How Many Euros and Dollars?

[Boiler Cruiser]

I am going to be visiting Amsterdam, as well as Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia and Germany on my upcoming cruise.

 

For those who have had experience with this sort of thing, how much cash should I bring with me in Euros and Dollars?

 

I know there are many points of view on this subject, and I am interested in hearing what everyone has to say.

 

I want to bring enough Euros, but not too much. At the same time, I want to be sure that I am not short of cash in either Euros or Dollars.

 

I am going to post this on the Baltics page as well.

 

Thanks for your help.

[Bob++]

Not a lot. I would suggest maybe 100 Euros and whatever you are comfortable with in Dollars for the boat (Tips anyone?)

 

Norway uses Norwegian krone

Denmark uses Danish krone

Sweden uses Swedish krona

Russia, the Russian ruble

Finland, Estonia and Germany use the Euro

 

Your credit card should be good in all these countries (make sure it is and have a second card too). If you change too much currency, you will end up with a lot of souvenirs in the shape of small change.

[CruiserBruce]

As we don't know anything about your spending habits, and what your travels are (such as are you staying in any given country, or just a port call?), it is really difficult to answer your questions. Do know that a credit card will work just fine in all those countries.

 

Some reading on the Northern European board will give you tons of info. For example, most Russian tour providers want payment and tips in dollars. Just takes some research.

Edited June 9, 2016 by CruiserBruce

[4774Papa]

Someone has already explained the currencies of the countries.

 

You didn't provide enough details of what tours you are taking. If you have to pay for private tours then many require cash and most in the local currency. If you are doing ship's excursions, then that significantly reduces your need for cash.

 

Do you have a pre or post visit planned? If you do what country? If it is Amsterdam, then buy some Euros via an ATM at the airport when you arrive.

 

If you are not doing private tours or a pre/post land stay, you won't need huge amounts of cash.

 

Still, if you are planning to just leave the boat and find a taxi, you will need local currency.

 

For Russia, take US dollars, don't buy any Rubles.

As a minimum, I recommend buying about 300 Euros from an ATM when you arrive in Europe.

 

If you need local currency in the other countries, try to use ATMs.

 

Credit cards are widely accepted in all countries. Although AmEx is not accepted much in Russia. Further, in Scandinavia, if you use your credit card and don't have the chip and pin card, them be sure to tell the cashier in advance that you need to pay with a card and signature option.

 

I always take about $300 US as backup in the event that I have issues with the ATM. Most cruise lines can exchange dollars for Euros or local currency with a hefty surcharge and poor rate.

Also, cruise lines sometimes don't have some currencies that aren't used frequently.

[cynbar]

I can't give you a suggested amount because, like the others, I don't know your spending habits. But ATMs are readily available all over Europe, and credit cards are a good bet for most transactions (especially if you have one with no foreign transaction fee.) And remember to call your credit card companies and your bank (for your debit cards) to notify them that you will be traveling, so that your charges aren't blocked.

[Pet Nit Noy]

Not a lot. I would suggest maybe 100 Euros and whatever you are comfortable with in Dollars for the boat (Tips anyone?)

 

Norway uses Norwegian krone

Denmark uses Danish krone

Sweden uses Swedish krona

Russia, the Russian ruble

Finland, Estonia and Germany use the Euro

 

Your credit card should be good in all these countries (make sure it is and have a second card too). If you change too much currency, you will end up with a lot of souvenirs in the shape of small change.

 

Excellent advice. We simply take our excess Great British pounds and Euros home to the US, and put them in our safe deposit bank until the next time we travel. (I've never heard of a bank willing to change foreign coins back to US dollars, although I wonder if there's an exception for the 1 Euro and 2 Euro coins.)

 

In general, I resist changing my money into one-of local currencies for a one-day port call. (See Bob ++'s list above.) I'm willing to overpay slightly by using Euro on the rare occasions when I can't charge something rather get the currency of every country for those short visits. On our last cruise, we spent 7 days in London and four in Copenhagen at either end of a Baltic cruise. In those two places only, we did get some local currency. The GBP we brought home; the Danish krone we deposited in a charity collection barrel as we waited in the airport heading back to the US.

 

I've found that charge cards can be used in Europe in more situations than in the US (e.g. taxi cabs) and most of the earlier hysteria about US cards without PIN numbers not working has turned out to be a false alarm. Please don't misinterpret that last statement. you'll hear of situations in toll booths and other unmanned points of sale where you'll need a credit card with a PIN, but in those situations, often local cash won't work either.

 

Other posters have talked about tours you may have booked that will required payment in the local currency. I've found that an increasing number of tour guides/companies allow clients to pre-pay via their web sites or through Pay Pal.

 

Generally, a person doing independent travel -- and going far afield from ports and major cities -- is more likely to encounter places where local currency is essential or a chip and PIN credit card is required than the typical cruiser.

Edited June 10, 2016 by Pet Nit Noy

[4774Papa]

One thing, if you bring home and GBP from the UK, the five pound notes are being replaced with new Churchill five pound notes. After next May the old 5 pound notes will no longer be valid.

[Pet Nit Noy]

One thing, if you bring home and GBP from the UK, the five pound notes are being replaced with new Churchill five pound notes. After next May the old 5 pound notes will no longer be valid.

 

Thanks for the heads up. In our case, it's not exactly cost effective to schedule a trip just to shed any old 5 pound notes already sitting in our safe deposit box. Better to survey our friends to find out if anyone is traveling to the UK soon and simply give them the money.

 

Are the new Churchill notes already in circulation along with the old version?

[digitl]

Whenever we travel we use a card to get local currency from an ATM in the airport arrivals hall. The only place we bought in advance for was Greenland as we were warned that there were no ATMs and the few shops we would see *might* be able to process credit cards but would prefer cash.

 

Once we are making port visits we either pay with a credit card or, if we really have to, we will get a small amount of cash from an ATM.

 

In terms of the Churchill £5 note, these will start to be issued this coming September.

Edited June 10, 2016 by digitl

[Bob++]

The Bank of England will issue a new polymer £5 note on 13 September 2016, a new polymer £10 note in summer 2017, and a new polymer £20 note by 2020. The current £50 note was issued in 2011 and there are no plans to replace it in the near future.

 

The paper £5 notes will start to be withdrawn from circulation as the polymer £5 notes are introduced. We expect that by January 2017 around half of the paper £5 notes will have been replaced with polymer notes.You can continue to use the paper £5 note until its legal tender status is withdrawn in May 2017.

 

This means that for most cruisers this summer, any BOE £5 notes they take home, will not be accepted in shops if the come back next year. They can be exchanged in a bank though.

 

I doubt that any exchange would take coins from anywhere - even the relatively high value £2 coin.

[4774Papa]

Thanks for the heads up. In our case, it's not exactly cost effective to schedule a trip just to shed any old 5 pound notes already sitting in our safe deposit box. Better to survey our friends to find out if anyone is traveling to the UK soon and simply give them the money.

 

Are the new Churchill notes already in circulation along with the old version?

 

I think the new notes may be out now.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/winston-churchill-appear-five-pound-notes-1854779

[tring]

The new notes are not out yet.

 

The difference with the new notes is mainly that they are polymer and of a different size to the current paper ones, so presumably that is why they are being withdrawn so quickly. The following link gives details of the £5, £10 and £20 polymer notes that are currently scheduled to come into circulation one by one:-

 

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/polymer/Documents/gettingyourbusinessready_april2015.pdf

 

As stated previously they could still be exchanged in a bank, and even at a later stage could be exchanged by sending to the Bank of England as explained here:-

 

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/withdrawn/default.aspx

 

and here:-

 

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/banknotes/Pages/about/exchanges.aspx

Edited June 10, 2016 by tring

[808lady]

Does anyone have recent experience in Norway? Are euro widely accepted for small purchases such as a cup of coffee or a postcard? Wondering if we need to bother withdrawing krone from an ATM? Thanks in advance.

[wheezedr]

Does anyone have recent experience in Norway? Are euro widely accepted for small purchases such as a cup of coffee or a postcard? Wondering if we need to bother withdrawing krone from an ATM? Thanks in advance.

 

Most accepted of all are credit cards even for small purchases. Used a few kroners, never had any euros to try.

[GrJ Berkshire]

Norway has few places taking Euros and not for a coffee, only in Oslo, Bergen, will you find any at all. NOK is the only currency or a cc or debit card.

[digitl]

We only ever used credit cars or NOK.

[4774Papa]

I have read that Norway is planning to do away with paper money. Everyone will rely on a money card or use credit/debit cards.

[Go-Bucks!]

Someone has already explained the currencies of the countries.

 

You didn't provide enough details of what tours you are taking. If you have to pay for private tours then many require cash and most in the local currency. If you are doing ship's excursions, then that significantly reduces your need for cash.

 

Do you have a pre or post visit planned? If you do what country? If it is Amsterdam, then buy some Euros via an ATM at the airport when you arrive.

 

If you are not doing private tours or a pre/post land stay, you won't need huge amounts of cash.

 

Still, if you are planning to just leave the boat and find a taxi, you will need local currency.

 

For Russia, take US dollars, don't buy any Rubles.

As a minimum, I recommend buying about 300 Euros from an ATM when you arrive in Europe.

 

If you need local currency in the other countries, try to use ATMs.

 

Credit cards are widely accepted in all countries. Although AmEx is not accepted much in Russia. Further, in Scandinavia, if you use your credit card and don't have the chip and pin card, them be sure to tell the cashier in advance that you need to pay with a card and signature option.

 

I always take about $300 US as backup in the event that I have issues with the ATM. Most cruise lines can exchange dollars for Euros or local currency with a hefty surcharge and poor rate.

Also, cruise lines sometimes don't have some currencies that aren't used frequently.

 

 

Excellent advise!! I do the same thing.

 

Kinda depends on where you visit, what kind of places you stay, where will you eat, what type of transportation, etc. Large hotels and restaurants and more touristy places are more likely to take a CC, but small towns, local guides, small cafes or B&B's may require cash. I make a list of places I'll need money and try to estimate which ones will take a card and what ones might need cash.

 

And, above all, keep all your money, cards, tickets, and passport in a MONEYBELT! Keep it underneath your clothing - it's your "deep storage." Europe is a safe place but there are many pickpockets and they can spot you a mile away. Keep most of your valuables in the ship safe in your room, but whatever you need to take with you daily needs to be in your moneybelt. If you don't have one, go to the Travel Store on Rick Steves dot com. Bon Voyage!