euros and dollars

[soaknitup]

This horse has probably been beat to death, but I will ask anyway. We are cruising from the US to azores,ireland,belgium,france and england with Princess. What is the best way to get Euros....on the ship, or at home before we leave. Then can we convert back to US from Euros on the ship? Is there a fee? Thoughts??

[paul929207]

ATM in the Euro Zone. The UK uses English Pounds. We get them from ATM in the UK

[Ethel5]

The ship has very poor exchange rates. Use and ATM to get Euros/Pounds in whatever country you're in.

[Pam in CA]

Never, ever exchange money on the ship. The exchange rate is horrible, they charge a service fee, and the ATM is dependent on an Internet connection.

 

I get € and £ before leaving home. I have a Bank of America account so I can quickly and easily order them online and pick them up at a branch nearby.

 

You can also use a local ATM when you arrive in port or airport. There are also usually exchange kiosks in European airports.

 

I keep leftover € and £ with my passport when I get home to use in the future. I don't exchange them back. The only time I do that is if I needed an unusual currency that I'm unlikely to ever use again in which case, I use the leftover currency at the Passenger Services Desk to pay down my folio. Even though it's at a terrible exchange rate, it's better and easier than trying to exchange back when I get home.

 

FYI, you'll need € in Ireland, £ in Northern Ireland.

Edited March 18, 2014 by Pam in CA

[soaknitup]

Thanks! Looks like we will do it at home.

[SadieN]

This horse has probably been beat to death, but I will ask anyway. We are cruising from the US to azores,ireland,belgium,france and england with Princess. What is the best way to get Euros....on the ship, or at home before we leave. Then can we convert back to US from Euros on the ship? Is there a fee? Thoughts??

 

For converting back to US$-- Only paper bills can be exchanged. Use up your coins. If the ship is staying in Europe you could use your coins for tips. FYI the smallest Euro bill is e5. Bring a coin purse.

Edited March 18, 2014 by SadieN

[caribill]

We always obtain foreign currency using an ATM card at an ATM in the country that has the currency we need. Just be sure to let your financial institution know that you will be using the card (as well as any credit cards you will be using on the trip).

 

I agree with others. The worst place to exchange currency is on board the ship. If you buy Euros on the ship and sell them back at the end of the cruise, you will lose about 20% of the value of your US $ including the service fees.

 

By the way, the currency exchange machine on the ship is not an ATM (and does not require Internet access to be used). You insert currency of one kind and obtain currency of another.

[Pam in CA]

By the way, the currency exchange machine on the ship is not an ATM (and does not require Internet access to be used). You insert currency of one kind and obtain currency of another.

Thanks for the correction. It's been years since I've checked one out and I believe there were ATM machines that would pump out currency if you inserted your debit card.

[Colo Cruiser]

Lots of places on shore to get very competative rates on Euros.

[DrivesLikeMario]

https://www.wellsfargo.com/foreign-exchange/index

 

We have used Wells Fargo many times before leaving the US. If you order enough, the shipping is free. It usually arrives within 1-2 days. Many banks and institutions like AAA order from Wells Fargo. You can monitor the rates at their website also. We have never had a problem doing this pre-cruise; the service is excellent.

[Roce48]

I travel to Europe once a year for a week of vacation. I frequently stay in a small apartment that I rent from a lady who does not accept credit cards. Therefore I need to tranfer her the money to her account, or pay in cash. I decided to get my money ahead of time, and went to the Bank Of America. When I went in to pick up my money, it was all in Euro Twenties, all 1,200 Euros of it! That is 60 Twenties I had to carry in my pocket on the plane! LOL. Now I bring $100 USD bills to exchange at "No Commission, No Fee" exchange businesses located in the tourist sections.

[IECalCruiser]

For our Baltic cruise last June I checked out the rate for Euros at Wells Fargo. We would have paid about 2% more than the actual exchange rate. Instead, I bought some leftover Euros from friends who had recently done a TA. We got additional Euros at a Swede Bank ATM in Tallinn. The exchange rate was essentially that day's rate and with our debit card there was no additional charge. The rate on board the Emerald was terrible!

 

 

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[Zena,W.P.]

If you have small amounts of foreign currency that do not seem worthwhile to exchange, given fees etc. you can go into any Starbucks in the world and just hand over the currency of that country and have it added to a Starbucks card. No fees, no charges. I would assume current exchange rates. I don't care for Starbucks, so I have never personally tried this, but other threads have mentioned this.

[beg3yrs]

If you have small amounts of foreign currency that do not seem worthwhile to exchange, given fees etc. you can go into any Starbucks in the world and just hand over the currency of that country and have it added to a Starbucks card. No fees, no charges. I would assume current exchange rates. I don't care for Starbucks, so I have never personally tried this, but other threads have mentioned this.

 

That's fascinating. We don't frequent Starbucks either however DW's BFF does. They're always gifting each other so I see a gift card in her future!

Edited March 19, 2014 by beg3yrs

[waverley7]

Whatever you do don't buy travellers cheques! They charged me 60.00 Euro's to cash in 300.00 worth of Euro t/c in Venice! Crazy!

 

Then I asked the girl on the ship if she could cash my Euro t/c, she said sure so I signed 300.00 worth and then she said she couldn't cash them and give me Euro's for them. Already signed them so had to convert to US $$.

 

So, I paid for them in Canadian, she converted them to US $$ then I had to go to the ATM on board and exchange it for Euro's .....boy did I lose money there!

 

Have a great time!

[suzyed]

On 3/18/2014 at 5:35 PM, Pam in CA said:

Never, ever exchange money on the ship. The exchange rate is horrible, they charge a service fee, and the ATM is dependent on an Internet connection.

 

I get € and £ before leaving home. I have a Bank of America account so I can quickly and easily order them online and pick them up at a branch nearby.

 

You can also use a local ATM when you arrive in port or airport. There are also usually exchange kiosks in European airports.

 

I keep leftover € and £ with my passport when I get home to use in the future. I don't exchange them back. The only time I do that is if I needed an unusual currency that I'm unlikely to ever use again in which case, I use the leftover currency at the Passenger Services Desk to pay down my folio. Even though it's at a terrible exchange rate, it's better and easier than trying to exchange back when I get home.

 

FYI, you'll need € in Ireland, £ in Northern Ireland.

I accidentally left my ATM card at home!  What to do??

[Tedferg]

8 minutes ago, suzyed said:

I accidentally left my ATM card at home!  What to do??

If you have a credit card and Pin you should be able to get a cash advance - not sure what charges are so I would minimize the amount. You would only do this where you absolutely need cash.

[SCX22]

35 minutes ago, suzyed said:

I accidentally left my ATM card at home!  What to do??

 

25 minutes ago, Tedferg said:

If you have a credit card and Pin you should be able to get a cash advance - not sure what charges are so I would minimize the amount. You would only do this where you absolutely need cash.

 

Just realize with credit card cash advances there is a flat fee which is a % of the $ amount of the transaction and the APR of your card kicks in from the day of withdrawal.

 

Really not a good idea unless absolutely desperate.

Edited September 27, 2023 by SCX22

[JRice]

Any cruise ship or airport exchange service will always be expensive because they take advantage of those who want currency "now".

 

Possession of a small amount of local currency is a good practice because some small vendors may not take credit cards and tips for waiters and hotel staff are sometimes not allowed to be added to a credit card.

 

You best bet is to use minimize the use of "cash" and to use a  credit card that has no foreign exchange fees and uses the then current commercial exchange rate.  Ask your credit card company about their policy.   This has saved me 8-10% of the exchange rates offered at airports, hotels, cruise ships, etc.

 

Bank of America has consistently had the best exchange rates to obtain currency. Usually about 5% over the then commercial rate.  I order currency on line, no service fee, pick up at my local branch.

 

Good luck.

 

 

[Tedferg]

ATMs belonging to Banks charge a fee to users who are not in their banking system. I use a Schwab credit card that waives any such fees, because they do not have ATMs. However, I made a withdrawal at a small Scottish town and was charged a banking fee on top of the ATM fee. The ATM fee was waived but not the banking fee.

[Ocean Mouse]

If you have a credit card with a chip you don't need a lot of cash. Most stores, restaurants and even street vendors will take payment by card

Edited September 28, 2023 by Ocean Mouse

[alyssamma]

Wow...reviving a thread that was 9yrs old...is that a record?

[Micahs Grandad]

Nah

[irishgirl]

I just got back from a British Isles cruise on the Regal Princess.  I had purchased £100 and €100 from my bank.  Then I found out it’s cashless over there.  Every restaurant, every store, every mode of transportation was tap and go.  I used my Visa credit card for everything and it’s my Apple Pay.  I came home with all my cash.  We even went to one restaurant that told us “We don’t take cash or American Express”.  I must say, it’s so much easier and faster to tap and go.

[mevs904]

Yes, in our multiple trips to Europe we have almost exclusively used our credit cards.  Even the peanut vendor along the wharf in Copenhagen took credit cards.  The cards that we use have no extra fees for international transactions.  We do bring some cash that we get at AAA before the trip, but we bring most of it home, We have the security knowing that we have cash if we absolutely need it.  For us, credit cards are definitely the way to go.