Cost of cashing travellers cheques onboard

[Jen&Joe]

Hey everyone!

 

We are getting ready to order our Euro's and we also wanted to get some Euro travellers cheques (don't want to be carrying alot of cash on us while we are in Venice pre cruise).

 

Does anyone know the fee that HAL charges to cash travellers cheques on board?

[Comptech]

I was not charged at all on our last cruise.

[Jen&Joe]

I was not charged at all on our last cruise.

 

Maybe I have just jinxed myself then and now they will start charging. :D

[Krazy Kruizers]

I know that there isn't a charge for changing American Travelers Checks.

Hope someone can confirm if there is or isn't a charge for changing Euro Traveler checks.

[MrsLeo]

You know we are leaving for Europe in November. I called my bank to inquire what the best way to handle expenses while there.

 

I had already checked on buying Euro and GBP and was a bit frustrated that nearly as I could tell I was not getting the current exchange rate. The bank I spoke to were offering the "American Express Exchange rate" which was much less favorable than the actual currency exchange rate on that particular day then they were charging a small service charge to have a courier deliver the currency to you.

 

So when I spoke to my bank they said the best thing to do is to simply just use my debit/charge card. It would automatically convert the currency to the current rate and the only charge I would incur would be the foreign ATM fee. There would be no additional charges for purchases.

 

I thought about that and it really makes sense to me. D/H and I both have cards for our accounts, and if we lose one or fall victim to a pickpocket, all we have to do is cancel one card and we can still use the other one. The renowned pickpockets of Italy are really the influencing factor in this decision for me, I really don't want to be in a situation where I might lose cash, or even traveller's checks because I probably won't be able to get my money back until I get home. Also if there is an erroneous charge I have the option of disputing it and getting my money back.

 

Nearly as I could figure from one merchant I looked at, based on the less favorable exchange rate and service charges, It would have cost about 90 Euro to buy 1000 Euros.

[jtl513]

I don't know if HAL would cash TCs in Euros on the ship. Maybe inside a terminal building they would.

 

The last time we tried using trav checks in Europe ('05, non-cruise) we had a hard time cashing them ... and they were in Euros. One store wouldn't take them for a purchase less than 50E. One hotel in Belgium (fairly new) didn't even know what they were, and wouldn't take them under any circumstances. Another hotel (in France) would only take them for the exact amount of the bill (or no change back anyway) which, of course, was impossible. We ended up having to use sightseeing time to find banks. Since then we've relied on just getting small amounts of cash on the ship or finding ATMs.

 

I suggest that if you want to take TCs for emergency funds that you just get them in $US and cash them on the ship. Any unused ones can then be cashed easily when you get home.

[Jen&Joe]

Nearly as I could figure from one merchant I looked at, based on the less favorable exchange rate and service charges, It would have cost about 90 Euro to buy 1000 Euros.

 

:eek: Maybe this is a US thing but how is that even possible? We got a pretty good exchange rate on both the Euro's and travellers cheques. We figured that debit won't work for us as some of the tours we are doing will only take cash.

[Jen&Joe]

I suggest that if you want to take TCs for emergency funds that you just get them in $US and cash them on the ship. Any unused ones can be cashed easily when you get home.

 

I am not even sure how that would work for us since we are in Canada. We would have to pay the exchange into USD then again into Euro's.

[Jen&Joe]

The hubby just called HAL and there is no fee for cashing Euro TC onboard.

[giustot]

I know this doesn't directly answer your question, but you might want to consider another option, credit cards and ATM's. You'll end up losing money converting Canadian dollars into Euros and again when you convert your left over Euros into dollars.

 

What most people do now is use credit cards for everything that can be charged. You'll still come out ahead even with a 1% conversion fee. And use ATM's to get local cash. Again, you'll still come out ahead given the conversion fees you'd pay at home to convert cash.

 

Your cash gets to stay in your bank at home until you need it and you don't have to worry about carrying it around. Tom.

[kyriecat]

When getting cash out of the ATMs in Europe, don't forget about any max $/day restrictions that your bank may have in place. I'm with Wells Fargo and allowed $300/transaction at a WF Atm or $200/transaction from any other ATM. The $200 max includes cash plus any ATM transaction fees so if there is a $2 transaction fee, we could only get a maximum of $198 from the ATM. If you're in Europe, you have to know about what the exchange rate is before you try to get euros out so you don't exceed your maximum. I also learned if you try for too much money 3 times in a row, it locks you out of the system for 24 hours. :eek:

[Jemima]

We always take travelers' checks, get them in US $ and cash them as needed on board. We take enough cash in small bills for small items enroute and small items (tips etc.) in the first ports. We then cash travelers checks to refresh this fund. We use also use a credit card to pay for most in port and enroute purchases. We've never been charged for cashing TCs onboard, but are charged if we exchange for another currancy.

We like paying as much as possible ahead and the traveler check money is already out of my bank account. Very nice since the post cruise credit card total is always a lot especially as our boarding kennel fees can't be pre-paid.

[Old Salty Dog]

On the Noordam in the Mediterranean last month we cashed US$ travel checks at no charge for either US or Euros. Exchange rate was not as good as the published bank rates, but they aren't anywhere, and not much different than ATMs after fees. No lines, no searching for banks or ATMs - very convenient. And we never cash the Euros back in because we expect to use them as our "starter" funds the next time we are in Europe.

[Sunshine91]

We don't use traveller's checks at all, any more. Yes, we can purchase & cash them for no-fees, but why bother? In a foreign country what good is US$? And as far as pre-purchasing TCs in foreign currency, again, what's the point? If we have left over, then we're stuck with that currency, at the probably unfavorable price we had to pay, & who knows when we might ever get back to that country?

 

In Denmark, Norway, England & Scotland this past summer, ATMs practically spanked us in the face they are so all over the place. The same thing 5 years ago in London. Before sailing I google-mapped the ports we would be stopping at to find ATMs close to the dock. It's not that difficult & all part of the fun of cruise planning. And of course, ask any local where to find a bank machine. :)

 

We just loaded one of our checking accounts with what we thought should be sufficient funds. Then called the bank. I think this was one of the most important pre-cruise calls we made. The rep was able to tell us which ATM networks would accept our cards. AND increased the daily withdrawal limit for the time period we would be out-of-country.

 

Remember that the foreign ATMs dispense the local currency - not US$ or CDN$. And you'll pay fees somewhere, whether it's in the exchange rate when you buy the TCs, or the credit card fees or the ATM fees. Although most of the ATMs we found this summer had signs that said they charged no fee. Guess we just got lucky. :)

 

Whatever you decide, have a wonderful cruise. Would love to see Venice someday and the Bridge of Sighs. ;)

[Jen&Joe]

And as far as pre-purchasing TCs in foreign currency, again, what's the point? If we have left over, then we're stuck with that currency,

For us the point is that we don't want to be carrying around that many Euro's when we are Venice pre-cruise. Otherwise we would just bring cash and not TC. Luckily for us the only fee we pay to buy them is $5 (total) which is far less then any ATM fee's. Any Euro's leftover we would keep as I can use them when I travel to Europe for work.

[Deb C.]

With the instability of the banking industry of late, I would think that travelers' cheques would be a good backup. If your bank would "go under" while you were on the cruise, your credit/debit cards might be unusable for a few days. I always like to have an option.:D

Even at home they are saying to keep a 2-3 day supply of spending money in cash just in case.