RCI Hawai'i to Sydney Transpacific Currency and Gratuities Question

[Chiliburn]

15 minutes ago, arxcards said:

That place you speak of in New York is the financial mob that Royal use to convert your account from US to AU. It used to be in the fine print of option A.

So you remember it and I’m not hallucinating.

 

 

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, Chiliburn said:

So you remember it and I’m not hallucinating.

 

 

I can't remember which company, but I can remember the NY bit. If I was a little more interested, I could see if there is a mention on an old folio or boarding pass. Head office for Royal is in Floida, where all the big companies live. They don't convert in-house, but through their bank in NY, where all the big banks are based.

[OzKiwiJJ]

On 8/29/2022 at 7:36 AM, Chiliburn said:

I’m pretty sure your gratuity is included, if it wasn’t you would have the opportunity to prepay them or get the bill at the end.
 

U.S dollars onboard, I don’t know why people panic, you just have to keep it in mind.  It will be processed in Sydney so there’s no international fees and your card will be changed in $AU.

Do you know what sort of conversion RCL uses? Hopefully not Dynamic Currency Conversion https://www.investopedia.com/dynamic-currency-conversion-dcc-term-4769305.

 

If that is a possibility ask for your card to be charged in US$. Your bank or credit card company will usually have better exchange rates and some credit cards don't charge foreign conversion fees. 

Edited August 30, 2022 by OzKiwiJJ

[Chiliburn]

56 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Do you know what sort of conversion RCL uses? Hopefully not Dynamic Currency Conversion https://www.investopedia.com/dynamic-currency-conversion-dcc-term-4769305.

 

If that is a possibility ask for your card to be charged in US$. Your bank or credit card company will usually have better exchange rates and some credit cards don't charge foreign conversion fees. 

From memory Julie, I found them charging my Commonwealth bank MasterCard is $US was the best option.

I have never had a big bill , I think one time it was $400 for a couple of weeks .
I have heard of people regularly with a couple thousand on their bill and that’s when they start buying $US cash to take onboard.
The absolute worst thing you can do is take $AU onboard. Some told me the exchange rate is around 60%.
 

 

Edited August 30, 2022 by Chiliburn

[OzKiwiJJ]

40 minutes ago, Chiliburn said:

From memory Julie, I found them charging my Commonwealth bank MasterCard is $US was the best option.

I have never had a big bill , I think one time it was $400 for a couple of weeks .
I have heard of people regularly with a couple thousand on their bill and that’s when they start buying $US cash to take onboard.
The absolute worst thing you can do is take $AU onboard. Some told me the exchange rate is around 60%.
 

 

Usually buying $US cash isn't a great idea either as most places that sell cash have poor exchange rates. It really does pay to get a credit card that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees and that offers up to the minute exchange rates without too much markup. We've found Latitude 28 degrees to be excellent in this respect. It's probably saved us hundreds, maybe even thousands, of dollars since we've had it.

[Chiliburn]

24 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Usually buying $US cash isn't a great idea either as most places that sell cash have poor exchange rates. It really does pay to get a credit card that doesn't charge foreign transaction fees and that offers up to the minute exchange rates without too much markup. We've found Latitude 28 degrees to be excellent in this respect. It's probably saved us hundreds, maybe even thousands, of dollars since we've had it.

I have a fair bit saved up from OBC’s that I cashed out.

But our local commonwealth bank in Richmond carries foreign currency for the RAAF base which is a joint U.S base .I have found them to be reasonable.

[plettza]

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I ordered myself and received a travel money card where I can add US moolah at a very favourable rate. The card will then "dispense" the currency of the purchase so RCI wouldn't convert any rates. 

 

I might use that card to associate with my Seapass card

 

I don't see myself making many purchases onboard with the packages we've bought

[gbenjo]

On 9/18/2022 at 11:42 AM, plettza said:

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I ordered myself and received a travel money card where I can add US moolah at a very favourable rate. The card will then "dispense" the currency of the purchase so RCI wouldn't convert any rates. 

 

I might use that card to associate with my Seapass card

 

I don't see myself making many purchases onboard with the packages we've bought

You cannot link a travel money card to your seapass, only a debit or credit card and it must have your name on the card so you need to set up as a cash account ( pretty sure  you cannot use your travel card on board to get cash) 

[boeckli]

20 hours ago, gbenjo said:

You cannot link a travel money card to your seapass, only a debit or credit card and it must have your name on the card so you need to set up as a cash account ( pretty sure  you cannot use your travel card on board to get cash) 

 

You can get travel money cards that fulfil those requirements.  I have had a CBA one for several years.  It's a Visa debit card,  has my name on it and I have successfully used it on a couple of pre-Covid cruises. 

[plettza]

9 minutes ago, boeckli said:

 

You can get travel money cards that fulfil those requirements.  I have had a CBA one for several years.  It's a Visa debit card,  has my name on it and I have successfully used it on a couple of pre-Covid cruises. 

The one I ordered has my name on the back of it.  I guess I can assign to my onboard account and see what happens.

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, plettza said:

The one I ordered has my name on the back of it.  I guess I can assign to my onboard account and see what happens.

Just tell them your money card identifies as a credit card. 😉

[plettza]

2 hours ago, arxcards said:

Just tell them your money card identifies as a credit card. 😉

I was able to add it to my FitBit pay as well as Google Pay.  I it's just a Visa.

[gbenjo]

4 hours ago, arxcards said:

Just tell them your money card identifies as a credit card. 😉

Unless the rules have changed since covid, we did not accept a cash card as payment for an onboard account when the card “identifies”  as  a travel cash card, regardless of whether or not the guests name was  on it. The account was always set up as a cash account and the guest could get cash from the ATM and pay their account on board. Only actual credit or debit cards were accepted for the seapass account. I have not worked at the OPT for two and a half years ( bring on October)  so the rules may have changed but I don't think so.

[gbenjo]

6 hours ago, boeckli said:

 

You can get travel money cards that fulfil those requirements.  I have had a CBA one for several years.  It's a Visa debit card,  has my name on it and I have successfully used it on a couple of pre-Covid cruises. 

So it is a debit card, not  a travel money card.

 

[boeckli]

9 minutes ago, gbenjo said:

So it is a debit card, not  a travel money card.

 

 

Here's the link to the CBA info https://www.commbank.com.au/travel/travel-money-card.html

 

Looking at my card, it says "Travel Money Card" on the front (looks just like on their website, obviously with my name and validity dates) and on the back in small letters it says "Prepaid". So it's not officially named a "Debit Card" but works like one, i.e. you're operating off fund in your account, in whatever currency you set up.

[arxcards]

24 minutes ago, gbenjo said:

Unless the rules have changed since covid, we did not accept a cash card as payment for an onboard account when the card “identifies”  as  a travel cash card, regardless of whether or not the guests name was  on it. The account was always set up as a cash account and the guest could get cash from the ATM and pay their account on board. Only actual credit or debit cards were accepted for the seapass account. I have not worked at the OPT for two and a half years ( bring on October)  so the rules may have changed but I don't think so.

Aware of that, hence the wink.

Yes, it needs to be identifiable to the credit/debit card network, and have an expiry date. The same problem used to arise for pre-paid visa cards.

 

Back to the wink - people can identify as anything these days, so it would be nice if cards could also do the same. Apologies for being cryptic.

[gbenjo]

6 minutes ago, boeckli said:

 

Here's the link to the CBA info https://www.commbank.com.au/travel/travel-money-card.html

 

Looking at my card, it says "Travel Money Card" on the front (looks just like on their website, obviously with my name and validity dates) and on the back in small letters it says "Prepaid". So it's not officially named a "Debit Card" but works like one, i.e. you're operating off fund in your account, in whatever currency you set up.

As I said, I have not done check in for over two years but can remember numerous “ conversations “ with guests about the banks telling them they were able to use the travel card just like a credit/ debit card but Royal did not accept them as such. The rule may have changed  ( wont know till October 29th) so will let you know for sure then.

[gbenjo]

15 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Aware of that, hence the wink.

Yes, it needs to be identifiable to the credit/debit card network, and have an expiry date. The same problem used to arise for pre-paid visa cards.

 

Back to the wink - people can identify as anything these days, so it would be nice if cards could also do the same. Apologies for being cryptic.

Didn't see the wink. 
Yes, the card could be credit, debit or financially  “ neutral” I guess..………wonder how the black Amex card is perceived these days?🤔

[gbenjo]

43 minutes ago, boeckli said:

 

Here's the link to the CBA info https://www.commbank.com.au/travel/travel-money-card.html

 

Looking at my card, it says "Travel Money Card" on the front (looks just like on their website, obviously with my name and validity dates) and on the back in small letters it says "Prepaid". So it's not officially named a "Debit Card" but works like one, i.e. you're operating off fund in your account, in whatever currency you set up.

I think the problem is that, as it is “prepaid” the cruise line has no way of knowing if you have one dollar or a million dollars on the card.

[boeckli]

Just now, gbenjo said:

I think the problem is that, as it is “prepaid” the cruise line has no way of knowing if you have one dollar or a million dollars on the card.

 

How do they know that with a standard "debit card"?? That's why they put through pre-authorisations, don't they?

 

Not sure if I've used mine on RCI (Feb 2016) or Celebrity (Dec 2018) but definitely on NCL (Dec 2019 and Feb 2020).

[gbenjo]

49 minutes ago, boeckli said:

 

How do they know that with a standard "debit card"?? That's why they put through pre-authorisations, don't they?

 

Not sure if I've used mine on RCI (Feb 2016) or Celebrity (Dec 2018) but definitely on NCL (Dec 2019 and Feb 2020).

No pre-authorisations with credit or debit cards.  They are often swiped and introduced into the system for the first time at  check in at the terminal. 

[arxcards]

9 minutes ago, gbenjo said:

No pre-authorisations with credit or debit cards.  They are often swiped and introduced into the system for the first time at  check in at the terminal. 

Usually within the first day, the ship will ping the card to make sure there is enough available balance to cover a few days worth of cruising, and update it throughout the cruise. That is a pre-authorisation, aka a hold on your funds. Then they settle (authorised payment) on the last night.

[gbenjo]

10 minutes ago, arxcards said:

Usually within the first day, the ship will ping the card to make sure there is enough available balance to cover a few days worth of cruising, and update it throughout the cruise. That is a pre-authorisation, aka a hold on your funds. Then they settle (authorised payment) on the last night.

Well then, obviously they cannot do that with a travel money card because they do not accept them in the same way as credit or debit  cards. 😁

[plettza]

So would this cruise be classed as a US cruise or an Australian cruise for purposes of its operation and regulations it needs to follow?

 

Ovation of the Seas HNL --> SYD

[gbenjo]

3 hours ago, plettza said:

So would this cruise be classed as a US cruise or an Australian cruise for purposes of its operation and regulations it needs to follow?

 

Ovation of the Seas HNL --> SYD

In what regard?
It would have to comply with US regs while  in the US and Australian regs when in Australia.