Which currency to take?

[ayr625]

We have only cruised once before and it was on a British ship. We are soon going on the Emerald and I was wondering about currency. :confused:

 

Will we need dollars as well as euros? I was thinking of things like change for tipping and the laundrette. If we do get dollars it will be notes - is there somewhere onboard to change it for coins for the laundrette?

[NeurosurgeryNP]

There are change machines in the laundry rooms. THey don't always work, but then you can get quarters at the purser's desk. I am sure that they will accept tips in dollars.

[paul929207]

In Western Europe (except the UK), Euros is the currency. In the UK it is the British pound. Few places will take US$. You can either get Euros in advance, convert in Europe or use an ATM. They will dispense the local currency.

[ayr625]

Should have said we are British flying from the UK to Venice. We will need euros for stopping off at the ports but not sure how much we will need in $$ for onboard the ship.

[Babs02]

You shouldn't need $$ because most tips can be put either on your room bill and any extra tips you wish to give should be in euros or ££ so that the staff can spend it. They won't be able to spend $$ in Europe as easily.

 

Hope this helps:)

 

Babs

[KFL]

No need to get American Currency before your trip, If you want to give an extra tip, just do it in Euros or Pounds. What I'd suggest is that you get the quarters for the laundry on your first day on ship. If you get extras, you can always donate them to the casino. By the way I seem to remember that one of the cruises we were on the machines actually took tokens. Don't remember which cruise this was but it was only a couple of years back (before we got Platinum).

[Cruise Junky]

If you gamble you might want some US $$ for the Casino.

[GloriaF]

I'd think your British pounds will be fine for everything onboard but the laundry. You can buy a roll of quarters from the Purser's Desk with pounds. It is $10 USD, so about 4-5 British pounds?

[kirbyrox]

I use Top Ramen as a tip. way better than money;)

[chasetf]

I use Top Ramen as a tip. way better than money;)

I would think the crew would much rather have the "bread" than the "noodles". ;) :rolleyes:

[edinburgher]

All your shipboard purchases will be charged to your account in $s, as will your basic daily service charge/tips and any ship shorex you book. At the end of the cruise, your account can be settled with a credit card or by cash.

 

We often prefer to pay in $ cash because you can take quite a hit on credit card charges, commission, exchange rates etc, unless you have a card such as Nationwide which makes no charges for the transaction. Some cruise lines have a tiny detail hidden in the small print on the credit card slip ....they themselves will do the exchange on your onboard account so that your debit goes through in your own currency. Expect a hit on this too.

 

You should therefore decide if you want to pay in full in cash, or at least the majority of what you expect to spend in cash, and the rest on a credit card, or if you want to put it all on your card for conversion to £ by Princess or by your card company. Some UK companies will buy/sell $s free of commission at a good rate, some will even buy back any you return at the same rate. Shop around.

 

As others have said, you should only need $ cash for the casino and the laundry. Any additional tips you hand out (room service etc) can be handed over in any currency because crew can exchange or spend pretty much any currency as they travel around so much and their personal purchases are made in ports around the world.

 

We often dont exchange back into £s any leftover US$. We keep them for the next trip as we travel a lot and find they are useful in many parts of the world. And we sail cruiselines which use US$ as the onboard currency.

[iancal]

Be careful with Princess. They are notorious for ripping customers off on currency. Ask that your credit card be billed in the currency of the ship. Do NOT let them convert it to your home currency. If they do this, the exhange rate will be considerably highter than any bank or credit card company. The difference is typcally another 6 percent over and above bank or cc rates. For instance if you are from the UK and travelling on a ship that deals in US currency, make sure that Princess charges your UK credit card in USD and let your credit card company do the exchange. Even if you 'tick' the box at boarding time to request this, there is a very good chance that Princess will ignore your request. We typically visit the Pursers desk on the second to last night to check our bill and to ensure that no unrequested conversion occurs. Celebrity does the same. I think that it is poor business practice.

[edinburgher]

Because we dont use them, I have only now remembered that some cruiselines will accept payment by travellers cheques in either £stg or US$ depending on the ship.

 

As these are falling in popularity you should check first.

[Nancyquilts]

I would think the crew would much rather have the "bread" than the "noodles". ;) :rolleyes:

:D :D :D

[Cool seas]

No need to get American Currency before your trip, If you want to give an extra tip, just do it in Euros or Pounds. What I'd suggest is that you get the quarters for the laundry on your first day on ship. If you get extras, you can always donate them to the casino. By the way I seem to remember that one of the cruises we were on the machines actually took tokens. Don't remember which cruise this was but it was only a couple of years back (before we got Platinum).

 

 

We will be cruising Norway. Will the room steward really want Kroner or should I stick with $$. Thanks