RCL Final Payment - Bank Transfer

For Australian passengers on RCL:

We are due to pay final monies for our Voyager of the Seas cruise next week.

One of the options is to pay by bank transfer to RCL Cruises Australia AUD (through JP Morgan Chase bank, Sydney).

Has anyone used this method and were there any problems??????

I guess we just put our reservation number and name in the section which will appear on the recipient's statement.

I am trying to avoid using the credit card just in case they do double conversion AUD to USD to AUD - Don't want to use the phone either for payment as will probably be giving personal details/number to someone overseas in Guatemala.

Information from anyone who has directly booked with (and paid) RCL would be appreciated. Thank you.

We did that a while back, and it took a few days to show online on our account. It was very stressful. We emailed them the details and got no reply.

If you pay them for a booking through the .com.au website it will depend on your financial institution as to the fees you pay. When we have paid with NAB credit card there was a 3% single currency foreign transaction fee.

When we pay with the Australia Post Travel Visa card we have only the 9c transaction fee, although an extra 15% gets put on an authorization hold, as happens with many hotels etc.

Some others on here have talked about 28degrees cards and Citibank cards that do not charge the fees that some banks do.

It is not RCI changing your money, it is dependant on your bank's terms and conditions.

For Australian passengers on RCL:

 

We are due to pay final monies for our Voyager of the Seas cruise next week.

One of the options is to pay by bank transfer to RCL Cruises Australia AUD (through JP Morgan Chase bank, Sydney).

Has anyone used this method and were there any problems??????

I guess we just put our reservation number and name in the section which will appear on the recipient's statement.

I am trying to avoid using the credit card just in case they do double conversion AUD to USD to AUD - Don't want to use the phone either for payment as will probably be giving personal details/number to someone overseas in Guatemala.

 

Information from anyone who has directly booked with (and paid) RCL would be appreciated. Thank you.

We have paid our last two cruise with a bank transfer. I do it on line and I spend a little extra time making sure all the numbers are correct. This method has saved us plenty on fees that would have just gone to those greedy banks. It does take a couple of days so we always transfer at least a week before if not more.

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It is not RCI changing your money, it is dependant on your bank's terms and conditions.

True that it's not technically them directly charging, but it's because of the way they outsource and take funding overseas that it happens.

They like our money... but not our staff.

I have paid 2 RC, 1 celebrity and 2 carnival by doing the direct payment on line with my regular bank debit account. as someone has mentioned it took a few days to show in my celebrity. I also emailed them to tell them I had paid it and when no response I phoned. It all went through fine, I did pay it about a week or 10 days to allow for delays.

My friend who is on my booking paid by credit card for her payment as she is using her credit card insurance. no problems with it either.

Just a follow up on my previous post and concerns regarding paying by bank transfer.

On Monday I rang RCL (Guatemala) and confirmed the bank account details here in Australia where I could transfer our final payment. I then went online and paid.

I also sent an email to payments.au@RCCLAPAC.com with relevant booking information and attached a scan of the bank transfer receipt.

This morning(Wednesday), my cruise personaliser showed payment made and zero in the outstanding balance.

Final payment wasn't due for another 3 weeks, so I had time to pursue if things hadn't gone so smoothly.

I think the moral of the story here is to pay early to avoid worry and stress and allow all financial transactions time to be completed by final payment day.

Yes, can't agree more - if paying by direct bank transfer, do it as early as you can, within reason. As I said in another thread, my father used this method to pay 13 days before final payment was due and it is still not showing as paid, 3 days after the final payment was due.

We have emailed twice and called 5 times now. Whilst they continue to assure us that the payment has been received, just not posted yet, we continue to receive "please pay" emails.

Whilst I do believe there is no problem with the actual payment, just the delay in posting to his account, it's been a very stressful time. I just wish their processes included a confirmation email once payment is received, surely that would tie up less staff time than that created by our many subsequent phone calls (and we probably haven't finished yet!).

Efficiency is not one of Celebrity or RCL strong points

I paid for my February cruise on the Rhapsody of the Seas via bank transfer over 10 days ago and it is still showing that I haven't paid the balance. I provided proof and emailed them with no response. The final payment is not due for a couple of weeks so I still have time on my side.

I normally use a online TA and will do so again as I'm finding this process time consuming and stressfull. I didn't use a TA for this cruise as we received a 40% off voucher and the TA stated that RCCL would make the agency wear the cost.

I'm also waiting for a response from the Crown & Anchor Society about another cruise but I was told they would be in touch after 48 working days.I contacted RCCL originally but was ignored which is the reason I contacted the Loyalty people.

I agree that communication is not one of RCCL strong points.

Regards Elaine.

Robbery plain and simple! Pay in AU Dollars for an RCCL cruise booked on the RCCL AU site which is the only site you are allowed to use and with only AU Dollars then get charged to transfer back into US Dollars with CC payments.:confused:

You should not have to pay by direct debit to avoid exchange fees and foreign transaction fees because you have not made a foreign transaction! If you book a cruise in AU dollars and you are charged in AU dollars you should not have to have your payment changed to US Dollars at a charge to you no matter what payment method you use and by any source!

It is RCCL AU,s responsibility to exchange into US Dollars if RCCL only want US dollars or just charge in US dollars to start with.

One person thinks this is the way it should be done and is fully correct lol Its global marketing lol

Financial robbery plain and simple because RCCL AU does not exist:p

Robbery plain and simple! Pay in AU Dollars for an RCCL cruise booked on the RCCL AU site which is the only site you are allowed to use and with only AU Dollars then get charged to transfer back into US Dollars with CC payments.:confused:

It's not RCCL who is charging the fee its the bank. It's a new policy, applies to all transactions where the merchant is considered "offshore", no the bank can't say which .au websites use offshore payment processors.

So it can also happen if you book a flight with a airline that charges in Aus$ and have their payment processors offshore.

The change in the terms & conditions was on my Westpac March CC statement.

Paid the balance of my February cruise by bank transfer on the 1st of November. Also sent proof of payment to the payment department but the reservation is still showing that I owe the money. I just called RCCL and was told I have to re-send the proof that we have paid.

The balance is due on the 27th of November and I'm starting to get a bit nervous.

Regards Elaine.

I hope it all works out OK. I am very reluctant to do bank transfer again. It makes no sense for them to make this option unattractive, as bank transfer has to be a low cost option for them.

We paid with credit card yesterday and it showed on our RCI account very quickly. Stress of direct debit vs credit card fees. Giving direct debit a miss at this stage.

I hope it all works out OK. I am very reluctant to do bank transfer again. It makes no sense for them to make this option unattractive, as bank transfer has to be a low cost option for them.

 

We paid with credit card yesterday and it showed on our RCI account very quickly. Stress of direct debit vs credit card fees. Giving direct debit a miss at this stage.

It's not something they do elsewhere, so their systems aren't well set up for it.

And since they cut the rump out of the Sydney office, well...

The Big M - I didn't realise they don't do that elsewhere. You can't beat a customer putting cash straight into your bank account as a business, and all it takes me personally is to check my account once a day.

I wonder what the savings on credit card fees for RCI would be compared to paying a staff member to quickly do this. I know their credit card fees would be very low with the volume they would put through, but it has to be better to get cash? Maybe not. Maybe their requirement for Aus dollars is lower than we might think for purchasing Aus supplies (including wages). Or maybe their email system is so clogged up they can't even sort out how to find ones that relate to money coming to them?

I think they are under estimating how much people would prefer to do this over using a credit card that rips into them for paying an overseas company. Sure we can get one of the cards that doesn't charge fees, but I really don't want more cards for a once or twice a year (if we are lucky) payment.

You are confusing me now:)

Each of our cruises (all with RC) have been booked thru local TA's (either on-line or bricks & mortar TA's) & mostly paid with cc. Some have incurred cc fees & some not (disclosed up front by TA). These have all been in $A & the charge to the cc has been exactly what the TA advised & was included in the payment amount ie there was no further charge other than the 1.5% or whatever). We use the cc to pay as we take advantage of the included travel insurance.

Our upcoming (Feb) cruise was booked on-line directly with RC in $A. I paid the balance in Oct - the amount charged to my cc was exactly the balance owing ie there was no additonal charge.

Am I missing something here?

 

Our upcoming (Feb) cruise was booked on-line directly with RC in $A. I paid the balance in Oct - the amount charged to my cc was exactly the balance owing ie there was no additonal charge.

 

Am I missing something here?

Can I ask which CC you are using? I know with Westpac know they say they charge a fee even if paying in Aus$ because the payment is processed off shore. The problem is you know know before making the payment if there is a fee.

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The Big M - I didn't realise they don't do that elsewhere. You can't beat a customer putting cash straight into your bank account as a business, and all it takes me personally is to check my account once a day.

 

I wonder what the savings on credit card fees for RCI would be compared to paying a staff member to quickly do this. I know their credit card fees would be very low with the volume they would put through, but it has to be better to get cash? Maybe not. Maybe their requirement for Aus dollars is lower than we might think for purchasing Aus supplies (including wages). Or maybe their email system is so clogged up they can't even sort out how to find ones that relate to money coming to them?

 

I think they are under estimating how much people would prefer to do this over using a credit card that rips into them for paying an overseas company. Sure we can get one of the cards that doesn't charge fees, but I really don't want more cards for a once or twice a year (if we are lucky) payment.

For many businesses it is cheaper to pay credit card fees than to pay staff and bank charges handling cash. Some banks charge a handling fee if cash is above a certain amount. Direct credit/debit/Credit card direct to ones bank also takes away any possibility of temptation by a staff member

Can I ask which CC you are using?

CBA Platinum Mastercard.

Intrigued, I have gone back over my cc account for the period of our recent 6 weeks trip thru Canada & 3 RC cruises. For each transaction, the foreign amount (US$, CFP & C$) was converted to $A at what looks a pretty reasonable Fx rate and then there was a transaction fee of 3% on the $A amount. That's it.

Note: we did actually make our final payment (big $'s) for the cruises (3) via direct transfer to TA to save the TA's credit card fee of 2% - we had already paid enough with cc to meet minimum spend to get travel insurance with car rental prepay, flights to Canada & accomm pre-pay.

You are confusing me now:)

 

Each of our cruises (all with RC) have been booked thru local TA's (either on-line or bricks & mortar TA's) & mostly paid with cc. Some have incurred cc fees & some not (disclosed up front by TA). These have all been in $A & the charge to the cc has been exactly what the TA advised & was included in the payment amount ie there was no further charge other than the 1.5% or whatever). We use the cc to pay as we take advantage of the included travel insurance.

 

Our upcoming (Feb) cruise was booked on-line directly with RC in $A. I paid the balance in Oct - the amount charged to my cc was exactly the balance owing ie there was no additonal charge.

 

Am I missing something here?

With local TAs they charge locally, so it would not be an issue there. (Even if booking an RCL cruise, the TA processes the payment, not RCL).

However, when you book directly, RCL AU process payments offshore. Some credit cards charge an 'overseas processing fee', even for amounts in AUD.

Our bank - NAB - calls it a single currency international payment, or something similar that. It is a 3% fee. It used to be 2.3% and it is clearly in the terms and conditions they sent me when it came into being. I just didn't understand it the first time I got charged. I also get "free" travel insurance with that card.

Paid the balance of my February cruise by bank transfer on the 1st of November. Also sent proof of payment to the payment department but the reservation is still showing that I owe the money. I just called RCCL and was told I have to re-send the proof that we have paid.

The balance is due on the 27th of November and I'm starting to get a bit nervous.

Regards Elaine.

Hi Elaine, don't be concerned. I always pay by direct transfer, and often multiple transfers, days, weeks, or months apart, or in some instances the full amount in one lump sum. I have never had a single problem (10 cruises) and think it is the absolute best way to pay.

I use my booking reference number and surname as the description, and send them an email to their payments department when I have done it as they advise to do so. I don't provide evidence (receipts etc). I just send an email stating 'Hi, letting you know I deposited $5200 today, and used booking reference 'NAME/Booking number'.

Usually takes a few days to go through. I think the problem is possibly if you haven't used a booking reference, as if they receive multiple payments for the same amount it might be hard to identify it, but I'm sure they will. I've sent payments on the last day it is due before.

Cheers

Cathy

Hi Cathy, I am pleased that the process has gone smoothly for you but it has been painful for me and I won't be doing this again.

I did put my Reservation ID plus our names,sailing date, proof of payment on the emails so I don't know what more I can do.

I have small issue with another RCCL cruise and was told they will get back to me in 48 working days.What company takes that long to resolve a small problem.

I work for a big Supermarket chain so I understand about working with minimum staff but I wonder what is going on there.

Elaine.

I did put my Reservation ID plus our names,sailing date, proof of payment on the emails so I don't know what more I can do.

What did you put as the bank transaction description? I think the point CruisinCat31 was making was to put your booking ref # & surname in there - that is the link for cruiseline accounts dept to match up the payment with you.

Putting all the info in a separate email is probably not going to make it happen.