$US from reception?

[marylovestotravel]

Is it possible to get US dollars from reception? What would be the best way to do this? Can I cash in travellers cheques? Do you know if there is any handling charge for the service. How about getting cash from onboard credit? 

 

We will be on a longer cruise and some of the tours we booked asked for payment in US dollars. I don't like carrying that much cash even with using a money belt.

 

Any advice would be welcome.

 

Mia

[Flatbush Flyer]

9 minutes ago, marylovestotravel said:

Is it possible to get US dollars from reception? What would be the best way to do this? Can I cash in travellers cheques? Do you know if there is any handling charge for the service. How about getting cash from onboard credit? 

 

We will be on a longer cruise and some of the tours we booked asked for payment in US dollars. I don't like carrying that much cash even with using a money belt.

 

Any advice would be welcome.

 

Mia

What's a "traveller' check? (Just kidding).

The main currency on Oceania ships is the US Dollar.

As for cash from onboard credit, itvwould have to be "refundable" onboard credit. Even then, the normal practice is to refund any of those remaining dollars on the last day.

[Paulchili]

I think it's best to take the money with you and keep it in the safe on the ship until you need it for each tour. It will be safe there.

I believe that there is a charge if you advance cash against your account. I have never done it but remember reading about it when people wanted cash for the casino.

If you have refundable OBC, you could try to force the issue of "cashing out" before the cruise ends but it may or may not happen - why take that chance?

JMO

Edited December 12, 2019 by Paulchili

[pinotlover]

We keep our cash in the cabin safe. It’s always been safe there. No safe crackers that we’ve heard of yet!

[marylovestotravel]

No problems about using the stateroom safe. Just don't like the idea of carrying a lot of cash through Lima when we arrive. After an incident on the Athens metro after departing a ferry at 6AM in Piraeus, have become attuned to notion of seniors being targeted and a tad vulnerable. And we arrive in Lima at 0:30 AM! So looking at preemptive care.

Mia

 

[marylovestotravel]

2 hours ago, pinotlover said:

We keep our cash in the cabin safe. It’s always been safe there. No safe crackers that we’ve heard of yet!

 

We tend to treat the safe as being safe, but I've been in scenarios where people have had money taken from a safe. We were in a 5* hotel in Tashkent,Uzbekistan and 2 people (in different rooms) on the same floor were missing cash from their safes. We had just crossed the border that day and the Uzbek government is very strict about migration of currency. So we knew to the last dollar what we had as we had to declare any money brought into the country. (And woe betide us if we tried to bring out more than that when we exited!)

 

Fortunately our tour guide was able to get the hotel to make it right. And we did not use the same hotel when we finished the tour.

 

I try to keep a general account of what we have in the safe.

 

Mia

[Flatbush Flyer]

39 minutes ago, marylovestotravel said:

No problems about using the stateroom safe. Just don't like the idea of carrying a lot of cash through Lima when we arrive. After an incident on the Athens metro after departing a ferry at 6AM in Piraeus, have become attuned to notion of seniors being targeted and a tad vulnerable. And we arrive in Lima at 0:30 AM! So looking at preemptive care.

Mia

 

A "tad" vulnerable?

Therein lies a major issue: save a few bucks by taking public transportation instead of arranging for a reputable private car service. A great example of "pennywise and pound foolish."

[tropicalkerry2002]

I have cashed US Travellers Cheques on 2 different Oceania cruises for tour operators who want to be paid in USdollars. We find it the easiest way to carry US cash while travelling BEFORE getting on the ship. Once on board, we cash them immediately, and put the cash in our safe. The most difficult part is the wait at the bank while they find the Travellers Cheques for us to purchase!

[Classiccruiser777]

You may get cash from Reception against your registered credit card though there is a charge which (I think) was 4%. We’re on Sirena this Saturday and I’ll ask.

 

[Paulchili]

2 hours ago, marylovestotravel said:

Just don't like the idea of carrying a lot of cash through Lima when we arrive.

That can be a difference maker 🙂

Perhaps Classiccruiser777 can check for you if they cash travelers check at the reception (and if there is a fee) and if they do, that may be the way to go in this instance. Even a private transfer in Lima may be a problem but probably would be safe.

[marylovestotravel]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

A "tad" vulnerable?

Therein lies a major issue: save a few bucks by taking public transportation instead of arranging for a reputable private car service. A great example of "pennywise and pound foolish."

 

No, it is not a case of being being pennywise and pound foolish, but of travelling independently, which we have done very well in the past, along with a lot of other people. Along with that, you have to be able to adapt to some circumstances. Like being "forgotten" on a remote (to us) road in Turkey with a nice, young Australian who was on his way home after working the winter in a ski resort in Austria. We were visiting the neolithic remains in Catalhoyuk and ended up hitching a ride with a tour bus of Aussie tourists who spent the ride to Konya teasing him and then dropped us off 2 blocks from our local hotel.

 

A nice memory and a good story.

 

And the attempted shakedown in Piraeus ended well. We have been alerted to the idea that being the only people in a subway car might not be the best scenario. Especially if some "tough" looking people board who then (surreptitiously) text their friends to join them. 

 

Mia

[marylovestotravel]

1 hour ago, tropicalkerry2002 said:

I have cashed US Travellers Cheques on 2 different Oceania cruises for tour operators who want to be paid in USdollars. We find it the easiest way to carry US cash while travelling BEFORE getting on the ship. Once on board, we cash them immediately, and put the cash in our safe. The most difficult part is the wait at the bank while they find the Travellers Cheques for us to purchase!

 

Thanks, it's nice to know that we can cash some travellers cheques. I know they're harder to use these days and normally, I would just get local currency from an ATM but these tour operators specified US dollars in cash.

 

Mia

[marylovestotravel]

57 minutes ago, Classiccruiser777 said:

You may get cash from Reception against your registered credit card though there is a charge which (I think) was 4%. We’re on Sirena this Saturday and I’ll ask.

 

 

Thanks, it'll be a good backup.

 

Mia

[marylovestotravel]

24 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

That can be a difference maker 🙂

Perhaps Classiccruiser777 can check for you if they cash travelers check at the reception (and if there is a fee) and if they do, that may be the way to go in this instance. Even a private transfer in Lima may be a problem but probably would be safe.

 

We are going to arrange for a pickup from the hotel, but I still get a bit nervous about transiting an airport/city I'm not familiar with. And I've read warnings about not picking up a taxi indiscriminately as the area around the airport is rough.

 

Mia

[Flatbush Flyer]

13 minutes ago, marylovestotravel said:

 

We are going to arrange for a pickup from the hotel, but I still get a bit nervous about transiting an airport/city I'm not familiar with. And I've read warnings about not picking up a taxi indiscriminately as the area around the airport is rough.

 

Mia

Any area in Lima proper is sketchy at best. We always stay in Miraflores. But, even there (just like Lima), anyone can call itself a taxi. There's no licensure. Use the hotel's private town cars. They'll get you anywhere you want to go in most areas for about $9 USD one way.

[marylovestotravel]

42 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Any area in Lima proper is sketchy at best. We always stay in Miraflores. But, even there (just like Lima), anyone can call itself a taxi. There's no licensure. Use the hotel's private town cars. They'll get you anywhere you want to go in most areas for about $9 USD one way.

 

We're staying in Miraflores - it seems to be a great area to be and close to a lot of sites/sights. It's nice to be able to walk and explore, though I will keep in mind your advice about hotel's town cars when we go further afield.

[Waynetor]

We have only asked for small bills in exchange for higher denomination bills which is easy to do for no fee.  There were a couple times the front desk ran out of $1 bills so if you expect to need some of them don't wait until last moment. 

[ternstail]

You can also use the ATM in the casino for a charge.

[Redtravel]

You do not need to carry big amounts of cash. Use your credit card.  Take more than one card just in case.  Email yourself the important contact info . Tell your bank where you will be. Use ATMs on land.  Never had a problem.  They give you cash in local currency. Some banks will refund ATM fees.   

[Paulchili]

17 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

You do not need to carry big amounts of cash. Use your credit card.  Take more than one card just in case.  Email yourself the important contact info . Tell your bank where you will be. Use ATMs on land.  Never had a problem.  They give you cash in local currency. Some banks will refund ATM fees.   

This is what OP stated in first post:

 

We will be on a longer cruise and some of the tours we booked asked for payment in US dollars.

 

Sounds like credit cards or ATMs wouldn't do it as these tours are not likely to be in US..

[LHT28]

another option is ask O if you buy yourself OBC before  the cruise (deposit money in your onboard account) if it can be withdrawn through the cruise without issuehttps://oceaniacruises.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360005406034-Can-I-cash-a-traveler-s-check-or-personal-check-on-the-ship-

 

 

 

[Redtravel]

We have prepaid for private tours. Never had a problem. In the event that we were late or missing a port, we contacted the tour guide. All of our money was returned. In Europe, most tours want to be paid in euros or local currency.  I always carry some USDollars.  I also get some local currency.  There aren’t too many places that want dollars. Countries that have struggling economies prefer dollars. Used US dollars in Colombia, Vietnam, some parts of Russia, and Greece.  Most countries do not want US money. 
the prepaying OBC is a good idea.  Check to find out if you can cash out anytime. Most cruises will hand you OBC in cash if it was posted by TAs or private individuals. OBC posted from a cruise line often is not refundable. Azamara would not let us cash out until end of the cruise.  
 

[clo]

20 hours ago, tropicalkerry2002 said:

The most difficult part is the wait at the bank while they find the Travellers Cheques for us to purchase!

LOL. And find someone old enough to know what they are 🙂

[Flatbush Flyer]

3 hours ago, Redtravel said:

You do not need to carry big amounts of cash. Use your credit card.  Take more than one card just in case.  Email yourself the important contact info . Tell your bank where you will be. Use ATMs on land.  Never had a problem.  They give you cash in local currency. Some banks will refund ATM fees.   

If I read your post literally, it sounds like you're suggesting to use a "credit card" in an ATM which, of course, would be among the top tier of really bad advice. I hope you realize that, if you take a cash advance from an ATM using a. Refit card, interest in that advance (and all else in your current balance due) begins accruing interest immediately.

[Paulchili]

29 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

 I hope you realize that, if you take a cash advance from an ATM using a. Refit card, interest in that advance (and all else in your current balance due) begins accruing interest immediately.

..and at a significantly high rate at that.