On board account in USdollars

As this will be our first time paying an onboard account in US dollars and just wanted to confirm that info I found from a 2011 thread is still relevant.

So I understand that I DO NOT ALLOW princess to convert the account from US to AU dollars as the exchange rate is not in our favour. However where do I go to make sure that they charge my CC in US$? Onboard or prior to leaving thru their shore based offices?

Has anyone used the 28degrees credit card and how is it? Saw someone mention no currency conversion fees. Could I apply and receive it in three weeks?(..last minute booking as prices were good.)

As this will be our first time paying an onboard account in US dollars and just wanted to confirm that info I found from a 2011 thread is still relevant.

 

So I understand that I DO NOT ALLOW princess to convert the account from US to AU dollars as the exchange rate is not in our favour. However where do I go to make sure that they charge my CC in US$? Onboard or prior to leaving thru their shore based offices?

 

Has anyone used the 28degrees credit card and how is it? Saw someone mention no currency conversion fees. Could I apply and receive it in three weeks?(..last minute booking as prices were good.)

It when you complete your cruise personaliser there is an option to allow your bank to handle the conversion. Or alternatively, you could bring US cash with you and put it on your account the first day.

As this will be our first time paying an onboard account in US dollars and just wanted to confirm that info I found from a 2011 thread is still relevant.

 

So I understand that I DO NOT ALLOW princess to convert the account from US to AU dollars as the exchange rate is not in our favour. However where do I go to make sure that they charge my CC in US$? Onboard or prior to leaving thru their shore based offices?

 

Has anyone used the 28degrees credit card and how is it? Saw someone mention no currency conversion fees. Could I apply and receive it in three weeks?(..last minute booking as prices were good.)

Yes, I use 28 degrees credit card all the time. It has no annual fee and no currency conversion fees. You can apply online.

http://www.28degreescard.com.au/

As well as informing the cruise line that you want your charges processed in US dollars, confirm with the Purser's Office, on the ship, that you want all your charges processed in US dollars.

If you make purchases on your travels make sure the charge is in the currency of the country from which you are purchasing the goods.

(Duty Free in NZ charged me in Aus dollars, without my permission, and weren't happy when I insisted the charge be reversed into NZ dollars.)

We always tick the box to allow our bank to do conversion, as you have to have a credit card number listed as security for cruise lines anyway.....but we take US$ in cash, and once onboard place the cash onto our account every few days at the pursers desk. Pay off the balance in cash the night before disembarking.....any drinks you may purchase after that is a minimal amount being deducted from your credit card. Yes, the 28 degrees is fabulous. Rates excellent, no fees.

Get the US$ now while the exchange rate is so good for aussies. What you don't spend will come in handy for your next cruise.

Many thanks for all those replies.

Will be heading off to bank/post office to buy some cash today maybe, and will check on cruise personaliser at weekend when we fill in credit card details etc that we tick DO NOT CONVERT.

Just going to see if the exchange is going up/down for us at present.

Thanks again:)

Like Marion (MM Downunder) we use the 28 Degrees Mastercard. You can apply online and get an immediate response. It is an awesome card, no transaction fees, no yearly fees, they use the advertised daily rate (eg...xe.com) so what you see on the internet is what you are charged. No 3c in the $ taken out. It has saved us many, many $ over the years. They also have a great security system. We were scammed in Florence last year and they rang, asked us which transactions were ours and then credited the rest. No problem. Just make sure you tell them where you are going and when otherwise they will freeze the card, thinking it is being hit with fraudulent charges.

Apply, it doesn't cost to try. :D

28 degree card is excellent. Don't worry about cash US$ to credit your on board account. Just load up your credit card with AUS$ and then pay for you account. You will save on the conversion and charges to get your cash.

I am wondering if we are able to use a CASH PASSPORT card which has American Dollars loaded on it on Celebrity Solstice? This card (I have been led to believe) can only be used to withdraw USD from ATMs in USA. The reason I ask is I thought I read somewhere that there was an ATM onboard, which means we can use the Cash Passport card to withdraw cash to pay our onboard account. (We had loaded USD onto this card for a trip to USA which was then cancelled, and we pay a penalty to take the money off the card, so we would like to use it up if possible)

You can just register the cash passport card when you board and they will charge the final amount to it. There's no need for you to withdraw the cash from the ATM, just to take it to the purser's desk. Just ensure there are enough funds loaded to cover your final balance :)

Edit: you can use a cash passport just like you would any credit card. It's not just to withdraw cash from US ATMs.

You can just register the cash passport card when you board and they will charge the final amount to it. There's no need for you to withdraw the cash from the ATM, just to take it to the purser's desk. Just ensure there are enough funds loaded to cover your final balance :)

 

Edit: you can use a cash passport just like you would any credit card. It's not just to withdraw cash from US ATMs.

You cannot use a cash passport to activate your onboard account when checking in. The card you use (credit/debit) must have your name on it. you use the cash passport to withdraw money from the ATM onboard and pay your account with that. I always suggest that guests set up their account with a credit card as a backup but use cash if that is what they want to do. The ship will not accept a "cash card" to pay your onboard account...only credit card or cash.

You cannot use a cash passport to activate your onboard account when checking in. The card you use (credit/debit) must have your name on it. you use the cash passport to withdraw money from the ATM onboard and pay your account with that. I always suggest that guests set up their account with a credit card as a backup but use cash if that is what they want to do. The ship will not accept a "cash card" to pay your onboard account...only credit card or cash.

What About high fees Ships charge with their ATM,s It can be over $7 per transaction.

Cant they use a credit card to open the ship account then pay the account with cash passport?

Many thanks for all those replies.

 

Will be heading off to bank/post office to buy some cash today maybe, and will check on cruise personaliser at weekend when we fill in credit card details etc that we tick DO NOT CONVERT.

 

Just going to see if the exchange is going up/down for us at present.

 

Thanks again:)

Australia Post is quite good for changing money.

The rate went down this week and you only get just over $ .99 US for an Aussie dollar:( Its been over Dollar for Dollar almost a year now.

I was going to change another thousand this week but should have done it last week:rolleyes:

When the dollar is $1.04 you will get Dollar for Dollar at The Post Office with no fees or charges.

Dont wait around for a better than $ for $ rate

http://auspost.com.au/apps/currency-converter.html

What About high fees Ships charge with their ATM,s It can be over $7 per transaction.

 

Cant they use a credit card to open the ship account then pay the account with cash passport?

No..... If they accepted the cash passport they would allow you to set it up that way when you originally check in. (I will double check this tomorrow when I work but I am 99.9% sure.)

No..... If they accepted the cash passport they would allow you to set it up that way when you originally check in. (I will double check this tomorrow when I work but I am 99.9% sure.)

Oh sorry I didn't realise that. I just assumed because it was a normal MasterCard it could be used when checking in. My bad.

Oh sorry I didn't realise that. I just assumed because it was a normal MasterCard it could be used when checking in. My bad.

You still may be able too?

With standard Credit cards the cruise line puts an automatic hold on a certain $ value for up to 55 days, not usually that long but it has happened.

With other cards like cash passport and Debit cards this hold can stop you from using your own money available on the card after the cruise is over and bill paid because of the automatic hold!

So If they have a standard Credit Card as security that you have opened your account with then there is no reason you cannot pay your bill with the passport type card?

Same as handing over a Credit card when you check into a hotel and then paying the final bill with a different credit card.

Not 100% sure though?

You still may be able too?

 

With standard Credit cards the cruise line puts an automatic hold on a certain $ value for up to 55 days, not usually that long but it has happened.

 

With other cards like cash passport and Debit cards this hold can stop you from using your own money available on the card after the cruise is over and bill paid because of the automatic hold!

 

So If they have a standard Credit Card as security that you have opened your account with then there is no reason you cannot pay your bill with the passport type card?

 

Same as handing over a Credit card when you check into a hotel and then paying the final bill with a different credit card.

 

Not 100% sure though?

Den, I can answer this for you. Hope this link comes out

http://www.princess.com/learn/faq_answer/pre_cruise/prepare.jsp

Princess accepts credit card and debit card for Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and Diners Club. Also cash and travellers chqs. Preloaded cash cards are not accepted. This is in their FAQs section, under cashless cruising.

Jen

You still may be able too?

 

With standard Credit cards the cruise line puts an automatic hold on a certain $ value for up to 55 days, not usually that long but it has happened.

 

With other cards like cash passport and Debit cards this hold can stop you from using your own money available on the card after the cruise is over and bill paid because of the automatic hold!

 

So If they have a standard Credit Card as security that you have opened your account with then there is no reason you cannot pay your bill with the passport type card?

 

Same as handing over a Credit card when you check into a hotel and then paying the final bill with a different credit card.

 

Not 100% sure though?

They charge from the card registered in their system though. I haven't seen them let gift cards, prepaid cards and the like to be entered. You can't just hand over any card and get a charge from them on the spot, it's done through their billing system.

I never did like the idea of "cash Passport" so just another good reason not to get ever one!

Travellers cheques in US$ are free from Aus post as well if people dont like carrying cash.

Den

They charge from the card registered in their system though. I haven't seen them let gift cards, prepaid cards and the like to be entered. You can't just hand over any card and get a charge from them on the spot, it's done through their billing system.

So how can you hand over cash then? Its done through the onboard billing system when you pay cash but can still have your CC as initial form of opening account and then pay even part bill cash/travelers cheques.

I am not saying you "can" pay your bill with a cash passport but I cant see why you cant if an acceptable CC is already security? You can use alternative credit cards in the shops onbaord ships and in the Casinos so how do they work that if its done by their off ship billing system?

I read a lot of discussion on the Carnival forum last year and this was on the agenda! I am pretty sure that giftcards or "cash Passports" could be used to pay off the balance owed but not to open the account?

I did not get one on my trip to USA because of the problems and unknowing mainly by companies/shop staff refusing to accept cards with no name affixed.

I may have read it all wrong though?

Travellers cheques in US$ are free from Aus post as well if people dont like carrying cash.Den

They may be issued free....but how much is charged to cash them?:rolleyes:

I have the 28 degrees MasterCard and its great, just remember to let them know where you are going to be. Unfortunately my card my frozen when Celebrity tried to charge my card (my own fault). You can have your purchases charged to a cash passport as this is what I ended up doing when my 28 degrees card was frozen.

I just put my name down as how I did to apply for the card, the crew didnt have a problem with that. Two things to be mindful of, you need to have enough on your card to cover your purchases and the hold amount. I spent $700 so I needed to have about $1400 loaded into the card. The second thing is the hold amount took 5 weeks to be realised from my card, that means I didn't have access to $700 of my own money for that long.

I'd recommend you don't put a cash passport on your account, it was too much hassle.

They may be issued free....but how much is charged to cash them?:rolleyes:

 

I havnt had a travellers cheque since the late 1980,s but I have never been charged a cent to cash a TC when it was in the currency I was purchasing or cashing up in?

If you cash TCs into currency other than what currency they are issued in you get a lesser exchange rate than changing foreign cash.

Has it changed? do you no longer get the face value of a Travellers cheque?

If I cash a $100 US Travellers cheque on a US ship do I get less than $100 US?

Den

I have the 28 degrees MasterCard and its great, just remember to let them know where you are going to be. Unfortunately my card my frozen when Celebrity tried to charge my card (my own fault). You can have your purchases charged to a cash passport as this is what I ended up doing when my 28 degrees card was frozen.

 

I just put my name down as how I did to apply for the card, the crew didnt have a problem with that. Two things to be mindful of, you need to have enough on your card to cover your purchases and the hold amount. I spent $700 so I needed to have about $1400 loaded into the card. The second thing is the hold amount took 5 weeks to be realised from my card, that means I didn't have access to $700 of my own money for that long.

 

I'd recommend you don't put a cash passport on your account, it was too much hassle.

Yes this is what I read on the Carnival forum last year before my cruise.

One of the reasons I decided against cash passports in US dollars for our USA trip was the long holds some had experienced.

Den

I havnt had a travellers cheque since the late 1980,s but I have never been charged a cent to cash a TC when it was in the currency I was purchasing or cashing up in?

 

If you cash TCs into currency other than what currency they are issued in you get a lesser exchange rate than changing foreign cash.

 

Has it changed? do you no longer get the face value of a Travellers cheque?

 

If I cash a $100 US Travellers cheque on a US ship do I get less than $100 US?

 

Den

I have no idea. I did not think Travellers Cheques were still around. Like you , I last used them way back in the 80's, but I do recall that if we cashed them at a Hotel or on board , even if it was in the currency of the country concerned, they charged a pretty hefty fee , (of which I do not recall) and I vowed never to use them again.:D

I have no idea. I did not think Travellers Cheques were still around. Like you , I last used them way back in the 80's, but I do recall that if we cashed them at a Hotel or on board , even if it was in the currency of the country concerned, they charged a pretty hefty fee , (of which I do not recall) and I vowed never to use them again.:D

 

 

 

 

Strange as I have never paid a cent for cashing a TC years ago?

There was a charge for buying the TC,s in the first instance which was in part the insurance for lost or stolen but Aus post charges nothing for them these days.

I do recall changing AU TC,s in Asia Pound Stirling TC,s in Europe and US TCs in Mexico all with a lesser value than the cash rate!

Some small money changers in places charged high commission on TC,s but that was usually because the TCs were being exchanged from one currency to another.

Its was best then as it is now to avoid any commission based money changers unless in desperation. They all charge in one way or another though.

I used to pay for meals and clothing while overseas with TC,s and get change in cash!

I wouldnt use TC,s myself these days but they are a good option for those who dont like cash on them and have problems with Credit Cards,not so if you get charged to cash then though:confused:

I would however choose TC,s over a Debit card or Cash Passport any day.

Den