Mildly miffed - conversion charges. A question pls.

[Jeannie333333]

Hi All,

 

Firstly - please remember what your mother hopefully told you ...if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything 🙂 

 

We have just come back from a 3 day cruise on Independence, which we were not sure we would enjoy as thought it might be too short - but we loved it.  Fab staff and a really nice atmosphere.  Very pleased we squeezed in this short break.

 

However, we have a specific credit card we use to pay our onboard account which does not charge a conversion fee for charges made in a currency other that UK pounds.  Every time I complete the info I carefully ensure I do NOT tick the box which permits RCI to convert the charges.  I also take a photo of that page, as I have found they have a tendency to ignore the instruction and convert it from $'s to £'s, obviously applying their 3% charge.  Usually we make a point of going to guest services to check it will be billed in USD, but we found there was always a massive queue at GS's, so didn't check as they have managed to get it right the last 3 cruises, so thought they had started using an infallible process to follow the express instructions during check in.

 

On this cruise I took the photo of the page as usual, but yep you guessed it....they have billed in UK £'s and charged the 3%.    Annoyingly, our charges were quite high as I took out cash at the casino tables (I'm Prime, so no fee charged), and we never pay our gratuities in advance, we prefer they are charged each day and so we pay at the end of the cruise.  So we have been ripped off to the tune of about $60.  I know its only a small amount and I won't let it overshadow the cruise obviously, but its the blinking principle!! 

 

I know its too late to correct this now as we are off the ship, but my question is; do you think the Concierge has access to a guests charging info and so in future instead of queuing at Guest Services we could ask him / her to check?  It is SO irritating that we are obliged to wait in line to check they are following our instructions.

 

Thanks in advance for your helpful comments 🙂 

Edited September 3, 2019 by Jeannie333333
word omitted

[kernow]

Sorry this happened to you, they seem to be notorious for doing this. Like you we always check and yes you can use the concierge. We very rarely go to guest services for anything unless it's urgent and out of the concierge hours, the concierge seems able to do everything and often more efficiently. 

[Jeannie333333]

2 minutes ago, kernow said:

Sorry this happened to you, they seem to be notorious for doing this. Like you we always check and yes you can use the concierge. We very rarely go to guest services for anything unless it's urgent and out of the concierge hours, the concierge seems able to do everything and often more efficiently. 

 

Thank you - thats great to know and will save us time in the future. 

 

It also makes we wonder why they even bother to give us that option if they are going to ignore it anyway!

 

We rarely use the Concierge, and after we have queued we think 'I wonder if the the Concierge could have helped'.  So we will make sure we check with them in future 🙄

 

I take the photo because they also tell us at GS  'you must have ticked the box' - and so I show them a photo of the unticked box and they usually just change it to 'no conversion'. 

 

thanks again

Jean

[atush]

contact post cruise customer service, and send them the pics of your request to pay in USD.

 

If you dont hear back, try twitter.

[beardedladies]

I believe that in general the concierge should be able to do anything guest services can do, with the exception of handling cash. So if you have access it definitely is easier to use them!

[little britain]

It is my motto always to go to GR mid cruise to get a paper print off to see that it is in $$ and i f it is in ££ there is time for them to re-issue me a new folio number and attach the creditcard.

On my last cruise I did not abide by my motto.  Guess what .... it was in ££!  The bill was small so I didn't bother chasing it but for $60 I certainly would.

01932 834 119.    

 

The new express pass no longer has the Option B printed on it which I used to highlight in dayglo orange in the hope it would stand out!

[Clarea]

1 hour ago, atush said:

contact post cruise customer service, and send them the pics of your request to pay in USD.

 

If you dont hear back, try twitter.

 

This.

[Jeannie333333]

41 minutes ago, little britain said:

It is my motto always to go to GR mid cruise to get a paper print off to see that it is in $$ and i f it is in ££ there is time for them to re-issue me a new folio number and attach the creditcard.

On my last cruise I did not abide by my motto.  Guess what .... it was in ££!  The bill was small so I didn't bother chasing it but for $60 I certainly would.

01932 834 119.    

 

The new express pass no longer has the Option B printed on it which I used to highlight in dayglo orange in the hope it would stand out!

Hiya Lesley,

 

I agree, no option A or B -  but it has a separate line to tick is you want them to convert - so the option is still there....

 

sounds like I might be able to chase it - so I 'll give them a call.  I would rather give the staff an extra $60 than RCI benefiting from that money grabbing conversion. 

 

🙄

[Jeannie333333]

Thanks for the replies everyone - I'll chase them up 👍

[Clarea]

4 minutes ago, Jeannie333333 said:

Thanks for the replies everyone - I'll chase them up 👍

 

Freephone from the UK: 0800 018 2020

[Jeannie333333]

4 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Freephone from the UK: 0800 018 2020

 

Thank you, I have that number as my D+ number.  I always used to use the D+ freephone but now they have stopped using the prime phone number for UK cruisers to call - which is great news.   For info, as I know you give out lots of useful info to people, all the premium cost phone numbers have been changed to ones that are charged at the usual local rate (at last).  The contact number for bookings etc is now 0344 4934005 or 01932 834119  😁

[Clarea]

2 minutes ago, Jeannie333333 said:

 

Thank you, I have that number as my D+ number.  I always used to use the D+ freephone but now they have stopped using the prime phone number for UK cruisers to call - which is great news.   For info, as I know you give out lots of useful info to people, all the premium cost phone numbers have been changed to ones that are charged at the usual local rate (at last).  The contact number for bookings etc is now 0344 4934005 or 01932 834119  😁

 

I have 0344 493 3009 for booking, do you think that is incorrect?

[swoopy2110]

Happened to me recently too. I ticked the box online and even asked the check in assistant to make sure I was billed in $$$. She said it was.

 

One night when it was quiet we went to GS and asked them to confirm but they said the account was set up in £££ and they'd need to print us new seapass cards AND re-swipe the card to get to be billed in $$$. Very annoying. They need a better way to do this.

[little britain]

44 minutes ago, Jeannie333333 said:

 

Thank you, I have that number as my D+ number.  I always used to use the D+ freephone but now they have stopped using the prime phone number for UK cruisers to call - which is great news.   For info, as I know you give out lots of useful info to people, all the premium cost phone numbers have been changed to ones that are charged at the usual local rate (at last).  The contact number for bookings etc is now 0344 4934005 or 01932 834119  😁

The D+ number is 0800 240 4261 - I used it last week.

If you get a girl called Kat she is good!

[JillK]

That is very frustrating - especially that you have to be on the watch for and correct their mistake.

 

I agree with the other posters who suggested you try to seek a correction even though you are now home. 

 

I had something similar happen on a Princess cruise where even though I had booked and paid for the cruise in CDN dollars, I was using a USD Visa for onboard expenses so ticked the box NOT to convert to Canadian at check in (before it was all done online).

 

They still went ahead and charged all our onboard charges in Canadian dollars to my USD visa. That meant I got hit with the double whammy of Princess converting from USD to CDN at their exchange rate and charging the conversion fee and then the credit card converting from CDN to USD at their exchange rate and also charging a conversion fee. Very costly in fees as you can well imagine and I remember us being really miffed but can't remember if we ever took any action so probably didn't.

 

For the most part I now book in USD and have never had the problem again, but I would reach out and try to get the cruise line to refund the conversion fee at the very least if it ever happened again.

 

Good luck and please do let us know if you were able to get a resolution! 

 

 

[CPT Trips]

In the U.K. are you able to dispute the charge with the card’s issuer/bank. If so that might be another option. 

[Jeannie333333]

2 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

 

I have 0344 493 3009 for booking, do you think that is incorrect?

 

Hiya, no, I just tried it and that one works too...so now you have so many numbers you just dont know what to do with them 😂.   That is another free number too.

[Jeannie333333]

1 hour ago, swoopy2110 said:

Happened to me recently too. I ticked the box online and even asked the check in assistant to make sure I was billed in $$$. She said it was.

 

One night when it was quiet we went to GS and asked them to confirm but they said the account was set up in £££ and they'd need to print us new seapass cards AND re-swipe the card to get to be billed in $$$. Very annoying. They need a better way to do this.

wow, that is a pain - when I have corrected them in the past, they didnt issue new set sail passes, they just did it online.  

 

Its a shambles that they do this to everyone - anyone would think its deliberate 😱

[Jeannie333333]

14 minutes ago, CPT Trips said:

In the U.K. are you able to dispute the charge with the card’s issuer/bank. If so that might be another option. 

 

Yes, we can but they would then refuse to pay it and as we have quite a few cruises booked with RCI I dont want to annoy them by not paying my bill! 😂

[Clarea]

5 minutes ago, Jeannie333333 said:

 

Hiya, no, I just tried it and that one works too...so now you have so many numbers you just dont know what to do with them 😂.   That is another free number too.

 

Thanks much.

[cravingthis]

52 minutes ago, JillK said:

 

I had something similar happen on a Princess cruise where even though I had booked and paid for the cruise in CDN dollars, I was using a USD Visa for onboard expenses so ticked the box NOT to convert to Canadian at check in (before it was all done online).

 

They still went ahead and charged all our onboard charges in Canadian dollars to my USD visa. That meant I got hit with the double whammy of Princess converting from USD to CDN at their exchange rate and charging the conversion fee and then the credit card converting from CDN to USD at their exchange rate and also charging a conversion fee. Very costly in fees as you can well imagine and I remember us being really miffed but can't remember if we ever took any action so probably didn't.

 

For the most part I now book in USD and have never had the problem again, but I would reach out and try to get the cruise line to refund the conversion fee at the very least if it ever happened again.

 

Hello - I remember having a similar problem during our first cruise, but it did get resolved in the end. 

Sorry to hear you had that experience on Princess. What a nightmare 😣
 

I'm researching the best US exchange rates right now, have you had any luck lately?  The banks and currency converters seem to have the highest rates.  Today's is 1.3415 😮

 

I'd also like to obtain a US credit card (for Canadians), but my bank (TD) requires a minimum balance of $1500 to avoid any transaction fees.  With the rate it is nowadays, I can't afford to keep that much untouched.

 

Would appreciate any feedback!

 

Thanks!

 

Edited September 3, 2019 by red-dragon

[cravingthis]

2 hours ago, Jeannie333333 said:

Thanks for the replies everyone - I'll chase them up 👍

Good luck, please let us know how it goes! 
 

Would you mind to take a picture or share the options that were provided?  I remember having a similar problem but it was a long time ago and wondering if the wording/options have changed.  I'll definitely have to be aware of it again for our upcoming cruise.
 

Much appreciated!

[JillK]

12 minutes ago, red-dragon said:

Hello - I remember having a similar problem during our first cruise, but it did get resolved in the end. 

Sorry to hear you had that experience on Princess. What a nightmare 😣
 

I'm researching the best US exchange rates right now, have you had any luck lately?  The banks and currency converters seem to have the highest rates.  Today's is 1.3415 😮

 

I'd also like to obtain a US credit card (for Canadians), but my bank (TD) requires a minimum balance of $1500 to avoid any transaction fees.  With the rate it is nowadays, I can't afford to keep that much untouched.

 

Would appreciate any feedback!

 

Thanks!

 

 

Hey! 

 

Rates are terrible and I was reading a few months ago that they are expected to get worse over the next year. Hopefully that will change. It makes cruising so much more expensive right off that bat! I still fondly remember when I travelled in 2007 AT PAR. Those were the days! 

 

We use the card you've mentioned, TD USD Visa. 

 

I know CIBC has a card at the same annual fee as TD, BMO has a USD Mastercard for $35 and Royal Bank also offers a card but for $65 plus a fee for a secondary card. 

 

Another route I have seen discussed elsewhere on these boards is the Rogers Mastercard. It is in Canadian dollars and they do charge a fee for conversion (2.5%) but you get it back (plus a bit extra) in cash back (3% on foreign transactions purchases). They don't have an annual fee.

 

Good luck and happy cruising. 

 

[Jeannie333333]

18 minutes ago, red-dragon said:

Good luck, please let us know how it goes! 
 

Would you mind to take a picture or share the options that were provided?  I remember having a similar problem but it was a long time ago and wondering if the wording/options have changed.  I'll definitely have to be aware of it again for our upcoming cruise.
 

Much appreciated!

 

It seems to be different on different ships depending upon whether they have the RCI App, I think.  I think the ships who use the App just have a one liner which is underneath the card number - and you have to tick it is you WANT them to convert.  It was no longer an A or B option, just simply one option to tick is you wanted them to convert.  However, as they completed ignored it, it seems a bit pointless! 

 

I do have a photo of when I completed it, just for my own sanity and so I can prove to them I did not tick the box - but it has my credit card details on it and I am not clever enough to delete off the card number on a photo, so sadly I cant post it sorry.   It says:  I elect to convert onboard expenses to my credit cards local currency using a currency conversion service'.  it has a square box by it and you tick it if you want them to convert.

[Esprit]

I've just completed my on line check in for our Allure October cruise and took a picture as suggested.

The box I had was headed

 

Currency Conversion Authorisation

Is the currency  of your card one of the following: AUD, CAD, CHF, DKK, EUR, HKD, JPY, MXP, NOK, SEK, GBP?

 O  Yes

 O  No

 

So I put a dot in the "No" circle

 

There is nothing else other than the next line saying

"Would you like to add and pay for other guests in your reservation?"

 

Can someone kindly confirm I have correctly declined RC currency conversion. I'm getting a bit confused.

 

Thanks