Carnival conversion rate for Australian to US dollar and vice versa

[drsel]

 

My US online travel agent has given me $100 onboard credit for my Cruises around Australia.

Do you know at what rate do Carnival Spirit and Splendor convert 100 US dollars OBC to Australian dollars and vice versa.

The current rate is 1.43 for US to Australian dollar and 0.6982 for Australian to US dollar

I guess they would give a very bad exchange rate, like all Cruise lines.

I just hope it is not 1:1

 

 

 

[HaveWeMetYet]

1 hour ago, drsel said:

 

My US online travel agent has given me $100 onboard credit for my Cruises around Australia.

Do you know at what rate do Carnival Spirit and Splendor convert 100 US dollars OBC to Australian dollars and vice versa.

The current rate is 1.43 for US to Australian dollar and 0.6982 for Australian to US dollar

I guess they would give a very bad exchange rate, like all Cruise lines.

I just hope it is not 1:1

 

 

 

Why would you want them to convert it? Even on an OZ cruise everything is in US Dollar.

If you are looking for spending money in ports do it before you leave home not on the ship. You will get ripped.

Edited July 8, 2020 by HaveWeMetYet

[drsel]

carnival website states that for it's Australia cruises on Carnival spirit and Splendor, the currency onboard is the Australian dollar.
so I guess my onboard credit of 100 US dollars will get converted to maybe 1.4 Australian dollars hopefully

[woodscruise]

31 minutes ago, HaveWeMetYet said:

Why would you want them to convert it? Even on an OZ cruise everything is in US Dollar.

If you are looking for spending money in ports do it before you leave home not on the ship. You will get ripped.

It all depends on which cruise line you are travelling with. If it is Princess (on an Australian based cruise), Carnival and P&O Australia then the onboard currency is AUD. All other lines are USD

[HaveWeMetYet]

2 hours ago, woodscruise said:

It all depends on which cruise line you are travelling with. If it is Princess (on an Australian based cruise), Carnival and P&O Australia then the onboard currency is AUD. All other lines are USD

Wasn't aware of that, Thanks.

[OzKiwiJJ]

4 hours ago, HaveWeMetYet said:

 

If you are looking for spending money in ports do it before you leave home not on the ship. You will get ripped.

In Australia there are some credit and debit cards that don't charge foreign transaction fees and have very competitive exchange rates, far better than any currency exchange or bank rates when buying overseas currency. We have found that there have been very few instances where we haven't been able to get cash from an ATM or use a credit card when travelling overseas. Converting money onboard is the very last resort but sometimes is still preferable to buying currency before leaving home especially for places where port stops could be cancelled due to adverse weather conditions etc.

Edited July 8, 2020 by OzKiwiJJ

[MicCanberra]

I believe the conversion rate (whatever that may end up as) will have you thinking that it should have been more. It also depends on what day they process the OBC to be converted.

[drsel]

I am not going to convert US$ onboard Carnival, Princess or anywhere else in Australia.

But my agent gave me OBC in US$ and the onboard currency on Carnival and Princess is Australian dollars for the Sydney and Brisbane departures.

So my OBC will be automatically converted to the ships onboard currency. (not my choice)
I just wanted to know if Carnival and Princess autoconvert OBC given in US$@1.4 or 1.3 or 1.2 or 1.1 or 1.0 ?

If the conversion rate is less than 1.4, then I will force my agent to NOT give me any OBC, but give me the same amount as a discount on my Cruise fare instead. (cruise fare is in US$)

Agents buy OBC at a 5-10% discount from Carnival and Princess ( in multiple of 25 US$)

[BRANDEE]

11 minutes ago, drsel said:

I am not going to convert US$ onboard Carnival, Princess or anywhere else in Australia.

But my agent gave me OBC in US$ and the onboard currency on Carnival and Princess is Australian dollars for the Sydney and Brisbane departures.

So my OBC will be automatically converted to the ships onboard currency. (not my choice)
I just wanted to know if Carnival and Princess autoconvert OBC given in US$@1.4 or 1.3 or 1.2 or 1.1 or 1.0 ?

If the conversion rate is less than 1.4, then I will force my agent to NOT give me any OBC, but give me the same amount as a discount on my Cruise fare instead. (cruise fare is in US$)

Agents buy OBC at a 5-10% discount from Carnival and Princess ( in multiple of 25 US$)

Took the Ruby around New Zealand this March.  Paid in USD.

All currency on board was in AUD.  Our USD OBC became AUD with no conversion rate.  The military credit of $250 USD became $250 AUD.  The promotion $600 USD to book the cruise became $600AUD.  Our FCD of $100USD became $100AUD. .Same with our stock OBC.   Our loyality credit also had no conversion rate. Same with group credit and the extra Guest On board given during the cruise.

Our US agent sent a $25USD gift and it did became $36.50AUD.  Our travel agent also prepaid for speciality dinner in USD and we did not have to owe more.  Our automatic tip of $15USD per person per day became  $21.50AUD.  

 

All pre paid tours are quoted in AUD and charged to cc as USD with conversion rate of the day.

[MicCanberra]

Take the money as a discount.

[BRANDEE]

18 minutes ago, BRANDEE said:

Took the Ruby around New Zealand this March.  Paid in USD.

All currency on board was in AUD.  Our USD OBC became AUD with no conversion rate.  The military credit of $250 USD became $250 AUD.  The promotion $600 USD to book the cruise became $600AUD.  Our FCD of $100USD became $100AUD. .Same with our stock OBC.   Our loyality credit also had no conversion rate. Same with group credit and the extra Guest On board given during the cruise.

Our US agent sent a $25USD gift and it did became $36.50AUD.  Our travel agent also prepaid for speciality dinner in USD and we did not have to owe more.  However, our automatic tip of $15USD per person per day became  $21.50AUD.  

 

All pre paid tours are quoted in AUD and charged to cc as USD with conversion rate of the day.

 

[MicCanberra]

10 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Take the money as a discount.

 

[drsel]

 

 

 

Our US agent sent a $25USD gift and it did became $36.50AUD.  Our automatic tip of $15USD per person per day became  $21.50AUD.  

thanks so much.

this is exactly what I wanted to see.

So, the gift (which is Onboard credit ) given in US dollars by your US travel agent gets converted at 1.46 which is near the correct conversion rate, while the onboard credits/ benefits given by the cruise line in US$ gets converted @ 1.00, which is a big loss for you.

 

 

 

[Fletch1]

On 7/9/2020 at 1:48 PM, BRANDEE said:

Took the Ruby around New Zealand this March.  Paid in USD.

All currency on board was in AUD.  Our USD OBC became AUD with no conversion rate.  The military credit of $250 USD became $250 AUD.  The promotion $600 USD to book the cruise became $600AUD.  Our FCD of $100USD became $100AUD. .Same with our stock OBC.   Our loyality credit also had no conversion rate. Same with group credit and the extra Guest On board given during the cruise.

Our US agent sent a $25USD gift and it did became $36.50AUD.  Our travel agent also prepaid for speciality dinner in USD and we did not have to owe more.  Our automatic tip of $15USD per person per day became  $21.50AUD.  

 

All pre paid tours are quoted in AUD and charged to cc as USD with conversion rate of the day.

 

That's how I understand it as well.....dollar for dollar with no conversion rate.

[drsel]

  That's how I understand it as well.....dollar for dollar with no conversion rate.

 

1 US$=1 Aus$ is only for the various credits given by Carnival.  

 

 

But, the OBC bought in US$ by the travel agent and gifted to the customer is converted @ 1.46 (little above the correct rate of 1.43 presently)

 

The gratuities are converted @1.43, which is the correct rate

 

 

 

[BRANDEE]

39 minutes ago, drsel said:

1 US$=1 Aus$ is only for the various credits given by Carnival.  

 

 

But, the OBC bought in US$ by the travel agent and gifted to the customer is converted @ 1.46 (little above the correct rate of 1.43 presently)

 

The gratuities are converted @1.43, which is the correct rate

 

 

 

I just felt that the gratuities should not have been charged with a conversion rate.  If everything else was kept at an equal..$1USD =$1AUD..the daily charge for gratuities should have also been ..$15USD =$15AUD.   BTW the Casino if also AUD and so is your Cabin Folio.  At the end of the cruise (ours was the Ruby that got cut short due to covid) any money due was on the folio as AUD, but when we got a check in the mail (3 months later) it was USD and at the conversion rate of the day the check was issued.  Example:  $450 AUD became $313.07USD.

[drsel]

What was really unfair was diluting your military and other credits given by Carnival @ 1 Australian dollar instead of 1.43 Australian dollars.

The agent's onboard credit (gift) and the gratuities and your refund check were all at the correct rate

[BRANDEE]

20 minutes ago, drsel said:

What was really unfair was diluting your military and other credits given by Carnival @ 1 Australian dollar instead of 1.43 Australian dollars.

The agent's onboard credit (gift) and the gratuities and your refund check were all at the correct rate

As the Princess agent told me when I questioned it over two years ago when we booked..got to look at the small print. On the form for future cruise deposit, military credit and stock ownership credit..it all says it is a $1USD to $1AUD when AUD is the currency used on the ship.  Basically, they are gifts from the cruise line..so their rules...small print gets you all the time!  Our OBC for two cruises (NZ & Fiji) were $1300 each. Not sure if Carnival will be giving out these "gifts" again when cruises restart!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[drsel]

$1300 Carnival free OBC for one cabin???
how much did the cruise cost for both of you in one cabin

[BRANDEE]

48 minutes ago, drsel said:

$1300 Carnival free OBC for one cabin???
how much did the cruise cost for both of you in one cabin

Each two week cruise was around $4400  Carib deck on Ruby has regular room w/extended balcony.  It was the EZAir fare NY to Sydney.. premium economy on all four flights at $4200 that was the bargain.  Of course, coming home with Covid 19 was no charge. (Each cruise had a $600 per cabin  promo plus our TA got us another $100 group discount)

[OzKiwiJJ]

7 hours ago, BRANDEE said:

As the Princess agent told me when I questioned it over two years ago when we booked..got to look at the small print. On the form for future cruise deposit, military credit and stock ownership credit..it all says it is a $1USD to $1AUD when AUD is the currency used on the ship.  Basically, they are gifts from the cruise line..so their rules...small print gets you all the time!  Our OBC for two cruises (NZ & Fiji) were $1300 each. Not sure if Carnival will be giving out these "gifts" again when cruises restart!

 

Essentially they are not currency conversions. Princess gifts you the appropriate amount in the currency of the ship. It's irrelevant what currency you booked in - if they did that it would get very messy as Princess allows bookings in quite a few different currencies, and it avoids conflict. Imagine the outrage from some people if they discovered that you got US$100 converted to AUD for using your FCD and they only got AU$100. *Shock! Horror!* It would be worse than the sun lounger wars! 🤣🤣🤣

 

 

[BRANDEE]

4 hours ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Essentially they are not currency conversions. Princess gifts you the appropriate amount in the currency of the ship. It's irrelevant what currency you booked in - if they did that it would get very messy as Princess allows bookings in quite a few different currencies, and it avoids conflict. Imagine the outrage from some people if they discovered that you got US$100 converted to AUD for using your FCD and they only got AU$100. *Shock! Horror!* It would be worse than the sun lounger wars! 🤣🤣🤣

 

 

I understand what you are saying...but..I paid $100USD to buy that FCD and therefore should get a $100USD return.  If someone bought a FCD with $100AUD then they would expect a $100AUD return.  So I guess, buying FCD with $100AUD and going on a USD currency based cruise you can turn that into a $100USD..that is nice..I wonder if that happens??   My only complaint is that Princess used a conversion rate when calculating the auto tip..I usually use my OBC for auto tips.  Should have been 1 for 1 like everything else (except TA gifted credit)

[BRANDEE]

OzKiwiJJ..

 

Regarding sun loungers...my very first cruise was on the Italian Line..Oceanic..(82) we were assigned sun lounges the first day for the entire cruise.  Imagine them doing that today!!

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, BRANDEE said:

So I guess, buying FCD with $100AUD and going on a USD currency based cruise you can turn that into a $100USD..that is nice..I wonder if that happens??   

Yes, it does happen. We've done two USD cruises and the OBC was in USD.

 

The drinks prices on the AUD ships are lower than a straight USD plus grats converted to AUD so you'll win a bit there. There are no adfitionsl grats on AUD drink prices, what you see on the drinks menu is what gets charged to your account.

[drsel]

Yes, it does happen. We've done two USD cruises and the OBC was in USD.

In Australia, for Carnival Spirit and Splendor, can excess unused non refundable OBC be encashed in the slot machines by loading the slot machine and then pressing cash out?