you are quoted to prepay your gratuities before you board. I called today and the price to prepay was cheaper in Canadian dollars ($82.79 CAD pp) than it would be pay in US dollars on the ship ($84 USD pp). That's before you even factor in the exchange on the $84.

 

Glad to see that someone else got the gratuities at the reduced rate.

 

Did you book your cruise using a next cruise certificate?

 

I'm trying to determine what date they use to lock in the exchange rates. Is it the day that you purchased the NCC or the date that you book the cruise.

[CruisinCanuck63]

No, the cruise was not booked with a next cruise certificate. I booked on the phone May 1st, 2014.

[Ourusualbeach]

No, the cruise was not booked with a next cruise certificate. I booked on the phone May 1st, 2014.

 

Thanks. I booked around the same time.

[1982CruzStart]

Just bought $1000 USD for $1100. No issue. All done over the phone. We will see about getting back what is left in cash. Thanks to all for providing their experiences and knowledge. This is our first RCI cruise.

[Josie2]

Thanks for this "tip". I just prepaid for our Feb 14 cruise. However, the agent told my brother that his TA needed to do this. We booked at the same time with the same TA. I told him to call back and ask for a supervisor. He did and they said no dice. Nuts.

 

 

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[Ourusualbeach]

Wow! Just added up the $ amounts of what people have posted and we are around the $14,000 in OBC. Someone one in Miami is going to be looking at the weekend revenue figures wondering what is up with all those Canadians.

 

Now if only the Leafs could do as well.:D