Canadian Cruisers Paying in U.S. Dollars

[Schmoe38]

Just wanted to see if any of our fellow Canadian cruisers have had any experience paying for cruises in U.S. Dollars when the exchange rate makes sense.

 

We just spoke with Celebrity in terms of getting pricing in both Canadian Dollars and U.S. Dollars and it appears the exchange rate being used is approximately 38 cents on the dollar. With the recent strength in the Canadian Dollar, we can purchase U.S. Dollars at an exchange rate closer to 30 cents on the dollar (one of us works for a major Canadian Bank).

 

We placed a 24 hour hold on a stateroom today and were told by Celebrity that we could make the choice to pay in Canadian or U.S. Dollars. In a subsequent call to Celebrity today, we were informed we could only pay in Canadian Dollars.

 

Can anyone "break the tie"

 

Randy and Connie

[lienf]

Just wanted to see if any of our fellow Canadian cruisers have had any experience paying for cruises in U.S. Dollars when the exchange rate makes sense.

 

We just spoke with Celebrity in terms of getting pricing in both Canadian Dollars and U.S. Dollars and it appears the exchange rate being used is approximately 38 cents on the dollar. With the recent strength in the Canadian Dollar, we can purchase U.S. Dollars at an exchange rate closer to 30 cents on the dollar (one of us works for a major Canadian Bank).

 

We placed a 24 hour hold on a stateroom today and were told by Celebrity that we could make the choice to pay in Canadian or U.S. Dollars. In a subsequent call to Celebrity today, we were informed we could only pay in Canadian Dollars.

 

Can anyone "break the tie"

 

Randy and Connie

 

I can. Booked a cruise last week for a spring trip on the Equinox in U.S dollars. All our other cruise have been in Canadian, but I am gambling on the rate this time. Booked with Celebrity and then transferred to an agent.

[Schmoe38]

I can. Booked a cruise last week for a spring trip on the Equinox in U.S dollars. All our other cruise have been in Canadian, but I am gambling on the rate this time. Booked with Celebrity and then transferred to an agent.

 

Thank you. Were you able to get anything extra by transferring to a TA? I have read many stories of TAs providing little extras, but I'm not sure I have read many stories of Canadian TAs offering those extras.

 

 

Randy

[argyllsock]

Hi,

 

We always book our cruises in USD and through a US TA specializing in cruises. The conversion rates quoted are almost always much worse what you can get yourself.

 

Our approach (and it requires a USD credit card and USD account at a Canadian bank) is to book with our US based TA, immediately exchange our CAD for USD and put it into our USD bank account. When the final payment is due we simply put it on our USD credit card, then pay the card balance with the funds we put aside.

 

Benefits:

 

1. Better exchange rate

2. Better 'gifts' from our TA

3. Points on our credit card!

 

It can't work for everyone, and the annual fee of a USD card may outweigh any savings, but for us it works very well.

 

I am sure if you don't have a USD credit card you can probably find a way to pay the TA directly. As a bank employee I am sure you can get a no charge USD account so you can 'hedge' any fluctuations by converting and holding USD funds when you book.

 

Good luck!

Edited July 2, 2016 by argyllsock
wording

[Schmoe38]

Hi,

 

We always book our cruises in USD and through a US TA specializing in cruises. The conversion rates quoted are almost always much worse what you can get yourself.

 

Our approach (and it requires a USD credit card and USD account at a Canadian bank) is to book with our US based TA, immediately exchange our CAD for USD and put it into our USD bank account. When the final payment is due we simply put it on our USD credit card, then pay the card balance with the funds we put aside.

 

Benefits:

 

1. Better exchange rate

2. Better 'gifts' from our TA

3. Points on our credit card!

 

It can't work for everyone, and the annual fee of a USD card may outweigh any savings, but for us it works very well.

 

I am sure if you don't have a USD credit card you can probably find a way to pay the TA directly. As a bank employee I am sure you can get a no charge USD account so you can 'hedge' any fluctuations by converting and holding USD funds when you book.

 

Good luck!

 

Yes, that's what we were looking to do on the payment side. We already have USDs in a US bank account as well as a USD credit card. Now it's just a case of getting Celebrity to agree that we can pay in USD. The potential transfer to a TA would be the last piece of the puzzle.

 

Thank you

 

Randy

[Cruise Junky]

I only book in Canadian when it makes sense. 1.38 doesn't make sense.

[argyllsock]

Yes, that's what we were looking to do on the payment side. We already have USDs in a US bank account as well as a USD credit card. Now it's just a case of getting Celebrity to agree that we can pay in USD. The potential transfer to a TA would be the last piece of the puzzle.

 

Thank you

 

Randy

 

That is quite easily done - you just need to have one! Enjoy the cruise...and the savings!

[Can'tstopcruising]

Over the years, we have booked in US and in Can funds.

 

But we always paid with our Can. Credit Card in order to have the cancellation insurance included.

 

On at least one occasion, we booked in US and cancelled after our dollar had gone up. We were out the discrepancy.

 

Now, I find it much simpler to book in Canadian.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

On Celebrity Canadian website a trip is $719 CAD

Same trip on Celebrity US site is $599

If you use XC exchange for a reference $719 CAD is $551 USD ,

I will book in Canadian fees ,

[TeaBag]

Celebrity is running 2 specials this weekend, one for Canada Day and one for Independence Day. I compared the prices and like Tracy, decided 1.38 was a lousy rate for us Canadians.

 

I don't understand why the OP cannot pay in USD. The 24 hr hold could be cancelled and rebooked in USD.

 

We have always used a large on-line American TA and pay in USD with our US Amex.

[Schmoe38]

On Celebrity Canadian website a trip is $719 CAD

Same trip on Celebrity US site is $599

If you use XC exchange for a reference $719 CAD is $551 USD ,

I will book in Canadian fees ,

 

There appears to be a difference in exchange rates based on the type of stateroom. I just did a comparison of prices on the Canadian site vs the U.S site specifically for our itinerary on Apr 22/17. An inside stateroom converts at 1.2 per cent whereas a Royal Suite converts at 1.38 per cent.

 

Interesting.

 

Randy

[RickT]

I only book in Canadian when it makes sense. 1.38 doesn't make sense.

 

My current cruise was booked in US $. No idea why but the pricing in Canadian $ worked out to $1.80 which made absolutely no sense. It was also booked near final payment date so I wasn't worried about currency fluctuations. Going forward I will always compare US and CDN pricing and choose whichever works best. If close I'll choose CDN.

 

As far as one of the questions by the OP, I was able to book the cruise on the X website in US $ even though my profile is Canadian. Just one word of caution, when booked in US funds, any excursion, dining package or even Choice Air also has to be in US $.

[Schmoe38]

Celebrity is running 2 specials this weekend, one for Canada Day and one for Independence Day. I compared the prices and like Tracy, decided 1.38 was a lousy rate for us Canadians.

 

I don't understand why the OP cannot pay in USD. The 24 hr hold could be cancelled and rebooked in USD.

 

We have always used a large on-line American TA and pay in USD with our US Amex.

 

We don't understand either. We do know that information relayed out of Celebrity is not always consistent. Our plan is to try again tomorrow. We may keep the TA option in our hip pocket.

 

Randy

[ShakeDaddy]

We don't understand either. We do know that information relayed out of Celebrity is not always consistent. Our plan is to try again tomorrow. We may keep the TA option in our hip pocket.

 

Randy

 

Your hip pocket is more than likely your direction.

 

The days of the 2009-2012 Canadian Dollar strength is history. :D

[chrismakris]

I've always been told to make sure you book your cruise in Canadian dollars to protect yourself from a drop in its value. This came in handy on my last cruise where we booked at 95 cents to the US and then all of a sudden dropped to 80 cents by final payment.

 

Even at it's current value a 5 -6 cent drop will cost you a couple of hundred dollars.

[drakes2]

Booked my upcoming cruise on the Silhouette through Celebrity last November in CDN at a rate of 1.22. Took advantage of the Go Better promo and two days later saw a promo for an extra sale so took advantage of that as well. Got prepaid grats plus $300 OBC pp in USD. When I saw one of the big box TA's offering a better value in OBC's I called and was told they could not combine the rate I received directly through Celebrity with their offer. I booked a guarantee veranda and received an upgraded cabin location, therefore was not able to transfer the booking and would have had to cancel and rebook with the TA. Also got points on the CC that I used which amounts to $125 in value plus free trip cancellation insurance. When I made final payment in May the exchange rate hovered around $1.33 but I still paid $1.22 so in this case I came out ahead paying in CDN $$$. :)

I've always been told to make sure you book your cruise in Canadian dollars to protect yourself from a drop in its value. This came in handy on my last cruise where we booked at 95 cents to the US and then all of a sudden dropped to 80 cents by final payment.

 

Even at it's current value a 5 -6 cent drop will cost you a couple of hundred dollars.

[Scrappytraveller]

I booked on board in USD in March so they definitely do it. This is just another case of ask the question twice, get two different answers. If you can't get the right answer, don't bother booking through celebrity at all. Many US TAs will make your booking for you. Forget cdn TAs except the big C big box store, you'll get virtually no perks from a cdn TA. Right now Celebrity's FX rate is a major ripoff, but for quite a while it was really favourable to us. So basically, you have to do the math before booking each and every time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Schmoe38]

I've always been told to make sure you book your cruise in Canadian dollars to protect yourself from a drop in its value. This came in handy on my last cruise where we booked at 95 cents to the US and then all of a sudden dropped to 80 cents by final payment.

 

Even at it's current value a 5 -6 cent drop will cost you a couple of hundred dollars.

 

Thank you. We're not worried about a drop in the exchange rate because we already have the USDs in place. We purchased when our CDN$ was at a premium. Wish we would have "backed up the truck" at that time.

 

Randy

[1982CruzStart]

If the person at Celebrity you had put the hold on the cabin did so in CAD, they can not change it to USD. You need to cancel the CAD hold and re-book in USD.

 

We book in which ever currency is most beneficial at the time.

 

We recently booked a cruise in CAD but then reconsidered and canceled that booking and re-booked the same cabin in USD. They can't just change the currency.

 

Personally i would just book with a US TA that can handle both CAD & USD bookings right from the beginning so you know right from the start what perks you will get from Celebrity and the TA.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[westerngardener]

FYI . . . my particular cruise, and perhaps others on RCCL currently have a 20% off their Ultimate, Premium and Select beverage packages. Personally, I don't drink enough to make it a 'good' buy but might be worthwhile for other cruisers.:)

[iancal]

Over the past 15 years I can only recall one time when it was more advantageous for us to purchase a cruise in Canada, in Canadian dollars. The rest of the time we have dealt with an on line US TA.

 

We used to have a USD credit card and USD bank account because we rec'd cheques in USD from time to time. No use paying high bank fees to convert them to CAD and then another 2.5 percent plus a poor FX rate when we charged them to our Canadian Visas.

 

Now we use a Visa that does not charge any admin fees for FX and uses a proper FX rate. We still have the USD account but it is just about drained. The benefit to the replacement card is that we also have charges in euros, etc. These charges also come across at the correct FX rate and with not hidden 2.5 percent charge that most of the bank issued Visa cards tack on to the transaction.

[C 2 C]

The best way to go is to get a Marriott or Amazon credit card.

For those using an American $ card, you still have to purchase US$ from the bank at up to 5% charge.

The Marriott card will cost about $120 but you get a free hotel room in Florida and there is no exchange rate. The Amazon card has no fee but the kickback is only 1%.

 

A certain US travel agency used by many on these boards will now book in Canadian funds but the OBC given by them will suffer.

 

Unfortunately, we have to check each deal to see if the exchange is favourable in US$ or CAD$.. so tedious.

[drakes2]

Got myself a Rogers mastercard. No FX Fees so plan on using for large purchases in Europe. Free for 1st year and fee free onwards if you put your Rogers bill on it. Plus gives points for every $ spent.

[Schmoe38]

I booked on board in USD in March so they definitely do it. This is just another case of ask the question twice, get two different answers. If you can't get the right answer, don't bother booking through celebrity at all. Many US TAs will make your booking for you. Forget cdn TAs except the big C big box store, you'll get virtually no perks from a cdn TA. Right now Celebrity's FX rate is a major ripoff, but for quite a while it was really favourable to us. So basically, you have to do the math before booking each and every time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

We're good. Booked it in USD today.

 

Randy

[iancal]

We do the Chase Marriott Visa. We like the free Marriott night and we use the points.

 

This card saves us money each year over what we would pay if we were using our Royal or CIBC Visa cards. Both in terms of actual Visa charges and in ATM withdrawals.