Ireland/Brtain Euros

[lidorose]

From what I understand, Scotland and Northern Ireland still use pounds sterling and southern Ireland uses the euro. Is this correct? Does Britain accept the Euro at all? Will we be required to get both pounds and euros for our Scotland/Ireland cruise?

[kennelgang]

lidorose,

 

Not sure what the currency is. Would suggest checking with your cruise line to see what they have to say or perhaps your bank.

 

What ship arel you sailing on? My wife and I are booked for the 6/18/07 British Isles sailing on the Jewel of Seas.

 

Bob Shaffar

[Ine]

From what I understand, Scotland and Northern Ireland still use pounds sterling and southern Ireland uses the euro. Is this correct? Does Britain accept the Euro at all? Will we be required to get both pounds and euros for our Scotland/Ireland cruise?

 

Yes the republic of Ireland uses Euros, and Great Britain still has the pounds sterling.

Better use pounds in GB, if any euros are accepted (which they donot have to do), your exchange rate will not be very good.

[paul929207]

You are correct Ireland uses the Euro, while Great Britain (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) uses the British Pound.

 

Paul

[lidorose]

Thanks for the confirmation, all.

 

Shaffar1, we are on Celebrity's 5/17 Scotland/Ireland Cruise. Enjoy yours!

[daiB]

From what I understand, Scotland and Northern Ireland still use pounds sterling and southern Ireland uses the euro. Is this correct? Does Britain accept the Euro at all? Will we be required to get both pounds and euros for our Scotland/Ireland cruise?

 

 

 

Hi lidorose,

 

In the UK we use the £ sterling. We do not use the Euro. You may find a few places in London for example which will accept the Euro but very rarely in the rest of the UK.

 

So you will need some pounds. Note however in Scotland they have their own bank notes which are not the same as those from the Bank of England. But do not worry they have the same value and are used both sides of the border. The coins are the same all over the UK.

 

:):)Happy Cruising:):)

[Broch]

Hi lidorose,

 

In the UK we use the £ sterling. We do not use the Euro. You may find a few places in London for example which will accept the Euro but very rarely in the rest of the UK.

 

So you will need some pounds. Note however in Scotland they have their own bank notes which are not the same as those from the Bank of England. But do not worry they have the same value and are used both sides of the border. The coins are the same all over the UK.

 

:):)Happy Cruising:):)

 

I hope you do not think I am being pedantic but up here in Scotland we use the Bank of England pound as well as our own Pound. It is just that when we go to England we always change our Scottish notes to English ones because on some occasions some shops in England still refuse the Scottish pound. Fortunately now they are in the minority but we always change them just to be on the safe side.

[lov2sailtoo]

Yes the republic of Ireland uses Euros, and Great Britain still has the pounds sterling.

Better use pounds in GB, if any euros are accepted (which they donot have to do), your exchange rate will not be very good.

 

Thank you for pointing out that Northern Ireland is separate from The Republic of Ireland. Still, it is one beautiful island.

[daiB]

I hope you do not think I am being pedantic but up here in Scotland we use the Bank of England pound as well as our own Pound. It is just that when we go to England we always change our Scottish notes to English ones because on some occasions some shops in England still refuse the Scottish pound. Fortunately now they are in the minority but we always change them just to be on the safe side.

 

 

 

:)Certainly not, but I thought that some explanation of the difference should be given. Most of my family live in Scotland and we have timeshares in Royal Deeside and on Loch Lomond. So we are frequent visitors. Incidentally I have never had a problem in the North East with any Scottish bank note, this may not be the case further south.:)

 

:)Happy Cruising:)

[Broch]

:)Certainly not, but I thought that some explanation of the difference should be given.

 

Exactly. I agree we have never experienced it so much in the north, but as I said I don't think it is so much of a problem now. When we were younger I remember being told that a Scottish pound note was worth less than an English one. The Scottish Pound was a sixpence less. Not the case now though. I just saw this on RCCL'S ports of call.

 

Local Currency

The pound sterling (GBP) is valid in both England and Scotland, but Scottish banks also issue their own banknotes. These are generally accepted in England, but if problems do arise, most banks will exchange Scottish currency for pound sterling hassle-free. Traveler's checks are widely accepted in banks, and credit cards can be used in most places.

[tom_uk]

What about the Scottish £1 banknote? Do they still exist?

 

I ask because there are no such notes south of the border, and I can imagine retailers being wary about accepting a Scottish £1 note. In the case of the other denominations I've never found it to be an issue, retailers understand that they're the same as the Bank of England notes they're familiar with, but I wonder about the £1 note.

[Broch]

What about the Scottish £1 banknote? Do they still exist?

Good question Tom. I think there are still a few around. Apparantly the Royal bank of Scotland still issue them but I have not seen any for a while but there are other Scottish bank notes and retailers south of the border are wary of them.

[chasetf]

What about the Scottish £1 banknote? Do they still exist?

 

I ask because there are no such notes south of the border, and I can imagine retailers being wary about accepting a Scottish £1 note. In the case of the other denominations I've never found it to be an issue, retailers understand that they're the same as the Bank of England notes they're familiar with, but I wonder about the £1 note.

We never saw any £1 notes during our days in Scotland last year.

[chasetf]

I hope you do not think I am being pedantic but up here in Scotland we use the Bank of England pound as well as our own Pound. It is just that when we go to England we always change our Scottish notes to English ones because on some occasions some shops in England still refuse the Scottish pound. Fortunately now they are in the minority but we always change them just to be on the safe side.

Irish pound notes are unique too.

 

We had heard the same thing about the notes being refused, so planned our cash to minimize Scottish and Irish notes in England. We found when we did spend Irish and Scottish notes in England they were accepted at the few establishments we first offered them. But we had the English pounds just in case.

[calmac]

Scotland issue their own pound notes (Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland and Clydesdale Bank are the issuers).

 

Northern Ireland issue their own pound notes (not sure of the issuers).

 

Bank of England issue pound notes.

 

Northern Ireland notes are seldom seen in Scotland (and I would assume England) so I would be wary of trying to use them outwith NI.

 

Scottish notes are more widely accepted these days though less so with the Clydesdale Bank notes.

 

Royal Bank of Scotland do still have £1 notes in circulation but they are seldom seen these days, even here in Scotland.

 

The most common notes you will see are £10 and £20 with fewer £5 around. Some shops, especially smaller ones are not keen to accept £50 or £100.

[keltic]

I travel very often to the UK, and I have payed with euros many times, and even outside London. I have never been said, a plain NO, except small shops, pubs or local newsagents. The problem is not using euros, it´s the exchange shoppers applied you. Higher than exchanging in the local banks. I now use pounds when I go to the UK.

[coxswain]

In Northern ireland we have - ulster bank/ Northern bank and Bank of ireland notes - make sure before returning to the ship you change them into Bank of England notes as the English won't take them.

 

In some shops in belfast they will take Euro's - Marks/Spencer do.

 

 

And Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom - not Great Britain - just to confuse you even more lol

 

 

 

jj.....

[Whippets]

Oh my gosh, we are traveling from the US to Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Inverness, Kirkwall, Belfast, Dublin, St Peter's Port and back to Amsterdam. It looks like we will need many different money exchanges. Am hoping that most shops will take Master Card.

 

Diane

[coxswain]

Not a problem in Northern ireland Diane - if you do use northern ireland notes - just go into any bank or shop and ask to swap them for bank of england notes ( no charge ) before you leave town.

 

 

 

 

jj.......

[calmac]

Oh my gosh, we are traveling from the US to Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Inverness, Kirkwall, Belfast, Dublin, St Peter's Port and back to Amsterdam. It looks like we will need many different money exchanges. Am hoping that most shops will take Master Card.

 

Diane

 

I don't think so :-

 

Amsterdam and Dublin - euros

Edinburgh, Inverness, Kirkwall, Belfast and St Peter's Port - sterling

 

Just make sure that you change any Northern Ireland notes before leaving Belfast, Channel Island notes and coins (as far as I know they also still have their own notes) before leaving St Peter's Port and Scottish notes before leaving Kirkwall. If you ask before receiving your change people will normally try their best to give you Bank of England notes.

[Albert Ross]

I don't think so :-

 

Amsterdam and Dublin - euros

Edinburgh, Inverness, Kirkwall, Belfast and St Peter's Port - sterling

 

Just make sure that you change any Northern Ireland notes before leaving Belfast, Channel Island notes and coins (as far as I know they also still have their own notes) before leaving St Peter's Port and Scottish notes before leaving Kirkwall. If you ask before receiving your change people will normally try their best to give you Bank of England notes.

Yes, the Channel Islands do have their own currency - both Jersey and Guernsey print their own notes and coins (including the good old 'pound note'), but make sure you get rid of all of these before leaving as these are not accepted in England. Make sure you check the notes as the colours vary between the islands - so the Jersey £5 note is different to the Guernsey £5 note

 

And the Channel Islands also are not part of Great Britain, but they are part of the United Kingdom - if you want to be confused further!

[Globaliser]

And the Channel Islands also are not part of Great Britain, but they are part of the United Kingdom - if you want to be confused further!

I hate to spread further confusion, but this is alas a common misconception.

 

The Channel Islands belong to the British Crown, but they are not part of the United Kingdom - see this Wikipedia article.

[coxswain]

Don't forget The Isle of Man :-)

 

The Isle of Man is also British Crown dependency

 

The Isle of Man is a self-governing crown dependency. The Head of State is Queen Elizabeth II and holds the title of Lord of Mann. The current crown representative is the Island's Lieutenant Governor. External relations and defence of the Isle of Man are the responsibility of the government of the United Kingdom.

 

As with Jersey and Guernsey, the Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom or a direct member of the European Community

 

 

PS - they have their own money too lol

 

jj......

[tom_uk]

There are all sorts of odd little appendages & appurtenances of Europe.... I flew back into East Midlands airport on Saturday and ran into the back of a large queue going through customs. This is unusual; customs checks at EMA are usually derisory. It turned out that the queue was formed by people returning home from Tenerife in the Canaries, and the point is that the Canaries, although being (I gather) a constituent part of the Kingdon of Spain is not included in the EU Customs Region. Hence the requirement to go through customs on return to the UK. (The Canaries are an autonomous region within Spain, but I gather that the whole of Spain is today made up of Autonomous Regions....)

[Albert Ross]

I hate to spread further confusion, but this is alas a common misconception.

 

The Channel Islands belong to the British Crown, but they are not part of the United Kingdom - see this Wikipedia article.

Thanks for the correction. I am sure I got my original info from Wikipedia - must not have read the article down far enough.

 

Canary Islands and the Channel Islands are not part of the EU therefore you go through the normal customs channels at the airports - probably not relevent to a cruise thread though!!!