currency exchanger machine

[andylad39]

Hi

I am going on Princess Baltic cruise soon needing a number of different European currencies off ship and have a few questions regarding the currency changer machine on board .I have some dollars left from previous trip

How does it work -do you just feed dollars in and select the currency you require and it pays out

Does anyone have experience of this-are the exchange rates poor?

Is there a fee attached to each exchange at all?

Can you select multiple currencies and do it all at once

Thanks

Andy

[Astro Flyer]

I have never used the currency exchange machines however have read many posts discussing the very poor exchange rates plus a fee for each purchase.

 

With so many different currencies during our Baltic cruise we used our credit card instead of getting currency for each country. Credit card/ATMs use the current best exchange rate and the ones we use do not add a foreign transaction fee. :) These are couple of alternatives that you may consider instead of using the currency exchange on the ship.

[andylad39]

thanks for the response-I might look at a fee free credit card -that's a good idea-my current one charges 2.75% each time!

[Astro Flyer]

thanks for the response-I might look at a fee free credit card -that's a good idea-my current one charges 2.75% each time!

A couple of months ago the Princess VISA chargecard changed to have no foreign transaction fees. For us it works well for all of our purchases and we recently enjoyed getting a $750 chargecard credit by using 60,000 points. :)

Edited April 14, 2014 by Astro Flyer

[-Lew-]

 

thanks for the response-I might look at a fee free credit card -that's a good idea-my current one charges 2.75% each time!

If you're thinking of using a credit card in an ATM...don't! Withdrawals will be treated as a cash advance by your financial institution and your account will accrue a high rate of interest until you pay your bill.

 

Get a debit card for ATM withdrawals anywhere in the world. There are debit cards that do not charge foreign transaction fees and reimburse ATM fees.

 

Lew

Edited April 14, 2014 by -Lew-

[redtogo]

We were on the Diamond last month. We used the currency exchange machine. We fed in The dollars that we had and selected the currency that we wanted. There was a $4.50 per transaction fee. Plus, the rate of exchange was nothing to brag about. Plus, you risk the machine being out of the currency that you need.

[Roses2]

The currency exchange machine on board cruise ships is not a wise choice. Some folks think it is an ATM, it is not.

 

The best means to obtain foreign currency is to use a no fee debit card at a shore side bank ATM. Several banks issue them -- ask around. In Europe you must have a card with a 4 digit pin. It is much easier if you have a card with an embedded chip rather than a strip, but few American banks issue them.

 

In our experience it is easier to find a bank ATM in Europe than in the US.

[DrivesLikeMario]

The onboard machines are notoriously "out of order". Almost took a picture of it last time just to post for these kind of questions.

[caribill]

Hi

I am going on Princess Baltic cruise soon needing a number of different European currencies off ship and have a few questions regarding the currency changer machine on board .I have some dollars left from previous trip

How does it work -do you just feed dollars in and select the currency you require and it pays out The machine can accept only one currtency for a single transaction, but you do have a choice of what currency you will be giving it.

Does anyone have experience of this-are the exchange rates poor? Poor does not describe how bad it is. If you change A to B and later change remaining B back to A, expect to lose about 15% of the value, not including the usage fee for both tranbsactions.

Is there a fee attached to each exchange at all?

Can you select multiple currencies and do it all at once No. And there is a limit of how many bills can be exchanced in one transaction (It was 10 when I saw the machine), so if you want to exchange $250 and only have $10 bills, it would require three transactions with three transaction fees.

Thanks

Andy

 

see above in red

[partybarbie]

On our TA cruise last Dec., we were able to use our Golden One Credit Union Visa Debit card in the European ATM machines without a problem. Unlike our Chase Visa card that charges a foreign transaction fee, were got a great exchange rate and no fees.

[andylad39]

thanks everybody-all posts have been really helpful

I know now that the exchange machine is a "robbing" machine in many ways by sounds of it and unreliable.credit card I forgot was treated as cash withdrawal

I will look for a fee free debit card in next 2 months

thanks again

andy

[-Lew-]

I notice by checking your previous posts that you haven't joined the Roll Call for your particular cruise where you'll meet others cruising with you.

 

To find the Roll Call for your cruise: click here, then click on the [name of your ship] Roll Calls, then search the list for the embarkation date of your cruise. Click on it for your Roll Call.

 

Enjoy your cruise...

 

Lew

[caribill]

I notice by checking your previous posts that you haven't joined the Roll Call for your particular cruise where you'll meet others cruising with you.

 

To find the Roll Call for your cruise: click here, then click on the [name of your ship] Roll Calls, then search the list for the embarkation date of your cruise. Click on it for your Roll Call.

 

 

Or use the link near the top of this thread page

 

NEW! Find Your PRINCESS Roll Call

[-Lew-]

 

Or use the link near the top of this thread page

Nifty...thanks! :)

 

Lew

[hehny]

Just another tip..we did the Baltic on another line and the currency machine ran out. We just exchanged our money before we left.