Usd cruise on board credits converted to aud????

[Snuffie]

We recently booked a cruise for next year on the Sun Princess Australia and New Zealand. We reside in the USA and are Americans.

 

So far, we have a minimum of $800 on board credits that include the special $600 on board credit (current promotion), future cruise credits (paid $100 USD each last time we were on board). We anticipate other on board credits (AMEX, MILITARY, SHAREHOLDER, ETC.)

 

Our cruise fare is quoted and paid for using our USD and will be paid for via AMEX - USD.

 

The on board currency while on this cruise is stated as AUD. Our on board credits (USD qualified) are showing up as AUD on our reservation.

 

If this be the case, our current $800 AUD translates to only $577 USD.

 

Is this correct? We will be losing $223 so far.....That's a 30% hit!!!!

 

What can be done to have our onboard credits reflect the USD value?

 

Thanks for the responses in advance.

[fishywood]

I just tried a mock booking (in $US) for your itinerary on Sun Princess. Says very prominently that the OBC is in AUD. All you can do is hope the exchange rate improves between now and your cruise.

 

Though I do believe the OBC for using your FCD is pre-determined; ie $100US will be posted as AUD75 automatically rather than going by exchange rate (I don't know what the exact number is right now).

[GJCruiser]

We are reserved on Diamond Princess in 2018 in Australia and our credits indicate the same. The amounts are what they should be in USD but the definition on the page says they are in AUD. Will need to monitor this - that will not be acceptable.

[rkmw]

We are reserved on Diamond Princess in 2018 in Australia and our credits indicate the same. The amounts are what they should be in USD but the definition on the page says they are in AUD. Will need to monitor this - that will not be acceptable.

 

any princess sailing out of australian waters the currency is AUD

[fishywood]

any princess sailing out of australian waters the currency is AUD

 

...and even if you book in $US the promotional OBC is in AUD. It was never in $US in the first place so the two posters above have no claim on that amount. They may have a beef with their booking agent if they were told otherwise, but not with Princess.

[skynight]

We recently booked a cruise for next year on the Sun Princess Australia and New Zealand. We reside in the USA and are Americans.

So far, we have a minimum of $800 on board credits that include the special $600 on board credit (current promotion), future cruise credits (paid $100 USD each last time we were on board). We anticipate other on board credits (AMEX, MILITARY, SHAREHOLDER, ETC.)

Our cruise fare is quoted and paid for using our USD and will be paid for via AMEX - USD.

The on board currency while on this cruise is stated as AUD. Our on board credits (USD qualified) are showing up as AUD on our reservation.

If this be the case, our current $800 AUD translates to only $577 USD.

Is this correct? We will be losing $223 so far.....That's a 30% hit!!!!

What can be done to have our onboard credits reflect the USD value?

Thanks for the responses in advance.

*Is the $600 current promotion OBC in US$ or AUD$. If it is in Australian currency the the OBC is worth about US$435, but if the special promotion OBC is in US$ then that would be worth around AU$825. So, that is the first question to answer.

The Future Cruise Deposit OBC would be in US$ and the amount would depend on the length of the cruise and the cat. of cabin. For a US$100 OBC you should receive around AU$135 OBC.

If you do the math you should be able to figure out if Princess has it correct or incorrect.

The other OBC's should be initially in US$ and you should receive 1.35 more in AU$. However, if you look at the Carnival shareholder benefit site you will see the the shareholder benefit is the same dollar amount for US brands and Australian brands, and you may lose about 35% in this conversion. You could have the same issue with the military benefit. Monitor each OBC individually, I don't think you can group them together for this math problem.

[Snuffie]

*Is the $600 current promotion OBC in US$ or AUD$. If it is in Australian currency the the OBC is worth about US$435, but if the special promotion OBC is in US$ then that would be worth around AU$825. So, that is the first question to answer.

The Future Cruise Deposit OBC would be in US$ and the amount would depend on the length of the cruise and the cat. of cabin. For a US$100 OBC you should receive around AU$135 OBC.

If you do the math you should be able to figure out if Princess has it correct or incorrect.

The other OBC's should be initially in US$ and you should receive 1.35 more in AU$. However, if you look at the Carnival shareholder benefit site you will see the the shareholder benefit is the same dollar amount for US brands and Australian brands, and you may lose about 35% in this conversion. You could have the same issue with the military benefit. Monitor each OBC individually, I don't think you can group them together for this math problem.

 

Yes the future cruise credit is $100 us as we are in a suite. On our onboard summary shows the FCC as AUD. The $600 special promotion was in USD on their website. The $600 is now showing as AUD on board credit. I will contact my TA tomorrow for clarification. Thanks everyone for your responses.

[Snuffie]

Yes the future cruise credit is $100 us as we are in a suite. On our onboard summary shows the FCC as AUD. The $600 special promotion was in USD on their website. The $600 is now showing as AUD on board credit. I will contact my TA tomorrow for clarification. Thanks everyone for your responses.

 

Here is the disclaimer on the $600 On Board credit:

 

‡ Up to $600 Free Onboard Spending Money per stateroom is based on voyage length, stateroom type, and applicable to reservations booked and deposited between December 6, 2016 and February 28, 2017, for voyages listed in this sale only. Offer is applicable to first/second-berth guests only and third/fourth-berth guests are not eligible. Guests with single occupancy will receive the per stateroom credit amount. Spending money may be used on a single voyage only, is not redeemable for cash, cannot be used in the casino and expires at the end of that voyage. Offer is not transferable and may not be combinable with other select offers or other onboard credits. Onboard spending money is quoted in U.S. dollars.

[trabeler]

I went through a similar experience last year when I had a sailing on the Diamond Princess from Sydney. My cruise was booked in the US and paid in USD, but all onboard credits were converted to AUD.

 

In my case, all the USD credits were converted at 1.1 AUD/USD on the booking. So, for example, my $150 USD for FCC OBC was converted to $165 AUD. Same thing with the stockholder OBC.

 

At the time we sailed, the actual conversion rate was around 1.38 AUD/USD. All the onboard charges were in AUD so I got the real rate using my credit card, but all the OBC stayed at the 1.1 conversion rate.

 

I tried arguing with Princess but got no where on this one. They claimed they have a "pre-set" conversion rate each year, which last year was 1.1 AUD/USD.

[cherylandtk]

Our experience last year was just as trabeler described. $US are converted at the Princess rate of exchange which is set for the year. It does not fluctuate with the markets or the bank rates.

 

If what you have stated here is correct...

Yes the future cruise credit is $100 us as we are in a suite. On our onboard summary shows the FCC as AUD. The $600 special promotion was in USD on their website. The $600 is now showing as AUD on board credit. I will contact my TA tomorrow for clarification. Thanks everyone for your responses.

...then Princess has set their current rate at par. Have your TA check with Princess to see if this is what they are using (!)

 

The Princess rate is always to Princess' advantage, not the customer. There is nothing you can do about the value of what they give you as OBC; it is free--either take it or leave it. If you don't like the 30% loss of value of the OBC from using your FCC, don't use it...pay the normal deposit and save the FCC for another trip. For what you actually do spend onboard, have your bank do the conversion, NOT Princess. (Keep your onboard account in $AUD and use a credit card that does not charge international conversion fees). You'll be 30% ahead.

Edited December 23, 2016 by cherylandtk

[wadswatcher]

I just tried a mock booking (in $US) for your itinerary on Sun Princess. Says very prominently that the OBC is in AUD. All you can do is hope the exchange rate improves between now and your cruise.

 

Though I do believe the OBC for using your FCD is pre-determined; ie $100US will be posted as AUD75 automatically rather than going by exchange rate (I don't know what the exact number is right now).

 

 

We are booked for a B2B on the Sun January 8. The exchange rate is the least of your worries. I discovered in September I was being charged over $2,000 USD for the cruises for an inside cabin compared to people buying the cruise in Australia. I wrote to Princess to ask why this can occur. I was told it was just what they do. I cancelled the two cruises and booked with an Australian travel agent and received shipboard credit and the stockholders benefit. I did not use my FCC. Everything with the booking has been outstanding. I even can check things on My Personalizer with Princess on the USA Website.

 

 

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