Currency onboard

[Trixie21]

We are due on Odyssey next week on the 12 night Holy Land cruise.

Do Royal normally have local currencies available onboard? I'm thinking in particular about Israeli Shekels. We wouldn't require much as we have our credit cards for any larger spending,  but I always like to have a small amount of cash in local currency. 

Someone has told me that Euros may not be widely accepted in Israel , but I'm not sure as to the accuracy of that..

I don't want to get any Shekels in advance if I can help it , as there is always the risk the Israeli ports could be cancelled due to unrest , and I would never use Shekels again.

[Wineaux007]

The ship should have the local currency of the ports you visit.  Just go to Guest Services and get $20 worth of Shekels.

 

Or, you could just go to an ATM when you get there and get a small amount of the local currency.

Edited August 20, 2022 by Wineaux007

[Trixie21]

5 minutes ago, Wineaux007 said:

The ship should have the local currency of the ports you visit.  Just go to Guest Services and get $20 worth of Shekels.

 

Or, you could just go to an ATM when you get there and get a small amount of the local currency.

Thanks.l

We have done a bunch of cruises with Royal but i never knew if they had currency  onboard to purchase.

[IgKh]

Euro and USD are not legal tender in Israel and won't be accepted anywhere. But if you want to tip a tour guide or the like, they'll usually be happy to take Euro.

 

Depending on what you want to do, there is a good you won't need any paper Shekels at all. Credit card acceptance in Israel is nearly universal since the pandemic. Cash might be needed only as a backup and in case you want to take a Taxi maybe (they have an annoying tendency to have their credit card terminals "broken"). As said you can always withdraw some from an ATM.

[Trixie21]

13 minutes ago, IgKh said:

Euro and USD are not legal tender in Israel and won't be accepted anywhere. But if you want to tip a tour guide or the like, they'll usually be happy to take Euro.

 

Depending on what you want to do, there is a good you won't need any paper Shekels at all. Credit card acceptance in Israel is nearly universal since the pandemic. Cash might be needed only as a backup and in case you want to take a Taxi maybe (they have an annoying tendency to have their credit card terminals "broken"). As said you can always withdraw some from an ATM.

Thanks also.

Again , I didn't know that Euro and USD are not legal tender,

We have a private tour booked with guided tours Israel and they want payment at the end of it in USD , which I found strange but I did email to confirm this was correct. I'm sure they have their reasons!

[orville99]

38 minutes ago, Wineaux007 said:

Or, you could just go to an ATM when you get there and get a small amount of the local currency.

Local ATMs usually charge a high premium over and above the daily exchange currency rate (which will eventually show up on your credit card statement) for these types of foreign transactions. I'd try to find an open bank. At least there you would only have the exchange rate adjustments.

[Maria63]

If I remember correctly from 4 years ago, the ship didn't exchange to lesser used currencies, like the Shekel. But the Ashdod cruise port building did have an exchange counter, at least back then.

[arste]

3 hours ago, Trixie21 said:

We are due on Odyssey next week on the 12 night Holy Land cruise.

Do Royal normally have local currencies available onboard? I'm thinking in particular about Israeli Shekels. We wouldn't require much as we have our credit cards for any larger spending,  but I always like to have a small amount of cash in local currency. 

Someone has told me that Euros may not be widely accepted in Israel , but I'm not sure as to the accuracy of that..

I don't want to get any Shekels in advance if I can help it , as there is always the risk the Israeli ports could be cancelled due to unrest , and I would never use Shekels again.

Hi, We are going on the same cruise in October and I am  trying to figure out how many shekels we will need to get.  We are also using the same tour guide.  I am very interested in your 3 days in Israel.  Please follow up when you return.  Have a great cruise!

Arlene😎