Best Place to exchange to local currency in Halong Bay, Laem Chabang & Singapore

Looking for the best places to exchange dollars to local currency in or near the cruise ports in

Halong Bay, Vietnam

Laem Chabang, Thailand

Marina Bay Cruise Centre, Singapore

We are Canadians but assume that they may not exchange Canadian dollars and we will need US dollars. Advice from previous cruisers to these ports would be muchly appreciated.

Thanks

Betty

Just saw this on another post for the Marina Bay Cruise Centre in Singapore

https://mbccs.com.sg/shops-services-2

We always use ATMs to get local currency and had no problem doing so throughout our Asia cruise.

We always use ATMs to get local currency and had no problem doing so throughout our Asia cruise.

Thanks. A bit of research showed me there are ATMs as well as a currency exchange bank at the Singapore cruise terminal. Are there ATMs also right inside all other cruise terminals in Vietnam and Thailand?

Betty

Thanks. A bit of research showed me there are ATMs as well as a currency exchange bank at the Singapore cruise terminal. Are there ATMs also right inside all other cruise terminals in Vietnam and Thailand?

 

Betty

There are no ATMs in the cruise terminals in Vietnam as the ships mainly tie up at industrial ports with no or very few facilities.

In Halong Bay city you will find ATMs that you can use but if it was me, I would bring along some clean, good condition Canadian dollars and change a little for Vietnamese currency as you go along. Not hard to find money changers and they will accept a lot of the more common currencies so no real need to convert to US.

Really same would apply for Thailand although some of the cruise terminals are more developed so you may find the occasional ATM nearby - but certainly again, money changers everywhere.

When I was in Halong Bay, merchants preferred U.S. greenbacks. Same same in Saigon and in Da Nang/An Hoi. I never changed a penny.

At a Halon Bay souvenir shop I bought something that wasn't expensive. I only had a $100 bill. No problem. The shop keeper went around to get the change in U.S.

When we were on the Millennium ,the ship had Viet Nam dong. We also took a lot of US$1 and US$5 for local souvenirs and bargained the price in US$. We also used ATM's for local currency without any problems. We had enough Thai Baht from a previous visit so we didn't have to exchange any money. We also used US$ for local souvenirs and gave our tour guide their tips using US$ in Thailand without any problem..

We started the cruise in Singapore so I used the ATM at the airport and used a credit card for the hotel. You will need Singapore $, the vendors and shops would not accept US$.

In Vietnam, USD is the preferred currency of vendors. Best to take small denominations with you as normally they will give you change in Vietnamese currency. Also be careful giving your spare dong (Vietnamese currency) to beggers as other beggers will steal it from them if they can. Fights often break out.