Shipboard accounts - UK customers

[S4EVE]

My wife and I live in the UK and are on the Constellation to the Baltics next month. As this is our first cruise with Celebrity, what is the best method for settling our shipboard account? Is it right that non US issued credit cards attract additional conversion/service charges. If so, are travellers cheques our best option?

[keela1eva2]

Hi I live in the UK and some years ago I found out that a Nationwide CC has no foreign exchange loading. Most credit cards charge 2.5%

I found this out from Martin Lewis money saving expert who is always on TV and the Radio.

 

Go to his web site MoneySavingExpert.com or if you just type in Martin Lewis you will find his web site.

 

If you are registered he sends email each week with up to date news on how to save money. He is excellent and I have followed other advice he has given.

 

The £ is very strong against the $ at present so I would just put things on your card if I were you. Or apply for a Nationwide CC before the holiday.

 

Hope this is of help Sue

[uktog]

Sue is absolutely correct - and this is why we always use our Nationwide cards. If you do that make sure you highlight on the boarding pass that you want the charges applied to your card in dollars. I have found they the online boarding pass does not make it clear so I use a highlight pen to make sure there is no dubiety. Unfortunately out of 7 tripx, X have only got this right 4 times. Each time they fail to get it right I lose about £25 - and then it costs me £25 in calls to get Weybridge to sort it so I tend to give up!

Certainly the autoconversion rate X uses is terrible

 

We come off the Constellation on 3rd June, we will try and leave it tidy for you

[S4EVE]

Thanks to you both for your advice. We have current and savings accounts with Nationwide already, so we'll apply for one of their credit cards asap.

[Cosmic Rays]

Thank you all for this, I've had similar experiences in the past! Oh, what would we cruisers do without these 'Boards'? I'll get on the Nationwide 'case' tomorrow......................thanks. Roll on 6th October - Century out of Barcelona!!

 

Colin

[lisiamc]

Another vote for the Nationwide cards. We have a visa and and a debit card. You can get a visa that gives a (small) percentage of money back to your account for each pound spent. Very useful for travel, but as UKtog says, make sure they understand that your account is to be charged in sterling and not converted to dollars. (You have to do this when you use it in Europe these days, too. They've very anxious to convert every charge to Euros at a non-beneficial rate these days.)

 

Lisa

[keela1eva2]

No you don't want your charges applied in Sterling you want it in $. This way they can not charge you a fee for converting it.

This applies in any country you visit. In the EU have it charged in Euro. If you allow them to convert the currency for you they will give you a very poor rate.

 

Once again if you have a Nationwide bank account you can withdraw cash with their debit card abroad and they will not charge you a fee. Most will charge you min. £2 approx.

 

Martin Lewis has got a lot to answer for as I use his web site to check many things now. You can save quite a lot.

As the OP said I have a cash back CC from Nationwide but you should only have this if you repay the total bill. Should you not do so then this is not the best card as the interest rate is higher.

 

There is a card for everyone out there just go find it.

 

Hope this helps! Sue

[lisiamc]

No you don't want your charges applied in Sterling you want it in $. This way they can not charge you a fee for converting it.

This applies in any country you visit. In the EU have it charged in Euro. If you allow them to convert the currency for you they will give you a very poor rate.

 

 

Hope this helps! Sue

 

Sorry, Sue, you're right. I got it back to front!:o

 

Lisa

[excitedofharpenden]

This thread has been a good read. Thanks for the info on the Nationwide card and Sue for the Martin Lewis website. I had visions of a newsreader with a useful interest in consumer affairs until I realised I had the wrong one and he spells his first name differently:o

 

Phil

[keela1eva2]

Hi everyone glad that the information has been of help to you. Me I am off this Friday to join Galaxy in Galveston and then the T/A to Rome.

 

Another tip I discovered by accident when I was in M&S that they have the best exchange rate for $. I got 172.9 which is a very good rate. The best rate I had otherwise was 170.15. I realise that this rate can change daily but it is worth checking out M&S. Previously I have found that the Post Office offered the best rate.

 

Didn't check out the Guro Martin Lewis! Shame on me!

 

Have a great time on your cruise. I did the Baltic cruise in 1998 and it was great.

 

Sue

[S4EVE]

I have also found that M&S offer a decent exchange rate.

Today it is 1.765 I believe.

[Sparkle 123]

Have to agree with all the above posts. I always use a Nationwide credit card for foreign spending. Good old Martins Money tips has been a wealth of information we have picked up lots of good advice from his website.

[keela1eva2]

Yes the rate is better today with M&S 1.7650 as you said. I have just got the latest email from your Man with this weeks best savings and buys. Martin Lewis!

Another good tip if you have a current account with the best interest rated Alliance and Leicester then they will give you annual travel insurance as a perk.

Currently it is worldwide but I see last week that ML says that they are going to reduce it to Europe. If you travel more than twice a year an annual policy makes sense. I changed my current account about 3 years ago. They offer this only until you are 65 so next year sees me out. It is underwritten by Zurick and has good cover.

Just thought I would throw this in to the melting pot.

 

Still packing!

Regards Sue

[candelle]

Hello Sue - we are looking forward to meeting you on Saturday as we will be some of your fellow passengers on Galaxy. We flew out to the States last week to attend a family wedding, so have now recovered from our travel and are just growing daily (Texan hospitality!).

 

I thought I'd mention that some time ago, we looked into the offer of free annual travel insurance, but found that our pre-existing conditions would not be covered. As we are beginning to disintegrate, we decided to forego the 'free offers'.

 

As if you don't have enough to do at the moment, perhaps you can find a moment to check your policy - just in case! Of course, there may be no problem with your particular policy, or that you are fighting fit!

 

Incidentally, we too love our Nationwide Debit Cards, which we have happily used for years, all over the world.

 

We have both enjoyed your interesting posts on this very informative site.

 

See you on Saturday!

[keela1eva2]

Hi thanks for the email. Yes I have had this policy for 3 years now and other than a medical implant I have in my spinal cord for pain control everything else is covered by my policy. There is no problem with this not being covered as it would not present any problem. I attend a special pain clinic for chronic pain I have had for 35 years following the birth of my Son. I have to take a lot of medication and this too is no problem I just need to inform them if there is any change.

 

I had to make a claim on this policy 18 mnths ago when a cruise to Hawaii had to be cancelled as my nephew had a massive brain haemorrhage and my sister was travelling with me. Paid out without problem.

 

Previous to using this I used direct travel insurance but it might be worth checking for the best cover you can get to cover your pre existing conditions. Use Martin Lewis's web site as it gives you all the comparisons.

Next year I will be the dreaded 65 and will need to start buying insurance again. I changed to Alliance and Leicester as they pay a good rate of interest on my current account and is the best rate available also a ML information. They add the interest each month.

They have a rate of 5% if you have an internet account with them but the insurance is not offered.

For all new customers they are offering a 10% monthly saving plan this beats Halifax at 7%. Useful to save for those cruises.

 

See from the Roll that you were already in Texas but it was only on reading this one I realised that you live in England. I now live in Harrogate having defected from Scotland in 1998. I previously defected from Ireland the land of my birth when I was 11 years old.

 

I too am looking forward to meeting everyone on Saturday. I am at the Doubletree IAH hotel on Friday night. Still trying to cram everything in one case as it is ok on the outbound journey T/A but the returning from Rome will be a problem with the weight allowance. For this reason I am putting everything in one large suitcase. If I have to pay excess what the heck I need my nice cruising rags!

 

Regards and enjoy your stay in Texas meantime.

 

Sue