Pam

I'm leaving on a Med. cruise in two weeks. Do I need to take any foreign currency? Can I exchange easily on the ship? Or in port? I am totally at a loss.

sandy

Your travel agent should be able to give you some good advice about money. But I can help. Yes, you can exchange money on the ship, although you may not get the best rate. You can always go to an ATM in port and use your bank card to withdraw money in the local currency. Then you WILL get the best rate. But do you really want to spend your valuable time in port chasing down an ATM? My advice: Do it on the ship. It's a lot easier. And if you're going from country to country, you can just exchange one currency for another. You should definitely take some US$$ though, for tipping the staff. Some cruise lines allow you to charge the tips to your account, but check almost all the cabin stewards and waiters I've ever talked with prefer cash-in-hand.

kristi

It was easy to change money on the ship but the commission rate was very high (on RCCL at least),at least a 10% commission by my calculations, both changing into foreign currency and to change back into your own currency. Most large cities have an abundance of ATM machines (usually the best exchange rate), currency exchanges and banks to change money so I would probably get a small amount on the boat or before I left home to get me where I was going. The smaller cities, like Civitavecchia, Villefranche and Taormina, were a little tougher to find ATM's in. <BR> <BR>It would also depend on how you are seeing the cities. We traveled independently so we had plenty of opportunities to find ATM's, but still needed a little foreign currency for the train or a taxi. If you are on an escorted tour, you may not have an opportunity to wander around to find an ATM. <BR> <BR>Sandy's also got a good point about US cash. We actually ran out on one cruise and didn't have enough to leave tips for the staff. RCCL had an ATM machine but Princess did not. RCCL allowed you to put tips on your credit card but it was a set amount per person that you could divide among the people you wanted to tip.

vickie

Sandy is right about everything, especially bringing US$ for tips. You can either bring the actual currency that you plan to give as tips with you (lots of 5, 10 and 20 dollar bills) or you can bring travelers checks/larger bills ($100) which the bank/pursers desk on board ship will change into smaller bills for you (no charge for that!)

Paige

Pam- <BR>I went on a Med cruise earlier this summer and found that it was a much better exchange rate if I waited and exchanged my money in the port cities rather than on the ship. As another poster mentioned, they took commissions on the ship exchange. There were always exhange places available and if you looked around there was usually a good rate to be found. As others said, be sure to bring cash for tips. Also, use a credit card for purchases in ports if possible as the credit card co. will then have to deal with the exchange rate. Seemed to work in our favor once we got our bill. Have fun!

judy

If you run out of cash..you can always get some in the casino. Use your credit card at the cashiers window. <BR>Have a great cruise

Pam

You all were terrific!!! Now, how many people will I be tipping - steward, waiters, ?

kristi

You will most likely be tipping your room steward and waiter for sure, possibly the assistant waiter and wine steward, if you use them. Some people tip the head waiter and the maitre'd. The cruise line should give you guidelines, which of course you can ignore, but it gives you an idea of what is "expected" if the service is to your liking.

Cash

Further to the tipping question - we always take US$ for tipping and keep it in a separate envelope away from our "spending money". That way we don't panic if we spend our cash and the servers don't get cheated. Cruise line will give tipping guidlines with final documents. Agree with the use of ATMs or credit cards at all possible times. Use very little cash of any currency. <BR>

fran

<BR>Just there - use your atm, great exchange rate. I used my Visa for any "large purchases" and also for the tips at the end of the cruise. I never take much cash and only once have I had a problem - South America. I only take small bills in US dollars as getting change can be tricky.