Credit Card and Bank Notification for travel- a glitch to note about ship's ATM

Take note for Celebrity and RCCL ships when using their ATM's. We were on Constellation a couple of weeks ago out of Venice doing Adriatic countries and Italy. As per usual prior to the trip I notified my US bank and credit card companies of the countries I would visit. I decided to use ATM's for Euro's and Kuna (Croatia) instead of taking cash with me. On ship I used the ATM to get some Euro's for a tour the next day. To my surprise I was rejected by my bank. It turns out that the ship ATM is registered to carry out its transactions by the satellite link registered through a bank in Miami, Florida. Since I told my bank about being in europe, it rejected (rightly so) the transaction from Florida. When I used an ATM in country in port - no issues. I called my bank and they added Florida to the list and no more problems.

Take note for Celebrity and RCCL ships when using their ATM's. We were on Constellation a couple of weeks ago out of Venice doing Adriatic countries and Italy. As per usual prior to the trip I notified my US bank and credit card companies of the countries I would visit. I decided to use ATM's for Euro's and Kuna (Croatia) instead of taking cash with me. On ship I used the ATM to get some Euro's for a tour the next day. To my surprise I was rejected by my bank. It turns out that the ship ATM is registered to carry out its transactions by the satellite link registered through a bank in Miami, Florida. Since I told my bank about being in europe, it rejected (rightly so) the transaction from Florida. When I used an ATM in country in port - no issues. I called my bank and they added Florida to the list and no more problems.

Thanks for that...we will remember next cruise.

Thanks for the heads up on this.

you're welcome!

That is well worth knowing, thank you!

Thanks for the info. I did not consider the Florida factor.

What is the transaction fee for ATM onboard ship vs land ATM in Europe?

It's $6 per transaction fee n the ship and you will get US dollars although there may also be a machine that will give Euros, too.

Fees on land will vary, and you will get local currency.

On Constellation the ATM near guest services dispensed euro's. The ATM in the casino dispensed $USD. Yes a $6 transaction fee.

It's $6 per transaction fee n the ship and you will get US dollars although there may also be a machine that will give Euros, too.

 

Fees on land will vary, and you will get local currency.

Zero if you use a Schwab FREE account!

Good to know. Thanks for posting!

Just an addendum to this thread because there is a real gotcha on changing money on Celebrity ships....and unless they've changed the way they handle money conversion, you really want to read this.

If you are changing money from or to US dollars, you're OK...you just pay the built in fee.....essentially the same fee you would pay at a US bank. But the gotcha is that if you change from one non USD currency to another, they first convert to $'s and then convert to the new currency. You pay the 5-8% built in commission twice.

If you travel, you really should consider a Schwab BANK account because not only does it not charge a transaction fee, it reimburses you for ATM fees around the world. I'm not sure if you need a schwab brokerage account or if you can just open a schwab bank account, but you should look into this account and it's free VISA card. Note: if you have a schwab investment account, and you get a VISA card tied to that account instead of a Schwab bank account, you will be charged, I think, a 1% fee. Get the bank account card.

Thanks for this info on conversion fees. Best not to use the ship's guest services unless you really need to exchange cash. On another note TD Bank reimburses all ATM fees as well with certain accounts.

I find it easier to just bring some cash...I refuse to pay a fee to access my own funds! Larger bills are much easier to carry....and the ship can break down large bills for you.

Just an addendum to this thread because there is a real gotcha on changing money on Celebrity ships....and unless they've changed the way they handle money conversion, you really want to read this.

 

If you are changing money from or to US dollars, you're OK...you just pay the built in fee.....essentially the same fee you would pay at a US bank. But the gotcha is that if you change from one non USD currency to another, they first convert to $'s and then convert to the new currency. You pay the 5-8% built in commission twice.

 

If you travel, you really should consider a Schwab BANK account because not only does it not charge a transaction fee, it reimburses you for ATM fees around the world. I'm not sure if you need a schwab brokerage account or if you can just open a schwab bank account, but you should look into this account and it's free VISA card. Note: if you have a schwab investment account, and you get a VISA card tied to that account instead of a Schwab bank account, you will be charged, I think, a 1% fee. Get the bank account card.

I have a Fidelity Visa debit card linked to one of my brokerage accounts. They have no international transaction fee and will reimburse for all ATM fees. I also only keep a couple thousand in cash should the card be compromised. However I can immediately transfer cash from another Fidelity account into the one I use for the debit ATM card should I need unexpected funds.