Currency on s.caribbean

[Shih-tzu]

Looking for advice on currency for S. Caribbean on Carnival Liberty next February. I did fnd an old thread (2008) about it but things like this get out of date sometimes or things change. The itinerary is:

 

San Juan

St Thomas

Barbados

St Lucia

St Kitts/Nevis

St Martin

 

Do they all take US dollars? Do I need Euros for St Martin as it's French/Dutch? Is there any other currency I should try to get?

 

Are there any words of advice if using USD? (like certain tactics used by locals to take advantage of tourists, etc?)

 

Thanks again everyone - you all are a great help here :)

Edited June 14, 2015 by Shih-tzu
Spelling error (again!!!!!)

[tjncanada]

US currency is widely accepted at tourist spots at all these ports - even the street/beach vendors. No need to change from $US

[love my grandkids]

U S Currency will be fine.

 

Traveling in foreign countries have found that if it doesnt make sense to me something is wrong and walk away.

[sandij]

All dollars, some will accept Euros but you don't need to go to the hassle to get them cause the almighty dollar will be fine.

[springs741]

Only place I haven't had the pleasure of visiting is Barbados. All take USD however it is appreciated with you use smaller bills.

[sunlovingirl]

We tend to look like we might be going to a strip club when we embark on a cruise LOL I always get a lot of ones. I like to tip room service etc on the ship, and also, it is easier to barter etc if you have smaller bills.

[Shih-tzu]

We tend to look like we might be going to a strip club when we embark on a cruise LOL I always get a lot of ones. I like to tip room service etc on the ship, and also, it is easier to barter etc if you have smaller bills.

 

Good idea......... :-)

[peanutzmom]

I've been to all of those ports, and U.S. Currency is accepted in all of them. My only advice is to bring some small bills, because they will sometimes make change in the local currency. So, if you break a U.S. large bill for a small purchase, you might get stuck with more local currency than you can burn before getting back on the ship.

[pauleydm]

If you look on cruise critic for each port you are going to (listed under destinations), it will give you the information you need.

[Havingfun2010]

Looking for advice on currency for S. Caribbean on Carnival Liberty next February. I did fnd an old thread (2008) about it but things like this get out of date sometimes or things change. The itinerary is:

 

San Juan

St Thomas

Barbados

St Lucia

St Kitts/Nevis

St Martin

 

Do they all take US dollars? Do I need Euros for St Martin as it's French/Dutch? Is there any other currency I should try to get?

 

Are there any words of advice if using USD? (like certain tactics used by locals to take advantage of tourists, etc?)

 

Thanks again everyone - you all are a great help here :)

 

San Juan and St Thomas are part of the US so they will take US currency. St Martin actually has two different currencies on the Island, one for each country.

 

All the islands in the Caribbean will widely accept US currency for small purchases. For credit card purchases, they are mostly transacted in local currency and converted by you bank.

 

Your travels would actually require you to have 5 different currencies if they did not accept the USD.

[Havingfun2010]

All dollars, some will accept Euros but you don't need to go to the hassle to get them cause the almighty dollar will be fine.

 

Only half of St Maartin is Euros. None of the other places are. Plus the dollar is not that almighty?

[KenMo]

I'm sure you got the message...USD will work.

 

I like to collect local currency.

 

I tried it in St Maarten and they had none in the till. The clerk said they just deal in USD because it's easier.

[OCruisers]

Looking for advice on currency for S. Caribbean on Carnival Liberty next February. I did fnd an old thread (2008) about it but things like this get out of date sometimes or things change. The itinerary is:

 

San Juan

St Thomas

Barbados

St Lucia

St Kitts/Nevis

St Martin

 

Do they all take US dollars?)

 

All happily accept the US Dollar. :)

 

Note: In San Juan and St. Thomas the local currency is the US Dollar! ;)

 

Look forward to having a great cruise on a wonderful itinerary! :)

 

LuLu

[love my grandkids]

We do get change back in the local currency fairly often and that is typically useless to us.

[Shih-tzu]

Thanks for the info everyone.......

 

I will purchase USD and hopefully the bank will have small bills - that will be how I will roll - and maybe I'll be able to pick up some small change in local currency here and there for my scrapbooks.... And if I use a credit card then I will get a fair rate on the exchange. (Now to keep my fingers crossed that CAD moves up a bit so the USD aren't so expensive to buy....)

[stargate fan]

Looking for advice on currency for S. Caribbean on Carnival Liberty next February. I did fnd an old thread (2008) about it but things like this get out of date sometimes or things change. The itinerary is:

 

San Juan

St Thomas

Barbados

St Lucia

St Kitts/Nevis

St Martin

 

Do they all take US dollars? Do I need Euros for St Martin as it's French/Dutch? Is there any other currency I should try to get?

 

Are there any words of advice if using USD? (like certain tactics used by locals to take advantage of tourists, etc?)

 

Thanks again everyone - you all are a great help here :)

 

Thanks for the info everyone.......

 

I will purchase USD and hopefully the bank will have small bills - that will be how I will roll - and maybe I'll be able to pick up some small change in local currency here and there for my scrapbooks.... And if I use a credit card then I will get a fair rate on the exchange. (Now to keep my fingers crossed that CAD moves up a bit so the USD aren't so expensive to buy....)

 

Remember to not use an ATM on the non-US territory ports. You'll get your money in the ports' currencies. (Unless otherwise noted on the machine itself.)

[Shih-tzu]

Remember to not use an ATM on the non-US territory ports. You'll get your money in the ports' currencies. (Unless otherwise noted on the machine itself.)

 

Good to know - guess I never really thought about that. Thanks:)

[SadieN]

Thanks for the info everyone.......

 

 

 

I will purchase USD and hopefully the bank will have small bills - that will be how I will roll - and maybe I'll be able to pick up some small change in local currency here and there for my scrapbooks.... And if I use a credit card then I will get a fair rate on the exchange. (Now to keep my fingers crossed that CAD moves up a bit so the USD aren't so expensive to buy....)

 

 

If you get large U.S. bills, guest services or the casino can break them for you. On most ships the kiosk can also break bills.

[mrpayroll]

Did this cruise in early May and had NO problem getting rid of my U.S currency...:)

[headhunterke]

St. Martin will accept both US$ and Euro

However, I found that in many places the raio is 1:1

Nowadays, the conversion rate for both currencies is fairly equal. But there was a time paying in US$ made a big difference when the ratio was 1:1

Save yourself the effort of getting Euro's and just pay with US$ or creditcard. Even street vendors will accept US$ and pretty much all of them will have change (unless you pay with a high note of course)

[Putterdude]

The USD has been accepted on any of the islands that we have visited and we have visited most of them. Some small local type shops may give you your change in the local currency so you are advised to keep the denomination of your dollars small.