Help with currency please

[Moremajor]

My hubby and I are doing a Baltic cruise on the Serenade this summer. We were wondering about currency in Russia. For our tour there, we are to pay the company we are using in American dollars, but for souvenier shopping we have no idea what currency to use. Because there are so many different currencies on this cruise, I did not want to order Rubles if I didn't have to. What are the thoughts on this? Any advice would be much appreciated.

Thank you.:)

[georgiacat]

Thank you for asking this question. I had also asked about currency. I think we might take about $50 to $100 in rubles, if our local bank will provide them. I have heard that some banks do not. We usually just need something for Cokes, ice cream and small souveniers. We will be paying Alla tours by credit card. I had also heard that if you plan to use US dollars, make sure it is new, crisp bills as they do not take old ones.

 

Speaking of money, do tour guides (as in Alla tours) prefer tips in US dollars or Russian rubles?

[xpcdoojk]

I have not been to Russia, but have been in other former Eastern bloc countries. I always use ATMs at banks to make a withdrawal in the local currency. You get the best exchange rate as compared to using your local bank to buy a small amount of foreign currency. There may be a small fee, but it is super easy. Just make sure you inform your bank where you are going and that you intend to use ATMs on your trip, and tell them to verify that they will allow the transaction. Never have had a problem. We got currency, multiple times in Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Hungary last fall. If we had leftover currency, we exchanged it in the next country. Everytime you exchange money you lose a little, so don't get too much currency if you can help it.

 

I think you will have zero problems doing this in Russia.

 

jc

[rmgjg]

Moremajor, when we did a Baltic cruise in 2012 we took a small amount of rubles with us. We pre-purchased them at Continental Currency Exchange (at the moment they give "seniors" a discount on Mondays if you qualify as such).

 

Georgiacat, we also used Alla Tours and tipped our tour guide in USD.

 

Have a great trip!

[Enforcer]

Hi,

 

When we went to St Petersburg we took about £50 worth of Roubles but really struggled to spend them, we ended up spending them all in the duty free shop on the quayside.

 

The shops will take most currencies but Euros are the most widely accepted, although what you could buy we considered as "tat" some of the shops/stalls would take US Dollars.

 

Hope this helps

 

Pete

[Moremajor]

Thank you everyone. It is hard to know what to do. I think I will use my credit card and Euros as I don't want to be left with Rubles that I can't use. I will have no problem spending Euros! By the way, are there things worth purchasing at the port? Can you shop there after your tour is over?

[Enforcer]

Hi,

 

There was only a small duty free shop with fags, spirits, smellies etc. which were reasonably priced also a few souvenirs.

 

The best thing I found was a TML Russian doll, Sens were available also.

 

Pete

[georgiacat]

Thank you for the information. My problem with ATM's is that I do not think that the entire tour would be willing to stop by an ATM for us to get local money. I do not know that there is a convenient ATM on every dock that we tie up to (doubt it). I like to be prepared before hand.

 

Do Russians readily take euros? I would be willing to stick with just one (foreign) currency. I understand that Sweden has their own currency too. Any others I need to know about? (euros, rubles, Swedish ?)

[Moremajor]

Thank you for the information. My problem with ATM's is that I do not think that the entire tour would be willing to stop by an ATM for us to get local money. I do not know that there is a convenient ATM on every dock that we tie up to (doubt it). I like to be prepared before hand.

 

Do Russians readily take euros? I would be willing to stick with just one (foreign) currency. I understand that Sweden has their own currency too. Any others I need to know about? (euros, rubles, Swedish ?)

 

I am not sure where you are headed, but our Baltic cruise will begin in Sweden which uses the Krona. Finland, Latvia and Estonia use the Euro and Russia the Ruble. We are going to London for 8 days after and they use the British Pound so you see my issue! I will stick with credit card, Euros, Krona and Pounds and skip the Ruble. I will use bank machines as there is no way I am going to carry a lot of cash. I will just have a few dollars of each currency on hand then get more as needed. :)

[Moremajor]

Hi,

 

There was only a small duty free shop with fags, spirits, smellies etc. which were reasonably priced also a few souvenirs.

 

The best thing I found was a TML Russian doll, Sens were available also.

 

Pete

 

So did you use Euros here then?

[sassyb69]

We visited St Petersburg on a cruise a couple of years ago. We didn't take roubles and as part of our 2 day tour with Alla we were taken to a gift shop on the last day that accepted a wide range of currencies.

 

The only time I wished I had some roubles was when we were walking round the grounds of one of the palaces and it was hot so I wanted a drink. The kiosks only accepted roubles so I had to go without.

[Enforcer]

So did you use Euros here then?

 

US Dollars

[Apple37]

We did a very similar cruise on Brilliance last summer. Our first day in Russia we visited the Hermitage. They accepted dollars and euros in the gift shop. It was reasonably price too.

Our second day we did some shopping in Nevsky Prospekt. We went into a bakery and they only accepted roubles - no problem though they also accepted debit/credit cards so that was fine.

We also visited a large gift shop here - same again roubles only so paid by card. The gift shop where all the coaches and buses drop you just around the corner accepts dollars and euros and also has toilets (handy to know!)

Finally there was a very large selection of gifts in the port itself dolls, hats etc all the traditional stuff. They accepted euros and I think dollars too!

So we managed with no roubles but seemed to spend a small fortune anyway.

 

Enjoy this trip - some fantastic ports of call.

[Apple37]

Forgot to say we tipped all the tour guides in dollars which they were grateful for!

[Moremajor]

Forgot to say we tipped all the tour guides in dollars which they were grateful for!

 

Thank you very much for the information. It's good to know what to expect. Do you have any other things to share about the ports for example?

[Apple37]

Which ports are you visiting?