Should I Bring Some Loonies

First Canadian cruise coming up this weekend. I have a credit card with no foreign transaction fee which we will use ashore. Wondering if there are some cash only vendors etc that require Canadian $. Thanks in advance.

Any time you're asking yourself 'should I acquire foreign currency for the country I'm visiting?' the answer is always the same - yes. It's never a bad idea to have some local funds, especially small bills and coins (most transit systems are cash or local reloadable card system only, as well as the occasional cash-only spots).

You will almost certainly be able to buy anything over $5 with credit, but even stores with a CC machine will commonly refuse to accept smaller transactions (I've even seen $10 minima occasionally). If your first stop in Canada is a large town or city, you'll find folks who will take USD and give change in CAD - so breaking a $20 can give you all the small change and notes you need for small purchases and tips - but if your cruise hits a small town this may not be feasible.

The ship's front desk should be able to swap some currency for you if there's no local option - for a few bucks this or a local vendor taking USD are likely the lowest total cost option unless you have a bank account that lets you withdraw funds from Canadian ATMs without a fee (in which case that's definitely the winner as exchange is as close as you'll get to official bank clearing rates). If there's an ATM fee involved though, unless you take out $100+ the effective hike in total cost of exchange makes the value worse.

You get the best rate at an ATM but you have to know what your bank will charge. Mine charges $5 for foreign ATMs which makes it 5% if you take out $100. As mentioned if you don't want that much then perhaps get some cash on the ship.

First Canadian cruise coming up this weekend. I have a credit card with no foreign transaction fee which we will use ashore. Wondering if there are some cash only vendors etc that require Canadian $. Thanks in advance.

Loonies and Toonies are a must lol. Also, no pennies in Canada so if your bill is $1.98 it'll cost you $2.00. $1.92 will cost you $1.90.

I would skip the Loonies and Toonies and just go with the 5s, 10s and 20s; they are much easier to carry. ;)