bugeater2

Oh so you're saying that it doesn't matter how or where it was paid as long as it's a different currency (other than $) then the foreign transaction fee will apply?

That has been my experience in the past. I didn't have a 0% Credit card last year.

I booked my Cliffs on Moher tour in Ireland via Paypal but was charged in € so got hit with the 3%. Same as any of the hotels I prebooked as they were in € as well.

But in Dublin, I bought my daughter a sweatshirt in a store and they asked me if I wanted the charge to be processed as $ or €. I chose $ and was not assessed the 3% fee.

Now you will find a few places offering to convert the transaction for you but often that is their way taking the 3% (or more) for themselves.

for example:

The item you want to buy is 100€. At todays rate of 1.384 to cost would be $138.40 + 4.15 (3%) = 142.55

Now the store may offer to convert it for you but charge a rate of 1.450. Now that same item is $145.00 total but you have, in fact, over paid by $2.45.

Point being you should ask what the rate is if you are going to let them convert to $.

For the credit cards with foreign transaction fees. Do they apply when the credit card is used outside the country only? Or let's say I use the credit card to prepay a tour company instead of paying cash?

It applies to all foreign transactions where the currency needs to be converted. You can prepay the tour but the transaction is being processed by the tour company where they are located, not where you are located.

What if I use paypal with my credit card that has foreign transaction fee to prepay? Will i get charged for a foreign transaction fees? Please advise. Thanks.

ie: if the transaction is in euro's and you pay with paypal, there will be a transaction fee because € were converted to $.

If the transaction is in USD$ I don't believe (and I could be wrong) there would not be fee because there is no currency conversion.

I spoke to Wells Fargo and was told I misunderstood..it was $5+3% when using an ATM. I'm not saying they were right my point is there is a ton of misinformation out there.

"Wells Fargo will assess a $5 fee for ATM cash withdrawals made outside the United States and an International Purchase Transaction fee which is 3% of the transaction amount for each purchase made with your debit card in a foreign currency that has been converted into a U.S. dollar amount by a network."

 

For the op can you exchange at the airport?

Wells Fargo ONLY charges a flat $5 fee for ATM withdrawals.

Wells Fargo ONLY charges 3% when using your debit card to purchase a product.

Wells Fargo charges ONLY a 3% fee if you walk into a foreign bank and use a teller to withdraw cash.

Wells Fargo DOES NOT charge both the $5 and the 3% fee for simply using the ATM to get cash,

I really hate how Wells Fargo wrote the sentence above. They took two totally different transactions and combined them into one sentence that does nothing but cause confusion.

There should be 3 separate sentences for 3 separate types of transactions like this:

Wells Fargo will assess a $5 fee for ATM cash withdrawals made outside the United States.

Wells Fargo will assess an International Purchase Transaction fee which is 3% of the transaction amount for each purchase made with your debit card in a foreign currency that has been converted into a U.S. dollar amount by a network."

Wells Fargo charges a fee of 3% of the transaction amount for over-the-counter cash disbursements.

Wow, that was pretty harsh...especially considering you don't even know my situation as well as the terms of my bank. Just fyi, my bank charges $3 per withdrawal outside of Canada as well as the currency exchange rate in addition to a fixed charge of 2.5% of the withdrawn amount. Might be economical to exchange US$ to euros at an ATM for you but certainly isn't for me, personally. It was suggested to me by a bank official here to change some of my US$ to euros at a bank in Europe to get a decent rate. You can't change US$ to euros in Canada. I never "threw in the towel" but rather got some helpful responses and made my decision from there.

I may have been a bit harsh but I am having a hard time accepting that a regular ATM transaction is $3 + 2.5%.

I recently looked up my own banks policy (Wells Fargo) and misread their terms at first. I initially thought that they charged $5 + 3% but upon re-reading the terms it was actually only the $5 fee for an ATM transaction. The 3% only was charged if I walked into a foreign bank and requested cash using a live teller.

I would encourage you to re-read your banks terms for your account.

I may be wrong, and if so, I am sorry but suspect I may be right.

I find that surprising. Most banks have a $5 ATM fee but the exchange rates at the ATMs is much better. You can avoid even the $5 if you get a ScotiaBank account and find member banks in the Global Banking Alliance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_ATM_Alliance

 

The worst thing to do would be to change the US$ into euros as you are paying double exchange fees. Save the US$ for things charged that way or for your next trip to the US or to countries which want $US (Cambodia and Myanmar for example.)

I figured that statement was not correct.

When the OP waited a whole 3 hours for responses and then threw in the towel and said she was going to exchange at home anyway, I figured there was no point in continuing the discussion.

It was obvious she already had her mind made up long before she ever asked the question.

If you can use your USD on the ship, that would probably be the best solution. Use them for extra tips on board, or pay it in to your account for on-board credit.

Ditto, Use the USD for your DSC or other on board charges and just use an ATM for Euros.

No sense throwing away money in horrible exchange rates.

It's called do your homework. And why is it that you were able to fond your way to CC when just joining last month and 17 of your 18 posts have all been on this thread. Did you ever think of coming to CC beforehand and asking questions. \

There are a bunch of websites that will give you maybe even show you what your getting. Or

If your that upset then sue them! Or maybe yet stick to camping.

Come to Cruise Critic, ask a question, somebody will tell you to contact the cruise line.

Call cruise line, ask a question, somebody tells you that you should have used cruise critic.

 

And?? The problem is??

I said he/she could call directly - not get their TA to call..

We do stay up after 9pm here in the UK you know....

 

No joy. As booking made through TA apparently she has to deal so will continue tomorrow. As soon I get a solution I will update.

I just hope no one else has had their booking changed in a similar way as it is not a good way for NCL to act.

 

Isn't it fun being snarky and then being wrong.:o

 

I knew the OP couldn't call because he said previously he booked through a TA. I was banking on the fact that his TA wouldn't be working at 9:30pm on a Friday night. Seems I was correct.

 

 

Its only 4pm just now over there - give them a call yourself??? Office will still be open :)

 

Which means it is after 9:00pm in the UK. :rolleyes:

You have been a CC member for 2 years with over 400 posts.

Come clean, you knew the answer before you ever asked the question, Didn't you:rolleyes:

There is nothing to post because the ship is on the TA crossing right now. You are on the 2nd 7 day cruise after it reaches Barcelona so I doubt you will see anything before hand.

But feel free to post yours when you get back because I am on the June 22nd cruise ;)

Guys - I "jokingly" sent my wife an email suggesting that we leave the kids with grandma for 3 weeks (actually, grandma would live at our house for 3 weeks) and we would go to Europe then on the Escape TA. Shockingly, she said "we need to make this happen". :eek::D

 

I'd like to get your views on how we might approach this. My wife has never been to Europe, and I've only been to the Netherlands and the London area.

 

I was thinking we would fly into somewhere like Amsterdam to start our trip, but I'm flexible as to the destination. We could spend a few days there seeing the area, probably renting a car to see some areas outside of the city. I would then want to travel down to Rotterdam, and maybe Brussels, and finally to Paris for a couple of days. Then, from Paris, go up through the tunnel under the channel on on to London for another few days before boarding the ship down in Portsmouth.

 

I have heard how efficient and enjoyable the European rail system is, so I'm wondering if we could do this via rail without needing to rent a car anywhere. We could take taxis within the cities (or maybe rent a car where staying a few days), but I'd love to be able to do most of the trip via rail. Is this possible? Any suggestions on where to start and what routes to take (in general, not specific)? For example, if it's easier to start in Paris then circle up through Amsterdam then back down to the crossing.

 

Also, what would be the best way to get from London down to Portsmouth? Is there a train for that as well?

 

This is all just early planning, but I know many of you here on the board are very "worldly" and might have some input

 

Thanks!

It is nice to help the man that usually has answers to all of our questions.

You don't need a car unless you are going way out of the way. Thalys runs from Amsterdam to Paris with stops at both Rotterdam and Brussles.

You can then take Eurostar from Paris to London.

Just work your way down to Paris throughout the week. No need for a long, time wasting round-trip car rental.

A tip about the Thalys trains. You can book the trains 3 months in advance. When you are about 4 months out, sign up for the TheCard. This will allow you to get paperless tickets (if you wish) and also will get you lounge access as well.

You may get an e-mail from them a couple of weeks after signing up with a one time offer (per person) for a low price special that isn't readily available.

I got offers for 25€ Amsterdam-Brussels on any train any day. Some of the mid-day trains start out at 59€ so not too bad of a deal.

You initial thoughts are mirroring the first 10 days of my trip before our Med cruise out of Barcelona. In my 3.5 weeks, I am only renting a car for Iceland for 2.5 days and Corsica for 2.5 days. Everywhere else in Continental Europe will be via public transportation.

p.s. If you are going to stay in Belgium you MUST go to Brugges.

p.s.s. When using the Thalys website, set your region/language to Belgium/English. This will ensure you do not get hit with any additional fees or higher prices

Help! I put a last minute cruise on hold tonight to the Mediterranean on Celebrity.

 

Need pre-cruise room in Barcelona for May 30 to June 1, for 3 adults. I've check several hotels, Jazz, 1898 and SOHO, and they are all full. We stayed at Jazz last year and were hoping for something like it.

 

Any recommendations for last minute hotels that take 3 without breaking the bank?

 

Was hoping for just 1 night but most hotels show 2 night minimum when they are available. Booking flights soon so I need to figure when I need to arrive. If you know of a hotel for 1 night that would be great.

 

An apartment would work also if you know of them.

 

Thanks. Rick

We stayed at Hotel Jazz for a party of 3 and the room was huge. There is a bedroom and a living space with a TV and sleeper sofa. Loved the location and roof top pool and bar.

It was so convenient to everything. Would stay there again.

:confused::confused::confused::confused::confused::confused:

Walkie talkies....great idea!

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

If you do a search under Walkie Talkies you will see that most everybody that thought they would be a good idea for their first cruise found out that they don't really work like they thought they would and never brought them on another cruise.

Way too much other stuff interfering with the signal.

My wife & I are going on a Western Mediterranean cruise in September. We'll spend a few days pre-cruise in Barcelona and a few days post cruise in Paris. Does SEA to BCN, BCN to CDG, CDG to SEA for $1500 per person seem like a reasonable fare? The flights would be on either Lufthansa or Air France. Is this about as good as we'll get booking 5 months in advance? Any tips or suggestions I'd appreciate. I've never booked a multi destination flight, so its all new to me. Would it be easier to use a European airline such as Vueling to Paris? Thanks!

I would price the open jaw (1st and 3rd leg) by itself and compare the difference to using Vueling or Iberia on the 2nd leg. Although Veuling and Iberia are the same flight with Iberia code sharing, check pricing on both websites and also factor in baggage/processing/pick your seat fees. My experience has been that the price will not be the same.

There are also high speed trains that do the trip in a little over 6 hours that when everything being equal probably isn't much longer than the flight once you consider your time spent at the airports and getting to the city center.

While this is an option, you will pay more for this service than if you use an ATM machine.

 

Using the 700€ as an example, you paid based off of the Wells Fargo rate for this service = $1019.82

Using 700€ at a European ATM with the 3% + $5.00 surcharge = $1002.86

I need to edit this post:

Wells Fargo only charges a $5.00 fee for the withdrawal at an ATM. The 3% fee is only if you use a foreign teller to get cash.

Using the 700€ as an example, you paid based off of the Wells Fargo rate for this service = $1019.82

Using 700€ at a European ATM with the $5.00 surcharge = $973.80

So you have ask yourself if paying an extra $46.00 is worth not stopping at an ATM at the airport of your destination.

I know some of your questions were answered in this thread.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2030119

You can also use Wells Fargo to purchase Euro's in the states before you go. You can have them over-nite the Euro's or you can pick them up locally, which is what we did last week. We picked-up 700 Euro's to get use by. Don't use your credit card in the European ATM machine, use a debit/ATM card. If you use a bank debit card, your going to get charged 3%. If you use a credit union debit card it's only 1%.

 

https://www.foreignexchangeservices.com/index.html?partnerid=FES&serviceType=rate

While this is an option, you will pay more for this service than if you use an ATM machine.

Using the 700€ as an example, you paid based off of the Wells Fargo rate for this service = $1019.82

Using 700€ at a European ATM with the 3% + $5.00 surcharge = $1002.86

From http://www.seat61.com which is an awesome website for all things trains.

Left luggage offices & lockers in Italy...

◾ Rome Termini, Florence SMN, Turin Porta Nuova, Milan Centrale, Venice Santa Lucia, Verona Porta Nuova, Bologna Centrale, Naples Centrale all have a staffed left luggage office.

◾ Opening hours are 07:00-23:00 in Rome, 06:00-24:00 in Florence, 07:00-21:00 in Turin, 06:00-23:00 Venice, 07:00-21:00 Verona, 06:00-22:00 Bologna & 07:00-23:00 Naples.

◾ The price per bag is €5 for the first 5 hours, then €0.70 per hour for 6-12 hours, then €0.30 per hour for the thirteenth & later hours. Maximum length of deposit 5 days. there's a weight limit which may or may not be enforced in practice, 20Kg per item.

◾ To check left luggage opening hours & prices at these major stations, go to http://www.grandistazioni.it. Click 'English' top right, then click the relevant station on the map. Now click 'station services' on the left then 'Left Luggage' on the right.

◾ There are also left luggage facilities at Rome Tiburtina, Pisa Centrale, Venice Mestre, Trieste, Genoa Brignole, Genoa Piazza Principe, La Spezia, Ventimiglia, Treviso, Padua, Pescara, Ancona, Pesaro, Assisi, Perugia, Bari, Messina, Palermo, Catania.

◾ There are no left luggage facilities at smaller stations including Florence Campo di Marte, Florence Rifredi, Rome Ostiense, Turin Porta Susa, Civitavecchia, San Remo, Livorno, Lucca, Siena (though the nearby bus station has a facility), Montepulciano, Modena, Ravenna, Peschiera del Garda, Orvieto, Rimini, Brindisi, Lecce, Taranto, Reggio di Calabria, Salerno, Siracuse, Pompeii, Sorrento.

◾ To check whether a station has a deposito bagagli, go to http://www.trenitalia.com. Click 'IN REGIONE' top right, then select the relevant Italian region. Although this does not show the price or opening hours.

Beware of the Zombie thread:rolleyes:

My mother and I are leaving for Europe in October. We fly into FCO (Rome, Italy) from Newark. I called my bank about ordering Euros from them to take with me but was shocked at the exchange rate. $508 USD will only get me 340 euros. I've read posts on here in the past that say to purchase them at the 1st international airport we arrive to. To just use our ATM/debit card at the ATM machines in the airport. That it will dispense in Euros and this is the best rate.

 

My question is....Has anyone done this before? Is the accurate information? Or any of you that have been to Europe, what did you find to be the best way of purchasing euros?

 

FYI: I am also posting this in the Europe section on here as well. Thanks in advance!!!

Those posts are 100% correct. When you land at FCO, just find the nearest ATM and get cash just like you would at home.

The exchange rate are almost dead on when you use an ATM. I used them all over England and Ireland last year and will do so again for this years trip.

The 340€ for $508 is about $35.00 over todays exchange rate.

H10 Catalunya Plaza Boutique Hotel

They have rooms available for just the one night 5/31-6/1:

Triple room - 250€

Triple room with terrace - 275€

5/30 does appear to be sold out.

http://www.hotelh10catalunyaplaza.com/en/index.html

We too are embarking in Rome, we were not planning on getting off in Barcelona (have spent a lot of time there over the years so just not necessary for us) will we have no choice but have to disembark and then re-embark later? I hope not, we were rather hoping to have the ship more or less to ourselves!! :)

It is just a normal port day for you. Enjoy the empty ship.

OP - I am on the Epic a week after you and I was planning to go to Monaco and then head back to Cannes but this board changed my mind just a little bit.

I am still going to go to Monaco in the morning but I am now looking at going to Eze on our way back to Cannes.

The thing I like about these port forums are the different ideas you get that you wouldn't have thought of otherwise.

Thank you, I will keep watching the fairs. What days seem the cheapest to go to Barcelona and out of Rome? The ship leaves on a Monday out of Barcelona and we thought we would go in a few days earlier. Ship arrives in Rome on a Friday morning and we thought we would spend a few days in Rome on the backend before flying back to Chicago.

You can use this tool to research flights and prices and then when you are ready book, go to the airline website and purchase.

http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

Just choose the multi-city tab and have fun.