Why are there foreign transaction charges when booking a cruise on Oceania

:mad: A foreign transaction charge appeared on my Mastercard statement in conjunction with a recent Oceania cruise deposit. Mastercard said it was not an error and referred me to Oceania. I was stunned to learn from Oceania's Customer Service that this was a legitimate charge because their bank is in Ireland . Isn't Oceania based in Miami ?

 

In response to my complaint Oceania said they would refund this but not to my credit card--they could either send me a check or give me on-board credit.

 

By the time I am done using my card to pay the balance and for excursions these charges will come to hundreds of dollars as the foreign transaction fee is 3% of the total. I don't want my refund money tied up for months . I want my refunds now.

 

I find it troubling to have to request and wait for a check each time a payment is made and, unless I pay my credit card statements in full, pay credit card interest on foreign transaction charges to boot, which adds insult to injury !!!

 

Has anyone else experienced this ?

Yes, many of us have experienced this, and the way to get around it is to use a credit card that does not assess the fee.

 

Not all of them do, but in this economic climate, many of them are looking for new revenue, so we have to be cognizant of what they charge us in fees.

Yes, this issue comes up every so often on CC threads. O is a U.S. company, but their bank is in Ireland, so you incur the transaction charge on many (most) U.S. credit cards. It has happened to me as well. Just have O transfer it to OBC or ask for a refund check. If you pay your credit card account in full each month you lose nothing but a little time. But you DO have to be vigilant when those charges appear. I agree with you, it is inconvenient, but certainly not a deal breaker for us.

 

Some CC members have stated not all credit card companies charge this fee, but mine does. I'll let others give their advice regarding that side of the issue.

From what I have seen in the past my impression is that Master Cards are the prime offenders. We haven't had a problem using Amex or Visa.

 

And if you have a credit card that does NOT charge a foreign conversion transaction fee (as an example, Capital One Visa), you are okay as well.

 

There are lots of threads about this problem. Try a search to see them.

 

Good luck! I realize how frustrating this is.

We were charged a transaction fee on our Capitol One M/C and when I called for an explanation then complained, they removed the fee. :)

We were charged a transaction fee on our Capitol One M/C and when I called for an explanation then complained, they removed the fee. :)

My Mastercard Capital One card has never charged the fee.

All Citibank cards charge this fee among others. Our Capital One Visa does not. There are many threads discussing this fee if you do a search.

We had the refund for the transation fees charged to our onboard account, after all was said and done, got a cash refund on the last day of our cruise. If you spend more than your refund, however, avoiding more transaction fees may be a problem. Consider paying your balance in cash.

 

BTW, we used Visa, so it seems to matter more which bank issued your card rather than whether it's MC or Visa. Amex may be the best bet.

Amazing they are doing this to their customers!

Come sail with us & we will give you a little rip, without telling you first.

Hopefully it will go unnoticed. If you happen to pick up on it, it's on you to fight to get your cash back (the old reverse billing scam).

An incentive to never go back.

An incentive to me to disregard the Ocrania cruises I was considering.

3% of $14,000.00=$420....for NOTHING! Multipy this by 1200 passengers & you get over 1/2 million dollars!!!!

 

What could be their logic for this I wonder?

If they would do this, what else is in store?

Azamara, here I come.

Amazing they are doing this to their customers!

Come sail with us & we will give you a little rip, without telling you first.

Hopefully it will go unnoticed. If you happen to pick up on it, it's on you to fight to get your cash back (the old reverse billing scam).

An incentive to never go back.

An incentive to me to disregard the Ocrania cruises I was considering.

3% of $14,000.00=$420....for NOTHING! Multipy this by 1200 passengers & you get over 1/2 million dollars!!!!

 

What could be their logic for this I wonder?

If they would do this, what else is in store?

Azamara, here I come.

 

Your facts and logic are quite amazing - "reverse billing scam?" - You seem to be trying to blame the cruise line for an action (or charge) that was thought up and levied by the credit card banks.

 

Please search these forums first, before you fly off with any such accusations. And at the same time, I respectfully suggest you recheck your spelling of the cruise line, too!!:rolleyes:

Amazing they are doing this to their customers!

Come sail with us & we will give you a little rip, without telling you first.

Hopefully it will go unnoticed. If you happen to pick up on it, it's on you to fight to get your cash back (the old reverse billing scam).

An incentive to never go back.

 

 

Were you charged this fee? :confused:

 

It is the Credit Card company that charges the fee

 

Canadian cards do not charge the FTF on Oceania booked cruises (as far as I have seen) but they do charge 2-3% Foreign Currency fee

(check your Cardholder Agreement)

 

Do a search in the Oceania forum for Foreign transaction fee lots of discussions on it

 

Lyn

Off to get the popcorn

It is printed right in the O brochure that foreign transaction fees are charged by some banks and to check with your credit card. NO surprises here!

Your facts and logic are quite amazing - "reverse billing scam?" - You seem to be trying to blame the cruise line for an action (or charge) that was thought up and levied by the credit card banks.

 

Please search these forums first, before you fly off with any such accusations. :rolleyes:

 

"reverse billing scam?"....yes, exactly. What else would you call it but what it is? Rogers Cable tried it in here in Canada & got away with it for quite some time before the government stepped in to stop such a despicable act. They added cable channels & upped your bill automatically. You were responsible, just like in this case, for calling them to have this fixed.

Where the money goes (& who really knows what kind of an arrangement they have with this Irish bank...why would they use them otherwise?) doesn't really matter to the buyer. The fact is, it comes from them.

 

"You seem to be trying to blame the cruise line for an action (or charge) that was thought up and levied by the credit card banks..."[B]......Who decided to use this bank?????????, Was it not Oceania?????

 

I have no grudge against Oceania (well, except now because of this) & would make these comments about any company that would do this sort of thing & hide it in the fine print.

No, I have never cruised Oceania, but was ready to book cruises with them. Despite hearing many good things about them, on principle I will not because of this.

 

Azamara will now get my business.

This subject has been discussed at length for a few years. I have a lot of sympathy for those who complain about these fees and the trouble they go to to be reimbursed.

 

Surely, in the interest of their customers, Oceania could have an account in the US. They could still keep their Irish connection for paying suppliers and employees and so on. Or am I missing something ? Do they have an interest in keeping their accounts offshore? Do they lessen their US tax burden in some way?

I think most of us who have cruised with Oceania have experienced this before...

 

Both the banks and Oceania deserve a share of the blame...

But, remember, all of this fee goes to the BANK, not to Oceania...

 

So, when Oceania agrees to rebate it, they just take the hit for PR reasons...

 

Of course, they did make the choice to use the Irish bank, so I am certain there is some advantage for them there...but, as far as the fee goes, they really aren't pocketing any of that...

 

The bank, OTOH, not only takes that hefty 3% on your Oceania transactions, but on ALL transactions you make by credit card outside the country...Great money raiser for the banks...

 

My initial way of getting around this, was to use my Amex card--which has no foreign transaction fee...Of course, while traveling in Europe, it was hard to find merchants willing to accept Amex...

 

My new way is to use my Chase British Airways Visa Card--they have no foreign transaction fee...and it is accepted virtually everywhere...Capital One would have been the other choice, but I don't have one of their cards and didn't want to open another account just for my travel...And, of course, with my Chase BA card, I collect Frequent Flier miles on all of this...

 

But, beware, both on your charges with Oceania AND on all of your international purchases...

Were you charged this fee? :confused:

 

It is the Credit Card company that charges the fee

 

Canadian cards do not charge the FTF on Oceania booked cruises (as far as I have seen) but they do charge 2-3% Foreign Currency fee

(check your Cardholder Agreement)

 

Do a search in the Oceania forum for Foreign transaction fee lots of discussions on it

 

Lyn

Off to get the popcorn

 

The fact that I wasn't charged the fee (I could very easily have been if I had gone ahead with my bookings) doesn't make it right. Obviously (see above & other threads) many were.

I haven't been charged the fee because I haven't (& now won't) book an Oceania cruise.

Do you know of any other cruise line that uses an Irish bank & hides that fact in the fine print of a brochure?

 

As for saying this has been discussed at length on this forum....what percentage of cruisers actually use this forum? For the other 97% of people on the boat, this is a moot point.

I have had several charges from Oceania (Doral FL) on my American Express card and never had this fee added. AMEX also "costs" merchants more to take so I guess they lost a few % on my trip! :p

Love those AMEX points!

It is printed right in the O brochure that foreign transaction fees are charged by some banks and to check with your credit card. NO surprises here!

 

Obviously many have been suprised.

Is it on the front page of the brochure (who uses brochures anymore?) in large print?

 

You can defend Oceania all you want on their product, but not on this!

The fact that I wasn't charged the fee (I could very easily have been if I had gone ahead with my bookings) doesn't make it right. .

 

See the above post

Oceania does NOT charge the fee

 

If you use a Canadian credit card you will NOT be charged the fee

so no dog in this fight

Given the rancor this issue has raised, let's look at things from the other angle.

 

Don't you think O hates this too? They refund FTF to many passengers, which comes directly off the top of the fee you paid them. That means they are losing money every time they make a refund.

 

Frankly, it's none of our business where they choose to bank. Oh, and BTW, it's not O's bank that is getting this fee, it is the bank that issues your credit card. So don't be angry with O or their Irish bank - be angry with your credit card company, and let them know you're angry and feel "ripped off"! That's the only way things will ever change.

 

It is the responsibility of each passenger to read ALL documents before you sign up. If you don't read your documents, whether they be the brochure or the contract of carriage, who is ultimately responsible? Not O, and not their Irish bank.

For the record, we have never had this extra charge. Our credit cards didn't charge it. Maybe we were just lucky.

 

But I'm bemused by people who say that because THEY were charged, everyone was. That isn't the case.

 

And it's clear to me that the problem is the credit card you use.

 

This can be easily avoided -- of course, before the fact it's hard to go through a search to see what has happened to other people! I get that. But there are many credit cards that charge a fee on foreign transactions and there are cards that do NOT. Before the question arises, find out what your credit card will charge.

 

I'm not at all sympathetic to people who say "it's Azamara for me" because Oceania does this. Do you own work beforehand! Look, you may prefer Azamara anyway! That's fine.

 

But don't go there because of this issue. And don't feel virtuous if you do. Most of us have NOT had this problem. Some have, but it's not that difficult to correct.

 

Have a great cruise whatever line you choose.

...Azamara will now get my business.

I never thought I'd be saying this on the Oceania forum, but then, I've never seen such blatant disregard of the facts and such blanket false accusations. Go to Azamara. As quickly as you can.

I haven't been charged the fee because I haven't (& now won't) book an Oceania cruise.

 

 

 

 

I'm glad you won't be on an Oceania ship!!!

Amazing they are doing this to their customers!

Come sail with us & we will give you a little rip, without telling you first.

Hopefully it will go unnoticed. If you happen to pick up on it, it's on you to fight to get your cash back (the old reverse billing scam).

An incentive to never go back.

An incentive to me to disregard the Ocrania cruises I was considering.

3% of $14,000.00=$420....for NOTHING! Multipy this by 1200 passengers & you get over 1/2 million dollars!!!!

 

What could be their logic for this I wonder?

If they would do this, what else is in store?

Azamara, here I come.

Oceania is not doing anything with regard to FX fees. CC companies are. That 1/2 million dollars (if everyone has CC that charge this fee) goes to CC companies. FWIW, my CC doesn't charge FX fees.

 

I noticed you are from Canada, so you have no worries. CC in Canada do not charge FX fees TTBOMK. However, in the US some do.

 

For those who aren't aware of the fees charged by their CC company, that is your own shortcoming. Yes, it is your fault, not Oceania's or any other vendor for that matter. Now it would be nice if Oceania made it more prominent when making your payments that they use a foreign bank and that you may incur a FX fee from your CC company. It is also nice of them to give an onboard credit to those who complain, something akin to going above and beyond IMO as this is the CC holder's responsibility, not Oceania's. Frankly these people should complain to their CC companies first and get the fee refunded. Sorry if you do not like the answer, but all of us have learned this lesson at some point in time. Yeah, FX fees happened to me once too. It wasn't anybody's fault but my own for not being aware of the fees my card charged. There are a few out there that actually do their own due diligence and avoid these fees by investigating before hand, or perhaps for those who have yet to travel on Oceania, or otherwise deal with foreign transactions, will benefit from this thread and check there CC and ATM cards.

 

Whether from research or personal experience, if you do a good bit of International travel you are eventually fully aware of these type of fees and avoid them by getting a CC that does not charge them: CapOne CCs, Schwab Visa (also includes 2% cash back, but this card may no longer be available because they outsource it to FIA/BA - FX fee free is grandfathered), and Marriott Rewards Premier Chase Visa (after tomorrow March 31, 2011).

 

Also beware that many ATM cards charge both ATM and FX fees. Schwab Bank ATM card charges no ATM and no FX fees anywhere.

 

The cards I quoted above are the ones I use with the exception of CapOne CCs with which I just happen to be aware of.

 

For a fairly comprehensive list of CC and ATM cards and their fees see the info at this link: http://money.wikia.com/wiki/Foreign_Exchange_fees_on_bank_cards_and_credit_cards

 

While this info may not help those who have already encountered these fees, it may help some to avoid them in the future.

I may have been wrong about Canada CC not incurring FX fees. Any of our friends to the north who can provide more detailed info on CC and Bank ATM fees, please do so, as others would benefit greatly I am sure.

 

What led me to this realization was another list that I found. While it is US centric, it does provide a little bit of information on Canada and UK CCs.

 

http://www.flyerguide.com/wiki/index.php/Credit/Debit/ATM_Cards_and_Foreign_Exchange