British Isles cruise money planning question

[Wesley66IN]

I'd like to get some thoughts and best practices on getting money for the British Isles cruise (Caribbean Princess, 8/29/17 sailing) that hits England (BP), Ireland (euro), N. Ireland (BP), Scotland (BP) and France (euro). Is it best to hit a bank atm upon arrival, before we fly over, or some mix? I don't feel very confident on this topic and what to think about so help get me to be a savvy European traveler. THANKS

[easyboy]

Have been to multi-currency itinerary cruises in Europe but not yet on British Isles (this Sept).

Our plan for our BI will be to rely on our credit cards for major expenses that is at least accepted in major establishments.

We also intend to bring some US$ in small bills. For ports where we would require local currencies (we would know from port talks onboard), like for public transportation and local tips, we would use ATM's in port or the currency exchange machine onboard. Exchange rates would be the least of our worry for currency exchange of small amounts.

Hope our plan works like before.

[paul929207]

I use the ATM in Europe.

 

I also save any leftovers for future trips.

[tailspintom]

I'd like to get some thoughts and best practices on getting money for the British Isles cruise (Caribbean Princess, 8/29/17 sailing) that hits England (BP), Ireland (euro), N. Ireland (BP), Scotland (BP) and France (euro). Is it best to hit a bank atm upon arrival, before we fly over, or some mix? I don't feel very confident on this topic and what to think about so help get me to be a savvy European traveler. THANKS

ATMs are readily available in these ports. We have found that using them gets us a current exchange rate and keeps us from accumulating a good deal of currency we do not want.

[Kartgv]

If you think you'll need substantial amounts of any currency, use the ATM's when you arrive. If you just want a little 'walking around' money, and belong to AAA, you can get a pack of small amounts in smaller bills in both Euro's & PS through most of their offices.

[Shelly97060]

We did this voyage in May ( it was wonderful). Prior to leaving we purchased both Euro and pounds through Travelex. I like to have some local cash on hand when I travel.

[ICUQT]

If you are going to use your ATM card on the British Isles cruise I would check with your bank to see if there is any maximum withdrawal restrictions on the card in the particular country (s) your traveling in. It has been my experience (maybe not yours) that for example you have a $500 daily withdrawal limit on usage of your card in the US you will get a LESSOR amount (currency conversion) when making a foreign ATM transaction. For this reason I usually pick up enough currency before I travel for what I think I will need for tipping and smaller purchases and then rely on my credit card for the larger purchases.

 

bob

[geoherb]

We leave this weekend for the Aug. 17 cruise on the Caribbean Princess. I got a little bit of cash in pounds and euros from my local bank. I know the exchange rate may not be quite as good, but I wanted cash on hand. My bank had a variety of bills available, so I got fives, tens, and twenties in both. I also called my credit card company to alert them of my travel plans.

 

Would it be poor form to tip extra to our waiters and cabin steward in leftover pounds and euros? They'll have the two 12-day cruises after ours to these ports.

[DrivesLikeMario]

What has worked best for me in the past with a British Isles cruise is to get some money ahead of time from Wells Fargo. If you order over a certain amount, they deliver it to you for free. Or, what works even better is getting it at a branch because you can get much smaller denominations that way. I like to get most of my cash ahead of time when the rates are at their lowest - even if it's 6-8 months prior to the cruise.

 

Once you're in those countries, your best exchange rate will be on your credit card that has no foreign transaction fee, like the Venture Card or the Chase British Airways Card.

 

Next best will be ATMs. Most people think this is the best way, but you often have to pay fees to use them and that makes the foreign money cost more. But, it's still better than going to a store front cash store to get money. Also, know what your daily limit of cash is. If it's $300 US, that could only be 220GBP or less depending on the exchange rate and fees. Just be really aware of your surroundings when using ATMs. I know quite a few travelers that have been robbed at them.

[DrivesLikeMario]

We leave this weekend for the Aug. 17 cruise on the Caribbean Princess. I got a little bit of cash in pounds and euros from my local bank. I know the exchange rate may not be quite as good, but I wanted cash on hand. My bank had a variety of bills available, so I got fives, tens, and twenties in both. I also called my credit card company to alert them of my travel plans.

 

Would it be poor form to tip extra to our waiters and cabin steward in leftover pounds and euros? They'll have the two 12-day cruises after ours to these ports.

 

Herb - I think they actually prefer GBP and Euros.

[chicopaige]

Would also suggest not using ATM on ship-exchange rate was awful.

On our June British Isles trip I watched several people upset when they realized the exchange rate they received.

[john watson]

I'd like to get some thoughts and best practices on getting money for the British Isles cruise (Caribbean Princess, 8/29/17 sailing) that hits England (BP), Ireland (euro), N. Ireland (BP), Scotland (BP) and France (euro). Is it best to hit a bank atm upon arrival, before we fly over, or some mix? I don't feel very confident on this topic and what to think about so help get me to be a savvy European traveller. THANKS

 

I think as a side issue, you should know that one port on this itinerary is Guernsey who have their own pounds. Guernsey pound notes are legal tender in the UK, however their coinage will likely be refused outside of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. GB pounds are accepted in Guernsey. So do not get left with loads of Guernsey pennies etc. as you re-board the ship from your tender. Your change may well be given to you as a mix of Guernsey and UK coins as they do not separate them. Guernsey is always a tender port.

 

Scotland also issue Scottish pound notes, various banks in Scotland issue different types. All Scottish pound notes are valid throughout the whole of the United Kingdom. However some staff in shops and restaurants in England argue a bit before they accept them, notoriously a problem in parts of London. Favour spending Scottish notes before leaving that country to avoid discussions at the sales counter.

 

All the pounds mentioned have the same monetary value so no exchange rates but if you return to USA with Guernsey pounds or Scottish notes you might have local issues there with the bank of bureau saying "what the heck are these?"

 

Regards John

Edited August 10, 2017 by john watson

[tgwabd]

TD bank has access to all currency's, no fee, I opened up a TD debit checking account just for traveling, you can purchase any amount and denomination you need, on our last European land trip we bought $100 each worth of Czech, Hungarian and Euros, just enough to hold us over till we got to a bank ATM, the bank ATM's have the better rates. Sometime you just need some local cash, and you can exchange the larger bills at the bank for smaller denominations. It just save time and calculation of exchange rates for each purchase when you have the proper local currency.

[FritzG]

We leave this weekend for the Aug. 17 cruise on the Caribbean Princess. I got a little bit of cash in pounds and euros from my local bank. I know the exchange rate may not be quite as good, but I wanted cash on hand. My bank had a variety of bills available, so I got fives, tens, and twenties in both. I also called my credit card company to alert them of my travel plans.

 

Would it be poor form to tip extra to our waiters and cabin steward in leftover pounds and euros? They'll have the two 12-day cruises after ours to these ports.

 

We get them from our local bank, too, for the convenience. The rate is ok, and we're not getting that thousands. Our car service from LHR to Southampton offers a discount for cash, and we don't want to be searching for an atm after a long flight. We use an atm if we run short, but we prefer to have cash on hand when we arrive.

[RDC1]

I use the ATM in Europe.

 

I also save any leftovers for future trips.

 

We due the same. For ATM's we use Schwab Bank which does not have currency exchange fees and refunds ATM fees.

[Corfe Mixture]

I think as a side issue, you should know that one port on this itinerary is Guernsey who have their own pounds. Guernsey pound notes are legal tender in the UK, however their coinage will likely be refused outside of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. GB pounds are accepted in Guernsey. So do not get left with loads of Guernsey pennies etc. as you re-board the ship from your tender. Your change may well be given to you as a mix of Guernsey and UK coins as they do not separate them. Guernsey is always a tender port.

 

Scotland also issue Scottish pound notes, various banks in Scotland issue different types. All Scottish pound notes are valid throughout the whole of the United Kingdom. However some staff in shops and restaurants in England argue a bit before they accept them, notoriously a problem in parts of London. Favour spending Scottish notes before leaving that country to avoid discussions at the sales counter.

 

All the pounds mentioned have the same monetary value so no exchange rates but if you return to USA with Guernsey pounds or Scottish notes you might have local issues there with the bank of bureau saying "what the heck are these?"

 

Regards John

 

 

Good point John, but take note the last time I was there, the ATMs in the town, well the one at Lloyds Bank, offered you the choice of island notes or UK notes.

 

 

Also, if you ask, retailers will give you your paper money change in UK notes, but you may ave to ask as they don't normally even think about which notes they are using.

 

Returning to the main question. ATM everytime. I live part of the year in France and part in the UK and have bank accounts in both countries, AND the cheapest way for me to move money between bank accounts is to go to the ATM at my French bank with my commission free / Visa interbank rate debit card and withdraw Euros and then use my French bank card to pay that money into my French account using the ATM's cash deposit facility.

 

We also always use ATM in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Nouvelle Caledonie, Vanuatu, Barbados, EC dollar zone, Trinidad & Tobago, Aruba, Curacao and of course the USA.

 

Of all these countries, only the USA banks, along with some (but not all) banks in Australia, apply a non-client usage fee. :mad:

 

One thing you might also come across is that the ATM in France and some restaurants / retail outlets will offer you the choice of billing you in your home currency. This is known as 'dynamic currency conversion' and, whilst there are obvious attractions in knowing how much, in your home currency, they will bill your bank, in general you are much better off electing to be charged in euros and have your own bank do the conversion.

 

The final thing to remember is that we have chip and pin cards, and whilst you should not have a problem using your magnetic stripe cards in ATM or restaurants etc,, 24 hour unmanned petrol stations are unlikely to work with magnetic stripe cards

 

(FWIW, we have the same problem with gas stations in the US where it all falls apart at the point we are asked the zipcode of our billing address).

 

The one thing you should not do is to use an airport bureau d'echange. Not a good idea. Even if you arrive with no local currency, ignore Travelex etc and follow the signs to the nearest ATM

[Blondilu]

I got some cash at the airport before leaving. Terrible rates, but it was convenient. During the trip I mostly used my Visa debit card and sometimes my credit card. For those times when I wanted cash I used a local ATM. One time sis used the ATM on the ship. Also terrible rates, but convenient.

[Wesley66IN]

Thanks and WoW! I love cruise critic and the insight you cruise zealots provide...quickly :) Another but related question...debit card vs credit card? I saw from Rick Steves that use a debit to get cash and use a bank's atm if possible. Agree? thanks

[cynbar]

I always make a list of money I think we will need in the local currencies, then go to our local bank. They get me what I need for a small conversion fee, and we can change any leftover money back after the trip for no added fee (this probably varies from bank to bank, but is still very convenient at a reasonable cost.) We have never had to use ATMs but would use that as our Plan B, just make sure you notify your bank of your travel plans in advance. And be careful that your plans aren;t disrupted by lack of a close ATM. For instance, I hear that ATMs in the arriving airports can have very long lines. You may want a taxi from the ship in a new port, and no cash to pay if you haven't hit the ATM yet. And, we were once on a tour where one couple had the tour guide drive all around looking for an ATM --- very annoying to the other passengers.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Thanks and WoW! I love cruise critic and the insight you cruise zealots provide...quickly :) Another but related question...debit card vs credit card? I saw from Rick Steves that use a debit to get cash and use a bank's atm if possible. Agree? thanks

 

Yes, but you will pay less if you use a credit card for as many purchases as possible. Obviously, you don't want to charge little purchases and most places have a minimum purchase amount of 10GBP or 10E, but use a credit card as much as possible. This also may give you protection on your purchases. Use a debit card for cash only. Be prepared to pay ATM fees with most, but not all, cards which will reduce the amount of cash you get unless your bank charges it against your balance instead.

[BassettMom]

I always make a list of money I think we will need in the local currencies, then go to our local bank. They get me what I need for a small conversion fee, and we can change any leftover money back after the trip for no added fee (this probably varies from bank to bank, but is still very convenient at a reasonable cost.) We have never had to use ATMs but would use that as our Plan B, just make sure you notify your bank of your travel plans in advance. And be careful that your plans aren;t disrupted by lack of a close ATM. For instance, I hear that ATMs in the arriving airports can have very long lines. You may want a taxi from the ship in a new port, and no cash to pay if you haven't hit the ATM yet. And, we were once on a tour where one couple had the tour guide drive all around looking for an ATM --- very annoying to the other passengers.

I agree and that's exactly what I do. I don't want to have to look for an ATM while on an excursion, or limited time in port. I do have a credit card for larger expenses, and ATM card as a back up, but generally know how much I need. I've done the British Isle cruise and took both currencies with me. I've also done a SE Asia and China cruise and had several countries currencies (Sinapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Japan, and Korea--couldn't get Vietnamese currency ahead of time, but that's a whole different issue). Put the different currencies in different envelopes for the different ports. Worked great, but then I didn't really need much of all the different kinds (about $50 worth for smaller puchases) and no foreign transaction fee credit card for larger expenses. I did have a private excursion on the BI cruise I had to pay for in cash (several hundred pounds) and had that set aside in a separate envelope. If I have any money left, I bring it back and deposit it back in my bank, or hang on to it if I think I'm going back sometime. I do try to use up coins as my bank won't exchange coins.

 

 

Sent from my SM-G900P using Tapatalk

[casofilia]

If you have the round £1 coins you may well have trouble using them as they are soon to be demonetised; also make sure that any change is in the 12 sided £1 coins.

English PAPER £5 notes are no longer legal tender so make sure your US bank does not give you any and also make sure you don't get them in change. £5 notes are now plastic

Next year the £10 notes will also change from paper to plastic.

While Guernsey, Northern Irish and Scottish Sterling banknotes are "legal tender" in England you will have the devils own job of getting rid of them. If you are given them ask for them to be changed to "English" notes in the "shop".

Guernsey coins, while they are the same size as "English" ones, will be refused throughout England. You might be able to "pass them off" when paying for things but be prepared for refusal. Scotland and Northern Island use the same coins as "England".

[caribill]

 

The one thing you should not do is to use an airport bureau d'echange. Not a good idea. Even if you arrive with no local currency, ignore Travelex etc and follow the signs to the nearest ATM

 

And make sure that ATM is a bank one, not one that is owned by Travelex.

[caribill]

Would also suggest not using ATM on ship-exchange rate was awful.

On our June British Isles trip I watched several people upset when they realized the exchange rate they received.

 

One time sis used the ATM on the ship. Also terrible rates, but convenient.

 

First of all, the onboard machine is not an ATM. it is a currency exchange machine. You put currency in to get currency out. There is a limit of inserting ten bills per transaction. There is a service fee of $4.50 per transaction. It is obviously better to insert ten $20 bills than twenty $10 bills as the latter transaction would require paying two service fees.

 

The interbank rate the day I checked for selling Euros was $1.13204 for one Euro.

 

ATM debit cards used on shore will usually have a foreign transaction charge from your bank of from 0% (CapitalOne, for example) to 3% (Bank of America, for example).

 

So if your financial institution charges the full 3% rate, one Euro would cost $1.1660.

 

This compares (as shown below) to the Princess rate: one Euro would cost $1.2046.

 

The Princess currency exchange machines had the following rates that day. (I do not know how often they may change.)

 

To purchase Euros, you will pay $1.2046 for each Euro. Compare this to what using your ATM debit card might cost. To sell Euros back to Princess, the machine will give you $1.0306 for each Euro, 14.44% less than you paid for them. Of course you will pay the $4.50 Princess transaction fee for both buying and selling the Euros. If you converted $100 into Euros and then back into US $, including the transaction fees you would end up with $77.21.

 

To be noted is that the machine does not say you are paying $1.2046 for each Euro. It shows the rate as $1 buys you .83015 of a Euro. Unless you have a calculator with you or are a certified MENSA member, you will not know that .83015 translates to paying $1.2046 for a Euro. Many people see the $1.0306 value and assume they are getting a great deal on purchasing Euros.

 

Of course you can buy Euros with pounds or buy pounds with Euros. I did not look into those rates, but you should expect a loss of value of 14.44% plus the transaction fees.

 

The machines do not accept coins. I do not know if they dispense coins when you buy the currencies, but I suspect they do.

 

You are not limited to making these transactions with US $. The machine also accepted the currencies of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Japan.

[FritzG]

The cash machines have a terrible exchange rate plus there's a fee for using them. Years ago we would use them for the convenience, but now we get the currencies we need from our bank before we leave. Because of our relationship with them we don't pay any extra fees, and they have many European curencies on hand so we can get them immediately.

Russian rubles were only ones we had to get from AAA.

On our Baltic/TA last fall we needed 7 different currencies. This year's British Isles/TA will be a breeze with only euros and gbp.

There is an atm in the casino, but it will only give you the currency used onboard, i.e. US dollars, not the currency of the ports.