Which currency is needed for Rhine River Amsterdam to Basel?

[whtdog]

We are hoping to travel the Rhine, December 8th out of Amsterdam on Viking.  I should have already asked this question since the dollar is currently dropping... but which currency is needed for Rhine River Amsterdam to Basel?

We are going to enjoy the Christmas markets.  We will stay a couple nights in Amsterdam and one night in Basel.

Any information would be helpful!!!!

THANK YOU!

[sharkster77]

Netherlands, Germany, and France are all on the euro.  If you're going to spend any time in Switzerland, they are on the Swiss franc.  We brought euros from home, and got the Swiss francs we needed for a post-cruise stay in Lucerne from an ATM.  Things are very expensive in Switzerland, so we mostly used credit cards there.  For a week in the EU, we mostly used credit cards there as well.

[djh1959]

This was the last trip that we did, and we didn't bother with currency and just used our credit cards.

 

You can also withdraw from an ATM and you will receive the correct currency for the country that you are in.

[tfred]

as an aside - try to use a credit card that has no foreign transaction fees.  They can be  larger than you think on the original purchase

 

The CC card company can tell you if there is a fee

[Lois R]

I use a Capital One Venture card and there are no foreign transaction fees on it.  I remember a friend recommending it to me (when I was asking about these same questions) years ago before my first cruise to the Med.

[sharkster77]

We have a AAA Visa card that has no foreign transaction fees.  We use that and a Capital One Quicksilver card overseas.   Warning:  we requested a high limit on both, as they would be used should we need emergency, short-notice airfare home.  Capital One last winter reduced the limit by TWO THIRDS!  I paid every bill on time.  When questioned, they said too bad, but because of COVID they've had lots of people not pay their bills, so they had to lower our debt exposure.  So, due to the action of others, a dependable customer (me) has to be punished.  Suggestion:  cancel the cards of those who don't pay their bills, and leave the rest of us alone!

 

I said OK, and now only use that card for a couple of auto payments.  They show no faith in me, so I send them less business.

Edited May 5, 2021 by sharkster77

[tfred]

6 hours ago, djh1959 said:

This was the last trip that we did, and we didn't bother with currency and just used our credit cards.

 

You can also withdraw from an ATM and you will receive the correct currency for the country that you are in.

you will invariable need some cash just for taxis.  I have been in enough German and Swiss taxis to realize they can take the CC, they just don't want to.  "Machine broken", "not going through" - a whole gamut of excuses.  They all take it until you get in the taxi

[Silverlakergirl]

If you're on a Viking Cruise, you will not need a taxi unless you venture on your own away from cruise planned activities, but tip change is needed for bus drivers and tour guides. If you are doing a pre or post cruise, you may us a taxi there, but Amsterdam is easy to get around on foot if you enjoy walking and public transportation is also great. Lucerne would require Swiss francs, and yes,  I agree, Switzerland is very expensive in. 

[whtdog]

WOW thank you every one for the information.  This is very helpful 🙂

[tfred]

1 hour ago, Silverlakergirl said:

If you're on a Viking Cruise, you will not need a taxi unless you venture on your own away from cruise planned activities, but tip change is needed for bus drivers and tour guides. If you are doing a pre or post cruise, you may us a taxi there, but Amsterdam is easy to get around on foot if you enjoy walking and public transportation is also great. Lucerne would require Swiss francs, and yes,  I agree, Switzerland is very expensive in. 

it costs money (coins) to just go to the bathroom in most of Europe.  Sometimes a Euro, maybe less

[Silverlakergirl]

1 hour ago, tfred said:

it costs money (coins) to just go to the bathroom in most of Europe.  Sometimes a Euro, maybe less

Yes, I totally forgot about bathrooms, good point!

[sharkster77]

YES--we got out of the cab from the ship at the Basel train station and we needed to use facilities.  Had to go to ATM, then go to another window to change large bills into coins, then figure out how the coin operated bathrooms worked---amazing we had no accidents!!!!

 

Men's room had two options:  a stall which cost the same as the ladies room, and a cheaper "pissoir"--you can easily figure that one out!  Oh, the adventures of overseas travel.....

 

BTW--Viking arranged the cab for us, and we were able to pay for the cab with credit card.  We had been told the cabbie would accept euros if that was all we had, since the Swiss often go shopping in cheaper Germany and could spend the euros there.

Edited May 5, 2021 by sharkster77

[Host Jazzbeau]

5 hours ago, sharkster77 said:

We have a AAA Visa card that has no foreign transaction fees.  We use that and a Capital One Quicksilver card overseas.   Warning:  we requested a high limit on both, as they would be used should we need emergency, short-notice airfare home.  Capital One last winter reduced the limit by TWO THIRDS!  I paid every bill on time.  When questioned, they said too bad, but because of COVID they've had lots of people not pay their bills, so they had to lower our debt exposure.  So, due to the action of others, a dependable customer (me) has to be punished.  Suggestion:  cancel the cards of those who don't pay their bills, and leave the rest of us alone!

 

I said OK, and now only use that card for a couple of auto payments.  They show no faith in me, so I send them less business.

Quicksilver was my first 'travel' card.  But now it sits in the drawer because the Citi Costco card is so much better [as long as you are a Costco member]:  no annual fee, no foreign transaction fees, 3% back on travel purchases (and restaurants everywhere).  [Also 4% back on gas everywhere]  And it's a Visa so accepted everywhere.

[gnome12]

Americans have so much more choice when it comes to no foreign exchange fee credit cards. Because Canadian issuers earn so much off foreign exchange fees, finding cards that don't charge it isn't easy.

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, gnome12 said:

Americans have so much more choice when it comes to no foreign exchange fee credit cards. Because Canadian issuers earn so much off foreign exchange fees, finding cards that don't charge it isn't easy.

One of the good choices in the US is from Barclays, which is a UK bank.  Do they offer something for Canadians?

[gnome12]

27 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

One of the good choices in the US is from Barclays, which is a UK bank.  Do they offer something for Canadians?

Not to my knowledge. I do have a card, but there aren’t a lot of choices. Mine used to give 1% back, but they dropped that benefit for foreign currency transactions. 

[ljandgb]

We saw a few places in Amsterdam that were credit card only.  No cash accepted.

[gnome12]

9 minutes ago, ljandgb said:

We saw a few places in Amsterdam that were credit card only.  No cash accepted.

I find that amazing. It wasn't that long ago that the Netherlands were quite anti credit cards; many places were cash only. Times do change.

[QueenofEverything]

While you can use your cards for most things, you will definitely need cash for the Christmas Markets.

 

[dogs4fun]

14 hours ago, ljandgb said:

We saw a few places in Amsterdam that were credit card only.  No cash accepted.

Interesting - I've never noticed any shops in AMS that accepted only credit cards. AFAIK, until relatively recently, credit cards were not widely used in AMS (except by tourists). 

I've also noticed that cash is "king" in Germany. 

[notamermaid]

1 hour ago, dogs4fun said:

I've also noticed that cash is "king" in Germany. 

Covid has changed that to some extent. Now many places have signs up requesting you to pay with a card. Sometimes this means only EC card, our German debit card system.

 

Make sure to have some cash. If taken from an ATM, choose the denominations, i.e. smaller notes, not just 50 euros, or if you do not do that, go for a number like 95 or 115, so you do not end up with one 100 euro note. Small places may not accept them. Bakeries do not like it when you pay for an item of 1.50 euros with a 50 euro note at 9am...

 

A place that is not close to Switzerland does not take Swiss Francs.

 

notamermaid

 

[Canal archive]

You are lucky in the USA having a no currency charge BC I’m a Brit with a BC and a Barclays Bank account and will try again to get on with no exchange fees, wish me luck. By the way Barclaycard is technically a separate company from the bank. CA

[dogs4fun]

53 minutes ago, notamermaid said:

Covid has changed that to some extent. Now many places have signs up requesting you to pay with a card. Sometimes this means only EC card, our German debit card system.

Good to know - so a debit card with chip & pin would also work? Do you think that this will be a permanent change?

[notamermaid]

Chip and pin debit card if it has the acceptance logo and the other sign on the back - or something. I am useless at this stuff to be honest. I only ever use my EC card, I think the word is not even correct anymore I am just used to it. It is chip and pin, sometimes a signature is requested, depending on machine system used in shops. Some shops put a minimum limit, i.e. only card over 5 euros or so. But again, Covid has changed things. To be honest, due to the charges for credit cards here in Germany I have never tried to get one. I am a cash person. Or use my debit card.

 

You can read a bit about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debit_card#Germany

 

notamermaid

 

[sharkster77]

We've been to 6 European countries and have never had a problem with our chip and sign cards.  I've heard that some Americans have obtained chip and PIN cards, but it seems like pulling teeth to get one.

 

This thread has gotten off on a tangent, but a useful tangent nonetheless!