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Anyone back from Baltic this year?


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We used ATM's in all the ports, just keep a cheat sheat to show what the exchange rate is so you know how much money to take out. We used our credit union debit card and the money came straight from checking. There did not appear to be any exchange rate as the amount was always close (under a dollar) to what the newspaper said the rate was. We paid for larger purchases with the credit card so we could get the insurance if anything broke or got lost in transit. In St. Petersburg we used the credit card to pay for all purchases including those at the Hermitage and Peter and Paul fortress. ATM's are easy to find as they are all over similar to the UK and the US. Every bank had one. Most did not charge additional fees. The ATM was the hardest to find in Copenhagen, but if you ask anyone they will point the way.
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We just used our debit card and withdrew from the checking account. For large purchases we paid with the cc mostly for the insurance. Our cc charges quite a bit for cash advances so we just used the credit union debit card and it worked in all the countries (did not try Russia). We had a currency converter cheat sheet and took about 40-60 out in each port. Our card has a 4 digit pin. Some say the 5 digits do not work over in Europe. I do not know about this but if I had a 5 digit, I would try find out. The ATM's are all over the place just like here. Do not worry about finding one or using the cc. We found them accepted everywhere again St. Petersburg wants cash, but we used the cc anyway. No way would I carry money over there.
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To KCNN: I am also wondering why you are renting a car in St. Pete. Unless you have been there a few times and have ideas of going someplace particular off the beaten track, this is not a good idea. I am one who rents cars all the time in Italy, BUT this is a horse of a differnt color to say the least!!

First, the traffic around the city is unbelievably chaotic, no lanes marked, a free for all and very congested. Saw a couple of accidents. Language difficulties would make this very hard unless you speak Russian.

Second, as mentioned elsewhere, guides can be such a help in learning about the points of interest

Third, police can stop you for the smallest enfraction, and will possibly look for a Payoff, this did happen to us even as we were in the hands of a tour group. Thank God our Russian driver handled the situation, some rubles changed hands and we were on our way

Just a suggestion, do youself a huge favor and take a tour, possibly with a company like Red October or Denrus. Small group and well worth the money. You will see and learn about so much.

If you have intentions of seeing the main places of interest, parking will be a big problem. Our driver would let us off right near entrances and then wait with the vans until we emerged and then they would be there to whisk us off to another place, saving precious time and with no anxious moments at all.

Good luck with your trip in any case.
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Hi Kevin,

We've been traveling to Europe for the past 3 years, and we've found travelers check very DIFFICULT to use in Europe. Your best bet is with your current bank's ATM card. It works just like the ATMs at home, it will ask you how much you want to withdraw, and give it to you in local currency. ATM machines in Europe only accept 4-digit pin #, so make sure your ATM/bank card pin is only 4 digits. Also, not all bank cards are accepted by the local ATMs. I've never been to Northern Europe, but in UK, France and most of the Mediterranean countries all accept bank cards with "STAR" or "Cirrus" sign in the back of the card. I bank with WellsFargo and had no problem withdrawing money while traveling in Europe. You might want to check with your local bank.

Another good card to have is American Express, their offices are all over Europe. Many of my friends who are frequent travelers all said that American Express took very good care of them when they had money problem while traveling (money stolen, etc...)

VISA and Master cards are widely accepted. I tend to pay everything with VISA, and only carry small amount of cash for taking public transportation or buying little things (drinks, snacks) at the park. It seems to have worked very well for us.

For my trip next week to the Baltics (Celebrity Constellation 7/31), I planned to take my ATM card and 2 VISAs, and get local currency at the airport or port when we docked.

Hope this helps.

Alicia
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I agree with the above post. Travellers checks are now almost impossible to use. I suggest your ATM card and two credit cards. Be sure to let them know you are travelling. We had ours locked up even though we told them. We emailed them to tell them all the charges were ours but would not unlock until we called. We had to use the other card to pay our RCI bill and our Tallinn stop. We called when we were back in London as we could never have paid for a call from the ship. $8-9 a minute is too much for me, considering it took about 5 minutes to clear up. The call was toll free from London.

One other nice thing is credit cards usually have insurance on things you buy so if something did happen to anything, you are covered.
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[quote name='kevins']We are going on a Baltic cruise in August. I'm curious how one handles currency. It appears that each individual stop from Helsinki to St. Pete to Tallin has its own currency. I've read about using ATM's but admit I've never used one overseas. Does one draw from their checking account or is it a draw from your credit card be it AMEX or VISA? Should one just buy a bunch of Euro traveller's checks and convert them at each port or is it best to charge everything and pay when you get back? Thanks for any suggestions.[/QUOTE]

We just got back from the Baltic. The easiest and cheapest way is to get money from the ATMs. Each port has them. They have instructions in English. Then you can withdraw from your checking or savings, however, your ATM account is set up. I wouldn't use your credit card to exchange. There's a hefty fee, they consider it a cash advance, and my card company charges $15 per transaction. Some countries do accept dollars and euros, but you end up paying more, because they quote the US or euro equivalent too high. Germany and Finland use euros, the rest of the countries have their own currency. Where you can charge, I would use credit cards; bank exchange rates are pretty good.

Have fun.
Kathy
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Message for Peggyann:

We are renting a car, driver, and guide through the Jewel's excursion sight. I assume the service is similar to red october and denrus, although I haven't gotten any feedback from anyone on previous cruises who have done this. I am traveling with my parents, and they prefer to go through the ship. The ship is supposed to work with us on an itinerary once we board. Thanks for your concern. Please feel free to post back if you have any advice or info for us. Kim
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Mrs. Seabird,

I have just finished reading your review and want to thank you for taking the time to give such a detailed account of your trip. Although I have all of he recomended guidebooks, I am finding that the information provided by cruisers such as you is so useful I might not have needed anything else. We sail on the Jewel August 20. If there is anyone else out there looking at this thread who is not on our Roll Call, there is a good group of fellow cruisers communicating on Jewel of the Seas -8/20/04 - New Thread

Lynn
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[quote name='Mrs Seabird']Here's my review toots. I hope it helps.

[url="http://messages.cruisecritic.com/2/OpenTopic?a=tpc&s=927093444&f=069097554&m=494105942"][/QUOTE]

Would it possible to email me your review. I could not get it when I clicked on the url. My email address is hfarmer@carr.org .
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