Hi Canadians- yet another currency story

[IandY]

Hi fellow Canadian cruisers,

Well, after reading countless currency conversion stories on this site I can now add our own to the list.

We just sailed the Radiance last week with two other couples and all of us indicated on the Set Sail pass to have our card companies convert the currency. All of us also hi-lited the instruction.

Well...on the second day of our cruise I went to Guest services to check on my account and lo behold, the print out indicated that I had selected to use the Royal Caribbean Currency Conversion Program. I advised that this was not the case and had it corrected ( no apolgy was given).

On the morning of dis-embarking our statement was left on the door and there it was again "you have selected to use the Royal Caribbean Currency Conversion Program". Back to Guest serivces at 6:30 in the morning. I was told, again without an apology, that the ships accountant would be back in 10 minutes. Back I go in 15 minutes where I was told that the accountant was called away for a problem with customs. Told to come back in 1/2 an hour. Back I went in half an hour and finally it was resolved.

To some up, I was ultimately at Guest relations 4 times in relateivey long line ups to battle for less than $20.00 of money that was mine, not RCI's! I stick to my principles.

As for our fellow travellers, Royal converted their charges as well but unlike me, they were not prepared to fight. In our groups case, RCI scammed 2 out of 3. Not a bad days work for them.

[alicam]

I will have to watch that next week on the Serenade...

[airhose]

That's just wrong for RCCL to do that. I'm trying to bring enough US travellers cheques to cover the account. But I always seem to underestimate the final tab!:) BTW, when I did get them last week, the conversion rate was exactly 1.0000! So much better than the last few years:D

[dirtgirl]

IandY, good for you! I had to go to the Purser's desk 3 times myself, and the lineup on the last day was filled with furious Canadians. I am photocopying the SetSail pass with my clear instructions on it from now on - and am writing on it to not convert as well. The cc companies do want this as proof.

 

I think they rely on the majority of people not bothering to fight.:(

[IandY]

That was my original plan as well and yes, we were almost straight up on the exchange.

My beef though is, why should I have additional fuss because RCI choses not to follow an instruction that's on the document in which they have provided. Yes you can pay with travellers cheques but now your losing points (if that applys) and as well, you still have to go line up at Guest Relations to resolve your bill. I can think of better things on a cruise ship than to line up at Guest Relations!

[startwin]

Hi fellow Canadian cruisers,

Well, after reading countless currency conversion stories on this site I can now add our own to the list.

We just sailed the Radiance last week with two other couples and all of us indicated on the Set Sail pass to have our card companies convert the currency. All of us also hi-lited the instruction.

Well...on the second day of our cruise I went to Guest services to check on my account and lo behold, the print out indicated that I had selected to use the Royal Caribbean Currency Conversion Program. I advised that this was not the case and had it corrected ( no apolgy was given).

On the morning of dis-embarking our statement was left on the door and there it was again "you have selected to use the Royal Caribbean Currency Conversion Program". Back to Guest serivces at 6:30 in the morning. I was told, again without an apology, that the ships accountant would be back in 10 minutes. Back I go in 15 minutes where I was told that the accountant was called away for a problem with customs. Told to come back in 1/2 an hour. Back I went in half an hour and finally it was resolved.

To some up, I was ultimately at Guest relations 4 times in relateivey long line ups to battle for less than $20.00 of money that was mine, not RCI's! I stick to my principles.

As for our fellow travellers, Royal converted their charges as well but unlike me, they were not prepared to fight. In our groups case, RCI scammed 2 out of 3. Not a bad days work for them.

 

Sorry to sound so dumb, but what is the RCI currency conversion programme? We will be taking our first RCI cruise, so don't want any nasty surprises.

[dirtgirl]

Sorry to sound so dumb, but what is the RCI currency conversion programme? We will be taking our first RCI cruise, so don't want any nasty surprises.

 

 

Are you from outside the US? When you do the online Checkin on RC's webpage (must be done no later than 3 days before the sail date), there are 2 boxes to choose from on your Setsail Pass that you print out at the end. One of them is to select to be billed in US, the other is to be billed to the currency of your card. They charge an extra 3% over the banks, so they try to sneak that on you instead of following your wishes to be billed in US (if that is what you want, and trust me, you do, if you want to save money).

 

Select the US box, and photocopy it! Also, go to Guest Relations during your cruise to see what you are being charged in, and attempt to correct it before the end of the cruise. Otherwise, if you want to fight it, the cc company will need proof of your transaction dispute when you get home.

[IandY]

Sorry to sound so dumb, but what is the RCI currency conversion programme? We will be taking our first RCI cruise, so don't want any nasty surprises.

 

 

Hi startwin,

Depends on where your from. If you're American, no worries...go have fun. If your a non-US citizen than you have the option to have your credit card company convert your charges from US to your own currency or, you can choose to have RCI convert your charges to your currency. Here's the catch, they do it for a fee. Not much, but still a fee.

My recommendation is to chose to have your CC convert but it seems that regardless of what you chose, Royal Caribbean will go ahead and do the conversion, even if that's not what you desire. That's the issue.

[HorrorFan]

It is probably worth mentioning in this thread that you should be booking the cruise in US $ as well. We saved $900 last month (almost 15%) by booking in US $. The cost per person listed in Canadian $ are WAY higher than in US $ and the Canadian $ is presently worth more than the US $.

[CaesarsNcruisin4me]

It is probably worth mentioning in this thread that you should be booking the cruise in US $ as well. We saved $900 last month (almost 15%) by booking in US $. The cost per person listed in Canadian $ are WAY higher than in US $ and the Canadian $ is presently worth more than the US $.

 

Not always. My Independence cruise in Dec was cheaper to book in CND than US but my Independence cruise in Nov was opposite. Its important to check both rates as most cruises being entered into the RCI database at the current time are giving better rates for the CND fares than US. Always check both (CND and US rates) before booking!:)

[IandY]

It is probably worth mentioning in this thread that you should be booking the cruise in US $ as well. We saved $900 last month (almost 15%) by booking in US $. The cost per person listed in Canadian $ are WAY higher than in US $ and the Canadian $ is presently worth more than the US $.

 

Caledon! We're not far from you, just outside of Hillsburgh.

I agree with your thoughts but alas, did not realize this until much after our booking. We caught a "hot deal" and it would not have worked to cancel and re-book in US. As much as I regret not knowing of booking in US$, in the end I was still very pleased with what we paid and all in all, was extremely pleased with the cruise. Just not pleased in the conversion games.

[HorrorFan]

Sandy, you are correct. I assumed there would be the same discrepancy with all crusies but I just checked and it DOES depend on which one you look at. Hawaii next year is actually $10 cheaper in Can$. Go figure, doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason.

I&Y, yes, Hillsburgh is just a hop, skip and jump away from us.:)

I booked for the Jewel panama a month ago and looked the next day and noticed it was WAY cheaper than the day before, so we went back to the TA and discovered the difference between Can and US$, so we just cancelled and rebooked in US$. It was a nice surprise. (providing the Can$ stays strong until we pay the balance).

[smoothy]

The best option I have heard on these boards is to have the onboard account set up as a cash account which you can pay by credit card at the purser's desk. When they charge your card this way it is always processed as a USD transaction, letting Visa/MC/Amex do the swap.

[robtulipe]

This is why for our last RC two cruises and for our next (for online check in selected cash/TC onboard account) this Canadian set our seapass account as a cash one (no CC info given) which you can charge up to $500 before you have to make a payment. I imagine if you and your partner kept separate onboard account you could charge $500 each before needing to make a payment. We had a large onboard credit for our last cruise and took no ship's tours so our acount never even got close to this amount. Then you can make a cash or TC payment or have RC swipe your card in $US to partially or fully pay off your onboard account to avoid being billed in $CAD. By doing the actual billing on your CC in person you avoid the automatic billing.

[J&G]

Thanks for the info about setting it up as Cash. I'll be sure & do that on our June cruise. In December we went down the last night & paid the balance in travelres cheques - problem with that was losing all those Aeroplan miles. :)

[CVU]

The best option I have heard on these boards is to have the onboard account set up as a cash account which you can pay by credit card at the purser's desk. When they charge your card this way it is always processed as a USD transaction, letting Visa/MC/Amex do the swap.

 

 

Yes, it worked on our Jan. /08 cruise. First time we tried it this way. No problems and we paid with our credit card on the last evening.

 

Our other cruises we spent that time in the long line up trying to get it Not converted. Each time it was converted, DH the last time had the fellow at the desk even put his name on the bill saying it would not be converted. So, DH had to get it changed when he got home, as they converted it yet again.

[robtulipe]

Thanks for the info about setting it up as Cash. I'll be sure & do that on our June cruise. In December we went down the last night & paid the balance in travelres cheques - problem with that was losing all those Aeroplan miles. :)

Well I bought extra US$ and TCs when Cdn$ was worth around 1.07 US before going on our cruise last Nov. so have them to go on our Radiance Hawaii cruise at the beginning of May.

If you booked your cruise directly with RC, give them you Aeroplan # and they will credit you with 200 miles per cruise night as they are an Aeroplan partner. We booked our last cruise direct since it was onboard booking to get Next Cruise Program OBCs and both DW and I got our Aeroplan miles.This doesn't seem to work if you booked through a TA as I haven't been able to get them when I've done this but other on CC have reported getting them even when cruise is booked through TA. For our next we booked direct, gave them our Aeroplan # and then transferred booking to our TA just before final payment due date so the Aeroplan # are on our file and booking receipt. I will see if that works.

[CVU]

Our TA in BC got us the Aeroplan miles. Maybe you can try again, there is a window of time that you can claim the miles after the cruise I believe. Not sure about it but I thought we claimed for a completed cruise a year or so ago when we heard about Aeroplan giving miles for a RCCL cruise.

 

We have booked on our own and used a TA and got the miles both times. We now like being on our own to get any reductions in price or change cabins if a better one is available. Our TA company won't give any cruise reductions once final payment is made. If there is a special reduction or cabin change we have to contact him etc. and it is so easy to call C&A and do it over the phone.

[LePot2004]

We are Canadians from Montreal. On our last cruise on the Serenade ex San diego CA last october, upon registration at the dock, we inquired if we could upgrade our seaview cabin to a balcony cabin. They said yes and the cost was 400 US$ on our Visa card. I stated at the time that I wanted to be charged in US currency. A few weeks later, after our return, we received our monthly bill from Visa and the charge was 512 CDN$. At the time, the canadian dollar was much stronger than the US $. I complained to the Visa office and shortly after I received a credit for 112 CDN$.

We have to watch them closely.

JP

[robtulipe]

Our TA in BC got us the Aeroplan miles. Maybe you can try again, there is a window of time that you can claim the miles after the cruise I believe. Not sure about it but I thought we claimed for a completed cruise a year or so ago when we heard about Aeroplan giving miles for a RCCL cruise.

 

We have booked on our own and used a TA and got the miles both times. We now like being on our own to get any reductions in price or change cabins if a better one is available. Our TA company won't give any cruise reductions once final payment is made. If there is a special reduction or cabin change we have to contact him etc. and it is so easy to call C&A and do it over the phone.

I think the window is 6 months. I tried to claim for our last year's Sept. and March cruises booked thru TA by calling RC, even spoke to a supervisor at the so called Aeroplan booking desk and she said it had to be booked direct with RC. First few RC reps I spoke to didn't have a clue what I was talking about. I spoke to Aeroplan and they said I had to go thru RC to get missing credits. The Aeroplan web site info for RC as a vacation partner doesn't indicate you have to book direct. I just got tired of the run around for a few thousand point miles.

The OBC we got from our TA was worth far more than those lousy miles anyway so when I have a choice I go for the OBC. A $100 OBC is worth more to me than the 2000 Aeroplan miles each (worth around $35 using the cost below) we could get considering that you need 25,000 to get one domestic ticket. I just bought our BUF to SAN return HNL to BUF flights for $425 each with taxes/fees of $75 included. This is considered a Hawaii intinerary and requires 40,000 Aeroplan miles each to get on points. You still have to pay the airport fees and taxes on the point's tickets.

[KAWS]

What about if you use a US credit card? If I use that AND say to bill in the same currency of the card (i.e., US funds), will that work?

 

If not, I could tell them to set it as a cash account and then go and pay the bill with my US card - is that correct too?

 

Help - we're leaving on Sunday and I want to be able to check off the right thing on my sail pass in time.

 

Thanks.

[Lynnees]

To be sure your aeroplan miles are credited - a couple of days prior to your cruise depending on how you booked, either call RCL directly or call your TA and have them check that you number is still on your booking. For some reason whenever there is the slightest adjustment to your booking it seems to knock your Aeroplan number out of the booking.

 

You can get your credit for up to six months after your cruise. Just send a copy of your seapass card along with your aeroplan number to the Vancouver office and you will normally get your credit.

 

All Canadian TA's can apply your aeroplan number to your Celebrity or RCL booking. Don't accept otherwise.

 

Marilyn

[Lynnees]

What about if you use a US credit card? If I use that AND say to bill in the same currency of the card (i.e., US funds), will that work?

 

If not, I could tell them to set it as a cash account and then go and pay the bill with my US card - is that correct too?

 

Help - we're leaving on Sunday and I want to be able to check off the right thing on my sail pass in time.

 

Thanks.

 

You still need to be sure they only charge you in US. They have a habit of dinging US cc's that Canadians have as well.

[sexyaznboy]

I booked on a US based website because they had a flight-cruise combo deal. They had NO idea what Aeroplan was and claimed that they'd never done called Aeroplan before on behalf of their clients. RCCL refused to do it as I did not book through them. So much for customer service! I called Aeroplan and I have to send the info to them. Well I heard there was a fax number BUT even the person at Aeroplan denied having one! Its like pulling teeth!

 

The only recourse I have is that I will send and fax the information to Aeroplan itself. Does someone have that fax number handy?

[J&G]

Well I bought extra US$ and TCs when Cdn$ was worth around 1.07 US before going on our cruise last Nov. so have them to go on our Radiance Hawaii cruise at the beginning of May.

If you booked your cruise directly with RC, give them you Aeroplan # and they will credit you with 200 miles per cruise night as they are an Aeroplan partner. We booked our last cruise direct since it was onboard booking to get Next Cruise Program OBCs and both DW and I got our Aeroplan miles.This doesn't seem to work if you booked through a TA as I haven't been able to get them when I've done this but other on CC have reported getting them even when cruise is booked through TA. For our next we booked direct, gave them our Aeroplan # and then transferred booking to our TA just before final payment due date so the Aeroplan # are on our file and booking receipt. I will see if that works.

 

What I meant was the miles we would have earned if we'd put the bill through on the visa card. Sorry I wasn't clear on that and yes we have go the bounus aeroplan miles for the cruise.