Currency Exchange On Celebrity Solstice

[patravel]

Hello Everyone

 

Sailing the April 3 Australia / New Zealand cruise on Celebrity Solstice . Can't wait to get started .

 

Question for anyone who has sailed Solstice lately : Does the ship offer foreign currency exchange service onboard ( e.g. changing US$ cash into AUST$ cash)?

 

Thanks in advance

[NantahalaCruiser]

All of Celebrity's ships offer currency exchange. However, you will probably find it cheaper to either get foreign currency from your bank prior to the cruise, or to use an ATM once you get to the foreign country.

 

The only time I used the ship's currency exchange on our recent B2B Asian cruise was to convert a little excess HKD back to USD.

 

I would also suggest that you take along a credit card that advertises that they have no extra foreign exchange fee - just the normal market exchange rate.

[patravel]

Great advice , Larry .

 

Thank you so much for responding . It is much appreciated .

 

:)

[jelayne]

Exchange rates on the ship are not good. We take a small amount of local currency with us and then use a credit with no currencyconversion fee. If we need additional cash ATM are everywhere.

[Northern Aurora]

While Guest Relations can exchange currency Celebrity is not in the currency exchange business and the rates offered will not be favorable. You will find ATMs in Australia and New Zealand in the same areas you would expect to find them in North America. Just forewarn your bank that there will be withdrawals made overseas.

[Beanb41]

If you want to get Australian and New currency to use whilst ashore in both countries my advice is to buy it at home from your own bank. The Bank sell rate (ie the rate they will sell you Aust / NZ dollars) will be far better than the buy rate (ie the rate the NZ / Aust Banks) will buy your US dollars. This is because the bank makes most of the money re foreign exchange when they actually sell the currency. Currency they buy is a liability until it is sold. For example you may get $1US = $1A1.30 in the USA but you may only get dollar for dollar if you change it down under. The exchange rate for hotels and Bureau de Change are even worse.

The cruise line exchange rates are set the day before sailing by their bank in the USA and are not favourable. At best a cruise line could be aligned with a Bureau de change. The may have an ATM on board with $A but there will be a commission fee.

 

Another way of getting a very good exchange rate is to use a credit card at an ATM. The rate is determined on the market at the time of the transaction. Some credit card companies have a no fee for overseas transactions. If using a credit card be sure that the credit card has a positive balance when extracting money and many charge interest on cash advances that don't have a positive balance

[caribill]

 

Another way of getting a very good exchange rate is to use a credit card at an ATM. The rate is determined on the market at the time of the transaction. Some credit card companies have a no fee for overseas transactions. If using a credit card be sure that the credit card has a positive balance when extracting money and many charge interest on cash advances that don't have a positive balance

 

You need a debit card at ATMs to avoid your bank charging the interest and extra fees that come with using a credit card to obtain cash. Using a credit card at an ATM is considered getting a cash advance with all the associated fees and interest.

[jleeo]

Get a Schwab debit card. It gives you access to ATM's worldwide for local currency and refunds you for the ATM charges. Even if you get US dollars from the ATM on a ship - Schwab refunds that $4 they charge to use the machine. We never get currency in advance for any trip. Just swing by an ATM and get it as you need it (or use the card directly to make purchases)

[4774Papa]

Wells Fargo and Bank of America seem to have the best exchange rates for buying foreign currency in the USA. My Wife has a BOA account and we sometimes purchase currency through BOA. Most of the time we just use ATMs.

[patravel]

Hello Everyone

 

Thanks so much to all who responded . All of your recommendations and background information are extremely helpful . This Forum is just one of the many benefits of being a Cruise Critic Member .

 

Looking forward to meeting everyone at the Meet & Mingle onboard Solstice . It won't be long now .

[Beanb41]

The ATM machine on the cruise ship should not be treated like a bank ATM but as a private ATM where they will charge you for each transaction irrespective of bank and transfer charges