Cash on board or in Port

[tborntreger]

First time cruiser here.  We've pre-paid our gratuities but I was wondering if there are any other tips I'll need cash for on board?  Do you all use cash in port or strictly carry a credit card?  If you carry cash can you give some idea approximately a person would need? (I know that is sort of a subjective question but a ball park of what people have found they typically spend on a 7 day cruise with 3 port stops)  Do you use USD or exchange money into the local currency prior to going? Thank you.

[Iamcruzin]

A first time cruiser will typically spend more than a person who has been on many cruises so what I do and what you do will be two different things.

If you are on a prepaid excursion that includes lunch and transportation you should tip the driver a few bucks depending on how many are in your group. figure two to 5 dollars a person. If the driver is the tour guide and not just the driver that's when I tip the larger amount.  You might also want to tip anyone who serves you or sets up your chair or umbrella.

 

Depending on where you are there will be natives who want to sell you crafts. If it's not too expensive I will buy the wife a necklace just to help the economy. Generally we have been to the Caribbean so many times the we really only buy lunch and a few drinks and those we put on a credit card. We take local transportation so we use cash for that and the tip. I take about $200 in cash with me at each port and depending on what we do I may come back with the full $200.  I will pay with a credit card whenever possible. If you are traveling with young children you may need more depending on how much you plan to spend on each child. I would set a limit and stick to it.  We have been cruising for over 30yrs. I don't even buy bottles of liquor anymore. 

You will probably want to spend money on photos which can be pricey I remember when we took our first family cruise I spent $800 on photos. I couldn't tell you where those pictures are today.  Now we just use our phones and store everything in the cloud. It's nice to have one or two nice family pictures but they will be taking pictures from the time you board until you leave.  The picture to avoid buying is the one they take of you when you first board the ship. Everyone looks like hell from traveling.  We don't even stop to pose for them anymore. As a matter of fact we didn't pose for any pictures on our last cruise.

Remember that an 18% gratuity is added to every drink you purchase so there is no need to tip extra. With that said, we buy the drink package which includes the tip. However I like to tip my favorite bartender at the end of the cruise. We also tip the room steward at the end of the trip even though we pay the daily gratuity.  The specialty restaurants now add an 18% gratuity so I no longer tip there. 

 

 

[Dewaldcruiser]

I never bring enough small bills with me.  Taxis, tips, street vendors, beach chair hawkers, etc. seem to go through all my $1, $5 & $10 bills quickly.  

 

Since I always have a credit card on file with the Royal ship, I never need cash on board, except for the occasional end of the cruise tip for exceptional crew members.

Edited December 14, 2021 by Dewaldcruiser

[butterfly4108]

As for whether to exchange to local currency or not it depends on where you are.  I always at least try to carry both US and Euros whereever I go as one or the other is usually accepted and it's easier to keep track of what I'm actually spending.  All of the others I try to have "a little" in ports that don't readily accept the other two but that tends to get confusing after awhile and it's easy to get taken by street vendors when you don't know the currency exchange rate, kunos, rupees, dinars, lira, yikes!  Too much worrk and most have NO problem with US money or Euros 😉  Read up on where you're going and you'll have a pretty good idea if you need to get other currency.  Best advice is to do your homework.....I too allow for about $200 cash in each port but have rarely used it all, credit cards in restaurants and stores also...

[SRF]

Most tourist places near the dock and places where excursions stop will take credit cards.

 

Some smaller kiosks and shops only take cash, but dollars or Euros (as someone else stated) are normally accepted. Caribbean is dollars.

 

On board, the only cash you will need is if want to tip more that the auto grats.  Some people tip extra, some don't.

 

For regular cruiser, RCI now has a program where they get 4 - 6 free drinks per day.  For those, I will be tipping.

[shipgeeks]

OP, Where will you be cruising?

If in Caribbean/Bahamas, US currency is fine.

If in Europe or other overseas location, local currency will be needed while ashore.

[Ferry_Watcher]

You may want to also to have additional cash to tip your room steward, waitstaff and sommelier.  (Yes, I know that you pre-paid your gratuities, but you may feel that you want to leave extra for these folks at the end of your cruise). 

[Joseph2017China]

13 hours ago, tborntreger said:

First time cruiser here.  We've pre-paid our gratuities but I was wondering if there are any other tips I'll need cash for on board?  Do you all use cash in port or strictly carry a credit card?  If you carry cash can you give some idea approximately a person would need? (I know that is sort of a subjective question but a ball park of what people have found they typically spend on a 7 day cruise with 3 port stops)  Do you use USD or exchange money into the local currency prior to going? Thank you.

On the ship, every tip is covered.  Prepaid, and if you buy beverages, 18% is added.  Some people will brag how to tip more.....but you don't need to.  Cash is needed for the casino.  Bring your budget.  As far as ports are concerned, if it is the Caribbean, USD is fine.  Anyplace else than local currency.  However, I usually always use my credit card (but never a debit card).  I'm not sure what natives are, but local stores, shops, restaurants, taxi's, busses, etc will take USD in the Caribbean, or credit cards unless, it is a local small business owner, that is in a straw market etc.  Very small amount of cash is needed in Europe or Asia.  My budget is to carry about $500 cash with me on a cruise.  If I am in Europe, I will have a small amount in Euros for transportation and maybe some small snacks, soda, water and the use of a bathroom. 

[tborntreger]

8 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

OP, Where will you be cruising?

If in Caribbean/Bahamas, US currency is fine.

If in Europe or other overseas location, local currency will be needed while ashore.

Caribbean (Roatan, Costa Maya and Cozumel)

[wake74]

I've never been anywhere in the world where someone refused good ol' US Dollars.  At times I knew I was not getting a competitive exchange rate at a souk or someplace in Morocco, but that was just part of the haggle.  Anyplace you will be going on a cruise (touristy) will take dollars.  My general philosophy is that with an American passport, and a stack of cash (or a high limit credit card) when traveling you can get yourself out of most problems 🙂

 

 

[Coralc]

1 hour ago, tborntreger said:

Caribbean (Roatan, Costa Maya and Cozumel)

Just bring lots of small bills. Maybe a $100 in 1's and 5's. Using your credit card in Mexico or Roatan can be a little iffy, especially if there is an international exchange fee attached to your card. So, you might want to bring cash for onshore purchases of drinks, food or souvenirs. Cash is better in the casino onboard, although it is possible to charge it to your room. 

[Coralc]

I can mention what we also do for our cruise addiction. We play the Lotto twice a week. Not a lot, $3-5. We also don't win very much. But instead of reinvesting that money back into the games, we put our small amount of winnings in to an envelope and save it for tip money on cruises. We also throw change into a large vase to cash in at a coinstar for small bills. 

 

With this lengthy pause in cruising, we are well stocked with tip money for our next several sailings. Our "big win" at Lotto in the last couple of years was $93. 

[cruiselvr04]

Remember to tip in your ports of call.  When we take an excursion like a snorkel trip, sailing trip, island tour we tip 10% to 20% of the excursion cost.  If it’s just a bus trip $2 or so.  So it does depend on what you’re doing.  If you go to an all inclusive on a beach you need to tip your waiters.  
 

I don’t normally notice what others do but on our last cruise we took a snorkel/beach trip at about $65 pp through the cruise line. The weather wasn’t great ( the water was rough) and there was no alcohol in the so called Margaritas.  But still these men need to feed their families and helpers usually depend on tips alone.  2 groups sat right across from us on the boat and I was kind of shocked that each couple only tipped $5. The men on the boat fitted everyone with gear, watched over them while they were in the water and passed rounds of drinks around.  They appeared to have had a good time for the last 5 hours.  Don’t flame me, it was none of my business.  I just figure if we can afford to cruise, we can afford to tip a $20.   To us it’s part of the cost. I don’t feel obligated to buy pictures or videos but I do tip.  
 

Separate comment is that we rarely use a credit card in the Caribbean. Just too much chance for fraud.  We take enough cash to cover what we need and take only that off in each port unless we are (rarely) jewelry shopping.  We always leave everything else in the safe.  So before we go on a cruise we plan our ports of call, figure out what we need for that and tips on the ship and take that.  And yes we take lots of $1, 5’s, 10’s. 

[Momto3girlsintheCarolinas]

I agree with others who say we never bring enough cash in small bills.,  You need them for tips (porters, drivers, etc.).  We once has a daughter become sea sick and I did not have enough cash to crazily tip the two young men who came to clean up the mess.  Also, in many ports, the locals prefer cash as credit card transactions come with fees that take from their profits.  

 

As others have said, take small bills.

[RedIguana]

11 hours ago, Coralc said:

Using your credit card in Mexico or Roatan can be a little iffy, especially if there is an international exchange fee attached to your card

If at all possible do not use the same credit card for your shipboard account as the one you bring ashore. I bring my no/low foreign transaction fee card ashore, and leave the shipboard account/extra ones in the safe. Any issues with the shorebound card won't screw up the rest of my good time if I have to cancel it on the fly.

[Joseph2017China]

12 hours ago, wake74 said:

I've never been anywhere in the world where someone refused good ol' US Dollars.  At times I knew I was not getting a competitive exchange rate at a souk or someplace in Morocco, but that was just part of the haggle.  Anyplace you will be going on a cruise (touristy) will take dollars.  My general philosophy is that with an American passport, and a stack of cash (or a high limit credit card) when traveling you can get yourself out of most problems 🙂

 

 

Always a great idea to pay in USD.  I took a cab in Shanghai, from hotel to ship.  The meter said ¥96.  I handed over ¥100 and said keep the change. 

 

Another cruise mate said that he thinks the taxi ripped him off but he couldn't argue with the meter.  He said, he paid the taxi what the meter said, and like me, just said keep the change.  He handed the Taxi $100.00.  

 

For those that don't want to do the math, this guy literally gave the taxi driver $84.00 in a tip.  

 

In Vietnam, I watched a person pay $28.00 for something, I paid $1.86 for.  I watched a lady pay $60.00 more for an item I paid for in Hong Kong. 

 

Yes, they love tourist because the idea that they don't want to bother exchanging money at 3%, means pure profit for the stores.  They laugh, and enjoy their money.  I was also deep in Morocco, and no, they did not readily take USD in places.  One place showed me where an ATM was so they can get paid. By the way, morocco is a closed monetary place, meaning, you can't take money in or out of it, and I'm pretty sure, local people can't exchange currency, that it is against the law.  

 

So unless you are in the Caribbean, take the time to get the countries currency, and get the best prices.  No one wants to pay for a $6.00 beer, when if you used the local money, it was less than a dollar. 

 

 

[SRF]

22 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

If in Europe or other overseas location, local currency will be needed while ashore.

 

I have found that US Dollars or Euros are accepted in a lot of places.  Especially areas with high tourist activity.

 

And in some countries, hard currency is so preferred, that you will get a much better exchange rate than the bank rate.

 

I was in one such country not long ago.  If I exchanged dollars at a bank or got local currency from an ATM, a massage cost $100.  If I paid in cash, in US dollars, it was $30.

Edited December 15, 2021 by SRF

[shoptom]

On 12/13/2021 at 11:47 PM, tborntreger said:

First time cruiser here.  We've pre-paid our gratuities but I was wondering if there are any other tips I'll need cash for on board?  Do you all use cash in port or strictly carry a credit card?  If you carry cash can you give some idea approximately a person would need? (I know that is sort of a subjective question but a ball park of what people have found they typically spend on a 7 day cruise with 3 port stops)  Do you use USD or exchange money into the local currency prior to going? Thank you.

 

Onboard you need zero cash.  In port I carry a couple hundred USD for whatever I may want to buy and an emergency credit card that I have never used.