Best way to get cash

[daleb85]

My bank reimburses all ATM fees so that is what we use. ATM's are everewhere and usually give good exchange rates.

[SandraLee]

Wow, piece of cake. I called them and have the confirmations printed for our cruise that leaves Sunday.

[Clarea]

Wow, piece of cake. I called them and have the confirmations printed for our cruise that leaves Sunday.

Good, glad it worked out. Much easier to call than deal with the gift certificate redemption method.

[sdear]

The ATM fee on my cruise recently was 6$. I am lucky with Fifth Third they refund my ATM fees automatically.

 

I also prefer just to bring the cash though.....and i put it on my on board account for safe keeping, and withdraw as needed. Have done this the last few cruises and it's great. If there is money left over it pays my seapass or gets credited back to the card i secured my seapass to. ( or you can withdraw it all on the last day )

[sdear]

We leave Sunday. Is it too late go have the obc applied from the phone number above?

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

I wouldn't risk it. I have heard on here that when others buy OBC before they leave..even months in advance..it can take a day or two to post once on the ship.

[misslyss1220]

We're taking a cruise in the Mediterranean. If we add money to our onboard account, anyone know if we can get Euros when we get cash? Or would it still be US dollars? :confused:

[sdear]

Wow, piece of cake. I called them and have the confirmations printed for our cruise that leaves Sunday.

 

 

Well good luck then ! let me know how that works out if it's posted right away...i may try that next cruise !!

[m*u*g*]

For those not wanting to risk credit card fraud in port, $1,000 is nothing.

[grandgeezer]

A ski mask and a Glock works for me. Seriously, we always have a couple hundred in traveler's checks. They cash them either at the Front Desk, or casino. If we don't use them they're available for our next cruise. Our motto is, if we can't cruise there, we con't want to go.

[johneeo]

I always take cash. It works great.

 

I do not find taking 10 or 20 $100 bills that difficult.

[Clarea]

For those not wanting to risk credit card fraud in port, $1,000 is nothing.

This is true. Another reason to use cash is that you know the cost exactly. We've used a credit card in Cozumel before and they charged in pesos. When we got the bill, the amount in dollars was not quite what we had agreed upon, even considering the effect of the foreign transaction fee.

[Jiminy1955]

You can purchase OBC by calling Royal Caribbean at (800) 722-5443. (Be sure to request a copy of the receipt, and take with you on your cruise just in case). It is fee-free as clarea mentioned. You can arrange for any amount, and it is fully refundable if you happen to have any left over at the end of your cruise.

I like this idea. We don't cruise until Feb so if anyone does it this way please post how it works our for you. Thanks.

[bigque]

Also check with your bank and see if there is a bank in the ports you are going to that the are in partnership with to let their customers use the ATM for no fee. I found that out on my last cruise and was able to get cash (American Dollars) at two ports (Southern Caribbean) fee free because of the partnership with my bank.

[north29]

If you(OP) is still interested. This is our method, CASH, in mostly 50 and 100 and a few 20s mixed in but get about 100 one dollar bills for tips and other cheap things. The ship will gladly break the bills down to smaller units and at a fee, you can get foreign currency also. Have a debit card for more cash, with two cards with different numbers on the same account, if one is lost after reporting it, you can still use the other. If your cruise is to the Caribbean or I guess almost every where else the prices for items will most likely be more than Costco or Sam's club or Neman Marcus but if you find some thing that you cannot live without or lunch on something/some place you cannot resist then a CC is the answer.

Now we have traveled this way over much of this planet, this way, no problems. I give half the cash to my wife and if something was lost, we still have cash. There are no guarantees of any method of having cash will be without a problem, but years of travel keeping it simple, not relining on anyone else is the best for us.

PS, travelers checks may work on a cruse ship, but most banks in Europe or probably else where. will not take them, that is from experience.

[joepeka]

Yes, as long as it's refundable OBC. OBC from Royal, such as from booking in board or shareholder benefit is not refundable. OBC that you fund yourself before the cruise is refundable.

Bob, a question: do you (or anyone) know if the Amex Platinum OBC is considered "refundable"? I don't really know if it originates with Royal or not (such your mention of shareholder benefit or booking onboard). We've never had any of that Amex OBC leftover before but wanted to know anyway.

[mets550]

Does the ability to get pre-funded (based on refundable OBC) cash from your account without the 3% fee apply only at guest services, or can I get it at the casino like that too, so long as I have refundable OBC on my account?

[jmf123]

We're taking a cruise in the Mediterranean. If we add money to our onboard account, anyone know if we can get Euros when we get cash? Or would it still be US dollars? :confused:

 

misslyss1220, you will always receive cash in US dollars on board. (Enjoy the beautiful Serenade!). :)

[Clarea]

Bob, a question: do you (or anyone) know if the Amex Platinum OBC is considered "refundable"? I don't really know if it originates with Royal or not (such your mention of shareholder benefit or booking onboard). We've never had any of that Amex OBC leftover before but wanted to know anyway.

I don't know for sure as I've not had experience with Amex OBC. My guess would be that it's refundable since it's coming from a non-Royal source. I know my travel agent's OBC is refundable.

[Jiminy1955]

Does anyone know if using a credit card to purchase OBC is charged as a purchase or a cash advance? Makes a difference as to whether I use my bank/debit card or my AMEX card.

[Clarea]

Does anyone know if using a credit card to purchase OBC is charged as a purchase or a cash advance? Makes a difference as to whether I use my bank/debit card or my AMEX card.

Charged as a purchase.

[misslyss1220]

misslyss1220, you will always receive cash in US dollars on board. (Enjoy the beautiful Serenade!). :)

 

Thank you!! :)

[MAHA]

For those still using traveller's checks, our credit union and many banks have stopped issuing them. They said they are not taken by many places these days. We have in the past used them and cashed them at the guest services desk onboard without a problem. But, they may be harder to find and we were told they are obsolete from our credit union.

 

Mary Anne

[sn2792]

Travelers checks are hard to find. Our last cruise was 14 days so I wanted them. AAA doesn't have them anymore. I was able to get them thru our bank but they said once they ran out of what they had, they would not be ordering them in the future.

[twochromic]

ATM's wherever you go will give you access to cash. No need to lug huge amounts around. And I don't think I've come across a place that recognizes a travelers check in 10 years, though I'm sure ships' concierge desks will.

[molly361]

Does the ability to get pre-funded (based on refundable OBC) cash from your account without the 3% fee apply only at guest services, or can I get it at the casino like that too, so long as I have refundable OBC on my account?

 

Only at guest services. You will be charged 3% if you take it out at the casino