Getting Cash Onboard

[dianeksfun]

We will be doing the Panama Canal cruise Jan 31 on Mercury. Can you cash a travelers check or get change for a $100 bill on board?

[kitty9]

Yes, at the onboard bank or at the Purser's Desk

[BurgerBits]

We will be doing the Panama Canal cruise Jan 31 on Mercury. Can you cash a travelers check or get change for a $100 bill on board?

 

Yes... you can also do both of these things at the casino when it's open!

[ghstudio]

Just don't overbuy foreign currency because you will pay to convert it back to dollars.

 

The hidden high profit item for Celebrity is that if you try to convert from one non dollar currency to another (e.g.UK pounds into Euros) they first convert the Pounds to dollars....and then they convert the dollars to Euros. That way they get double conversion rates and you pay thru the proverbial nose....

[Costest]

and several of the ports, nearby shopping, post cost of goods in US dollar. some even give change in US currency but not all.

[The_Big_M]

The hidden high profit item for Celebrity is that if you try to convert from one non dollar currency to another (e.g.UK pounds into Euros) they first convert the Pounds to dollars....and then they convert the dollars to Euros. That way they get double conversion rates and you pay thru the proverbial nose....

 

That's standard for any currency converter though, not just Celebrity.

[drumleggagh]

We just returned from the 1/3/09 Panama Canal cruise on Mercury. Yes, you can cash Traveler's Checks or get bills changed at the Guest Relations desk any time of the day.

 

Enjoy your cruise - it was the experience of a lifetime for us!

[Alaska-forget-me-not]

We just returned from the 1/3/09 Panama Canal cruise on Mercury. Yes, you can cash Traveler's Checks or get bills changed at the Guest Relations desk any time of the day.

 

Enjoy your cruise - it was the experience of a lifetime for us!

 

Is there a fee for cashing Travelers Checks on board? My TA told me there is. She also said that if you pay for items at places in port, they give change in their own currency, true? Since it's a 2 week cruise through the canal, I don't want to bring a lot of cash and I'm hesitant to use credit cards for off ship purchases, fear of credit theft. I'm new to cruising, can'tcha tell? :rolleyes:

Thanks for the info.

[tdk1938]

Is there a fee for cashing Travelers Checks on board? My TA told me there is. She also said that if you pay for items at places in port, they give change in their own currency, true? Since it's a 2 week cruise through the canal, I don't want to bring a lot of cash and I'm hesitant to use credit cards for off ship purchases, fear of credit theft. I'm new to cruising, can'tcha tell? :rolleyes:

Thanks for the info.

 

There isn't any fee when cashed my Travelers' Checks on Century. I cashed at Guests Relations desk. I brought Travelers' check, I didn't bring alot of cash and did not use credit cards while I was on Caribbean Islands. This was my first cruise also.:cool:

Where are you going? I can check with my AAA travel guide book whether they accept US $ or just their own currency. The places that we went (Cayman Island and Jamaica) gladly accepted our US dollars.

[BurgerBits]

Hi!!

 

There should be ZERO charge for cashing travelers' checks anywhere aboard the ship.

 

While concern about card theft is warranted, no need to go overboard...:)

 

This works well -- choose one or two cards with which to travel. You're going to have one anyway; you need to present one to open your on-board account. (I always have two, just in case.) Before you leave home, call the card company/ies and tell them what dates and where you'll be traveling. Make a photocopy of the front and back of the card(s), and keep them separate from your actual card(s) while traveling.

 

Do your best to use your card for 'standard' merchants, (indoor stores, restaurants, etc.) and cash anywhere you feel the slightest hesitation. When transacting in foreign currency, your card will give you the best exchange rate 98% of the time.

 

Only one time in more than 30 yrs of travel has one of my card #s been misused, and the card company caught it right away. It was no problem to have the charges reversed and a new card issued once I was home... and that's why I bring two cards instead of just one ;).

 

Happy travels!!! No worries!!!!!

[robtulipe]

Is there a fee for cashing Travelers Checks on board? My TA told me there is. She also said that if you pay for items at places in port, they give change in their own currency, true? Since it's a 2 week cruise through the canal, I don't want to bring a lot of cash and I'm hesitant to use credit cards for off ship purchases, fear of credit theft. I'm new to cruising, can'tcha tell? :rolleyes:

Thanks for the info.

The only time there is a fee when cashing TCs onboard is if you request cash in a different currency than what the TC is in so actually this is a currency conversion service fee on top of the exchange rate.

Last month we did a Century TA from Barcelona with all of the stops in ports that accepted euros. This included our stops in Morocco since their dirham is a controlled currency that cannot be bought outside that country. We had euro TCs since it was the easiest and cheapest way for me to get this currency. I had no problem cashing the euro TCs onboard for euro cash without any fee, thus I got 100 euros cash for my 100 euro TC.

It a good idea to bring plenty of small US cash bills (get them from the purser's desk) when going onshore in foreign ports so you minimize the amount of foreign currency you get in change. Many vendor, shops and taxi drivers that deal regularly with cruise passengers using $US will give you change in $US.

We did a Panama Canal cruise two years ago and found that the $US was readily accepted in all port we went into which were Aruba, Panama ($US is the currency there), Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico. In all foreign currency ports we made purchases with $US in the local supermarkets, which they converted to the local currency and provided the change in that currency.

Next week we are off to Costa Rica for two weeks and have found in the past (been there four times) that the supermarkets there usually give you a better exchange rate for $US than the banks and don't change a fee to cash TCs. IMO they want $US since many of their imported products come from the USA. You must be making a decent size purchase for the TC amount you are cashing so you can't cash a $100US TC to buy a pack of gum. We've experienced the same in most of the Caribbean islands particularly the Dutch Antilles. The $US is the defacto currency on Aruba and St. Maarten. I've been to and stayed on each islands many times and have never had to handle an Antillian Guilder note only coins if they don't have US coin change available.

[raudacruise]

In central america all (or at least all that I've been too) will take dollars in bills. But they only return change in local currency. So you have choices:

 

1. Always purchase in multiples of $1, i.e. get two $2.50 beers.
   
2. Use the change as a tip.
   
3. Take it home as a souveneer (sp?).
   

Mexico, Belize, Guatamala, Costa Rica pretty will take dollars but the change will be that of the local country.

[Alaska-forget-me-not]

Thanks for all the great info and tips. I'm looking forward to a great cruise through the Panama Canal on the Mercury. My best friend and I are doing a BFF anniversary trip! We've known each other for 20 years. I can't wait to go! I have wanted to see the Panama Canal since I was in 7th grade. I'm also looking forward to some warmer weather!