ATM's ?

[akachop]

In reading these boards I realize that I will need quite a bit of actual cash - for tipping, arcade, shore excursions... Is there an ATM on board the ship? If yes, does it charge outrageous fees? What does a person do if they run out of cash? This has happened to us on a previous vacation to St. Martin where the French side of the island does not like to take credit cards. All input, anecdotal stories appreciated. Thanks.:eek:

[dudboom]

You should not need too much cash. Tipping for crew members is put on your shipboard account. Shore excursions booked through the cruise line are also put on your account and you pay with credit card. When you first check in they swipe your credit card and all your shipboard charges go on it at the end. A few days prior to the end of the cruise you should go to the purser's desk and get a printout of your charges. Then, if there are any charges you question, you have time to go over them with the front desk people.

 

The last time we checked an ATM on board a ship they were charging $5 per transaction! We did much better once we were on shore.

[Seago2]

I always, always bring at least 100 $1's. I use them for porters, room service, taxis in port, and buying souveniers in straw markets and from other dodgy vendors. It's much easier to haggle someone down from 10 bucks to eight when you're not standing there holding a twenty! That way you also don't get a bunch of foreign change.

 

There are ATM's on most ships. You can also get cash from a check or credit card at the purser's office (also cash advances on your room key card).

 

I have heard that you can get cash advances for *free* at the casino but I've never done that.

[*Wink*]

We usually bring a little cash, and about $800 in traveler's cheques. We don't have to pay a fee for them through our bank. This is for a 7 day cruise. They'll cash them for you. We've never gone through them, but it's nice to have just in case.

[ukbecky]

I get my cash from the casino - charged to my account onboard. They didn't charge extra for this but I don't know if it's still free.

[AFAMILY]

In reading these boards I realize that I will need quite a bit of actual cash - for tipping, arcade, shore excursions... Is there an ATM on board the ship? If yes, does it charge outrageous fees? What does a person do if they run out of cash? This has happened to us on a previous vacation to St. Martin where the French side of the island does not like to take credit cards. All input, anecdotal stories appreciated. Thanks.:eek:

 

You can always take some travelers check with you. The purser will cash them for you as you go. And, you won't incur those high ATM fees.

 

Just bring some small bills with you for tipping initially.

 

Enjoy your cruise! :)

[Cosmopolitan]

You may use your key card to get cash at the casino's cashiers desk.

I forget what the limit is but it is high:)

[smeyer418]

You may use your key card to get cash at the casino's cashiers desk.

I forget what the limit is but it is high:)

$2000 per day

[Cosmopolitan]

$2000 per day

 

OMG!!

Good that I didn't know that when I had bad nights in the casino:eek:

[akachop]

Thanks to everyone for responding. We have a couple of private excursions planned in Cozumel and Roatan so it is good to know I can get access to cash through the ship. These private operators are looking to be paid in cash at the end of the day. We came across one poor family in Tulum last year standing next to a broken ATM machine - which had of course eaten their bank card! Don't want that to be us :( We also always take $100 in singles - have found that taxi drivers often cannot make change - I wonder why...

[AnnapolisCruises]

We tend to take about $1000.00 cash and if we need any more money on top of that I just grab a few bucks from the casino.. I never had a problem with NCL ....

[Greymeowsr]

I would use the ATM on the ship rather than one on shore. Depending on the port, there are a number of locations that onshore ATMs have gizmos that steal account information. This has been a problem for numerous cruisers.:mad:

[garycarla]

We take much more cash than mentioned above. Saves the worry over paying ATM fees, dealing with travelers checks and the like. not sure why people are so worried about carrying some cash with them.

[*Wink*]

We take much more cash than mentioned above. Saves the worry over paying ATM fees, dealing with travelers checks and the like. not sure why people are so worried about carrying some cash with them.

If the cash is stolen, it's gone for good. Not so with Traveler's Cheques. For some, it's peace of mind. Different strokes, and all that.

[Been There, Planning That]

Will the ATM on the Jade, on a round trip Barcelona cruise, spew out American dollars or Euros?

 

Do you have your choice of denomination size? If not, are smaller bills available at the front desk?

 

While we plan to bring both Euros and US dollars in cash and Travellers' cheques, safe ATMs are sure a treat -- no need to worry, I'd assume, about what pickpocket sort might be lurking around the corner.

 

The big problem tipping in Europe is the lack of paper currency until a 5 Euro note -- same as here in Canada of course.

 

I sure hope you Americans never get rid of your $1.00 paper notes!

[celis814]

I believe the ATM fee on the Dream was $5.95.

[fabuloso]

Is there a fee to cash Traveller's Checks on the ship?

[*Wink*]

Is there a fee to cash Traveller's Checks on the ship?

Nope, no fee.

[terrymtex01]

We have taken between $1000 and $7000 before. Probably will never take more than $1000 now. I would much rather get the money from the casino (that's what we use the majority of it for anyway). Even if they charged us a fee, the piece of mind not having to walk around with that kind of cash is worth the fee to me. When I say walking around I mean like until we get onboard the ship and have the available safes.

 

The biggest pain is always having enough $1.00 bills. I swear it seems like I get $40 or $50 a day in $1.00 due to always tipping someone.. lol. Even with the free drinks they give us in the casino we always tip of course, then there is breakfast and lunch at Cagney's so we tip then, tip for excursions, etc.

 

I would completely encourage someone to stick with the ATM's onboard the ship. Yes, the fees are a tiny bit higher than you might be used to (still less than they had in Las Vegas four years ago when we were paying $7.00 a pop). But if you use an ATM in a foreign port, you might end up paying more than you think with stolen info. Might make the high service charge at the ships ATM's seem small. There are times to be cheap and times to pay the pipper. When dealing with your financial accounts, better safe than sorry.

[MrLee]

In ports they don't always dispense cash in US currency. You have to check carefully.

[Been There, Planning That]

Mr. Lee,

 

Do you know if the currency from ATMs changes to Euros in Europe? I'd understand American currency elsewhere in the world as a ship probably couldn't begin to change back and forth for each port.

 

Thanks,

[lambs2]

I'm not Mr. Lee :D , but the cash in land based European bank owned ATM's will definitely be dispensed in Euros. But ships with main offices in the USA (like NCL, Celebrity, HAL) continue to dispense US dollars in their ATM's onboard, from everything I have experienced and read.

[MrLee]

Mr. Lee,

 

Do you know if the currency from ATMs changes to Euros in Europe? I'd understand American currency elsewhere in the world as a ship probably couldn't begin to change back and forth for each port.

 

Thanks,

 

I'm afraid I don't know since I used land based ATMs when I was in Europe. They do exchange currency on the ships (paper only) but I wouldn't recommend it as they don't give a great exchange rate and I believe there is a fee on top of that.

 

Sorry I can't be more help.

[Been There, Planning That]

Thanks, Lambs2, your knowledge never ceases to amaze me. The only ATMs we've used were on Celebrity in South America and they certainly spewed out US dollars.

 

We'll have to rely on land based ones for this European adventure once we've exhausted our travellers' cheques on board.

 

Thanks one and all.

[lambs2]

Here is a relevant answer specifically concerning the Jade that Ijust found on another cruise message board:

 

http://www.cruisemates.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=601371&sid=65ac3b388dde0f539f12cd5585e612aa