Cash on the cruise
 

Is there any reason to have cash on the cruise ship? Do you HAVE to put everything on your sea pass? What about at port? Do most of the restaraunts/bars take U.S. currency?

If you like to gamble you will want some cash.

Depends on the port about taking US or not. More experienced cruisers will answer this for you.

On board you will only use cash for the casino. Actually, many of the cruise lines now allow you to use your sea pass for the slot machines.

If you are sailing the Caribbean or Mexico then U.S. dollars will be fine onshore. In Europe you will need the native currency. i.e. Euros, Pounds, etc.

I suggest that you limit the amount of cash you take on shore and use a credit card for any large purchases. If you are just going to buy a few trinkets, have lunch and a few drinks then cash is fine. Just don't take more than you can afford to lose.

Take care,
Mike

Your agent will be more than happy to answer all of your questions about cash.

Basically, you don't need cash onboard a ship except for two things; gambling and extra gratuities. (And you can even get cash from your onboard account for gambling.) You can also cash a check (usually up to only $100 - $200) and they usually have an ATM onboard, but the fees are usually high.

Normally, alot of people have their gratuities applied against their onboard account and pay for it with credit card - makes life simpler and easier. You can pay those gratuities with cash on most cruise lines if you wish. The only time we use cash is when we order room service since that person is not on the normal gratuity list.

As was already said, in ports you'll need some cash to buy food, drinks, trinkets, etc. Any port in the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, etc. will accept U.S. dollars. Even in alot of major European ports they'll accept U.S. dollars in alot of places, but it's better to carry local currency over there.

One note; if planning to use your ATM card in foreign ports, unlike in the U.S. where you can withdraw cash from your savings or checking accounts, their machines will only allow you to withdraw cash from your checking account. So if you have your extra spending money in your savings account, make sure you transfer it to your checking account before leaving. But there are plenty of ATM's, so we only keep enough cash for spending and get extra cash when needed. We use our credit cards for major purchases.

Pete

Also make sure you call your bank or credit card institutions and let them know you are travelling abroad. They will want to know where you are travelling for security sake. Many times travelers don't do this then wonder why their credit purchase will not go through. Then the traveler has to make a expensive long distance phone call to get things straightened out or just miss the purchase altogether.

Great advice!! Definitely want to do this.

Pete