Currency for Panama Cruise trip

Booked on the Norwegian pearl for a 10 day Panama Canal cruise in March 2016,

Having never travelled to this part of the world before, have no idea what to use for currency at the ports. Do local shops take American credit cards? Will I need to exchange American dollars for currency of each country?

Thanks for any assistance you can provide.

They will take US credit cards. Without knowing what ports you stop in, the rest is hard to say, but if you look on the Ports boards for your other ports, you will probably find small denomination dollars are commonly recommended.

Depending on your credit card, you might be charged a foreign transaction fee. The fee varies by credit card program from 0% to maybe 3%, so it pays to find out ahead of time.

We've always been able to use American dollars in the tourist areas.

The Panamanian economy functions almost entirely on the USD.

They call their dollar the 'Balboa', but George Washington's picture is on it.

:D

There are coins that match US coins exactly and US currency circulates freely in the Panamanian community.

You can use Credit Cards and in many places they take USA Currency.

Keith