Cruise Ships - best way to settle the bill

FarleySN1

Hello


My partner and I are avid Cruisers and are due to set sail on our 3rd cruise of the year in September (Princess Cruises - an American ship/company). We usually put a 'good travel' credit card (Halifax or Nationwide Select) on the account to settle the bill at the end of the cruise.


What we'd like to know is, what is the best way of settling an on board account that is settled in a different currency? I wasn't sure if the conversion rate/fee that the ship may apply outweighs the benefit of using the 'good travel' cards? and is there a best card to use for this scenario i.e. Best Debit Card vs Best Credit Card for different conversions (GBP-to-USD / GBP-to-EUR)?

Finally just to note, there doesn't seem to be a lot of information regarding Cruises on this site, which is surprising with the increased popularity over the last couple of years - that said, we love the site and have benefited from this community in many other areas


Thank you all in advance, we look forward to hearing any advice/hints/tips relating to our questions

PompeyPete

FarleySN1 wrote: »

Finally just to note, there doesn't seem to be a lot of information regarding Cruises on this site, which is surprising with the increased popularity over the last couple of years - that said, we love the site and have benefited from this community in many other areas

Probably because the respective Cruise Critic forum is the best place to go for up-to-date information and gossip.

Cardew

FarleySN1 wrote: »

Hello


My partner and I are avid Cruisers and are due to set sail on our 3rd cruise of the year in September (Princess Cruises - an American ship/company). We usually put a 'good travel' credit card (Halifax or Nationwide Select) on the account to settle the bill at the end of the cruise.


What we'd like to know is, what is the best way of settling an on board account that is settled in a different currency? I wasn't sure if the conversion rate/fee that the ship may apply outweighs the benefit of using the 'good travel' cards? and is there a best card to use for this scenario i.e. Best Debit Card vs Best Credit Card for different conversions (GBP-to-USD / GBP-to-EUR)?



Thank you all in advance, we look forward to hearing any advice/hints/tips relating to our questions

With Princess cruises, who invoice on board in US$, it always is best to use a 'good credit card' i.e. no loading, than use the Princess exchange rate.

It is ironic that you should raise this subject now. My wife and daughter cruise regularly with Princess and are 'Platinum' members.

They both have 'good' credit cards(Santander 123 Select) and are well versed in settling their bills.

They both returned from their latest jaunt at the end of last month. My wife correctly used her credit card to settle and received a rate from the Santander of £1 = US$ 1.33.

My daughter inadvertently 'ticked' the wrong box which entailed allowing Princess to use their exchange rate and she received a rate of
£1 = US$ 1.27.

Thus my daughter paid £47 more to settle her account than if she had used the Santander card.

Princess have refused to compensate daughter, stating(correctly) it was her mistake.

BarryBlue

We have cruised three times with Princess and every time have settled our on-board account with a Halifax Clarity card, registered at the beginning of the cruise at check-in. As others have said, let them charge your card in $US and let Halifax do the conversion for a much better rate.

Incidentally, we were Elite on Princess after 2 cruises, due to the points being counted from all our P&O cruises, although it doesn't work the other way. On £ ships, such as P&O, we use a different credit card that will give us commission on the spend.

You do have to keep your wits about you.:) I would also like to see a Cruise Holiday sub-board because of the increasing popularity of this type of holiday.

blindman

BarryBlue wrote: »

I would also like to see a Cruise Holiday sub-board because of the increasing popularity of this type of holiday.

As has been said Cruise Critic is far better to handle cruise Q's IMHO as cruising is not an MSE way of spending a holiday unless you know what you are doing.

LIKE:-

BOOKING:-
NEVER use a UK agent
Use the USA ones and yo can save ££££s

Tipping:-
You do know you can refuse the automatic tip added to the bill?

They will take it off if you ask the night before you disembark:cool:
I prefer to tip my servers, not the whole ships crew !

Excursions:-
NEVER use the ships tours!
Local ones are the same and are a LOT cheaper.

DRINKS:
Research if the ship really does search the bags for those extra carry ons

Backbiter

blindman wrote: »

Tipping:-
You do know you can refuse the automatic tip added to the bill?

They will take it off if you ask the night before you disembark:cool:
I prefer to tip my servers, not the whole ships crew !

I read on Cruise Critic that all cash tips have to be declared so they can be shared out equally with the behind-the-scenes staff in the kitchens/ laundry/ engine room etc.
So in refusing to pay the 'automatic tip' you are just ensuring those who serve you get less than they would have.

blindman

Backbiter wrote: »

I read on Cruise Critic that all cash tips have to be declared so they can be shared out equally with the behind-the-scenes staff in the kitchens/ laundry/ engine room etc.
So in refusing to pay the 'automatic tip' you are just ensuring those who serve you get less than they would have.

I pay a price to get fed and a clean bed.

If the company is too mean to pay it's workers a decent wage then they should rise the price of the cruise. I will then decide if want to take their cruise.

I am not an American. If I get good service ,I tip.

I do not subsidise cheap company policies.

IIRC when you buy drinks at the bar the TIP is included so you are effectively paying twice if you pay the automatic "tip"

BarryBlue

blindman wrote: »

As has been said Cruise Critic is far better to handle cruise Q's IMHO as cruising is not an MSE way of spending a holiday unless you know what you are doing.

LIKE:-

BOOKING:-
NEVER use a UK agent
Use the USA ones and yo can save ££££s

Tipping:-
You do know you can refuse the automatic tip added to the bill?

They will take it off if you ask the night before you disembark:cool:
I prefer to tip my servers, not the whole ships crew !

Excursions:-
NEVER use the ships tours!
Local ones are the same and are a LOT cheaper.

DRINKS:
Research if the ship really does search the bags for those extra carry ons

Ok, there's lots to discuss there.:cool:

I absolutely disagree that cruising is not an MSE way of spending a holiday. It can be an extremely good value way of holidaying, but as you say you need to know what you are doing. So surely this forum is the place to learn about it. We often cruise for around £50 pppn and have been below £40 pppn on P&O. As it includes, accommodation, travel, food and entertainment, that is pretty MSE in my book! As for agents, you can certainly play them off against each other. We monitor prices of possible cruises throughout the year too. Timing is everything.

The individual points you make are correct, so surely MSE users need to know this. We are experienced cruisers and always tip in the way you say. If we do a tour, it is booked locally, usually after research so we have booked online before we go. We have passed on such information on ships to countless other passengers. Amazing how few people knew you could book private tours in St Petersburg without needing a visa! We have never, ever booked a ship's tour.

I would like to see a cruise sub-board here. I've been on the specialist cruise boards and they attract some very strange people, many with personal agendas and gripes, who give newbies a rough time. They generate more heat than light, that's for sure.;)

daveyjp

I disagree about NEVER using a ships tour. We have done Fjords trips and DIY opportunities are very limited, especially from ports such as Adnalses which is no more than a dock and single street.

With larger ships now visiting the fjords tickets for some transport, such as Flamm railway can all go to the cruise companies leaving none for DIY customers.

I also did a Bruge and WW1 Battlefields trip and the knowledge of the guide was worth the very reasonable charge for a full day.

Like all things do your research.

We used a zero charge foreign exchange credit card on Princess, billed in dollars.

PompeyPete

BarryBlue wrote: »

I would like to see a cruise sub-board here. I've been on the specialist cruise boards and they attract some very strange people, many with personal agendas and gripes, who give newbies a rough time. They generate more heat than light, that's for sure.;)

Plenty of very strange people on MSE too, with personal agendas, gripes, and their own, often blinkered, version of the facts.

Backbiter

blindman wrote: »

IIRC when you buy drinks at the bar the TIP is included so you are effectively paying twice if you pay the automatic "tip"

The 'automatic tip' is for the cabin stewards, dining room and kitchen staff, entertainment and guest services, not the bar staff. So you aren't paying twice.
If, as you would prefer, they got rid of the 'automatic tip' and simply raised the price of a cruise, where would that leave your current ability to withhold your gratuities if you don't think the service warrants it?