River cruise:Budget for extras & bring anything?

[canaturelover]

Greetings!

 

We (mom and moi) are off on a Rhine cruise in a couple of days, starting in Switzerland, and I thought of the above mentioned title. So to you experienced travellers ----

 

1. Given that the cruise is "all inclusive" of food and excursions, what is your experience in budgeting extra monies per day for things like a local lunch/dinner/snack/tea/drinks ? We are not bringing back any "stuff" - except for local chocolates (?) as token gifts.

 

2. Coming from the lands of cheap and plenty USA/Canada, is there anything we could bring to keep costs down for the week prior to the cruise? I am taking a few tea bags and some instant coffee for pick me ups. The posts say CHF8 for a Starbucks coffee!

 

Thank you!

Sandy

[peterdkiwi]

We had 8 days on the same trip in July, total cash spend for 2 of us was Euro 230, that included one paid trip off boat in Amsterdam, a couple of bottles of wine at a winery, a coffee on shore most days. A drink at happy hour 3 days. We had prepaid gratitudes.

We could have got away with out spending a cent.

[nana541]

Is your trip REALLY all inclusive ?? Who are you sailing with? Tauck? Most ships you still need to pay for Tips to CD, crew, drivers and guides. How about a glass of wine at times other than Lunch or Dinner? Transfers to and from the ship? Laundry? Any how I think you get the point.

 

Anyway it would be easier to help you if we knew who you are booked with, company, ship and which sailing, in order to give you the best advice.

 

Wish I was going All Inclusive or not :)

[Hydrokitty]

Is your trip REALLY all inclusive ?? Who are you sailing with? Tauck? Most ships you still need to pay for Tips to CD, crew, drivers and guides. How about a glass of wine at times other than Lunch or Dinner? Transfers to and from the ship? Laundry? Any how I think you get the point.

 

Anyway it would be easier to help you if we knew who you are booked with, company, ship and which sailing, in order to give you the best advice.

 

Wish I was going All Inclusive or not :)

 

Me too!! We usually use Vantage who is pretty much inclusive and still figure about E50 per person for "incidentals"....I won't repeat what Nana said because I think she covered just about everything. All I know is no matter where I go and no matter how much I bring, something always comes up and I need to buy something I don't have! It's just the law of averages I guess.

[Hydrokitty]

CC a little squirrely today...hence a correction post: I mean 50 Euro per couple per day.

[canaturelover]

Thankyou Peter! That's what I needed to know. A good estimate.

Sandy

[canaturelover]

Thank you Hydrokitty and Nana541.

 

Our gratuities and transfers are all paid. It's just the tips & the etcetras, and it seems Euro 30 - 50/day should suffice.

 

We are cruising on Amawaterways.

 

Thanks agan,

Sandy

[Host Jazzbeau]

Switzerland technically doesn't use the Euro, but we found that everybody there is quite happy to take it -- many merchants even keep a separate purse so they can give you your change in Euros. As a result, we never used Swiss francs at all on our 4-day extension following the Amsterdam to Basel river cruise this summer. The only problem is that since you're starting in Switzerland you may not be able to get Euros until the ship moves into France or Germany.

[Hydrokitty]

Also depending on where you land I would try to get about $50 worth of euro or Swiss francs before leaving US for use at the airport...ie: bathroom, tips, Swiss hot chocolate (too die for) . Of course you can use exchange at the airport but rate not always good. AAA if you're a member can get them for you or any major bank...don't wait till last minute though because they might have to order them...and given the current situation here if we default on our loans dollar value could drop against euro and Swiss franc.

[nana541]

I like to have 100 Euros and also what ever the immediate local currency is (airport I have landed in) in my pocket when I get off the plane. The last thing you want to do after 15 hrs on a plane is to worry about finding an ATM....go to your bank a week before you leave and just get a bit of money to cover a bite to eat or an emergency Taxi (because for some reason your transfer forgets you). Be prepared and have one less thing to worry about as you crawl exhausted off the plane!

 

Enjoy your cruise...wish I was going!

[Hydrokitty]

I like to have 100 Euros and also what ever the immediate local currency is (airport I have landed in) in my pocket when I get off the plane. The last thing you want to do after 15 hrs on a plane is to worry about finding an ATM....go to your bank a week before you leave and just get a bit of money to cover a bite to eat or an emergency Taxi (because for some reason your transfer forgets you). Be prepared and have one less thing to worry about as you crawl exhausted off the plane!

 

Enjoy your cruise...wish I was going!

 

I agree NANA541, although I don't think we take that much initially. We tend to use ATM's to replenish our supply of Euro as needed because they give the best exchange rate and they're not hard to find. Just have to be careful where you are because they all give you local currency and sometimes you don't want a whole lot of rubles 'cause you can't use them anywhere else:D I always keep leftover Euro for my next trip....they never seem to be worth less than what I paid for them and since I go fairly frequently it saves me time and I don't have to worry if I have to leave on short notice.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Money for tips ....

[deec]

we have not been to Europe for a few years what is the average cost of using an ATM? i know we will have to pay a fee to our US bank. Wondering if it is better to get Euros before leaving or paying the ATM fees along the way? Travellers Cheques were nice but not easy to use anymore!

[Host Jazzbeau]

There are a few banks and credit unions that offer Debit Cards with no fees and no foreign transactions fees. One that I know of is Charles Schwab Bank (available through their brokerage).

 

Also CapitalOne Venture cards don't charge a foreign transaction fee.

[pbnjrockette]

 

Also CapitalOne Venture cards don't charge a foreign transaction fee.

 

CapitalOne doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee on charges to the card but is there an ATM transaction charge ?

[deec]

My bank wont charge us to use the ATM but what will the European bank's charge? always use our Capital One card to avoid foreign transaction fees.

[canaturelover]

Thank you Everyone! All good tips.

 

I am in Toronto and we are on our way to the airport. Happy! Will definitely post trip review at end of month when I get home to the SF bay area.

Euros in purse, (no CHF) toonies for the aiport cart :) will pick up a scotch and a vino - and we are ready to go!

 

Excitedly,

Sandy

[Hydrokitty]

we have not been to Europe for a few years what is the average cost of using an ATM? i know we will have to pay a fee to our US bank. Wondering if it is better to get Euros before leaving or paying the ATM fees along the way? Travellers Cheques were nice but not easy to use anymore!

 

Sad but true, traveler's checks are not accepted in many places and neither is American Express, which I always carry and use only for an emergency because if I need to I can go to their office (which I needed to do in Egypt) and get help from a real person! I use my regular bank ATM card and pay the fees. I don't use a debit card and have no idea how it works! I also have a Capital One that I only use when I'm outside the US because there really is no foreign transaction fee and some of these fees can be as much as 5% of the purchase each time you use it!! One thing I learned the hard way: when using your ATM in Europe be mindful of the maximum withdrawal allowed by your bank per day and what that amounts to in local currency or the ATM will shut you off and not give you a reason!

[Hydrokitty]

Thank you Everyone! All good tips.

 

I am in Toronto and we are on our way to the airport. Happy! Will definitely post trip review at end of month when I get home to the SF bay area.

Euros in purse, (no CHF) toonies for the aiport cart :) will pick up a scotch and a vino - and we are ready to go!

 

Excitedly,

Sandy

 

bon voyage!!! Have a wonderful time..we all wish we were going with you!!!:D

[nana541]

Last piece of advice - CALL your bank and credit card companies before you leave town. They need to know which Credit Cards you are taking out of the country and an itinerary of where you will be and how to reach you if needed, they sent me e-mails about suspicious transactions.

Always have at least two credit cards in case of an emergency. DH carries one and I carry the other, that way if one is lost, stolen or compromised we still have a different account. Do the same with debit/ATM cards!

 

Have a great trip!

[marco]

We've done a few river cruises with Viking, Grand Circle and Vantage. We don't buy souvenirs and "stuff', so honestly....I don't think we spent a total of $100 during the entire trip, not including tips.

[Hydrokitty]

Last piece of advice - CALL your bank and credit card companies before you leave town. They need to know which Credit Cards you are taking out of the country and an itinerary of where you will be and how to reach you if needed, they sent me e-mails about suspicious transactions.

Always have at least two credit cards in case of an emergency. DH carries one and I carry the other, that way if one is lost, stolen or compromised we still have a different account. Do the same with debit/ATM cards!

 

Have a great trip!

 

Absolutely!! How did I forget that one!! And you know you should call them when leaving your home state as well...I had my Visa denied at the airport in Maui when I was buying a new lock for my suitcase...at least the 800# worked but I did have to call them and confirm that it was me!

[beanpittsburgh]

I thought Lucerne was the most expensive city I have ever been in. We paid 75chf for 2 medium pizzas ( 1 cheese), 2 small beers and 2 soft drinks. They charged us 6chf just to cut the pizza in half. The place had been recommended to us by a local as being reasonably priced. That being said, Lucerne is a must see place and well worth the extra cost. So therefore, budget a little more for your Switzerland part of the trip.

[Hydrokitty]

I thought Lucerne was the most expensive city I have ever been in. We paid 75chf for 2 medium pizzas ( 1 cheese), 2 small beers and 2 soft drinks. They charged us 6chf just to cut the pizza in half. The place had been recommended to us by a local as being reasonably priced. That being said, Lucerne is a must see place and well worth the extra cost. So therefore, budget a little more for your Switzerland part of the trip.

 

Please don't be offended, but I can't help myself: you're from PIttsburgh, where they have really good pizza, why were you ordering it in Switzerland????:D

[Cary Cruiser]

Please don't be offended, but I can't help myself: you're from PIttsburgh, where they have really good pizza, why were you ordering it in Switzerland????:D

 

The best pizza we ever had was in a small town in northern Italy named Baveno, very close to the Swiss border. Lots of people of Italian decent in Switzerland and maybe this place had really good pizza and was thus recommended.