Dollars or Euros in Med.

[mdmourges]

We are sailing on the Brilliance 8/15/06 (next Tuesday, WOOOO HOOOO!). What currency do people use when the are OFF the ship? Dollars or Euros or perhaps both. And, if you use euros, can you get them on the ship? Thanks.

 

Mark

[Sue L]

Friends of mine are currently on this cruise and they got Euros, remember most of the places you are going are pretty far from the actually ports so it is much different then the caribbean where everyone accepts dollars.

 

 

You might want to get a $100-200 in Euros before you leave for tips, meals etc before you board.

 

 

Hopefully someone who has actually done this will get on, because I am doing this second hand. Have a great cruise!!!

[irishnyc]

The best place to get Euros once you're overseas is with your ATM card. It'll have the best exchange rate, and you won't pay commission like you would at a Bureau de Change. You'll pay an ATM fee, but it'll probably be less than commission, and you'll get the best rate. Even better, just use your credit card wherever you're buying anything. Whenever I go to Europe, I only keep about 50 Euro in cash so that I can pay for small trinkets and things like that.

[threeofus]

Many banks don't have a lot of Euros on hand...they may have to order them. We just went thru this with DD who went to Europe on school trip.

 

Also....call ahead to your credit card company if you plan to do much shopping. The bank put a hold on our debit/credit card during our last cruise because of fraud protection. The amount of activity sent up a red flag. :eek:

I met a woman at the bank when I returned who had the same situation in Europe.

 

That was something I never experienced before.

[Vacation Nut]

That last piece of advice is VERY IMPORTANT. Our credit card was turned off when we were in Europe becasue we had no told them we would be abroad and nowhere on our card was there a customer service number that could be called from Europe (they were all 800 numbers from the USA only!) We were totally stuck. We searched the bank website and again ALL 800 numbers.

 

Anyway, you will need Euros and we got all of ours from ATMs

[samben]

We cruised on The Brilliance in June.........get Euro's. WHAT EVER YOU DO DON'T get travelers checks.......not one place in Europe would take them. We even had Euro Travelers Checks. Thank goodness the ship took them all and exchanged them for Euro's. WE used our credit card when ever possible BUT for the private tours they wanted cash.

 

Have a fantastic time.

[truffles2]

In a pinch you can use US $ for tips, etc. and remember to have some 'change' for the restrooms (hate it!). Also, if you are notifying your credit card about when and where you will be, be sure to include the last day in the airport (last minute purchases)--even if you have an early flight--always time for last minute shopping.

[suzy671]

I would recommend getting euros when you get over there, you can get them at any ATM machine, we did this last year on the Carnival Liberty and it worked out fine.

[songster2]

There's always an exchange at the airport. I've heard they have very good rates. I've also gotten local currency at local banks, kiosks, and on board. Enjoy your cruise!! :D

[Nanatravel]

A good place to "order" Euro's is the AAA. You will have to call and order so they can get them in for you. I believe it is called a Tip Pack.

 

Bon Voyage

[patkat]

I live in Europe and I would say that 99.9% of the time, you have to pay in Euros. The dollar is much weaker than the Euro so there is no advantage for the locals to take your dollars. That said, there are a few McDonalds that will take both and perhaps if you are going to a non-Euro country (Turkey, Croatia) they would be willing to trade in dollars. ATMs generally work (although once in England I had to try three different ones before I got money). Credit cards are accepted some places, but not usually in smaller stores so don't count on that.

[producegirl]

We cruised on The Brilliance in June.........get Euro's. WHAT EVER YOU DO DON'T get travelers checks.......not one place in Europe would take them. We even had Euro Travelers Checks. Thank goodness the ship took them all and exchanged them for Euro's. WE used our credit card when ever possible BUT for the private tours they wanted cash.

 

Have a fantastic time.

We are leaving on the 8/15/06 sailing of the Brilliance. We just came back from the bank and got American Express Euro Traveler Checks. All of the personal guides that we are using want Euro traveler checks. So, that is what we did. Called all the credit card companies to alert them of our trip and which countries we would be in. We also made sure that our bank debit/credit card was also alerted so there would be no hold. We plan on getting our euro dollars at the airport with our debit card. Taking miminal US dollars, the Euro traveler checks, euros and credit cards.

This time next week we should be at the pier and ready to board!!!

Can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[auburn77]

We bought some euros in USA before leaving. Bad mistake. Never had a problem getting them in ATMs over there and exchange rate was much better. Do call your debit card (and credit card) carrier as mentioned and let them know you will be using it in Europe. Croatia took dollars, euros or local currency.

[Desertbelle]

Yep, getting Euros from ATM's is the best way. They are all over the place too.....it seems Europeans are even more addicted to them than we are. :)

 

We took a couple hundred Euro with us, but in hindsight, that was totally unnecessary. There was an exchange machine in the luggage pickup area in Venice, and also an ATM.

 

As for tour operators, check with them because ours asked for credit cards or cash. One of our party had travelers checks and she had a hard time using them.

 

Have a wonderful cruise....I so wish I was heading to Europe!! :D

[Sacstephen]

I am going to be on the Brilliance in the Meditteranean next month. Do you tip staff on board ship with dollars or euros?

[Desertbelle]

I am going to be on the Brilliance in the Meditteranean next month. Do you tip staff on board ship with dollars or euros?

 

We took advantage of the automated tipping and supplimented that with American dollars.

[Newcastle]

I just got back last month from a Med. cruise and the airport, was the worst exchange rate of all the places, ATM's were the best, the ship had a better rate then the airport.

[Bobster]

That last piece of advice is VERY IMPORTANT. Our credit card was turned off when we were in Europe becasue we had no told them we would be abroad and nowhere on our card was there a customer service number that could be called from Europe (they were all 800 numbers from the USA only!) We were totally stuck. We searched the bank website and again ALL 800 numbers.

 

That is quite unusual. All my credit cards have international numbers to call on the back of the card along with the usual 800 numbers used in the states.

 

If you have a scanner, copy both sides of your cards and carry it in a separate place from the cards. If not, write all the information on a separate piece of paper. DW and I carry different cards in case one gets lost/stolen. On our last T/A the bank on the ship changed dollars for Euros. Its always a good idea to notify the credit card companies that you will be out of the country and for how long.