Sweden Krona,Russian Ruble, Danish Krone, Norway Krone and Euro's - Oh My!

[ISLANDFAN]

This is a call out to all those Baltic Cruise Veteran's. Considering all the ports/countries that we will be visiting on our Baltic Cruise this June, what currency/currencies should we consider taking along with us?

 

We will be arriving two days before our Copenhagen departure on the Royal Princess, and have decided to stay in Malmo Sweden which is located across the strait from CPH.

 

We will be packing chip and signature credit cards, however we like to have a few rubles or euros or krona's in order to pay for the small incidentals. What do you previous Baltic Cruisers think should work for us? Any ideas or suggestions relating to our trip are appreciated.

 

Islandfan

[Alaskanb]

We took about $50 worth of everything as my brother in the UK could get it easily for us prior to the trip. The easiest thing to do is to use an ATM machine in-country. We did not need to get Ruble and ended up giving it to the driver as his tip --your tour company will advise on that.

Edited January 21, 2014 by Alaskanb

[Cauzneffct]

We didn't bring anything and went to ATMs if we needed cash (which by and large we didn't)

[PrincessNancy]

We didn't bring anything and went to ATMs if we needed cash (which by and large we didn't)

 

That's what we did, too! It was easy.

You'll be fine with your credit cards and chipped debit cards.

[Ashland]

We also didn't bring much with us (other than Euros and just a few GPB's for any airport incidentals at LHR prior to our cruiseline transfers to Harwich))..We found it just as easy to exchange a few US $'s onboard our ship each night for the next days port visits and currency needed...Couldn't have been easier including the fact that we didn't have to look for or rely on ATM's..and the exchange rate (onboard) was very little difference vs that of ATM's. We too needed no Rubles...our private guide (TJ Travel) in St Petersburg paid for everything and we just reimbursed her at the end of our two days....Enjoy this Baltic itinerary it was by far our favorite to date.

Edited January 21, 2014 by Ashland

[kaisatsu]

We also took our card and used ATMs for local cash. It was usually pretty easy to find one as soon as we got on shore.

 

Most of the people we traveled with relied on USD in St.Petersburg. We figured our private tour operator wouldn't really be able to deal with NOK, so we went to the ATM in the cruise terminal to get Rubles. It was actually more trouble to pay in Rubles than it would have been in Dollars or Euros, because that's what they're used to handling. Paying in Rubles required additional explanation and conversion calculations. Not a big deal, but kind of funny that they had more trouble accepting their own currency!

[caribill]

This is a call out to all those Baltic Cruise Veteran's. Considering all the ports/countries that we will be visiting on our Baltic Cruise this June, what currency/currencies should we consider taking along with us?

 

We will be arriving two days before our Copenhagen departure on the Royal Princess, and have decided to stay in Malmo Sweden which is located across the strait from CPH.

 

 

Much depends on what type of touring you are doing off of the ship. Princess Tours? Independent tours? Do-it-yourself tours?

 

Since you are staying in Malmo for two days, Swedish krona will be useful there and also when you stop in Stockholm.

 

Danish krona will be useful in Copenhagen and Aarhus. How are you getting to the ship? Once you reach Copenhagen from Malmo, you can continue on trains to near the port (your chip&pin CC will be useful then) or taker a taxi (they accept credit cards). The other ports are either on the Euro or will accept Euros. As mentioned in another post, the US $ will be fine for your touring in St. Petersburg (I assume you are with a priovate touring company or on a Princess tour there.)

 

Will you have debit cards you can use at ATMs to get local currency?

 

Any exchange of currency you do on the ship will be at a poor exchange rate and have a convenience fee added.

[north-bound]

We now use cash less and less here in Sweden. Most of the time when I go out I don't bring any cash at all. Almost everywhere we can now pay with a card.

[Desdichado62]

We now use cash less and less here in Sweden. Most of the time when I go out I don't bring any cash at all. Almost everywhere we can now pay with a card.

 

I agree but some minor places like kiosks and ice cream stalls might not accept card.

[Desdichado62]

Stockholm sightseeingboat company Royalsightseeing says that they accept:

Euros, US Dollars, British Pounds, Norweigian crowns, Danish crowns or Swedish crowns

[dsrdsrdsr]

When Scandinavian currency is spoken about in the UK, it's always referred to as "kroner" (in its various spellings). But when the various Scandinavians are speaking English, which they do very well indeed, they tend to translate the word kroner and speak of "crowns". Not really relevant, but (possibly) mildly interesting.

 

Norway & Denmark - singular krone, plural kroner.

Sweden - singular krona, plural kronor.

Iceland - singular króna, plural krónur.

 

They all sound the same, though, at least to my English ears.

[spbstan]

Debit and credit cards will be better, since you get the current rate, plus whatever your bank tacks on, which is a better rate than you get from the ship or your bank at home.

If you are exchanging a lot, you will save some by going to an exchange bank(not the exchange offices at terminals or airports, they are the worst rates in the world). This is mainly true for St Petersburg.

Pay in rubles in Russia, it is illegal to use any other currency to pay a bill. You can be sure of getting a bad conversion rate if you are given the option of paying in dollars or other currency since it IS illegal. You might be able to negotiate a lower price because you both know they are not reporting the income if getting cash other than rubles(and probably even if paying rubles), unless they are a foreign company and have dollar or euro accounts if you pay before arrival.

 

If you want to pay street vendors with foreign currency it is almost assured you are not getting good deal on price and will get no change. It is better to visit regular stores which cater to locals for good prices than those selling exclusively to tourists. If the is no price marked, you will, with certainty, end up paying more than it is worth from a street vendor.

[Desdichado62]

Norway & Denmark - singular krone, plural kroner.

Sweden - singular krona, plural kronor.

Iceland - singular króna, plural krónur.

 

They all sound the same, though, at least to my English ears.

 

Krona/Krone is the same word but is spelled slightly different due the differences in the languages.

 

Icelandic is also "the same" language but, since Iceland is a quite isolated where they are in the the North Atlantic,

the language evolution progressed much slower due to the lack if influences from other countries.

 

Also English, German and Dutch are "the same" language as Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic and

I guess in theory you could say that all these languages are just extreme versions of Dialects.

[Giantfan13]

As has been said, you can hit ATM's at most ports, but not all. I know when we were in Helsinki, there was no ATM to use right by the dock and you needed exact change to get on the bus.

 

I am pretty anal, and like to have things done before I go, so we exchanged $50 in several of the currencies except Rubles. We did hit an ATM for more '

Euros, but that was only because we did a side trip to Paris after the cruise. As I said, I like to be prepared and know I have what I need before needing it.

 

We also made it a policy of charging everything that we were able to charge. That eliminated the need for cash most of the time, but we did enjoy using the local currency. it just made the experience of being there, that much more real.

 

Cheers

 

Len

[Regguy]

You can order foreign currency directly from wells fargo and pay with a credit card. If you spend over $1000 USD it comes right to your door with free shipping, so you could order a mix and match or get a couple of people to do it. The exchange rate is worse than an in country ATM, but better than a hotel or cruise desk or exchange bureau. If you buy $1000 combined in Euros, DKK, etc., you'll pay about a $40 premium. Up to you whether that's worth not having to stop at an ATM everywhere. Google "wells fargo order foreign currency online."