Cash??

[thall1719]

Thanks for all the replies! Again we are a family of 6 so having excursion/spending/tip money for all is a significant amount that I really didn't want to carry with and that's why I thought travelers checks...

 

Thanks again

[lolavix]

Thanks for all the replies! Again we are a family of 6 so having excursion/spending/tip money for all is a significant amount that I really didn't want to carry with and that's why I thought travelers checks...

 

Thanks again

 

I am still going to get traveler's checks for my family of five. Guest services will cash them and I'll feel better about not having so much cash with us from the start of our trip. I haven't used them in ages but in this case, where I know that the vendors on the various islands have said to pay them in cash and with five people, it makes sense to me.

[Nic6318]

Sorry but $1 per bag for the Porters is Horrific......So 25 years ago....I tip at least $5 per bag or more...I could go on.....

 

hi there

 

Well good for you. You know this is off topic. The point being...what? You over tipped 25 years ago

[Florings]

We do all cash. On check-in, we hand over cash for our OB account. Carry small amount with us for tips, the rest locked in the safe.

 

No credit cards or debit cards. On the last night, we go to the Kiosk and empty our account of the balance and it's all done!

[crusinpsychRN]

CC's have been used after I left island--fraud is everywhere.

 

People forget to in in the piano bar. They used to have jars set on the piano. Now that they are part of entertainment staff who get part of the group tip maybe you need to.

[crusinpsychRN]

Sorry but $1 per bag for the Porters is Horrific......So 25 years ago....I tip at least $5 per bag or more...I could go on.....

 

From Business Insider:

 

Bellman/Porter

$1 to $2 per bag, $5 minimum. (Or, just as many places say $1 bag, $2 minimum.)

 

Looks like I need to pay more.

[patrice1]

We'll carry cash for all port stops, all our casino play, tips for porters as well as the extra we give to bar tenders, servers and our stateroom attendant. It usually totals at least $1800 and depending on trip length will be more.

 

Its all organized in envelopes...one for each day's casino budget, one for each port stop (sometimes no more than the tip for a tour guide and $20 for a cold drink while ashore) and one with the small bills for our extra tips.

 

We're strict with our casino budget, and using an envelope for each day ensures we won't run through our casino money early on. Anything we win or leave the casino with at the end of the day goes back into the safe into the 'final' envelope, and on the last full day of the cruise we take that 'final' envelope and pay down our on board bill. We've never left the ship with more than a $50 or so charge on our card as a result.

 

 

LOL, we do the same. Tips, casino & excursion money is cash. Everything else is paid in advance (Cheers, any booked excursions, regular tips, etc.):D Any winnings in the casino over $100 daily go into the safe. We always have a credit on our account when we leave.

[simplelife]

I took $200 ($50 IN ONE'S, $50 IN FIVES, $40 IN TENS and $60 in twenties, ) I used about half of it tipping my dinner waitstaff and steward extra, porters, and tour guides.

[Port of Tampa]

I usually budget $700 per day cash for the casino and various tips. I like to avoid the ATM limits and $6 transaction fee and the 3% charge for markers at the casino tables.

 

Cheers and happy cruising!

[mumtopugs]

To stay in budget we ALWAYS prepay everything we can and then pay cash. To avoid carrying large piles of cash, we will purchase Carnival gift cards and set up our sign and sail with that.

Edited August 12, 2016 by mumtopugs

[Justwant2cruise]

Cash and pre paid c.c , We put cash down when we board and use our pre paid c.c to get cash out for ports . I don't like walking around with loads of cash nor using my personal accounts outside of the states .

[lizardhowson]

I would NEVER use a debit card outside of my local area...too much trouble...they put holds on your funds!

 

Bring cash....you will have a safe to store it. Larger bills are easier to carry. The ship can break them down, if you need smaller denominations.

 

Use a credit card for onboard expenses....

 

We never go out of town without at LEAST $1000...usually more, especially, if a casino is in the picture!

 

Cash is KING!

 

Absolutely !

 

Never understood why people are so afraid to cary cash, their passports, their driver's licenses, their birth certificates.

 

Oh well, they can live being afraid of their shadow - We carry cash like you do (as well as our passports ashore outside of US), we are cautious, extra cash remains in the safe.

 

Never a problem because of due diligence.

Edited August 12, 2016 by lizardhowson

[Warm Breezes]

We use our credit card for pre/post cruise hotel, rental car, gas, restaurants, and our S&S card. We use cash for taxi's, shuttles, excursions that were not prepaid, tips, casino, and port souvenirs. We normally take $100 per day we will be gone. We usually come home with 1/2 that or more that we put into the bank to pay of the CC bill when it comes in. Our spending money cash comes mainly from our rewards points on our credit card that I cash out shortly before we cruise along with any miscellaneous checks we may have received and saved up the couple months prior. I rarely have to pull anything else out of our savings to use as this comes close to my $100 per day rule. We get about half of the money in $100 bills that we put in the safe on the ship to replenish our funds if needed. The rest gets split between DH and myself with plenty of $1 and $5 bills to cover tips and $20 bills for the rest.

[crusinpsychRN]

When going on independent excursions I put the money and tip in an envelope labeled for that excursion. I need to make sure I have the exact amount on hand to give them.

[BallFour4]

We never go out of town without at LEAST $1000.

Same, every vacation on ship or shore.

 

.

Edited August 13, 2016 by BallFour4

[CJHAN]

We bring a % of our spending buget in cash and the rest is any type of cash back CC. So lets say we have a $1500 buget for spending (not including the cost of the cruise)$500 would be in cash the other $1000 we would leave in the bank and use our rewards card to pay for everything else. When we get home pay off the card and collect the rewards

[spiritkat090909]

$200 cash small bills for tips, maybe $100 per port if we get off, again small denominations.

 

CC for onboard expenses

 

CC with enough of a limit for emergency (airfare/hotel if left in port accidentally, to cover 2)

 

We spend a LOT in the casino and don't want to carry a lot of cash...SO...we purchase Carnival gift cards and apply to shipboard account as needed. If we ever WIN a lot, we will purchase some in candy store to keep cash at a safely manageable amount when getting off.

Edited August 13, 2016 by spiritkat090909

[TheTravelista]

I take cash. Lots of 1's and 5's for tipping. I bring 10s as well to pay for cabs and buy snacks/drinks from little vendors in ports and I don't want to hear the "I don't have change in dollars" thing. I also donate some money to the casino nightly lol

 

Credit Card for Sail & Sign and any major purchases.

 

Sorry but $1 per bag for the Porters is Horrific......So 25 years ago....I tip at least $5 per bag or more...I could go on.....

 

Tipping is personal but for porters, my general rule of thumb is $1-$2 per bag plus $5.

Edited August 13, 2016 by TheTravelista

[pbsteve]

From the OPs post it appears they like me do not have any credit cards.

 

If this is the case USE CASH.

 

You would never be able to use it from a secure card because of holds.

 

Holds on the debit card as well.

 

We bring a little cash (about 100 for the sign and sail before we board, and about 50 in small bills for tips on shore), but that's because our bank PNC refunds all atm fees, so we use the shipboard atm, and deposit cash at the self service machines if needed or for the ports, but we also buy Cheers ahead of time, prepay tips, etc.

[Quilcruisers]

We use cc for ss card but take cash for everything else. Small bills but usually take about 100 a day for each of us. Because we don't typically use that much on port days we pay money towards sign and sail balance through the kiosk throughout the week and it helps with the final bill. I give my 12 year old son a 25 per day limit for the game room or for candy store. I also will pay cash for everything while in port.

[Cousin Eddie]

We always bring enough cash to tip our guides or pay for our excursions booked independently from the ship. We also have started always paying with cash in US airport restaurants as well. After extensive travel all over Europe, South and Central America, we have only had credit cards compromised three times during travel, once after paying a waiter in a restaurant in ATL and once paying at a restaurant at MCO, and once at a restaurant in ORD. No problems overseas, as we can pay at the table side with chip card. Hopefully the US will catch up at some point.

[paper1122]

I would NEVER use a debit card outside of my local area...too much trouble...they put holds on your funds!

 

Bring cash....you will have a safe to store it. Larger bills are easier to carry. The ship can break them down, if you need smaller denominations.

 

Use a credit card for onboard expenses....

 

We never go out of town without at LEAST $1000...usually more, especially, if a casino is in the picture!

 

Cash is KING!

 

100% agree with all of this. I've used a cc once off ship but that was for a jeep rental, otherwise only cash. I guess if someone were worried about cash thenow you could use a prepaid visa or something like that. I bring plenty of 1s for tips too.

[dmdiver]

We use credit card for sail & sign account & take cash for going ashore. We take only what we anticipate needing & the rest stays in the safe. We also split the cash between us. I don't think we've ever taken more than $600 on a week long cruise - and that was when a couple of excursions were booked independently & we knew we would be paying with cash. We take a credit card ashore with us in case of an emergency, but haven't used one yet.

[msmayor]

No problems overseas, as we can pay at the table side with chip card. Hopefully the US will catch up at some point.

 

Funny, cc issuers touted the chip card as being 'more secure' but just a few weeks after receiving my new Amex card with the chip, it was compromised...just one week BEFORE our cruise, here in the US. It can happen anywhere, at any time really.

[RecoveryDude]

I bring about $500 cash for tipping and the casino ... and small bills for port shopping because I HATE when foreign stores either have a "minimum" or charge a fee to use a credit card, so in those cases I will use cash and like to have it handy.

 

I typically start out with about $300 OBC (Booking while on a cruise, Shareholder Credit, TA Credit, and fare promotion) ... and then add a few $100 Carnival gift cards to my S&S account ... so I rarely actually have a balance at the end of my cruise ... but I have my Carnival MC linked just in case.

 

I keep my cash in the safe and just take what I need with me....although I take ALL of it when I'm in ports as I never know when I might need it for an emergency .. I use a secure, anti-theft travel wallet I got from PacSafe that I love.

 

I also don't worry about fraud either, not going to live my life in fear. If it happens it happens ... that's no reason to "not" use my credit cards while travelling ... most of them cap my part at $50 anyway, and I've seen much more fraud in the US than I do in the Caribbean.