Canadian $ Conversion Confusion

[RookieCruzer]

Is it better to not have you shipboard account converted - does this avoid the 3% conversion charge I'm reading about in the fine print? If anyone can clarify this for me, a first time cruiser, I would be grateful.

[camNaud]

Is it better to not have you shipboard account converted - does this avoid the 3% conversion charge I'm reading about in the fine print? If anyone can clarify this for me, a first time cruiser, I would be grateful.

 

You are correct. I have the same issue as my final bill is converted into £'s Sterling.

 

Not only do you pay 3% - but you don't get such a good exchange rate as your card issuer will provide..

 

Do not get your on board account converted into Canadian Dollars.

 

During cruise boarding you have to fill out forms. One of these for your on board account. There is a 'tick box' to STOP the conversion. Tick BOX and sign to prevent conversion.

 

By paying on your card in US dollars you will only pay your card issuers conversion fee. My card issuer charges 1.75%.

 

You will have to talk to your card issuer to find out what the charge is.

 

Hope this helps and Happy Cruising.

[mr green]

Tick the box that says that you will pay in US funds [by credit card], my credit card company always gives a fair exchange rate, unfortunatly most cruise lines do not. I have never had any problems with this method. Good luck on your first cruise.:)

john

[TCF]

This is an ongoing problem for Canadians, and others who come from countries other than the US!

Princess sets its own exchange rate on the CDN$. :mad: Your Credit Card Company will usually convert at the bank rate for that day!

Princess will charge a service fee of 3% for the conversion. :mad: Your Credit Card Company will charge a service fee somewhere around 1.5% or perhaps a little higher.

So...make sure you check the box on the forms...AND...initial the checkmark even though there is no spot for the initial just so Princess can't say it was missed...or it wasn't checked...(Yes...that has happened!:eek: )

Next ...get a US$ Credit Card from your Canadian Credit Card Company. Then on the cruise...every couple of days or so...stop by the pursers desk and pay down your account on the US$ card so Princess doesn't have the opportunity to play the conversion game with your money.:D

We are not talking a lot of money here. Usually it is no more than $50 or $100 if that...but for many of us it is simply the principle of the issue. Princess does nothing to earn this money...they do not provide a service for the money they charge...so why should we pay for nothing!

Tom:)

[iancal]

We were on the Star in December. We did check the box, and this time Princess did bill us as requested...in US dollars. This does not just impact us Cannucks. I am told that Princess makes a VERY tidy profit, thank you, on their European cruises . No personal experience but a fellow passenger on the Star, think he was US, told me he cruised this past summer in Europe, ticked the box, and still got ripped off. He was still in dispute with Princess and was steamed up about it. We always check with the purser's desk on the second to last night to confirm our request.

 

One other thing to remember, don't book directly with Princess, especially if you are going Princess air from Canada. They currently use a 1.25 exchange rate. You will get much better prices with a savvy TA or an on line US based TA.

[westcoaster]

Actually, Princess is currently using a rate of 15% for cruise pricing, which is a pretty good deal. For example, I just booked a cruise that was priced at $799 US. I paid the Canadian dollar price of $918 Cdn. At the current exchange rate, I would have paid a little more if I had bought through a US travel agency, particularly when the currency exchange fee my credit card charges is added in.

[phillipahain]

You can tick boxes

You can check with pursers desk

Princess can promise the moon

 

BUT the only sure fire way for any non US passenger to stop Princess converting their Dollar account into another currency at a disadvantageous rate plus 3% commision on top is to go to pursers desk the evening before departure and get them to MANUALLY swipe your Credit Card ..........do not allow their automatic system to take over

 

We have been all through every avenue on this with Princess and its simply not worth the agro or the time it takes to argue about incorrect conversion afterwards

 

We even have USA Dollar Bank accounts/credit cards in both USA and UK but even with theses Princess have converted dollars to sterling and when this hits our credit card they have to convert back to dollars and charge a penalty for the priveledge

 

So thats it we do a manual swipe the evening before and the charge stays in dollars

[mississauga]

Actually, Princess is currently using a rate of 15% for cruise pricing, which is a pretty good deal. For example, I just booked a cruise that was priced at $799 US. I paid the Canadian dollar price of $918 Cdn. At the current exchange rate, I would have paid a little more if I had bought through a US travel agency, particularly when the currency exchange fee my credit card charges is added in.

 

 

Same here. I was given the choice to pay in either US funds with my US credit card or CAD and when I realized the rate they were using ( just under 15% ), I decided to pay in CAD with my Canadian credit card.

 

All the problems stated above, I have also had with using my USD credit card...checking off box, checking at purser's desk and still having Princess convert to CAD and my US card being converted back to USD as it is a US card.

 

Now, what I'm wondering is.....will Princess still use the 15% for our onboard charges? This 3% everyone is talking about, was that included in the 25% Princess used in 2006? I'm going on a cruise in February and will use my CAD credit card and see how it works this time. I will report back after my cruise for the benefit of those of you who are cruising later this year. If the 15% applies on board also, it will be to our benefit in 2007.:D

[City_Woman]

We got a US funds credit card from BMO.

 

We ticked and circled the tick on our Princess form.

 

We had no problems.

 

Cheers,

Judy

[Toomanycruises]

We have a US fund credit card and we paid our shipeboard account with it. Princess still converted it to Canadian dollars and wouldn't change it back to US fund..

[mississauga]

We have a US fund credit card and we paid our shipeboard account with it. Princess still converted it to Canadian dollars and wouldn't change it back to US fund..

 

Call Princess customer service and they will have to give you the credit IF you checked the box to not convert. OR get your credit card company to do it for you.

[Cruise Junky]

Actually, Princess is currently using a rate of 15% for cruise pricing, which is a pretty good deal.

 

The exchange rate for 2007 is indeed 15%, but for 2006 it was 25%...you can imaging how unfair that has been for the past year.

[Cruise Junky]

Actually, Princess is currently using a rate of 15% for cruise pricing, which is a pretty good deal.

 

The exchange rate for 2007 is indeed 15%, but for 2006 it was 25%...you can imaging how unfair that has been for the past year.

[mississauga]

The exchange rate for 2007 is indeed 15%, but for 2006 it was 25%...you can imaging how unfair that has been for the past year.

 

It sure was unfair for those who got it converted to CAD in 2006, especially since the real exchange rate for most of 2006 was well under 25%, even under 15% for much of the year. I think that's why Princess set it at 15% for 2007. So if Princess is going to use 15% for all of 2007, it will be to our advantage this year and it will be a good year to cruise Princess.:D

[westcoaster]

I guess you win some, you lose some. I remember booking a cruise a few years ago when Princess was using an exchange rate of 1.45 on Cdn dollars when the actual rate was more like 1.60. I ended up paying hundreds of dollars less than those who paid in US dollars.

[mississauga]

I guess you win some, you lose some. I remember booking a cruise a few years ago when Princess was using an exchange rate of 1.45 on Cdn dollars when the actual rate was more like 1.60. I ended up paying hundreds of dollars less than those who paid in US dollars.

 

 

You will this year too if it stays 15%. Based on your experience, westcoaster, will they? Also, will they use the 15% for onboard too?

[robtulipe]

The 15% conversion rate to Cdn. $ is only used to pay for the cruise in Cdn. funds. The on board charges get converted to Cdn $ at a different and typically higher rate which includes the service charge for doing so. This rate is adjusted more often to reflect the actual exchange rate and is higher then what your CC company would charge you.

[mississauga]

The 15% conversion rate to Cdn. $ is only used to pay for the cruise in Cdn. funds. The on board charges get converted to Cdn $ at a different and typically higher rate which includes the service charge for doing so. This rate is adjusted more often to reflect the actual exchange rate and is higher then what your CC company would charge you.

 

Thanks! Then I will use my US credit card for onboard charges and pay the going rate when I get my bill.

[Cruise Junky]

I guess you win some, you lose some. I remember booking a cruise a few years ago when Princess was using an exchange rate of 1.45 on Cdn dollars when the actual rate was more like 1.60. I ended up paying hundreds of dollars less than those who paid in US dollars.

 

Yep, we hit 1.59 around 2002. I just wish they didn't set it for the whole year, they should be able to be a little flexible.

[robtulipe]

Just make sure you tick off that box that indicates not to convert on board charge to Cdn$ on the credit card slip you sign when embarking. Also FU with purser's desk before last night onboard to ensure your account is billed in US$ as Princess has been known to ignore that ticked off box as stated above. The actual swipe of your CC the last evening to pay you account sounds like a good idea.

[mississauga]

Just make sure you tick off that box that indicates not to convert on board charge to Cdn$ on the credit card slip you sign when embarking. Also FU with purser's desk before last night onboard to ensure your account is billed in US$ as Princess has been known to ignore that ticked off box.

 

I checked off the box, highlighted the check mark in yellow, checked with the purser's desk twice during a 10 day cruise and they did not convert on board but when my bill came, Princess had converted the USD to CAD and of course since it was a US account, my credit card company converted it back to USD at a higher rate. After much follow-up, Princess did give me the credit back. They claim it doesn't happen often but from what I read on these boards it happens a lot. They suggested that next time I cruise to call Customer Service ahead of time to flag my account to not convert. If it doesn't work this time, I will pay my bill off on board in USD cash next time before I leave the ship. I love cruising on Princess but this is the one negative issue I have with them.

[Cruise Junky]

You don't have to pay it off in US Cash, just go down last night or second to last night and pay the balance and maybe $50 more with your credit card. Anything done before hand goes through in US$.

[mississauga]

You don't have to pay it off in US Cash, just go down last night or second to last night and pay the balance and maybe $50 more with your credit card. Anything done before hand goes through in US$.

 

Originally Posted by phillipahian:

BUT the only sure fire way for any non US passenger to stop Princess converting their Dollar account into another currency at a disadvantageous rate plus 3% commision on top is to go to pursers desk the evening before departure and get them to MANUALLY swipe your Credit Card ..........do not allow their automatic system to take over

 

 

Sounds like good advice from both of you.

[iancal]

I have ABSOLUTELY no doubt that Princess has he ability to deal in prevailing exchange rates rather than setting them at the start of the year. Do Princess allow their suppliers to charge them higher than the prevailing rate of exchange on company purchase orders. Somehow I doubt it very much. There is a reason for the policy....it is financial benefit.

[mississauga]

I have ABSOLUTELY no doubt that Princess has he ability to deal in prevailing exchange rates rather than setting them at the start of the year. Do Princess allow their suppliers to charge them higher than the prevailing rate of exchange on company purchase orders. Somehow I doubt it very much. There is a reason for the policy....it is financial benefit.

 

It's been set at 15% for 2007. So far, it's to OUR benefit!!!:D