Travelers checks

[swedie]

We are sailing Princess in South America. A lot of the prices we are being quoted (for hotels, tours, etc.) are in US$, and they do want to be paid in US$.

 

Needless to say, we do not want to travel with that much cash as we are touring prior to the cruise start.

 

So....my question is: Will Princess cash travelers checks on board?

[PunkiC]

I'd feel a lot more comfortable using a credit card, but just call Princess and ask them. They are pretty good about digging up answers. Sometimes they are even the right ones. ;)

[chrysalis]

Yes, they will cash them.

[paul929207]

As long as they are US$ travelers checks, you can cash them at reception.

[BarbaraP]

Yes, Princess cashes Traveler's Checks. I often bring them and use them to pay off my onboard account if I have money left over.

[highheel girl]

Yes on the travelers checks and there is no limit. ;)

[caribill]

Chances are the small print says that the prices in US $ will be actually charged in the equivalent amount of local currency, so if you get US $ on board, you will have to pay to exchange them to whatever currencies you will be needing.

 

I agree with the above poster who said to use a charge card. Get one (such as from CapitalOne) that has no fee for charges made out of country.

 

Using a charge card will mean you do not need to have a bundle of cash as you tour about on land after the cruise.

[Pam in CA]

Fewer and fewer places accept traveler's checks. I recently renewed my car's registration at AAA and used my last remaining traveler's checks to pay the (outrageous) CA renewal fee. It took AAA well over an hour to figure out how to accept the traveler's checks into their system. They had no procedure in place. This floored me.

 

Instead of traveler's checks, I bring a couple of credit cards, one of which has a low limit that I take on tours with me, and some $50 bills. When I need smaller bills, I go to the PSD to get them. Otherwise, they stay in the safe. Except for a few cruises, I never bring or get local money as I haven't needed to. I get £ and € when traveling in the UK and Europe, and Rubles or ¥ when in Russia or China.

[CantanaLobo]

Our AAA won't even give us travelers checks anymore. They sell ("up to $14.95") a pre-paid Visa instead. T&C on that says issuer may charge up to a 3% conversion fee. :(

[compozer]

I love TC's. I don't want a prepaid visa card - never can keep track of how much is in it. I like cxash for smoe things while traveling and then want my rewards from my othere cards. We tip alot on cruises and for some long ones, I don't want to carry a lot of cash so I cash them at the desk when I need more - doesn't take up as much space as extra ones, fives and tens.

[BarbaraP]

Like Pam said......

fewer and fewer places are excepting Traveler's Checks. I used to bring home the unused checks and cash them at the local grocery store but they no longer will cash them. If you want to carry TC's, and don't use them all, just pay your onboard account with them or cash them at the Purser's desk before you disembark. Also, most restaurants and hotels that except American Express CC will take AmerEx travelers checks.

[dorthbill]

I only use them for cruises. I don't like to carry a lot of cash.

[Coral]

I only use Travelers Checks on cruises and still use them.

 

My AAA still sells them. I used them as recently as June of this year on a Princess cruise and saw several others also using them.

[gliles]

I only use Travelers Checks on cruises and still use them.

 

My AAA still sells them. I used them as recently as June of this year on a Princess cruise and saw several others also using them.

 

I love using them, plastic is too easy...TCs require a little thought "do I really need this? Do I want to go through the effort?" We've never had trouble cashing them anywhere...I can't imagine why a place wouldn't take them?

[caribill]

I love using them, plastic is too easy...TCs require a little thought "do I really need this? Do I want to go through the effort?" We've never had trouble cashing them anywhere...I can't imagine why a place wouldn't take them?

 

a) forgeries

b) Excessive bank charges when deposited, mainly outside the USA

c) Slowness in shops getting their money from the bank (especially in some European countries)

 

In the past I sometimes could not cash them at the bank which sold them to me. They said it was their policy.

[Woobstr112G]

I'm a creature of habit and still use TC's to pay for my shipboard account. Never had a problem cashing them on the ship. Only problem I have is findding local places that still sell them. DW's bank (BOA) doesen't sell them anymore. My credit union still sells them, but I had to go to to different branches to find enough of them.....:):):)

Bob

[rdsqrl]

I love using them, plastic is too easy...TCs require a little thought "do I really need this? Do I want to go through the effort?" We've never had trouble cashing them anywhere...I can't imagine why a place wouldn't take them?

Since the explosion of ATMs, there's really no need for traveler's checks anymore and I think that's the main reason they're rapidly becoming extinct. I've used my ATM card in every foreign place I've traveled to and it's always been so much easier than signing and showing ID and waiting while the TC recipient muttered incantations over it whilst figuring out to deal with it. In fact, ATM use has gotten so easy that I don't have "get money" as an item on my pre-trip to-do list anymore. Of course, the last trip I went on, I walked into my home airport with maybe $12 in cash on me -- and at airport prices, that's about one small bottle of water and a pretzel. So there is that.

[gerena]

I use them as a back up. This upcoming 3 b/b cruises my private guides want to be paid in cash--Euros, mainly. However to go to the ATM will charge me $5 foreign transaction and 3%. CHASE. I use a Capital One CC, but the guides don't take that. So I've ordered Euros, Kuna, and Turk Lira. It is a bunch, but with 4 money belts between us and a trip to the safe in the Athens hotel and onboard the ship, I plan to be safe!!! The TC--I already have from previous trips--no problem cashing on board. Princess does charge for foreign currency, though at an unfavorable rate. The ATM machine on board is the same as we have at CHASE. Can only get USD and then have to go to desk to change to foreign currency--as they told me.

[swedie]

Thank you for all your responses! It took me awhile to re-find my post - all the way on page 3!!!

 

We will need US$ cash for a pre-cruise stay in Argentina. Plus, apparently we will receive a better rate in exchanging US$ to AR$ than using an ATM. NOT black market, although, if someone where willing to risk that - not I - there is an even better exchange rate! One of the places we are staying at does not accept credit cards, and is asking for cash in US$. This place has had great reviews on here and on TripAdvisor.

 

Also, once on the cruise, some of the tour operators are asking to be paid in US$ - one of them being the Falklands (there are no ATM machines on the entire island).

 

So, once again, thanks all - now to go in search of the ever elusive traveler check.

 

swedie.

[FritzG]

We just got home from the Emerald TA this evening. We used travelers' checks because we're not comfortable carrying large amounts of cash with us especially when staying in hotels pre-cruise. We get them for no charge from our bank, and we avoid paying atm fees by cashing the checks onboard. Whatever checks we don't use are either deposited back into the bank or saved for our next cruise.