Currency Exchange

We depart on a Mediterranean and Aegean cruise in about 6 weeks and want to see some discussion about currency exchange. Do "seasoned" travelers exchange their US currency for euros at the airport upon arrival? Our cruise line does NOT do exchange for euros. I've heard that you can exchange at ATM's on land and that most merchants will accept credit cards and some will even take US currency.

I've heard various answers from the cruise line but I've found that their info [on many things] often depends on who you talk to....like the IRS. What has your experience been or recommendation??

If you do some reading on the Ports boards, you will see the discussion you seek. ATMs ashore, typically aware from the airport, and physically inside, and affiliated with a Bank, are the cheapest and safest way to get local currency in any country.

Visa and MasterCard are very widely accepted in Europe. Other brands of credit card are accepted, but less widely. You DO NOT needs a PIN and chip credit card in Europe, except for "unstaffed" locations, like train station ticket machines. This is slowly changing, but still true, particularly in southern Europe. We travel with one chip and signature (our primary) and one PIN and chip (our backup) credit card. We end up using the PIN and chip 1-3 times in a 2 week trip.

Personally, we stay away from using credit cards for small purchases (like under 25 euros), particularly in small towns, or mom and pop type businesses, but this is slowly changing as well.

We travel outside the US at least once a year. We haven't obtained foreign currency in the US in 10 years, at least.

Thanks, Bruce. Both of our CC are chip readers :( Both CC providers say it shouldn't be a problem. I just want to avoid the dilemma

we had in Israel/Jordan a few years ago when the travel company's literature told us to bring traveler's checks then we found that merchants would not accept them now would the few banks that we encountered. We did finally figure out a way to use our CC when one of us remembered that we did have a PIN associated so we could use an ATM.

I don't know what a "chip reader" is. Either you have PIN and chip, chip and signature, or less likely, a standard signature card.

No need to bring traveler's checks. They are dinosaurs. A couple of very limited uses any more.

If you use your credit card in an ATM, that usually means you are getting a cash advance, which comes with hefty fees.

After posting, I called my banks and credit card companies and found that, as YOU said, if I used my credit cards, they would be considered cash advances with hefty fees but my banks that I have debit cards [that I never use for purchases, that I can use the ATM and get cash with only a service fee of from $1 - 5 depending on which account I use.

Thanks for your help.

For credit card use, make sure you use a card with no foreign transaction fees.

For cash, I use my debit card and ATMs. Most ATMs outside the US do not charge any fees for usage. I normally just hit an ATM in the airport when arriving. But DO know the exchange rate. :) I use the XE app on my phone. It has current rates, and has a conversion calculator that you can put in one currency amount, and it converts to one or several others.

Most places have no issue with a chip and signature card, but in the Netherlands (Amsterdam), I have had issues with not having a chip and PIN card.

If you take cash and convert it, you will be paying for the service, and maybe paying A LOT.

Oh, and one trick, when leaving a country, if you are staying in a hotel that last night, put any excess cash towards your hotel bill rather than pay to exchange it later.

The only places I have found that will take non-local currency on a regular basis are shops at the airport.