Benita

We're going on a 8-day cruise to the Scandinavian capitals and to Tallinn and St. Petersburg plus an additional few days in Copenhagen and Stockholm the first two weeks in August. My understanding is that euros are only used in Finland, although Denmark and Sweden are also part of the EU. What currency should we bring? Just euros, and would they be accepted in Denmark, Sweden, Estonia and Russia, or do we have to bring all these different currencies? Would traveler's checks be a good idea? How safe is it to use credit cards in Russia? We're hoping we could avoid having to get too many different kinds of currencies. Any ideas? Not planning to spend too much money in each port, maybe a couple hundred dollars in each country for souvenirs, snacks, taxis etc. since we're sleeping on the ship (Seven Seas Mariner) and having most of our meals there.
Please help!

Benita

Denise

I just returned from Sweden and nowhere did I see the Euro accepted. We used kronar everywhere--the exchange rate was great by the way. I've never taken a Seven Seas cruise, but 've been on other cruise lines in Europe, and it's been my experience that you can exchange dollars for local currency on the cruise ship before you get into port. I'd suggest checking with the cruise line or travel agent if you have one before loading up on lots of different currencies.

Gitta

- euros for Finland
- rubles for Russia
- krooni for Estonia
- Swedish crowns for Sweden
- Danish crowns for Denmark

That´s what you need, sorry. Euros are not accepted except in Finland. Or if they are, the exchange rate is understandably horrible, because they have to cover their own exchange expenses.

Travellers checks are not a good idea. Only banks accept those. Use ATM´s (which are in every nook and corner also in Tallinn) and credit cards. I have used a credit card also in St.Petersburg, but only in a hotel and a respectable looking department store where they did not take it out of my sight. I did not dare to give it to the waitress in a restaurant, so there I payed with rubles.

Perhaps you just use an ATM in every harbour or exchange some dollars in the nearest bank.

Kris

We took a similar cruise last year. We were able to find ATMs in each city and did not bring any foreign currency with us. We brought along some US currency to pay for a guide in St. Petersburg, for tips on the ship and some small US bills for buying souvenirs in St. Petersburg.

If you are sticking with the ship tours like most people in St. Petersburg, you will not likely have any need for rubles. If you are using a private guide (which I would recommend over the ship tours), they will most likely accept USD for payment and will take you places where USD are accepted or can help you find a place to exchange money. We did use an ATM in St. Petersburg with no problem, I had read to only use the ATMs at banks so we found one on Nevsky Prospect. You should be able to use credit cards in dept stores, museums and better restaurants but personally I wouldn't use them anywhere else.

We did not need to exchange any money in Tallinn as most places took USD-the sweater market and the antique stores did. The only place that wouldn't take USD was a little convenience store. Tallinn has ATMs though so you can get a small amount of local currency if you need it.

One caveat about exchanging money on the ship. We did it on RCCL in the Med. and the exchange rate was horrible but we needed it to use the trains. You shouldn't have to use public transport in any of these ports as they will either dock close enough to walk or provide a shuttle if you are further out.

Benita

Thank you so much for all your responses. This will help us a lot in deciding what to do. Last summer while in Denmark and Holland, we did use ATM machines with no problems, and that may be the way we'll go this time, too. The Seven Seas Mariner does have currency exchange available, but the rates would surely not be the best. We're very excited especially about the St.Petersburg experience since we've never been there before.

Thanks again!

Benita