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Posted: 6 years ago | 705 Views

Exchange Rates

Not sure if anyone can help me understand this but I've been keeping an eye on the USD/CAD exchange rates as we are going to be making our final cruise pymt in a few weeks. Right now the $ runs in our favor which is awesome. Here is what I don't get. Every time I make a pymt, I call Carnival to do so. Before I call, I always work out the exchange rate but the amount charged to my Credit Card is always higher. I know the rate fluctuates daily but there shouldn't be any difference when I am calling within 5mins of checking the rate, correct?

For example, our last pymt made we wanted to put down $1000 CAD, online calculator said it would be $1370 USD but the actual amount charged was $1407 USD & there was maybe 10mins from when I did it online to when it was showing on my CC. Obv it isn't a huge diff but I was just curious why there is any diff at all.

TIA!

8 Answers

Posted: 6 years ago

If you had a US issued credit card, the cruise would be paid according to the currency rate that the card was issued in, thus it would be in US dollars. However, if a Canadian owns a US funded credit card, they would still be subject to exchange rate because we would have to pay it, thus incurring the rate at time of payment. No cheaper to be honest.
Posted: 6 years ago

So here is where I get confused ... if a Canadian had a US issued American Express/Visa/Mastercard gift card that they purchased, can they use that to pay for their cruise? And would it then be cheaper??

Or does the cruise line make you pay in the currency of the country that you reside in ...?
Posted: 6 years ago

That's exactly what we found out when we asked our bank about the difference. It really is worth it to enjoy the vacations down south.
Posted: 6 years ago

Just a few hours away in Halifax! My BF lives in Moncton :-)
Posted: 6 years ago

You folks are actually handy to me, I am in Saint John NB
Posted: 6 years ago

Thanks! That does make sense & yes it is def worth it lol I am hoping the $ stays as is or gets even better in the next mth when we plan to pay off our trip bc it is a $200 savings from May when I got my remaining balance, that's a huge help when you are planning a trip for 4!
Posted: 6 years ago

There are a few reasons why. 1. The market fluctuates every min, so it could be higher, it could be lower, 2. The bank will charge you a small fee for the currency exchange and 3. Often times credit card companies take at least 24 hours to process the payment, and you could be at a different rate at the time the payment went out.

As a fellow Canadian, I agree that the exchange rate sucks but it is the price we pay for white sand! :)
Posted: 6 years ago

I'm from the USA so I cannot help you with this one but there are a lot of Canadians with experience on this site that will....

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