How much money to take on a Cruise

[momof4boys]

Use cash and credit equally so I did not vote in the poll.

 

Travelers checks are not available anywhere near where I live. They have the "prepay credit cards" but we tried them when one of our kids traveled out of the country and they are NOT worth it!!

 

AAA in our area quit supplying traveler about 4-5 years ago.

[Keith1010]

We bring more cash than we think we will need just to be on the safe side.

 

Keith

[grand isle joe]

.....I am always struck with that math problem I encounter on the cruise is that my finances are always depleted in proportion to the length of days spent on the ship.......D (days) divided by M (money) always equals 0 (zero)......known as "Cruiser's theorem"........;):D

[kcwingwalker]

We bring more cash than we think we will need just to be on the safe side.

 

Keith

'

 

Always works for us.

[Cruisin Broad]

I use a credit card for my S&S account. Generally, I spend very little cash in ports, but if I am going to buy something in port, I pay cash for it. I also take cash for the casino -- usually about $200.

[cruise10000]

We take more cash than we think we need.

Carry 1 CC as a backup.

Have not used travelers cheques in I dont know how many years.

I dont think my bank even does those anymore.

[Scooterpi]

We use credit card for S&S and cash for ports and casino. We take a certain amount of cash out for each port and carry it in one of those little body pouches under a shirt. The rest we keep locked in the safe during the cruise. Never had a problem so far. Husband is pretty good in the casino and we normally end up breaking about even or once even leaving with a lot more money than we came with. :D

 

For what it's worth, I was also confused that the poll options didn't actually match the question. The question seems to be "What form of money do you use on a cruise?"

 

I have no idea how traveler's checks even work. I've never seen one and wouldn't know how to use them.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

I know I will rll with $5000 cash this trip and put SS on a card.

Nice amount ..

[Smiles3usa]

We use credit card for the ship and cash for the port of calls. Generally, we have pre-paid most of our (major) expenses in the ports e.g., the hotel stays pre- and post- cruise, the museums visits/individual sites that have pre-purchase availability, I purchase on-line (saves not only $$$ but much time). The excursions we are taking (if going with cc members, we have individual envelopes with the cash for those particular excursions separated from our "cruise cash."). I generally have foreign currency for the countries we will visit, approximating the amount that we will spend. (I do so much research, I am usually within $100 of how much we will spend.) I don't like using my credit card out of the country, but generally do so with well recognized establishments, (hard rock cafes).

 

I must admit I am surprised that the dollar amount mentioned most is $100 per day. Generally, in addition to the prepayments, we figure on about $150 each per day. Since we don't do much shopping, it comes very close to what we do spend on the trip. And we seldom go over our budgeted amount (okay, save a beautiful emerald ring in Rio :) )

Edited December 1, 2013 by Smiles3usa

[Laughing Angel]

I usually try to pre-pay as much as I can before my cruise--that way, I don't worry about a minor "impulse" buy like a photo, a bottle of wine or something fun from the ship's store. I use my credit card for sign and sail, and bring some cash for in port souvenirs and general tipping purposes.

 

And yes, I will occasionally get traveler's checks and cash them at the purser's desk. They do offer a certain amount of protection.

 

Budget for (but usually comes in at less than) $100 per day, but I only went over that amount once (silver and fire opal bracelet I couldn't live without).

[sleepless]

I was just asking a simple question of what method of payments that people use on cruises....you didn't have to answer it so yes it was apparently just you because no one else had an issue with the question that I asked

 

 

Add me to the list of the question not making sense.

 

The original question - "How much money do you take on a cruise?" has nothing to do with the poll questions listed directly below it asking if cash, travelers checks or charge cards are used.

 

But in answer to your original question, I take enough cash to get me through traveling to the port, and tips.

 

As far as the 'poll question" you don't have an option for me. I do a combination of all three.

 

1. cash for on board tips and casino

2. credit card for ship board account, and any type of emergency

3. travelers checks - I cash them on the ship before leaving when visiting ports. This is my spending money while in port.

Note: I get my travelers check from my credit union; there is no fee for purchasing them.

Edited December 1, 2013 by sleepless

[wrigley80]

Add me to the list of the question not making sense.

 

The original question - "How much money do you take on a cruise?" has nothing to do with the poll asking if cash, travelers checks or charges are used.

 

Just forget it then

 

 

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[sleepless]

Just forget it then

 

 

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Why?

[wrigley80]

Why?

 

Because I'm already at the airport and I've got my money and I'm ready to go. Have a nice day

 

 

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[sleepless]

Because I'm already at the airport and I've got my money and I'm ready to go. Have a nice day

 

 

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Enjoy.

[Scrapnana]

I used to use travellers cheques all the time. Once debit cards became common (and easily used in foreign countries) I stopped. Some cruise lines will not accept travellers cheques. I take cash in small denominations, my debit card to get cash in foreign countries, and a credit card for large purchases and to cover onboard account.

[ducklite]

On our three week cruise last year we started with $800 worth of Euros and Kuna. We added another €400 before we left Rome, and then another €300 in Greece, paying the incidental bill on our final hotel stay in cash.

 

We paid ship charges and Rome hotel charges on credit card, all other spending that won't prepaid was paid in cash, including about $400 in additional tips paid with a combination of dollars and Euro.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

[Touringc]

I found out the hard way that most places no longer accept travelers checks. I inquired at the bank and sure enough they no longer even offer them. When me and my DH cruise we try to pay for everything possible before we leave through the cruise lines. We then take cash for gambling,souveniers,food on excursions etc. I find this actually saves us money! :p

[cb at sea]

I was 8th in line at the bank yesterday....waiting and waiting, as someone was buying travelers checks!

 

We no longer use them, either....I still have some from about 10 years ago.....

 

We take cash in LARGE bills...much easier to transport, divided between hubby and myself. The ship will break down large denominations, if you need smaller bills.

[Gunner22aa]

Personally I see them going the way of the DoDo in todays system of international electronic banking system. Lots of places here in Canada won't even look at them anymore. Lots of stories about counterfitting have turned merchants off of them. You can certainly cash them onboard the ship but use ashore in lots of places will be limited or non existant. My bank protects me against electronic fraud and although I can pay up to $5 in service charges for a withdrawl at a foreign ATM I use them if I need more local currency when ashore. I only use the credit card ashore for a major purchase and if that happens it is certainly at a large reputable establishment.

[queenL]

Ok, so I'm feeling pretty frugal right now. :) We figure about $100 a day for port days only. That's not per person, per couple. We just don't buy very much "stuff". My kids are too young to really spend anything yet. We prepay major expenses, hotel, rental car, many excursions etc. We spend very little on sea days. Typically I carry less than $100 in cash when I travel, use my debit when in the US or for an ATM, cash, credit and recently prepaid Visa's overseas. Excluding gratuity, I can't remember the last time we have spent more than $150 on board an entire cruise.

 

My parents (in their 70's) are the only people I know who still use traveler's checks.

[north29]

I have to agree with most everyone on these antiques, they are basically gone. A ship might take them, but after some bad experiences in Europe trying to cash them few years ago, I cashed mine in at my bank and even the clerk looked at them funny, I guess the mold on them had something to do with it. LOL. We use a two debit(different #) card system to the account, if cash is needed which it usually is. Some one said do not use CC in foreign countries, we have never had a problem, and have traveled much of the world. Even with a problem if you report you are traveling just report the problem to the CC's bank. Yes I have heard of strange problems with CC's and it would be a PITA to have to call the toll free number to resolve the problem.

 

Now to the OP I take around $100 in one dollar bills(basically for tips) and a mix of 10 -50 bills to start with at around $500. I do not like to use a CC on cheap items or local beers.

[michelle1836]

I have a cost estimation sheet that I use to figure out exactly how much I spending money I will need ( excursions, cabs, extra tips etc) we do bring some extra and I have my credit card just in case (and I do let the bank know I will be out of the country)

[take us away]

We factor about a total of $50 per port day as we do not buy many souveniers and usually do not eat on shore anymore but in some cases $100 per day for some of the ports works for us also plus we factor in additional tips for excellent service people on the ship. We still use traveler's checks as the ship will cash these for us and it is just safer to carry.

 

We RARELY use our main credit card on shore as know too many people who have had issues after the fact with theft, extra charges, etc. and no way we would ever use our main debit card on shore. We do carry a Visa with a low max in case we see something we just have to have. We tend to cruise to more foreign ports and not much in the Caribbean anymore. Please note that many ports outside the Caribbean (So. America, Europe and Asia) will no longer accept prepaid Visa cards due to bogus cards and we have found many will accept US$. HAL will often change US$ for local currency which is easier and the convenience is worth the 2-3% fee as we do not have to search out an ATM or currency exchange.

[sherilyn70]

We get a traveling visa from AAA to use in ports and then carry a little bit of cash on us ($20-40/day). We use a standard credit card to secure the ship expenses. I find it much safer that way. I'm not a fan of carrying cash around.