euros?

[C cruise]

do they take US dollars in Greece? or do you need euros? asking for a friend -- they just want to know so they tip according to what they take..

Edited March 25 by C cruise

[d9704011]

Euros

[julig22]

If you are asking about tipping on the ship, USD.  If you are asking about spending money in the city, not everyplace will take USD for purchases, so Euros or credit card. But I suppose if you are just asking about tips, not purchases, anything would be accepted - just remember they have to go to the bank to make the conversion. 

[C cruise]

20 minutes ago, julig22 said:

If you are asking about tipping on the ship, USD.  If you are asking about spending money in the city, not everyplace will take USD for purchases, so Euros or credit card. But I suppose if you are just asking about tips, not purchases, anything would be accepted - just remember they have to go to the bank to make the conversion. 

thank you for this info... I think its just for tips 

[complawyer]

better to take euros just to be safe.  most of italy prefers euros only, france isnt to crazy about us dollars either. we've been to greece a few times, and i believe they also prefer euros

[drew69]

Euros as that is their currency.  Why would they want USD which are worth less anyway?

[Pookie2u]

You will need Euros if you need to use the restroom in a lot of ports.  I strongly recommend getting some even if you plan to use credit.

[d9704011]

22 minutes ago, drew69 said:

USD which are worth less anyway?

Worth less than what?

[cruiser2015]

1 minute ago, d9704011 said:

Worth less than what?

Less than a Euro on a one-to-one basis.

That is fixed by offering additional dollars, if accepted.

[d9704011]

18 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

Less than a Euro on a one-to-one basis.

That is fixed by offering additional dollars, if accepted.

I understand what you're trying to say but..... 1 USD is worth 1 USD.  If you want to talk about converting currencies and exchange rates and utility and local buying power, that's different.

 

BTW.... change your location to Long Island, NY.  Just looking at it now makes me think I'm going cross-eyed.

Edited March 25 by d9704011

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, C cruise said:

do they take US dollars in Greece? or do you need euros? asking for a friend -- they just want to know so they tip according to what they take..

If your "friend" is traveling on ship shore excursions in tourist areas, they all will take USD. If your friend is out on their own using taxis, etc., then they need to carry Euros. 

[KeithJenner]

If you are spending on shore then please get Euros. That is their currency.

 

 

[zqvol]

They will not accept USD 9n Greece. Euros only. Anyone who says otherwise has never been to Greece and is just wrong.

 

currency on the ship, on the other hand, is always USD. 

[Distinctive-Destinations]

2 minutes ago, zqvol said:

They will not accept USD 9n Greece. Euros only. Anyone who says otherwise has never been to Greece and is just wrong.

 

currency on the ship, on the other hand, is always USD. 

I’ve been to Greece and I assure you they will take USD for tips. Now for regular purchases, yes obviously Euros are preferred (required in many/most places).

 

 

[Manchester is blue]

Does the local chippy in Florida accept pounds or do I need to take some US dollars ?

Just asking for a friend. …….

Edited March 25 by Manchester is blue

[UKstages]

much of europe, including greece, is cashless... nearly everywhere, but particularly tourist meccas.

 

even most pay toilets accept credit cards.

 

many places wont accept cash at all.

[Distinctive-Destinations]

9 minutes ago, UKstages said:

much of europe, including greece, is cashless... nearly everywhere, but particularly tourist meccas.

 

even most pay toilets accept credit cards.

 

many places wont accept cash at all.

To piggyback on this: always pay in Euros, as opposed to USD, with your card. The exchange rate is terrible and Euros are the way to go.

 

I don’t know about “many places” as I used Euros (cash) many times.

[debenson0723]

7 minutes ago, UKstages said:

much of europe, including greece, is cashless... nearly everywhere, but particularly tourist meccas.

 

even most pay toilets accept credit cards.

 

many places wont accept cash at all.

This. I will typically take 50euros for a 2 week trip and come home with 30. The only place in Greece that would not take a card was a little old man outside a monastary on a hill, standing next to his rickety little table, selling handmade religious icons. I bought 2 from him for 3 euros. Your exchange rate will be better with a card but always make sure you chose the currency of the country when processing (the machine will ask euros or USD). 

[UKstages]

3 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

I will typically take 50euros for a 2 week trip and come home with 30.

 

same here... it's become impossible to spend cash.

 

i take the same euros and pounds with me on every trip. and then i bring them home. they have as many frequent flyer miles as i do.i was in london a couple of months ago and nobody wanted cash. everything is a swipe.

[itsnotjustme]

For tips on the ship, USD as that is the official currency on NCL.  If you cruise other lines that will not always be the case.

 

For tips ashore, while being a tip, the recipient has little ground or reason to reject USD since it is optional, they are most likely to appreciate a tip in their local currency.

 

I either obtain the foreign currency in advance or hit an ATM with the minimum possible fees once ashore if I expect to need local currency.

 

Last cruise I had an extra 4.40 AUD so I added it to the USD tip I left our room steward.  The ship was going to have a couple more cruises with stops in Australia, so I hope he was able to get off the ship somewhere and use it.

[yakcruiser]

41 minutes ago, UKstages said:

 

same here... it's become impossible to spend cash.

 

 

Not impossible. I use cash 90% of the time and never have had a problem with somebody not accepting cash in Southern Europe. 

[Distinctive-Destinations]

12 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

Not impossible. I use cash 90% of the time and never have had a problem with somebody not accepting cash in Southern Europe. 

Exactly. It is very easy to spend CASH in Greece.

 

If you go into a store and tell them you want to buy a 100 Euro item (or dinner in a restaurant) but only have cash, are they going to turn you away and say “no?”

 

*****.

[MyriamS]

Personally I would see tipping in Greece in USD as quite rude for two reasons:

 

- the dollar is not legal tender in the EU. There are many places in the world where foreign currencies are routinely accepted, but most of these countries generally have a very weak and/or unstable local currency. This is not the case for Greece (they were very hard hit by the 2008 crisis but have had an impressive economic recovery in the last decade). So by tipping in USD, your friend might give the impression that they think Greeks are so poor they have no choice but to use dollars.

 

- It's just a huge amount of hassle for the locals they are tipping. Your friends can very easily get euros from the ATM (use a bank ATM, not a tourist one, to have smaller fees). On the other hand, the local they tip with USD will have to go to a currency exchange counter to get euros back and be charged huge fees. Personally, when I have small amounts of foreign currency (leftover from a trip), I don't even bother changing them back to euro and instead hang on to them to possibly use later. Why give someone a tip they cannot easily use? 

[Ticatraveler]

On shore pay in Euros. Cash is still widely used in Europe. Credit cards can be used almost everywhere. ATMs (bank owned) outside of airports usually have the best exchange rate.

[Asawi]

6 hours ago, Distinctive-Destinations said:

If you go into a store and tell them you want to buy a 100 Euro item (or dinner in a restaurant) but only have cash, are they going to turn you away and say “no?”

 

Probably not. But handling cash is really a hassle.  Cashless is spreading more and more at least in northern Europe. Probably not as much in southern Europe. But do them a favour, use card when possible!