What currency?

[butweam]

We are going on RC Legend of Seas, starting in Tokyo, calling at

Aomori, Japan

Otaru, Japan,

Vladivostok, Russia

Busan, S Korea

Jeju, S Korea

Finishing in Shanghai.

 

Will Dollars be acceptable at all of these ports or will we need to get all the different currencies? Be grateful for any advice.

 

Thanks

[CtheW0rld]

for japan and china, local currency. i haven't been to the others, so i can't say.

[Bufrenee]

For Japan, gtey some Yen before you leave,only ATM,s that take foreign cards are at the post offices which are difficult to find. You don;t need much because you can use credit cards for large purchases or expensive meals. In Vladivostok, you will need some rubles for drinks etc. while walking around. In Korea and China, use the ATM< which are all over the place and easy to use as long as they have the cirrus or interact logos.

[jannandjohn]

Aomori, Japan

Otaru, Japan,

Vladivostok, Russia

Busan, S Korea

Jeju, S Korea

Finishing in Shanghai.

Will Dollars be acceptable at all of these ports .

would their money be acceptable in a store in the US??;)

I don't think so...

[dannyr]

would their money be acceptable in a store in the US??;)

I don't think so...

 

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

 

I have recently returned from a trip on the Diamond Princess and one think that irked me on end was them having to specify that US Dollars would or would not be accepted in foreign ports.

 

People - it's very simple. When you're not in the USA, please do not use US dollars. When you're not in Europe, don't use the Euro. When you're not in Australia, don't use the Australian Dollar.

 

Sure, the money you bring from home may be accepted by some tourist friendly areas, but you (and the group of people behind you trying to shop using local currency) will suffer because they will jack up the prices knowing they have to transfer the cash you've given them to local dollars/dong/etc before they can use it.

 

It's absolutely disrespectful for you to go to a foreign country and expect or assume that your local currency will be accepted there.

 

When you go to Japan, you need Yen

When you go to Thailand you need Baht

When you go to Vietnam, you need Dong

 

PLEASE SPEND LOCAL CURRENCY AND NOT YOUR OWN

 

/rant over

[Keith1010]

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

 

I have recently returned from a trip on the Diamond Princess and one think that irked me on end was them having to specify that US Dollars would or would not be accepted in foreign ports.

 

People - it's very simple. When you're not in the USA, please do not use US dollars. When you're not in Europe, don't use the Euro. When you're not in Australia, don't use the Australian Dollar.

 

Sure, the money you bring from home may be accepted by some tourist friendly areas, but you (and the group of people behind you trying to shop using local currency) will suffer because they will jack up the prices knowing they have to transfer the cash you've given them to local dollars/dong/etc before they can use it.

 

It's absolutely disrespectful for you to go to a foreign country and expect or assume that your local currency will be accepted there.

 

When you go to Japan, you need Yen

When you go to Thailand you need Baht

When you go to Vietnam, you need Dong

 

PLEASE SPEND LOCAL CURRENCY AND NOT YOUR OWN

 

/rant over

 

Just a correction.

 

When you are in Vietnam we found that the USA dollars were readily accepted in most places and used them rather than to convert the currency.

 

There are indeed many places around the world where other currency is accepted other than just the local currency while in other places such as Japan only the local currency is accepted.

 

Keith

[PaulMCO]

Just a correction.

 

When you are in Vietnam we found that the USA dollars were readily accepted in most places and used them rather than to convert the currency.

 

There are indeed many places around the world where other currency is accepted other than just the local currency while in other places such as Japan only the local currency is accepted.

 

Keith

 

Places where their is so called soft currencies will gladly (and prefer) accept USD. This means Vietnam and Burma (as well tourist locations in Indonesia)

[dannyr]

Just a correction.

 

When you are in Vietnam we found that the USA dollars were readily accepted in most places and used them rather than to convert the currency.

 

There are indeed many places around the world where other currency is accepted other than just the local currency while in other places such as Japan only the local currency is accepted.

 

Keith

 

Sure, they're widely accepted in tourist areas, but why do you think that is? It's not because the Vietnamese or Indonesian think "let's help the cruise passengers by accepting whatever money it is they want to spend", it's because of the ignorance and arrogance of people not wanting to spend local money.

 

Also, if you do the math you're doing yourself a discredit by using the US dollar. Do you not think that you're losing money by using the USD because the shop holder will need to go and convert the money themselves?

 

Sure, over a day you might lose the equivilent of $5USD, but it's still $5USD.

 

Places where their is so called soft currencies will gladly (and prefer) accept USD. This means Vietnam and Burma (as well tourist locations in Indonesia)

 

As above

 

Also, tell me, why do you travel? For me, travelling overseas is about getting into another country and culture. I want to eat where and how the locals eat. I want to swim where and how the locals swim. I want to shop where and how the locals shop. and you know how they shop? Using local currency.

 

If you want to see more like an adventurer and someone who cares about seeing the world, and less of a "Tourist from a cruise ship", I encourage you to please PLEASE spend local money when you visit countries.

[Keith1010]

Sure, they're widely accepted in tourist areas, but why do you think that is? It's not because the Vietnamese or Indonesian think "let's help the cruise passengers by accepting whatever money it is they want to spend", it's because of the ignorance and arrogance of people not wanting to spend local money.

 

Also, if you do the math you're doing yourself a discredit by using the US dollar. Do you not think that you're losing money by using the USD because the shop holder will need to go and convert the money themselves?

 

Sure, over a day you might lose the equivilent of $5USD, but it's still $5USD.

 

 

 

As above

 

Also, tell me, why do you travel? For me, travelling overseas is about getting into another country and culture. I want to eat where and how the locals eat. I want to swim where and how the locals swim. I want to shop where and how the locals shop. and you know how they shop? Using local currency.

 

If you want to see more like an adventurer and someone who cares about seeing the world, and less of a "Tourist from a cruise ship", I encourage you to please PLEASE spend local money when you visit countries.

 

My point is that this all ranges by country.

 

When we make large purchases we use credit cards where we get the optimal exchange rate (eg., Capital One).

 

In some countries that take USA dollars where we are making small purchases such as Vietnam and Egypt just to name a few we do not convert money because in the scheme of things it all nets out and we don't have to worry about having left over currency from that country to deal with.

 

This is one of these items where it is not black and white and it truly ranges by country and also based on the amount of money you are spending.

 

Keith

[paul929207]

Sure, they're widely accepted in tourist areas, but why do you think that is? It's not because the Vietnamese or Indonesian think "let's help the cruise passengers by accepting whatever money it is they want to spend", it's because of the ignorance and arrogance of people not wanting to spend local money.

 

Also, if you do the math you're doing yourself a discredit by using the US dollar. Do you not think that you're losing money by using the USD because the shop holder will need to go and convert the money themselves?

 

Sure, over a day you might lose the equivilent of $5USD, but it's still $5USD.

 

 

 

As above

 

Also, tell me, why do you travel? For me, travelling overseas is about getting into another country and culture. I want to eat where and how the locals eat. I want to swim where and how the locals swim. I want to shop where and how the locals shop. and you know how they shop? Using local currency.

 

If you want to see more like an adventurer and someone who cares about seeing the world, and less of a "Tourist from a cruise ship", I encourage you to please PLEASE spend local money when you visit countries.

I agree that using US$ in shops will usually get me a lower exchange rate than I could get from an ATM or a bank. However, I only use the number of dollars I need to. When I go to an ATM or bank, I have to guess how much to exchange. Then, I am almost always stuck with some foriegn currency or I buy something I don't want just to get rid of it.