Amount of cash to take

[Mar56]

We are doing the 11 day Panama sunfarer cruise in Feb/12 on the Zuiderdam. We have our credit card attached to our onboard account to cover drinks and anything else while on board and we have booked and paid for a reservation in the Pinnacle Grill, all of our excurisions and a bottle of vodka for our room, to be delivered when we are at sea (I have taken notes from all of the wonderful posters on this forum lol)

However, we still have tipping for room service, porters, taxis to and from airport to hotel (cost of hotel will be booked to credit card as well) and then to pier, plus any purchases while in port. We have a heavy excursion schedule so won't be spending much time in port for shopping - which is fine with us - just will pick up a couple of souveniers for the kids and grandbaby and that's it.

We are Canadians so have purchased US cash so as to avoid the fluctuations in exchange rates. How much cash would you experienced cruisers suggest that we bring, based on the info I have provided?

Thanks in advance

Mar56

[VermeulT]

For tipping - I bring $100 - $50 in $5's and $50 in $1's. That's usually enough for tipping for room service, porters, excursion guides... and then also a couple of hundred in $20's - for taxi's and shopping. We try not to use our credit cards in non US countries due to the fee's charged for exchange rates. Plus you can often negotiate a bit if you use cash.

[Mar56]

thanks for your quick response. Yes, we don't want to use our credit cards in the ports as well.

Mar56

[RMLincoln]

The suggestions from VermulT sounds good to me except that I would bring at least $100 in tens, not all twenties, as it's best to be able to give exact payment and not have to collect change from vendors. But keep in mind that the ship's front desk will usually be able to break larger bills into small denominations.
Have a great cruise! PC is our favorite itinerary.... m--

[Typhoon1]

Just a small amount for tips.

[travelmatron]

For tipping - I bring $100 - $50 in $5's and $50 in $1's. That's usually enough for tipping for room service, porters, excursion guides... and then also a couple of hundred in $20's - for taxi's and shopping. We try not to use our credit cards in non US countries due to the fee's charged for exchange rates. Plus you can often negotiate a bit if you use cash.

This is very similar to what we do too. If we find something we REALLY want, or if we run out of cash, there are always ATMs, but I can't remember the last time we needed them.

[pms4104]

Whatever amount of money you take onboard, it doesn't have to be broken down into various small denominations. You can always go to the front desk and change out a $50 or several $20's for smaller bills.

[Mar56]

Thanks so much everyone. this has helped a lot. I think we bought too much US cash lol but that's okay. Can save it for the next cruise down south.

Mar56

[cb at sea]

True....larger bills are less "bulky" to carry...the ship will gladly break them down into smaller denominations.

[tcook052]

Thanks so much everyone. this has helped a lot. I think we bought too much US cash lol but that's okay. Can save it for the next cruise down south.

You could always leave it at the donation centre, which is more commonly referred to as the casino. ;)

[NHCruisr]

We bring an envelope of $1 bills for room service tips. We usually tip $2-$3 for each room service delivery. We also bring several $5-$10 bills for taxi fares and porter tips. The exact amount depends on how many bags you have, how big the taxi fare is, etc. In all, for our seven day trip, taxi fares and tips came to about $150.

We also choose to tip various staff onboard the ship. We bring additional cash for these tips. I write a note to each person we tip and put the tip in an envelope clearly marked with the staff person's name, our name and our cabin number (also our table number for dining room tips). This is in additon to the general hotel charge on our statement which we leave in place.

[JamesEM]

I don't like to carry to much in the way of cash so I bring along a prepaid debit card.

[FrankNJ]

I usually bring about 2 grand , but I'm from NJ .