euros in baltic ports?

[sandyruth]

can you use euros in th baltic ports or do you need small amounts of local cash?going on connie 26th august thanks

[dakrewser]

Euros are, of course, leagal tender in Finland and Germany. They'll be accepted by some street vendors in other countries, but usually at a poor exchange rate and often these establishments won't take credit cards.

 

We found it was very easy to find ATMs in most ports to get a bit of local currency, then use credit cards at established shops, restaurants, etc. Post offices, buses, trams, trains, etc. will almost always insist on local currency.

 

We did bring in with us a small amount (approx $50) of Danish Kroner (DKK) and Swedish Kronor (SEK) since our first two stops were small islands (Bornholm and Gottland) but even there we could get to an ATM with no difficulty.

[daju22]

Euros are, of course, leagal tender in Finland and Germany. They'll be accepted by some street vendors in other countries, but usually at a poor exchange rate and often these establishments won't take credit cards.

 

We found it was very easy to find ATMs in most ports to get a bit of local currency, then use credit cards at established shops, restaurants, etc. Post offices, buses, trams, trains, etc. will almost always insist on local currency.

 

We did bring in with us a small amount (approx $50) of Danish Kroner (DKK) and Swedish Kronor (SEK) since our first two stops were small islands (Bornholm and Gottland) but even there we could get to an ATM with no difficulty.

 

dakrewser,

What did you do with your left over local currency? Exchange it back on the ship? I know they won't exchange coins.

Thanks,

Judy

[dakrewser]

Coins I bring home for my grandkids. Paper currency I use for on-board tips (if the ship will remain in the area) otherwise, my bank (or American Express) will accept it.

[PrincessFan]

FWIW: Seems the credit card companies and banks *love* to dream up new ways to skim our hard-earned dollars when we travel outside the country. Some banks charge unreasonable exchange fees on foreign ATM transactions. Before we left the country we contacted our bank to see if there were additional charges for currency exchanges. We also notified our bank that we intended to travel outside the country to avoid having them put a hold on our cards. (We did the same with our cellular service provider and unlocked our GSM phone so it would work with any SIM.)

 

The high-end souvenir shops we visited in St. Petersburg accepted the U.S. dollar or euros if paying in cash (the euro/dollar price was clearly marked on most items and not at poor rates of exchange). Keep in mind you could inadvertently offend a merchant by offering euros or dollars as payment where those currencies are technically prohibited.

 

Currency is a bit of a game in Northern Europe. Here's a quick overview. Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, the Republic of Ireland, Italy, Luxemburg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain use the euro, plus smaller spots like Monaco and Vatican City. European Union (EU) members who voted not to adopt the euro include Britain, Denmark, and Sweden. Countries that do not belong to the European Union include Norway, Switzerland, and Croatia. The 10 countries that joined the EU in May 2004 that will have the option of adopting the euro in a few years are Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia.

 

As dakrewser noted, we found drivers, cabin stewards, and others we encountered were glad to receive our unwanted currency as gratuities.