Special tip for non US cruisers

[Vectorboy]

If you're from Canada, Germany the UK or from anywhere other than the US, beware of the following credit card scam that is being perpetuated by all the large cruise lines belonging to Carnival Corp. and RCI.

 

When you check in for your cruise you'll have to provide a credit card for your shipboard account. You may have a Visa card let's say and that card works in Canadian dollars, or UK pounds or the Euro. Any charges you make to that card regardless of where you are in the world, will be converted back to the currency of your card. Visa will do the exchange and take a 2%-3% commission.

 

Well, the cruise lines are now in the foreign exchange business. They will try (some ask, some don't and some don't care) to convert the shipboard charges which are in US dollars to the currency of your card so that Visa doesn't have to.

 

 

 

What's the big deal? This happened to me ( a number of times) recently and the conversion rate that the ship used was 8% more than what Visa would have used.

 

This is a despicable cash grab by the cruise lines. They are making it sound to the customer that they are providing a service which they are definitely not. The credit card companies are quite capable of doing the conversion themselves and at a much better rate.

 

Having said all that, I have tried to tell them not to do it at the beginning of a cruise only to have the final statement slipped under my door and I then see that the amount was converted at their exorbitant exchange rate. In all cases I have eventually got my money back but after many phone calls, copies and faxes.

 

Perhaps the easiest way is to go to the purser the second to last day of the cruise and pay your account in cash (US) but make sure you don't wait until the last minute as the charge will have already gone through.

 

Vectorboy

[98Charlie]

The cruise lines have been doing this for a long time. And it is a money maker for them.

 

But, you are correct in advising to pay off the amount in $US. If you're going to do that though, why not just put a good portion of the money down when boarding instead of keeping it in your cabin?

 

Charlie

[Vectorboy]

I guess it's a money maker for them!! It's called : Gouging. If they want to charge $20 for a beer on the ship they have every right to, then you have every right to pass on paying what would clearly be an exorbitant amount.

 

The problem with this "exchange service" is that they don't tell you what you will pay (8% more than the norm) They also do it under the guise of providing a service (which they aren't)

 

Interestingly, when we boarded, I asked about the policy, they assured me that I would be charged in US dollars. When my statement came on the last night and they had converted against my wishes, the person at the purser's desk assure me that I was going to be billed in US dollars. When I politely told her that I thought she was mistaken, she went to speak with the account manager. She then returned and assured me that I was going to be billed in US dollars. All three of them were wrong and were either unaware of the practice or were playing dumb.

 

I would prefer to pay with my credit card because I would like to get the 'points' but clearly it is not worth it.

 

VB

[GoingtoOz]

I agree this is becoming more common place in retail stores with a high traffic of tourists - example Harrods in London.

 

FYI - Even if your cruise, store, hotel, etc converts it to US dollars (or your home currency) your more than likely to still get hit with a 1-3% "international transaction fee" from your credit card company. This is standard practice in the US - for at least MasterCard and Visa. This charge is based on the country of origin for the merchant - not the denomination of the currency.

 

I work for one of the top issuers in the US - and yes they even charge their employees this fee.

 

I always attempt to never have anything converted prior to paying.

[Rock Chick]

On my RCCL cruise in September I ticked the box that stated that I wanted my own credit card company to convert the $ to £. When my statement arrived on the last day I noticed that RCCL had converted the bill to £ without my permission. I contacted guest relations and had the bill amended back to $ but I expressed my concerns that they had acted without any authority.

 

When my credit card statement arrived, I was surprised to find that the amount in £ was exactly the same as my RCCI bill had been.

 

Carol