question about money in europe

[Merion_Mom]

Heck, all I brought back were about 5 high quality postcards, two books from the Capitoline Museums giftshop, and one bottle of limoncello, purchased in Fiumicino to use up cash euros!

[xpcdoojk]

Heck, all I brought back were about 5 high quality postcards, two books from the Capitoline Museums giftshop, and one bottle of limoncello, purchased in Fiumicino to use up cash euros!

 

I think post cards were my wife's biggest purchase when totaled up. At a euro a piece 5 or 6 cards from each place adds up pretty quick!

 

Limoncello, ahh, sweet addiction.:D

 

jc

[cruise kitty]

I'm going to ask a silly question. Can I use my American express or visa as a regular credit card in Europe? How ( what rate) would they use to convert the purchases to dollars? We use our credit cards for everything for the points and then pay off the bill each month and I'd like to do the same on our TZ next year. Thanks

[lv2bcruzin]

Yes you can use your regular cards the same in Europe. However, American Express is not as widely accepted in Europe.

[peteukmcr]

Yes you can use your regular cards the same in Europe. However, American Express is not as widely accepted in Europe.

 

As I'm from the UK I agree that Amex is not as widely accepted over here in Europe. This is due to the higher percentage they charge merchants as opposed to Visa and Mastercard.

 

A few words of advice, the ATM's at Barcelona airport are notorious for being out of action and they are few and far between (happened to me).

 

Also identity theft is rampant in Europe so please make sure the ATM you use doesn't look as though it's been tampered with. If anything looks strange do not use it. Otherwise you may find that your details have been scanned and numerous fraudulent transactions will appear on your statement.

 

I don't want to frighten anyone, nor put you off travelling to Europe, but please be vigilant when carrying personal belongings in most major cities. Bag snatching is rife and don't walk around with wallets in your back pockets. Always know where your money and cards are, pick pocketing is rife as well.

 

A common trick is someone holding what appears to be a baby in one arm, which is actually false, and whilst they are pushing past you, their real arm will be in your bag. Another is young children gathering around you, sometimes waving newspapers, beware, they are trying to divert your attention whilst someone else picks your pocket/bag.

 

As I say, I don't want to put you off, just be vigilant and you'll have a great time here in Europe!

[xpcdoojk]

I'm going to ask a silly question. Can I use my American express or visa as a regular credit card in Europe? How ( what rate) would they use to convert the purchases to dollars? We use our credit cards for everything for the points and then pay off the bill each month and I'd like to do the same on our TZ next year. Thanks

 

My experience is the credit cards do the exchange rate based on the rate of exchange at the time the charge posts. Which can vary day to day. Cards other than Capital One (maybe others I don't know, and I don't work for Cap 1) charge an additional 3% fee on foreign exchange.

 

Visa is the most common in Europe followed by Mastercard, then by American Express, and if you use Discover expect blank looks.:D

 

jc

[Merion_Mom]

The charges on my CapitalOne Visa were completely consistent with the exchange rates of those dates.

 

I was pleased.

[Merion_Mom]

As I'm from the UK I agree that Amex is not as widely accepted over here in Europe. This is due to the higher percentage they charge merchants as opposed to Visa and Mastercard.

 

A few words of advice, the ATM's at Barcelona airport are notorious for being out of action and they are few and far between (happened to me).

 

Also identity theft is rampant in Europe so please make sure the ATM you use doesn't look as though it's been tampered with. If anything looks strange do not use it. Otherwise you may find that your details have been scanned and numerous fraudulent transactions will appear on your statement.

 

I don't want to frighten anyone, nor put you off travelling to Europe, but please be vigilant when carrying personal belongings in most major cities. Bag snatching is rife and don't walk around with wallets in your back pockets. Always know where your money and cards are, pick pocketing is rife as well.

 

A common trick is someone holding what appears to be a baby in one arm, which is actually false, and whilst they are pushing past you, their real arm will be in your bag. Another is young children gathering around you, sometimes waving newspapers, beware, they are trying to divert your attention whilst someone else picks your pocket/bag.

 

As I say, I don't want to put you off, just be vigilant and you'll have a great time here in Europe!

 

 

AMEN!

[emdia43]

When you see the prices of EVERYTHING in Europe are more than double what you pay here it does inhibit your spending quite a lot. When filling out my customs form I kept thinking it was weird not to come home with tons of shopping and gifts..

[Cruise Junky]

When you see the prices of EVERYTHING in Europe are more than double what you pay here it does inhibit your spending quite a lot. When filling out my customs form I kept thinking it was weird not to come home with tons of shopping and gifts..

 

I found luxury items to be cheaper in Europe than North America, at least when the exchange was a bit better than now. Gucci, Louis Vuitton, etc. until lately were a better deal. Even now, factoring in the exchange, it comes to about the same and buying in Europe you'll get a rebate of the VAT. Normal stuff though is crazy expensive.

[cruisinalong001]

Somewhere on the CC board there is a thread about "things to buy". Months before our cruise earlier this summer, I started a list about what I wanted to buy, if anything, in each port. It also gave you an idea about what each city was noted for in terms of things to purchase. That helped keep my shopping focused. I also used mostly ATMs, using American Express only for hotels (gotta have those miles) and onboard ship expenses. You will find that often you get a much better price for things if you offer cash instead of a credit card. My husband and I each carried a different debit card and one different credit card (one mastercard and one visa) in addition to our American Express just in case one didn't work or one of us had them stolen. Obviously, except for our arrival and departure, we didn't carry all those cards wherever we went. I used a money belt and he used a neck pouch. Several people in our group were pickpocketed or were almost pickpocketed (one was saved by our guide at the acropolis who saw a pickpocket headed for the leg pocket on one man's cargo shorts). Since you have a year to plan, I would try to put aside something each month for your expenses while you travel and use ATMs at least for shopping. I am leery of using credit cards in restaurants as your card disappears from sight. Anyway, those were the things we found useful in traveling. BTW, I used a trick I saw here in cruise critic for my purse. Put a diaper pin through the metal that holds the zip pull and hook the rest of it through the metal that holds the strap. Works like a charm. No one can unzip your bag without a whole lot of commotion.

[xpcdoojk]

I found luxury items to be cheaper in Europe than North America, at least when the exchange was a bit better than now. Gucci, Louis Vuitton, etc. until lately were a better deal. Even now, factoring in the exchange, it comes to about the same and buying in Europe you'll get a rebate of the VAT. Normal stuff though is crazy expensive.

 

In between xmas and New Years in 2006 we were in Valencia Spain (home of the Americas cup yacht races as long as Switzerland's Alinghi team holds on to the cup), anyway we were shopping at the Cortes Ingles department store and they had a nice Paul & Shark clothing department (P&S is a high end yachting clothing line that is very hard to find). So, I picked out a nice sweater for myself I think it was around 350 euros about $550 of course there is about 15% VAT that you can claim when you are leaving the country. The problem is that these countries make it virtually impossible to get your funds. We arrived at the Madrid airport at least 4 hours prior to our flight home. The office where you get your stamp was not open after we finally got our seat assignment and our luggage in the system. So, we then try to get the stamp. It took my wife until about 20 minutes before our flight to jump thru all of the hoops in order to get our VAT refund. We had a very similar situation in 2004 in Rome at Fiumicino airport, it is basically a joke in my opinion as these countries have zero incentive to make VAT refunds easy for tourists. By the way in January of 2008 we were in Vegas at the Ceasar Shops at the Forum, we found a men's store with a Paul and Shark collection including my sweater. They wanted $1100. What a ripoff! So yes luxury items are possibly a value, but VAT is a ripoff of non-EU citizens! JMHO and YMMV

 

jc

[Tucker in Texas]

We have had no problem with ATM's other than forgetting the first day in Germany that 250 euros is not $250. 250 euros was more than we were allowed to take out of an ATM machine in 24 hours. Duh! All it did was return our card and a tray full of empty before we figured out what the problem was.

 

As another poster said, try to use an ATM at a bank and, if you can't, make sure the machine you are using has a Cirrus, Pulse, etc. symbol that is on your card and it doesn't look "funny." If it doesn't have a symbol, then it is "private" and it is "Katy Bar the Door" as far as transaction charges go.

 

We have two accounts with ATM's and take a card--one in each of our names) for each account just in case a machine eats one we have three back-ups. Never has happened, though. We charge what we can on AMEX or M/C. Discover is not accepted anywhere over there. I have a sheet of paper with "lost wallet" information on it with numbers to call if a card(s) go missing. When I call to notify the various financial institutions of my travel plans, I confirm those numbers are still good.

 

Those of us that travel overseas occasionally call around to friends who have traveled there recently to see if they have any leftover euros, pounds, etc. from a trip that we can "borrow" (or buy) to get us started. If you buy them, they will probably be making a profit since the exchange rate seems to go up every day (lol). If they have coins, they can't even sell them back to the banks since they won't take them (and neither will the ship) and they are particularly good to have when you land. If we have borrowed, then we try to give them back the same amount in coins if they want them.

 

On NCL, they charged $7 to change out dollars to euros and then $7 to change them back to dollars. No coins accepted. I don't know if that is norm on RCI.

 

Tucker in Texas

[xpcdoojk]

Tucker

 

I generally try to come home with a few euros so that I can pay for something immediately when I arrive, but on this last trip, I thought I was going to be broke. I had saved 5euros each for the shuttle to the airport after being told that was the charge, then when we checked out of the hotel they gave my wife two tokens, so I think I ended up with 11 euros... woohoo!

 

jc

[Lyncruiser]

I just came back from three weeks in Europe. I recommend having enough Euro's on hand to pay for a taxi from the airport to your hotel. Exchanging any more money than that at the airport is a waste of money.

 

I exchanged dollars for Swiss francs at the airport. At the airport, I got .90 Swiss francs for each dollar. Plus, I paid a fee of something like $9 to do the exchange.

 

In the ATM in Zurich I got about 1.03 Swiss francs for each dollar. So, a better deal.

 

My ATM card worked fine. I did not advise my bank I would be using my ATM card abroad. I only used it at bank owned and operated ATMs. I wouldn't risk using it at any other type of ATM, where I think one would be vulnerable to fraud.

 

I was traveling on business, so generally used my American Express corporate card for most purchases -- hotel, meals, transportation. It was widely accepted.