Currency for Canada/New England Cruise r/t NY

[FoghornLeghorn]

We will be doing a Princess cruise in October, ports of Halifax, and St Johns in Canada.  We would use our credit cards for big purchases or lunch/dinner.  Do we need some Canadian dollars for small purchases, or do they take American dollars?  TIA

[LGD]

We just returned from 13 Day CNE on CB Princess and used USD in all ports, along with our CC.  We carry small bills so change is a minimum, but typically returned in Canadian $$.  Enjoy your cruise - we loved our itinerary.  

[mets123]

US currency is accepted almost everywhere. No worries.

[Turtles06]

2 hours ago, mets123 said:

US currency is accepted almost everywhere. No worries.

 

Sure. It’s worth more. 😄

 

Last summer, in Halifax, we decided at the port to get a taxi tour to Peggy’s Cove and some other places. The driver said the cost would be “two hundred dollars.”  I asked, “Canadian or American?” and he replied, “Either.”  🤣.  I was happy to have Canadian cash on me. 

[Noxequifans]

We have used the cc in Canada and there is a small foreign exchange fee charged by our cc company. Not a big deal.

[Tony O]

Remember if you are buying anything make sure you ask if the price is in American  or Canadian dollars . Since you get more for the US dollar.

[papadave]

I've never had any issue with anyone refusing US dollars in English-speaking Canada, but typically if you give cash they don't exchange at true value -- either at par (USD$1 = CAN$1) so you are losing a little bit of money, but hardly worth worrying about if you are not spending much.  You can always get Canadian dollars at an ATM, but you will incur some transaction costs that may not make it worth the bother.  Credit cards appear to be accepted nearly everywhere.  I've charged the cost of a donut and coffee at Tim Horton's.

[jamacka]

I'm Canadian and we love US $$  Especially at par  

Thats a subtle warning to make sure you check the exchange rate before paying with US cash 

[Turtles06]

On 9/12/2019 at 4:54 PM, jamacka said:

I'm Canadian and we love US $$  Especially at par  

Thats a subtle warning to make sure you check the exchange rate before paying with US cash 

 

Indeed. See my comment 4 above. 🤣

[Adventures ahead]

On 8/29/2019 at 5:26 PM, Tony O said:

Remember if you are buying anything make sure you ask if the price is in American  or Canadian dollars . Since you get more for the US dollar.

Nothing in Canada (that I know of) will be priced in American dollars. Please don't ask. US$ will be accepted at a bad exchange rate... the same as using US$ in any other country than the US. Even smaller shops will accept a PIN or TAP card for a bottle of water. Because your dollar is exchanging for more (at the moment it costs $1.35Cdn to buy a US$), you'll feel like everything is on sale for you. Enjoy your visit!!!

[Tony O]

3 hours ago, Adventures ahead said:

Nothing in Canada (that I know of) will be priced in American dollars. Please don't ask. US$ will be accepted at a bad exchange rate... the same as using US$ in any other country than the US. Even smaller shops will accept a PIN or TAP card for a bottle of water. Because your dollar is exchanging for more (at the moment it costs $1.35Cdn to buy a US$), you'll feel like everything is on sale for you. Enjoy your visit!!!

When we purchased a few souvenirs from a local merchant  he converted our purchase to the America  dollar at the current exchange  rate.  So I will ask again .So I will ask if paying with US currency.

[princeton123211]

Its been hinted at by a few posters here but no one has come flat out to say it-- you need cash for very little in Canada these days much like in the US. If you are from the US you can, and should, charge everything possible, big and small, to a card that doesn't have a foreign transaction fee. This way you are getting the very best conversion rate you can. Pretty much everyone take cards these days. 

 

If you need cash, use your debit card at bank's ATM to get the smallest amount you think you'll need because you will lose money on the conversion and fees if you need to change it back. 

[ericosmith]

We did a 14 day cruise with all but 3 ports in Canada and never used a penny of Canadian currency.  

[maryann ns]

In Halifax you need cash for the busses or the ferries to Dartmouth. However it is not worth going to an ATM for that. The rate is going up on Oct. 1.  I think for a senior it will be $2.25CAD so using a $5US bill would work. A regular adult fare will be $2.75 so you might need $6US.

 

Since it generally costs a fee to withdraw from an ATM and you need less that $20 it is better to just us US cash if you take the bus or ferry.

[dizgal64]

So none of the Canadian ports that have the lobster shacks near the port for a lobster roll require cash? I was thinking maybe they didn't take cards. 

[PandaBear62]

On 9/19/2019 at 9:42 AM, princeton123211 said:

Its been hinted at by a few posters here but no one has come flat out to say it-- you need cash for very little in Canada these days much like in the US. If you are from the US you can, and should, charge everything possible, big and small, to a card that doesn't have a foreign transaction fee. This way you are getting the very best conversion rate you can. Pretty much everyone take cards these days. 

 

If you need cash, use your debit card at bank's ATM to get the smallest amount you think you'll need because you will lose money on the conversion and fees if you need to change it back. 

This. We were in Vancouver in June and essentially never needed cash. I think I bought one small item for a buck or two that I didn't charge (maybe a couple of postcards?) I figured I could lose .25 cents. 

[OnTheJourney]

On 8/29/2019 at 2:36 AM, Turtles06 said:

 

Sure. It’s worth more. 😄

 

Last summer, in Halifax, we decided at the port to get a taxi tour to Peggy’s Cove and some other places. The driver said the cost would be “two hundred dollars.”  I asked, “Canadian or American?” and he replied, “Either.”  🤣.  I was happy to have Canadian cash on me. 

 

LOL....

[cknic]

On 8/29/2019 at 2:36 AM, Turtles06 said:

 

Sure. It’s worth more. 😄

 

Last summer, in Halifax, we decided at the port to get a taxi tour to Peggy’s Cove and some other places. The driver said the cost would be “two hundred dollars.”  I asked, “Canadian or American?” and he replied, “Either.”  🤣.  I was happy to have Canadian cash on me. 

Do the taxi drivers accept credit cards?

 

[princeton123211]

15 hours ago, cknic said:

Do the taxi drivers accept credit cards?

Not uniformly-- you can set up taxi tours in advance and prepay for some of them. We did that once. 

 

Depending on when you are going, Uber and Lyft appear to have cleared one of the last hurdles before they can start operating there. Halifax's Council recently approved some measures to build a framework for them to start operating.  

[wheezedr]

Apparently some on here are not aware that there are ATM cards that reemburse all transaction fees.  If you do any travel that is the route to go.

[princeton123211]

5 minutes ago, wheezedr said:

Apparently some on here are not aware that there are ATM cards that reemburse all transaction fees.  If you do any travel that is the route to go.

For getting cash at a brick and mortar bank's ATM, yes.

 

But ATM cards abroad are not as secure as a credit cards and shouldn't be used to make general purchases and really shouldn't be used to check into a hotel or rent a car where a sizable hold is usually put on them which will limit the amount of available cash you can access. Additionally in some countries there are skimming and card reading schemes that can compromise your ATM card-- you would have an extra layer of fraud security with a credit card that wasn't directly tied to your bank account. 

[wheezedr]

1 minute ago, princeton123211 said:

For getting cash at a brick and mortar bank's ATM, yes.

 

But ATM cards abroad are not as secure as a credit cards and shouldn't be used to make general purchases and really shouldn't be used to check into a hotel or rent a car where a sizable hold is usually put on them which will limit the amount of available cash you can access. Additionally in some countries there are skimming and card reading schemes that can compromise your ATM card-- you would have an extra layer of fraud security with a credit card that wasn't directly tied to your bank account. 

Since I only use my ATM at bank related machines, I have never had issues.  Yes a CC, also without foriegn transaction fees, is the best for purchases.  Sometimes you just need a little cash no matter how widely CC’s are accepted.  Happened just the other day on the San Cristobal hill in Santiago when we wanted to buy some water and a snack.  Cash only, but I had grabbed a few pesos from an ATM.