First Cruise in Med, will I need any Us dollars?

[clarky213]

I will be going on my first cruise soon around the med. Do I need some us dollars for the ship, or will everything be charged to my room and let me pay with my card at the end.

Obviously I will need Euro's for the ports of call, just looking for tips on anything else.

 

Thanks

 

Clarky

[Norwegianlatvian]

Yep! I would bring some small dollar bills if I was you. For tipping (room service etc).

 

I used small dollar bills for tipping when I was cruising with Voyager in 2009 out of Barcelona.

[Langley Cruisers]

Agreed - U.S. dollars for Room Service tipping onboard ship, but Euros for everything else (in ports, for the porters, at the airports, etc.). You can get Euros from an ATM machine cheaper and easier than buying them at your bank or local currancy exchange. We learned this the hard way a few weeks back. Withdrawing Euros from the ATM was fast and easy, and no service charges if you use an affiliated bank (check with your own bank for details).

[cw2go]

I will be going on my first cruise soon around the med. Do I need some us dollars for the ship, or will everything be charged to my room and let me pay with my card at the end.

Obviously I will need Euro's for the ports of call, just looking for tips on anything else.

 

Thanks

 

Clarky

 

Tip in Euro, we asked the Customer service desk on board and this is what the crew prefers. They like to have euro on hand while in port, also saves them the trouble of exchanging it. Just cruised Liberty out of barcelona June 2011 so this is a recent experience.

[clarky213]

thanks for the quick replies, I have prepaid my tips, but understand I may want to give extra tips for good service.

[bubbadog]

YEPPERS,ut everything on room card,and some us cash for anything extra,cab fare to airport,etc etc,all the rest will be in EUROS,have a great trip;):p

[dirtgirl]

I would give Euro to the crew. No need for US$ at all. ;)

[Verfai]

Crew excepts anything extra you give them gladly, what coin it is doesn’t really matter!

 

A hint from me, this as European :D , tip in Dollar!

When extra tipping in Dollars, you can do this is one Dollar bills, hence if they save these bills, they can have them exchanged to whatever currency they want later on…Should you tip in Euro, I doubt you will extra tip by 5 Euro bills, so you will give coins, most currency converter offices don’t exchange coins.

[Big Kev]

Crew excepts anything extra you give them gladly, what coin it is doesn’t really matter!

 

A hint from me, this as European :D , tip in Dollar!

When extra tipping in Dollars, you can do this is one Dollar bills, hence if they save these bills, they can have them exchanged to whatever currency they want later on…Should you tip in Euro, I doubt you will extra tip by 5 Euro bills, so you will give coins, most currency converter offices don’t exchange coins.

 

 

Good one Verfai

 

Reckon this is the "best tip" on this whole thread, especially if OP has USD as his normal "home" currency.. If he is from EU, dosn't really matter, pay extras with whatever is best for him.. Crew wont be fussed, they will be happy that he cares and appreciates the service..

 

For majority of on board, pay reco tips on you account, and extras in USD if thats easiest.

 

Job done :D

 

S and P

[danglish]

You can also add extra tips to your seapass account so don't actually need extra cash. I checked and the staff confirmed they get these 100%.

[rolosmum]

I have got some dollar notes to take to tip for the extras that the pre paids dont cover, and chose the dollars for the same reason, the smallest value note that will be of use.

[helpthejuggler]

You will need dollars only if you wish to lose them in the casino

[mo&fran]

A word of caution in using your debit card. First, be sure your bank knows what countries you will be in. second, be sure you can use your card in those countries. My bank, at first, would only let my card be used if they entered a special code into the system. Then they changed and I could not use it at all, especially in Barcelona.

At first, the ATM did not charge a service fee and billed my bank in Euro and my bank did the conversion. Most recently , some banks started to charge a service fee, and also wanted to do the currency conversion to dollars, meaning they got to keep the conversion fee for themselves. The worst problems seem to be in Spain, had no real issues at the time with France and Italy, really the only other countries where I used the card.

[uksimonusa]

Crew excepts anything extra you give them gladly, what coin it is doesn’t really matter!

 

A hint from me, this as European :D , tip in Dollar!

When extra tipping in Dollars, you can do this is one Dollar bills, hence if they save these bills, they can have them exchanged to whatever currency they want later on…Should you tip in Euro, I doubt you will extra tip by 5 Euro bills, so you will give coins, most currency converter offices don’t exchange coins.

 

The crew can exchange both coins and bills onboard to the currency they need, they can also use the coins at the money transfer offices they use to send money home

[griffy116]

These are all going to be stupid questions, but we have booked our first E Med cruise and we leave from Rome. Shouldn't we have euros with us when we arrive? Should we use an ATM at Rome airport or have them before we leave the US? We plan to spend a couple of days in Rome prior to the cruise and one night at the end of the cruise. What can we pay for with credit cards, and what do we need to have euros for? I'm sure at some point, we will be using a train, bus, taxi, restaurant, etc. Any advice for "Dummies visiting Rome, Turkey and Greece" is appreciated...LOL.

[jessicalorene]

These are all going to be stupid questions, but we have booked our first E Med cruise and we leave from Rome. Shouldn't we have euros with us when we arrive? Should we use an ATM at Rome airport or have them before we leave the US? We plan to spend a couple of days in Rome prior to the cruise and one night at the end of the cruise. What can we pay for with credit cards, and what do we need to have euros for? I'm sure at some point, we will be using a train, bus, taxi, restaurant, etc. Any advice for "Dummies visiting Rome, Turkey and Greece" is appreciated...LOL.

 

We got a couple hundred Euro to take with us but it probably wouldn't be hard to use the ATM at the airport. We just wanted it immediently for vending machines and cabs until we got to our hotel :)

[nelblu]

No really need for many dollars. Any tips can be charged to your Seapass. However, I would recommend Euros and a credit card for gift buying that does not charge extensive fees.

[negc]

I would give Euro to the crew. No need for US$ at all. ;)

You've overlooked one very important part of the cruise where US dollars are invaluable, and, for some of us, essential - the Casino.:D