How much cash to bring?

[getting older slowly]

One point I didn't see.. use two credit cards... one for your OBC and a second for onshore purchases,,,, Cash   a couple of hundred in wallet for once gets off the ship at home,

and at least a couple of hundred in local currency   which all stay in the safe until needed.

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

4 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

We are on Carnival. We are going SXM, St Kitts, OSJ, and Grand Turks. I figure a few $100 for the ports, but I guess my bigger question is how much for the casino? If it can just go to the onboard account, then that is easy.

Forget the casino and think about access to emergency $ - particularly a CC with high credit availability since most foreign hospitals require full payment up front. Even if it takes you several cards, you should always be prepared to have quick access to $50k in case someone in your party requires, at least, an emergency room.

With very few exceptions (e.g., combo of GeoBlue or connected BC/BS insurance and “in network” foreign hospital), your travel insurance is based on reimbursement for claims filed after your trip. 

[navybankerteacher]

1 hour ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

Forget the casino and think about access to emergency $ - particularly a CC with high credit availability since most foreign hospitals require full payment up front. Even if it takes you several cards, you should always be prepared to have quick access to $50k in case someone in your party requires, at least, an emergency room.

With very few exceptions (e.g., combo of GeoBlue or connected BC/BS insurance and “in network” foreign hospital), your travel insurance is based on reimbursement for claims filed after your trip. 

That $50K in immediate available credit/cash advance is a bare bones minimum if you do not have medevac insurance -- and you should have ability to cover it upon return.  You should REALLY know the limitations of your Medicare and supplemental insurance before you leave the US.

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 minutes ago, navybankerteacher said:

That $50K in immediate available credit/cash advance is a bare bones minimum if you do not have medevac insurance -- and you should have ability to cover it upon return.  You should REALLY know the limitations of your Medicare and supplemental insurance before you leave the US.

I was trying to not give that Carnival cruiser too much of the “sticker shock” of reality. 

[navybankerteacher]

Just now, Flatbush Flyer said:

I was trying to not give that Carnival cruiser too much of the “sticker shock” of reality. 

It is simply a kindness to make people aware of the facts.

[lobsternight]

5 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Is that on top of what the cruise line adds to your onboard account??

 That would be very generous

Well yes its on top of included gratuities.  I don't mind tipping a little extra for the wonderful service I have received.  For instance on my last cruise my room stewart seemed to live in the hall.  Whenever he saw me he would sprint down the corridor and open the door for me.  Its all the little things. 

[BoozinCroozin]

I have coverage for medical etc through Allianz. My credit limit is through the roof. I think the 4 cards in my wallet are about $150k in total limit. 

[ldubs]

5 hours ago, getting older slowly said:

One point I didn't see.. use two credit cards... one for your OBC and a second for onshore purchases,,,, Cash   a couple of hundred in wallet for once gets off the ship at home,

and at least a couple of hundred in local currency   which all stay in the safe until needed.

 

 

We use one card for on ship and on land.  Curious why two different cards are recommended? 

[getting older slowly]

1 minute ago, ldubs said:

 

We use one card for on ship and on land.  Curious why two different cards are recommended? 

The way I look at it ....if your second card is lost or compromise

you still have your first card so no worries with you OBC

 

Also the second card should have a low credit limit

( I use the second card for internet purchases as well )

 

Don

[ldubs]

4 minutes ago, getting older slowly said:

The way I look at it ....if your second card is lost or compromise

you still have your first card so no worries with you OBC

 

Also the second card should have a low credit limit

( I use the second card for internet purchases as well )

 

Don

 

I see.  We have other cards available, but only use one typically.   Thx.  

[Honolulu Blue]

12 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

We are on Carnival. We are going SXM, St Kitts, OSJ, and Grand Turks. I figure a few $100 for the ports, but I guess my bigger question is how much for the casino? If it can just go to the onboard account, then that is easy.

 

I'll cover the casino, since not much attention has been paid to that part of your questions yet.  Yes, you can set up an onboard casino account.  It's easy... maybe too easy?  😄 Anyway, for slots Carnival won't charge a fee for accessing this account, but they'll charge you 3% for using it at the tables.  The lesson here is clear -  bring and use cash for the the table games, or buy in first at the slots, and then walk that cash over to the tables.  The slot machines will take dollars (not coins), but I don't see any advantage to using it there unless there's some kind of reward for having a bigger casino account balance.

 

As for how much to bring or budget for casino activity, that's totally up to you.  Do you have or want to use a loss limit or budget for each session or the total trip?  What games do you play?  What are your bet sizes?  Do you plan to gamble at the local casinos also?  Keep in mind that the games on cruise ships are hungrier (generally) than the ones on land, so your money won't last quite as long, and you might need more of it.

 

For more specific casino questions, there is a dedicated board here at https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/455-cruise-casinos/ .

[Honolulu Blue]

(double post, sorry)

Edited May 26, 2021 by Honolulu Blue

[BoozinCroozin]

1 hour ago, Honolulu Blue said:

 

I'll cover the casino, since not much attention has been paid to that part of your questions yet.  Yes, you can set up an onboard casino account.  It's easy... maybe too easy?  😄 Anyway, for slots Carnival won't charge a fee for accessing this account, but they'll charge you 3% for using it at the tables.  The lesson here is clear -  bring and use cash for the the table games, or buy in first at the slots, and then walk that cash over to the tables.  The slot machines will take dollars (not coins), but I don't see any advantage to using it there unless there's some kind of reward for having a bigger casino account balance.

 

As for how much to bring or budget for casino activity, that's totally up to you.  Do you have or want to use a loss limit or budget for each session or the total trip?  What games do you play?  What are your bet sizes?  Do you plan to gamble at the local casinos also?  Keep in mind that the games on cruise ships are hungrier (generally) than the ones on land, so your money won't last quite as long, and you might need more of it.

 

For more specific casino questions, there is a dedicated board here at https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/455-cruise-casinos/ .

Thank you for this information. This answers the casino part. I am not a big gambler or anything, but I rarely get to a casino. When I do, I like to have about $500-$1,000 when I do go. From the sounds of this, I can use my onboard account for the slots which is fine. I prefer not taking the 3% hit on table games that already have an advantage. I will just have to bring cash for that and see how things play out. I am guessing I will need to bring about $1,000-$1,500 in cash.

[phoneman69]

20 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

Thank you for the comments so far. I should have noted that I know about the onboard account secured with my credit card. I am will not (or should say I plan not) to use my ATM card while on vacation. To protect our accounts we have a limit on daily withdrawals and transaction on it. It had been stolen before and our accounts go hit hard, the bank replaced all the illegal charges after some time. 

 

I do like cash tipping bartenders and our room service team. I guess I am not sure about how much cash for the casino and how much on port days.

DW and I bring about $1,000 cash on a 3 port stop cruise. We don't take it all off the ship at once being the first stop. We use cash on the last night to give extra to MDR staff and room steward and a few others who made our cruise enjoyable. We usually bring some home. almost for got about airport porters and cruise terminal porters. ( i don't want to carry my bags on vacation ) We do bring cash for the casino as well. Try to stay away from ATM's and their withdrawal rates.

[ColeThornton]

9 hours ago, lobsternight said:

Well yes its on top of included gratuities.  I don't mind tipping a little extra for the wonderful service I have received.  For instance on my last cruise my room stewart seemed to live in the hall.  Whenever he saw me he would sprint down the corridor and open the door for me.  Its all the little things. 

 

 

Excuse the correction but it's "steward", not "stewart".   😉

[lissie]

20 hours ago, mom says said:

A trick we learned is to wear the neck wallet cross body. 

I adapted mine to be worn hanging from my bra  under my arm - undetectable and much more comfortable than having something hanging around your neck 

[lobsternight]

5 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

 

 

Excuse the correction but it's "steward", not "stewart".   😉

Should have proof read and caught that. Perhaps autocorrect? Don't know. 

[George C]

I normally bring a couple of hundred in small bills for tipping and for shore excursions, no need for foreign currency in Caribbean ( except Cuba?)  I do bring at least a hundred a day for the casino ( I love celebrity where you can prebuy casino chips at a discount) all casinos accepts cash . 

[EMOSEA]

I usually bring about $200 per port day for spending money (souvenirs, food, drinks, tips, etc), as well as one credit card that doesn't charge international exchange fees. Plus a little more for tipping our cabin steward, and others, a little extra.  

[TheOldBear]

We tend to bring very little cash. Most folks onboard are covered by the auto tip pool. For next year's sailing it will likely bring something like

• $40 for the porter for the Brooklyn disembarkation 
• $20 each for waiter, assistant waiter, sommelier - for each segment [nyc-sou; sou-sou; sou-nyc] allowing for staffing changes per segment.
• 50 Pounds for incidentals [beer] on the two Southampton port days.
• For Norway - from reports the country seems to be mostly cashless, so I will not plan on buying KR. We will be enabling one credit card for international use, limited to the port days. [this may change, depending on tipping recommendations for shore excursions]

 

 

[LHT28]

17 hours ago, lobsternight said:

Well yes its on top of included gratuities.  I don't mind tipping a little extra for the wonderful service I have received.  For instance on my last cruise my room stewart seemed to live in the hall.  Whenever he saw me he would sprint down the corridor and open the door for me.  Its all the little things. 

well I guess if you are tipping him $20  a day extra  he will live in the hall  for you LOL

 I tip extra  at the end of the cruise   & if the  housekeeping staff are nearby  they will open the cabin door anyway

 

To each their own

[neverbeenhere]

Stewart's always live in the hall. Tony's get a stateroom for sleeping.

[cruisingguy007]

Enough for tips, gambling, and port spend; keep it in the safe when not needed along with a credit card or two with a large limit (10K+ min, 50K+ combined preferably) for any emergencies. 

[neverbeenhere]

Ugh 😫 I went possessive.

[Nic6318]

13 hours ago, BoozinCroozin said:

Thank you for this information. This answers the casino part. I am not a big gambler or anything, but I rarely get to a casino. When I do, I like to have about $500-$1,000 when I do go. From the sounds of this, I can use my onboard account for the slots which is fine. I prefer not taking the 3% hit on table games that already have an advantage. I will just have to bring cash for that and see how things play out. I am guessing I will need to bring about $1,000-$1,500 in cash.

Hi Boozin

 

If you can get travelers checks from your bank without fees, get them. The cruise ships are probably one of the few places you can cash them without problems. Get large denominations and that "bulge" in your wallet will be manageable. The casino will be happy to cash them for you and give you whatever denominations you want. 

 

have a great cruise