Cash onboard?

[fulis]

Hi everyone.

 

Me and my girlfriend are newbie cruisers, going on our first cruise.

We are heading out on the sun on dec 3rd.

 

I have a questiong about cash. I know that we have no use of cash onboard, but when we hit shore, we may need a bit.

 

I have asked my travel agency and they said that NCL can change smaller amounts onboard.

 

But how much exactly is a small amount? Do we need to stock up on local currency before we leave home?

 

Regards

Fulis

[Retired not Expired]

I've never bothered with local currency on a Caribbean cruise. I've never had anyone at any of the ports turn down the dollar.

[johnql]

Generally speaking, all of your destinations in the Western Caribbean itinerary have no problem accepting American dollars. I wouldn't bother with exchanging currency.

 

P.S. You will need some cash onboard for miscellaneous tips (e.g., room service, extra cash tip for someone who goes above and beyond) and for the casino.

[wizard-of-roz]

You can go to the pursers desk and take whatever amount you may have and they will change your money for you...whatever amount $1, $5, $10..whatever...

If you hand them a $100 bill and ask for 100 singles, they will give you the most crisp, new ones you've ever seen! These are great for those extra tips! :)

[CRUZIN TOM]

If you do not want to take a lot of cash with you, you can go to the casino and use you room card and take out up to $1000.00 per day per credit card that you used for your room card. The funds are a credit charge, not a cash advance. this can be done every day the casino is opened. You do not have to use it for gambling. Just ask for cash and they will give it to you. They assume you are using it for the tables of the slot machines. :)

[nr1boss]

The amount of cash you take depends on the amount of "shopping" you intend to do, especially in Cozumel. I have found that if you pay in cash you can get much better deals.

 

Depending on the shore tour you take in Gautemala and Belize you may want to take around $100 in small bills because a lot of the places do not take plastic.

 

I just got back this past Sunday from the same cruise. The Sun is an excellent ship and you will love the ports.

[refman]

Hi everyone.

 

Me and my girlfriend are newbie cruisers, going on our first cruise.

We are heading out on the sun on dec 3rd.

 

I have a questiong about cash. I know that we have no use of cash onboard, but when we hit shore, we may need a bit.

 

I have asked my travel agency and they said that NCL can change smaller amounts onboard.

 

But how much exactly is a small amount? Do we need to stock up on local currency before we leave home?

 

Regards

Fulis

how neat is that, first cruise, woww,,have a great trip

[Cosmopolitan]

fulis ~

 

You can always replenish your cash in the casino especially if you win:)

 

Have a wonderful cruise!

[Baitman19]

Hi everyone.

 

Me and my girlfriend are newbie cruisers, going on our first cruise.

We are heading out on the sun on dec 3rd.

 

I have a questiong about cash. I know that we have no use of cash onboard, but when we hit shore, we may need a bit.

 

I have asked my travel agency and they said that NCL can change smaller amounts onboard.

 

But how much exactly is a small amount? Do we need to stock up on local currency before we leave home?

 

Regards

Fulis

 

If you are going to do some shopping onshore and want to use your credit card. Call the CC company before you leave and tell them where you are going.

 

Happy Sailing,

Monty

[packercruising]

And don't forget to barter. They won't respect you in the morning if you don't barter:)

 

Baitman, what's with the cheesehead? Are you formerly from Packer country?

[USC fan]

Hi everyone.

 

Me and my girlfriend are newbie cruisers, going on our first cruise.

We are heading out on the sun on dec 3rd.

 

I have a questiong about cash. I know that we have no use of cash onboard, but when we hit shore, we may need a bit.

 

I have asked my travel agency and they said that NCL can change smaller amounts onboard.

 

But how much exactly is a small amount? Do we need to stock up on local currency before we leave home?

 

Regards

Fulis

Hi Fulis,

 

My wife and I went on our first cruise last week on the Dawn and I was freaking out about the whole cash thing too, but honestly we only brought like $200 with us and that was really all we needed. No need to exchange for local currency and all you really need cash for on board is for the casino and extra tips. Plus we had an ATM on board if we needed extra money.

 

Enjoy your cruise, we sure did!:D

[MrLee]

Make sure you take small bills. If the local currency is not american, they may give you your change in local currency and it could be a problem to change. For instance I had about 20 Euros left from a cruise that were in coins and they don't change coins. (Even though that would be about $25 american.) Also, getting cash from the casino on your card is smarter that using an ATM. The ATM has high fees and there are no fees if you get it from the casino.

[Terre]

You will also need lots of ones and maybe a few $5s for tipping. You'll want to tip your tour guides, taxi drivers, pier porters, etc. We don't really take a lot of cash. We will pay cash for our excursions and we know before hand (from the CC boards!) exactly what they will cost; we know how much taxis cost; we know how much we'll tip; and we know that we'll probably spend X amount on souveniers.

 

We usually take only what we'll need in each port and leave the rest in our cabin safe. We don't take credit cards into the ports -- never needed them. If any excursions are booked before hand by credit card, then we just take enough cash to tip. We usually don't eat in any restaurants in ports, so we don't need cash for that either.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[fulis]

Thanks for all your responses.

 

I now feel confident ill manage the whole cash thing. :)

 

 

/Fulis

[fulis]

*edit* Oops.. Duplicate posts.

[ILikeDollars]

Plus we had an ATM on board if we needed extra money.

 

Does anyone know if the ATMs onboard accept deposits? I'm thinking of getting cash every day to rack up credit card points, but I don't want to fly home with ten grand in my pocket. :eek:

[Toyz711]

the ATMs are NOT tied to a bank, no they do not have deposit slips or anything to make a deposit with. they are just plain, generic ATM...everything comes out (with luck)..nothing goes in.

[johnql]

Does anyone know if the ATMs onboard accept deposits? I'm thinking of getting cash every day to rack up credit card points, but I don't want to fly home with ten grand in my pocket. :eek:

I hope you realize that this will soon go the way of the upsell department, meaning that once NCL feels that this privilege has been abused enough, they will eliminate it or start charging for it, a la Princess's 3% fee. I think it's great that we can get charge-free cash advances in the casino. It actually surprises me that there's still no charge. But if too many people withdraw $10,000 and don't use any of it to gamble, this wonderful service will go the way of the dodo.

[garycarla]

Does anyone know if the ATMs onboard accept deposits? I'm thinking of getting cash every day to rack up credit card points, but I don't want to fly home with ten grand in my pocket. :eek:

 

That is a pretty novel way of getting points/miles. Since you can redeposit, you will have to take the cash with you. Strongly suggest you keep your TOTAL cash under $10k. You have to make a statement to that effect on your customs form. And, if you deposit $10k or more in the bank in one transaction, they have to report it to big brother.

 

Carrying that kind of money around is not big deal, as long as you have something to put it in, like a briefcase or really large pockets.

[newmexicoNita]

Hi everyone.

 

Me and my girlfriend are newbie cruisers, going on our first cruise.

We are heading out on the sun on dec 3rd.

 

I have a questiong about cash. I know that we have no use of cash onboard, but when we hit shore, we may need a bit.

 

I have asked my travel agency and they said that NCL can change smaller amounts onboard.

 

But how much exactly is a small amount? Do we need to stock up on local currency before we leave home?

 

Regards

Fulis

you can cash travelers checks on board or go to the casino and get cash. don't worry about local currency, all the islands welcome US $$s. It is a good idea to have 5s and 1s as some of the islands will give you change back in their currency. You want to deal in larger bills as little as possible. NMnita