Princess Canadian Exchange Rate

[dcuzz]

We are cruising on the Golden Princess in January and we are just trying to decide whether to have Princess convert our onboard charges on our VISA, or just have our bank do it. I called Princess today and she said that the exchange rate right now is $1.15, but she also said that could change at any time. I have read that the 2007 exchange rate is to be $1.15, and that is what it would be for all of 2007. Does Princess really set an exchange rate for the year, and not change it until the next year? Right now our $$ is not doing very well, so having Princess convert the charges may not be too bad. I usually tick the box to have the bank do it, but not sure what to do this time.

[mr green]

Pay your account in U.S. funds, Princess figures that its open season on those who pay in Canadian funds. My bank has always given me a fair rate of exchange. Do not believe what Princess told you. For example, to put a down payment on a future cruise on board its $100.00 US, or $125.00 Canadian. You do the math! john

[robtulipe]

We are cruising on the Golden Princess in January and we are just trying to decide whether to have Princess convert our onboard charges on our VISA, or just have our bank do it. I called Princess today and she said that the exchange rate right now is $1.15, but she also said that could change at any time. I have read that the 2007 exchange rate is to be $1.15, and that is what it would be for all of 2007. Does Princess really set an exchange rate for the year, and not change it until the next year? Right now our $$ is not doing very well, so having Princess convert the charges may not be too bad. I usually tick the box to have the bank do it, but not sure what to do this time.

The $1.15 rate is to buy a cruise in $Cdn not the rate they charge to convert your onboard charges. This rate floats with the exchange rate and is usually higher than what your CC would charge you. I did a Regal Princess cruise last month and I was in a hurry since I needed to return a rental car so I forgot to tick off that box. The person checking us in was new and having problem with her terminal and didn't highlight it to us ,so we were charged in $Cdn at a 1.169 rate. Other charges the same date in $US including a future cruise deposit came thru at around 1.160. I had check prices for another cruise in Jan. just before we left home for this cruise and the difference between US and Cdn was at 1.15 and also was told by my TA that this was the rate for 2007 to book and pay for a cruise in $Cdn compared to $US pricing.

It wasn't a big deal with us since we didn't do any ship's tour and didn't buy a lot onboard. I read other post indicating from Cdn. indicating a difference of 0.03 or 3% so I would stick with paying your account in $US and letting your CC bank convert to $Cdn.

[phillipahain]

On no account allow Princess to convert your charges

 

On no account even allow them to automatically charge to your credit card

 

THE ONLY WAY to avoid their money making scheme on all NON US residents is to either pay in US Dollar notes or by a MANUAL swipe of your CC the evening before departure

 

You can tick all the boxes you like but Princess will ignore it

 

UNLESS you pay in cash or do a manual CC charge the evening before disembarkation they will charge in the currency of your PASSPORT

[mr green]

On no account allow Princess to convert your charges

 

On no account even allow them to automatically charge to your credit card

 

THE ONLY WAY to avoid their money making scheme on all NON US residents is to either pay in US Dollar notes or by a MANUAL swipe of your CC the evening before departure

 

You can tick all the boxes you like but Princess will ignore it

 

UNLESS you pay in cash or do a manual CC charge the evening before disembarkation they will charge in the currency of your PASSPORT

 

I always tick the appropriate box, and have never had any problems. john

[WarmWaters]

We just got off the Star and after reading about this isssue here on CC before our cruise, we decided to pay in full our accounts on the last night with our left over US cash, we had with us. That way we know our accounts are all paid for, and there will be no charges to our visa in January when most people are cash strapped and dreaded all that Xmas spending. I will do it this way again on our next cruise.

[Cruise Junky]

I didn't have enough cash to cover my bill :( but I did go to the pursur's desk the last day and pay it off using my credit card. That way it goes through in US $$ without the Princess conversion rate. We told our friends this who had a $2,800 bill, but they didn't "Have Time". I'd have made time to save around 10%.

[senior lady]

Actually if Princess is charging $1.15 rate now that's pretty good. I just looked at the current exchange rate at the bank and it's $1.18. So if our $ keeps dropping i'm thinking that I may make final payment at Princess's rate in Jan. I'll have to call my TA in Jan and see if that's possible.

 

The outlook for our $ in the new yr is to hover around 18 - 20 % I'm told.

[cdnguy]

We use a US dollar CC issued in Canada and have never had a problem being charged in US $'s. We always go to the Purser's desk and verify with them that all charges in US dollars are not to be converted to Cdn funds.

Also, using a US dollar CC, you avoid that dreaded International Conversion Charge of about 2 1/2 - 3% on all Cdn. credit Cards. This is over and above the normal bank exchange rate of converting US $ to Cdn. $. It's spelled out in the fine print of your CC agreement. A lot of people don't even know it's there.

 

This problem has been discussed at great length many times in previous threads.

 

UNLESS you pay in cash or do a manual CC charge the evening before disembarkation they will charge in the currency of your PASSPORT

Not true..at least for us. We've been on 11 Princess cruises and have never had a problem.

[mexico5]

Hi, we were just on the Star, and after reading all the threads about the added credit card charges for Canadians, we did not use our card. We went to the Purser's Desk and put down $300.00 each in US travellers cheques. It worked well for us. We ended up getting money back at the end!

[Cruise Junky]

 

UNLESS you pay in cash or do a manual CC charge the evening before disembarkation they will charge in the currency of your PASSPORT

 

That statement is absolutely not true. They do have a habit of ignoring the tick, but nothing is tied to your passport. I live in Canada and have an EU Passport. I'm not charged in Pounds or Euros. If they're going to screw up, they charge me in Canadian.

[phillipahain]

Sorry but EVERY single Pursers desk has told us that

 

"you are charged in the currency of your passport "

 

Since we are almost Elite We have been on more than enough Princess cruises now and have ticked the box every single time along with writing CHARGE IN US DOLLARS

 

Pursers Desk have also flagged the account but after the 6 th time of getting home to find either our US Bank credit card or our UK Dollar Account credit card had been debitted with Sterling as converted by Princess

 

We have given up the aggro of fighting afterwards to get it sorted

 

Hence we do as advised and get Pursers Desk to do a manual swipe of the CC the night before disembarkation

 

Others with UK passports have reported the same problem on these boards

[Cruise Junky]

They charge it on your residency and currency of the credit card, not your passport. In your case it's one and the same, but as you can see in mine it's not

[iancal]

There are actually two currency conversions to be aware of (for Canadians). The first is on board. I ticked the box and this time Princess did bill me in US currency-as per my request. If you do not tick this box, expect to pay at least an extra 3 percent. This applies to Canadians and to Americans travelling in Europe. Second issue is cruise fare conversion rates. One of the reasons why booking directly with Princess is comparatively expensive for Canadians is that Princess is using a 25 percent conversion rate (may change Jan 1). They don't tell you this, they just give you a Cdn based price but it is US price X 1.25. We never book direcly with Princess and we use a US based on line TA. We would never consider prebooking our next trip on board because, as a Canadian, there are hassles-especially if you use Princess air (which we never do anyway).