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Effect of the Argentinian Economic Crisis on Cruises?


Smokeyham
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Does anyone know if the Argentinian economic crisis has had any effect on cruising to/visiting that country?
I have followed this closely since we have a December cruise out of Buenos Aires. The Argentinians are suffering with a high inflation rate and depreciating currency. However yesterday may have reached the turning point when the Argentine peso hit 41 to the dollar. This morning it is 38 to the dollar. But one day doesn't make a trend.

 

The teachers are striking and others but strikes are common in Argentina. Hope it is resolved soon and they can turn the economy around.

 

We look forward to inexpensive steak dinners and enjoying the beautiful country of Argentina.

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Hopefully things will settle down a bit before December, but I would definitely take a good amount of US dollars in different denominations as you may not get much out of the ATM's in Argentina, if things remain as they are. They should accept a foreign credit card for payments but smaller places sometimes only take cash. Last time they imposed money restrictions, Argentinians with Uruguay bank accounts came over every weekend and emptied all our ATM's. We had trouble finding any with money in on the weekends.

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When we went in late 2016 the currency was fairly stable...still I could not find a working ATM that would accept my US card.

 

I finally had to use USD cash at the local bank branch in the airport to get the amount of Argentinian Pesos that I wanted.

 

Likely things are no better now.

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We'll be there in Jan/Feb with USD in hand, The Dollar should be king. Some might wish to exchange on the black market, but be careful for a number of reasons. Hotels, airport private transfers, well known tango dinner shows and other businesses price in $ today. From experience I'd guess shop keepers would love to get $ vs. pesos.

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When we went in late 2016 the currency was fairly stable...still I could not find a working ATM that would accept my US card.

 

I finally had to use USD cash at the local bank branch in the airport to get the amount of Argentinian Pesos that I wanted.

 

Likely things are no better now.

 

We cannot use our US debit cards here either. Despite repeated calls to the Bank who insist the card isn't blocked, they do not work. We mostly use our Canadian credit cards, which always work or use the money we have in BROU the state bank for transactions where they won't accept out of country cards. If you are desperate, it is worth going into a private bank down here like Scotia or Santander and trying to get a cash advance on your US card. Sometimes they can make it work inside the Bank. Our Banks are only open from 1.00 - 5.00 pm but I believe Buenos Aires banks open from 10.00 - 3.00 pm.

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Does anyone know if the Argentinian economic crisis has had any effect on cruising to/visiting that country?

 

Thanks for the heads up....I hadn’t been paying attention to Argentina’s situation. And, this is coming from an ex-international banker who well remembers the Latin debt crisis about thirty years ago. We will definitely pack some extra dollars.

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Since the USD Ratio was so good - I tried getting a small amount of AR Pesos from 2 different banks last Thursday - with no luck.

 

Both (major) Banks said Argentina was not on the list - but they had thought it was before.

 

Any thoughts on trying to exchange some money before going to get a better rate - OR or just use Credit cards and US dollars while there??

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Since the USD Ratio was so good - I tried getting a small amount of AR Pesos from 2 different banks last Thursday - with no luck.

 

Both (major) Banks said Argentina was not on the list - but they had thought it was before.

 

Any thoughts on trying to exchange some money before going to get a better rate - OR or just use Credit cards and US dollars while there??

 

Well, the trend hasn’t been on the side of a strengthening of the ARS:

 

https://www.exchange-rates.org/history/ARS/USD/

 

The moves last week were ginormous for a currency....probably why your banks were not selling them.

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Since the USD Ratio was so good - I tried getting a small amount of AR Pesos from 2 different banks last Thursday - with no luck.

 

Both (major) Banks said Argentina was not on the list - but they had thought it was before.

 

Any thoughts on trying to exchange some money before going to get a better rate - OR or just use Credit cards and US dollars while there??

 

I’m not so sure unavailability of AR Pesos is that new. I could only get them at Travelex or Chase in February 2017. Chase no longer had them by the following year.

 

I just checked the local website for CXI and they carry them. You have to pre-order. If there is one near you you might want to check with them closer to your trip.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Thanks for the heads up....I hadn’t been paying attention to Argentina’s situation. And, this is coming from an ex-international banker who well remembers the Latin debt crisis about thirty years ago. We will definitely pack some extra dollars.

 

Are you saying to bring $$ rather than pesos, exchanged in your local bank in the US?

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Are you saying to bring $$ rather than pesos, exchanged in your local bank in the US?

 

Yes. We usually use ATM’s to get local currency, once in the country, but if things get messy I won’t count on it. Do you remember the run on ATMs in Greece a few years ago, during its banking crisis? Just to be safe, we’ll bring more US dollars than usual for a foreign trip.

 

I never get currency from US banks prior to a trip, due to horrible exchange rates/fees.

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I have been reading about the problems of getting Argentine pesos from ATM's and thinking about getting some pesos before we leave just in case. CXI's exchange rates are not too bad. All the tours we are going on are priced in US dollars, so that's not a problem. We are staying over in BA for 5 days in a apartment after the cruise and I'm wondering about local shopping( groceries, cabs, etc )and if they will take credit cards like at home.

Any thoughts or experiences?

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I’m assuming if ATM’s won’t spit out currency...USD will be golden. Also trusting the hotel concierge will have ideas.

 

When we went to Nicaragua on a land trip, there were no ATM’s. Currency was obtained by giving dollars to a bellboy, who called a street kid over to run to the “corner street exchange”..and I mean it was literally on the street. :D Xrate was reasonable. And, the young street kid would make a few bucks.

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If you are arriving in BA via air there is a branch bank at the airport (EZE) that does US>ARS conversion at a very good rate.

 

As you exit Baggage Claim make a hard right turn into the hallway that leads to the bank.

 

There may be a line...this is a popular spot. I was in line about 45 minutes. Once I got to the window everything was very business like and the exchange went quickly. As I remember I needed my passport and the US$$ that I wanted to exchange.

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  • 1 month later...

Just saw this from folk visiting Buenos Aires . Thought it might be of interest.

 

Having just come back from a long weekend in Buenas Aires, I have three things to share with others  planning a future trip to BA.

1. Very few places accept credit cards, just cash or debit cards which was a pain as my Uruguayan debit card is not international. I wonder if this is a symptom of economic problems.
Many restaurants give a discount for cash.

2. Changing USD for pesos was also a pain. Most banks will only change money if you are a client, so we tried the National Bank, but gave up too bored to wait 1 hr++ to be served. You also need ID, forms to fill in, contact details, copies of your grannie' s swimming certificates, etc. We asked a few locals who pointed us to an unmarked office that looked like a pawn shop where we were able to change money, no questions asked, no receipts, no worries. Moral of the story buy some Arg pesos before you come.

3. Cell phone chips. Although several shops & kiosks sell SIM cards foreigners can only buy them at official tiendas like Movistar or Claro. We had to do this because our Antel prepaid chips don't work in Argentina. Again you have to provide ID, etc.

Apart from all that BA is a great city to be a tourist and very cheap at the moment because of the devalued currency.

 

Someone else pointed out that small grocery stores, restaurants and bars will usually accept USD and give pesos as change.

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2 hours ago, Trend said:

Did restaurants not accept credit cards or shops for larger items not souvenirs.

  If I hear more I will post here.  My advice would be before you sit down in a restaurant, check they will accept your credit card or USD !!

Edited by Lunenburg
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I have been told by a family member who lives in Buenos Aries for almost 5 years now – that he has never exchanged money in a bank – always in Casa De Cambios  for the best rate.. Especially if they are large bills.  (Bring only new untorn/unfolded bills)

Right now it is around 40  - So  $100.00 USD would equal 4,000 AR Pesos

Here is a Trip advisor post from this year basically saying the same…...  https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g312741-i979-k11258410-Casas_de_cambio-Buenos_Aires_Capital_Federal_District.html

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