Viking Homeland Cruise

[shepherds56]

Taking Viking Homeland Cruise, do people get different countries currency at each port they stop in (Finland, Russia, Norway, Denmark, etc.) for tipping and essentials, etc?. 

[ropomo]

A lot of discussion of this in other threads, but we were on Homelands earlier this year and only had a few Euros left over from a previous trip. Spent the Euros just to get rid of them.  Did not ever get any local currency or need it.  Credit cards accepted everywhere, including street vendors.  The only reason I would see to get any is if you want to collect some as souvenirs. Also, all tipping of guides was done in USD and always accepted with a smile.

Edited August 11, 2019 by ropomo

[SrCruizer]

I echo what ropomo stated. We tipped with US dollars or Euros depending on country but dollars seem to be widely accepted. Be sure to carry small bills, $5s, $10s, & $1s for tips. If on a bus tour we not only tipped the guide but also the driver.  

[shepherds56]

Thanks for the input, helped out a lot 

[RetroRod]

Did the HL Cruise in June and agree with previous posts. We used cards for everything off the ship and tipped in $. We did a private tour in St. Petersburg with one of popular tour companies that can’t be mentioned here. On their website it’s mentioned that $, if used for tips, have to be in perfect condition or they won’t be accepted by their banks. We made  sure to get crisp new currency, just for St. Petersburg, and kept them in a hard folder for protection. The gratuities were always accepted and appreciated.   

[jiminyC_fan]

We brought all currencies with us and thankful we did.  Had we not had any and depended on CC's we would never have been able to do or buy anything in Bergen.  Their whole system was down.  We believe that we don't accept foreign currency here at home.  Why should we expect them to accept USD for our convenience?  Yes, they happily accept it but what can they do when a tip is offered in USD?  Say no.  I don't accept them?  

[KBourgeois]

Reminder that you will need local currency for many of the restrooms......

[Nippy Sweetie]

Really? I never found that on our Homelands tour last year. 

[ropomo]

I echo Nippy Sweetie, we did not encounter any restroom facilities that required any payment at all.

[knoxclone]

During our recent Homelands, we needed coins for 2 separate toilets in St. Petersburg. We also also were in Stockholm and several public restrooms required payment, ( although one happily accepted cards). 

[CDNPolar]

We typically buy a certain amount of currency for each country and especially if the country has its own currency and is not the Euro...  This is not related to the Homelands cruise specifically, but we have found ourselves in countries where we wanted to purchase something on the street and we did not have local currency and therefore could not.  It is a toss up because there is planning to ordering and buying local currencies - then how much do you get - and then you must spend it or lose money converting it back.