Do you have any questions for me?

[RachelG]

I have used a credit card without any problems in Croatia, so I don't know what he is talking about either.

Now the chip and pin thing is a whole different issue. A lot of places in Europe, particularly Northern Europe in my experience, do not accept a credit card with a magnetic strip anymore. It has to have a chip. I encountered this in Denmark and Greenland on our trip this year, and would have been up a creek without a paddle had I not gotten a card with a chip.

[Osnab]

I always felt that it was OK to tip in US dollars because the European people can go to almost any bank and exchange their money from dollars to local currency (except possibly in the small towns). Whereas in the US there are very few banks that have foreign currency exchanges, if foreign money was ever given to anyone here.

 

This is just my opinion, so no bashing, please :D.

 

Well, I now have the official scoop. Except for Bucharest, where I will be tomorrow, every tour guide gladly accepted Euro, dollars or the local currency. They would not have appreciated the Hungarian Forint in Croatia, though.

 

Most of the local souvenir shops would take Euro or dollars, but the local stores would take only the local currency.

 

By the way, some of the supermarkets or wine stores will not accept a credit card unless you have a PIN with it. This applies to credit cards, not debit cards, which of course have a PIN.

 

One last disconcerting thing was that I had a $200 shipboard credit and although I was told by someone on CC that I could apply the credit toward my gratuities, you CANNOT! And the shopping on the Embla is really sad. I had to struggle to find some things to buy. So if you have a credit, bear in mind that you will need some space in your suitcase for sweaters, etc.

 

Felicia

[travelfirst]

Well, I now have the official scoop. Except for Bucharest, where I will be tomorrow, every tour guide gladly accepted Euro, dollars or the local currency. They would not have appreciated the Hungarian Forint in Croatia, though.

 

Most of the local souvenir shops would take Euro or dollars, but the local stores would take only the local currency.

 

By the way, some of the supermarkets or wine stores will not accept a credit card unless you have a PIN with it. This applies to credit cards, not debit cards, which of course have a PIN.

 

One last disconcerting thing was that I had a $200 shipboard credit and although I was told by someone on CC that I could apply the credit toward my gratuities, you CANNOT! And the shopping on the Embla is really sad. I had to struggle to find some things to buy. So if you have a credit, bear in mind that you will need some space in your suitcase for sweaters, etc.

 

Felicia

Sorry, that was me. I just assumed you could use the credit for anything. I wonder why they won't let you use the credit for gratuities.

It certainly would be hard to buy $200.00 worth of things from the gift shop.

[H2Otstr]

Sorry, that was me. I just assumed you could use the credit for anything. I wonder why they won't let you use the credit for gratuities.

It certainly would be hard to buy $200.00 worth of things from the gift shop.

 

I'm pretty sure that in the past one could use a credit toward the gratuities. Maybe their policy has changed.

[Cary Cruiser]

Mt wife and I would not have any problem spending a $200 credit at the bar. Hey, couple of good bottles of wine could eat up a chunk.

[Osnab]

I thought this was odd - just called my bank to set up travel notifications for credit and ATM card and they said Croatia and Serbia are sanctioned and our cards will not work there. :confused: I know we used both in Croatia a couple of years ago so I'm not sure what to make of that. Will have dollars and euros as a backup/last resort for tipping.

 

I'm not sure what that means...sanctioned? I do know I had to have a PIN when I was in Romania at a purse store. Darnit, I really don't want to get a new credit card for this new PIN thing.

[Osnab]

Sorry, that was me. I just assumed you could use the credit for anything. I wonder why they won't let you use the credit for gratuities.

It certainly would be hard to buy $200.00 worth of things from the gift shop.

 

Travelfirst, I'm with you. I thought it was brilliant of you to suggest that, and I didn't even think about trying to spend it all. Although there's only so much liquor you can consume to cover a $200 credit. LOL Especially with the free wine.

 

The gift "shop", {clearing throat} is really funny. There is a case with 9 types of jewelry (bracelets, brooches, necklaces, etc), a row of Viking jackets and polo shirts, binoculars, playing cards, a travel converter (or adapter, I get those confused), a book, and a couple of shelves of L'Occitaine soaps.

 

Except for that and the liquor, there's not an opportunity to purchase anything else. Well, postage stamps for the postcards.

 

I did find that to be a wonderful problem to have, trying to spend $200!!!

 

By the way, to mail 2 postcards from Bucharest to the US was going to cost me 40 Lei, which about $6.50 each. I said, forget it, I'll just stick the cards in their mailbox. LOL I'm not sure if this is a surcharge that the hotel tacked on, or if it's really that expensive.

 

Felicia

[Osnab]

I'm pretty sure that in the past one could use a credit toward the gratuities. Maybe their policy has changed.

 

I'm wondering if it's an Embla thing. I posted a little review on the Embla and have received a few responses from people who had the opposite experiences on their ships, and certainly the Embla was different from a previous Viking trip I took.

 

I also had stated that we could not pay with a credit card until the day we were to leave. So everyone had to stand in line to wait for their bill and pay at that time. But that was not the case for me before and not the case for the others on my post.

 

Felicia

[Osnab]

Mt wife and I would not have any problem spending a $200 credit at the bar. Hey, couple of good bottles of wine could eat up a chunk.

 

If I'd known before the day before I was to leave, I'd have bought Bloody Marys for everyone I made friends with......

 

By the way, the free wines at dinner and lunch were pretty good.

 

Felicia

[Sparky333]

Felicia -- regarding the PIN and chip credit cards --

I got one 'just in case' for a trip to Iceland this summer and did end up needing it one time. For every other purchase my regular magnetic strip c/c was fine. It seems to be the wave of the future especially if you travel in Europe often.

 

My bank, USAA, offered them and I didn't need to open a new c/c acct - it was available on the acct I already had so it was a piece of cake to get. Just have to be sure to remember the PIN since it can't be reset once they mail it out to you.

 

We had the situation where you have to settle up with your c/c on the final morning when we sailed with Viking in China. The line was 150 people deep! Very frustrating. I guess I'll start girding my loins now to deal with that again :(

[franski]

 

My bank, USAA, offered them and I didn't need to open a new c/c acct - it was available on the acct I already had so it was a piece of cake to get. Just have to be sure to remember the PIN since it can't be reset once they mail it out to you.

 

I find it odd that you cannot reset a PIN. All of our cards are chip & pin (this is all that is available in Canada these days...) and resetting a PIN is easy.

 

Up until recently, you had to do it at the bank. But, we can now do it over the phone.

 

The only challenge might be if the bank doesn't have the technology in-house, and they have to mail the card off somewhere to re-set.

 

Fran

[Sparky333]

Maybe when those c/c's become common here in the US they'll be more accomodating. For now my bank set the PIN and mailed it to me with the strict direction to memorize it well since it could not be reset. The bank I use is online only, no brick & mortar so that might be part of the difference. I would imagine they don't do that in-house as you said.

[Mark_T]

It seems to be the wave of the future especially if you travel in Europe often.

 

I had to smile at that one :)

 

Chip & PIN has been in the UK now for almost 10 years, so it is more something of the past than the future.

 

The irony now is that the USA probably has some of the worst credit card fraud rates due to resistance to the change, whereas many countries once considered 'high risk' have adopted Chip & PIN and reduced fraud considerably.

 

With Canada some years into its implementation and Mexico on the way as well as Africa and other countries around the world, the USA is becoming the last place where credit card fraud is 'easy' to perform.

[Sparky333]

Oops - not even sure why I said that (future) as I know it's been around a while. I guess I meant it will be more and more prevalent and those who resist getting one will run into problems eventually.

 

It is odd/sad that we're so far behind with that and so slow rolling it out - maybe just the cost to vendors to convert or the cost to banks? Don't know. It would seem the reduction in fraud would outweigh the costs of converting.

[Host Jazzbeau]

It is the "wave of the future" in the US -- in that it is slowly starting to come here. Amex now offers a chip (but no pin) version of their Platinum card if you ask for it. And my new British Airways card came with a chip -- I assume it also lacks a pin because they didn't say anything about remembering or resetting it.

[Stratheden]

I was amazed that in the US earlier this year that the chip and pin were not used. The security is so much better than signing. Not once was my signature checked.

I doubt that any cards that are issued here in Oz come without a chip and pin now.

Do you have Wave and Pay in the US?

[Osnab]

Felicia -- regarding the PIN and chip credit cards --

I got one 'just in case' for a trip to Iceland this summer and did end up needing it one time. For every other purchase my regular magnetic strip c/c was fine. It seems to be the wave of the future especially if you travel in Europe often.

 

My bank, USAA, offered them and I didn't need to open a new c/c acct - it was available on the acct I already had so it was a piece of cake to get. Just have to be sure to remember the PIN since it can't be reset once they mail it out to you.

 

We had the situation where you have to settle up with your c/c on the final morning when we sailed with Viking in China. The line was 150 people deep! Very frustrating. I guess I'll start girding my loins now to deal with that again :(

 

I called Chase again to verify and was told the same thing....that I can get a new card with a PIN, but I will not be able to get my Southwest miles. I have no idea what the reasoning is for that.

[Osnab]

It is the "wave of the future" in the US -- in that it is slowly starting to come here. Amex now offers a chip (but no pin) version of their Platinum card if you ask for it. And my new British Airways card came with a chip -- I assume it also lacks a pin because they didn't say anything about remembering or resetting it.

 

Sooooo, what is the difference in having a card with a chip and a card with a PIN? I know what a PIN is, but can you get a card with a chip and it will serve the same purpose?

Felicia

[Host Jazzbeau]

The European "chip and PIN" technology means the PIN is burned into the chip. The card is therefore self-verifying and the merchant doesn't need an internet connection.

 

European train station kiosks and rural gas stations will only accept the full chip and PIN cards.

 

Otherwise, most merchants will accept your US mag-stripe card, and almost all will take chip w/o PIN cards. In both cases you have to sign the receipt just like here.

[whatnot]

I have a Wells Fargo Signature By Invitation Only card that has a chip and pin and no foreign transaction fees. During the past 6 months we have been in Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, and Czech Republic. I have never had to use my pin number. It always has been swiped and we sign. I keep wondering if we are ever going to be asked to use the pin number. Is my card really not the kind they use in Europe or have I just been to places that use the US style of CC swipes? I was told that this card was the proper card for Europe but I am beginning to wonder.

[Stratheden]

It is not the card it is the machine. If you have a chip in your card it can be read by inserting the card in the bottom of the machine. If they are old machines, you will have to swipe and sign. Of course you can elect to sign if you prefer.

 

Very few of the old machines left here in Australia.

[Rxgrad98]

Hi Felicia,

 

I had a question about your flights back to the US. Did you have connections in Europe? I used miles for our flights and our choices were less than desirable. After leaving Bucharest, we have a 75 minute connection window in Munich and then a 90 minute window in Brussels. Where did you go through passport control at? Was it only at Bucharest airport? I know we'll have to most likely go through security at each airport, but I'm concerned if we have to go through security and passport control on one of our connections, we may run the risk of missing a flight. Thanks for all your posts!!!

 

Tim

[Osnab]

I have a Wells Fargo Signature By Invitation Only card that has a chip and pin and no foreign transaction fees. During the past 6 months we have been in Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, and Czech Republic. I have never had to use my pin number. It always has been swiped and we sign. I keep wondering if we are ever going to be asked to use the pin number. Is my card really not the kind they use in Europe or have I just been to places that use the US style of CC swipes? I was told that this card was the proper card for Europe but I am beginning to wonder.

 

Interesting. In both Croatia and in Romania, I had to have a credit card with a PIN; otherwise, they could not accept it.

Felicia

[Osnab]

Hi Felicia,

 

I had a question about your flights back to the US. Did you have connections in Europe? I used miles for our flights and our choices were less than desirable. After leaving Bucharest, we have a 75 minute connection window in Munich and then a 90 minute window in Brussels. Where did you go through passport control at? Was it only at Bucharest airport? I know we'll have to most likely go through security at each airport, but I'm concerned if we have to go through security and passport control on one of our connections, we may run the risk of missing a flight. Thanks for all your posts!!!

 

Tim

 

Tim:

I left Bucharest and changed in Frankfurt, with 2 hrs to connect. It would have been plenty of time if it'd been 75 mins. Then we went to Chicago, and the connection time was 90 minutes, but that was pushing it. Being that it was my first arrival in the US, this is where we went thru passport control and customs, but I had to get my luggage and recheck it which took up time. And it felt like it was forever to get to my gate.

 

Are you changing planes in Munich and Brussels AND then one other city (in the US/Canada?)

 

On the way to Budapest, I changed in Brussels and since it was the first city in Europe, I just gave my passport to passport control and zipped on thru.

 

I think your 75 mins in Munich is plenty of time, and so is 90 mins in Brussels.

Felicia

[Rxgrad98]

Tim:

I left Bucharest and changed in Frankfurt, with 2 hrs to connect. It would have been plenty of time if it'd been 75 mins. Then we went to Chicago, and the connection time was 90 minutes, but that was pushing it. Being that it was my first arrival in the US, this is where we went thru passport control and customs, but I had to get my luggage and recheck it which took up time. And it felt like it was forever to get to my gate.

 

Are you changing planes in Munich and Brussels AND then one other city (in the US/Canada?)

 

On the way to Budapest, I changed in Brussels and since it was the first city in Europe, I just gave my passport to passport control and zipped on thru.

 

I think your 75 mins in Munich is plenty of time, and so is 90 mins in Brussels.

Felicia

 

Hi Felicia,

 

Thanks for the info. We arrive back into the US at Dulles in D.C., so I know that's where we'll go through US customs before catching our connecting flight to Knoxville. I'm hoping we'll only have to go through European customs when we leave at Bucharest. For some reason, a few years ago when we flew back to the US from Rome, we connected in Munich and went through customs there to exit Europe, not Rome. So who knows. I guess if we miss a connection, we'll just enjoy an extra day in Europe!! Franski mentioned having a passport check on the ship one morning. Did you have that on your cruise? Again, thanks for all the info!! Enjoyed reading about your experiences.

 

Tim