Canadian booking in US dollars

[bebe08]

I am looking at booking a cruise in US dollars for the first time.  My TA has a good sale but only available if booked in US$.  The cruise is one of the newly released itineraries for 2022 so final payment won't be due for sometime.  Has anyone done this before?  Not sure how to make this work to insulate myself from the possibility of our dollar going lower.  I know I can get a US$ bank account, but I still want to be able to pay for the cruise using my existing Canadian dollar credit card because it has very good built-in insurance.  I am guessing there are other Canadian out there smarter than me that have figured out how to make this work to your advantage.  Hoping you can enlighten me!!

 

Thanks

 

[drakes2]

14 minutes ago, bebe08 said:

I am looking at booking a cruise in US dollars for the first time.  My TA has a good sale but only available if booked in US$.  The cruise is one of the newly released itineraries for 2022 so final payment won't be due for sometime.  Has anyone done this before?  Not sure how to make this work to insulate myself from the possibility of our dollar going lower.  I know I can get a US$ bank account, but I still want to be able to pay for the cruise using my existing Canadian dollar credit card because it has very good built-in insurance.  I am guessing there are other Canadian out there smarter than me that have figured out how to make this work to your advantage.  Hoping you can enlighten me!!

 

Thanks

 

I almost always book in CAD using my Canadian visa as it also gives me trip cancellation insurance which I had to use last year. I recently booked 2 cruises with Celebrity and found their exchange rate slightly better than the banks. The FX is already factored in but just remember you will only know exactly what it will cost once the charge hits your bank as rates are live. You can sometimes negotiate the same sale that the TA is offering you such as OBC, wine or a specialty dinner. I've been successful doing so. Good luck.

[ABoatNerd]

Good question bebe08.

 

I am struggling with the same issue - much of my vacation travel out of Canada has been curtailed.

 

There are some cruise lines who do not price in Cdn$, so you have to book US$.

 

I watch the exchange rate and when our $ goes up, I buy $500 and put it in my US$ account.

 

Once final payment is due, you have to pay at the prevailing exchange rate as impacted by your credit arrangements.

 

One thing I have done is get a US travel agent - much more OBC etc than any Cdn agent.

 

The Cdn$ just sucks, period.  

[Veinless]

I’ve booked directly in USD, then transferred to a TA which converted the value outstanding to CAD. 

[lienf]

I have done it. The price that our TA had for their group booking in U.S. dollars was considerably less that what I could book the cruise at a Canadian price. The dollar could also go the other way, and you win. If you open a U.S. account you can also get a U.S. credit card to go with it. 

[scouseronline]

I have booked both ways, primarily found it cheaper to book in USD with Celebrity, even with the low exchange rate.Then transfer to a US TA. 

 

I made the mistake of booking in CD and then when the booking was transferred to the US TA the OBC was a lot lower because it wasn't booked in USD, so  I ended up losing money. 

 

I find it's not worth the stress of watching the exchange rates and trying to buy at that time, unless I was exchanging tens of thousands of dollars I wouldn't bother.

 

I did get a Hometrust Visa though, that at least saves me paying the regular 2.5% additional charge that the credit companies tack on when exchanging CD to USD. 

 

Good Luck

[Dr. Pam]

I am Canadian and I always reserve land and sea in US dollars.  I always reserve the cruise directly from the cruiseline company and then I shop around for the best US TA that has a good reputation and will offer me the best OBC.  I am currently using a TA out of Florida that has provided me with great service and fantastic OBC on my past few cruises. I have recommended him to my friends and he continues to work with me to provide the very best OBC. Canadian TA's just cannot touch these offers.  ABoatNerd has it right.  Open a US account at your bank, discuss with the bank associate what CC's are offered with this new account that might provide good travel insurance and then start watching our CDN$ vs. the US$ and start a good savings plan in your new account.  You will be golden by the time of final payment.

 

As an aside, many Canadian cruisers using their CC's for US charges do not realize that their Credit Card company is not only charging the exchange rate, but may be adding a percentage "service fee" for the exchange.  This is very prevalent with cards issued by the big banks......they are in the biz of making money. 

 

Another option if you want to reduce your cruising fares is to check out the  big box store that sells everything both here and in the US.  They have some great cruise fares here in Canada that most TA's in Canada would be very hard pressed to match.

 

Reserve your cruise directly through Celebrity.  Keep checking on fares and phone in to adjust to lower fares and added perks.  Cruise Critic Celebrity boards are a great resource to keep up to date on promotions and price drops. You have lots of time.  I would recommend not transferring to a TA yet because they may charge you a cancellation fee if you need to change your plans.  Start a US bank account here in Canada.  Just my $0.02......oh wait, we do not have pennies in Canada anymore!!!

 

Happy and Safe Travels,

 

 

Pam

[DirtyDawg]

If you need to stay with the original TA and $CDN credit card,  open a U.S. dollar bank account, deposit the balance you owe (plus some extra to cover the future exchange fees) at the current exchange rate. When final payment is due take the cash out convert it to $CDN and pay off the balance. If our dollar depreciates in the meantime you will get more back in $CDN from your $U.S. that will offset the extra $CDN you owe at final payment. 

 

Of course, if the dollar appreciates you will have lost money if you close out your $U.S. position at that time. 

 

Another option is to buy a forward contract on the U.S. currency you will need to pay at final payment. A forward locks in the rate today to be delivered at some future date. However, I think the minimum size of a futures contract is around $30K. 

 

Edited November 24, 2019 by DirtyDawg

[RickT]

I've booked in US before when Celebrity's internal exchange rate was a bit off (pricing in Canadian $ was 10% more once the exchange rate was factored in).  The cruise wasn't that far in the future but I kept watching the exchange rate in case the Canadian $ took a dive.  Not sure I'd book that far out in US $ however.

 

As others have mentioned, there is at least one big box store in Canada that offers good shipboard credits for booking, would be worth checking.

 

Good luck.

[drakes2]

1 hour ago, lienf said:

I have done it. The price that our TA had for their group booking in U.S. dollars was considerably less that what I could book the cruise at a Canadian price. The dollar could also go the other way, and you win. If you open a U.S. account you can also get a U.S. credit card to go with it. 

The USD credit card doesn't provide the trip cancellation which was invaluable for me when I had to cancel last year due to ankle injury. Claimed my flights and cruise and received everything back. If I had booked with my US Visa would be out of luck.

[TeaBag]

We usually book in USD.  Once last year someone at Celebrity hadn't done their math and I got a cruise with a conversion rate of 1.22!  Bank was charging 1.35, so I really did well.

43 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

The USD credit card doesn't provide the trip cancellation which was invaluable for me when I had to cancel last year due to ankle injury. Claimed my flights and cruise and received everything back. If I had booked with my US Visa would be out of luck.

What card do you use that covers cancellation and is there a limit on age?

Edited November 24, 2019 by TeaBag

[drakes2]

14 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

We usually book in USD.  Once last year someone at Celebrity hadn't done their math and I got a cruise with a conversion rate of 1.22!  Bank was charging 1.35, so I really did well.

What card do you use that covers cancellation and is there a limit on age?

TD First class Visa. Also has medical. Under 65 gives you 14 days over 65 drops to 4 but you can top up.

[drakes2]

24 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

We usually book in USD.  Once last year someone at Celebrity hadn't done their math and I got a cruise with a conversion rate of 1.22!  Bank was charging 1.35, so I really did well.

That 1.22 rate could possibly have been set at the beginning of 2018.   I'm not 100% sure but they probably revise their rates quarterly now. I remember buying US currency in the summer of 2018 for a rate of 1.25 but I had a borderless account with TD which I've now closed as you had to keep $3K in that account at all times to avoid monthly fees.  Now I just go to a currency exchange kiosk on Mondays and buy foreign currency. 

[AquariusOne]

Dr. Pam 

Regarding TA in US
I see a lot of Canadians using US TA’s. Under the CC rules, you can’t name them here. So, how do I find out the TA people are using?

[drakes2]

17 minutes ago, AquariusOne said:

Dr. Pam 

Regarding TA in US
I see a lot of Canadians using US TA’s. Under the CC rules, you can’t name them here. So, how do I find out the TA people are using?

Do a google search the top ones will appear first. I price match a large one in texas then call cruisline and ask if I book with them will they give the same obc offered by Mr. Big Box.  I just won't book in USD for obvious reasons.

[NantahalaCruiser]

If you wish to hedge all or part of your USD future cruise payments, you can purchase a US Dollar Currency ETF, DLR, offered by Horizons and traded on the Toronto exchange.

[bebe08]

3 hours ago, drakes2 said:

The USD credit card doesn't provide the trip cancellation which was invaluable for me when I had to cancel last year due to ankle injury. Claimed my flights and cruise and received everything back. If I had booked with my US Visa would be out of luck.

Yes that is why we don't want to get a US credit card.  We have also had to cancel a trip due to a family emergency and our credit card insurance covered it.   

 

I am going to go ahead and book the cruise in US$$.  I will keep an eye on xc rates and may make final payment early if rates are favorable (ie once I've booked flights so I know for sure we are going barring an emergency).  I figure worse case scenario is rates tank, in which case I have the option to cancel the cruise to avoid the additional cost.  I will also keep an eye on prices between now and then to see if they come down.  TA's deal is too good to pass up.  

 

I long for the good old days when our dollar was worth more than the US!!!

[DirtyDawg]

36 minutes ago, bebe08 said:

Yes that is why we don't want to get a US credit card.  We have also had to cancel a trip due to a family emergency and our credit card insurance covered it.   

 

I am going to go ahead and book the cruise in US$$.  I will keep an eye on xc rates and may make final payment early if rates are favorable (ie once I've booked flights so I know for sure we are going barring an emergency).  I figure worse case scenario is rates tank, in which case I have the option to cancel the cruise to avoid the additional cost.  I will also keep an eye on prices between now and then to see if they come down.  TA's deal is too good to pass up.  

 

I long for the good old days when our dollar was worth more than the US!!!

 

Last time our $ was worth more than the $U.S. we bought about $25K in the greenback to handle our vacation needs for a few years until the dollar got back to par.  We should have bought $100K. 😰

 

Edited November 24, 2019 by DirtyDawg

[drakes2]

19 minutes ago, DirtyDawg said:

 

Last time our $ was worth more than the $U.S. we bought about $25K in the greenback to handle our vacation needs for a few years until the dollar got back to par.  We should have bought $100K. 😰

 

That was end 2008 beginning 2009. I had a usd account and just kept transferring money from one to the other. I think one USD cost me around 97 cents. Paid for 4 cruises. 

[scouseronline]

3 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

 

Last time our $ was worth more than the $U.S. we bought about $25K in the greenback to handle our vacation needs for a few years until the dollar got back to par.  We should have bought $100K. 😰

 

My feelings exactly ! Wish I was a bit more tuned in at that time 😞