Cashing American Express EURO travelers checks

[Steve007NY]

We are on the Spirit 12 day Venice-Barcelona.

Several of the private tour operators with which we are working want payment (or balance) paid in Cash Euros. The trip is so port intensive we probably need several thousand Euros for the three of us.

 

Anyone know if the casino or pursar will have problems with cashing large quantities of Euro Travelers checks? Do they charge commission, etc?

 

Thanks

[NMLady]

We are on the Spirit 12 day Venice-Barcelona.

Several of the private tour operators with which we are working want payment (or balance) paid in Cash Euros. The trip is so port intensive we probably need several thousand Euros for the three of us.

 

Anyone know if the casino or pursar will have problems with cashing large quantities of Euro Travelers checks? Do they charge commission, etc?

 

Thanks

 

Even though we always cash US dollar travellers checks aboard ship, I doubt very much that the ship cashes large amounts of Euro travellers checks.

If you think you can't get to a local ATM before your tour then I'd recommend

using the ship's ATM.

If you don't mind carrying that much currency you could get Euros from your bank and bring them with you. Convenience could be worth the fee.

Edited July 26, 2014 by NMLady

[Steve007NY]

Was hoping to avoid carrying that much cash from the US, as we are visiting several other cities and taking overnight train before embarking. Most of our recent traels have been in Asia, where the ATMS often have rather low daily limits, and quite high per transaction charges...

 

I'm hoping some other reader has info specifically about Euro TCs.

[OzCanuck]

On our recent Star Baltics cruise, our traveling companions were unsuccessful in cashing their euro TCs onboard, or in any bank for that matter. USD were fine, Euro - no go.

[Steve007NY]

Thanks. Finally, while dealing with another issue with them, got the same message from NCL directly. Ah well. We'll just in a whole bunch of ATM fees to the usual expenses!

[Demonyte]

If you think you can't get to a local ATM before your tour then I'd recommend using the ship's ATM.

 

Ship's currency is USD and so ATM onboard (in casino) only has US dollars (at least on Jade and Epic).

[candydane]

Go into your local bank and talk to a manager about your need for and bank options to get cash in Europe. You may be able to raise your daily limits or open a special account that will meet your needs.

 

Here's a couple articles that may be of interest:

• Tips on Using ATMs in Europe
  
• Off to Europe? 5 reasons to pack an ATM card
  

 

You can google "ATMs in Europe" for more information to help you pre-plan and get the right option for your needs.

[DipBrat]

Was hoping to avoid carrying that much cash from the US, as we are visiting several other cities and taking overnight train before embarking. Most of our recent traels have been in Asia, where the ATMS often have rather low daily limits, and quite high per transaction charges...

 

I'm hoping some other reader has info specifically about Euro TCs.

 

It may vary by country but in the Euro-member countries I have been Bank based ATMs generally charged no additional fee (just whatever you US based bank charges). They generally let you take out a decent amount-500 Euros seems to be a common max per transaction.

 

Try checking with American Express. Long ago TCs were easy to cash at one of their European offices.