My husband and I decided to go on a kid-free vacation this year as the kids were old enough, and my parents young enough to look after them! We'd always wanted to go on Star Clippers, and since we've been to several Caribbean destinations, opted for the Mediterranean. We were mainly interested in Greece. However, our travel agent pointed out that for about the same price as a week with Star Clippers we could do two weeks with a regular cruise line, and since Europe's so far to go, it's better to make the most of it.
We started looking at ships and like the 'Freestyle" concept. We looked at itineraries and were immediately excited about NCLs 12 night Athens to Istanbul which included all the main Greek ports, plus Ephesus, and a bonus of Istanbul AND EGYPT! What an opportunity to get to the the pyramids during a larger trip, and from the comfort of a cruise ship! So we booked in the spring.
Our final payment was due in July. We'd paid in Canadian funds as that was how the travel agent had the cruise co. quote it. By July, the Canadian Dollar was gaining strength against the US dollar. Little did we know when we booked that the exchange rates the cruise cos. use are set late in the year for the following year, so the rate we were given was not as good as the current rate. Furthermore, since we'd booked in CDN$ they would not change to USD. We could have cancelled and rebooked, but we'd lose the early booking discounts so it would have cost more, and the cruise was almost full so we would not have got a very good cabin, or in the class we wanted. I was very disappointed! I was told it's just a gamble. The dollar 'could have 'dropped and then we'd have come out ahead. So, I had to deal with it. At least all onboard charges including excursions would be charged to my account in USD, which I'd pay at the rate my credit card company charged.