Paying account in CAD?

Can anyone tell me if I can pay my account in CAD? Are the exchange rates reasonable? Anyone's experience appreciated.

Can anyone tell me if I can pay my account in CAD? Are the exchange rates reasonable? Anyone's experience appreciated.

You can do your booking in Canadian dollars (pay for the cruise) but the on board account (the bill on board) is in U.S. $.

If I feel the exchange rate is going to be negative in the future to the Canadian dollar or "like" a rate that seems better than normal, I buy OBC on line to help alleviate the exchange rate hit on disembarkation day :)

You really need to check cost of the two currencies on the day you are considering booking and do the math. For us, it worked out better booking in Cdn $ the last several cruises.

Yes, we always book in CAD because we don't like the gamble of seeing if it's + or - at final payment.

I am talking strictly about onboard payments - our account, purchasing beverage cards, gratuities etc.

Yes, we always book in CAD because we don't like the gamble of seeing if it's + or - at final payment.

I am talking strictly about onboard payments - our account, purchasing beverage cards, gratuities etc.

All in US $ as I said above. It's the currency of the ship and all charges are in US $

Pre purchase some OBC, enough to take care of your onboard spending. You will be paying the going exchange rate as of the date you purchase. Takes the worry out of paying at the end.

That's the exact reason I buy OBC in advance too.

Sure, HAL has my money early but I hae saved anywhere from 5 - 15% in the exchange rate by doing this so I consider a good return on my $ and advance purchase ;)

I too try to buy US currency when it seems reasonable. But often my crystal ball is cloudy so we use a credit card that doesn’t charge the extra 2.5% foreign exchange fee. At least that is a sure thing. Sadly The Marriott card by Chase has left Canada so we have had to find another one, Scotiabank has a new one that also includes lounge passes and travel insurance.

We have replaced our Marriott Visa card with a Home Trust (canada) Visa. Just got it this week.

It is a no charge Visa that does FX at the going rate, ie does not add the 2.5-3 percent adder. It includes a 1 percent credit on purchases and emergency auto roadside assistance.

We only just rec'd it and have not tried it out for FX ATM, ie running a credit balance and then withdrawing from a foreign ATM with no interest charge. The latter is a huge benefit to us since we travel for extended periods and Canadian banks are brutal when it comes to excessive fees and fx rates on foreign ATM withdrawals. At least the ones we use-RBC and CIBC.

We typically buy our cruises from an on line US TA. We buy in the final payment window so we do not have concern ourselves with currency fluctuation. We get a Cad quote but it is seldom as advantageous. Our last cruise was on Princess. They had a one day sale with Cad at essentially par so we grabbed it. The big surprise to us was that it really was a sale. Most of those so called sales are nothing more than re-arranging the proverbial deck chairs to come up with a bundled price that has only the appearance of a special deal.

The HAL ships operate on U.S. $ wherever they are sailing.

We really notice the difference. A few years ago we took two cruises in Australia. One, to Fiji, on Princess and a second, to Oz and NZ, on RCI.

The on board currency on Princess was AUD. It is very close to CAD. The on board currency on RCI was USD. The on board prices were similar in dollars, but RCI was significantly higher in real terms because of the exchange rate. About 25 percent higher at that time.

We really notice the difference. A few years ago we took two cruises in Australia. One, to Fiji, on Princess and a second, to Oz and NZ, on RCI.

 

The on board currency on Princess was AUD. It is very close to CAD. The on board currency on RCI was USD. The on board prices were similar in dollars, but RCI was significantly higher in real terms because of the exchange rate. About 25 percent higher at that time.

I feel your pain for sure.

Does anybody know the cost of buying OBC in Canadian dollars. I remember buying OBC with Princess & their rates were far better than at my BMO bank.

Does anybody know the cost of buying OBC in Canadian dollars. I remember buying OBC with Princess & their rates were far better than at my BMO bank.

When you buy onboard credit, you are charged on your credit card. It will be whatever exchange rate the card is using for the day that it's posted on your credit card account. Not necessarily the day you make your purchase.

That's the exact reason I buy OBC in advance too.

 

Sure, HAL has my money early but I have saved anywhere from 5 - 15% in the exchange rate by doing this so I consider a good return on my $ and advance purchase ;)

We too find this our best option, even though we have a US credit card. If you watch the exchange rates carefully, this is usually the best option, often better than transferring/exchanging money into our American Dollar account at TD.

At some point someone of CC had a formula working with CAD pricing which showed the current exchange rates on HAL. This was easier than flipping back and forth between US and Cdn websites. I've lost the numbers unfortunately.

Ruth

Does anybody know the cost of buying OBC in Canadian dollars. I remember buying OBC with Princess & their rates were far better than at my BMO bank.

HAL doesn’t do the OBC preferred rate for Canadian dollars like Princess does.

OP, HAL will be happy to convert your USD bill to CAD before billing your credit card, but I've yet to see their exchange rate nearly as good as the VISA or MC rate. We let them charge us in USD on our Home Trust card that charges no conversion fee.

I'm kicking my butt for not having purchased some OBC a month or so ago, but I'm hoping that exchange will see a stronger Loonie before our next cruise in June 2019. If not, I'm well ahead of the game with my OBC purchases over the past few years, so I won't complain.

Iancal, I haven't used the Home Trust card yet for foreign ATM withdrawals. If you do before I have the opportunity, I'd love to hear your comments.

Fouremco....we will not have a chance to try the ATM out until Oct or perhaps Jan. We still have a few hundred in US cash however we have not been travelling in the US for some time other than day trips to WA.

Thanks Ian. I've a wedding to attend inbthe Caribbean in November, so I might give it a try then, just to test it out.