Question For Canadian Cruisers

[stoddaj1]

I am interested in booking the Breeze for next spring. I was certain that the carnival website in previous years showed pricing in Canadian dollars but it doesn't seem to be the case. Am I looking in the wrong spot (Carnival.com) or do I have to be logged in to get the CAD pricing? Short memory I am afraid! Thanks

[LyndaKroooze]

I always book directly through Carnival.com but just use the US pricing and let my credit card do the converting of the exchange

[esdoorn]

I use a Canadian TA and book my cruise with them and it ended up with a really good price in CDN dollars ( they must be able to work out volume pricing ) because I just looked at our April 2016 cruise and we paid about $1.09 CND to USD, which is much better than the current exchange rate.

[Nic6318]

No, the site only shows US$ pricing.

 

If you go to any of the Canadian travel sites you will see the prices in Cad$. Since travel agents typically can't offer prices much lower than Carnival, you can compare after currency exchange to see which is the better value.

 

Have a great cruise

[Kamloops50]

With the current exchange I would never book in USD . People don't realize that the Bank of Canada adds a charge to every transaction of about 4%. If you have to cancel the Bank of Canada takes 6% off the exchange rate.

Meaning if the exchange rate stays the same you end up paying 10% surcharge. This is not a bank charge.

[jmcancruise]

I know there site you are referring to but haven't seen it for some time. I also just book on the .com site and let my cc do the exchange. Right now it really hurts. Fortunately. DH and I paid for most of our cruise before the dollar took its dive, but it is seriously impacting the money we are putting away for excursions and shopping. Fortunately we can still have a wonderful cruise without spending another dime.

 

If you find a good way to save some dollars let us know.

[mum2bradley]

Yeah this exchange rate is killing me!! It will likely be our last cruise for a while as we can now go on a really nice AI for less than a cruise.

 

Us poor Canadians have to pay that exchange and ridiculous flight prices!!

 

My cruise isn't until New Years and I've only paid the deposit so far.

[michaelandjoanne]

Book through Air Canada vacations (Westjet or Air Transat if you prefer) and you will get a price in CAD plus a deal on flights. For AC vacations you get added perks like seat selection and free checked bags. You can also upgrade to Businesses class for far less than you would pay through air canada.com

[declansdad]

With the current exchange I would never book in USD . People don't realize that the Bank of Canada adds a charge to every transaction of about 4%. If you have to cancel the Bank of Canada takes 6% off the exchange rate.

Meaning if the exchange rate stays the same you end up paying 10% surcharge. This is not a bank charge.

 

 

Bank of Canada? What do you mean by the Bank of Canada? Customers don't deal with the Bank of Canada.

[llg13]

Book through Air Canada vacations (Westjet or Air Transat if you prefer) and you will get a price in CAD plus a deal on flights. For AC vacations you get added perks like seat selection and free checked bags. You can also upgrade to Businesses class for far less than you would pay through air canada.com

 

This for sure ^^...you can get decent flight deals if you book it as a package with flights....or if you call Carnival you can also get CAD pricing as well. For my cruise when I booked it was actually quite a decent exchange from when I priced it out in USD too.

[Paddy41]

This for sure ^^...you can get decent flight deals if you book it as a package with flights....or if you call Carnival you can also get CAD pricing as well. For my cruise when I booked it was actually quite a decent exchange from when I priced it out in USD too.

 

Just came back from a Royal Caribbean cruise booked in CAD with a 10% exchange rate.

A friend just asked me to go on a Carnival cruise for her. TA got the Canadian price and the exchange is 30%. My friend phoned Carnival directly and asked for a price in CAD and was given it at 41% exchange!!! (Even the Carnival employee couldn't believe it!)

Just looked at a NCL and a RCI site on here for Canadians and both of these lines have an exchange rate under 12%. So those of you on this site who are complaining should really check out other cruiselines.

 

If you are still booking in USD you really need to do your homework! You are paying the exchange rate plus the credit card company rate instead of getting a Canadian TA who will get you the price in CAD and then do all the other work for you.

[Kamloops50]

Many cc in Canada don't charge a foreign transaction fee. The Bank of Canada has a charge on every foreign currency transaction.

[soccersharon]

Just came back from a Royal Caribbean cruise booked in CAD with a 10% exchange rate.

 

A friend just asked me to go on a Carnival cruise for her. TA got the Canadian price and the exchange is 30%. My friend phoned Carnival directly and asked for a price in CAD and was given it at 41% exchange!!! (Even the Carnival employee couldn't believe it!)

 

Just looked at a NCL and a RCI site on here for Canadians and both of these lines have an exchange rate under 12%.

 

 

 

 

 

That exchange rate is nuts! I wish Carnival would offer a more competitive exchange rate - as NCL and RCL do. Big turn off for me!

[hopeful2]

Call Carnival they can give you the price in Canadian

[Paddy41]

Call Carnival they can give you the price in Canadian

 

A friend did that yesterday. 41% exchange rate!

 

Get a Canadian travel agent to get you a price in Canadian. Then it's a 30% exchange rate.

 

NCL and RCI are still offering 12% exchange rate.

Edited August 15, 2015 by Paddy41

[WpgCruise]

Many cc in Canada don't charge a foreign transaction fee. The Bank of Canada has a charge on every foreign currency transaction.

 

Where on earth are you getting this from ?

 

Please educate yourself before making statements like this as it only makes you look foolish.

[Kamloops50]

Where on earth are you getting this from ?

 

Please educate yourself before making statements like this as it only makes you look foolish.

 

This info was given to me by two different bank mangers and my finincal adviser (former bank manager for over 40 years).

[WpgCruise]

This info was given to me by two different bank mangers and my finincal adviser (former bank manager for over 40 years).

 

You need a new Financial Advisor. The Bank of Canada sets fiscal policy, and has nothing at all to do with exchange rates. These are set by the Market. The Bank of Canada can influence exchange rates by setting policy, but they do not in any way shape or form take a transaction fee on any foreign exchange transactions, no matter what the currency.

 

Here's a link to get you started

 

http://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/exchange/

 

Here's the first line from the noted site

 

"All Bank of Canada exchange rates are indicative rates only, obtained from averages of transaction prices and price quotes from financial institutions"

Edited August 15, 2015 by WpgCruise

[scameron7]

@mum2bradley... You hit the nail on the head. Unfortunately, the carnival site only notes US prices, even funnier is the "contact us" form. There are no Canadian provinces listed as an option when trying to ask a question. As such, although one is Canadian you have to fake it and add a U.S. State to submit a question. We are booked on a cruise (breeze) in November and with the exchange we paid an additional $350CA. As Canadians we cannot take advantage of gift cards offered by Verizon or AARP.

 

Last year Carnival had a gift card promotion (buy a gift card and get 10% gift card free). That deal was not offered this year! [emoji22]

 

We are looking forward to our upcoming cruise, however; given the value of our dollar right now, and considering the price for flights, we are paying soooo much more. This makes me sad, as cruising is a wonderful vacation. [emoji16][emoji572]️

[misguidedangel]

I have been on 15 cruises and only four have been booked through TA's. I've never gotten a deal by booking with a TA, nor have I gotten any exchange rate deals by booking directly with Carnival other than the sale or ES rate I am booking it by. I simply do a rough calculation based on exchange rate and that is my base for the cruise costs. The current exchange rate for credit cards right now is 31%.

 

It truly sucks that the Canuck Buck is as bad as it is when there is no reason for it to be so bad. Our economy fared very well when you look at how many other G20 nations suffered during the last decade or more.

 

A low Canadian dollar means budget gets trimmed here and there by a bit.....less drinks a day and one less excursion...cannot sacrifice my pedicure.....

[scameron7]

@Misguidedangel [emoji106]

[declansdad]

This info was given to me by two different bank mangers and my finincal adviser (former bank manager for over 40 years).

 

 

Everyday Canadians do not deal with the Bank of Canada. The Bank of Canada is the central bank and in the simplest terms is the banks' bank.

[scameron7]

@declansdad....as per the bank of canada website, please see below:

 

On 14 August 2015, 100.00Canadian Dollar(s) = 77.15 U.S. dollar(s), at an exchange rate of 0.7646 (using nominal rate).

 

As u can see the exchange rate from Canadian to US is exactly what the current average banks are!!

[declansdad]

@declansdad....as per the bank of canada website, please see below:

 

On 14 August 2015, 100.00Canadian Dollar(s) = 77.15 U.S. dollar(s), at an exchange rate of 0.7646 (using nominal rate).

 

As u can see the exchange rate from Canadian to US is exactly what the current average banks are!!

 

 

But you as a customer can't deal with the Bank of Canada. Give it a try, call the BoC in Ottawa and tell them you want to buy some US currency from their office.

[Ahmne]

The exchange rate right now is killer. When we started looking I knew the prices were in usd but at the time the conversion to cdn wasn't too bad and a great deal. By the time we put down the deposit the dollar had dropped. We booked in cdn. Still much cheaper than booking a balcony room on another line for the same itinerary but by the time we factor in flights I could be doing 10 days at a 5 star AI.

 

Trying to convince hubby to drive to Buffalo to save money on the flights but right now I'm only seeing connecting flights from there. Too long a travel day with two kids.