Do we need Russian Rubles for a St Petersburg visit?

[Swindonpete]

Hi All - We have a 2 day St Petersburg visit as part of our Baltic cruise later this year and will be using a P& O tour. Will we need Russian currency for our visit or are cards widely accepted?

[Keith1010]

I would post this on the Northern European Ports Of Call Board.

Keith

[Keith1010]

Ports Of Call Board at:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=-1&f=192

 

Keith

[bigwally]

I personally would have a small amount - if nothing else, Russian toilets work on the "tipping the babushka" system. There is a cash machine in the cruise terminal.

[Swindonpete]

I personally would have a small amount - if nothing else, Russian toilets work on the "tipping the babushka" system. There is a cash machine in the cruise terminal.

:) Thanks for the info / advice. Much appreciated

[anthonyy7]

No need for cash and most places you visit will have free toilets. We used credit card for all our souvenirs and paid/tipped our guides in US dollars which is the preferred payment.

 

 

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[Got2Cruise]

We needed a small amount of cash. There are certain vendors and food shops that don’t accept credit cards

[John Bull]

We always like to have a little local shrapnel in our pockets in most ports.

For St Petersburg we took enough roubles for the guide's tip - that guaranteed we had some local money and that we wouldn't have roubles left-over.

Both days lunch was included in the tour price but nothing to wash it down except water and the restaurants took only roubles - no foreign currency & no plastic. So we dug into our roubles for a couple of beers and at the end of the tour on day 2 we tipped the guide with a mix of our remaining roubles & euros.

 

P&O will almost certainly give you time in a dedicated souvenir shop which accepts plastic. Those places also used to accept $ & € & £ but I heard something about a recent change in the law & that selling for a foreign currency is now illegal (? :confused: ?)

 

JB :)

 

ps I'll take issue with Anthonyy's assertion that USD is the preferred currency for tips.

That's a myth that I see posted by my US cousins world-wide from time to time. In most of the world USD is just another foreign currency, which like all foreign currencies has a fluctuating value and costs commission to exchange. With very few exceptions the preference worldwide is for the recipient's local currency

Edited February 1, 2018 by John Bull

[SRF]

Your plastic will work. As usual, depending on your card and company, let them know before you leave that you will be in certain countries, so they do not freeze your card.

 

Some cash will be nice, but there are ATMs all over. And don't get too much, not much use for rubles outside Russia. :D

[voyager70]

Your plastic will work. As usual, depending on your card and company, let them know before you leave that you will be in certain countries, so they do not freeze your card.

 

Some cash will be nice, but there are ATMs all over. And don't get too much, not much use for rubles outside Russia. :D

 

We used our credit cards in St. Petersburg (and most of the other ports as well) with no problems. Agree with above post and be sure to notify your bank that you will be traveling to Russia as well as other countries.

[lakelorain]

If you take a tour through the ship, you can use credit cards everywhere. If you go on a private tour, ask your tour company.