Shih-tzu Posted June 14, 2015 #1 Share Posted June 14, 2015 (edited) Looking for advice on currency for S. Caribbean on Carnival Liberty next February. I did fnd an old thread (2008) about it but things like this get out of date sometimes or things change. The itinerary is: San Juan St Thomas Barbados St Lucia St Kitts/Nevis St Martin Do they all take US dollars? Do I need Euros for St Martin as it's French/Dutch? Is there any other currency I should try to get? Are there any words of advice if using USD? (like certain tactics used by locals to take advantage of tourists, etc?) Thanks again everyone - you all are a great help here :) Edited June 14, 2015 by Shih-tzu Spelling error (again!!!!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjncanada Posted June 14, 2015 #2 Share Posted June 14, 2015 US currency is widely accepted at tourist spots at all these ports - even the street/beach vendors. No need to change from $US Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love my grandkids Posted June 14, 2015 #3 Share Posted June 14, 2015 U S Currency will be fine. Traveling in foreign countries have found that if it doesnt make sense to me something is wrong and walk away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandij Posted June 14, 2015 #4 Share Posted June 14, 2015 All dollars, some will accept Euros but you don't need to go to the hassle to get them cause the almighty dollar will be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
springs741 Posted June 14, 2015 #5 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Only place I haven't had the pleasure of visiting is Barbados. All take USD however it is appreciated with you use smaller bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunlovingirl Posted June 14, 2015 #6 Share Posted June 14, 2015 We tend to look like we might be going to a strip club when we embark on a cruise LOL I always get a lot of ones. I like to tip room service etc on the ship, and also, it is easier to barter etc if you have smaller bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shih-tzu Posted June 14, 2015 Author #7 Share Posted June 14, 2015 We tend to look like we might be going to a strip club when we embark on a cruise LOL I always get a lot of ones. I like to tip room service etc on the ship, and also, it is easier to barter etc if you have smaller bills. Good idea......... :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare peanutzmom Posted June 14, 2015 #8 Share Posted June 14, 2015 I've been to all of those ports, and U.S. Currency is accepted in all of them. My only advice is to bring some small bills, because they will sometimes make change in the local currency. So, if you break a U.S. large bill for a small purchase, you might get stuck with more local currency than you can burn before getting back on the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauleydm Posted June 14, 2015 #9 Share Posted June 14, 2015 If you look on cruise critic for each port you are going to (listed under destinations), it will give you the information you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havingfun2010 Posted June 14, 2015 #10 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Looking for advice on currency for S. Caribbean on Carnival Liberty next February. I did fnd an old thread (2008) about it but things like this get out of date sometimes or things change. The itinerary is: San Juan St Thomas Barbados St Lucia St Kitts/Nevis St Martin Do they all take US dollars? Do I need Euros for St Martin as it's French/Dutch? Is there any other currency I should try to get? Are there any words of advice if using USD? (like certain tactics used by locals to take advantage of tourists, etc?) Thanks again everyone - you all are a great help here :) San Juan and St Thomas are part of the US so they will take US currency. St Martin actually has two different currencies on the Island, one for each country. All the islands in the Caribbean will widely accept US currency for small purchases. For credit card purchases, they are mostly transacted in local currency and converted by you bank. Your travels would actually require you to have 5 different currencies if they did not accept the USD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havingfun2010 Posted June 14, 2015 #11 Share Posted June 14, 2015 All dollars, some will accept Euros but you don't need to go to the hassle to get them cause the almighty dollar will be fine. Only half of St Maartin is Euros. None of the other places are. Plus the dollar is not that almighty? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenMo Posted June 14, 2015 #12 Share Posted June 14, 2015 I'm sure you got the message...USD will work. I like to collect local currency. I tried it in St Maarten and they had none in the till. The clerk said they just deal in USD because it's easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCruisers Posted June 14, 2015 #13 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Looking for advice on currency for S. Caribbean on Carnival Liberty next February. I did fnd an old thread (2008) about it but things like this get out of date sometimes or things change. The itinerary is: San Juan St Thomas Barbados St Lucia St Kitts/Nevis St Martin Do they all take US dollars?) All happily accept the US Dollar. :) Note: In San Juan and St. Thomas the local currency is the US Dollar! ;) Look forward to having a great cruise on a wonderful itinerary! :) LuLu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
love my grandkids Posted June 14, 2015 #14 Share Posted June 14, 2015 We do get change back in the local currency fairly often and that is typically useless to us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shih-tzu Posted June 14, 2015 Author #15 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Thanks for the info everyone....... I will purchase USD and hopefully the bank will have small bills - that will be how I will roll - and maybe I'll be able to pick up some small change in local currency here and there for my scrapbooks.... And if I use a credit card then I will get a fair rate on the exchange. (Now to keep my fingers crossed that CAD moves up a bit so the USD aren't so expensive to buy....) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stargate fan Posted June 15, 2015 #16 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Looking for advice on currency for S. Caribbean on Carnival Liberty next February. I did fnd an old thread (2008) about it but things like this get out of date sometimes or things change. The itinerary is: San Juan St Thomas Barbados St Lucia St Kitts/Nevis St Martin Do they all take US dollars? Do I need Euros for St Martin as it's French/Dutch? Is there any other currency I should try to get? Are there any words of advice if using USD? (like certain tactics used by locals to take advantage of tourists, etc?) Thanks again everyone - you all are a great help here :) Thanks for the info everyone....... I will purchase USD and hopefully the bank will have small bills - that will be how I will roll - and maybe I'll be able to pick up some small change in local currency here and there for my scrapbooks.... And if I use a credit card then I will get a fair rate on the exchange. (Now to keep my fingers crossed that CAD moves up a bit so the USD aren't so expensive to buy....) Remember to not use an ATM on the non-US territory ports. You'll get your money in the ports' currencies. (Unless otherwise noted on the machine itself.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shih-tzu Posted June 15, 2015 Author #17 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Remember to not use an ATM on the non-US territory ports. You'll get your money in the ports' currencies. (Unless otherwise noted on the machine itself.) Good to know - guess I never really thought about that. Thanks:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SadieN Posted June 15, 2015 #18 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Thanks for the info everyone....... I will purchase USD and hopefully the bank will have small bills - that will be how I will roll - and maybe I'll be able to pick up some small change in local currency here and there for my scrapbooks.... And if I use a credit card then I will get a fair rate on the exchange. (Now to keep my fingers crossed that CAD moves up a bit so the USD aren't so expensive to buy....) If you get large U.S. bills, guest services or the casino can break them for you. On most ships the kiosk can also break bills. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrpayroll Posted June 15, 2015 #19 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Did this cruise in early May and had NO problem getting rid of my U.S currency...:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headhunterke Posted June 15, 2015 #20 Share Posted June 15, 2015 St. Martin will accept both US$ and Euro However, I found that in many places the raio is 1:1 Nowadays, the conversion rate for both currencies is fairly equal. But there was a time paying in US$ made a big difference when the ratio was 1:1 Save yourself the effort of getting Euro's and just pay with US$ or creditcard. Even street vendors will accept US$ and pretty much all of them will have change (unless you pay with a high note of course) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Putterdude Posted June 15, 2015 #21 Share Posted June 15, 2015 The USD has been accepted on any of the islands that we have visited and we have visited most of them. Some small local type shops may give you your change in the local currency so you are advised to keep the denomination of your dollars small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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