Foreign exchange on board

[karenbeanpole]

Please can anyone tell me if changing foreign currency on board gives a good rate in comparison to changing at home (UK for me). Not sure whether to arm myself with all kinds of foreign money before leaving or just change the day before I get into port on the ship. I don't really want to be ripped off!

[aquilegia]

You're not going to get a good rate on the ship. But I wouldn't change a lot of money before you go anyway. The best way to do it is to use an ATM when you reach the port.

[John Bull]

Changing money on the ship is probably the worst rate you'll get. Regardless of cruise-line.

 

I usually change before I go, at the best rate I can get amongst the usual suspects - bank, post office, high st bureaux, M&S, Tesco, on-line.

I also take back-up sterling.

 

I have an aversion to ATMs, I worry that I'll be in deep do-dos if the machine doesn't work or esp if it eats my card. :rolleyes:

Some cards such as Capital One are preferred amongst cruisers because of low/nil exchange charges.

 

BTW, when settling your on-board account, ensure that the ship charges your card in ship's currency - don't agree to them converting the charge to sterling "for your convenience". Your card company will give you a much better exchange rate than the ship. :)

 

And if you're planning to use the ship's casino (the only place on-board that you'll need cash) take USD cash with you for that purpose. Also take a huge empty suitcase to carry off your winnings in USD :D

 

John Bull :)

[paul929207]

On Princess the exchange rate is horrible.

[maryann ns]

ATMs are the way to go.

[Gloria Mundi]

I've never had a foreign ATM eat my card, although I didn't go through the right protocol to tell them I was traveling when I opened a new bank account and my ATM card wouldn't work on a 2-week trip to Spain and Switzerland. I was further confused by the message I'd get that I was using the wring PIN. Customer service by phone offered to send me a new PIN via Fedex- for $30. (I suspect that was the rate within the US and it would have been more to send it to Spain.) I refused, and we survived on credit cards, converting the cash we had on us, and money in my husband's account. We got home, the PIN was exactly what I thought it was, it worked just fine.

 

Bottom line: let your bank know you'll be visiting foreign countries if you think that might be a problem. We've also had a Visa "locked" in Russia.

[Talisker92]

Before I go on a foreign trip I call my bank's foreign exchange dept and order the currencies I need. They only charge $6 to messenger it to my local branch. I also found that with one of my banks I have to tell them before each trip to unblock my card. It is only good for 90 days.

[karenbeanpole]

I used to get cash in foreign countries from the local ATM which used to be free and we never got charged. Now our bank is charging a large amount of money for each transaction we make at foreign ATM. Makes it more expensive than commission charges. Having said that it might still be worth just getting the small amount of cash we need at each port. Can't really guess how much to change beforehand, so the other day we had to change money onboard the ship and didn't really know how it compared with outside the ship. Just want to plan better next time.