Gratuities/Excursions in euros or US $$ ?

[almitra]

Hi, I am cruising aboard RCCL Legend of Seas---will the ship's excursions we book & the onboard gratuities be on our account in euros or American dollars? And will these incur a VAT also?

[Gonzo70]

The three Roayl Carribs trips I have done everything has been in U.S. Dollars aboard the ship.

[GMoney]

If you are from the US, then both tips and excursions are in USD and there is no VAT.

[almitra]

Thanks!

[Dick in Falls Church]

All of the above is correct.

Should you want to tip the guide on the excursions, because they did more than expected, local currency would be best.

[IMNiles]

Having just sailed Legend in the med last month I can confirm all of the above. Anything you buy on the ship is in dollars, but if you want to tip the guide then the currency will vary by stop. In some ports, eg Turkey, shops/vendors will take just about any negotiable currency, so either Euros or Dollars are just fine (our guide joked that they'll take any kind of money except Turkish Lira). In Egypt, dollars were extremely prevalent (take LOTS of small bills for trinkets as they have trouble making change) but I'm sure Euros would work too, and in Cyprus Euros seemed to be preferred if you didn't have Cyprus pounds. In Greece and Italy it was all Euro. The only foreign currency we got was Euros, and at no time was it even slightly a problem that we didn't have the native currency in Egypt, Cyprus, and Turkey. We always carried both Euros and dollars with us so we were prepared in either case, as well as a credit card.

 

The ship will sell you Euros but you'll probably get a better rate at an ATM on shore. My bank gave me a very favorable conversion plus a 1% fee. Even with the fee I was several points better off than if I had bought from the ship. The rates being charged by the Amex travel office at home were bordering on larcenous, so I didn't bother to buy any currency ahead of time. I just used an ATM in the baggage claim area at the Rome airport.

[almitra]

Thanks a BUNCH, ImNiles--this is very useful information for me!