Which Credit Card

[jmaze]

Hello all;

We are taking a Carnival Cruise late November. We are going to Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Belize and Isle Roatan. What is the best way of paying for things. Cash, traveler checks or credit card? If credit card, what would be the most accepted card? American Express, Mastercard, Visa? If cash, is american currency accepted in all of these places? I really appreciate any help.:confused: :confused:

[wilson9112]

All these ports will gladly take your American buck. But they might want to give you change in their money so be careful. I would not charge if I could avoid it because you are leaving less room to bargain. Cash always talks first! Good luck and happy cruising!:D

[paul929207]

Bring enough small bills to pay for your purchases with the exact amount. Otherwise you will get local currency as the change.

[Keith1010]

I would pay for small items with cash as when we travel we do try to minimize where we use our credit card. If you buy items in large stores or other stores that are clearly reputable stores then we would go ahead with credit cards.

 

Master Card or Visa are more widely accepted than American Express as a general rule of thumb no different than in the States.

 

Keith

[cat_in_cda]

I would recommend bring cash and visa and mastercard as a back up. I work for visa and get so many calls saying I lost my visa and I brought no back up .... remember if it is a joint credit card with the spouse that once you lose one card you have lost both if they have the same number as once the card is statused lost or stolen no card can be used. always have a back up just in case of emergency. you have a safe on board so you can always lock up the extra card in the safe ....

[Jim_Iain]

I generally bring along a couple hundred in small bills a Visa and an ATM. Never had a problem spending dollars for small purchase .....

[freddiebud]

If you do decide to bring a credit card, alert your company before you leave so that your purchases will not be denied.

[jmaze]

Good advice from all of you. Thank you. I'm looking forward to a wonderful Thanksgiving in the Carribbean.:D

[Krazy Kruizers]

When in the ports we always take along small bills to pay for small items. Credit cards - Visa and Americam Express. American Express doesn't charge us a conversion fee. We also always call our credit card companies a couple of days before we leave to alert them of the dates we will be gone and where we are going.

[Toyz711]

another thing i do, the credit card i use (if i use one) is one of mine with a lower limit. just in case someone gets the numbers and try to use it. it's NOT the same card i use for the ship's account!!!

[tiyana4]

It is always good to have cash. I use American Express and RCI Rewards cards as a general rule because of the travel rewards but recently discovered that AMEX DOES charge a conversion fee of 3% for all foreign transactions. So does any bank card even if it has the Visa or Mastercard logo. Keep this in mind when making large purchases because the additional foreign transaction fee can make that bargain not quite a bargain.

 

I agree with another poster, if you use cash or AMEX travelers checks they will often try to give you money back in their currency. Unless you are quick with the conversion figures, you may be cheating yourself. I ended up bringing back $40 in Belizian currency because I forgot to get it exchanged before leaving. Fortunately we will be returning to Belize in March of next year.

[RMVET]

We use one card for our onboard account and use a separate card for onshore purchases. That way if the onshore card is compromised, it won't affect our being able to pay for our bill at the end of the cruise.

[cb at sea]

Many foreign countries won't accept American Express. Best bet is a MC or Visa. Also, many "straw markets' won't take ANY credit card, so bring smaller bills for those purchases. Most stores will accept credit cards and, of course, cash--American. They LOVE U.S. money. Don't try to purchase a $5.00 item with a $100.00 bill! You may get back their currency. You don't want that! Try to pay in cash with as close to exact change as you can!

[reallyitsmema]

I take a visa card, an amex and my debit card. My husband takes a different visa card, a different amex card and his debit card. This way if one of us loses or has a wallet stolen, then we still can cancel the missing cards and have cards to use.