Money Matters Questions on Carnival

[RMLincoln]

We'll be on the long cruise(s) around the horn of South America soon. I don't want to carry tons of cash and especially the bulk of small bills, if Ican help it.

 

Will Guest Relations (aka The Front Desk) cash travelers checks?

Will they change 20s into 5s and 1s?

 

What's the best (cheapest) way to get more cash on board? Thanks, m--

[RMLincoln]

We'll be on the long cruise(s) around the horn of South America soon. I don't want to carry tons of cash and especially the bulk of small bills, if Ican help it.

 

Will Guest Relations (aka The Front Desk) cash travelers checks?

Will they change 20s into 5s and 1s?

 

What's the best (cheapest) way to get more cash on board? Thanks, m--

 

I have done all of this at Guest Services.

 

Glad to hear it! Thanks for the quick reply.

 

Anybody have insights on getting extra cash on baord? m--

[hockeyluver]

they do have atm's on the ship but they tend to run out of money :eek: and you get charged a fee at the atm and at your bank!! you can always go to the casino and put money from your sail and sign in your casino bank and then go to the cashier and cash out. We have done this a couple times. We also have cashed traveler cheques at guest services.

[RMLincoln]

they do have atm's on the ship but they tend to run out of money :eek: and you get charged a fee at the atm and at your bank!! you can always go to the casino and put money from your sail and sign in your casino bank and then go to the cashier and cash out. We have done this a couple times. We also have cashed traveler cheques at guest services.

 

THANK YOU hockyluver for the great idea. Do they charge you a fee, like when you put money into the slot machines? Probably worth it anyway. On a long cruise it could be a lifesaver. m--

[hockeyluver]

THANK YOU hockyluver for the great idea. Do they charge you a fee, like when you put money into the slot machines? Probably worth it anyway. On a long cruise it could be a lifesaver. m--

 

there is no fee if you do it through the casino, but if you want to charge money to your sail and sign through the guest services they charge 3%

 

I would love to do a long cruise like that..... some day :rolleyes:

[Rosefloater]

you can always go to the casino and put money from your sail and sign in your casino bank and then go to the cashier and cash out. We have done this a couple times. We also have cashed traveler cheques at guest services.

 

If you go to the casino cashier, you will be charged 3%.

 

This is what we do: Go to the casino and charge your S&S card at a slot machine. There is no fee for this. But you DO need to play a few times on the machine otherwise the casino computer will see that you are just putting money on your S&S card and not playing. The computer will then tag your card and not let you use your card to take out any more money at the casino for the rest of the cruise.

 

If you don't like to gamble, but want to get money from a slot machine, then go to a penny slot and play the least amount for a pull.

[bbohbbneedacruise]

We'll be on the long cruise(s) around the horn of South America soon. I don't want to carry tons of cash and especially the bulk of small bills, if Ican help it.

 

Will Guest Relations (aka The Front Desk) cash travelers checks?

Will they change 20s into 5s and 1s?

 

What's the best (cheapest) way to get more cash on board? Thanks, m--

 

Travelers checks can be cashed at Guest Services and the casino. There is a $1000 limit per person per cruise. Since you are on a 3 leg cruise you should be OK.

HOWEVER on a regular 7 day cruise Guest Services tends to run out of cash towards the end of the week.

 

Large bills can be broken down into smaller ones at either the Kiosk, Guest Services or the casino.

AGAIN HOWEVER the same applies with the 2 kiosks when it comes to running out of cash towards the end of the week.

 

Credit card cash advances or cashing a personal check are flat rate $5.50 for $100 or less and 5.5% on any amount over $100.

ATM charges $6.00 per transaction with a daily $500 per day limit.

[hockeyluver]

If you go to the casino cashier, you will be charged 3%.

 

This is what we do: Go to the casino and charge your S&S card at a slot machine. There is no fee for this. But you DO need to play a few times on the machine otherwise the casino computer will see that you are just putting money on your S&S card and not playing. The computer will then tag your card and not let you use your card to take out any more money at the casino for the rest of the cruise.

 

If you don't like to gamble, but want to get money from a slot machine, then go to a penny slot and play the least amount for a pull.

 

That is what I said to do:rolleyes:

[Peg_S]

If you go to the casino cashier, you will be charged 3%.

 

This is what we do: Go to the casino and charge your S&S card at a slot machine. There is no fee for this. But you DO need to play a few times on the machine otherwise the casino computer will see that you are just putting money on your S&S card and not playing. The computer will then tag your card and not let you use your card to take out any more money at the casino for the rest of the cruise.

 

If you don't like to gamble, but want to get money from a slot machine, then go to a penny slot and play the least amount for a pull.

 

Thanks for the details!

Peg

[jakeT]

Can you do visa gift cards ? Most banks do them for free. Get a few with $500 loaded on them ???

[raudacruise]

We have a Capital One money market account. You can electronically transfer money between it and your checking account. The benefits:

 

1. You get an ATM card that can be used for the equivalent of $500/day.

2. They charge no fee or fee's for currency exchange. Great if you want to withdraw local currency (used it many times to get Euros).

3. Pay's 0.70 interest. OK, its a pittance, have you looked at what your bank's interest rate is on savings accounts :)?

 

An example would be withdrawing from the ATM on the ship. It charges $6 for withdrawels up to $500. If you withdraw $500 the service charge would be slightly above 1%.

 

Remember that this is an ATM card only, not a debit card or credit card - only works in ATM's.

 

The casino route is obviously the best way. It goes on your account with no fees and eventually to your credit card (where you get probably get some perks). As mentioned, there may be some monitoring/restictions to using the casino as an ATM.

[RMLincoln]

Lots of great ideas that I never thought of! Seems the casino is the place to go for money... funny thing about that!:) Thank you all... CCers rock! m--

[SadieN]

How much American $$ do you need? For ports you can get local money from ATM's.

Some countries in South America do use American as the currency (Ecuador for one).