Changing $$ into Euros

[shoesonfire]

Traveling on a cruise to Mediterranean, booking private tours which require payment at end of tour in Euros, we prefer not to carry large amount of Euros, like to use credit card on ship and land. We know cruise ships will make $$'s to Euros exchange, but not best exchange rate, what other options are there, is there such a thing as Euro traveler checks??? Are they convenient?? Where to get best rate for Euro when docked and on land? Thanks

[paul929207]

I use my ATM card to get Euros.

[Karysa]

Traveling on a cruise to Mediterranean, booking private tours which require payment at end of tour in Euros, we prefer not to carry large amount of Euros, like to use credit card on ship and land. We know cruise ships will make $$'s to Euros exchange, but not best exchange rate, what other options are there, is there such a thing as Euro traveler checks??? Are they convenient?? Where to get best rate for Euro when docked and on land? Thanks

 

 

We generally like to use credit cards instead of cash as well but found the exchange rate and surcharge to be very expensive with this practice on our European vacation and cruise last summer. In respect to traveller's cheques, even at the O'Hare airport last week they charged a $3 fee to cash a $50 American Express traveller's cheque but since we had run out of cash because of our flight being cancelled for 2 days I gave in and cashed it. Does anyone know if using ATMS for cash while in Europe is the better way?

[smeyer418]

We generally like to use credit cards instead of cash as well but found the exchange rate and surcharge to be very expensive with this practice on our European vacation and cruise last summer. In respect to traveller's cheques, even at the O'Hare airport last week they charged a $3 fee to cash a $50 American Express traveller's cheque but since we had run out of cash because of our flight being cancelled for 2 days I gave in and cashed it. Does anyone know if using ATMS for cash while in Europe is the better way?

 

 

In general using an ATM machine that takes money directly from your banking accounts is the least expensive way to change dollars into Euros(or for that matter any other currency). But you need to check with your bank. You mostly get the wholesale rate for exchange but most banks are charging 1-3% as a fee above that. Still with the wholesale rate you will do better than any money exchange and much better than the cruise line. Be careful if you use your credit card to take out money from the ATM- those are charged as cash advances which in most cases means a hefty fee up front and interest changes immediately.

When charging on a credit card other than at the ATM's try to have a credit card which charges no fee for the money exchange such as Capital one...

 

btw a $3 charge on a fifty dollar travelers cheque is a a 6% charge plus any charge that was embedded in the exchange rate...

[Karysa]

In general using an ATM machine that takes money directly from your banking accounts is the least expensive way to change dollars into Euros. But you need to check with your bank. You mostly get the wholesale rate for exchange but most banks are charging 1-3% as a fee above that. Still with the wholesale rate you will do better than any money exchange and much better than the cruise line. Be careful if you use your credit card to take out money from the ATM- those are charged as cash advances which in most cases means a hefty fee up front and interest changes immediately.

When charging on a credit card try to have a credit card which charges no fee such as Capital one...

 

Thank you. We never gave this much thought until our credit card bill came in. I will definitely be more careful On our upcoming Spain trip.

[calliopecruiser]

I agree: Getting local currency in Europe is best done with your bank card and a local ATM. Be sure to forewarn your bank that you'll be doing this, though, so your cards aren't refused. Sometimes, you'll even find local ATMs that don't charge you a service fee for withdrawals too - it depends on the location and the bank.

[SadieN]

In Rome last month the ATM I used the most suddenly said my card wasn't good. Called the company and they said it was probably the machine either couldn't get a satellite connection or didn't have enough Euros.

 

Went to another machine - problem solved.

[RoofingPrincess]

I use my ATM card to get Euros.

Me too.

You do have to be aware of any fees your bank may charge for foreign transactions, though. My Capital One Bank ATM card doesn't have any, so this makes using the ATM an extremely cost-effective choice for me.

[jdvmd]

We always order Euros ahead of time through Wells Fargo. If we need to supplement, we go to a local ATM. Too many times I have seen the ATM satellite connection time out. Don't want to be stuck without any cash.

[chipmaster]

As others have noted ATM offer the best rate but are limited in many places by both your own bank and the local ATM on how much you can withdraw.

 

As you noted ship and other exchange places are highway robbery.

 

Check with your private vendors and see if travels cheques are accepted. I know some take them, many prefer good ole cash...

 

I struggled with this on our trip between hassle and worry of carying cash from US, best exchange rate, and valuable port time to find ATMs.

 

Remember your time in port will be valuable, you want to spend it finding ATMs to withdraw euros, want to suck 10-40% total cost for ship board cash exchange? In the end we decided to exchange almost 10,000 USD at home and carry to Europe ( 4 ports private tours for 15 people :eek::D ) Beside the 1" like stack of bills in my body wallet while traveling, worked out find. Some time pennywise is pound foolish, you won't want to waste time, yet also don't throw away money, but also don't want to be save to saving a few dollars when you already spent thousands on dragging down a good experience

 

Happy touring

 

Traveling on a cruise to Mediterranean, booking private tours which require payment at end of tour in Euros, we prefer not to carry large amount of Euros, like to use credit card on ship and land. We know cruise ships will make $$'s to Euros exchange, but not best exchange rate, what other options are there, is there such a thing as Euro traveler checks??? Are they convenient?? Where to get best rate for Euro when docked and on land? Thanks

[Hoyaheel]

We had plenty of time on our Black Sea cruise in September to get currency at ATMs in port (important since only a couple ports actually accept euros....) We also use a Cap One ATM for our money market acct (which happens, conveniently, to be our vacation savings account:p)

 

We had USD in our safe as backup if we had ATM issues and needed cash to exchange, but never needed to use them.

 

ATMs are also what I use when travelling for work internationally, since I can't use my corporate Visa in a lot of places ;)

[navybankerteacher]

ATM's are virtually everywhere in Europe, and offer best exchange rate if you use debit card (not credit card). Many US banks/brokerage firms with cash management accounts will reimburse any fees. Bringing large amounts of Euro's means expensive exchange rates, exposes you to risk of loss, and can leave you with a lot left over -- to exchange back; while using ATM's limits all these negatives.

[shoesonfire]

Thank you all -- this is what makes cruise critic forums so great -- wonderful, first hand advice. ATM seem to be the way to go, I'll be researching their locations in the major cities we'll be visiting. Thanks Everyone!

[Putterdude]

While Travelers Checks are becoming a bit passé, they are nonetheless quite available in Euros and cashable at your ship's passenger services desk.

[Seago2]

When I travel abroad I always use ATM's to get the best rate (and I eat the fees- not worth worrying about:cool:). If you are concerned that you may lose or have stolen your ATM card, set up a separate account before you go.

[Hoyaheel]

Also - if you do need a large chunk of money at once (eg to pay for a tour with a lot of people or for an apartment rental [personal experience]) try to make sure a travel companion has an ATM card and a different account - eg my husband takes his ATM card and I take mine and we have different bank accounts, so we can access twice the daily withdrawal limit.

 

Also comes in handy in case a card is lost, stolen or declined - you have backup;)

 

I guess we have redundancy in our systems, but I'd rather plan for failure than fail to plan, I suppose:o

[zephyrgirl]

I agree ATM is the way to go and second the suggestion of having a back up ATM card from another account in case there is a problem or you have a card lost/stolen. Even at ports where time was crunched we had no problem locating an ATM and getting Euros for the tour guide, ATMS really are everywhere in the major cities.