New USD-CAD exchange rate starting after June 5, 2019

[canadarocks]

4 minutes ago, jimlouisesophie said:

If I understand u correctly, If I purchase shore ex now, I will be charged at the current US/Cdn exchange rate at the day I book the ex., Correct?   Can I not withdraw funds from my OBC when I book the ex now?  Am a little confused.

 

Shore excursions and specialty dining are priced in USA dollars. Obviously if you use a Canadian credit card to pay for them now you will pay whatever the credit card company is charging in exchange. Princess' rate doesn't apply. 

 

If you booked your cruise at Princess' exchange rate of 30%, gratuities, drink packages, purchased OBC, and anything listed in Canadian dollars will be at that 30% rate. So pre-purchase enough OBC to cover the shore excursions & specialty dining, and you'll save the difference between 30% and whatever your credit card is charging at the time you do your purchase. If you already have enough OBC to cover your shore excursions then you can buy them whenever. You can only use OBC for specialty dining once you are onboard. 

 

 

 

 

[Fouremco]

28 minutes ago, canadarocks said:

If you already have enough OBC to cover your shore excursions then you can buy them whenever.

On HAL, OBC can only be used onboard, no matter what you are purchasing; shore excursions are no exception. I'm pleased, if a bit surprised, to find out that on Princess you can use OBC pre-cruise to book excursions. 

[canadarocks]

6 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

On HAL, OBC can only be used onboard, no matter what you are purchasing; shore excursions are no exception. I'm pleased, if a bit surprised, to find out that on Princess you can use OBC pre-cruise to book excursions. 

It's one of my favourite things about Princess. I wish you could do the same with restaurant reservations.

[Ombud]

18 hours ago, Host CJSKIDS said:

I have a Canadian friend who just asked me what the current rate is now.  I told her I would ask, anyone know what it currently sits at?

Try any of the apps. I use EASY CURRENCY CONVERTER which shows today's rate as:

 

[ehogan]

I had a large amount of OBC for my upcoming Sept. Cruise.  I purchased shore excursions on line and the excursions were paid by those OBC till I ran out, then I had to pay the balance on my credit card.

 

i ❤️ Princess!

[Fouremco]

8 minutes ago, Ombud said:

Try any of the apps. I use EASY CURRENCY CONVERTER which shows today's rate as:

Most currency apps give you the mid-market rate, which lies mid way between the rate at which you will actually buy or sell. For example, the Royal Bank of Canada's rate today for purchasing USD is 1.37, not 1.34.

[CruisinFinsUp]

https://usa.visa.com/support/consumer/travel-support/exchange-rate-calculator.html

 

if you know the fee your card charges, this is useful for Visa holders.  

[Fouremco]

Ditto for MasterCard: https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/consumers/get-support/convert-currency.html

[jimlouisesophie]

3 hours ago, canadarocks said:

 

Shore excursions and specialty dining are priced in USA dollars. Obviously if you use a Canadian credit card to pay for them now you will pay whatever the credit card company is charging in exchange. Princess' rate doesn't apply. 

 

If you booked your cruise at Princess' exchange rate of 30%, gratuities, drink packages, purchased OBC, and anything listed in Canadian dollars will be at that 30% rate. So pre-purchase enough OBC to cover the shore excursions & specialty dining, and you'll save the difference between 30% and whatever your credit card is charging at the time you do your purchase. If you already have enough OBC to cover your shore excursions then you can buy them whenever. You can only use OBC for specialty dining once you are onboard. 

 

 

 

 

Thx, Canadarocks (and it does, lol)   So what I have already done is added more OBC to my account a few months ago which will pay for most of our beverages aboard but did not factor in the cost of excursions which we will be taking, so with your advice will be adding more OBC to pay for the excursions and the funds will be withdrawn from my account when making the booking....Correct?  Sorry for all the messages...kinda confused, as some of us Canuks can be at times.

[jimlouisesophie]

15 minutes ago, jimlouisesophie said:

Thx, Canadarocks (and it does, lol)   So what I have already done is added more OBC to my account a few months ago which will pay for most of our beverages aboard but did not factor in the cost of excursions which we will be taking, so with your advice will be adding more OBC to pay for the excursions and the funds will be withdrawn from my account when making the booking....Correct?  Sorry for all the messages...kinda confused, as some of us Canuks can be at times.

I just called Princess, and was told  if I put in addition funds on my OBC after the June increase, the exchange rate will be at the new rate, not my existing rate, which contradicts a previous post on this thread, so best to put in new funds now before the June increase.

[satxdiver]

22 minutes ago, jimlouisesophie said:

I just called Princess, and was told  if I put in addition funds on my OBC after the June increase, the exchange rate will be at the new rate, not my existing rate, which contradicts a previous post on this thread, so best to put in new funds now before the June increase.

 

Princess has announced a new exchange rate effective in June.  Any CDN funds given to Princess directly will be subject to the exchange rate at that time.  Make your CDN deposits before the June increase to get the benefit of a more friendly exchange rate.  

[westcoaster]

3 hours ago, Fouremco said:

Most currency apps give you the mid-market rate, which lies mid way between the rate at which you will actually buy or sell. For example, the Royal Bank of Canada's rate today for purchasing USD is 1.37, not 1.34.

When purchasing a cruise, most people use a credit card, they are not buying USD from a bank.  If you have a card with no foreign transaction fees, then the rate should be the same as the currency apps.

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, westcoaster said:

When purchasing a cruise, most people use a credit card, they are not buying USD from a bank.  If you have a card with no foreign transaction fees, then the rate should be the same as the currency apps.

Correct, which is why it's generally better to use the Visa or MasterCard conversion calculators (see posts #32 and #33) than apps providing the general currency exchange rate. I was simply pointing out that the latter don't reflect the rate you'll get if you do want to exchange currencies and used the Royal Bank's rate solely as an example.

[westcoaster]

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

Correct, which is why it's generally better to use the Visa or MasterCard conversion calculators (see posts #32 and #33) than apps providing the general currency exchange rate. I was simply pointing out that the latter don't reflect the rate you'll get if you do want to exchange currencies and used the Royal Bank's rate solely as an example.

OK.  I was confused when you said the rate was 1.37 because I've been getting around 1.34 on recent credit card purchases.

[caribill]

14 hours ago, Fouremco said:

 I'm pleased, if a bit surprised, to find out that on Princess you can use OBC pre-cruise to book excursions. 

 

The history behind that:

a) Until about two years ago, you could reserve shore excursions pre-cruise and not pay for them until on board, effectively at the end of the cruise unless you had OBC to cover their cost during the cruise..

 

b) Princess then decided not to be unique, but to join all the other cruise lines that make you pay for the excursions at the time you book them. This can often be months before final payment for the cruise itself is due.

 

c) There was an outcry (at least on Cruise Critic) because many people used OBC to pay for the excursions which was not possible pre-cruise. In effect, people said that if they could not use the OBC to purchase shore excursions, there was very little else they would want to spend it on, especially if booked with a promotion that covered gratuities.

 

d) Princess then changed the process to what it is now so that OBC could be used to purchase shore excursions pre-cruise.

[jimlouisesophie]

On 5/24/2019 at 11:08 AM, Coral said:

Notification: A change in USD-CAD exchange rate 

 

Effective with new bookings made after June 5, 2019, the Canadian currency exchange rate will change to $1 USD = $1.35 CAD. The updated exchange rate will be applied to new groups opened after June 5, 2019.

Thanks for the information and so very helpful.  I just added more OBC to our account and got the 130 rate and also booked our excursions and were credited for them.  Sure saved us a lot of $. Great to have this thread.

[kruisey]

If you have booked in Canadian and waiting for EZ Air to be released.I f it is released after June 6th it will be quoted to you in Canadian dollars at the $1.35 rates according to the Princess representative who checked with customer service.

[phabric]

I have 2 cruises booked for 1) Oct  2019, 2) August 2020.  

 

If, I go on my Personalizer, Onboard Reservation - to purchase OBC, it shows for 1) $100 US for $125 CDN and 2) $100 US for $130 CDN.

 

If, I purchase OBC after June 5, is my rate going to change to $1.35. Or, are they going to stay at their present rate?

 

Is the new rate only for new bookings after June 5?

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, kruisey said:

If you have booked in Canadian and waiting for EZ Air to be released.I f it is released after June 6th it will be quoted to you in Canadian dollars at the $1.35 rates according to the Princess representative who checked with customer service.

I am wondering if that is even true.  Airlines always sell fares at the current exchange rate in effect the day you book.  IMO, when you shop for airfares, you are seeing that day's pricing in whatever currency you are viewing.  If you book a flight, that is the rate.  I kind of doubt flights are sold at a fixed rate.

[Steelers36]

3 minutes ago, phabric said:

I have 2 cruises booked for 1) Oct  2019, 2) August 2020.  

 

If, I go on my Personalizer, Onboard Reservation - to purchase OBC, it shows for 1) $100 US for $125 CDN and 2) $100 US for $130 CDN.

 

If, I purchase OBC after June 5, is my rate going to change to $1.35. Or, are they going to stay at their present rate?

 

Is the new rate only for new bookings after June 5?

I question that earlier post where a customer was told purchasing OBC after June 5 would be at the new rate for an existing booking.  You have just proved it wrong.  Obviously, you booked your Oct 2019 cruise prior to the move to 1.30 from 1.25 and you can still buy OBC for 1.25.  I don't see why anything will change on June 6.  After all, the 1.25 did not change to 1.30.

[phabric]

4 hours ago, kruisey said:

If you have booked in Canadian and waiting for EZ Air to be released.I f it is released after June 6th it will be quoted to you in Canadian dollars at the $1.35 rates according to the Princess representative who checked with customer service.

 

I reserved my flights (Air Canada and BA) with EzAir Flexible when air fare was leased for my Oct 2019 Med cruise booked in CDN.

 

The EzAir prices are roughly the same price as Air Canada.  With Flexible EzAir, if the price goes down, I modify my booking and get a new price which you can not do if booked direct with the airline.

 

 

[kruisey]

My latest cruise is booked for May 2020 one can book directly now with Air Canada .EZAir in a few weeks time. I asked Princess if I booked EZAIr with them in a few weeks time and quoted in Canadian dollars would they charge me at $1.35 she said yes. The flights to LAX are usually full so I doubt they would have price discounted.Iam booking this one direct.

[joe d]

I am currently booked on two cruises at much better exchange rates. I would like to book a couple more but the prices are not good (i.e. they are not on sale).  

I am curious how other people react to such high exchange rates.  At what point do you start altering your plans?  For me, my tipping point seems to be about 1.35.   The last time the rates got this high I took more holidays in Canada, took shorter cruises, booked inside cabins, and took a cruise with another cruise that was offering special deals for Canadians.  I even went as far as selling my CCL stock. 

[dstables]

On 5/24/2019 at 3:32 PM, steelers36 said:

Another way around it for those who book in CAD now, is you could purchase the USD early for final payment and lock in the rate if concerned it might be worse at that date.  IDK your TA, and we cannot discuss that specific here, but I have not come across a Canadian TA that discounts like US TA's and virtually all US TA's don't book in true CAD with Princess as it would require a second agency account with Princess.  That said, I have quit scouring around for a discount TA (discount off cruise price - not just more OBC) that will book in CAD since I have found our current TA who gives the largest discount for Princess cruises that I have come across or found.

 

Our American TA can book us in American funds or Canadian funds and gives great discounts. Anywhere from 8-12%. When she first starting offering her pricing in CDN funds I did the math and her price and discount were the same whether I booked in CDN or American funds. 

[westcoaster]

I noticed that all the cruises I've been looking at have dropped a bit in price and all end in $xx.70, so it looks like Princess has dropped the US/CAD exchange rate back to 1.30.