Euros in hand or buy onboard?

[ramco]

Generally speaking is it better to purchase Euros at home and bring them onboard the ship, or just buy them onboard? Our thought is to have enough with us for our 3-day pre-cruise stay in Rome, then purchase the rest (for excursions, etc.) while we are on the ship. I know the exchange rate onboard is not the best - BUT - don't like the idea of carrying around a lot of Euros before actually being on the ship. Your thoughts?

[rettstrunk]

During our last European cruise, I obtained enough euros for a cab to our pre-boarding hotel and dinner from my local bank. When we ran-out of euros, we hit the ATM at a BANK in the visiting city. It is also written the the ATM machines by baggage pick up locations have a better rate.

[north29]

Going to another country, I always have a couple of hundred dollars of that countries currency in my possession. Heck, we are in Europe so often, I keep a great number of Euros left over from other trips in my travel folder.

I learned this from experience, broken atms, banks that will not take those ancient things called travelers checks etc. etc.

[Lsimon]

I've always brought the minimum amount of Euros I thought I'd use for the trip from home. If I needed more I'd go to an ATM on shore before I'd buy them on the ship due to the exchange rates offered. Of course some banks charge high foreign transaction fees that might outweigh any savings so you should check with your ATM card issuer in advance so you know what the fees for using your ATM card in Europe will be.

[Phxazzcruisers]

We always use an ATM when we arrive at the Foreign Country. My bank does not charge me an ATM fee and the Foreign Bank does not either. We always get the interbank rates which are the best and way better than purchasing on the ship or purchasing in advance from the bank. No one can predict the future exchange rates, but it seems that Euros, for the present are going down. They are about 1.29 to the dollar today and were as high as 1.40 to the dollar in the recent past.

[Cruise Junky]

Never ever ever onboard. The exchange rate and fees are terrible. We are lucky at home to be across the street from a fantastic foreign exchange place. If i run out I'll use an ATM affiliated with my bank for no service fees.

[Christine Frances]

Never ever ever onboard. The exchange rate and fees are terrible. We are lucky at home to be across the street from a fantastic foreign exchange place. If i run out I'll use an ATM affiliated with my bank for no service fees.

 

 

Do you mean VBCE? http://www.vbce.ca/. I wish they had a branch on Vancouver island.

 

 

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[ama]

Does your hotel in Rome have a secure safe? Personally I would bring what you think you'll need for your cruise and then withdraw more if needed at an ATM. We separated the Euros in the beginning (ie an envelope set aside for excursions) and then split amongst our party. We kept everything in the hotel safe prior to our cruise. And then would only carry what we need for the day. When we boarded the ship, we used the safe and did the same thing daily. This worked out well. I did not want to deal with having to look for an ATM at ports. We used credit cards whenever we could and tried to save cash for purchasing small things like gelato! We of course were a bit nervous carrying the cash from our airplane to hotel and the hotel to our cruise ship. But since we prearranged water taxis (Vencie) for both of these rides, we felt secure.

[cynbar]

We try to plan how many euros we'll need and get them from our bank (no conversion fee) before we leave. Each of us has a neck pouch and I have a PacSafe purse, we carry most of our euros around our necks for security when they aren't in the safe of either the hotel or ship. Plus, we always plan to use credit cards where we can. We don't want to be wandering around the ports looking for ATMs when we'd rather be sightseeing, and we don't want to incur additional transaction fees either. I know some travelers manage this very well and swear by using ATMs along the way, but our method has worked well for us through several European trips.

[Cruise Junky]

Do you mean VBCE? http://www.vbce.ca/. I wish they had a branch on Vancouver island.

 

 

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Yes. I work a Burrard and Pender so they're right across the street. Sooooo handy.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

I would try and use a credit card whenever possible. Our Capital One has no foreign transaction fees, and our La Quinta and Sam's Club Mastercard (both chip & pin) charge 3%. Buying Euros will probably cost more than that.

[Algebralovr]

We traveled in June with about $100 US in cash plus credit and debit cards. When we landed in Venice, I used a credit card to purchase our transfers to the apartment we had rented through AirBnB, and went to the ATM first thing once we arrived.

 

We spent 3 days in Venice, and simply withdrew enough each day for expenses. Our bank didn't charge any fees for using the ATM. Before getting on the ship, we withdrew enough Euros for the expected expenses of the cruise. We had already arranged our excursions, and we had paid in advance for a number of them, so we knew we wouldn't need a lot.

 

Once we reached Turkey, we used an ATM to withdraw funds in TL. It was interesting in Turkey that some vendors only wanted USD or Euros and others only wanted TL. Best to carry a little of everything there.

 

I wouldn't buy on board the ship, their exchange rate was the worst we encountered.

Edited September 14, 2014 by Algebralovr

[lenbest]

get a good credit card and use it as much as possible-when in europe and they ask do you want the bill to be in euros or your currency always chose euros(then your bank will then do the exchange at a good rate)-hope this makes sense

[BubMunkeyBles]

Three years of living in Europe (Germany and Italy). Your best exchange rate will be from an ATM. Easy to find at the airport, train stations and pretty much all around any major European city (or not so major).