Celebrity Solstice ATM?

Is there an ATM on Solstice, and how reliable is it?

We have sailed Rhapsody, Radiance and Voyager, and have found the connection to the real world from the ATM on board is very patchy at times. They blame the "provider" which is always a handy cop out when you are standing there asking when the thing will work again. I presume it is to do with the internet connection they are prepared to pay for and that is fair enough.

If they could just tell us on board when the money will be accessible that would keep us happy instead of blank looks we have received in the past. We found that when it arrived back near Sydney the ATM magically worked on Voyager. :)

I thought it would be better to ask on the Aussie/NZ board, as I am sure it would work much better over the other side of the planet, but that doesn't help me if we want some $US from it when we are about to debark at Auckland.

Is there an ATM on Solstice, and how reliable is it?

 

We have sailed Rhapsody, Radiance and Voyager, and have found the connection to the real world from the ATM on board is very patchy at times. They blame the "provider" which is always a handy cop out when you are standing there asking when the thing will work again. I presume it is to do with the internet connection they are prepared to pay for and that is fair enough.

 

If they could just tell us on board when the money will be accessible that would keep us happy instead of blank looks we have received in the past. We found that when it arrived back near Sydney the ATM magically worked on Voyager. :)

 

I thought it would be better to ask on the Aussie/NZ board, as I am sure it would work much better over the other side of the planet, but that doesn't help me if we want some $US from it when we are about to debark at Auckland.

Yes there is a ATM but only US$ and a extra charge for use.

Is there an ATM on Solstice, and how reliable is it?

 

We have sailed Rhapsody, Radiance and Voyager, and have found the connection to the real world from the ATM on board is very patchy at times. They blame the "provider" which is always a handy cop out when you are standing there asking when the thing will work again. I presume it is to do with the internet connection they are prepared to pay for and that is fair enough.

 

If they could just tell us on board when the money will be accessible that would keep us happy instead of blank looks we have received in the past. We found that when it arrived back near Sydney the ATM magically worked on Voyager. :)

 

I thought it would be better to ask on the Aussie/NZ board, as I am sure it would work much better over the other side of the planet, but that doesn't help me if we want some $US from it when we are about to debark at Auckland.

It will work better the closer you are to port.

Why do you want $US for NZ, why not $NZ better exchange rate and fees to buy some before you go.

Or just take money out of an ATM in New Zealand. There are some banks linked to Australian ones if you bank with them and the fees are less for these.

We put $US on a prepaid travel card a while back, and that locked in a better exchange rate for us. So I do realise we will be pulling out $US, and last time there was a $6 fee on Voyager. That all works out much better for us than paying the exchange rate on the ship, or using our NAB card and getting whacked with a fee for paying an overseas company, 3% whether in $US or $AUD (I thought it was bad when they slugged 2.3%).

We found on Voyager that we had $800US on the prepaid Travel LoadandGo card, and we could budget excursions, drinks, shops on board spending etc without worrying that the exchange rate might tank over a 2 week period (like the last 2 weeks or so! approx. 4 cents ouch!)

We could not pay the sea pass account with the card as it was a prepaid and they would not accept it. It was to us a very easy exercise to pull the money out of the ATM, pay the account on board, a bit of cash for tips, and we were good. We have read much on here about all sorts of other cards etc, and while they do have some good points, the benefits of the Aust Post Travel LoadnGo card for us in this instance were what we have chosen to go with.

The only thing that stressed us back then was the ATM being out of operation.

As for the NZ part of the trip, we have an NZ bank account, so we are set with that and some cash we have already, so the ATM on board is purely required as the only place I know to pull out $US around Australia and NZ without any traipsing around in a city to find some obscure ATM that may be able to give us $US.

Thanks for your responses, and sorry to make it so complicated, but I couldn't find anywhere when searching the Celebrity site about an ATM on board.

For those that haven't been watching the dollar...

yes, the AUD ihas dropped $0.04 in the last week and set to drop further.:(

The main downside of the Australia Post Load and Go travel card is if it gets stolen while you are travelling, which happened to us. Australia Post do not supply a back up card like Amex do, and will only send replacement cards to your home address.

We had around $4000 preloaded onto the card, and converted to UK pounds. We could not access these funds until we got home and received our replacement card, then we lost a heap converting the funds back to AUD so we could withdraw them from a local ATM. Luckily we had sufficient funds in our bank account to cover us for the remainder of our trip.

:mad:

OZKiwiJJ, that is certainly a minus in your example. I think that could be something they could look at in future. The main rival card through the PO system, Travellex cash passport, has a backup where you can get money through Western Union offices overseas if needed. As WU is such a big partner of Post they may look at that option.

In our case, I have heard a similar thing elsewhere here, and if we had a card lost, and a replacement sent to our home, we would just keep the $US on it for the next cruise. Also we each have a Load and Go, and split the money, and we leave a photocopy of the back of the card with a trusted friend so they can load some more money on at any PO. It is available immediately usually.

That is the thing, what is a minus for sure in your case, is not high on our list of pros and cons. Certainly a good warning to anyone considering overseas travel cards.

Some of the pros for us is the ability to 1) put a small amount $AU on the card on a regular basis (minumum $100 with no fee); 2) Log on online to manage currency transfer if it suits us; 3)Use any of the $AU balance for normal shopping or online if there is some left; 4) no monthly fee; 5) pay the cruise line direct on their .com.au site in $AU without paying the 3% fee that the NAB charges us.

Many people over time have given lots of info about the good and bad of travel cards, and I must say Citibank and 28degrees were certainly tempting, (particularly their exchange rates) but we just found there was negatives with their set ups that made the Post Loadngo better for us. Everyone's circumstances are different, and it depends where you are cruising/travelling.

I think you can't talk enough about this topic, as to be financially penalised like your case is worth a lot of dollars. Yet what other people are wearing in the main dining room, and what everyone is tipping, tend to be much more popular subject here on CC.

Just my 2 bobs worth!

yes, the AUD ihas dropped $0.04 in the last week and set to drop further.:(

Or not.

Is there an ATM on Solstice, and how reliable is it?

 

We have sailed Rhapsody, Radiance and Voyager, and have found the connection to the real world from the ATM on board is very patchy at times. They blame the "provider" which is always a handy cop out when you are standing there asking when the thing will work again. I presume it is to do with the internet connection they are prepared to pay for and that is fair enough.

 

If they could just tell us on board when the money will be accessible that would keep us happy instead of blank looks we have received in the past. We found that when it arrived back near Sydney the ATM magically worked on Voyager. :)

 

I thought it would be better to ask on the Aussie/NZ board, as I am sure it would work much better over the other side of the planet, but that doesn't help me if we want some $US from it when we are about to debark at Auckland.

If you're worried about patchiness, could you just withdraw a large amount early on, then keep the cash out for whenever you need it in future?

Apparently, the dollar has been forecast to go as low as $0.73 by leading economists.:(

...Citibank and 28degrees were certainly tempting, (particularly their exchange rates) but we just found there was negatives with their set ups that made the Post Loadngo better for us. Everyone's circumstances are different, and it depends where you are cruising/travelling...

We use CitiBank and I'm just wondering what negatives you found that made you opt for the Post loadngo card instead. :confused:

Not a criticism, I'm genuinely interested incase we'd be better off going that way as well, particularly with an 8 week trip to the UK for next year in the pipeline. :D

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Apparently, other leading economists see it going back up to $0.94.

If anyone could predict where a currency is going at a time, they would be a trillionaire.

Big M - you are right, there is always different opinions and world events can sway things back and forward. Also yes, we might take a bigger amount out early, as we will need more again in Feb 15 as well.

Sparky74 - http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=43536248#post43536248

This was the thread where I got some info, and both the Citibank and 28degrees were certainly better on the rate, if you take it on the day.

If I was going over to the UK I would have another look at what we needed the money for, and probably get the 28degrees purely as people say debit cards can be harder/longer to dispute charges (I only researched the Citi plus with debit card), and the credit cards will give you better protection from that, without freezing some of your cash until it is resolved. Also there is often holds put on by accommodation and the cruise companies that can reduce your bank account balance if you need the cash. It will depend if you have a credit or debit with Citibank. The exchange rate looked good though. For us, right now, we don't need another account, as we can deposit and withdraw, and pay off our normal NAB credit cards with no fee at Aust Post (and we have offset against our loan). Citibank charges to pay into a card at Post. It has to add up for your personal needs.

The other thing that we find a plus is having a copy of the barcode on the back of the Loadngo with Post, and if you are stuck someone can pay into it any PO and the money usually goes through immediately. Bank transfers are quicker these days, but as a back up, considering you can load it with $100, and there is no starting fee or deposit fees or monthly fees, and only 9c per transaction, it is a cheap backup. Yes, the exchange rate is 3-4c different from the daily rate you hear on the TV, but there is no company that isn't going to charge something. I do like to have the ability to load it with AUD to start with, and then we use it for stuff in Aust in between holidays.

Sorry if I am repeating, and some of these points may not rate for you, but I liked the Citibank and 28degrees, and would think that your Citibank may suit your needs just fine. You may just consider a backup option of another type of card. Hope that made sense!

Apparently, other leading economists see it going back up to $0.94.

 

If anyone could predict where a currency is going at a time, they would be a trillionaire.

True, but as the dollar is dropping, I would rather buy now and risk it going back up then find it drop even further.

True, but as the dollar is dropping, I would rather buy now and risk it going back up then find it drop even further.

Each will have their own view.

If you wanted to avoid risk of loss, it would have been better to buy a couple of weeks ago at 0.94 :D

Each will have their own view.

 

If you wanted to avoid risk of loss, it would have been better to buy a couple of weeks ago at 0.94 :D

I did. :D

I did. :D

Well timed. :D

Well timed. :D

Yes, as it has turned out. Could have possibly gone back up as well but looked unlikely, so I took an informed gamble/guess.:D

Travel money cards through Flight Centre come in a set of two - one account, two cards with seperate card numbers and pins. If a card is lost or stolen, cancel it, and you have a back up card to access your funds. No charge to setup.