Money!

Hello everyone,

As it's our first cruise (11 night southern Caribbean)... I have no idea how much money to take.

We are from England so it will need to be transferred to Dollars.

If I explain what we plan on doing, I am hoping you regular cruisers could advise!

We aren't pre-booking any excursions as we want to decide as we go, or when we are on the ship...

We will mainly be relaxing on the ship, beaches, walking but will want to have a few meals in either island restaurants or speciality ones on the ship (Serenade).

We may also want a spa treatment.

Ultimately, we will have whatever we can save, but if someone can give a rough guide to how much they spend, maybe doing 1-2 excursions, that'd be great.

Thank you :)

You could actually get away without taking any money and just use a credit card! as everything you get on board will go to your account and use the card when ashore

You may want to tip extra so I would say $50 to 100 would be ample?

Hello,

We typically take USD. We pre-book all of our excursions through local companies that we find through this site and trip advisor. So, some you can pay in advance on credit card or paypal and some want you to bring cash. Everything on the ship is cashless, it will be charged to your onboard account and you can settle that with a credit card (or cash if you like, not sure if that helps you since they charge USD). So, once you work out what you are doing at each port, you can come up with a pretty reasonable guess at what you will need in cash.

We usually do whatever cash we will know we need for planned excursions + tour tips ($5 pp half day, $10 pp full day) + $100 in small bills for misc tipping + $100-$200 for misc spending and souvenir shopping. If you need to buy lunch (not included in tours) in port you will probably need more.

Tours bought in port not the ship can be assumed $100 CASH Per person, fortunately/unfortunately , some local tour companies do take Credit cards so that screws up my thoughts LOL

. Tours on the ship can be charged on OBC or Credit card.

Most restaurants, store merchants, note most, will take Credit cards, local/street vendors Cash only. Local bars where you want to drink a beer or tropical drink or have a island speciality food, I would use cash. I think carrying $100 in small bills in $1 to $20 will suffice without a tour.

Maybe a good number is Per Port, but no tour is $100

As others have said, on board is cashless, but we always bring $20-$30 in singles for porters and room service tips. On shore, we usually carry ~$100 each in small bills just in case we see something we really want to buy/eat/etc. One note of advice on credit card purchases on shore - many cards charge foreign transaction fees. On the bright side, your issuing bank will convert your charges to your home currency on the day the charges clear the bank, so you don't get hit with exchange fees like you would if you exchanged currency over the counter.

If you plan on using the casino while on board, they only take cash in the machines and at the tables, so bring however much cash as you plan on donating :)

No money really needed if you are doing ship tours. I would avoid this in the caribbean. Case in point: Barbados - I recommend you do Silver Moon (book this on your own, pay with credit card and don't wait it fills up fast).

Catamaran with two or three stops, for swimming and/or snorkling with the turtles, lunch on a beach and unlimited drinks. Silver Moon has two types of excursions, we always do the VIP with a limit of 20 or so on board this huge catamara. Three times, we have under 15 others on board. Then you see the ship tour coming in or out and about and the darn catamara looks like its standing room only and about to sink it has so many on it.

The other southern caribbean ports, have nice beaches where you can get to on your own. Check on the port boards, about bus fares, taxi fares, if they take dollars (likely). Some places charge for a chair and umbrella. But search each port seperately in the port forum. Specialty resturants on board and such go to your sea pass. You should link your credit card to your account for a no hassle disembark.

AS far as how much CASH to bring....it depends on how you'll be paying your ship's expenses...tips, drinks, etc.... If you're using a credit card for anything you spend ON THE SHIP, you won't need a boatload of cash....

Do you gamble? if so, cash is best for that. You'll want to take some cash ashore for those little "spur of the moment" purchases....a beer, a trinket, etc....lounger rentals on the beach..stuff like that.

We generally bring about $1500 for a week...we seldom spend it all, but it's nice to know you have enough!

Beaches and shopping, etc....are easy to do on your own in the Caribbean...get a guidebook so you'll know what's available and where it is, and how to get there!

Thank you everyone!! We have pre paid our gratuities so that's all done. Xx

Taxis

Keep in mind if you're flying into San Juan the taxis are regulated to the cruise ship ( Pan American pier).

The charge this past May was $19.00 for a single person, plus one dollar for each bag - 10% tip is usual.

Not sure of price for 2 folks, but shouldn't be much more - if anything.

Last time we were in the Caribbean, the prices were in US $ and in Euro, so you can bring Euro if it's easier for you.

Thank you everyone!! We have pre paid our gratuities so that's all done. Xx

It's hard to estimate what other people will spend!

As others have said, a credit card is the simplest and easiest. Any purchases made on board are charged to your account. You can settle your account by credit card. You can also pre book and prepay your excursions, if doing ship's excursions.

You will need cash on shore for small purchases, drinks, cabs, tips. Would recommend small bills, US dollars, otherwise you run the risk of getting change in local currency.

Although you have prepaid tips, that does not include room service for example, on some ships. I am thinking particularly RC. Would recommend having small bills to use on board for any extra tips you choose to give.

No one else can really say.

Do you mean cash in hand? Or available funds?

It will depend on what you want to do in port.

As a rough guide I like to have about $250 per port day, assuming any excursions are already paid for, don't always spend it all.

Then any cash you might think you'll need for tips.

Don't carry more cash ashore in each port than you will want/need for that day. Don't carry all of our cash around. Lock it in the safe and only bring what you want and a little extra.

When you all say credit card - could this be a debit card too? Xx

Credit cards are best. Debit cards are great for getting emergency cash from ATM machines.

I don't really understand how it works in America (assuming you are all from USA?) but we want to avoid credit cards as they have such high interest rates and get you into more debt.

Is cash accepted everywhere, to pay off the card also, if we brought that, some cards as a back up and locked it all away? Xx

The Credit Card is what you want to give to the ship at check in, make sure you

Have one for an emergency. Remember anything on the card can be paid off immediately. Remember if you have an emergency that credit card will buy you an airline ticket to get you home or pay a doctors bill in the event of an emergency.

We never carry a balance, we just pay the card off immediately once we get home. We also carry a debit card attached to a separate savings account, we load it with emergency cash so that we can access it if we need cash while on our trip.

We just returned from 4 weeks in Europe, we carried 2 credit cards and 2 debit cards. We (DH & I) each carry a different CC & Debit card. I'm concerned about a card being lost or stolen. And this way if my purse is missing, my DH still has another set of cards that have not been compromised. We don't use these cards except for planned activities they are more meant for emergencies.

This system works for us, your Needs may be different. Happy planning!

I don't really understand how it works in America (assuming you are all from USA?) but we want to avoid credit cards as they have such high interest rates and get you into more debt.

 

Is cash accepted everywhere, to pay off the card also, if we brought that, some cards as a back up and locked it all away? Xx

It is much safer and easier to use a credit card. If you pay the card off as soon as you get the bill you don't need worry about interest.

If have any kind of emergency while traveling, such as illness, need to rent a car, change flight, you need a credit card.

Couldn't imagine traveling with a large amount of cash.

I'm trying to figure out what cruise and cruise line you are taking? Debit cards are actually not always accepted (car rentals) and also for hotels. As for cash what currency? Having some local currency is good but CC work in most places. If you are departing from the U.S. And spending a night in a hotel then you need a credit card, cash is generally not excepted. A credit card is required! So there are many reasons to have one (or two) with you to make your travels easier.

As for carrying cash, exactly what currency are you wanting to bring? Cash is just not safe to carry, except may $200 or so each. But will you even need that much.

It depends on what cruiseline, if you are spending a day or two in port (which port) before you board.

It would be very helpful to know which cruise line and itinerary (dates) in order to help further. Remember on board the ship you can NOT use cash, everything is tied to your ships card, the ship itself is a "cashless" society.

Thank you.

It's Serenade of the seas - Royal Caribbean.

Thank you.

 

It's Serenade of the seas - Royal Caribbean.

Are you leaving from a US port and staying in hotels before or after your cruise?? If you are less mysterious we can help. Debit cards and US hotels are a problem....

Are you leaving from a US port and staying in hotels before or after your cruise?? If you are less mysterious we can help. Debit cards and US hotels are a problem....

Sorry, not trying to be mysterious!! I will give you all details...

We fly from London to Miami and stay in a Miami hotel - all transfers from airport to hotel then hotel to cruise ship are paid for - so is hotel.

12 day cruise - 6 ports - straight from cruise to airport (paid) at the end.

thanks,

Sophie

Are you leaving from a US port and staying in hotels before or after your cruise?? If you are less mysterious we can help. Debit cards and US hotels are a problem....

Sorry, not trying to be mysterious!! I will give you all details...

We fly from London to Miami and stay in a Miami hotel - all transfers from airport to hotel then hotel to cruise ship are paid for - so is hotel.

12 day cruise - 6 ports - straight from cruise to airport (paid) at the end.

thanks,

Sophie

When you check in to the hotel, even if you have pre-paid they will ask for a credit card and place a hold on a certain amount of money as security against charges you "might make". Hotels do not accept Debit cards though if you have no other option you may be able to make arrangements but get those arrangements in writing!

Most places you are going you can use CC, US cash or Debit card with a Visa symbol in it.

Final note, while US travelers may feel they can use cash or debit card when leaving from a US port they still take a risk (small as it is) finding themselves in a foreign Caribbean country and in trouble without a credit card to help in an emergency.

But you are flying far far from home, you absolutely need a credit card (or 2) to protect yourself from an emergency! I've said my peace I'll go away, have a wonderful time!

When you check in to the hotel, even if you have pre-paid they will ask for a credit card and place a hold on a certain amount of money as security against charges you "might make". Hotels do not accept Debit cards though if you have no other option you may be able to make arrangements but get those arrangements in writing!

 

Most places you are going you can use CC, US cash or Debit card with a Visa symbol in it.

Thank you - exactly why I asked!

So if I take;

1 credit card for emergency

1 debit card

Some US Dollars

I should be fine?