Welcome to Cruise Talk the Internet's most popular discussion forum dedicated to cruising. Stop by Cruise Talk anytime to post a message or find out what your fellow passengers and industry insiders are saying about a particular ship, cruise line or destination.
>>> Reader Reviews >>> CruisePage.com Photo Gallery >>> Join Our Cruise Club.
Latest News...Carnival Cruise Line has officially begun construction on Carnival Destiny, the first vessel in its newly announced Ace Class, following a steel-cutting ceremony at Fincantieri’s Monfalcone shipyard in Italy. Scheduled to debut in summer 2029, the ship is the first of three next-generation vessels that will introduce a new architectural direction for the brand....
Latest News...Celebrity Cruises has outlined a significant refurbishment of Celebrity Reflection, introducing 13 new spaces and multiple redesigned venues as part of the line’s ongoing fleet-modernization program. The ship, the second Solstice Series vessel to undergo a full revitalization, will debut its updated features in March 2027 ahead of year-round Caribbean deployment from Fort Lauderdale...
Latest News...Holland America Line has named Zuiderdam as the next vessel to receive a major refit under the company’s multi-year Holland America Evolution program, the largest fleet update in its 153-year history. The ship will follow Oosterdam as the second of six vessels scheduled for extensive enhancements that introduce new stateroom categories, refreshed accommodations and expanded public spaces...
Or do you mean a charge levied by your bank (eg item costs $50, you sign a slip for $50, your credit card bill shows $50 and a further $1 charge)?
If it's the latter, credit card issuers all over the world have pretty much always done this for foreign currency transactions. There's a limited number of card issuers that don't make an FX charge of this kind. In the UK, recent legislation has required card companies to split out this charge, so it's more visible now than it used to be - but it was always there (and the bill would always have said $51). One disadvantage of this new-fangled transparency is that I used to earn frequent flyer miles on the $51 total, but now only earn them on the $50 purchase price.
One of the further issues in places like the Caribbean is that many shops will display prices in USD, which you can pay if you use cash. But if you use a credit card, the transaction will go through in local currency, and it's then converted back into USD by your card issuer (assuming that's your home currency) - which is why you can end up with a different USD total plus an FX charge, even though in your own mind the transaction was always in USD.
There are still plenty of good reasons for using credit cards when overseas, but as you say this sort of thing is always worth thinking about.
[ 01-25-2015: Message edited by: Globaliser ]
Ultimate Bulletin BoardTM 6.1.0.3
More Vacation & Cruise Specials...