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How much money do you bring?


upintheairwife

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I would avoid using a credit card in shops and restaurants as much as possible. First of all, you might be charged foreign transaction fees that can really add up, and second it's an invitation for fraud in many parts of the world--the Bahamas and Caribbean in particular. Of course if you plan on making an expensive jewelry purchase in an upscale shop it would be wise to use the card to offer you purchase protection, but otherwise, keep the card in the safe.

 

I have never had any issues with credit card fraud from using it outside of the country; even if I had I would have noticed it and the credit card companies would have handled it. As long as it's not your debit card then it's not going to do much damage.

 

We take about $100-200 in cash, the rest is spent via credit card. We only use cash for things we can't use credit on (such as taxis and small trinkets).

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:D Welcome to the world of cruising. Since you have already prepaid the tips, any additonal is optional. I am not sure of Carnival, but envelopes are usually available at the Front Desk. We always extra tip our room steward, waiter and have ones available for room service. If you are doing excursions offered by the ship, you should be able to view them online and know how much they cost. In foreign countries we tend only to carry about $100 cash, and never use our credit cards there. Also we make sure it is in smaller bills 10's and less. It really depends on what YOU want to buy, it is hard to tell someone how much money to take with them on vacation. Drinks on board are standard bar prices, photos can add up quickily. As "idraconis" said $500, I would probably go with $100 day in ports, but again that depends on you. If you leave your "end of cruise bill"on your credit card, then you dont have to worry about having enough cash to pay the "end of cruise bill" for drinks, photos etc on the ship. Only take money for souvineers, taxis, or a bite to eat if you are adventureous. Have a great cruise!! :D

Hi,

 

I'm new to cruising with our first cruise being a RCCL cruise in the Med in May 2013.

As I have prepaid my tips I wasn't expecting to need any USD at all - simply settle my bill at the end on plastic. I'm now wondering about room service. It sounds as though you guys are tipping separately for that.

I thought the only cash I would need to get was Euro's for shore excursions. Speaking of which what are peoples views of cruise excursions v on-line excursions as far as content + quality goes.

 

thanks,

Gary

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Today with debit cards you don't need cash ..

 

Except when you find someone that doesn't take cards.... like your room service person that should be tipped, the small vendors in other countries selling souveniers and food/drink vendors, and taxis.

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Except when you find someone that doesn't take cards.... like your room service person that should be tipped, the small vendors in other countries selling souveniers and food/drink vendors, and taxis.

thanks for that - I will arrange to have at least $20 in $1's then.

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We take about $2000 along with a credit card carried by both of us. We never spend it all, but my husbands feels a little bit more secure if he has cash on hand.

 

Happy cruising :)

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We take about $2000 along with a credit card carried by both of us. We never spend it all, but my husbands feels a little bit more secure if he has cash on hand.

 

Happy cruising :)

I also bring more cash than I will need.

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thanks for that - I will arrange to have at least $20 in $1's then.

 

 

we take 50. in 1's

 

not only do we use it for room service tips-- but the porters when gettting on and off the ship.

PLUS those vendors in the ports that have really cute soverniers-- who do not have change for a 5.00 in american $4

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  • 4 months later...

Almost every service on the islands wants a tip. We had conch salad at Señor Frogs, made in front of us at a rolling portable setup, the guy opens the conch, takes out the meat and makes the salad right there. Tip him and he'll clean the conch shell for you and you have a 35 dollar souvenir to take home. Declare it though, I heard from a couple of people that because it's a shell I might have an issue. I declared the 2 we got, and had no problem.

 

We tipped 20 bucks for an all day speedboat/snorkel/swim/lunch/sightseeing excursion that cost 99/head and easily was worth double.

 

I just wanted to thank you for the advice. It is very helpful as we are heading on our first extensive Caribbean cruise!

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$500 cash Plus a debit card ..

 

Nassau is not cashless

 

If you are going to have a beach day on a Cruise Lines private island, it will be cashless except for the small marketplace they usually have, so take a few dollars in case you want to shop for souvenirs

 

We carry about $200.00 each in small bills for cabs & tips etc at all times

 

DO NOT use a Debit Card - if a debit card gets "hacked"/fraudulently used you have no recourse - same as cash

 

With a Credit Card you are able to dispute any fraudulent charges up to 60 days after the charge is made

 

In the Caribbean, the US currency is fine and you will receive your change in USD

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Hi,

I'm new to cruising with our first cruise being a RCCL cruise in the Med in May 2013.

As I have prepaid my tips I wasn't expecting to need any USD at all - simply settle my bill at the end on plastic. I'm now wondering about room service. It sounds as though you guys are tipping separately for that.

I thought the only cash I would need to get was Euro's for shore excursions. Speaking of which what are peoples views of cruise excursions v on-line excursions as far as content + quality goes.

thanks

Gary

 

Hi Gary,

Yes, bring some small change for tips. It is considered sporting to tip for room service. Even if you have prepaid your tip, you may want to tip extra for those who have shown extra service for you.

Also you need to tip the porter who takes care of your baggages at the port of boarding (they are not the ship personnel).

 

Remember to tip the tour guide and driver as well on your shore excursions.

 

You can use US dollars or Euro for this.

 

For more info about tipping, read http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?id=132

 

Re shore excursions, read http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=254

 

Hope this answer your questions.

 

Enjoy your cruise! You'll love it.

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Bring a stack of one dollar bills. During your cruise, you will likely have many opportunities

to provide them to locals.

 

NOTE: USE THE SAFE IN YOUR CABIN.

 

Every cabin has their own safe. Store all excess money, passports, other valuables,

in it.

 

Only carry the amount of money, you need for that particular day.

 

This is important, IMO.

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For a 14 day cruise with most excursions prepaid, we would bring about $800 to $1000 for spending, extra tips and alike. In addition we carry $500 in AMEX travelers checks which can be cashed at the Passenger Services Desk if we start to run short.

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Everyone has done a good job of answering, but I want to support the "unexpected emergency" argument for bringing more than a few bucks on board. If you happen to encounter a medical emergency or get stuck out in East Nowhere when you miss your tour ride, having a few hundred bucks to grease local processes or get home is helpful. I would never set foot outside the continental U.S. with less than $1,000 in cash, and I carry enough credit cards to buy Lithuania. In 30 years, I've only had to use dead presidents to get me out of a jamb overseas once or twice, but once or twice is enough.

 

I appreciate that currency is obsolete; I use a debit card just like everyone else. But in the developing world, bank notes make everyone friendlier.

 

As an aside, I don't tip extravagantly on board because I don't make extraordinary demands on the staff. If you expect the porter to wipe your backside when you use the head, bring lots of tip money. If cleaning the cabin and putting out clean bath linens is all you expect, then adding $5 or so a day to the suggested amount is plenty. If you are a total slob and the porter has to bebuild the room every time you leave it, pay him or her for the work. Better yet, learn to pick up after yourself.

 

Which brings up the "staff on board are people too" counsel. Just because a bar man or a server or a porter may have a little trouble with English doesn't make them part of the decor. Treat everyone civilly on board and you will get lots of service. Act like the back side of a barnyard animal and you'll get the treatment you deserve.

 

Cheers.

 

Dr. J

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We have our bank card on file with the ship. Charges for sail and sign go on our bank card. ( pictures, dod, shore excursions, and whatever we get on board. I don't use cash to pay off sail and sign).

 

I bring $1 per bag for the porters and room service (so I'll do about $20-25 in ones).

 

Then set a budget for ports.

 

So we don't bring lots of cash and we only bring what we want to spend off the ship to port. Mainly for a cab or something.

 

I also carry my credit card and debit card, and most stuff goes on there-jewelry, camera lens, rum. (most places take bank/credit cards...visa anyway). I'm protected if it's stolen. If cash is lost/stolen I'm sol.

 

This trip, well, I have no need for anything from the ports, been there, still have my tee shirts and deck of cards. We're planning on spending a lot less this trip. I don't need a lens or rum or jewelry. I may get the kid a teeshirt or dress.

 

It's all about what you can afford and what you want to spend.

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I budget $75 per port. That is enough for souvenirs and food ashore as well as tipping tour guides and left overs are for the port where I might make a larger purchase. I make sure that I have at least one twenty broken down into 3-$5 and $5-1 so any purchase is paid with minimal 'change" . I am budgeting for one person.

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We usually do $200 each for Caribbean cruises plus credit cards (Capital One has no foreign fees) for emergencies. When we go overseas we usually bring a little more cash and still rely on a few credit cards. We leave the debit cards at home as my husband has experienced what can happen when it is used fraudently and it was not a pleasant experience.

 

When we go onshore we usually have $100 per port and rarely use it all.

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  • 1 month later...

As everyone else has said, it all depends on what kind of spenders you are. This is our first cruise and we have about $1,000 saved in cash and then we are taking our credit card for everything else. We are getting a majority of our cash made in to smaller bills so we can tip and have small bills to take in to the ports with us. Just look and think about some things that you are interested in doing...and take it from there!

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First ask yourself how much cash you would get upset about possibly having lost or stolen.

 

It is probably not a very large amount.

 

Next, ask yourself how much cash you would consider a major loss that you would really get very upset about should it be lost or stolen.

 

The amount of cash to bring along should be less than the second answer.

 

You can get additional money at a bank or ATM if needed, so there is no good reason to risk carrying around very large amounts of cash.

 

Shipboard expenses (including spa treatments, beverages, specialty restaurants, all onboard store purchases and the ship's shore excursions) go on your shipboard account, which most passengers do not pay for until after returning home.

 

When traveling internationally, use a credit card that does not charge for foreign currency conversion.

 

We traveled with a guy who told us how he was on a cruise where he got mugged in port and they stole his money belt that had thousands of dollars in it. It ruined his entire vacation, made him paranoid, and he has been warning people ever since not to do anything so foolish.

 

His friend who was also robbed was only carrying $15 and a credit card, so he lost only $15.

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fleckle is right-on... you don't need ANY cash at all. I went on a cruise with $0 and didn't need any money whatsoever.

 

You shouldn't feel ANY obligation to pay extra money in tips. The cruiseline is already DEMANDING that you pay tips, and they charge it to your onboard account. You absolutely do NOT NEED TO PAY an additional money on top of that! It does not make you a better person to pay even more tips in addition to the ones the cruise line is already forcing you to pay.

 

Tips are for exceptional service.

 

If you received EXCEPTIONAL service, then you can allow the cruiseline to charge your account. (They will charge you, anyway.) If you received AVERAGE service, then you should refuse to pay a tip.

 

Plain and simple: You DO NOT OWE A TIP. You paid for the cruise, and you paid in full. Every employee on the cruise has already been paid to serve you well, and you do not owe them anything above and beyond the mandatory tip that the cruiseline is already forcing you to pay.

 

If a cruise employee wipes your rear end, or some other such feat which is far and beyond average service, then yes, you should tip them.

 

But remember, YOU HAVE ALREADY PAID FOR EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE.

 

I am sick of the people who say you need to pay tips, and then tip again for exceptional service. The FIRST tip is for exceptional service. If there is no exceptional service, then you shouldn't let the cruiseline charge your credit card at all.

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  • 1 month later...

More than likely you have already been on your cruise by now, but you go so many GOOD suggestions here.

 

I just wanted to say like some of the rest, I generally bring a thousand or two of $1, $5, $10, $20, as there are so many things you might need these small bills for, as suggested here.

 

As for the balance of my trip (what I charged on my charged card on the ship), I like to pay it OFF then (at the end of the trip), before I leave the ship. This way I do not have this on my credit card to pay later when I receive the bill.

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