Foreigners Beware!!!!

[rgrls]

We were on the Caribbean Princess Nov 12-19th, and I feel the need to warn future non-US Princess cruisers. When you are boarding, make sure that when you sign Coupon 2 of your ticket (the cash-free signature card), you check off the tiny little box in the midst of the small print on the right hand side of the card. They will not point this out to you...no sirree, because if you don't tick it, Princess looks to make a small fortune off of you and the other foreigners onboard. Unaware of the fact that we should have ticked the box, at the end of our cruise we decided to forego the hassle of standing in line at the Purser's desk and pay our bill with our credit card. When we got our bill on the last morning, the cruiseline had converted our US bill to Canadian dollars, and then charged our visa. The kicker is that they charged 19cents on the dollar!! The exchange rate that day was around 14cents. Our visa exchange would have been significantly less. Yes, our bill was relatively small, but when you think about how many non-US citizens are on a ship of over 3000 people, that adds up to a pretty penny! When we discovered this, we immediately went to the Purser's desk to settle our account with cash and ask them to credit our visa (much like returning something at a store, right?). But of course they weren't able to do this, stating that "all of the accounts are closed". Why is it then, that the people beside us were settling their account...and the Princess people were happily taking their money???

We were definitely not alone in our frustration, as we heard several non US passengers complaining of the very same thing. In fact, one couple from Ontario actually obtained a visa card specifically for this holiday, which would be paid from a US$ account. The cruiseline converted their US bill to Can $, so that the visa company could then turn around and convert it to US again!! If you want to make sure that your account is not converted to your currency (with a hefty exchange), but rather charged in USD to your credit card, PLEASE don't make the same mistake we did...TICK OFF THE LITTLE BOX!!

It's just really sad that the final impression of what was thus far a great week, was that of being ripped off just because we're non US citizens! This was our first Princess cruise, and quite possibly our last. We will likely go back to our favourite, Royal Caribbean, which has always been magical from beginning to absolute end!!

Hope this helps others in the future. Happy cruising! :o

 

Liz and Luis Almeida

Ontario, Canada

[Jacqueline]

Contest the bill with Visa.

[islandersx4]

Absolutely contest the bill with Visa in writing. Good luck!

[Cruisin' Grandma]

Get yourself a US dollar credit card, next time, no worries.

 

Lola in Hamilton

[chrysalis]

we have always "ticked" the little box, because at each boarding, the Princess check-in person pointed out the box and reminded us of the benefits of ticking it off.

[rinse82]

Get yourself a US dollar credit card' date=' next time, no worries.

 

Lola in Hamilton[/quote']

 

As the OP stated, you still have to tick the box.

 

If you read the post, she mentioned that a Canadian couple did have a US credit card, but instead had the currency converted twice!

[cantwait2cruize]

Is this the same on all cruise lines? Do they all have a little box to tick.

Thanks for saving me some money, we always have a large sea pass.

[canadiansnowbird]

This was a hot topic for non U.S. cruisers about a month ago. Afterwards I applied for a U.S. charge card through TD Canada Trust.

 

Now I have remember to "CHECK OFF THAT LITTLE BOX" "CHECK OFF THAT LITTLE BOX" "CHECK OFF THAT LITTLE BOX"

 

Thanks for reminding me...

Snowbird

[doodlefan]

I'm on the Crown Princess in 3 days.

 

I printed all my documents and made sure I ticked the little box and then I ran a bright pink highligher through it, just to make sure. lol

 

I definitely plan on checking to make sure it's done right.

 

Doodlefan

[robtulipe]

When we embarked on the Regal Pr. for our recent cruise, it appeared the lady checking us in was new and she didn't point this out this tick the box option to us. Even though I had previously seen this and ticked this box for our other three Pr. cruises, I was in a hurry thus just signed the CC slip, got my cruise card and took off to return my rental car to avoid additional time charges on it.

Even on the interim statement of our cruise account, which we had to line up at the purser desk to get on our last full day aboard, showed $US. All of the other cruise lines we have been on, including HAL and Costa ( both owned by Carnival ), deliver an interim bill to your cabin. You must wonder why Princess doesn't give their passengers a statement before closing out the cruise account.

Being Cdn. and not having ticked off that option, our final bill was in $CAD. I spoke to the purser's desk about this but they stated that our account was closed, they couldn't reverse the charges and it had to remain in $CAD. I know in Canada it is illegal to have a negative billing option like this. In other words a company can't assume you agree to a change in billing if you don't do something like ticking off a box or calling them.

The good news was that Princess converted our bill using an 1.167 exchange rate and four other $US charges on our CC the same day came thru at a 1.159 to 1.161 rate so I didn't pay a lot more at the 0.006 to 0.008 differances or about 18 to 24 cents CAD on our modest bill. We didn't do any Princess tours nor bought a lot on board. Remember that all CC typically charge a spread of 2 to 2.5 % over the actual exchange rate. I agree that I don't like the way Princess does this to grab the exchange spread that the CC companies charge.

By the way rgrls the actual CAD to USD exchange rate on Nov.19th was closer to 1.15 so if Princess did charge you a 0.04 higher rate I would indeed dispute it with your CC company.

[Marie-Claude]

I printed all my documents and made sure I ticked the little box and then I ran a bright pink highligher through it, just to make sure.

Thanks for the tip... I too have just printed my boarding passes and I had signed the paper without really looking at it... I just checked the box and highlighted the line as well!!

Thanks!

MC:)

[Lise Dagenais]

We were on the Caribbean Princess Nov 12-19th, and I feel the need to warn future non-US Princess cruisers. When you are boarding, make sure that when you sign Coupon 2 of your ticket (the cash-free signature card), you check off the tiny little box in the midst of the small print on the right hand side of the card. They will not point this out to you...no sirree, because if you don't tick it, Princess looks to make a small fortune off of you and the other foreigners onboard. Unaware of the fact that we should have ticked the box, at the end of our cruise we decided to forego the hassle of standing in line at the Purser's desk and pay our bill with our credit card. When we got our bill on the last morning, the cruiseline had converted our US bill to Canadian dollars, and then charged our visa. The kicker is that they charged 19cents on the dollar!! The exchange rate that day was around 14cents. Our visa exchange would have been significantly less. Yes, our bill was relatively small, but when you think about how many non-US citizens are on a ship of over 3000 people, that adds up to a pretty penny! When we discovered this, we immediately went to the Purser's desk to settle our account with cash and ask them to credit our visa (much like returning something at a store, right?). But of course they weren't able to do this, stating that "all of the accounts are closed". Why is it then, that the people beside us were settling their account...and the Princess people were happily taking their money???

We were definitely not alone in our frustration, as we heard several non US passengers complaining of the very same thing. In fact, one couple from Ontario actually obtained a visa card specifically for this holiday, which would be paid from a US$ account. The cruiseline converted their US bill to Can $, so that the visa company could then turn around and convert it to US again!! If you want to make sure that your account is not converted to your currency (with a hefty exchange), but rather charged in USD to your credit card, PLEASE don't make the same mistake we did...TICK OFF THE LITTLE BOX!!

It's just really sad that the final impression of what was thus far a great week, was that of being ripped off just because we're non US citizens! This was our first Princess cruise, and quite possibly our last. We will likely go back to our favourite, Royal Caribbean, which has always been magical from beginning to absolute end!!

Hope this helps others in the future. Happy cruising! :o

 

Liz and Luis Almeida

Ontario, Canada

 

 

The same things happened to us but we had check the box in the corner asking to be charge in US

We complained at the purser desk and was told to write to Princess relations customers what me did coming home

They ask me to fax them my bill and I am waiting for a refund, about 6 weeks to wait

Hopefully some others cruisers will write to them and complain

[sessa]

We were on the Star Princess last December and I had ticked the box off. They still went ahead and did the conversion anyhow and charged us about 3% more. I only noticed this on my statement after we returned home. I phoned Princess and they wanted me to send them a copy of my Visa Statement. I never bothered and chucked it up as a lesson. As the poster said above HIGHLIGHT the box to make sure they see the ticked box. Go to the pursers desk the night before and have it brought to there attention.

We will be on the Sea Princess this February so hoping it will be all good this time.

[Cruisin' Grandma]

As the OP stated, you still have to tick the box.

 

If you read the post, she mentioned that a Canadian couple did have a US credit card, but instead had the currency converted twice!

 

Ok, I'm confused. I have used a US Dollar credit card for years while cruising and have never ticked a little box to be charged in US dollars. If you have a credit card in US currency, why would it be an option to charge the card in any other currency? I have always received my on board charges in US and paid them in US through the same US dollar credit card.

 

Lola in Hamilton

[TCF]

A month or so ago we went down this road. The issue was discussed at length and ways around having Princess conduct themselves in this way were also discussed. From that thread I came up with a list of things we will do...and perhaps more importantly...not do on our next Princess Cruise.

1. Check the little box!

2. If we can we will highlight the checked little box.

3. We will pay our account every other day in US funds, so at the end if Princess does screw around with the exchange rate it will be on very little money.

4. Spend as little as possible on board and defintiely...no Princess excursions whenever possible...no Princess art (which has a whole other pall hanging over it) period...no expensive extras...no pictures. The idea is to keep the bill as low as possible.:D

5. Every time we pay the bill we tell the Purser why we are paying it every other day so hopefully Princess gets the message.

6. Check the little box!

I have come to the conclusion that we are dealing with two very different beasts here, and that the two groups that are getting hurt are us and the Princess crews!:eek:

Princess head office puts in these, in my opinion, ridiculous policies that drive passengers crazy and the passengers in turn jump all over the crews who have absolutely nothing to do with determining the outrageous policies but, have to enforce them and then catch hell from us for the policies. Meanwhile, the so-called Customer Service Reps...again the low folks on the Princess totem pole... wind up hitting the delete button on the email and the start button on the paper shredder and the hold button on the phones!!:eek:

I think we all have to remember that the unethical business decisions made by Princess Corporation are made a long way from the cruise ship and I doubt whether they talk to the crews about them before they put them in place....so we shouldn't be taking our anger out on the crews!

Finally, remember that as Canadians we are the minority here. We have little if any clout with Princess Corporate...so we either do what we can to screw up its attempts to fleece us on the little stuff....stop cruising Princess...or spend as little as we possibly can while on the ship. Remember, Princess does not make its money from the cruise rate...it makes it from all we spend on board!;)

Just my thoughts

Tom:)

[ultimatemaniaccruiser]

Do a chargeback. It's basically fraud and I hope princess loses money on this big time. I'm sure regreting booking this damn cruise with Princess. I sailed with them when I was a kid and now with all these little scams and sewage smells, tendering problems etc it sounds like I should have gone with Celebrity or Royal Carribean instead. Hopefully the cruise is not too bad.

[Seydlitz]

Does this Happen with other cruise lines? Like Carnival or RCCL?

 

Jerry

[iancal]

You can tick the box untill the cows come home...they still convert. Yes, it is a terrible business practice designed to rip off customers. It also applies to Americans travelling in Europe where the shipboard currency is Euros. We go back to the purser's office the 2nd last day and personally make sure they do not convert. I like Princess, but this practice really turns me off them.

[phabric]

I will be going on RC for Christmas. This is what was with my documents.

 

RC states " If you use a MasterCard or Visa issued outside of the US and one which is billed to any of the following currencies: AUD,CAD,CHF,DKK,EUR,GBP,HKD,JPY,MXP,NOK,SEK, we offer the service for the full amount of the charge to be converted to the currency of the card by our conversion agent at the exchange rate in effect at the time the amounts are charged to your account. The rate will include a currency conversion servce charge of 3% over the wholesale bank rate provided by Citibank."

 

"If you qualify for your chargaes to be converted to the currency of your card's billing and would like to pay in your home currency, please check here___"

 

"If you do not choose to use this currency conversion service, the issuer of your card may still charge you a sevice fee for currency conversion".

 

"If you opt for your charges not be converted or if your card is not billed in one of the currencies listed, your charges will be processed in the on board currency."

[City_Woman]

Our plan is to visit the purser's desk a day or two before we disembark to make sure that it is on our file that we want our credit card charged in US dollars - it is a US Funds MasterCard.

 

Judy

[kobecat]

I am Australian. Next year we are doing the 29 day Sydney - LA on the Sapphire so I have been keeping all this discussion in mind to remember to tick the appropriate box. Last year we did the Dawn Princess to Mexico so I just checked my credit card statement from that time. It is billed in US$ (well it says it is anyway!) and then converted by Citibank (our credit card company in Australia). Maybe because it was a Citibank card Princess thought it was US.

[rgrls]

Hi everyone...thanks for your input. Wow!! We're obviously not alone on this one! Rob Tulipe, we also went to the Pursor's desk the night before for a printout, and conveniently, it was given to us in US funds. The conversion (and the inflated conversion rate) only happened on the day of disembarkation (when the "accounts were closed").

For the record, the day we boarded, we ended up with a new girl who was frustrated by a computer crash. She AT NO TIME pointed out the fine print or the little box. I realize that we should all read the fine print, but by that point we're so excited to get on board, that it's easily missed.

As far as the US credit card goes for that other couple, I believe that it was a Canadian Bank-based card, payable in US funds. Does that make sense?

I must admit, that even though it's a crappy thing that happened, I'm thrilled to see that I may have helped some of you.

All the best,

 

Liz Almeida

PS. To all my fellow Ontarians, those LCBO wine tetrapacks fit nicely in a large ziploc, and even better in your bar fridge!! I wouldn't chance it with red wine though! LOL:D ;)

[iancal]

What I find deceptive and unethical in the Princess approach is that your account will be converted if you say nothing. The passenger must make make the action. This type of negative marketing is actually UNLAWFUL in some jurisdictions.

[rgrls]

You're absolutely right! It's illegal here in Ontario. A TV cable company tried it, and they were sued to the eyeballs!

Liz

[Anubi]

I'm on the Crown Princess in 3 days.

 

I printed all my documents and made sure I ticked the little box and then I ran a bright pink highligher through it, just to make sure. lol

 

I definitely plan on checking to make sure it's done right.

 

Doodlefan

 

Just asking for clarification on this. When you print out your eticket the little check box is on them rather than something you get handed at the pier? That's good to know. However, if you are highlighting I would suggest using yellow highlighter because if anything needs to be photocopied the pink will darken the photocopy and it will become illegible and then they will charge you :rolleyes: