Can USD be used in Canada ports?

[Trish Traveler]

This feels like a dumb question, but will we need to exchange USD for Canadian for spending in port?  Or is USD accepted?  Visiting Saint John, NB and Sydney, NS.

TIA

[BklynBoy8]

10 minutes ago, Trish Traveler said:

This feels like a dumb question, but will we need to exchange USD for Canadian for spending in port?  Or is USD accepted?  Visiting Saint John, NB and Sydney, NS.

TIA

 

They would be happy for your USD donation to their economy.

 

Your may get Canadian back in some cases unless you try too ask.

[princeton123211]

1 hour ago, Trish Traveler said:

This feels like a dumb question, but will we need to exchange USD for Canadian for spending in port?  Or is USD accepted?  Visiting Saint John, NB and Sydney, NS.

TIA

Why would you? $1 US is currently $1.28 Canadian. You would be leaving a bunch of money on the table.

 

Use a credit card without a foreign transaction fee or use your US debit card to get cash at a brick and mortar bank's ATM in Canada. 

[riffatsea]

You don't c h ange money these days

You use your ATM card to withdraw Canadian dollars from the Atm

[shipgeeks]

Or exchange some at Guest Services.

[puppycanducruise]

Just use your credit card.  We rarely use cash, even buying a coffee at Tims, we use plastic.

[bookbabe]

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2866754-are-us-dollars-accepted-in-canada/
 

[riffatsea]

2 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

Or exchange some at Guest Services.

The worst exchange rates on the planet at guest services on board a ship!

[Nitemare]

Would CAD be accepted in US Ports?

[shipgeeks]

1 hour ago, riffatsea said:

The worst exchange rates on the planet at guest services on board a ship!

But it is convenient, for the $50 or less that I might want to take ashore.

[riffatsea]

Each person travels differently

Atms are also easy to use

[riffatsea]

1 hour ago, Nitemare said:

Would CAD be accepted in US Ports?

Nope!

Not ever

[njhorseman]

1 hour ago, Nitemare said:

Would CAD be accepted in US Ports?

It doesn't matter and it's not particularly relevant to the question .

 

The number of American tourists visiting countries like Canada, Mexico, and virtually everywhere in the Caribbean is so large that destinations frequented by tourists routinely accept US currency. You may not get a very good exchange rate for your US currency, but it's accepted.

 

On the other hand the population of Canada is only about one eighth of the US population so the number of Canadians visiting the US is small enough that there's not the economic or practical necessity of accepting Canadian currency in the US that there is of accepting US currency in Canada.

[princeton123211]

3 minutes ago, njhorseman said:

 

The number of American tourists visiting countries like Canada, Mexico, and virtually everywhere in the Caribbean is so large that destinations frequented by tourists routinely accept US currency. You may not get a very good exchange rate for your US currency, but it's accepted

Was just up in Montreal two weeks ago-- US currency was accepted at tourist heavy areas at a limited number of establishments-- generally ones that only accepted cash. Usually it was accepted at 1:1 even exchange with a 10% processing fee. 

 

This is a terrible deal for someone paying with US currency. Even at 1:1 you are out .28 cents per dollar spent and then the additional 10% on top. 

 

To be honest cash isn't as important as it once was. Even small kiosks in most larger Canadian cities accept credit cards. Make sure you have a credit card without a foreign transaction fee and you should be able to save a ton. 

[Trish Traveler]

Thanks all.  bookbabe - thanks for the recent link also.  I missed seeing that.

[shof515]

When i was at Halifax back in May, USD dollars was no longer accepted. everywhere now is using credit cards

[GTJ]

21 hours ago, Trish Traveler said:

This feels like a dumb question, but will we need to exchange USD for Canadian for spending in port? Or is USD accepted?

It depends. When paying for local transit bus fares and other government services, generally Canadian dollars are required. Many privately-owned businesses will accept U.S. dollars (but not coins), typically treating each dollar at a premium, say $1.25 or $1.30. Unscrupulous businesses will accept U.S. dollars at par. Almost always change is provided in Canadian dollars (including coins).

[edgee]

Canada is not like the Caribbean where people often use U.S. Dollars in lieu of local currency. Good grief people. It is not hard! Use your credit card for most purchases and get less than $100 Canadian (or appropriate small amount) out of an ATM machine to use for tips and small cab fares...etc. 

[riffatsea]

I don't think it is irrelevant to mention that foreign currency is not accepted in the USA

I think it goes to the entitlement that USA citizens feel when they travel to many other countries

We are the only folks who just expect other countries  to take our dollars

I think it is disrespectful

Others of course may disagree!

[jmwg49]

I would never consider my Canadian dollars to be accepted anywhere but at home. When I travel to the states I have usd.   When I’m in the UK I have pounds and euro in Europe.   It is not only considerate it is what I believe is acceptable.    
 

Credit cards and debit cards are the way to go.   For small amounts; obviously cad is best.   Consider the person receiving your money!    They don’t want to have to go to the bank to exchange the money,   

Edited August 5, 2022 by jmwg49

[bookbabe]

Besides, Canadian money is very pretty in comparison to US paper currency, so you may want to get some as a souvenir anyway, or even just to be able to check it out.

[GTJ]

18 hours ago, riffatsea said:

I think it goes to the entitlement that USA citizens feel when they travel to many other countries. We are the only folks who just expect other countries  to take our dollars. I think it is disrespectful. Others of course may disagree!

A good panoply of thoughts there! Largely in agreement as to a general sense of entitlement, though in many cases I think it arises out of Americans being oblivious or ignorant, as opposed to a purposeful expression of superiority. Yet, there is a legitimacy to the expectation of U.S. dollars being accepted worldwide. The U.S. dollar is a standard used by so much of the world, and particularly valued in regions where the local currency is not stable. In fact, the stability of the U.S. dollar is a reason why some countries use the U.S. dollar as their own currency (e.g., El Salvador, Panama). Prior to the establishment of the U.S. dollar as a stable currency (with Continental dollars being routinely diminished), Americans used the Spanish dollar for that stability. And in that regard the PRC is now trying to replace the U.S. dollar! I do not view it as disrespectful, but at most putting some merchants in an uncomfortable position if dollars are not routinely used in that part of the world and the exchange rate might be not known.

 

20 hours ago, edgee said:

Use your credit card for most purchases and get less than $100 Canadian (or appropriate small amount) out of an ATM machine to use for tips and small cab fares...etc. 

For some of us that is good advice. However, not everyone has a credit card. Just look across the United States and you will see some many check cashing establishments serving the cash-using population that is largely devoid of both credit cards and bank accounts. Some transportation companies make substantial efforts to attract business from this large part of American society that has no access, most notably Greyhound Lines that now allows online ticket purchases using cash paid at 7-Eleven, Walmart, CVS, Casey's, and ACE Cash Express. So for people who rely on cash, the issue of whether to exchange that cash or not can be an important question.

17 hours ago, jmwg49 said:

I would never consider my Canadian dollars to be accepted anywhere but at home. When I travel to the states I have usd.

While Canadian dollars are somewhat stable, the influence of Canada on the rest of the world is so much more limited that Canadian dollars have never taken hold. Canadian dollars are accepted in some parts of the United States, but more as the exception rather than the rule. In Hyder, Alaska, and in Estcourt, Maine, the local economy uses Canadian dollars instead of U.S. dollars because each of the two communities is more closely connected with Canada than with the United States. Other border towns will accept Canadian dollars as a convenience, sometimes even actively promoting the acceptance at par to encourage Canadian shoppers and visitors. And in parts of Florida will also accept Canadian dollars because of some many Canadian snowbirds going to visit. Otherwise, once past the border zone, Canadian dollars are useless in the Untied States.

[edgee]

11 minutes ago, GTJ said:

For some of us that is good advice. However, not everyone has a credit card. Just look across the United States and you will see some many check cashing establishments serving the cash-using population that is largely devoid of both credit cards and bank accounts. Some transportation companies make substantial efforts to attract business from this large part of American society that has no access, most notably Greyhound Lines that now allows online ticket purchases using cash paid at 7-Eleven, Walmart, CVS, Casey's, and ACE Cash Express. So for people who rely on cash, the issue of whether to exchange that cash or not can be an important question.

While your point us relevant to some, it is almost completely irrelevant to this audience as virtually all cruisers carry credit or at least debit cards. Anyway, I was making the point that using Canadian currency is the courteous and appropriate thing to do.

[GTJ]

10 hours ago, edgee said:

While your point us relevant to some, it is almost completely irrelevant to this audience as virtually all cruisers carry credit or at least debit cards. Anyway, I was making the point that using Canadian currency is the courteous and appropriate thing to do.

Many people do carry credit or debit cards, but there is also a large number of people who do not. In my family the filing for bankruptcy has precluded some members from not having such cards. As well, I remember myself years ago without the credit history necessary to obtain a credit card. While I was well-traveled, all of my tickets were paid with cash, and I exchanged currency at international borders. Now having credit and credit cards, the burdens of travel have eased for me. While it is a great comfort for those of us who are able to possess these cards, let us not forget about others who may not be as fortunate. While I have been critical of many strategies and practices of Greyhound Lines, their purposeful plan to accommodate persons without credit or debit cards, so as to be able to buy tickets online, deserves accolades for its attention to this group that is oftentimes overlooked (and in some cases diminished or dismissed as irrelevant). "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:4 (RSV-CE).

[PasadenaDave]

On 8/4/2022 at 4:02 PM, GTJ said:

It depends. When paying for local transit bus fares and other government services, generally Canadian dollars are required. Many privately-owned businesses will accept U.S. dollars (but not coins), typically treating each dollar at a premium, say $1.25 or $1.30. Unscrupulous businesses will accept U.S. dollars at par. Almost always change is provided in Canadian dollars (including coins).

A business accepting US Dollars at Par in Canada is not being unscrupulous, rather they are factoring in the hassle associated with time at the bank and the bank charge for the exchange.  When one realizes how little labor is available for retail establishments, I can understand them saying I'll accept at PAR and if you need change, you will get it in CAN $.  This is especially true given the think margins that many small businesses operate on.