Pay in cash with USD on the ferry?

[cft8]

From what I have read, USD are widely accepted since the exchange to the Bermudian dollar is 1:1. Is this true on the ferry? Can we get on and pay in cash with $5 US? We will potentially have a large group and so I do not want to spend time having everyone stop in the visitors center to buy a token since the savings is only 50 cents. (Let me tell you about the time our whole family needed to buy tickets for the DC metro and the people in line behind us applauded when we were done.) I personally plan to get some Bermudian $ ahead of time, but I'm not sure everyone I'm traveling with will.

[njhorseman]

26 minutes ago, cft8 said:

From what I have read, USD are widely accepted since the exchange to the Bermudian dollar is 1:1. Is this true on the ferry? Can we get on and pay in cash with $5 US? We will potentially have a large group and so I do not want to spend time having everyone stop in the visitors center to buy a token since the savings is only 50 cents. (Let me tell you about the time our whole family needed to buy tickets for the DC metro and the people in line behind us applauded when we were done.) I personally plan to get some Bermudian $ ahead of time, but I'm not sure everyone I'm traveling with will.

Yes you can pay in cash as you board the ferry. I doubt you'll be able to buy Bermudian currency, and there is absolutely no need to do so even if you could. US currency is accepted everywhere.

[Charles4515]

They take USD in Bermuda. You can pay $5 cash US. You won't be able to get some Bermudian $ ahead of time because it is not exchanged. You don't need or want Bermuda currency because you won't be able to use it anywhere except Bermuda. The only reason to get it is as a souvenir. USD is accepted everywhere in Bermuda 1:1.

[cft8]

I appreciate the feedback. I started to have a panic attack that I'd told everyone they'd be fine with USD, and then we'd get to the ferry and find out it wasn't accepted! This group is counting on me and it's very important that I be as prepared as possible. 

 

I honestly haven't checked with my AAA office (where I typically buy currency) to see if they have Bermudian $. I'll give them a call since it sounds like it might not be possible. I can't cite my source at the moment, but I know I did read that USD is generally accepted, which to my mind means that I might encounter a situation where it is not. I generally get a bit of local cash to be safe and I like having it as a souvenir for myself and to bring back for the kiddos in our family. That said I don't often travel to places where the exchange rate is 1:1 (Panama is the only other place I can think of), so it's more of a situation of needing cash for places where I can't use a credit card. But, as long as I can get off the ship and on the ferry and over to Hamilton, I'm good and I can always find an ATM to get cash if I haven't been able to in advance.

[Charles4515]

Agian you don't need local cash. You won't find a place that does not take USD. If you go to an ATM in Bermuda and get cash you better spend it because you will be stuck with it. You won't be able to exchange it back in the US or on the ship. Bermuda $ can only be exchanged in Bermuda. People from Canada, UK etc. who plan to visit Bermuda won't be able to get Bermudian currency either. If they want cash in advance to spend in Bermuda they must get USD. 

 

Also buying tokens is not like the DC Metro which by the way  if you ever come back here the Metro does not use tickets anymore.......... In Bermuda you tell them where they sell the tokens and passes  how many tokens,   you want, 14 zone tokens for the ferry, they will tell you much that will be, you hand over the USD and get the tokens back.  Very simple. If you do get on with cash have the exact amount.

Edited April 9, 2019 by Charles4515

[njhorseman]

52 minutes ago, cft8 said:

That said I don't often travel to places where the exchange rate is 1:1 (Panama is the only other place I can think of),

 

For reference for your future travels, in Bonaire the official currency actually is the US dollar. They don't even have a local currency. 

 

Same for Ecuador as well as El Salvador, which adopted the US dollar a few years ago. The British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its official currency for many years.

Edited April 9, 2019 by njhorseman

[cft8]

13 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

Agian you don't need local cash. You won't find a place that does not take USD. If you go to an ATM in Bermuda and get cash you better spend it because you will be stuck with it. You won't be able to exchange it back in the US or on the ship. Bermuda $ can only be exchanged in Bermuda. People from Canada, UK etc. who plan to visit Bermuda won't be able to get Bermudian currency either. If they want cash in advance to spend in Bermuda they must get USD. 

 

Also buying tokens is not like the DC Metro which by the way  if you ever come back here does not use tickets anymore. In Bermuda you tell them at the  how many tokens,  14 zone tokens for the ferry, they will tell you much that will be, you hand over the USD and get the tokens back.  

Yes, I know that the DC metro doesn't use paper tickets anymore. I still have my smartrip card in my wallet from when we lived there (years after the incident I mentioned). It gets occasional use on visits back! 🙂

 

As for the cash, it's good to know that I won't run in to a place where I can't use US cash. I'll see what I feel like when I get there as far as getting Bermudian $ and I completely understand that it can't be changed back. Like I said, I enjoy having the souvenir and so I might get $20, buy a few postcards, some stamps, and a cup of coffee and then have a souvenir. 

 

My group is not just my family - it could be 30-40 people, and I'm not interested in collecting money from everyone, dealing with giving everyone change, and passing out tokens. If 50 cents is that important to anyone, they are more than welcome to pop in to the visitor center and buy a token, but I've told them if they want to stay with me, they need to plan on having $5 cash and paying on the ferry. 

[Charles4515]

 
My group is not just my family - it could be 30-40 people, and I'm not interested in collecting money from everyone, dealing with giving everyone change, and passing out tokens. If 50 cents is that important to anyone, they are more than welcome to pop in to the visitor center and buy a token, but I've told them if they want to stay with me, they need to plan on having $5 cash and paying on the ferry. 

The $5 cash is sensible in your situation.

You might want to consider not trying to keep 30-40 people together. Breaking up into smaller groups.

[cft8]

4 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

 

The $5 cash is sensible in your situation.

You might want to consider not trying to keep 30-40 people together. Breaking up into smaller groups.

 

Once we get over to Hamilton, I expect people will split off, and we'll announce a time & place to meet back. I also have 2 co-leaders, so we can split off if most people want to stay with one of us. This is our first time to Bermuda, but not our first time organizing this large of a group, so we have those sorts of logistics well under control! 

[jtheile]

Can you pay with a $5 bill on the ferry?  I thought at one time you could only pay with coins.

[Charles4515]

Can you pay with a $5 bill on the ferry?  I thought at one time you could only pay with coins.

 

That is on the buses, buses have a fare box. They have gone back and forth about cash on the ferry but in recent times they have been accepting cash. They have been accepting $5 bills on the ferry and since they don’t have a fare box if I were paying with cash instead of a token I would give them a $5 bill, not coins.