Cold Hard Cash

[dizneycrazy]

Hi Everyone,

 

I am trying to figure out how much cash to bring on our cruise.. We are going to hook up our Credit Card to our account but how much paper money will we need?

We are going on The Spirit to bermuda/st thomas/tortola

thanks!!!

[Don Haynes]

I would bring a hundred dollars each, with at least forty of the one hundred dollars in ones to tip foreigners and buy either soda, bottled water, and snacks at the convenient stores when ashore. This should leave enough for street vendors selling knit knacks ashore.

 

If I were to buy diamonds or gems, or an expensive item, I would use a credit card.

[serene56]

what are you doing in each port??

have you visited the port of calls boards??

 

if you are doing a privateexcursion you will need cash-- most vendors only accept cash.

 

spending habits depends on the people.. i can cruise and go into ports and spend nothing... and then go to another port and spend lots.

depends on what I am doing.. shopping or touring.

 

are you gonna eat on the island or wait til you are back to the ship?

[Keith1010]

This is very difficult as it really depends on the individual. If you have an ATM card I would be less concerned but we always bring a fair amount of cash for the unexpected.

 

Think through if you need cash to get from the airport to the cruise ship. You'll need some cash for tips of the porters for your luggage. If you make some small purchases on shore you may want cash for that, etc. etc. I guess think through what your cash needs might be and then I take a bit more than that. We keep most of the cash in the safe on the ship.

 

Keith

[98Charlie]

DH & I generally bank on taking about $100 per port in cash unless we have visited the ports before and know we aren't going to spend much cash there. We use our credit card in most ports for purchases of food in restaurants, purchases in larger stores, etc., but have found that having dollars in several different denominations come in handy when bargaining in the ports.

 

Dianne

[isujim]

There is really no way to answer this for you...........do you like the Casino's? Spend much money in ports? St. Thomas is a shopping mecca (or so I'm told)..........but I would advise to sit down and try and figure out how much you need.......then take more:) (seriously)

[dizneycrazy]

I am not much a vacation shopper other than a tshirt or two.. however, I am a gambler.. but i thought I heard you can use your ship card for that? I do not like to carry alot of cash around. I am planning on eating all my meals on the ship...

Are there ATM's anywhere that you can use?

 

Boy can you tell this is our 1st cruise or what! :D

[Barbee524]

There is really no way to answer this for you...........do you like the Casino's? Spend much money in ports? St. Thomas is a shopping mecca (or so I'm told)..........but I would advise to sit down and try and figure out how much you need.......then take more:) (seriously)

 

I agree, remember you can always bring back the money you don't spend.

[trish1c]

For tips etc. I usually bring about $200 cash, preferably small bills & charge everything else, including "big" shopping in ports. I do usually have some travelers checks (safer than cash but paid in advance rather than racking up credit card). I rarely take more than $20 into any given port.

 

Gambling is a different story. Only you know how much you are willing to risk.

[SunSharin]

We never seem to bring enough in $1s. We tip the cab driver, bus driver (when going on excursion) porter and it seems like many others. On our last cruise, the porter at the airport had to wait while I broke a $50 at one of the few shops opened at the airport at 8am.

[Happy ks]

I am not much a vacation shopper other than a tshirt or two.. however, I am a gambler.. but i thought I heard you can use your ship card for that? I do not like to carry alot of cash around. I am planning on eating all my meals on the ship...

Are there ATM's anywhere that you can use?

 

Boy can you tell this is our 1st cruise or what! :D

 

Yes, you can use your ship card for cash in the casino. Many people do that instead of going to the ATM machine.

 

Even though you plan to eat all meals on the ship, you may find yourself hungry at times when it isn't convenient, so do take enough for lunch on shore. Especially if you are in a tender port, it can be a hassle to get back to the ship for lunch.

 

We keep a stack of 1's for tipping room service in our safe, usually about $25 does it for the week. We're a little old school, we like to take travelers checks and pay our onboard account down as low as possible the last day, we cannot stand a huge credit card bill the following month for entertainment expenses. We target around $100 per day for onboard charges.

[serene56]

I am not much a vacation shopper other than a tshirt or two.. however, I am a gambler.. but i thought I heard you can use your ship card for that? I do not like to carry alot of cash around. I am planning on eating all my meals on the ship...

Are there ATM's anywhere that you can use?

 

Boy can you tell this is our 1st cruise or what! :D

 

 

the ATM on the ship will cost you $5.00 each time plus what your bank charges. It also runs out of money during the cruise.

 

Getting money from the casino will charge you 3% each time you get money off your sign and sail card.

 

For me-- I also dont like to carry around cash- I buy funship dollars to place on my onboard account..(my cruises are always so far away that for me to buy $25.00 each pay is almost painless)

and buy casino credits that we will use during the week for gambling.

[sail7seas]

In this day and age of cancelled flights and unexpected travel delays, I recommend bringing more cash than you expect you will need. It might be good to have emergency funds.....just in case.

 

Of course, if you don't spend it, it will be great to bring it home to use to pay off your credit card charges.

 

I would suggest bringing more than you expect to need......just in case.

 

 

 

[phoenix1181]

the ATM on the ship will cost you $5.00 each time plus what your bank charges. It also runs out of money during the cruise.

 

Getting money from the casino will charge you 3% each time you get money off your sign and sail card.

 

For me-- I also dont like to carry around cash- I buy funship dollars to place on my onboard account..(my cruises are always so far away that for me to buy $25.00 each pay is almost painless)

and buy casino credits that we will use during the week for gambling.

 

 

That 3% depends on how the cruise line handles the transaction. RCCL doesn't charge for casino transactions (you're supposed to use the money in the casino, so play for 5 minutes) and they're included in the total on your Seapass, therefore don't hit your credit card as a cash advance. It actually works out pretty well. You can carry some cash, but don't need to take a lot and there are no ATM or cash advance fees.