Currency on Baltic Cruise

[weechloe]

Should we take all U.S. money. Just want the easiest. Can we exchange it on the ship?

[marving9999]

From what I have been told, for the best exchange rate, you should look for an ATM machine at each port where you dock. This will in all probability, give you the best exchange rate. In Copenhagen, we will do exactly that at the airport when we land.

 

If you want, you can exchange currency on the ship, however they will charge you a fee, and I doubt the exchange rate will be as good.

 

In our case, we have debit cards from Fidelity. We can use them at any ATM machine in the world, and any fees charged by that machine are refunded by Fidelity.

 

Check with your bank to see what your fee structure is.

 

The other alternative of course, is to bring cash.

[CruiserBruce]

Just read down the board - you will see this discussed MANY times.

 

No disrespect intended, but does your business or favorite restaurant take rubles, krones or euros? Probably not. When you say you only want to spend dollars, it is not only disrespectful of the locals, but you are telling the locals you want them to spend the time and fees to exchange the money. That is your responsibility.

 

Just spent 25 days in Europe. Never would have expected the locals to take dollars.

[Ashland]

On our RCI Baltic cruise we changed our US $'s onboard the ship each night (very easy and many were doing this same thing) for the money that would be needed in each of our port stops...the exchange rate was tied into a certain bank (can't remember which one) and for the small amount we changed that rate was extremely low to us..We opted to not use an ATM and were prepared when getting off the ship rather than having to look for them..After stressing so much pre-cruise about the whole money issue this ended up being so very easy to manage for the small amounts we needed in foreign cash..We also used our Capital One credit card that had no fees for some things when and if needed.

[weechloe]

I am not being disrespectful. I am wondering where to change my money. I've travelled before and I use their currency. Just wondering where to exchange.

[Nitemare]

As mentioned, your ship will change currency for you for most ports, but maybe not for countries like Sweden (they have their own Krona) or Russia, so be prepared to use a local ATM.

 

And tell your bank ahead of time that you might be using your ATM in foreign countries so they allow the transaction.

[Sinppu]

I am not being disrespectful. I am wondering where to change my money. I've travelled before and I use their currency. Just wondering where to exchange.

 

People jump to conclusions quite quickly, don't they? ;)

 

There are always plenty of ATM's in the ports (usually already in the terminal building.) However if you do not have a chip credit card that has a 4-digit pin code you might not be able to withdraw money from them. That being the case, the safest option is to change onboard.

[Herman The Cat]

People jump to conclusions quite quickly, don't they? ;)

 

There are always plenty of ATM's in the ports (usually already in the terminal building.) However if you do not have a chip credit card that has a 4-digit pin code you might not be able to withdraw money from them. That being the case, the safest option is to change onboard.

 

Excellent point about the chip. Many of the cards don't have them in the US. In fact, I only have one card (Diners Club) which does. Visa, MasterCard and American Express do not.

 

Would you also say that Visa is more widely accepted than American Express?

[jstducky]

a note about ATMs, if you sail into Stockholm, regardless of if you got to Stadsgarden 167 or Frihamnen, there are not ATMs at the port. Therefore, if you need to use the HoHo bus, public bus, etc to get you from the pier to the city, Vasa, Gamla Stan, etc. you'll need to either buy your ticket with a credit card, or have SEK on hand already. However, both piers do offer a TI desk that's open when a cruise ship docks there, and they do sell tickets and accept credit cards

[Mr&MsSmith]

Hey weechloe,

 

We just came back from there traveling on the Vision of the Seas, and I took some local currency with me that I bought at the bank before leaving Canada (Euros, US and Swedish Kronas) just because I didnt want to have any headaches. However, I realized once there that it would have not been an issue just dealing with credit cards and withdrawing money from an ATM.

I didnt have any problems using credit cards everywhere we went that I didnt have to use any ATMs! which I was ready to do if required.

I had both Canadian and US credit card with me and didnt have any problems. I have to say though that they do prefer cards with chips but If yours dont have that you won't have problems just ask before you pay. There was only one place in Stockholm that only accepted cards with chips so we had to pay cash.

 

Please note that some of my friends asked at the ship's desk if they could get some exchange for Latvia's local currency and they said they only had Euros and Swedish Kronas available. So they used their bank card to withdraw money from a local ATM when they got there.

 

I also noticed that some stores also had their prices displayed in Euros, even thought that was not the local currency.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Yep- I used my credit card everywhere. When we did our Norway cruise, we walked everywhere, didn't do any ship tours, and ate our meals on the ship. The only time I charged anything was in a gift shop.

 

But take your ATM card with you incase you need emergency cash and also- most cab drivers take credit cards. So other than a public bus or possibly a mom and pop shop- you don't need cash in europe.

[NancyIL]

I have never encountered an ATM machine in Europe that required a chip and pin card - just the 4-digit pin. Whether you need other currencies depends on where you go and what you do. Euros are the currency in Germany, Finland, and Estonia. Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Latvia each have their own. I had no need for Russian rubles. If you book a private tour in St. Petersburg, you may be paying in US dollars...and a lot of them at that!

[Sinppu]

I have never encountered an ATM machine in Europe that required a chip and pin card - just the 4-digit pin.

 

In Finland ATM's that do have the yellow and the blue card reader, they accept also chipless cards. The ones with only the blue card reader, do not. The latter ones are dominant.

 

VISA is accepted everywhere. AmEx is not accepted as widely, but I don't think I've ever seen a place where it wasn't accepted :rolleyes:

[Ashland]

As mentioned, your ship will change currency for you for most ports, but maybe not for countries like Sweden (they have their own Krona) or Russia, so be prepared to use a local ATM.

 

And tell your bank ahead of time that you might be using your ATM in foreign countries so they allow the transaction.

As I posted above we, sailed on RCI Jewel of the Seas and they had all countries currency to exchange onboard at guest services including Sweden Krona's....the only currency they were not allowed to have was the currency from Russia...However this was no problem as we were on a private tour with TJ Travel and they offered to either take us to a bank which would have taken time or our wonderful guide offered to pay in Rubles whenever it was necessary and we just settled up with her at the end of our 2 day tour...It ended up not being very much at all since it was just for our lunches and a photo pass I believe at Church on the Spilled Blood (?). We found larger shops easily took our Capital One credit card and the street venders we used had no problem taking our and quoting in US $'s...Much easier than expected.

[Neuhoftraveler]

This subject is much less complicated than so many people think it is.

 

1. You do not need a "chip and PIN" credit card anywhere in Scandinavia, or in Russia. (If Finland is different, we weren't there long enough to encounter any problems.) Some merchants may tell you they can't accept them. This is a lie, to protect themselves from fraudulent charges on "sign and swipe" cards. The one time a Copenhagen taxi driver refused our "sign and swipe" card, when I told him to wait while I hit the ATM on the corner, his card reader magically developed "sign and swipe" capacity.

 

2. You do not need a "chip" card at ATM's. You do, of course, need a PIN, just like in the US.

 

3. No US credit cards that I know of are "chip and PIN" in the European (or, I understand, the Canadian) sense. Some Citi cards are issued with chips, but if you enter your PIN when using such a card, the transaction will be treated as a cash advance with high upfront fees and interest from Day One. Or so Citi tells me. Same with the "sign and swipe" credit cards. Don't ever enter a PIN when using them, and therefore don't ever use them at ATMs. Use your local bank's ATM card, which you have foresightedly had activated for general use as a debit card so as to enable its use at ATMs outside the US.

 

4. In the big cities, or at least in the central business districts, ATMs are ubiquitous, just as in the US and all other European cities. They all take US ATM cards, and they all speak several languages, including English.

 

5. In St. Petersburg, which seems to be pretty free-wheeling businesswise, lots of merchants will quote prices in dollars and Euros, and accept those currencies in cash. This includes the tour companies. But this is technically illegal. So if you pay by credit card, the merchant necessarily will calculate the rouble equivalent of the dollar-denominated price (at the mandatory State-set exchange rate), and charge your account in roubles. The interbank system involved (Visa or MasterCard) will then convert the roubles back into dollars and charge your account in that amount. On a big purchase, you likely will wind up paying either a few dollars more, or a few dollars less, than the originally quoted dollar price, depending on how exchange rates moved in the interim.

 

In other words, use your credit cards everywhere, get a little local currency at an ATM for nickel-and-dime purchases, and don't worry about it. For longer stays pre- or -post cruise, immediately on your arrival in town get enough local currency at the first ATM you see to cover your taxi fare to the ship or the airport on your last day. Dip into this as needed, topping up from time to time so you still have enough for the pier or airport taxi. Particularly if Euros are involved, save any leftovers for your next trip.

[Goldiedog]

I am not being disrespectful. I am wondering where to change my money. I've travelled before and I use their currency. Just wondering where to exchange.

 

Change your money at your bank before you leave home, this is what we always do I the UK. We were I the Baltics 3 weeks ago and used local currency or Euros.

[Sinppu]

This subject is much less complicated than so many people think it is.

 

1. You do not need a "chip and PIN" credit card anywhere in Scandinavia, or in Russia. (If Finland is different, we weren't there long enough to encounter any problems.)

2. You do not need a "chip" card at ATM's. You do, of course, need a PIN, just like in the US.

 

 

See my post above and read it carefully. It explains with detail how to use your credit card in an ATM in Finland.

 

This is a subject that is very frequent on these boards and as such may have information overload.

You can use your credit card just about everywhere in Scandinavia. Even some market stalls have card readers nowadays. Cash is always accepted so it is the safest (if not the cheapest or easiest).

[sippican]

However[/b] if you do not have a chip credit card that has a 4-digit pin code you might not be able to withdraw money from them. That being the case' date=' the safest option is to change onboard.[/quote']

 

A regular bank ATM card works fine. We used ours with just the pin code you'd use in the US..

 

Excellent point about the chip. Many of the cards don't have them in the US. In fact, I only have one card (Diners Club) which does. Visa, MasterCard and American Express do not.

 

Would you also say that Visa is more widely accepted than American Express?

 

Our Amex card does have an imbedded chip (clearly visible) and verified by Amex.. However, when I spoke to them about a pin code, I was told they would not assign one. (no explanation.:confused:)

 

When we were preparing for our trip I researched cards with chips/pins. There are a couple available in the US; British Airways is one that comes to mind. IMHO, not worth the effort to get one at this point. We only encountered two places where it would have been helpful to have the chip/pin card. We got by just fine with some DKK, Euro, our ATM and Visa., never used any other currencies.

[Neuhoftraveler]

Sinppu, sorry I missed the fact that both your posts discussed use of credit cards in ATM's, not ATM cards. Thanks for pointing out the potential problem.

 

It also should be emphasized, however, that using a credit card for cash withdrawals from an ATM is rarely if ever a good idea, because it typically incurs high upfront fees, and high interest from Day 1, like every other "cash advance" on a credit card. At least that's the case with US-issued credit cards. I suspect that's why I didn't pick up on the fact that that's what you were discussing.

 

Thanks for all the advice you've provided on this board to Helsinki visitors.

[Sinppu]

A regular bank ATM card works fine. We used ours with just the pin code you'd use in the US..

 

Good for you. In Finland (as I mentioned before) there are two kinds of ATM's. Those that accept the chipless cards and those that don't.

I cannot guarantee anything about US cards since I do not own one.

[lindsaystevenson]

Uk banks don't tend to have high charges if you use your debit card in a foreign ATM-but credit card withdrawals would be more. I would have thought US banks similar. We will probably get small amount exchanged for buses etc before we leave the uk and either use credit card for purchases or debit cards to take extra money out in each country if needed.

[dsrdsrdsr]

1. You do not need a "chip and PIN" credit card anywhere in Scandinavia, or in Russia. (If Finland is different, we weren't there long enough to encounter any problems.) Some merchants may tell you they can't accept them. This is a lie, to protect themselves from fraudulent charges on "sign and swipe" cards.

It's not a lie unless you're being unduly nit-picky. To say they "can't" use a non-chipped card is technically inaccurate (or a lie, if you like) - what they mean is they don't want to. If you use a stolen chipped card, the seller gets his money back from the bank. If you use a stolen signature card, he doesn't. So he naturally prefers a chipped card from people he doesn't know.

 

There is a lot of time spent on a pretty insignificant problem IMO. If the ship sells currency, you can get it out form there; if you don't use it, you canpay it back next day. At most, compared with shopping around for the cheapest rate, you can lose $10 or so. Same with credit card withdrawals - the heavy expense on withdrawal fees and interest doesn't actually amount to much at all.

 

If someone told you there was a way of saving $10 off the cruise price, y spending a couple of hours shopping round and then going to the next town, would anyone bother?

[Alaskanb]

http://www.andrewsfcu.org/credit_cards_and_loans/credit_cards/globetrek_rewards.html

This is a US issued chip and pin card. Mine arrived this weekend.

[Neuhoftraveler]

Just out of curiosity, how do you define "a lie"?

[dsrdsrdsr]

Just out of curiosity, how do you define "a lie"?

Difficult to define exactly, because IMO it's possible to say something which isn't true without actually telling a lie.

 

Eg. in a sort-of parallel case, if you go to a TV shop and ask the shopkeeper to sell you a $1000 TV for $200, he might say "I can't sell it at that price". It's not true, he can sell it at that price, he just chooses not to - but I don't call it a lie.