Joshua1 Posted March 20, 2016 #1 Share Posted March 20, 2016 We are off on a Baltics cruise this June could anyone advise about currency to take. We visit Denmark, Sweden, Russia,Tallin,Poland, Finland. Should we take a little of each, use our credit card or is the dollar acceptable in non euro countries? Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JF - retired RRT Posted March 20, 2016 #2 Share Posted March 20, 2016 It would be more helpful, if you put a clue to the question you are asking on the title line, rather than your screen name.;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diane.in.ny Posted March 20, 2016 #3 Share Posted March 20, 2016 First, a suggestion that you don't make your user ID the subject of the thread. People will have no idea what you are asking about in your post. As for each of the ports, your best bet is to read the Ports of Call section for each of them. I can tell you that you should have no problem using a credit card. As for cash, you may want to wait until you get to each country and withdraw a few $$ in local currency from an ATM machine. You can also do a Search using a search term such as 'money' or 'currency' and limit the search to Northern Europe and Baltic for a result like this http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=84361998 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Essiesmom Posted March 20, 2016 #4 Share Posted March 20, 2016 I can't imagine why you would need dollars onboard. Maybe for room service tips, but euros would be just as good for that. EM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gwendy Posted March 20, 2016 #5 Share Posted March 20, 2016 We are also doing this cruise in June. I try to get my currency before I go so I am good to go. I am taking Danish Krone, Swedish krone, Norwegian Krone and Euro for Tallin, Berlin and Helsinki. Trying to get some Russian rouble but not in general supply. Couldn't get it here last year for Vladivostok but was able to get some on board. I only take about equivalent of $100 for each country depending on how long we are in each port. I also take some US dollars and of course my credit card. I believe it is respectful to use a country's currency, especially for small purchases rather than expect retailers, coffee shops, market stalls to accept other currencies. You can arrange this through a currency exchange online or your bank. Happy travels Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skynight Posted March 20, 2016 #6 Share Posted March 20, 2016 We are off on a Baltics cruise this June could anyone advise about currency to take. We visit Denmark, Sweden, Russia,Tallin,Poland, Finland. Should we take a little of each, use our credit card or is the dollar acceptable in non euro countries? Just like it is in London, the US $ is not generally accepted. Of course you probably already know that the currencies are: Denmark: Danish Krona Sweden: Swedish Krona (not the same as Danish) Russia: Russian Ruble Estonia and Finland: Euro Poland: Zloty If you are taking ship or private tours you do not require any local currency. If you are walking around on your own or staying any length of time pre or post cruise you will need some local currency or you can pay by credit card. You can obtain currency at an ATM. Pretty sure in St. Petersburg you will be on a tour. Also US$ and GBP are accepted for grats or gift shop purchases. When we were in Copenhagen we purchased a canal boat ride and a train ticket to Malmo in US$. Everything else we saw was in local currency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey42 Posted March 20, 2016 #7 Share Posted March 20, 2016 Last summer we got cash as needed through local ATMs. We also used a credit card that had no foreign transaction fees and gave us the same daily exchange rates we saw on Internet Forex sites. This worked great and was certainly the cheapest way to go. I would definitely take this approach again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashland Posted March 20, 2016 #8 Share Posted March 20, 2016 (edited) I had found it difficult before leaving to know the exact currency amounts I might need for each Country's port. And while many on these boards are comfortable using foreign ATM's I'm just not, and certainly didn't want to hunt for them or encounter any problems with them once I did. So what worked for us on our Northern Europe Baltic cruise was to take US Travelers checks (yes...you can still get them)...cash them onboard my ship (no fee) then exchange the amounts of local currency needed the night before each port visit at guest services...The only currency my ship didn't have was Russian Rubles (but that wasn't a problem). Our private guide in St Petersburg offered to pay when they were needed and we simply reimbursed her at the end of our 2 day tour in US $'s.....(Thanks Anna at TJ Travel)....and to our surprise some street vendors there had no problem taking our US$'s. I stressed so much about the currency question but this worked out so much easier than expected for us....Of course I had my no foreign transaction fee credit card for any possible large purchases...but there were none...and the few bits of foreign money I had left over..are now just souvenirs. Enjoy your Baltic cruise .... our favorite out of many itineraries to date. Edited March 20, 2016 by Ashland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Keith1010 Posted March 21, 2016 #9 Share Posted March 21, 2016 The local currency that has been mentioned in the last few posts is correct. However, in Russia there is no need to get local currency. They prefer USA currency. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarea Posted March 21, 2016 #10 Share Posted March 21, 2016 We are off on a Baltics cruise this June could anyone advise about currency to take. We visit Denmark, Sweden, Russia,Tallin,Poland, Finland. Should we take a little of each, use our credit card or is the dollar acceptable in non euro countries? Many thanks I suggest using a credit card as much as possible, especially one that has no foreign transaction fees. That will minimize the need for foreign currency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bull Posted March 21, 2016 #11 Share Posted March 21, 2016 (edited) Let your credit card take care of your significant purchases, or even a couple of coffees in many outlets. Apart from the simplicity, your card supplier will give a far better exchange rate than any exchange bureau. Remember to tell your card supplier of your up-coming travel. And as Clarea's post, some credit cards including in the UK Halifax Clarity, Capital One, Nationwide Flex & Post Office don't charge a foreign transaction fee. Well worth getting one if you intend to take more travel abroad - and that includes your ship's on-board account if it's not a sterling ship. The euro is local currency for Helsinki & Tallinn, and by far the best "reserve" currency for other ports. You will probably need a little local cash for things like public transport, though hop-on buses (but not regular service buses) and taxis at the port (but not necessarily those in town) will accept euros in Copenhagen & Stockholm. Ditto many bars, cafes, and tourist shops. In the main you won't get best value but for instance the hop-on boats in Stockholm actually price in euros. Do get yourselves at least some Danish & Swedish kroner and Polish zloty- perhaps £15/£20 worth per person, and in those ports take euros as back-up. Best value is from the usual suspects in the UK (M&S, Tesco, Post Office, etc) or from ATMs in the ports. ATMs and on-line bureaux have minimums (and on-line often use only high-denomination notes) . Ashland's post surprised me - ships' currency exchange rates are somewhere between abysmal and criminal, and trav cheques are very 20th century - many places ashore won't want to know them, possibly also some cruise lines. The only significant advantage of using ship's exchange is that many will buy-back unused currency at the same rate though usually notes-only and subject to a maximum proportion. The odd-one-out is St Petersburg. Tourist places, tourist markets and street hawkers will accept several foreign currencies, best are US dollars or euros. If your tour includes a shop they will also accept cards. Elsewhere no foreign currency & often no cards either. Local tour operators provide better tours, in small groups, for lower prices than ships' tours and have the same visa-free status as ships' tours - cruise lines avoid telling you that. You have to pre-book for the visa-free status but you don't pay until you're there - any major currency or card. If this is news to you, google Alla Tours, SPB Tours, TJ Travel, DenRus. And check out the Ports of Call forums http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=192 We always like to have some local jingle in our pockets, so we took a few roubles - enough for the guide's tip. Came in handy, the restaurants where we had lunch (included in the tour price) accepted only roubles & no plastic, so we were able to wash our lunch down with beer while others had only water. We made up the tip shortfall with euros. That said, you'll survive without roubles. Cruising is by far the easiest way to explore the Baltic states, you'll enjoy JB :) Edited March 21, 2016 by John Bull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPT Trips Posted March 21, 2016 #12 Share Posted March 21, 2016 The advice John Bull gives about exchanging before a trip doesn't work too well for US residents. Here, when we buy foreign currency in small amounts we get clobbered with fees and commissions. The advice about using credit cards and ATMs is probably the best way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Bull Posted March 21, 2016 #13 Share Posted March 21, 2016 The advice John Bull gives about exchanging before a trip doesn't work too well for US residents. Here, when we buy foreign currency in small amounts we get clobbered with fees and commissions. The advice about using credit cards and ATMs is probably the best way to go. The OP is in the UK - where currency exchange is more common, more competitive and more economical. And avoids the total reliance on a card to get cash, and the need to find an ATM the moment you get off the ship. :) So my advice is good for the OP. But there's certainly no harm in your mentioning that it's expensive / problematic for those in the US ;) JB :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua1 Posted March 22, 2016 Author #14 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Let your credit card take care of your significant purchases, or even a couple of coffees in many outlets. Apart from the simplicity, your card supplier will give a far better exchange rate than any exchange bureau.Remember to tell your card supplier of your up-coming travel. And as Clarea's post, some credit cards including in the UK Halifax Clarity, Capital One, Nationwide Flex & Post Office don't charge a foreign transaction fee. Well worth getting one if you intend to take more travel abroad - and that includes your ship's on-board account if it's not a sterling ship. The euro is local currency for Helsinki & Tallinn, and by far the best "reserve" currency for other ports. You will probably need a little local cash for things like public transport, though hop-on buses (but not regular service buses) and taxis at the port (but not necessarily those in town) will accept euros in Copenhagen & Stockholm. Ditto many bars, cafes, and tourist shops. In the main you won't get best value but for instance the hop-on boats in Stockholm actually price in euros. Do get yourselves at least some Danish & Swedish kroner and Polish zloty- perhaps £15/£20 worth per person, and in those ports take euros as back-up. Best value is from the usual suspects in the UK (M&S, Tesco, Post Office, etc) or from ATMs in the ports. ATMs and on-line bureaux have minimums (and on-line often use only high-denomination notes) . Ashland's post surprised me - ships' currency exchange rates are somewhere between abysmal and criminal, and trav cheques are very 20th century - many places ashore won't want to know them, possibly also some cruise lines. The only significant advantage of using ship's exchange is that many will buy-back unused currency at the same rate though usually notes-only and subject to a maximum proportion. The odd-one-out is St Petersburg. Tourist places, tourist markets and street hawkers will accept several foreign currencies, best are US dollars or euros. If your tour includes a shop they will also accept cards. Elsewhere no foreign currency & often no cards either. Local tour operators provide better tours, in small groups, for lower prices than ships' tours and have the same visa-free status as ships' tours - cruise lines avoid telling you that. You have to pre-book for the visa-free status but you don't pay until you're there - any major currency or card. If this is news to you, google Alla Tours, SPB Tours, TJ Travel, DenRus. And check out the Ports of Call forums http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=192 We always like to have some local jingle in our pockets, so we took a few roubles - enough for the guide's tip. Came in handy, the restaurants where we had lunch (included in the tour price) accepted only roubles & no plastic, so we were able to wash our lunch down with beer while others had only water. We made up the tip shortfall with euros. That said, you'll survive without roubles. Cruising is by far the easiest way to explore the Baltic states, you'll enjoy JB :) Thank you very much for your very useful advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua1 Posted March 22, 2016 Author #15 Share Posted March 22, 2016 The OP is in the UK - where currency exchange is more common, more competitive and more economical. And avoids the total reliance on a card to get cash, and the need to find an ATM the moment you get off the ship. :)So my advice is good for the OP. But there's certainly no harm in your mentioning that it's expensive / problematic for those in the US ;) JB :) thanks for the advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua1 Posted March 22, 2016 Author #16 Share Posted March 22, 2016 I had found it difficult before leaving to know the exact currency amounts I might need for each Country's port. And while many on these boards are comfortable using foreign ATM's I'm just not, and certainly didn't want to hunt for them or encounter any problems with them once I did. So what worked for us on our Northern Europe Baltic cruise was to take US Travelers checks (yes...you can still get them)...cash them onboard my ship (no fee) then exchange the amounts of local currency needed the night before each port visit at guest services...The only currency my ship didn't have was Russian Rubles (but that wasn't a problem). Our private guide in St Petersburg offered to pay when they were needed and we simply reimbursed her at the end of our 2 day tour in US $'s.....(Thanks Anna at TJ Travel)....and to our surprise some street vendors there had no problem taking our US$'s. I stressed so much about the currency question but this worked out so much easier than expected for us....Of course I had my no foreign transaction fee credit card for any possible large purchases...but there were none...and the few bits of foreign money I had left over..are now just souvenirs. Enjoy your Baltic cruise .... our favorite out of many itineraries to date. Thanks for that we have not had any trouble really wherever we've cruised but as we are going to Russia have not heard any info before re that. As we are from the UK we don't have your problems but you do have better laws with your travel agents. We cannot chop or change our minds re cruises after certain amount of days and our agents do not tel us to say the price has dropped etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua1 Posted March 22, 2016 Author #17 Share Posted March 22, 2016 I can't imagine why you would need dollars onboard. Maybe for room service tips, but euros would be just as good for that. EM Because we have dollars left over from our Dec trip to the Caribbean and if its not necessary to change them we won't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua1 Posted March 22, 2016 Author #18 Share Posted March 22, 2016 (edited) First, a suggestion that you don't make your user ID the subject of the thread. People will have no idea what you are asking about in your post. As for each of the ports, your best bet is to read the Ports of Call section for each of them. I can tell you that you should have no problem using a credit card. As for cash, you may want to wait until you get to each country and withdraw a few $$ in local currency from an ATM machine. You can also do a Search using a search term such as 'money' or 'currency' and limit the search to Northern Europe and Baltic for a result like this http://boards.cruisecritic.com/search.php?searchid=84361998 thank you but it made you look didn't it. Also if you hover your mouse over the post it normally gives you the gist of the question. Edited March 22, 2016 by Joshua1 explanation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUT2407 Posted March 22, 2016 #19 Share Posted March 22, 2016 Use your credit card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUT2407 Posted March 22, 2016 #20 Share Posted March 22, 2016 If the OP leaves the title blank, it defaults to the OP's screen name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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