Canadian Exchnage Rate Change June 1st

[ceilidh1]

Just a heads up for Canadian customers...as of June 1st the exchange rate will be increasing from 1.3 to 1.4. Your cruise is about to get a whole lot more expensive. Might want to lock in those prices now if you are lucky enough to have your FCC/refunds returned to you!

[Cuedon]

Don't most credit cards nowadays dynamically convert to the currency of the merchant at something fairly close to market rates?

 

...I wonder if this means that the refunds will be processed at the less favorable exchange rate too.

 

Edit: Ah, thanks for the clarification. Kind of a lousy deal, it seems, though.

Edited May 15, 2020 by Cuedon

[ceilidh1]

2 minutes ago, Cuedon said:

Don't most credit cards nowadays dynamically convert to the currency of the merchant at something fairly close to market rates?

 

...I wonder if this means that the refunds will be processed at the less favorable exchange rate too.

Canadians book in Canadian Dollars so the exchange rate is set by Princess. It's possible to still book in USD but that wouldn't be cost effective for me since I earn CAD!

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, ceilidh1 said:

Canadians book in Canadian Dollars so the exchange rate is set by Princess. It's possible to still book in USD but that wouldn't be cost effective for me since I earn CAD!

 

It has been fairly cost effective to book in CAD ever since the oil Loonie tanked and COVID-19 hit, pushing CAD down to 1.40 territory.  I have thought that Princess has been very patient and generous to hold the line at 1.30 for so long without at least moving to 1.35 a while back. 

 

I also recall years back when they had it at 1.40 and only changed the rate once, or maybe twice per year, and the market rate had improved back to 1.25.  Ouch!!!

 

With Princess moving now to 1.40, which is roughly where the market is, USD can be quite cost-effective if dealing with a discount TA in USA.  (I know you are a BC TA and I respect that, but Canadian TA's at least in Ontario are not discounters). 

 

If I was booking now (no plans beyond what we have in place), I'd have to run the math to see if USD x 1.30 rate from Princess direct beats my TA discount.  I don't think it does.

 

BTW, Canadians booking directly with Princess can book in USD.  You just need to get a Princess sales rep for new bookings and request the booking in USD.  Cannot do it online as the website doesn't let customers choose their currency.

 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Cuedon said:

Don't most credit cards nowadays dynamically convert to the currency of the merchant at something fairly close to market rates?

 

...I wonder if this means that the refunds will be processed at the less favorable exchange rate too.

 

Edit: Ah, thanks for the clarification. Kind of a lousy deal, it seems, though.

Most credit cards charge a foreign currency surcharge (2.5% is typical).  This is very typical with Canadian credit cards.  There are cards available - both free and fee versions - that do offer no currency conversion surcharges and I have two of those.  In Canada, most major institutions also offer USD cards which are very useful for lots of Canadians who spend time or shop in USA.  I'd be surprised if any US banks offer CAD cards (LOL!!!).

 

Princess will be saving money refunding Canadian clients as they received a lot of those CAD back when CAD was higher versus USD.  The USD today will get them more CAD to pay for those refunds.  They will refund Canadian clients who booked in CAD in CAD.

 

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, ceilidh1 said:

Might want to lock in those prices now if you are lucky enough to have your FCC/refunds returned to you!

 

Don't they just have to put down the small deposit to hold the booking and then the FCC can be applied as payment towards balance owing once it is posted to Captain's Circle account?

 

[ceilidh1]

22 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

 

Don't they just have to put down the small deposit to hold the booking and then the FCC can be applied as payment towards balance owing once it is posted to Captain's Circle account?

 

Yup! But I don't think I would be giving them any more of my money until they pay me what they owe...lol

[Steelers36]

3 minutes ago, ceilidh1 said:

Yup! But I don't think I would be giving them any more of my money until they pay me what they owe...lol

Cannot argue with that!!

[Mud_Shark]

1.4 is our personal cut off point.  We have one cruise booked for this fall that will likely cancel and one for summer of 2021.  That will do for now anyway, but when the rate slips to 1.4, we just find it better for us to tailor our vacation plans to stay within Canada until the rate improves.

 

Not a knock on the cruise line decision to increase the rates.  Our government is trying to spend its way out of this pandemic with money it does not have, so naturally our dollar is being devalued.  Our deficit this year will be 4 times greater (and could still go worse) than the worst year in the past 50.

 

Don

[joe d]

That's unfortunate.  1.40 is just too muvh for me.  Luckily I still have one cruise booked at 1.30 but there is no way I am giving Princess any more money until I get my refunds for 2 cancelled cruises and I doubt that will happen before June 1. 

[Doubt It]

There are no trips out of Canada forecast for the foreseeable future due to our constantly lousy $, with the exception of visiting our dear friends in California.

 

I have had enough paying 30-40% more for a trip - it is the cost/benefit analysis that made me realize how much after tax $ is spent to get pictures, some memories.

 

I then realized I can see what I need to on the internet!   

 

So just bought a Porsche Cayenne at a darn good price due to the virus - and will undertake many a driving trip. Foreign travel will be via the internet and pictures that people post on Cruise Critic.

 

If I have made this decision, there is likely others as well doing the same.

 

Impact on cruise lines, hummmm.

 

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, Mud_Shark said:

Our government is trying to spend its way out of this pandemic with money it does not have, so naturally our dollar is being devalued.

So are our friends south of the border.  But the US has always had a much stronger and diverse economy than Canada and the US dollar is almost always seen as a "safe haven".  The Loonie was really hit by the plunge in oil pricing and remains largely a commodity dollar.

[Steelers36]

Of course, just when Princess puts new rate (1.40) in effect, the CAD has been rallying and is now at 1.3625 this morning. 

 

Except I am not seeing the rate 1.40 applied - still looks to be 1.30 on my next booking when pricing it out.

Edited June 1, 2020 by Steelers36

[joe d]

23 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Of course, just when Princess puts new rate (1.40) in effect, the CAD has been rallying and is now at 1.3625 this morning. 

 

Except I am not seeing the rate 1.40 applied - still looks to be 1.30 on my next booking when pricing it out.

I checked my January booking this morning and it is now priced at 1.40.  

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, joe d said:

I checked my January booking this morning and it is now priced at 1.40.  

Agreed - I guess it just took a little longer to change the pricing.  Same thing today when I just checked.  I like the USD pricing, less TA discount.

Edited June 2, 2020 by Steelers36

[westcoaster]

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I like the USD pricing, less TA discount.

I agree.  With Princess now using an exchange rate of 1.40, it makes more sense for Canadians to pay in USD with the actual exchange rate currently at 1.352.  And as you say, it's much easier to find US TAs that discount.

[courticeguy]

Thanks for your heads up ceilidh1. I quickly booked at the old price for a Australia/NZ Cruise next March in Canadian  and today the price was up $550 cad. Hopefully restrictions will have been relaxed by the time final payment is due at the end of November. 

[Waynetor]

People sharing info like this is why I love Cruise Critic.

 

Last week I booked 9 cruises for the 2020/2021 winter plus the 2022 world cruise.  10% saving is very helpful

[Steelers36]

Now the CAD is at least as low as 1.35 to USD.  Princess has missed the mark again.

 

[joe d]

On 6/6/2020 at 3:20 AM, Steelers36 said:

Now the CAD is at least as low as 1.35 to USD.  Princess has missed the mark again.

 

You could make a lot of money in the FX market by taking a contrary position to Princess.

[phabric]

I check regularly my 2021 Europe B2B cruise prices in CDN$.  Both cruise price had not changed until last week,  with an increase of over $500/cabin maybe due to the new exchange rate.

[ringers0815]

On 5/14/2020 at 10:28 PM, ceilidh1 said:

Just a heads up for Canadian customers...as of June 1st the exchange rate will be increasing from 1.3 to 1.4. Your cruise is about to get a whole lot more expensive. Might want to lock in those prices now if you are lucky enough to have your FCC/refunds returned to you!

Thanks for posting this. When I saw your post I decided to book an October 2021 cruise using the FCC we got because of the covid cancellations in 2020. I noticed today that the cost of the cruise has gone up. 

[ceilidh1]

59 minutes ago, ringers0815 said:

Thanks for posting this. When I saw your post I decided to book an October 2021 cruise using the FCC we got because of the covid cancellations in 2020. I noticed today that the cost of the cruise has gone up. 

Happy to hear! Sadly, 1.40 is pushing it out of my personal comfort zone...so I won't be booking for a while!

[richstowe]

I think this is OK news for those of us with credit . My FCC is in US $'s but my Princess account is in Cdn $'s . I priced out a Caribbean cruise and the FCC was automatically converted to Canadian at the 1.4 conversion rate .

[ceilidh1]

31 minutes ago, richstowe said:

I think this is OK news for those of us with credit . My FCC is in US $'s but my Princess account is in Cdn $'s . I priced out a Caribbean cruise and the FCC was automatically converted to Canadian at the 1.4 conversion rate .

Interesting. I'm assuming my FCC (IF it ever comes...but that's a whole other topic) will be in CAD as my cruise was paid in CAD. Is that not the case? Or did you book the cruise that was cancelled in USD?