Money Exchange? Euros....

[Seavoyage]

Hello Everyone:

I know I should probably address this question on the Martinique forum however there does not seem to be a lot of activity on that board so apologies in advance if I am out of line here....

With that - DH and I will be on Noordam next week - will be visiting Martinique - I have read that stores/shops prefer Euros to Dollars - does anyone have expreience with this?

Can we get Euros on the ship and if so does the ship charge a fee and if so any idea how much?

Should we just bring some Euros with us - our bank advised the minimum amount to "purchanse" is $160 - does that sound correct?

Thanks in advance for any help with this -also if anyone has experience there - would love to hear about it....

Have a great day!:)

[jtl513]

I've never been to Martinique, but every place I have been in the Caribbean I've never had any trouble using $US. I would suggest that you first try using $US, and if that doesn't work then find an ATM on shore. The exchange rate there will undoubtedly be better than for Euros purchased at the ship Front Desk.

BTW the official exchange rate today is 1 Euro = $1.25. I don't know why your bank would suggest a $160 purchase. We use a Visa card for any purchases larger than $10 or so, and never need much cash on shore anywhere.

[SabreSailor]

It's probably too late for this cruise, but if you get a Capital One credit card, they have no conversion fee - most other cards charge 2 or 3%.... In Europe, almost every place took Visa or MC, so the only cash we really needed was for private tour operators who wanted cash or traveller's checks.... Same was true even in Tahiti....

[Seavoyage]

Many thanks for the advice. I guess Visa is the best bet there. Thanks again.