Norway cruise

[Rene46]

Hi travelbuds, we did our excursions in the ports, not with p & o, the Norwegian people are so lovely & we found very helpful, lot of the ports ,just did our own thing. Enjoy it’s such a beautiful country, never get tired of it been 3 times now .

[travelbuds]

3 hours ago, Rene46 said:

Hi travelbuds, we did our excursions in the ports, not with p & o, 

Thank you for your comments. We usually make our non-ship excursion reservations with the locals before we leave home, especially for Alaska cruises as certain ones fill up fast. Have never been to Europe before. Looking forward to it.

[travelbuds]

My wife and I have never been to Europe. Can we do this cruise (Southampton, Bruges and Norway) using only our credit cards, or do we need to convert US dollars into pounds, euros and kroners before we leave home? Buses, trains, tipping for excursions, restaurants, porters, taxi? Thanks.

[TheOldBear]

30 minutes ago, travelbuds said:

My wife and I have never been to Europe. Can we do this cruise (Southampton, Bruges and Norway) using only our credit cards, or do we need to convert US dollars into pounds, euros and kroners before we leave home? Buses, trains, tipping for excursions, restaurants, porters, taxi? Thanks.

Norway is almost completely cashless. I've bought a small amount [50] euros for a few trips [stops in Belgium, France, Germany ] but did not spend any [cash ended up as tips on the westbound crossing, or donated to the Prince's Trust].

For the UK, I've used credit cards for Uber and the Southampton 'Radio Taxi', pub and shop purchases. I did use cash for museum admission - but they were setup for cards as well. I did need to switch my Uber app from Discover to Visa - Discover is not commonly accepted.

 

It is important to setup the times / places you will be using the card with your card issuer - you may not want it frozen after a suspicious purchase in a Tromso coffee shop.

[travelbuds]

1 hour ago, TheOldBear said:

Norway is almost completely cashless. I've bought a small amount [50] euros for a few trips [stops in Belgium, France, Germany ] but did not spend any [cash ended up as tips on the westbound crossing, or donated to the Prince's Trust].

For the UK, I've used credit cards for Uber and the Southampton 'Radio Taxi', pub and shop purchases. I did use cash for museum admission - but they were setup for cards as well. I did need to switch my Uber app from Discover to Visa - Discover is not commonly accepted.

 

It is important to setup the times / places you will be using the card with your card issuer - you may not want it frozen after a suspicious purchase in a Tromso coffee shop.

Sounds like the only places where cash tips may be expected would be in London (hotel porter) and Southampton (hotel and cruise terminal porters). Will use credit card for train/coach/taxi and taxi tip. Did I miss anyone else? Contacting credit card issuer is on my to-do list. Thanks.