CURRENCIES in the BALTICS?

Hi everyone,

Long time since I have been on boards. We are travelling with 2 other families on a cruise out of Stockholm ( will purchase Swedish Kroner ahead of time) that will visit Helsinki, Tallin, Rigva, and St. Petersburg. We have organized our tour with SPB in St. Petersburg and are aware that we can pay them by credit card or US cash. So my question, what are the accepted currencies in the other countries that we will be visiting ( I am guessing that most major venues will take visa/mc). If we want to buy something local with cash, what advice does anyone have? Thanks in advance. :)

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2167096

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2177260

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2128717

Thank you Desdichado62. You have been most helpful!

Like anywhere else in the world, the currency will be the currency of the country. What do you expect it to be?

That's somewhat of an obvious answer but with the Eurozone you have to do a little (fairly easy) research to see which countries you're visiting are members and use the Euro and which countries retained their sovereign currency.

We traveled to England, Scotland, N. Ireland, Ireland and France a few years ago, only two currencies needed but they seemed to change by the day so switching out your wallet became a tiring task.

Now, going to the Baltic with the potential for 4-6 currencies makes the logistics a bit trickier. If one knew that Euro's, GBP or USD could be used in multiple ports it makes your trip a little easier and more enjoyable.

As an example I have been to Canada 3 times (Victoria and Vancouver) and have never acquired any CAD before or during our trips. OK, I felt a little prickish but It didn't seem to bother anyone as they were set up to sell in either currency. We are going again for a longer trip (more than a day) and so I acquired sufficient CAD to cover us and feel better for it.

In 2015 it really doesn't take very long to do a Google search to find what currency every country in the world uses.

We did a Baltic cruise in 2013. We always have Euros as we go to the Eurozone very frequently. In the countries where Euro is not the official currency we used our CC which makes no charges for foreign transactions.

Thank you, Edgeman61. I am from Canada, and yes LondonTowner, I do get out of my country occasionally. :) Having said that, our private tour operator out of St. Petersburg has requested to be paid in US dollars. I will certainly exchange Canadian $$ for US $$..albeit sadly at a loss these days. I totally understand that each country will have their own currency, but some tourist areas may perhaps accept the EURO even if that is not their official currency. I like to carry a bit of the official currency for the countries I am visiting and I would never wish to slight any country by pulling out my CDN bills ( or my neighbour's currency US) but just wanted to know what was accepted "on the streets" for small purchases. And yes, LondonTowner, I am quite able and willing to order EUROS and the GBP if and when required on my travels. I have not been to the Baltics and because I am unfamiliar with "tourist currency" for day trips off the ship, I thought that I would perhaps ask my esteemed CC members what their experience was while travelling off the ship......I appreciate all the advice. Thank you.

Thank you, Edgeman61. I am from Canada, and yes LondonTowner, I do get out of my country occasionally. :) Having said that, our private tour operator out of St. Petersburg has requested to be paid in US dollars. I will certainly exchange Canadian $$ for US $$..albeit sadly at a loss these days. I totally understand that each country will have their own currency, but some tourist areas may perhaps accept the EURO even if that is not their official currency. I like to carry a bit of the official currency for the countries I am visiting and I would never wish to slight any country by pulling out my CDN bills ( or my neighbour's currency US) but just wanted to know what was accepted "on the streets" for small purchases. And yes, LondonTowner, I am quite able and willing to order EUROS and the GBP if and when required on my travels. I have not been to the Baltics and because I am unfamiliar with "tourist currency" for day trips off the ship, I thought that I would perhaps ask my esteemed CC members what their experience was while travelling off the ship......I appreciate all the advice. Thank you.

Ours requested this too, but we pointed out that we were traveling from Norway and therefore did not have easy access to USD or EUR. They let us pay in rubles that we took out of the ATM in the cruise terminal. (That was a better exchange rate than we would have gotten by buying USD or EUR here at home.)

Hi kaisatsu,

Thanks for that information. We are group of 12 in a private tour while in St. Petersburg. THe total amount that our group would need to take out of an ATM machine might be prohibitive. ANd, we did not want to pay by credit card because of the fluctuation of the ruble. Perhaps I should ask the tour company to quote in their currency and order rubles prior to our trip. I want to take the path of least resistance, but not have to pay too dearly for my choices. I will look into it. THank you. :)

Hi kaisatsu,

 

Thanks for that information. We are group of 12 in a private tour while in St. Petersburg. THe total amount that our group would need to take out of an ATM machine might be prohibitive. ANd, we did not want to pay by credit card because of the fluctuation of the ruble. Perhaps I should ask the tour company to quote in their currency and order rubles prior to our trip. I want to take the path of least resistance, but not have to pay too dearly for my choices. I will look into it. THank you. :)

I would bring US $ for the tour and they prefer the bills to be fairly new and crisp. Would not waste time to get Rubels at a ATM and risk it not working. Getting Rubels in Canada may be too expensive relative compared to getting US$ in Canada.

Being European, I kind of miss the good old days when you had to have different curencies for each country. Getting the smll bags out with change and bills were just part of crossing the borders.

Hi Dr Pam,

If you had researched the answer to your question on this board prior to posting it, you would have found umpteen previous replies. Please do so in future......

We always withdraw cash from a debit card with a beneficial exchange rate, although with the current volativity of the Rouble, you might be better off to be holding folding, and to cash your dollars in for Roubles at a street-side Bureau de Change, of which there are hundreds.

Hi Dr Pam,

 

If you had researched the answer to your question on this board prior to posting it, you would have found umpteen previous replies. Please do so in future......

That's not a very friendly answer. We are here to help one another after all.

To the OP I found some of the street vendors in St P would take euros US dollars or rubles and advertised as such. :)

DebbieMacG. Thank you for your reply. That was the kind of information I was looking for re: Currencies for a day port. I just did not want to be left with several different currencies at the end of the voyage and trade it back in at my bank in Canada for pennies ( of which we no longer have. :) ) And thank you for your polite response.

Bollinge...thank you for your advice. I will most certainly try to abide by your rules in the future. :) I did indeed do a search, but I did not find the info that I was looking for, as I am organizing private tours for 12 people at different ports and I was going to try to look after all the financial aspects for our friends and their children and have them pay me back. Quite simply, I was trying to accommodate our group in the most easiest fashion. I am very story that I overstepped your rules.

THe Viking...thank you for your advice regarding US$. I have ready different posts on the pros and cons of this, but because I am trying to organize for many, taking US $ from our bank for the St. Petersburg tour may be our best bet. :). And, I tend to agree about the fun of learning the different currencies. It is always great brain math teasers to have a running total of foreign currency spent in a different country everyday.

At the end of the day, I simply wanted to find out what past CCers had done when they docked at different countries everyday and had to hand over larger sums of whatever the standing currency du jour.

Happy and Safe Travels, everyone.

That's not a very friendly answer. We are here to help one another after all.

I'm sorry I was brusque Dr. and Debbie, but so many people ask the same questions over and over again on these boards, sometimes I can't be bothered to read them!

Russian visas, currencies, train times, car hire, airport transit times, port locations, etc., etc., etc.

Almost all questions have been asked before and already answered, so a simple search of the thread is all that is required before asking a new one if no answer is forthcoming.

Bollinge

I totally agree with you. I always do a search before I ask a question. I look on Tripadvisor too and the local tourist office website. I think some people are just too lazy to bother to look themselves.

If you had researched the answer to your question on this board prior to posting it, you would have found umpteen previous replies. Please do so in future...

What's interesting about this thread is that the OP began by asking a question that wasn't the real question she wanted answered. It isn't until post #7 that the OP writes, " ... but some tourist areas may perhaps accept the EURO even if that is not their official currency."

Now, that's a valid and important question so it's unfortunate that the OP didn't begin her thread by asking her real question.

Yes, we're here to help one another but we are not a concierge service. We have lives outside of CC and we only participate in so far as the experience is positive for us. When confronted with a straightforward question that could have been answered with the most minimal search, I try to discipline myself not to reply. I'd be too tempted to write a snarky reply and that doesn't help.

Look at the effort that has gone into this thread. There are...

... several posts replying to the original question

... one post to clarify the original question

... several posts to criticize other responders

... several posts to criticize the criticizers

... several posts to praise some responders

... and I'm sure there are more categories.

I'm glad the OP got the answer to her question, but words have meaning and, as it turns out, the OP didn't mean Post #1.

;) Wow! I think that I will not ask any more questions on this forum, as I am sure that they have all been answered. In fact, should we think about making this whole forum just a big collective search engine? Truly, I feel awful that I might have wasted Pit Nit Noy's time since he/she has a life outside of CC and is not a concierge service. (Please do not respond to any questions that might have been asked at any time to the past). Whew.....and I always thought that CC was an informal chat/share experiences...I guess that I have have been corrected. Really.

Please Happy and Safe travels, everyone. :)

You are very welcome to ask questions in the Copenhagen thread no matter what others are saying. :D

I think instead of lecturing posters and then whining about how YOU think posters should behave, think and use this cruise blog, just go back to your busy life. Save your aggravation and lectures for people that care. Tsk tsk How arrogant.:o

Is this something common in the U.K.?

Sorry Dr. Pam . Well be in the Baltic area in late

July. Your questions, no matter if common, deserve polite answers. I've done research and still come here for clarification, details and gasp..even to help others.

Repetitive questions on this board regarding currency in the Baltic from just the last few weeks, and there are dozens more:

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2206448&highlight=currencies#

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2198304&highlight=currencies#

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2198632&highlight=currencies#

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2177260&highlight=currencies#

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2128717&highlight=currencies#

It is very tedious to have to the read the same questions and answers over and over again.

Moreover, I only read them to see if I can be of assistance to others. I rarely post a question, because I have usually found an answer by doing a search!

The question that is constantly asked is can I use Euros in London, Istanbul, Dubrovnik and any other country where Euro is not the official currency. Well, think about it. Can I use GBP or Euros in NYC, LA or Chicago. I don't think so.

It is very tedious to have to the read the same questions and answers over and over again.

 

Moreover, I only read them to see if I can be of assistance to others. I rarely post a question, because I have usually found an answer by doing a search!

OMG If you find them tedious to read, then why are you reading them? :confused: You don't seem to want to assist.

As I too am very familiar with certain boards here, I can choose ( not "have to")to read redundant posts or not. I don't feel the need to berate those that aren't so familiar or choose to do the research that I or you do.

I guess I just don't get you.:o

The question that is constantly asked is can I use Euros in London, Istanbul, Dubrovnik and any other country where Euro is not the official currency. Well, think about it. Can I use GBP or Euros in NYC, LA or Chicago. I don't think so.

Well, in actuality some countries do post pricing and accept currencies that aren't their official currency. Of course it it up to the vender/business/tour agency but depending on the city, some will indeed accept foreign currency. We found it especially true when stopping at cruise port cities ,Dubrovnik for one. More and more are making it easier to make sales to cruisers from abroad.

So no, it is not like in the U.S. :rolleyes:

It's not legal to use US dollars or Euro for transactions in Russia. However, you'll still see a lot of prices marked in Y.E. (which means "units" and usually equals the current US dollar or Euro rate). That is the relic of the 90s, when hyperinflation made it impossible to put the prices in rubles. However, you will still have to pay with rubles in most cases. Generally, foreign currencies are usually used for "under-the-table" transactions, which are not going to be declared. So, you won't be able to use US dollars, Euro, or any other currency in a shop, cafe, or to pay to a service provider, unless he is OK exchanging it on your behalf.

http://waytorussia.net/Practicalities/Money.html