Traveller's checks, personal checks or cash?

[Sunriseatsea]

What have you found as the best means to access cash on HAL ships?

Is it easy to cash traveller's checks? Will they cash personal checks? Any limits or fees? Thanks for your insights.

[Krazy Kruizers]

I always take Travelers checks and have never had a problem cashing them. There is no fee.

Personal checks -- at one time I know that HAL did not accept them. Since I never take personal checks with me, I don't know if that rule has changed. Maybe someone else can update the information.

[Maryandi]

I prefer the Travelers checks - HAL cashes them no charge - It's getting harder to find nowadays but 'google' American Express Travelers checks' and you can find which banks carry them. Call first to see if they have any onhand.

 

Personal checks are not accepted - call HAL and make sure -

 

Cash always works but is not as safe to carry around.

 

Credit cards are always accepted but on long cruises, paying for the charges you have made online could be a problem - be sure and contact your bank ahead of time so they know you are out of town - they may block your card if they think your card is somewhere strange.

HAL might still charge a fee for getting cash on your CC - check with them.

A combo of Trav. cks, Cash and a debit card - should cover you in any situation.

 

Have fun !

Edited December 13, 2013 by wowzo

[kazu]

I prefer the Travelers checks - HAL cashes them no charge - It's getting harder to find nowadays but 'google' American Express Travelers checks' and you can find which banks carry them. Call first to see if they have any onhand.

 

Personal checks are not accepted - call HAL and make sure -

 

Cash always works but is not as safe to carry around.

 

Credit cards are always accepted but on long cruises, paying for the charges you have made online could be a problem - be sure and contact your bank ahead of time so they know you are out of town - they may block your card if they think your card is somewhere strange.

HAL might still charge a fee for getting cash on your CC - check with them.

A combo of Trav. cks, Cash and a debit card - should cover you in any situation.

 

Have fun !

 

completely agree with wowzo. For credit cards - we simply pay the bills on line on our longer cruises. Travellers cheques have worked very well for us to get cash on the cruises. :)

[jtl513]

Go to a casino slot machine and draw money from your onboard account to your key-card bank. (no fee) Take your key-card to the cage and cash out. I don't know if there's any limit to doing this, but if there is I know it's higher than $200 per day.

[Bluwater7]

On the Rotterdam last winter the limit at the casino was $300.. drawn on your key card ... don't know if you can do it more than once a day ... never tried it.

[BlackJack2]

HAL will cash your traveler's checks - no fees.

For a cash advance on your credit card, HAL charges a 3% fee. That is in addition to your bank fees.

[serendipity1499]

What have you found as the best means to access cash on HAL ships?

Is it easy to cash traveller's checks? Will they cash personal checks? Any limits or fees? Thanks for your insights.

 

As far as I know HAL will not cash a personal check..We always took Travelers checks up until last January when we took our long South American/Antarctica cruise..about a week prior to departure I went in to our bank (Wells Fargo) & was told they no longer sell Travelers checks...We ended up with thousands in cash which made me very nervous until we got it into our Cabin safe..Next time will try to google American Express Travelers checks & see if we can find a local bank which sells them..

 

Betty

 

P.S. What happened to my spell check on the new posting box? :confused:

[Sunriseatsea]

Thanks, all, for the great suggestions. Definitely going for the traveller's checks.

I did an online search for American Express traveller's checks. They have a simple locator link; you just enter your zip code, and it gives you a list & map of a number of locations close to you that sell them. For me, there were 3 Chase banks close by, as well as several other banks.

[momatibm]

We discovered that many places have stopped taking them due to fake ones being created. Do not overbuy. If you do buy them, keep your receipt and paperwork so you can turn them back into the bank where you bought them.

[RuthC]

If you do buy them, keep your receipt and paperwork so you can turn them back into the bank where you bought them.

Or keep them for the next cruise.

[rkacruiser]

Traveler Checks have become difficult to use with merchants and restaurants. I tried to cash some Euro denominated Checks in Amsterdam this Summer at a Travelex facility and the nice lady wanted a receipt to do so. I told her that the Checks were purchased in 2007 and I did not have a receipt any longer. Kindly, she did cash them after I produced my Passport. I really got the feeling that she was doing me a favor.

 

Never have had an issue in cashing them at the Front Office on a HAL ship. No fees; no limit, as far as I know.

 

While Chase Bank still issues them, do not forget that AAA offices and probably CAA offices still have American Express Traveler's Checks available.

Edited December 13, 2013 by rkacruiser

[Typhoon1]

Travelers checks are accepted anywhere. Just like cash.

[cruisin'girl]

Travelers checks are accepted anywhere. Just like cash.

Not anymore. With cash so readily available at ATMs if people don't want to use crdt cards they just get and use cash. Some stores have no idea what to do with travelers checks, most banks don't even issue them anymore, and I doubt many people under 60 would ever think to use them. We haven't thought of getting them in years.

[Sunriseatsea]

I think there are 2 different issues being discussed now: (1) an efficient way to safely bring funds on a cruise and then convert it to cash safely onboard ship and (2) using traveller's checks onshore to purchase items. I was happy to hear that cashing them onboard is no problem. I suspect these are also good points that many merchants on shore would not accept them. Therefore, having this cash or a credit card would be better for purchases off the ship.

[rucrazy]

FYI~Amtrak no linger accepts Travelers checks on board, they have become like the airlines a cashless society.

[jtl513]

Travelers checks are accepted anywhere. Just like cash.

Not true. On a land trip a few years back at a hotel in Belgium the manager didn't know what AmEx TC's were, and would not accept them.

 

At one in France they would only take them if they were for the exact amount of the bill (no change back) which of course is almost impossible with fixed denomination checks. We finally talked them into taking some for partial payment and put the balance on a Visa card.

 

At a store in London they would only take them if we spent at least 50 Pounds.

 

We came home with many unused checks. After that trip we've never bought TC's again, and rely strictly on cash from ATM's or plastic.

Edited December 14, 2013 by jtl513

[Karennella]

Are cheques still commonly used in the US? Here in OZ the use is rapidly declining and our kids who are mid-thirties have never used them.

[catl331]

Are cheques still commonly used in the US? Here in OZ the use is rapidly declining and our kids who are mid-thirties have never used them.

Same here, and pretty much all over the world I think. Credit cards have obviated the need for them in most circumstances.

...

Edited December 14, 2013 by catl331

[NMLady]

Travelers checks are accepted anywhere. Just like cash.

 

This is no longer true. Many, many stores, restaurants, hotels will not accept them.

We do use them for cash on cruises by cashing them as needed at the ship's front desk for port purchases or shipboard tips, or in the casino for gambling money.

[RuthC]

Are cheques still commonly used in the US? Here in OZ the use is rapidly declining and our kids who are mid-thirties have never used them.

I've never used them routinely at home (although I always keep a few on hand "just in case".)

 

But I always bring TC with me when I take a cruise. I love knowing I have a way to get extra cash on board, without taking a large amount of cash with me from home.

I've been robbed in the past, and I don't want to be vulnerable to lose too much cash.

[chrispb]

Travelers checks are accepted anywhere. Just like cash.

 

As others have said, not so. In the days when I took American Express cheques on my travels, I used to change them either at a bank or a bureau.

It was only in the US that I found they were acceptable as currency.

 

Now I take a mix of cards, cash and local currency.

[GeriatricNurse]

Traveler Checks have become difficult to use with merchants and restaurants. I tried to cash some Euro denominated Checks in Amsterdam this Summer at a Travelex facility and the nice lady wanted a receipt to do so. I told her that the Checks were purchased in 2007 and I did not have a receipt any longer. Kindly, she did cash them after I produced my Passport. I really got the feeling that she was doing me a favor.

 

Never have had an issue in cashing them at the Front Office on a HAL ship. No fees; no limit, as far as I know.

 

While Chase Bank still issues them, do not forget that AAA offices and probably CAA offices still have American Express Traveler's Checks available.

 

No, CAA no longer issues Traveler's Cheques! :(

[GeriatricNurse]

Travelers checks are accepted anywhere. Just like cash.

 

You know this how? :confused:

[JamesEM]

I bank with BB&T and they have stopped selling American Express Travelers checks and many merchants and others will not accept them here in Myrtle Beach, SC, because of all the counterfeits.