Shore excursion query

[Oldies123]

Hi All, sailing with Holland America in June and looking at some shore excursions.  They are all priced in dollars and are to be paid up front, does anyone know whether it is possible to pay in British Pounds ?  I don't want to have to pay an additional fee for changing from dollars to pounds by my credit card company if it can be avoided.

 

Many thanks 

[Dismomx5]

Did you pay your deposit in US$ or British£ ? I always pay in Canadian funds and pay for excursions ahead of time, also in Canadian funds. But that is how my account comes up when I sign in. I buy my FCC onboard in Canadian funds as well, btw.

[Oldies123]

Hi, thanks for the reply, our deposit was paid in British pounds through a travel agent, I'm thinking maybe getting them to ring up and ask the question as they deal with the cruise line all the time .

[Alberta Quilter]

1 minute ago, Dismomx5 said:

Did you pay your deposit in US$ or British£ ? I always pay in Canadian funds and pay for excursions ahead of time, also in Canadian funds. But that is how my account comes up when I sign in. I buy my FCC onboard in Canadian funds as well, btw.

 

How do you pay for your shorex in CAD?  I've always had to do it in USD.  I was about to respond to the OP that no, it can't be paid in any other currency when I saw your post.

 

OP, we in North America have a few options but I don't know if they would be available to you.  There are certain credit cards that do not charge a foreign exchange fee on top of the exchange rate so you could try looking for one there.  The other thing that we can do is have both a USD bank account and a USD credit card.  Then one can purchase USD when the rate is more favourable and use those funds to pay for the USD purchases on the credit card.

[Dismomx5]

51 minutes ago, Alberta Quilter said:

 

How do you pay for your shorex in CAD?  I've always had to do it in USD.  I was about to respond to the OP that no, it can't be paid in any other currency when I saw your post.

 

OP, we in North America have a few options but I don't know if they would be available to you.  There are certain credit cards that do not charge a foreign exchange fee on top of the exchange rate so you could try looking for one there.  The other thing that we can do is have both a USD bank account and a USD credit card.  Then one can purchase USD when the rate is more favourable and use those funds to pay for the USD purchases on the credit card.

YIKES! You are right! It was not HAL that I paid in CDN funds! It is NCL. I am so sorry for the incorrect information Oldies123 and grateful for the correction, Alberta Quilter.  Yes, I use a credit card with no foreign exchange to ease the cost of exchanging currencies, along with a second US bank account and credit card.

[Alberta Quilter]

Darn it!  I was hoping to learn something new!  Oh, well. C'est la vie!

[sevenseasnomad]

To our friends outside the U.S., I suppose I never realized how fortunate we are in the U.S. to have HAL headquartered in Seattle.  I never thought about the various currencies that would be involved in booking, whether it be cabin reservation, shore excursions, or other purchases through the ship.  Are any of you able to take advantage of discounted fares/specials?  

[kazu]

6 hours ago, Dismomx5 said:

Did you pay your deposit in US$ or British£ ? I always pay in Canadian funds and pay for excursions ahead of time, also in Canadian funds. But that is how my account comes up when I sign in. I buy my FCC onboard in Canadian funds as well, btw.

 

I pay in Canadian funds for my cruises and my FCC’s are currently in Canadian too.

 

But...my shore excursions, specialty dining, etc are always charged in US $.  I’m using the same website I can use to book cruises in Canadian dollars.  Wondering how it is you managed to pay in Canadian dollars for shore excursions?

 

oops edited to say - just saw your post to Alberta Quilter.  Sorry I should have read the whole thread before replying but you had me intrigued. 😉 

[Oldies123]

Thanks to everyone for your responses, I guess it will be US dollars, doesn't really matter, but it's been a few years since we last sailed with HAL and I can't remember what how we paid for the excursions  then ! 

Will check with the travel agent tomorrow, also the exchange rate on cc etc.