Currency for Southern Caribbean?????

Hi-- we are crusin on Caribbean Princess. Nov28 from San Juan to Tortola,Antigua,St Lucia,Barbados etc

What is their currency & did you change it on the ship/or is it even necessary as they may take US$ ????:confused:

thanks Donnakg

Most Caribbean islands take US$. I have never exchanged money on any of those cruises.

Hi-- we are crusin on Caribbean Princess. Nov28 from San Juan to Tortola,Antigua,St Lucia,Barbados etc

What is their currency & did you change it on the ship/or is it even necessary as they may take US$ ????:confused:

 

thanks Donnakg

DonnaKG - Though the US$ is somewhat devalued -- all of the islands take the dollar. It has been 25 years since we had to exchange currency.

The last time I did that was in Martinique for French Francs..:) Don't worry and have a great time.

Us $$$

Tortola uses US$ as their currency and all other readily access them especially private tour operators and taxi drivers. Also small vendor usually show prices in US$. Larger shops and some tour operators will accept credit card that may have charges in the local currency.

Take plenty of small bills. Many vendors will give you change in local currency.

hey-- wow thanks for all your responses, sounds like really easy

this time!!! and I wont have euros left over from the Med cruise this time LOL!!

cant wait to go south-- its gettin cold here in IN:(

donnakg

Everyone will take US $$. Change is normally given bills is US $$ and change in local currency.

Most everybody will take US dollars, surprisingly, even in countries where the USD is not the local currency.

But a caveat: Sometimes you may get great deals on using US dollars. In Marigot, at the ferry terminal and at the West Indies Mall, they were taking the USD 1:1 with the Euro. Notwithstanding paying $2 for a can of Coke, that soda, which was 2 Euro, should have cost me $2.75.

And sometimes you may not get great deals. The public bus in Cancun, at the time I went, was 6 pesos - about 60 cents at the time. There were some people who didn't have pesos and only USD, and the bus driver said, OK, OK, one dollar - and don't think he gave them any change. Granted, it was only 40 cents difference, but essentially those people were paying almost twice as much as they should have.

I always try and take some local currency. If they accept USD, that's fine, but if they have both prices listed, I don't want to have to divide (say) Eastern Caribbean dollars by 2.7 in order to figure out whether or not the US equivalent is correct or if they're including a "transaction fee."

As someone said take small $ bills. An American couple was sitting next to us in Barbados. She sent him to the nearest Hotel for 2 cocktails. He came back and they had given him change for a $100 in local currency!