Foreign currency as additional tips

[Tradestock]

I plan on purchasing foreign currency for use in port stops, mainly in Central America.  If I have unused foreign currency, can the HAL ship crew make use of the money?  Or, is it more appropriate to leave additional crew tips in USD and sell back the excess foreign currency when I return home?

[happyglobetrotter]

If the crew is not coming back to any of the ports using this currency, it is a useless for them. Please pay in USD. Keep your change for your own cruises if you ever return. not forget that small quantity of a foreign currency is expensive to convert (for you and for them). Much more appropriate to give them money they can easily send home or spend on the ship.

[firsttimer1971]

Before you purchase foreign currency, just google if USD is accepted in the countries you will be visiting. We are going on a Panama + South America trip next year and after using Google ("is USD accepted in xxxx?") I found that only in Chili I need to get the local currency. In all other countries (Panama, Peru, Argentine, etc) I can either use USD or use my debet/credit card.

 

If you do need some foreign currency and have some left after the trip: I have seen donations boxes on most airports that accept all currencies for charity. 

[Sea42]

26 minutes ago, firsttimer1971 said:

I found that only in Chili I need to get the local currency. In all other countries (Panama, Peru, Argentine, etc) I can either use USD or use my debet/credit card.

We had no issues using our credit card or ATM cards in Chile but they are issued by US banks so that might make a difference.

[firsttimer1971]

7 minutes ago, Sea42 said:

We had no issues using our credit card or ATM cards in Chile but they are issued by US banks so that might make a difference.

 

Thank you, that is good to know. Will still get some Chilean Peso before the trip just to be on the safe side and so we can tip etc.

[Mary229]

Often in port there is a donation center for sailors in need.  Also some of the airlines participate in a charitable service which takes your foreign currency of any denomination to aide those in need.  For me there is always the children’s Christmas piñata.  

Edited September 6, 2022 by Mary229

[Tradestock]

Guatemala seems to have very stringent regulations for conversion of USD to GTQ for their citizens because of criminal activity.  We are looking forward to climbing Pacaya volcano and will need GTQ for tips.  Once I have committed to purchasing one currency, there are no additional fees for purchasing the other currencies on the route.  Since the Panama Canal route is fairly common, I thought the crew might be able to use the excess, but it does not seem that is a correct impression.  Thank you for the suggestions of the donation boxes in the port, airport, or ship.

Edited September 6, 2022 by Tradestock
grammar

[CurlerRob]

9 hours ago, Tradestock said:

Guatemala seems to have very stringent regulations for conversion of USD to GTQ for their citizens because of criminal activity.  We are looking forward to climbing Pacaya volcano and will need GTQ for tips.  Once I have committed to purchasing one currency, there are no additional fees for purchasing the other currencies on the route.  Since the Panama Canal route is fairly common, I thought the crew might be able to use the excess, but it does not seem that is a correct impression.  Thank you for the suggestions of the donation boxes in the port, airport, or ship.

 

When I'm going to tip a crew member directly (at the end of the cruise), I have never hesitated to ask them directly which of the various currencies that I happen to have would suit them best. I just explain that I'd like to make using the money as easy as possible for them.

 

They have always been very pleased with the question. The answers vary depending on how long the crew member will be on the ship, the upcoming itineraries and their personal preferences - I also suspect the "crew deck exchange market" sometimes figures into it - all fine by me! 🍺🥌

[rkacruiser]

US dollars are best for gratuities for the crew.  

[Tradestock]

Thank you..too easy.

[Torquer]

14 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

US dollars are best for gratuities for the crew.  

Agreed.  An exception would be European cruises where Euros would also be perfectly fine since there are so many countries and ports where they would be accepted when crew members need to buy something.  I suppose other cases where tips in local currency might be OK would be Australia/New Zealand cruises where the ship spends the whole season there.  Almost any other cruise I can think, the ship goes to many different countries with their own unique currency and it would not be a blessing to give that currency to a crew member as a tip.

[boone2]

The crew purser is sometimes able to change currency