Canadians and Booking/Billing

[wildcrazyatver]

Originally Posted by B and B Rookie Cannucks

Thankyou!

hey B&B when are you on the miracle

[mmemichele]

Please note you can get "free" insurance with some travel cards .I have one from TD called First Class and Desjardins Visa I pay for Desjardins but I have complete insurance INCLUDING CAncellation and trip interruption .I did have to use it once They were quite rapid with their responseI highly recommend those kind of cards You also get baggage and health coverage
My friend;s husband needed medical attention .Card paid it all .She got ot just berfore her cruise
GET ONE

[SJNB]

Originally Posted by B and B Rookie Cannucks

I have just booked a cruise for Jan. 2011. I had asked the PVP to bill us in Canadian funds and see that the first invoice I have states U.S. funds. Last year I almost got caught when we cruised Princess and I hadn't paid any attention to that part of the invoice until final payment came due and at that point the Canadian dollar was way down and the cruise would have cost me almost another thousand dollars!! Fortunately I got them to change it to Canadian at no extra cost to me. What do others invoices say? Are you asking for the booking to be billed in Canadian funds?

I have booked both my cruises through a local travel agent, who books the cruise with a broker in Canadian funds. The exchange rate has been very good on both cruises. Our cruise for April 2010 was about $640 US on Carnivals website and she charged us $660 CDN

[B and B Rookie Cannucks]

We are sailing on the Miracle January 22 2011 and can't wait!

[goodml]

Originally Posted by Legend

Payment is always in US dollars. They do not charge anyone in any other currencies.

Sorry, not true. The cruiselines for the most part will bill us in Canadian funds. In fact, with RCCL, when I go to their site to check prices, my IP addy shows I'm in Canada and the prices display in Canadian funds. I normally like to pay in US $ so I click on the spot to change my country to the US so it will display in US $ and I can make a true comparison.

Most times the conversion rate the cruiselines charge is not favourable but there have been times where it's worked to our advantage because they don't change the rate daily.

[sunseeker09]

Originally Posted by biksgirl

I work for TD Bank (In Canada) and I can tell you that you won't be able to get a debit card attached to a USD account. As others have suggested, the best thing to do in order to avoid the "surprise" of the exchange at final payment time, is to open a USD account, transfer CDN funds as you can and then you know what the exchange is (dollar cost averaging helps a lot). Then a USD credit card can be used to pay for the trip, and in turn, use the accumalated USD funds in your account to pay off the credit card.

A little tip, (at least for TD Bank customers, not sure about other banks), but if you do the transfer between CDN and USD chequing accounts ONLINE, (ie webbanking) you get a better exchange rate than going into the branch to do the transfer!

She's certainly right, at least about TD. I have a USD account with TD and couldn't attach it to an ATM card. Not a big deal really. ATMs in foreign countries are never as reliable as cash. I do love the account for saving USD for our upcoming cruise though. I watch the dollar daily (along with the ES rates! LOL) and when it's decent I go online to Easyweb and do a transfer. Couldn't be easier. They tell you the rate you will get before you agree. When it comes time to cruise we don't have to worry about the exchange rate AND we have lots of spending money already set aside.

However... for the deposit and final payment, even with a USD card you're still at the mercy of the exchange unless you use your USD savings to pay off the card. Otherwise you're still stuck paying the exchange rate d'jour to pay off the card.

What you can do also is make payments (all or partial) when the dollar is good. Carnival has NO problems with you making payments early, and if the the dollar falls, you benefit too. When I did it the online payment form wasn't working so I just called my PVP.

I agree not to even bother finding a TA who sells cruises in CAD... unless we're at par! All they're doing is giving you an inflated exchange rate.

[B and B Rookie Cannucks]

Keep those tips coming!

[hockeyluver]

My bestfriend works part time at a bingo hall, being we are right across from Detroit they get alot of americans in to play. Whenever she gets a tip in U.S. she puts it in her U.S. bank account. When she put the deposit on her cabin she sent a money order from the american account. Our PVP put the cabin on hold until he had the money order. When final payment was about 3 weeks away she again had a money order drafted from the U.S. account and mailed that. No problems whatsoever! She is planning on doing the same way come next cruise.

[B and B Rookie Cannucks]

Sunseeker, what did you mean by the online payment form? Was that on the carnival site or your banks site? I like the idea of paying early if the rates are good but how do you avoid using a credit card to do this?(or do you?)
Thanks again for all the help and information!

[cruisecrazy02]

We are also Canadian and seem to travel every year to a resort/cruise and we opened a US account and got a US mastercard just to use when we ar vacationing. When the canadian dollar was at .97 for a bit a couple of weeks ago, we managed to put extra money aside into that account for our spending on the ship. When we register we will use our us credit card and so everything stays in us funds, its seems to work out pretty seemlessly.

[sunseeker09]

Originally Posted by B and B Rookie Cannucks

Sunseeker, what did you mean by the online payment form? Was that on the carnival site or your banks site? I like the idea of paying early if the rates are good but how do you avoid using a credit card to do this?(or do you?)
Thanks again for all the help and information!

The online payment is on Carinval's site. Once you've booked you can click on "make a payment" but it wasn't working. Don't know if it is now. So I called. Still used a CAD credit card, but the rates weren't bad at the time. They're ok now, but who knows what they will be like in a few months, or weeks even. Once before a Jamiaca trip the dollar was only 48 cents. Ouch. But for AI's we always book CAD packages, so all we need in US is some spending money.
I don't know how you can avoid using a credit card (whether Canadian or American.. or Paypal maybe, but don't think there's a gain to that) unless maybe you book through a TA. Then of course you could go in and pay them in cash. That could work.

As much as it sucks to have a weaker dollar, we're not the worst off now. A friend is going to New Zealand and taking advantage of our stronger dollar. Wish that was always the case
(no offense Americans, but of course we always want the best deal, right?)

[poffles]

Originally Posted by biksgirl

I work for TD Bank (In Canada) and I can tell you that you won't be able to get a debit card attached to a USD account. As others have suggested, the best thing to do in order to avoid the "surprise" of the exchange at final payment time, is to open a USD account, transfer CDN funds as you can and then you know what the exchange is (dollar cost averaging helps a lot). Then a USD credit card can be used to pay for the trip, and in turn, use the accumalated USD funds in your account to pay off the credit card.

A little tip, (at least for TD Bank customers, not sure about other banks), but if you do the transfer between CDN and USD chequing accounts ONLINE, (ie webbanking) you get a better exchange rate than going into the branch to do the transfer!

At Scotiabank, ONLINE transfers from CDN to USD account are more expensive (2% extra) than going to a teller. Makes absolutely no sense since I'm saving their efforts but I have done this enough times to speak to this. I keep checking every now and then (pretending to transfer) to see if it will change. I now go to the teller to transfer which is a pain when I do everything else online.

[yvqchick]

Sunseeker09 - I have a question about making on-line payments prior to the final payment due date. I also check daily to see what the bank exchange is and transfer money periodically from my CAD account to our USD account when our dollar is up. When I do that I have "real-time" control and get the exact amount that I see on the web-site but I wonder about the on-line payment......does the transation take place immediately or could it go through the next day or even a few days later?
Anyone who watches the dollar knows what a difference a day or two can make!
I don't sail for a very long time so goodness knows I will be watching alot of ups and downs till then.
Thanks,

[mississauga]

Originally Posted by poffles

At Scotiabank, ONLINE transfers from CDN to USD account are more expensive (2% extra) than going to a teller. Makes absolutely no sense since I'm saving their efforts but I have done this enough times to speak to this. I keep checking every now and then (pretending to transfer) to see if it will change. I now go to the teller to transfer which is a pain when I do everything else online.

Can you do transfers by phone? I do that with BMO and it's the same as if I do it in person at the bank. If you do it at the teller's in person, transferring from your CAD account to your USD gets a better rate than if you ask for cash.

[hockeyluver]

Originally Posted by poffles

At Scotiabank, ONLINE transfers from CDN to USD account are more expensive (2% extra) than going to a teller. Makes absolutely no sense since I'm saving their efforts but I have done this enough times to speak to this. I keep checking every now and then (pretending to transfer) to see if it will change. I now go to the teller to transfer which is a pain when I do everything else online.

When I was in the bank recently depositing some Casino winnings into my american account I was told by the teller there was a charge if she transfers money from my canadian to american but if i do it online there is no charge.

[mississauga]

All these examples just goes to show you that each bank is different so we have to be pro-active and ask questions at our bank to see which method is the best for us.

The banks are in the business of making money and we want the best value for our dollar so I guess it is up to each individual to do their homework.

[sunseeker09]

Originally Posted by yvqchick

Sunseeker09 - I have a question about making on-line payments prior to the final payment due date. I also check daily to see what the bank exchange is and transfer money periodically from my CAD account to our USD account when our dollar is up. When I do that I have "real-time" control and get the exact amount that I see on the web-site but I wonder about the on-line payment......does the transation take place immediately or could it go through the next day or even a few days later?
Anyone who watches the dollar knows what a difference a day or two can make!
I don't sail for a very long time so goodness knows I will be watching alot of ups and downs till then.
Thanks,

This is a really good point. The problem with credit card transactions is that they are often not "real time", particularly online. I think with Carnival's form you would have to check with them, but I wouldn't count on the transaction going through your account right away. If you call it in and may, or may not, be quicker. I think a lot of it depends on your bank too. Yes, a day (or even an hour) can make a big difference some times!
I like that with the TD account transfers I am told the exact rate. I have 1 minute to decide and click ok to be guaranteed that rate.

As the PP stated, it all depends on your particular bank/credit card company, so it's always best to check with them.