Cost of Lunch and Dinner for Baltic Sea Cruise

[TheMamaFl]

We are doing the 8 day land tour with Princess starting in Budapest, then Vienna, Prague, Berlin and Copenhagen where we board the Regal Princess for the Baltic Sea.

We know we will be buying lunches and dinners during the land portion and some lunches during the cruise.  Has anybody done this and how much should we plan for getting Euros or other denominations.  Since this is the last cruise for the season, does anyone know what the weather (temperatures) would be?  Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks.

[capriccio]

When we travel to Europe (as recently as last month) we never convert any money.  We use our credit cards that don't charge foreign transaction fees.  If we feel a need for currency (never needed it in England and Norway last month) we get it from an ATM.

[TheMamaFl]

Thanks for the advice - appreciate the information.

[capriccio]

Enjoy your cruise tour - it looks like a fantastic itinerary!  As far as weather is concerned, you might check out https://www.weatherbase.com/weather/countryall.php3 for monthly averages in cities around the world.

[TheMamaFl]

Again, thanks.  We have cruised a lot but mainly from Florida area.  This is all new to me and quite exciting.  But lots of questions. 

[Thrak]

1 minute ago, TheMamaFl said:

Again, thanks.  We have cruised a lot but mainly from Florida area.  This is all new to me and quite exciting.  But lots of questions. 

 

The only time we got different currency was on a long land trip through Canada. We were in Canada for weeks so we got Canadian currency. (Used ATMs in Canada to get the cash.) We've never exchanged currency on a cruise. We just use the credit card for everything. We'll be in Norway in a few months and I've read that they actually prefer to do everything via credit card - even very small transactions. Works for us. 😎

[Sauer-kraut]

It all depends on the type of restaurant you plan on eating in.   If you are not adverse to "street food" there are imbiss style sausage (wurst) places.  Many butchers will have "Leberkaese" on a roll, as well as the fish boats along the canals.  These type of places will probably be cash only.  But lunches will be fairly inexpensive maybe no more than 7 Euro a head.

There are ATM machines in front of every bank, and you will not be charged to used them (only the fees your home bank will impose) so if you are short of cash its easy to replenish.  

In Vienna be sure to have Heisse Schokolade mit Schlag in a Viennese Kaffeehaus!

Edited July 20, 2019 by Sauer-kraut

[CruiserBruce]

How much food will cost depends on what you want to eat. Fast food type stuff can probably be under 15 or so USD per person, per meal. Better meals can cost a lot more.

 

Another weather source is simply to Google search the weather for a couple of your ports. Try, for example "Vienna October weather".

[milolii]

We have a little bit different Take on the cash situation.  We like to have some local currency For street foods,/markets , those fish boats, tips  and small purchases.  We also like to have some cash once we arrive.  Really don’t want to look for an ATM.   I know they can be plentiful but once it did take 45 minutes. No thank you.  We also carry the  no fee card as well.  Our Wells Fargo does not charge for exchanges. But once we see an ATM abroad will use it as well,.  

[lakose]

We are also going on a baltic cruise - I called our Mastercard and I was told that withdrawal from an ATM. Is considered a cash advance , hence the minimum fee is $10 and they charge an obscene 24% interestuntil you pay your balance. 

[gnome12]

2 hours ago, lakose said:

We are also going on a baltic cruise - I called our Mastercard and I was told that withdrawal from an ATM. Is considered a cash advance , hence the minimum fee is $10 and they charge an obscene 24% interestuntil you pay your balance. 

You don't use your credit card; you use your debit card (bank card) at the ATM. Then the money comes out of your checking account. (Personally, I never link my credit card to my bank card to avoid any possibility of a transaction being treated as a cash advance on the credit card.) 

[lakose]

Thanks for the advice!

[CruiserBruce]

9 hours ago, lakose said:

We are also going on a baltic cruise - I called our Mastercard and I was told that withdrawal from an ATM. Is considered a cash advance , hence the minimum fee is $10 and they charge an obscene 24% interestuntil you pay your balance. 

Yep... this is why so many will question people who think they can use a credit card for cash. No surprise, this is described in the rules of your credit card. ATM cards are for ATMs.

[dogs4fun]

We use ATMs in Europe and do not acquire local currency in advance (although we always have euros left over from a previous trip). For your Baltic cruise, layers will be your friend.

We enjoyed a Danube river cruise in 2018 with a DIY pre and post stay in Munich & Budapest - arrived Munich mid October, departed Budapest mid November. The weather conditions actually surprised us as it was much warmer than we had expected. It rained only 2 days in Munich and that was the extent of the rain (it was chilly on these days but we were prepared with adequate clothing and rain gear). Vienna weather was mild -  in the 60s as I recall, nights cooler (50s). No rain in Budapest and weather was wonderful (again, 60s). We only experienced cold weather in one small city along the Danube and that was due to wind combined with lower temps.

We visit Russia each year after the tourist hordes have somewhat abated - usually October - November.

It can be quite chilly in St. Petersburg, especially early in the morning. I would advise layers (I have a light-weight down jacket that works well and can add additional layers if needed beneath said jacket). 

As previously recommended, you can check the extended weather forecasts before you go (we always do) and pack accordingly. 

 

Edited July 21, 2019 by dogs4fun

[GrJ Berkshire]

10 hours ago, lakose said:

We are also going on a baltic cruise - I called our Mastercard and I was told that withdrawal from an ATM. Is considered a cash advance , hence the minimum fee is $10 and they charge an obscene 24% interestuntil you pay your balance. 

Way round this is as you are leaving put $150 onto your card as an advance payment then as you are in credit it will not cost you interest, only the same as having a debit card (in UK)

If Wells Fargo charges you $10 each time you use an ATM you need to get a bank card which does not: ie: change your bank or get an extra card with no charges. I would be making a fuss as to how much their bank staff are paid and the dividens to share holders. From UK these charges seem crazy!!!!

[CruiserBruce]

12 minutes ago, GrJ Berkshire said:

Way round this is as you are leaving put $150 onto your card as an advance payment then as you are in credit it will not cost you interest, only the same as having a debit card (in UK)

If Wells Fargo charges you $10 each time you use an ATM you need to get a bank card which does not: ie: change your bank or get an extra card with no charges. I would be making a fuss as to how much their bank staff are paid and the dividens to share holders. From UK these charges seem crazy!!!!

I seriously doubt that would work with most credit cards. A cash advance is a cash advance....different from regular purchases on your card.

[GrJ Berkshire]

It works in UK. Maybe US banks are different?

[north-bound]

On 7/21/2019 at 12:54 AM, milolii said:

We have a little bit different Take on the cash situation.  We like to have some local currency For street foods,/markets , those fish boats, tips  and small purchases.  We also like to have some cash once we arrive.  Really don’t want to look for an ATM.   I know they can be plentiful but once it did take 45 minutes. No thank you.  We also carry the  no fee card as well.  Our Wells Fargo does not charge for exchanges. But once we see an ATM abroad will use it as well,.  

I don't know if your cruise include Stockholm, but if you do, don't take any Swedish currency.  Even small places accept cards  and there are more and more places that will not accept cash at all . As I know Denmark is going the same way.

 

Living in Stockholm I have stopped carrying any currency at all when I leave home, only carry my plastic cads. I only know of two places where I need to take cash and they are not places where visitors to Stockholm are likely to go.