Cayman Dollars

[nothomeonacruise]

I wanted to relate an experience we had in the Grand Cayman islands in 2005. We ate at an outdoor restaurant on one end of the main street along the water. The bill came and we ended up paying much more than we realized. We didn't realize that the prices were in Cayman dollars. We ended up paying almost 13.00 for a sandwich when we paid with American money!

I know it was our own fault for not realizing the difference.

 

I'm not sure of the exchange rate for American dollars, but I'll learn it next time we visit Grand Cayman.

[bruce-r]

The exchange rate is fixed. $1 CD = $1.25 US. $1 US = $.80 CD

[drew sailbum]

Out of curiosity, what currency would you expect prices to be listed in for stops in Mexico? Jamaica?

 

Why is it considered surprising that prices in Cayman would be listed in Cayman dollars?

[nothomeonacruise]

Out of curiosity, what currency would you expect prices to be listed in for stops in Mexico? Jamaica?

 

Why is it considered surprising that prices in Cayman would be listed in Cayman dollars?

 

 

In other countries, they say pesos..etc.. These prices were listed like American dollars..example: $8.00. We weren't the only ones who were not aware, as other people told us the same thing happened to them.

 

As I said, we SHOULD have realized they weren't American dollars.

 

Thanks for asking WHY.:rolleyes:

[drew sailbum]

Travellers take note: You're not in Kansas anymore.

 

The Cayman Islands has its own dollar.

In Jamaica, it is Jamaican dollars.

Over much of the Eastern Caribbean, it is the Eastern Caribbean dollar.

Austrailia operates on the Austrailian dollar.

The Bahamas has the Bahamian dollar.

The currency in Belize also is called the dollar.

Bermuda joins the list as a dollar economy.

Let's add Canada, Brunei, New Zealand, Fiji, Guyana, Hong Kong, Liberia, The Federated States of Micronesia, Namibia, Palau, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, Suriname, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, and Zimbabwe to the coutries with their own dollar currency.

 

And a few foreign countries use a more familiar dollar... The Turks and Caicos, East Timor, Panama, and Ecuador use the US Dollar as thier legal tender.

 

And some places use familiar markings such as the $ symbol to designate their local currency. This is widely used in coutires with dollar or peso economies. It is also used to represent the Nicaraguan Córdoba, Cape Verdean escudo, and the Tongan paánga.

[nothomeonacruise]

Thanks Drew.

 

We've been in other places, including Jamaica, but this was the first time it happened to us. I just wanted others to be aware of it.

 

By the way, we aren't from Kansas ;)

[bruce-r]

To add to the confusion, at least in Cozumel, sometimes the prices are in US$, especially in the tourist areas. If you get away from the typical tourist areas, the prices are in Pesos. The US$ is widely accepted there at a 10 to 1 exchange rate.

[ballarinamom]

I think the biggest surprise is that Cayman is one of the few ports based on the British pound. We are used to a favorable exchange rate in the caribbean. I remember our first shocker in Cayman over 15 years ago when we went as college students. We thought prices would be like Mexico!HAH!!!! Like OP, many people don't think about it until it's too late