currency in alaska

[maxcom]

We are sailing on Millenium in May what currency will we require US Dollars only or Canadian Dollars in ports other than seattle.

 

Please help as we are debating on bringing actual dollars or a pre paid credit card to avoid charges on credit cards when we purchase things on shore.

[MMDown Under]

$US in American ports, $Canadian in Canadian ports.

[GirlyCaMom]

US dollars are used everywhere in the USA...Alaska included. :)

[Putterdude]

With Vancouver being so close to the border most retailers and services are quite used of taking US cash. The two dollars are pretty much at par although at this very moment the US dollar is worth about 2 cents more. However don't expect any exhange if you use US money and if you use a large bill, you will likely get your change in CDN. If you are going to be in Vancouver for a few days it may be an idea to go to an ATM and get some CDN cash which you can exchange back at a bank or currency exchange before you leave. But no big deal either way!

[PurpleCow]

The OP is traveling from Great Brittain and was asking how many US$$ should he/she carry for ports in Alaska and how many Canadian $$ for Vancouver.

 

There really isn't any way to advise you because we don't know your spending habits. While on shore we pay for most things with a credit card and if we need cash, either at home or in a foreigh county, we go to an ATM.

[drsb]

When we went to Alaska a couple of years ago, we paid in USD everywhere, including Vancouver and Victoria.

[scottbee]

Last time I checked Alaska was still part of the U.S. The U.S. dollar would work quite well there. It would also work in Canadian ports in lieu of Canadian dollars if you don't want to carry both.

 

Actually there is an ongoing border dispute as to the southern extent of the Alaskan border with Canada. The US mark it as the middle of a number of channels and waterways whereas the Canadians use the definition which says the Northern or Western shore (putting the whole waterway in Canada).

[lovesublime]

You can use American dollars in the Canadian ports. We just used a credit card though.

 

OP-what do you mean "avoid" charges on credit cards. Does that mean you just don't want to use credit cards or are you concerned about additional fees?

[California Native]

Maxcom,

Please accept my apology for the UA attitude expressed by some of my fellow citizens...

I was just in Vancouver and Victoria last week on the Mercury and USD was accepted everywhere.

Regarding your credit card charges you would have to check with your bank, I know that anytime

I travel Internationally there is a 3% foreign transaction charge.

On the Mercury they did purchase pounds and exchanged them for USD.

The exchange rate is fixed as the interbank rate on the 1st day of your cruise and it is not altered, adjusted etc etc..it remains fixed.

I specifically asked this as I was wondering how that would work say if the ship was sailing from the UK and I was in your shoes.

If you would like to see some of my pictures of Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria they are on my personal website.

Just remember Spring had not quite sprung yet at Butchart Gardens, though still quite beautiful!

Alaska is stunning...and if you are going to Sitka...you will love the Russian History..

for me that was a great way to tie together what I learned there and then what I learned on my Baltic cruise!

Have a wonderful voyage....

K.

Follow the link below, and go into Karen's Cruise Corner

enjoy wandering the rest of site too! :)

 

 

http://when.do.we.leave.googlepages.com/

[maxcom]

what i meant about the use of credit cards is that we can purchase a card in the uk that we would say put a thousand us dollars on and buy them at a good exchange rate and would pay no commision as we would do when using a credit card ond having the purchases transfered once we retirn home.

We are really looking forward to Alaska this will be our 8th cruise with X its the only line we have used although we have a RCI ship booked in Nov for the Caribbean .

We have booked equinox for Sept 09.

As to the people who think we were a little dum sorry we have travelled the world over the past 3 years and unfortunatly until this thread found most people we have met excellent "hope we dont sail on your ship" and that you never need to know about football a study im well versed in .

Oops think i should have said soccer.

 

Thanks guys i willtake on board your help

Just hope its all i expect it to be mind you my wife is looking forward to Vegas before we cruise something about the sun i believe.

[Northshorecruisers]

I grew up in Canada and was taught Canadian geography and history. Now that I reside in the US, my children are taught American geography and history, but only learn about Canada when we visit there.

If I were travelling to Great Britain I wouldn't know what I need for money. Who uses Pounds, who uses Lira, who uses Euro. I have no need to know or care until I travel there. Then I would be asking the same question only for reverse continents.

[excitedofharpenden]

what i meant about the use of credit cards is that we can purchase a card in the uk that we would say put a thousand us dollars on and buy them at a good exchange rate and would pay no commision as we would do when using a credit card ond having the purchases transfered once we retirn home.

maxcom, I haven't heard of this credit card before. Do you have details of it and from where it is available?

 

Thanks.

 

Phil

[tom_uk]

excitedofharpenden said:

 

maxcom, I haven't heard of this credit card before. Do you have details of it and from where it is available?

 

There's at least one card like this in the UK, although I'm not sure it's a credit card - it look more like a foreign-currency (either US$ or €) debit card.

Have a look at this:-

http://www.lloydstsb.com/travel/travel_money_card.asp

 

(I would expect other UK banks to have something similar.)

[Moeve]

maxcom get a regular credit card - it will make your life MUCH easier. Shop around and ask what the fee is to use it outside the EU. I have heard from some other CC from the UK that they have credit cards where they pay no fees at all.

 

Another thing you will find in Canada & the US is that there is no minimum amount required to use your CC. You could for example by a packet of chewing gum for less than a dollar with it. It is however often not a good idea if you have a fee. As an alternative you can use the same card you use for your cash machine at home (if it has the Maestro or cirrus logo on it) to draw cash for small purchases in the US & Canada. Just look for a cash machine with either one of the logos and you can draw money with your pin. Exchange rates are on a daily basis and fees very small in comparison to exchanging money at home.

 

I hope that helped you but feel free to ask more - just ignore them.

 

Kind Regards

Alexandra

[excitedofharpenden]

excitedofharpenden said:

 

 

 

There's at least one card like this in the UK, although I'm not sure it's a credit card - it look more like a foreign-currency (either US$ or €) debit card.

Have a look at this:-

http://www.lloydstsb.com/travel/travel_money_card.asp

 

(I would expect other UK banks to have something similar.)

OK, it's not what I thought it was as you can't use it to make purchases, just cash money from ATMs, but thanks anyway.

 

Going on from Alexandria's comment I do know that Nationwide has a couple of good plastic products and the Post Office too. I'm applying for my Nationwide credit card tomorrow.

 

Phil

[tom_uk]

OK, it's not what I thought it was as you can't use it to make purchases.....

 

Actually I think you can: the introductory blurb says this:

 

"Load your card with your chosen currency before you go and you can use it at literally millions of ATMs, shops and restaurants around the world – in fact anywhere that accepts VISA.*"

 

But I agree it may not be the best answer to the problem. I do indeed have a Nationwide credit card which I only use on cruises and holidays, pretty much. And for immediate spending cash it's easy to get a couple of hundred €'s from the bank.

 

(Not necessarily cheap, mind - but definitely easy.)

[kitty9]

maxcom, I'm not sure a card like you wrote about is the best idea for using here. I've had many problems using those pre-paid cards in many places in the US, and I had problems getting the smaller merchants in Alaska to accept them. I had merchants ask what the heck that card was, and they would only accept cash or a regular credit card. Bring one but be prepared for it to not be accepted in some places. Also, the cruise line won't accept them to back your sign and sail card for your on board purchases.

[excitedofharpenden]

 

But I agree it may not be the best answer to the problem. I do indeed have a Nationwide credit card which I only use on cruises and holidays, pretty much. And for immediate spending cash it's easy to get a couple of hundred €'s from the bank.

 

Tom, I applied for a Nationwide Visa credit card today on-line. Quick and easy, I've been meaning to do it for a while and the new Celebrity fee in the casino (and knowledge of my onboard spending:o) has finally prompted me to do something about it!

 

Thanks.

 

Phil

[Jade13]

What currency would you use in Scotland? Before you bash someone from the other side of the world, they may be under the impression that Alaska is somehow a little different than the rest of the mainland United States.

(to answer the question I posed, although Scotland prints separate "Bank of Scotland" banknotes, they are interchangable with United Kingdom banknotes, as Scotland isn't really a country, but more akin to a state or province).

 

 

As to answer the question, US$ are used in Seattle and your Alaska stops, C$ used in your Canadian stops, although the US$ is widely accepted in Canadian cruise/tourist destinations.

 

The subject line for the OPs post says "Currency in Alaska". They did not say where they were from. I answered that Alaska is in the USA.

 

Perhaps if they had said they were coming from overseas and asked about the different ports on an Alaskian cruise because they were trying to figure out how many and which currencys they needed, they may have gotten a different response from multiple responders.

[lovesublime]

THis thread reminded me of when we were in Hawaii , and someone asked , 'how much to mail a card to the US'. And when my wifes' daughter called to ask a question, my wife told her it costs a fortune to call us there, yeah , the same seven cents a minute, the same as calling some other towns in Connecticut.

 

Sorry to go off topic, but here's what I learned in Hawaii. The people who live in Hawaii are never referred to as "hawaiians". Instead they are "islanders". Apparently "hawaiian" is an ethnic term pertaining to those who actually have native blood.

 

To the OP. Sorry so many people have been so rude to you here. I hope you enjoy Alaska and your cruise. We love Alaska and will be taking our second cruise there in June. I think you'll find that having a small amount of American dollars will be very beneficial. I would say take about $200 and put everything else on a card.

[maxcom]

All i cqn say is that i now know what currency i require so i will have some US Dollara and Canadian Dollars for my post cruise stay in Vancouver.

 

The card i was thinking about from www.iceplc.com check it out you can put on a currency and use it as a charge card providing you have enough balance on it.

 

As to regular credit cards well i have those too so i will enjoy my cruise no matter what.

 

Dont suppose anyone knows how the weather is out in the Alaska area at the moment

[kitty9]

In the areas where the cruise ships sail, the temperatures are in the high 20's up to the low 40's for daytime highs. It's been quite foggy and rainy in many cities in the Southeast part of Alaska. Not tour weather, at the present time.

[Host Anne]

Maxcom ~ first, I'm glad that many responses here were helpful. I'm sorry some were not and that I didn't have the chance to remove them before you saw them. So are you a Stoke, Man U or Man City fan? :) We watch the Premier League every Sunday! We have dear cruise friends from Stoke and have visited. It's lovely. Had we not visited recently, I wouldn't have known whether Euros or Pounds was appropriate!

 

Alaska is still pretty cool right now. Today in Juneau it was 4C. Go to www.weather.com and enter the city and state (Juneau, AK for example) and it will bring up the temperature. There is a "metric" button you can click on that will change the temperature from Fahrenheit to Centrigrade.

 

Layering is the way to go in Alaska and temps do change from port to port and day to day. It's beautiful! Here's wishing you a wonderful cruise.

 

To everyone else, remember when you see a "rude" post, please hit the red alert triangle to send me an alert message!

[Moeve]

Maxcom it will probably be cheaper to use you actual credit card for bigger purchases and get a small amount of cash via maestro/cirrus debit card at the cash machine in the country you are visiting. Getting foreign exchange at your bank at home is always more expensive so only get enough for a cab there.

 

I take it you are possibly trying to take advantage of the low USD.

 

Regards

Alexandra

[maxcom]

for the info Annie im a Man U man but spent 5 years working for West Bromwich Albion coaching there young players in the school of excellence.

 

My son played for them until he was 15. My father played for England as a schoolboy.

 

And as to the weather who cares once we are on Millenium we will be having a great time anyway.