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Will the collapsing exchange rate effect your cruising this season?

Kiwi Kruzer
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angelwingsflys

angelwingsflys

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Hi Everyone,
I am considering to book only ships that are in Australian $, With the falling $,it will be becoming too expensive to consider any ship that charges US$ onboard ,mind you my next 4 cruises are all US $ but I have a :)bit left over from last year's buying OBC and having some left over ,but after that I guess only P&O :(,some of the Princess ships -have to check Golden Princess-there is a cruise to Tassie next Feb that I was considering .
Cheers Deb
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cassamanda

cassamanda

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[quote name='bazzaw']It really has little to do with this Government or any other. It has been to 50C US before this!!

We 23 million Aussies are little more than fleas on a dog's back -- along with another 7000 million other fleas. The total amount of AU currency in the World is miniscule compared to the total of all currencies - just flotsam and jetson on the tide!! :)[/QUOTE]

Economists tell me that the Australian dollar is ranked 4th in the workd's trading currencies.

Certainly can remember when the dollar was 50c and interest rates were 17%:eek:

Ships using AUD will just jack up their prices and reduce perks to cover the all inclusive fares.:mad:
Just have to grin and bear it for the time being all search out the better deals.
Hugh
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The_Big_M

The_Big_M

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[quote name='bazzaw']It really has little to do with this Government or any other. It has been to 50C US before this!!
[/quote]

It certainly has, but the movement is not just random, without any reason.

As per the comment quoted, had we improved productivity - which is one of many things the government could focus on - we would be in a much better state. And this would be reflected in the currency. In fact, productivity has declined continually in this term and is now at its lowest level since they came to power.

Similarly a lot of the fall has been due to China. Why? Because this government has hitched its hopes - and continues to - to China. Despite this not being something we control. So it's putting your hopes on someone else, which is always a way to fail. So here we are...

[quote]
We 23 million Aussies are little more than fleas on a dog's back -- along with another 7000 million other fleas. The total amount of AU currency in the World is miniscule compared to the total of all currencies - just flotsam and jetson on the tide!! :)[/QUOTE]

Again, this isn't correct. The Australian currency is one of the heavy hitters, the 5th largest traded each day. No need for the cultural cringe. ;-)
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gaechann

gaechann

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Most cruises are 30+% more expensive compared to the halcyon days of US$1.06 but we will continue to cruise, albeit MUCH more selectively.

 

 

Hi all

I've been finding LOTS of bargains lately some as far out as early 2017 so I wonder if more competition is having an effect!

Happy to book balcony cabins at $100 pp/pd though probably won't be spending much onboard the $USD charged ones.

So for me, cheap to cruise, expensive to splurge once onboard or change to the ships operating in $AUD who will probably be upping their prices to cover the falling $AUD against the $USD.

Whatever happens we cruiseaholics will still need our regular "fix"! :)

Gae

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Pushka

Pushka

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Just cancelled a cruise on Celebrity. When I did some currency conversions DH would have to drink water every afternoon at beer o'clock time. :eek:

 

Was that booked through a US TA or Celebrity? I havent seen any change in fares yet. We cancelled our US booking for this last August and rebooked direct with Celebrity and the price was much less.

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woodyren

woodyren

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Our strategy will be to just book the bargains if they arise on RCL and X in AUD and take advantage of the happy hours or drinks promotions for our beverages thus almost eliminating any on board spend. We also will probably limit travels to the USA for a while as well and seek out more currency friendly places. This will limit our currency exposure the high USD for a while.

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happysnapper

happysnapper

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Was that booked through a US TA or Celebrity? I havent seen any change in fares yet. We cancelled our US booking for this last August and rebooked direct with Celebrity and the price was much less.

 

Through an Australian cruise agency. No the price had not changed as yet. The cruise was considered a repositioning one from Hawaii to Sydney and there was no OBC or perks. It was the estimated on-board costs, once converted from USD to AUD, that were a bit scary for 19 days. So we will just look around for something else.

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Pushka

Pushka

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Just purchased some OBC - a few units $32AUD for $25USD. And paid for gratuities up front, saving $30 on the favourable exchange rate. But currently it looks according to my credit card, $250 AUD for $250 USD. :eek: (should be $358 AUD) I can hope! It was on the AUS website so should be processed immediately in AUD. Time will tell.

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joejoe 59

joejoe 59

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Checked in the last couple of days and Premium package plus 18% gratuities on Celebrity is now equivalent to $99AUD per day!!!!! Classic not much cheaper. Will have to think twice about cruising. Australia is looking good.

Holy crap who could afford to drink at the price [emoji33]

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cassamanda

cassamanda

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That's a big factor n making our next few with Princess rather than Celebrity.

 

The price of drink packages no way affects my reason for cruising or not.

 

Some cruises offer very cheap drink packages whilst others are more expensive, viz Legend of the Seas repo to Hong Kong. Was on $24 for ultimate for quite some time before it went up recently to $90+

Just shop around and book early.

 

In any case i just cannot justify drinking like a fish just to balance out the drink package. We get sufficient perks through loyalty to keep the costs down and have never spent more than $300 each on drinks (including coffees) for a 14 day cruise.

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happysnapper

happysnapper

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I have never come across any fellow cruisers who pick a cruise just because of beverage prices. However when people are on limited budgets and like to cruise in their retirement for as long as they can ALL costs need to be factored in. In a previous post I was pointing out how the increase in beverage package prices and the dropping AUD would have an impact on cruising for many Australians. DH and myself, plus all my friends, would much prefer to cruise than go to a corner pub for a cold one!:cool:

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Tara Jane

Tara Jane

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I am ever so glad neither DH nor myself drink. We are happy with the coffee in the buffet area, and the juice for breakfast and water or whatever else happens to be provided complementary. We are the cruisers that the cruise company dont like as our account at the end of the cruise is nil other than auto charge grats and sometimes they are prepaid. If I was in desperate need of a speciality coffee fix I would buy one but those "luxuries" are not what makes my cruise. Getting the best deal so I can cruise often is my priority.

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gogo65 "Live from...." Rare

gogo65

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Just purchased some OBC - a few units $32AUD for $25USD. And paid for gratuities up front, saving $30 on the favourable exchange rate. But currently it looks according to my credit card, $250 AUD for $250 USD. :eek: (should be $358 AUD) I can hope! It was on the AUS website so should be processed immediately in AUD. Time will tell.

 

Puebla,

How did this pan out? We're you charged $250aud?? If so, did you purchase it online or over the phone? Thanks!

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cruisine21

cruisine21

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We are on the Solstice this Friday and have the drinks package with the 123 GO. This should cover my husband's diet cokes and premium coffees for me along with a few cocktails and beers. We haven't booked any ship excursions and have pre-paid our greats so hopefully our on board should be low.

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