Local currency needed or are Euro's good?

[martyinmpls]

I realized that there are so many different currencies on this itinerary. We have plenty of Euro's! Our private guides quoted in Euro's so I assumed they are used. But now I'm not sure. Will small shops, cafe's & bars take the euro's or will I need to get a different currency for each port?:eek:

 

We Leave Thursday for Olso. Cruising on Oceania Nautica on the 8th of August.

 

Thanks!

[Desdichado62]

Red these threads, then if you still have questions let us know. ;)

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2237660&highlight=currency

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2210333&highlight=currency

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2167096&highlight=currency

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2205783&highlight=currency

Edited August 2, 2015 by Desdichado62

[sunsetbeachgal]

Our Baltic cruise visited several countries that do not use the Euro. Everyone with rare exception accepts credit cards regardless of how small the purchase. We even visited a museum in Stockholm that did not accept cash, period. Everything including the cup of coffee I bought in the museum cafe had to be paid on credit card.

 

There were a few places where if you wanted to use the pay toilet yiu needed small coins, but generally we took our breaks by stopping in at a cafe so used the facilities along with purchasing beverages. My husband was skeptical at first of needing currency so purchased a very small amount on board but since we didn't need to use it I enjoyed spending it in port before we left!

Edited August 4, 2015 by sunsetbeachgal

[LondonTowner]

When we did a Baltic cruise in Sep 2013 we didn't change any money at all. We always have Euros anyway, but as already mentioned everywhere accepts CC including the bus stops in Stockholm.

 

We have two cards which make no charges for foreign transactions.

[mskaufman]

I generally will take $20 - $30 in local currency in case I run into a situation where it is required. This includes things like ice cream, local transportation or a local market. If I am on a tour, I can always use the local currency for a tip. For example, in Russia, last month, I did not want to use my credit card for a small purchase and the exchange rate was like half it should have been, so I was glad I had 500 rubles in my pocket.

[Pet Nit Noy]

Our Baltic cruise visited several countries that do not use the Euro. Everyone with rare exception accepts credit cards regardless of how small the purchase. We even visited a museum in Stockholm that did not accept cash, period. Everything including the cup of coffee I bought in the museum cafe had to be paid on credit card.

 

There were a few places where if you wanted to use the pay toilet yiu needed small coins, but generally we took our breaks by stopping in at a cafe so used the facilities along with purchasing beverages. My husband was skeptical at first of needing currency so purchased a very small amount on board but since we didn't need to use it I enjoyed spending it in port before we left!

 

Over the years, people including the current OP, have been asking the Euro VS national currency question. I find it interesting the arc that answers to this question have taken over the years.

 

Up until quite recently, anyone asking about using Euros in countries where the country officially does not use the Euro would have been answered with criticism and more than a little disdain. Now, as sunsetbeachgal and others have pointed out, using credit cards is accepted at so many places that the need to have currency of every nation is much, much less. Under the circumstances many of us are taking a more practical approach: use Euro on the rare occasions when we need cash and just accept the less-than-wonderful exchange rate. However, I sure wouldn't think about asking the same question about US dollars in Europe!

 

Now, I know St Petersburg is still a special case where the tour companies specify crisp, new US dollars, but for general transactions, I think most of us have discovered that we really don't need to carry every unique currency.

[Califonria cruiser]

Just FYI in Copenhagen we didn't need any more than $5 for the whole time, every place we went took credit card. There always seem to be a deposit at some of the museum lockers which you seem to get back and also a few coins for the bathrooms. Stockholm I didn't exchange anything and we did it on our own. The only thing I did do, was try to exchange for a couple dollars to have money for the bathroom and locker which we did need and some sweet people just gave me the equivalent of $2 in change and wouldn't take anything from me!

 

I was surprised how credit card heavy it was. in all the ports we visited.

 

In Russia I needed the local currency much more, less credit cards, but if you go with a guide they can pay for your lunch, etc. and you pay them in euros, dollars, credit card, etc.

 

Jenn

[cruisemom42]

Over the years, people including the current OP, have been asking the Euro VS national currency question. I find it interesting the arc that answers to this question have taken over the years.

 

Up until quite recently, anyone asking about using Euros in countries where the country officially does not use the Euro would have been answered with criticism and more than a little disdain. Now, as sunsetbeachgal and others have pointed out, using credit cards is accepted at so many places that the need to have currency of every nation is much, much less. Under the circumstances many of us are taking a more practical approach: use Euro on the rare occasions when we need cash and just accept the less-than-wonderful exchange rate. However, I sure wouldn't think about asking the same question about US dollars in Europe!

 

Now, I know St Petersburg is still a special case where the tour companies specify crisp, new US dollars, but for general transactions, I think most of us have discovered that we really don't need to carry every unique currency.

 

That is true to an extent. HOWEVER, I still can remember my disappointment on my last Baltics cruise that there was a church in one of the ports I wanted to see -- it was written up in one of my guidebooks. Unfortunately, you had to give a donation of a certain amount in the local currency, which I had opted not to get for that particular stop. All I could do was stand in the doorway and look in. Bummer.

 

They would not take my euro or any other currency. And I'm pretty sure that even today they wouldn't take a credit card....

 

Ever since, I always carry at least a little of the local currency with me.

[Pet Nit Noy]

That is true to an extent. HOWEVER, I still can remember my disappointment on my last Baltics cruise that there was a church in one of the ports I wanted to see -- it was written up in one of my guidebooks. Unfortunately, you had to give a donation of a certain amount in the local currency, which I had opted not to get for that particular stop. All I could do was stand in the doorway and look in. Bummer.

 

They would not take my euro or any other currency. And I'm pretty sure that even today they wouldn't take a credit card....

 

Ever since, I always carry at least a little of the local currency with me.

 

I certainly won't claim that carrying no local currency is a 100% satisfactory approach. This is a literal example of the old saying, "You pays your money and you takes your chances."

 

What interests me the most is that I can remember the two of us participating in threads on CC, especially on the Italy board, perhaps two years ago when all the participants were obsessing over which banks/credit unions were best to deal with the growing chip and PIN revolution in Europe. Those threads would include dozens and dozens of posts. Someone would post about a possible new bank and then we'd all spend hours of time on the phone only to discover that bank's chip and PIN card was still in the future. I also remember all the posts about strategies for qualifying for some of the then-best credit cards for Europe.

 

At that time, there was no way any of us could have forseen that US banks would be so opposed to chip and PIN cards that the world would bend to accommodate the US' refusal. (Happily, USD banks aren't opposing chip technology change and my existing credit cards are being replaced with chip versions without my having to do anything.)

[cruisemom42]

 

At that time, there was no way any of us could have forseen that US banks would be so opposed to chip and PIN cards that the world would bend to accommodate the US' refusal. (Happily, USD banks aren't opposing chip technology change and my existing credit cards are being replaced with chip versions without my having to do anything.)

 

Yes, I remember that. Now two of my three major cards are chipped. And all three of them offer no foreign transaction fees. :)