NZ dollar against US dollar

[Polodriver]

Has anyone booked a cruise in U.S. Dollars. I am a little concerned and do not know if this situation will reverse. At this stage I have paid deposit only!

[Beanb41]

Has anyone booked a cruise in U.S. Dollars. I am a little concerned and do not know if this situation will reverse. At this stage I have paid deposit only!

 

You are at the mercy of a very volatile NZ dollar which by every experts reckoning is going to further devalue against the US dollar. If this happens and my view is that it will having already devalued about 40% over the past 6 months and with 3 potential interest rate cuts planned in NZ pre Christmas a further devaluation is more than likely. In order to avert an increased cost I would change your booking to NZ dollars which will have no currency fluctuations to worry about or pay your cruise in full now. Or are you a gambler ......................

[Polodriver]

Hello Beanb41, can you please explain how to change the booking to NZ $. I'm a bit new at this. Thank you.

[Beanb41]

Hello Beanb41, can you please explain how to change the booking to NZ $. I'm a bit new at this. Thank you.

 

I am no expert either. I would try and recover my deposit by cancelling the cruise and then rebook it either through a NZ TA or via the NZ website of Celebrity.

[Polodriver]

Thank you. I have used a very experienced TA and its on Crystal. Have been on them before but at better exchange .

[Bodogbodog]

can you please explain how to change the booking to NZ $

 

If it's a cruise line that only sells in US$ such as say Crystal ;) then unless the travel agent in NZ (if you are booking through that channel) factors in the exchange rate and offers the cruise in NZ$ (and charges you for it to cover their risk) you are at the mercy of the exchange rate until you pay in full

 

It has sure made cruising on lines selling in US$ a lot more expensive :(

Edited July 19, 2015 by Bodogbodog

[Beanb41]

If it's a cruise line that only sells in US$ such as say Crystal ;) then unless the travel agent in NZ (if you are booking through that channel) factors in the exchange rate and offers the cruise in NZ$ (and charges you for it to cover their risk) you are at the mercy of the exchange rate until you pay in full

 

It has sure made cruising on lines selling in US$ a lot more expensive :(

 

Your comments are not 100% correct. Once you have confirmed your cruise and paid your deposit the price is also confirmed irrespective of currency fluctuations. Should the exchange rate improve against other currencies and the price subsequently changes one again has the option of cancelling and rebooking but be aware that there may be cancellation charges involved and and benefits accrued from the current booking may not be available on the subsequent booking.

Last year I made a booking using an Australian TA and paid in full at the time of booking to lock in the favourable exchange rate which at the time was better than any NZ TA could give me.

You pays your money you takes your chances.

[Bodogbodog]

Your comments are not 100% correct.

 

What specifically is not 100% correct in my comments?

My point is if a TA is pricing a US$ cruise into NZ$ and not receiving payment in full then rest assured they are going to factor in the currency risk or any hedging they take to cover it in that local price

Of course if you pay in full then the price is locked in - and you can cancel and get a refund subject to any cancellation charges

I book all my cruises via US TA's so am used to the positives and negative aspects of doing so including currency exchange rates

Edited July 19, 2015 by Bodogbodog

[OzKiwiJJ]

My point is if a TA is pricing a US$ cruise into NZ$ and not receiving payment in full then rest assured they are going to factor in the currency risk or any hedging they take to cover it in that local price

 

Yes, that is true.

 

Of course if you pay in full then the price is locked in - and you can cancel and get a refund subject to any cancellation charges

 

With some cruise lines, once you pay a deposit the local currency price is locked in. We have that with our Celebrity cruise which we booked direct with Celebrity. Both the AUD price and the prepaid gratuities price are locked in to what they were when we booked. The gratuities daily rate has increased since then but we only pay the original rate converted at the exchange rate at the time.

[The_Big_M]

If it's a cruise line that only sells in US$ such as say Crystal ;) then unless the travel agent in NZ (if you are booking through that channel) factors in the exchange rate and offers the cruise in NZ$ (and charges you for it to cover their risk) you are at the mercy of the exchange rate until you pay in full

(

 

Agreed. If the exchange rate is a concern the safest thing to do is pay in full now.

[Beanb41]

Yes, that is true.

 

 

 

With some cruise lines, once you pay a deposit the local currency price is locked in. We have that with our Celebrity cruise which we booked direct with Celebrity. Both the AUD price and the prepaid gratuities price are locked in to what they were when we booked. The gratuities daily rate has increased since then but we only pay the original rate converted at the exchange rate at the time.

 

Our only experience is with Celebrity whose websites are priced in local currencies depending upon where one logs on. Once the cruise is booked the price in local currency is locked in irrespective of currency fluctuations. However I do accept that if a cruise line does not provide local currency costings one will always be at the mercy of currency fluctuations unless one pays in full at time of booking

[Haoie]

It's rather alarming isn't it? Not just for cruisers, but really for anyone planning to go overseas.

 

Many regrets about not getting in while it was at 88c!

[Beanb41]

It could as easily go the other way. The $A was at one stage $US!.17 now its around $0.75. The $NZ was just a few months ago $A0.98 heading for parity now its $0.86. Currency goes up and down. A real estate guru once told me the Bargain of a lifetime comes around about once a month its all about being able to take advantage of it. Buying currency and planning cruises at the right price is similar

[OzKiwiJJ]

Stressing about exchange rates is guaranteed to do your head in. :eek: :D

 

The thing that is fascinating me at the moment is the potential effect of the new Princess drinks package for our region. At AU $59 it's about one third cheaper than the equivalent Celebrity or Royal Caribbean offerings at current exchange rates. Hope it doesn't impact those two lines too much, it's good to have a choice of cruise lines in this region.

[Haoie]

One thing I hope all can agree on - a low rate is bad for your vacation!

[Beanb41]

Stressing about exchange rates is guaranteed to do your head in. :eek: :D

 

The thing that is fascinating me at the moment is the potential effect of the new Princess drinks package for our region. At AU $59 it's about one third cheaper than the equivalent Celebrity or Royal Caribbean offerings at current exchange rates. Hope it doesn't impact those two lines too much, it's good to have a choice of cruise lines in this region.

 

If the drinks package is included as perk for Celebrity and the Celebrity cruise costs are comparable to other similar cruises then IMO its a no brainer if one wants a drinks package as part of the cruise.

Secondly if one has prepaid a cruise or locked in a price then exchange rate fluctuations are really irrelevant.

[OzKiwiJJ]

If the drinks package is included as perk for Celebrity and the Celebrity cruise costs are comparable to other similar cruises then IMO its a no brainer if one wants a drinks package as part of the cruise.

 

For people who book oceanview cabins and above, yes. But some people like to cruise in inside cabins to save money and inside cabins do not get the perks. So that's one sector of the market that may look elsewhere, say to an AUD ship, to avoid exchange rate shock.

 

Secondly if one has prepaid a cruise or locked in a price then exchange rate fluctuations are really irrelevant.

 

True, and you can buy OBC, if you think your dollar is going to drop further, to reduce the impact of onboard costs.

[Pushka]

We cancelled our USD booked cruise because of currency falls and rebooked through the cruiseline where the price in AUD was less, and obviously remain stable.

 

You cannot lock in a price in AUD if booked using US Travel Agents because only the USD price remains stable but currencies dont.

Edited July 20, 2015 by Pushka