getting money on board ship

[cruisecountess]

Our private guide in St. Petersburg requires payment in crisp dollar bills. Can we bring travelers' checks and cash them in for U.S. dollars on the ship (Azamara Journey)? Can we be guaranteed that the bills will be in "good shape?" I just hate to carry that much money in cash as we will be visiting Copenhagen for a few days prior to boarding the ship. Also, does the ship have all the local currencies throughout the Baltics and Scandinavia? Are their exchange rates comparable to what we would find in town? Thanks for any help, suggestions and advice.

[orchestrapal]

If you need CRISP bills I would not rely on the ship to provide them!

As for other currencies if you use an ATM outside the ship you won't have to pay their bad conversion rates plus commission. Most ATM cards give you the day's conversion with no extra charges (at least ours does).:)

[desertminky]

I ordered some of the local currency ahead of time through my bank. It likely wasn't the best rate, but is convenient. According to them, it's $5 for every ATM withdrawl and 3% on point of purchase with the ATM card. That seems a bit high to me, especially since we are visiting several different countries, each with their own currency. However, the ATM may turn out to be the better deal, hard to tell.

[brian_uk]

Not certain that a Russian ATM will pay out in Dollars......more likely Roubles or Euros.

 

Brian

[orchestrapal]

Russian ATM's, of course, pay out in Rubles as all other countries pay out in the currency used in that country only....;)

[Moeve]

You could get Euros at the ATM in Copenhagen and I know the tour operators in STBG take Euros. Since you will pick them up at an ATM the quality of the notes will be good otherwise the ATM cannot dispense them. By the way just how much cash will you require since there is a daily limit as to what you can withdraw as a safety precaution.

[alanfid]

We just got back from the June 1 Baltic Cruise (Journey), and you can exchange US$ right on the ship (Purser's Desk) for any currency for any of the Baltic ports except for Russian Roubles and the Tallinn currency (forgot the currency). Really made it very convenient. And I can tell you every shop we were in, and every market square we visited all took US$.

[Mexfolkart]

What did you do about getting the Russian Roubles and the Tallinin money?

Thanks, Sherry

[alanfid]

What did you do about getting the Russian Roubles and the Tallinin money?

Thanks, Sherry

 

We had no need for Roubles as every place we went took US$. Of course, credit cards are also accepted everywhere. We found the same situation in Tallin, also.

[Moeve]

Getting money onboard is far more expensive and since the US Dollar just doesn't get you as much as it used to you might be looking into ways which are cheaper and get you more for your dollar

[Wendy The Wanderer]

The problem of the US currency is tough. Perhaps an American Express office would cash traveler's cheques for you and give you USD. Don't know, and that perhaps would not work in St. Petersburg since the guide will no doubt meet you at the dock. If Copenhagen had one, you might be able to do it there just before you leave.

 

You may have to just risk taking the cash, and make sure you have a hotel in Copenhagen that has a good safe! How much is it we're talking about?