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Taking Cash On A Cruise

tootsie7

By tootsie7,
in Royal Caribbean International

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cruisegirl1

cruisegirl1

Posted
Posted (edited)
We don't want to carry a lot of cash with us on our cruise. We like to play in the casino so not sure how to do this. What have others done in the past?

 

Several options:

 

You can get cash from the casino cashier. It is charged to your sea pass card. They will charge you 5% for the convenience.

 

If you're a member of the casino royale club you can get as much cash as you want with no fee.

 

You can cash a check (I think it is about $200) at the guest services desk. You can cash multiple checks as long as you are using different bank accounts. (I believe it must be a US Bank – can't recall)

 

You can purchase travelers checks and cash them for free at the guest services desk

 

You can bring cash and store it in the in room safe

 

We have used all of the above options. Good luck

M

Edited by cruisegirl1
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matj2000

matj2000

Posted
Posted

Bring a lot of cash and put it in the safe.

 

What is the problem, you really think somebody is going to roll you?

 

You can spend $6 each withdraw from the ships ATM that may or may not have money..

 

I usually bring $1000 in cash every trip.

 

Bring home the leftovers......

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ducklite

ducklite

Posted
Posted

While we don't typically gamble (no issues with it, it's just something we don't enjoy), we do usually bring $300-1000 on a cruise to use for cash tips (room service, shore excursion guides, or extras over and above the standard daily which goes on the card), shopping in ports, local transportation and/or admissions and/or private guides hired in ports, etc. I'm not sure what your concern with bringing cash is, unless you are planning on spending thousands of dollars in the casino...

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Relax@Sea

Relax@Sea

Posted
Posted

You can also contact there Casino Department and transfer cash from your checking account and set up a marker account this way you can avoid the 5% fee.

Be aware that there may be a minimum that you have to transfer for this service but if it is within your budget it may save a little money and you can always transfer it back to your checking account or you can pull it out in cash on your trip and you don't have to pay the 5%.

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Fouremco

Fouremco

Posted
Posted
Well, that really does help with cash.

If you set up a cash account for your cruise instead of a cc account, you can withdraw cash at the casino without the 5% charge. Buying the OBC in advance provides the funds for the cash account.

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ducklite

ducklite

Posted
Posted
We are flying in 2 days before the cruise and didn't want to carry the cash with us.

None of our banks carry Travelers Checks anymore. We will call Royal Caribbean and then decide what to do. Thanks

 

So you are flying into Orlando, I have NEVER heard of someone getting mugged in that airport. You are then going to check into a hotel where there is presumably a safe deposit box behind the desk or a safe in the room. I'm just not seeing the problem, unless you are carrying thousands of dollars with you.

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matj2000

matj2000

Posted
Posted (edited)
So you are flying into Orlando, I have NEVER heard of someone getting mugged in that airport. You are then going to check into a hotel where there is presumably a safe deposit box behind the desk or a safe in the room. I'm just not seeing the problem, unless you are carrying thousands of dollars with you.

 

Totally agree.

 

I am pretty sure you will be ok for 2 days, unless word gets out you are coming in town.

 

Carrying $1000 is not a big deal.

 

Anything else sounds like a complete hassle.........

 

Edited by matj2000
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sellwingri

sellwingri

Posted
Posted

How soon are you leaving? If you've got a few weeks, open up a checking at an institution that refunds any atm fees that you may be charged. I use my Schwab checking account to withdraw cash when I need it. They also charge no foreign exchange fees so we use it at stores in port.

 

I spend a lot of time in the casino and take cash with me but usually end up hitting the Atm at some point.

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Clarea

Clarea

Posted
Posted
How soon are you leaving? If you've got a few weeks, open up a checking at an institution that refunds any atm fees that you may be charged. I use my Schwab checking account to withdraw cash when I need it. They also charge no foreign exchange fees so we use it at stores in port.

 

I spend a lot of time in the casino and take cash with me but usually end up hitting the Atm at some point.

Capital One is another bank that refunds ATM fees, up to $30 per month.

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ducklite

ducklite

Posted
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If you are a AAA member you should be able to buy travelers checks. I am assuming they still have them, haven't bought them in years.

 

 

 

There is really not a problem with having cash on the ship, just keep the amount you aren't using in the safe in your cabin.

 

 

 

Not positive but I think they discontinued them a couple of years ago. Again I could be wrong, but I think they now offer a prepaid Visa instead. Probably easier to replace if lost or stolen, plus there is no question as to how much value was left on the card at the time it was last used by the rightful owner.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Clarea

Clarea

Posted
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Don't count on the ship's ATM. It was "out of order" my entire RCI cruise in the Norwegian Fjords. Grrr! I found other things to do, their loss. It ended up saving me a lot of money. ;-)

That's also been our experience with the ship's ATM. Quite often out of service.

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ChinaShrek

ChinaShrek

Posted
Posted
Several options:

 

You can get cash from the casino cashier. It is charged to your sea pass card. They will charge you 5% for the convenience.

 

If you're a member of the casino royale club you can get as much cash as you want with no fee.

 

M

 

I just trying to understand what this means. Let's say I want to gamble $20 on a slot machine. Can I just put my room card in the machine and charge $20 to my ship account? Is there a 5% fee to do this on RCI? This is what we did on HAL but had no fee.

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Cruiserbillyboo

Cruiserbillyboo

Posted
Posted

Perhaps the OP can tell us what the specific reservation is about carrying cash?

Based on what is posted so far, all I get is that they "just don't want to do it".

Please be more specific, and then perhaps others can offer more directed advice. Is the concern safety? Is it an unusually large amount that is planned to be brought? Something else?

 

Me? I ALWAYS carry cash. No worries about foreign transaction fees, crappy exchange rates, out-of-order ATMs, 5% casino redemption fees. There are always safe places to store it, especially on board ship. Almost every vendor in every country (including almost all DIY shore excursions) accepts USD cash.

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mollyeilis

mollyeilis

Posted
Posted

Depending on how much you'll gamble I would just bring cash. Unless you're going to go over the limit of how much cash you can bring out of the country I suppose.

 

We did two nights in Orlando, 5 in San Juan, and then did our cruise. Brought cash. We were just fine.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Beachammo

Beachammo

Posted
Posted

I use to bring enough cash so that my wife can bail me out of a foreign prision if needed. USD can fix just about any issue in a foreign country.

 

Now that I'm older the odds of something happening have decreased. I probably won't be in a bar fight in Cozumel.

 

I have reduced the amount of cash i take to about 2 or 3 thousand. I usually bring back all the cash I take as we put everything on the SPG Amex credit card. No fees and points that give us a 3% return.

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Clarea

Clarea

Posted
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I just trying to understand what this means. Let's say I want to gamble $20 on a slot machine. Can I just put my room card in the machine and charge $20 to my ship account? Is there a 5% fee to do this on RCI? This is what we did on HAL but had no fee.

RC does not allow you to pay for slots using your room card. You must use cash or a cash out ticket. If you see a room card in a slot machine, it's there only to accumulate points for casino perks, not to pay for play.

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