Currency to bring for Grand Turk, St. Maarten, St.Kitts.

[Flip flop lady]

My parents are cruising with us in 3 weeks. My dad is very "old school". He wants to bring travelers checks. I didn't even know they still made them. I'm not sure anyone takes them. I know there is a Dutch and French side of St.Maarten, and St. Kitts is Dutch??? Grand Turk British??? Do they all accept American money???

 

 

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[Hlitner]

On all of those islands they can simply use US dollars. While it is true that the official currency on the French side of St Martin is Euros....everyone does accept dollars. As to Travelers Checks, they are truly obsolete and there are actually many younger workers who have never seen one. But your parents can cash TCs on the ship (you might want to double check with their cruise line). Using TCs ashore might be difficult. The norm (all over the world) are to use ATMs.

 

Hank

[John Bull]

US dollars accepted everywhere, and the sticker price on touristy goods is usually USD :)

 

Trav Cheques are accepted almost nowhere - they're consigned to history

 

Grand Turk is "British" only on a map. Your ship berths at a private cruiseline-owned beach, and I think the bars & probably the shops charge your on-board account. We gave our custom to a ramshackle beach-bar just outside the cruiseline's boundary & everything was priced in USD. Apparently there are one or two minor things to be seen on the island, but for the vast majority it's a beach day.

 

Always a good idea to carry plenty of $1s and $5s (not $2's, for whatever reason they don't like them), because although van drivers & tourist establishments give change in USD, those who sell mainly to locals accept USD but their registers are geared to give change in local shrapnel - so if you want a $3 ice cream & you've only got a $20 bill you'll get that ice cream and $17-worth of souvenir coins.:(

 

JB :)

[davekathy]

My parents are cruising with us in 3 weeks. My dad is very "old school". He wants to bring travelers checks. I didn't even know they still made them. I'm not sure anyone takes them. I know there is a Dutch and French side of St.Maarten, and St. Kitts is Dutch??? Grand Turk British??? Do they all accept American money???

 

 

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Good ole' USA dollars accepted at all the ports you listed. We bring Traveler Checks all the time on our cruises. Tell your dad to go to GS on the ship to cash them. No limit or charge for cashing them.

[cb at sea]

Yes..the ship will cash travelers checks. There is also a safe in the cabin to store your money and other valuables. Larger bills are easier to carry, but do break them down on the ship (as needed), as taking smaller denominations ashore is the thing to do.

[fishywood]

You dad could get approved for a no-foreign-transaction-fees credit card faster than the time it takes to be issued a packet of traveler's cheques with all the paperwork and signing required (assuming issuing traveler's cheques now is as tedious as it was in 1990 the last time I used them). But I imagine that is way too "new school" for him.

 

Other than than cash is king in the Caribbean. I don't recall seeing anything touristy in St Kitts or St Maarten (Dutch side) not priced in $US.

[Honolulu Blue]

My parents are cruising with us in 3 weeks. My dad is very "old school". He wants to bring travelers checks. I didn't even know they still made them. I'm not sure anyone takes them. I know there is a Dutch and French side of St.Maarten, and St. Kitts is Dutch??? Grand Turk British??? Do they all accept American money???

 

I'll defer to others about the usefulness of travelers' checks.

 

Grand Turk is part of the Turks & Caicos Islands, which is British - but their official currency is the US dollar. Your Yankee bucks are widely accepted on both sides of St. Maarten and St. Kitts.

 

I don't think St. Kitts was ever Dutch. I know the British and French fought over it several times a few hundred years ago.

[Sequim88]

US dollars and the ships front desk or the casino can break bills. If you rely on credit card on shore then be sure to call the bank or issuer's toll free customer service number and inform them you will be traveling outside of you home area and which "countries" you will be in - including South Florida which most cards treat like a foreign country due to high fraud levels.

[fishywood]

. If you rely on credit card on shore then be sure to call the bank or issuer's toll free customer service number and inform them you will be traveling outside of you home area and which "countries" you will be in - including South Florida which most cards treat like a foreign country due to high fraud levels.

 

Interesting observation. Both of my banks here in South Florida have told me that they no longer require notice of out of the country travel. One has removed that function from their online customer service, the other has not updated that service for seemingly several years (when I click on that section it displays several closed accounts of mine and family members but not our current debit cards).

[navybankerteacher]

Interesting observation. Both of my banks here in South Florida have told me that they no longer require notice of out of the country travel. One has removed that function from their online customer service, the other has not updated that service for seemingly several years (when I click on that section it displays several closed accounts of mine and family members but not our current debit cards).

 

This may say more about South Florida than about normal credit and debit card issuer policies. Texas and Florida are two areas where we have recently had cards rejected when advance notice of travel was not given.

[sail7seas]

My parents are cruising with us in 3 weeks. My dad is very "old school". He wants to bring travelers checks. I didn't even know they still made them. I'm not sure anyone takes them. I know there is a Dutch and French side of St.Maarten, and St. Kitts is Dutch??? Grand Turk British??? Do they all accept American money???

 

 

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We used U.S. $$ and credit cards in all those locations. No problem doing so.

[Hlitner]

Interesting observation. Both of my banks here in South Florida have told me that they no longer require notice of out of the country travel. One has removed that function from their online customer service, the other has not updated that service for seemingly several years (when I click on that section it displays several closed accounts of mine and family members but not our current debit cards).

 

It is not just your banks. Shortly after CapitalOne starting issuing credit cards with Chips....they told us that it was no longer necessary to notify them of travel itineraries. Here is the text of their notification:

 

Travel Notifications are no longer needed!

With the added security of your Capital One chip card, you don’t have to tell us when and where you’re traveling, inside or outside the United States. Your chip card is 100% covered for fraud while you’re traveling, and we will alert you if we see anything suspicious. Make sure your security alerts are up to date with your current email and mobile phone information before you go. If you need a PIN for cash advances or while traveling, you can request one here. Please note it will take 7-10 business days for your PIN to arrive in the mail. Capital One doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees!

 

 

 

Several of our other credit/debit cards still request travel notification to assure no security issues.

 

Hank

[sail7seas]

American Express stopped requiring notification some long time ago.