No foreign currency exchange onboard

For those on the 50 day cruise as well as 1st and last legs, we'll be hitting a number of non-Euro countries. I wonder if this includes being able to break large Euro notes. Be prepared.

Do you have foreign currency exchange?

We do not have a foreign currency service available on board. For incidentals and small vendors, we recommend getting local currency, which can be purchased in the ship’s terminal, or from ATMs, which are widely available in most large European cities. Should you wish to use ATMs, confirm with your bank prior to departure that your ATM/credit card and PIN will work abroad, and inquire about possible foreign transaction fees. Also notify your credit card company that you’ll be traveling abroad to avoid unnecessary holds on your account.

Viking does not do this on their river cruises either. We were on the Passage to Eastern Europe last June and we hit seven different countries. Some took euros, some would only take the local currency.

If you are a AAA member, I have found out that AAA can order various currencies for you thru Wells Fargo financial services for a flat fee of $15.00. A lot less than multiple ATM fees. ;)

Becki

I am used to cruise lines that sell euros for a fee, but nothing else. I haven't decided how we're going to handle the money, but one thing I've never been sure of is this: Do various banks, AAA, etc. have different rates for currency exchange? Last year we got euros from our local bank (BOA) and while there wasn't much of a fee, after getting them, I started looking at rates online and they appeared lower than the conversion rate that BOA used. While this didn't result in a huge difference, I DID wonder if BOA was the best place to get them. I know Rick Steves and other travel gurus suggest waiting and getting euros from ATMs, but we usually aren't totally comfortable with that, so we like to get some before we go.

Any advice on this? As for Croatian kunas and whatnot, we will probably just use an ATM with our Capital One card (no fees), should we decide we need local money. That's one thing that drove me crazy in the Baltic as there were so many different currencies we needed, at least if we wanted to do crazy things like take a public bus or tram (which we often did).

Roothy,

There are some differences in the rates of exchange for different financial institutions.. For AAA, you can check the rate of exchange on the currency you are interested in before purchasing.

Becki

...Do various banks, AAA, etc. have different rates for currency exchange? ...

As for Croatian kunas and whatnot...

AAA has a fairly lousy exchange rate. Let's face it, you're going to pay the price one way or another.

We were in Croatia in September. Everyone was perfectly happy to take Euros. Our guides even requested them. Even in the restrooms in hill towns on Hvar, the attendants would take Euros. There again, they set the exchange rate...

I had a friend who was in Dubrovnik last Sept. His experience was just the opposite of azevedan's. His experience was that no one would accept euros, and so he had to find an ATM and get some kunas to do the few things they wanted to do there.

Becki

Best deal I have found over several years is Wells Fargo online.

If you are customer, you can order and pay out of your checking or savings account.

If not a customer, you can not longer order and pay with a credit card. However, if you belong to AAA you can go thru the AAA website to Wells Fargo and buy with a credit card. You can mix currencies in your order and if you order $1000+ fees are waived. My credit card treats it as a purchase and not a cash advance so no surcharges.

They ship by Fedex to you at no charge and you must be there to sign for the delivery. You get email notice and a tracking number so you can plan accordingly.

Best deal I have found over several years is Wells Fargo online.

 

If you are customer, you can order and pay out of your checking or savings account.

 

If not a customer, you can not longer order and pay with a credit card. However, if you belong to AAA you can go thru the AAA website to Wells Fargo and buy with a credit card. You can mix currencies in your order and if you order $1000+ fees are waived. My credit card treats it as a purchase and not a cash advance so no surcharges.

 

They ship by Fedex to you at no charge and you must be there to sign for the delivery. You get email notice and a tracking number so you can plan accordingly.

This is the service I was referring to in my previous post. It is offered thru AAA financial services, but the currencies come from Wells Fargo.

Thanks for confirming that this is a good deal. I have not used them in the past.

Becki

I had a friend who was in Dubrovnik last Sept. His experience was just the opposite of azevedan's. His experience was that no one would accept euros, and so he had to find an ATM and get some kunas to do the few things they wanted to do there.

 

Becki

I have no direct experience but I've read that euros are NOT widely accepted in Dubrovnik and that kunas are needed for walking the wall and other touristy things. Personally, I plan to get a limited number of kunas for Pula and Dubrovnik.

On a different but money-related subject (hope it's not off topic):

This past summer there was a lot of discussion on some of the ocean cruise boards about VAT tax being taxed when alcohol or products are purchased on cruises that start in Italy or Spain, or stop in those countries. The rules are pretty complicated, but if a cruise starts in one of those countries and never leaves the EU, the cruise line is supposed to charge the country's VAT tax for the entire cruise. (This applies mostly to alcohol. I forget the rates, but they were not insignificant!) Our Venice to Istanbul cruise stops in Kotor, which is not part of the EU, so I don't think there will be any tax, except perhaps while the ship is docked in Venice. However, I was just curious if anyone had experienced this tax on a recent European cruise in Italy or Spain. It seems crazy but apparently it's real, as we WERE warned about it in September before our Portugal/Spain cruise, and people on other cruise lines have reported being charged the tax as well.

Roothy,

That's where my friend had his issue. He took a ship's shuttle to town, then decided to walk the walls. Well, no kunas, but euros on hand. They would not accept his euros. And his wife was going to have a coffee before they walked the walls; again, no euros accepted, just kunas. This doesn't surprise me. We found this in Eastern Europe, particularly Bucharest. A lot of places would take euros and some would even take dollars and almost all would take credit cards. But we found you had to ask first. We found out by ordering beverages at an outside café and finding out after they would only take their currency, cash, of which we had none left. So our husbands had to go in search of an ATM.:p

So, better to be prepared. ;)

Becki

Huh.

I honestly don't remember what they wanted to walk the walls in Dubrovnik. I do remember that I was able to pay for my silver earrings and ice cream using Euros. We were with a private guide in Dubrovnik (paid in euros), so I didn't spend any other money.

Huh.

I honestly don't remember what they wanted to walk the walls in Dubrovnik. I do remember that I was able to pay for my silver earrings and ice cream using Euros. We were with a private guide in Dubrovnik (paid in euros), so I didn't spend any other money.

Maybe the guide paid the wall charge or had some kind of pre-arranged payment. I DO know that I read someone's blog from Dubrovnik and he had a a picture of the sign that states that only Croatian kunas are accepted. I don't think they even take credit cards, but now I forget....

I suppose many vendors take euros (at least smart vendors!), but I'm planning to take a bus, and I doubt they'll accept euros on that! Then again, I have been to at least one place that did accept something other than their own currency, so I guess anything's possible!

We went to an exchange store in our local mall here in california. Got all of our different exchanges from a few different countries for our Crystal cruise. Haaaaaaate hunting down somewhere to exchange $$ in other countries. Despise even more using our charge card....I do not trust out of country purchases.

When we got back from our trip, we exchanged all $$ but coins into USD. It's just me, I prefer all details in place before I leave so that all we have to do is have fun!

Maybe the guide paid the wall charge or had some kind of pre-arranged payment. I DO know that I read someone's blog from Dubrovnik and he had a a picture of the sign that states that only Croatian kunas are accepted. I don't think they even take credit cards, but now I forget....

Yes! That's what we did. The other woman we were with paid with her credit card, and my DH and I paid her.

See this thread, too:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1689950

On our cruise last fall we were in Euro countries, Turkey, Egypt, etc.

We disembarked in Barcelona - No VAT charges. We boarded in Athens with a case of wine that we brought on board - no VAT ( just expected corkage fee).

We have always used ATM's for all of our foreign money regardless of where we travel. The exchange rates we always encountered by changing money in the US, at a foreign bank, or on a ship always outnumbered the flat $5 ATM fee....that said I haven't tried the AAA route in years (precious exchange rates were outrageous) so I can't comment on how that is currently structured.

As far as private tours, if I am quoted in USD, I take that exact money plus anticipated max tip in separate envelopes for each tour. If I am quoted in Euros I hit an ATM and get that money into separate tour envelopes - that way we are set from the start without having to worry about it. It is just kept in the hotel and then ship room safe. It has worked really well for us and we don't have to stress over it.

For those on the 50 day cruise as well as 1st and last legs, we'll be hitting a number of non-Euro countries. I wonder if this includes being able to break large Euro notes. Be prepared.

 

Do you have foreign currency exchange?

 

We do not have a foreign currency service available on board. For incidentals and small vendors, we recommend getting local currency, which can be purchased in the ship’s terminal, or from ATMs, which are widely available in most large European cities. Should you wish to use ATMs, confirm with your bank prior to departure that your ATM/credit card and PIN will work abroad, and inquire about possible foreign transaction fees. Also notify your credit card company that you’ll be traveling abroad to avoid unnecessary holds on your account.

Trying to figure local currency needed for Viking Emerald Imperial Jewels of China without souvenirs. Can you help?

This section is for those of us going on Viking's new ocean cruise ship. You may have better luck posting in the section for River Cruising, as Viking River cruises go to China while the ocean cruises do not. There is a special section for river cruising, and also one for river cruising Roll Calls.

We took one of Viking's China cruises a while back, but I don't think we used much local money. I think we might have exchanged a little bit at the hotel before we boarded the ship, but I really can't remember that well. I know my husband bought at least a few little things using cash of some kind (for example, a hat at the Great Wall) and I think there were some vendors that were selling things to us in U.S. dollars. You may, however, be warned that restrooms often require coins, so I suppose it's good to have a little bit of Chinese money, including some coins. However, I think we mostly just purchased a few nice souvenirs at stores that took credit cards. Other than small purchases and restrooms, I don't remember any expenses, as Viking took care of admission fees, food, etc.

Unless someone on here has cruised China recently and can offer better info than I can, I would just post in the River Cruising section of the forums.

When we went on a two week Viking land/river tour in China last May I took $200 in yuan and spent less than $80 in yuan. Having excess was not an issue as a nephew who travels to China often was willing to take the yuan from me. Without that option, I guess I would have switched to tipping in yuan towards the end to unload the currency.

No problem with paying tour related tips in $ cash (drivers, local guides, overall group guide, ship tips). Our group guide reminded people to use hotel desk for changing yuan denominations and where ATMs were. He also ran an emergency bank of sorts out of his "wallet" for people in the group with extreme cash money issues regarding needing bills changed (large to small). FYI don't take anything larger than a $20 if possible, plenty of $1 and $5 bills, and the cleanest US money you can get (no tears, no marks from security pens, not worn, etc.)

We were not afraid to use no transaction fee credit cards in factory tour shops, Terra Cotta warriors gift shop, etc. Banks were notified in advance about potential card use in China.

We are not big shoppers but saw plenty of people in group buying even on the streets. Many sellers can say price in $ and if not it was very common for them to have a notepad and they wrote the $ price down rather than say it. Even dickering was done with tourists shaking head and frowning while seller reworked price on notepad. But this was always being paid in small denomination $ bills; don't expect Chinese vendors to make $ change.