How much actual cash would you suggest bringing?

[complawyer]

laudergayle.  well, as i said, even though the dsc is supposed to cover tips, the staff on the ship that i tip, are performing a service for me (i know it's their job to do so), but at least it boils down to 1 on 1 service. on a bus crowded with 50 or so of my closest friends, (1) i've already paid an outrageous fee for the tour) (2) most of the places we've been to, the guide just drones on and on, so i usually fall asleep (3) if they're not droning, most of them seem to be rushing you through the area. we were in morocco a few years back, and the guide rushed us through the souk, so you couldnt really focus, much less browse or take in the atmosphere, last year, they rushed us through jerusalem, and more specifically, did you ever notice that on some tours the guide steers you to a specific designated shop or store? Personally, i'm convinced that they're getting a kick-back. consider the stop with a bus load of tourists, what a bonanza for the shop keeper!

 

as for the driver, meh! since there is absolutely no interaction i dont feel any need to leave him a tip.

 

btw, this is not all-inclusive. we've been on many shore excursions, where the guide was helpful, informative and very knowledgeable about the sights. if i do tip at the end, it's usually around $10.

[laudergayle]

11 minutes ago, complawyer said:

laudergayle.  well, as i said, even though the dsc is supposed to cover tips, the staff on the ship that i tip, are performing a service for me (i know it's their job to do so), but at least it boils down to 1 on 1 service. on a bus crowded with 50 or so of my closest friends, (1) i've already paid an outrageous fee for the tour) (2) most of the places we've been to, the guide just drones on and on, so i usually fall asleep (3) if they're not droning, most of them seem to be rushing you through the area. we were in morocco a few years back, and the guide rushed us through the souk, so you couldnt really focus, much less browse or take in the atmosphere, last year, they rushed us through jerusalem, and more specifically, did you ever notice that on some tours the guide steers you to a specific designated shop or store? Personally, i'm convinced that they're getting a kick-back. consider the stop with a bus load of tourists, what a bonanza for the shop keeper!

 

as for the driver, meh! since there is absolutely no interaction i dont feel any need to leave him a tip.

 

btw, this is not all-inclusive. we've been on many shore excursions, where the guide was helpful, informative and very knowledgeable about the sights. if i do tip at the end, it's usually around $10.

I can’t say I disagree with your assessments of the NCL tour guides and excursions.  We typically tip (unless we don’t have the right denomination)…and generally it’s $10-$20. I think the guide shares with the bus driver—at least that is what I’ve been told.

[RocketMan275]

1 hour ago, complawyer said:

Personally, i'm convinced that they're getting a kick-back. consider the stop with a bus load of tourists, what a bonanza for the shop keeper!

That's a well known fact.  

[julig22]

1 hour ago, laudergayle said:

I can’t say I disagree with your assessments of the NCL tour guides and excursions.  We typically tip (unless we don’t have the right denomination)…and generally it’s $10-$20. I think the guide shares with the bus driver—at least that is what I’ve been told.

That's a sometimes.  I've had tour guides tell us upfront that they share, others indicate they don't.  I tip NCL tour guides if they've put in a lot of effort to be entertaining, generally tip bus drivers with demanding tour guides - meaning we've gone to difficult to reach locations for example. 

I often do excursions by boat so tip the crew accordingly and will sometimes tip if there is a local tour guide at a specific location.  I also leave donations at locations that rely on customer support for upkeep etc.

[JGmf]

If you're playing in the casino, bring plenty of cash.

 

Note, too, that there are ATMs in the casino as well.

[complawyer]

also, issue probably speaks for itself, if you're playing any table games, and doing well, tip your dealer. and if you order a drink, tip a buck to the cocktail waitress that brings it.

[julig22]

3 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

Ask your bank if your ATM will work in the places your are going ( ask about foreign transaction fees if any).  If your bank has places in foreign ports, just use their ATM.  

I travel a lot so have a ATM card specifically for travel.  It's prepaid and not attached to any of my other bank accounts so limited liability if it gets lost or hacked.  Plus no foreign transaction fees and they usually pay the ATM fees as well.

And, should the need arise, I can make a simple phone call and have additional funds transferred from a different and unrelated account.

[PTC DAWG]

5 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Hoo-Boy….I’m an outlier.  I bring well into 4 figures.  But, I tend to play in Hold’Em Cash Games every night.

 

But, as others said, if you’re not in the casino every night, probably a few hundred for cash tips to bartenders, shore personnel, etc.  Ones ($100), Fives ($150) and Tens ($250) is $500. That should work.  Personally, I give my cabin steward $100 of that.

I resemble your comment.  CASH is King in my book.  

[graphicguy]

3 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I resemble your comment.  CASH is King in my book.  

We’re singing from the same hymnal! 😉

[bedfordmom]

I took $950 cash for my 12 day Getaway and returned w/600$. One reason is that my private St Lucia cash only excursion was cancelled due to port change. So we save a couple of hundred there. I ended up putting my tips for the specialties on my room card instead of using cash.  We also didn't play in the casino for the first time ever which saved a lot of cash.   I also take $100 when I go ashore for just in case and usually returned w/most if not all of it.  I actually take the left over money and put it away for the next cruise!!

[RocketMan275]

9 minutes ago, bedfordmom said:

I took $950 cash for my 12 day Getaway and returned w/600$. One reason is that my private St Lucia cash only excursion was cancelled due to port change. So we save a couple of hundred there. I ended up putting my tips for the specialties on my room card instead of using cash.  We also didn't play in the casino for the first time ever which saved a lot of cash.   I also take $100 when I go ashore for just in case and usually returned w/most if not all of it.  I actually take the left over money and put it away for the next cruise!!

Every month I put money in an envelope and put the envelope in the safe.  The week before each cruise, I take the envelopes out and that's my cash for my cruise.  After each cruise, I put the leftover cash back in the safe for my next cruise.

Edited April 11, 2023 by RocketMan275

[sid_9169]

I bring a pretty good sized wad of cash in all denominations for all purchases on shore, as well as tips on board... At each port, I'll bring at least $300 - $400 in mixed bills for taxis, souvenirs, food and beverages... Also, I never, ever, not even once have ever used my credit or debit card on shore under any circumstances...

[RocketMan275]

33 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

I bring a pretty good sized wad of cash in all denominations for all purchases on shore, as well as tips on board... At each port, I'll bring at least $300 - $400 in mixed bills for taxis, souvenirs, food and beverages... Also, I never, ever, not even once have ever used my credit or debit card on shore under any circumstances...

Good advice.  I suspect you've never been a victim of credit card fraud.

[PTC DAWG]

1 hour ago, bedfordmom said:

I took $950 cash for my 12 day Getaway and returned w/600$. One reason is that my private St Lucia cash only excursion was cancelled due to port change. So we save a couple of hundred there. I ended up putting my tips for the specialties on my room card instead of using cash.  We also didn't play in the casino for the first time ever which saved a lot of cash.   I also take $100 when I go ashore for just in case and usually returned w/most if not all of it.  I actually take the left over money and put it away for the next cruise!!

I do that too, I actually came back with $900 more on my Joy cruise last week, had a nice roll or two playing craps. I tipped heavy for drinks etc all cruise too..

 

next cruise fund is flush now. 

Edited April 11, 2023 by PTC DAWG

[spanishguy1970]

we bring $300-400....

[FLAHAM]

Room cleaners in pre- and post-cruise hotels deserve a daily tip.  Shore excursion driver and guide deserve a tip.  Dollars or euros?  Both are welcomed.

Edited April 11, 2023 by FLAHAM

[Suite Heart]

1 hour ago, FLAHAM said:

Room cleaners in pre- and post-cruise hotels deserve a daily tip.  Shore excursion driver and guide deserve a tip.  Dollars or euros?  Both are welcomed.

 

Yeah, I find that a lot of peeps don't think to leave a tip for "housekeeping" during, or at the end of, a hotel stay. These room cleaners generally work very hard and don't get paid a lot, so a few $$ is gratefully accepted.

 

[ziggyuk]

I remember when I went to the US the first time in the 1980s as a young teenager. I left all my pocket change on the table in front of the TV and the cleaner took it all, I was a schoolboy and shocked my pocket money had been stolen in a hotel 😂😂

 

 

 

Edited April 11, 2023 by ziggyuk

[phillygwm]

I don't see the point of bringing a lot of cash.  At home, I put even the smallest purchases on my cards.  Abroad, cards are accepted pretty much everywhere, especially in port areas (always bring more than one.  Stuff happens!)   I usually bring about $200, half in $1-5s mostly for tips onboard. I used to give my room steward $100, though I'll probably reduce that a bit with the 1x/day service.   

 

If I have several ports with a common currency, I'll find an ATM and take out the equivalent of maybe $100.  Obviously, if you do a private excursion and agree to pay cash, you'll need more.  If you wind up with too much, just put it toward what you give your steward or another helpful crew member.  They'll likely be back there next week and can spend it more easily than you can.

 

[Georgia_Peaches]

We usually bring several envelopes labeled and filled in the following manner:

 

$300 cash for extra tips

$700 cash for casino if we have a good OBC and $1000 cash if we don't

$100 in small bills for things like porter tip at the airport/pier, taxi driver in port of call, etc

[quack2]

8 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

I resemble your comment.  CASH is King in my book.  

Cash may be King, but he's being dethroned throughout the world.

 

[graphicguy]

25 minutes ago, quack2 said:

Cash may be King, but he's being dethroned throughout the world.

 

I dunno?  Can’t clone cash…can’t steal its identity….don’t need ID to spend it…etc!!!

[wncretired]

About $1,500 here. Don’t do casino. Just like to have cash on hand. Usually take about $200 with me in the ports. 

[Amberle3]

On 4/10/2023 at 11:29 PM, complawyer said:

if we're on an ncl booked excursion, i dont tip either  the bus driver or the tour guide (go figure)

 

13 hours ago, laudergayle said:

I can’t say I disagree with your assessments of the NCL tour guides and excursions.  

 

Keep in mind that NCL is just acting as a booking agent/middleman for the tours and excursions. Sure they supposedly vet the excursion companies to make sure that the ones they're dealing with are safe and reliable, but NCL doesn't run the tours. They just contract with outside companies to run them.  They'll get quoted a price per person from the tour operator, they'll add a markup to that (likely a considerable markup) and that's what they charge the passengers. The tour company receives whatever the contracted price is and then from that has to pay for the bus (or at least maintenance and fuel for it), driver's wages and guide's wages, and of course has to make their own profit on the tour.

 

Which was a very long way of saying the tour personnel don't work for NCL, no matter how much you've paid NCL for the tour is has no bearing on how much the tour company is paying them. The might be getting a decent salary, they might be working solely on tips, I honestly have no idea what the norm is for the various countries.

 

I can tell you that HERE sometimes tour escorts are paid on an hourly basis but most often it's more of a per-day rate. And many smaller companies consider tour escorts to be basically independent contractors, which means they just negotiate a daily or per-trip fee for the tour host which doesn't necessarily have anything to do with minimum wage. Tips collected are sometimes shared between driver and tour host, sometimes not. Some companies have clear guidelines for that, others don't. If you're taking up a collection or wanting to tip then you can always ask if the tips are being shared. I know when I was escorting tours I never took any portion of a collected tip and made sure it went to the driver, my other tour hosts would usually split it with the driver. If someone personally handed me a tip then I considered that to be for me specifically.

[complawyer]

i dont see your point, but i'm well aware that the tours are contracted out, and that neither the guide nor the driver are employed by ncl. if it was an exceptional tour/guide.i will pop for between $10-20. i have been on tours where the passengers only tip a couple of dollars.

 

that being said, however, if there are 50 people on the bus, and they each pony up $10, that's apretty decent haul, especially if its onlya tour of a few hours