Euro

We will have to deal with Euros for the first time on a cruise in the
Med that will hit Italy + Greece. Is the best way to deal with Euros
by using my credit card? If they don't take credit cards what is the
best way to handle transactions?
Thanks for the help.

Depends on if your bank charges a surcharge on credit card transactions, and
if they do how much for the exchange. Call and ask.

If you need bills, ATM's are usually the best way to get them, again if your
bank doesn't hit you for a percentage for the exchange fee or a large fee
for taking out money overseas.

If you are an AAA member, check here before you go. some local AAA offices
offer very good exchange rates at no fee.


"BillD" wrote in message
...
We will have to deal with Euros for the first time on a cruise in the
Med that will hit Italy + Greece. Is the best way to deal with Euros
by using my credit card? If they don't take credit cards what is the
best way to handle transactions?
Thanks for the help.

On 04/05/2004 6:03 PM BillD wrote:

We will have to deal with Euros for the first time on a cruise in the
Med that will hit Italy + Greece. Is the best way to deal with Euros
by using my credit card? If they don't take credit cards what is the
best way to handle transactions?
Thanks for the help.


Barter Goods and Services? I don't know. If your credit card is not
accepted, nor is US dollars then the alternative is pay with the local
currency. In Mexico there are ATMs that will allow you to withdraw
funds using your ATM Card. These give out Pesos.

Most ships have a port of call shopping adviser. He/she would be best
able to answer this question. You might also ask them if there are local
ATM machines where you can get Euros. Also most ship's Purser's Offices
are able to exchange your money for the local currency. However, quite
often they won't change any excess back.

--
________
To email me, Edit "xt" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

Mike's advice is right on target.

Note that PIN entry systems on ATMs sometimes vary, e.g.,
instead of 6 digits, only 4 might be required, or the keypad
may be only numbers, so if you have memorized your PIN in
letters, you need to be able to convert it to numbers.

Most of the ATM networks and credit card issuers have online
ATM/cash machine finders for locations worldwide, so if you
are very concerned about being able to find an ATM, you can
input your destination and target a few ATM locations. But
in the popular Euro port cities, you will not have any
problem finding ATMs.

Both VISA and Amex have pre-loaded money cards that you can
use at ATMs around the world. (MasterCard may, also, I just
don't have personal knowledge of their products.) I haven't
compared all of the options (debit, charge/credit and
pre-paid money cards) for transaction fees, conversion
rates, etc., but I am thinking these pre-paid cards (which
one or both vendors allow you to load with Euros) might
allow you to avoid incurring a per transaction fee? One
benefit is that if you lose them, they are worthless in the
hands of the finder. Here's where you can learn more about
the VISA "TravelMoney" cards and the American Express
"TravelFunds" cards.

http://usa.visa.com/personal/cards/v...vel_money.html

http://www10.americanexpress.com/sif...1,18622,00.asp


Have a great trip!


Depends on if your bank charges a surcharge on credit card
transactions, and if they do how much for the exchange.
Call and ask.
If you need bills, ATM's are usually the best way to get
them, again if your bank doesn't hit you for a percentage
for the exchange fee or a large fee for taking out money
overseas.
If you are an AAA member, check here before you go. some
local AAA offices offer very good exchange rates at no
fee.


Diana Ball
near Houston, TX

On our last couple of trips they were about as common as ATM's were, it was
fairly obvious they didn't want people in pestering the tellers to change
small amounts of money.

Also, some ATM's around the world offer you the choice of currency, at
Copenhagen's airport, you have 4 choices for which currency you want out of
it.



"Thomas E. Parody" wrote in message
news:zDmcc.80230$w54.447129@attbi_s01...
I don't know how universal it is, but when I was on the Golden Princess,
they had onboard a machine that converted various currencies (US dollars,
Canadian dollars, etc.) to Euros and vice versa. I found this to be
extremely convenient. I don't believe that there was a markup over daily
exchange levels and there was no fee involved. Only paper currency was
exchanged so one had to be aware of how many coins they were carrying
around. If nothing else, they could be used for tips and the credit cards
could be used for large purposes.

"BillD" wrote in message
...
We will have to deal with Euros for the first time on a cruise in the
Med that will hit Italy + Greece. Is the best way to deal with Euros
by using my credit card? If they don't take credit cards what is the
best way to handle transactions?
Thanks for the help.

I don't know how universal it is, but when I was on the Golden Princess,
they had onboard a machine that converted various currencies (US dollars,
Canadian dollars, etc.) to Euros and vice versa. I found this to be
extremely convenient. I don't believe that there was a markup over daily
exchange levels and there was no fee involved. Only paper currency was
exchanged so one had to be aware of how many coins they were carrying
around. If nothing else, they could be used for tips and the credit cards
could be used for large purposes.

"BillD" wrote in message
...
We will have to deal with Euros for the first time on a cruise in the
Med that will hit Italy + Greece. Is the best way to deal with Euros
by using my credit card? If they don't take credit cards what is the
best way to handle transactions?
Thanks for the help.

We will have to deal with Euros for the first time on a cruise in the
Med that will hit Italy + Greece. Is the best way to deal with Euros
by using my credit card? If they don't take credit cards what is the
best way to handle transactions?
Thanks for the help.


The ship will handle the exchange. The Celebrity Millenium sold me Euros at a
fairly good rate. I'd buy from your local bank before leaving and use the
ships exchange for additional currency. BTW: The dollar is not accepted in
most European ports and its value is low versus the Euro.

On Tue, 06 Apr 2004 00:14:23 GMT, "Thomas E. Parody"
wrote:

I don't know how universal it is, but when I was on the Golden Princess,
they had onboard a machine that converted various currencies (US dollars,
Canadian dollars, etc.) to Euros and vice versa. I found this to be
extremely convenient. I don't believe that there was a markup over daily
exchange levels and there was no fee involved. Only paper currency was
exchanged so one had to be aware of how many coins they were carrying
around. If nothing else, they could be used for tips and the credit cards
could be used for large purposes.

My experience has been that exchange rates and/or service fees on
ships are considerably more expensive than those on land. I don't
know about Princess, though.

My advice is to get cash from a reputable (i.e. bank run) ATM when you
get to shore.

Check your credit card surcharge, also, as these vary from card to
card. You get a very good rate of exchange usually, though, from any
of the major cards.


Mason Barge

"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee."
-- Abraham Lincoln

Thanks for the replies.
We will post a review of our trip when we get back near the end of the
month.



On Tue, 06 Apr 2004 17:51:20 -0400, Mason Barge
wrote:

On Tue, 06 Apr 2004 00:14:23 GMT, "Thomas E. Parody"
wrote:

I don't know how universal it is, but when I was on the Golden Princess,
they had onboard a machine that converted various currencies (US dollars,
Canadian dollars, etc.) to Euros and vice versa. I found this to be
extremely convenient. I don't believe that there was a markup over daily
exchange levels and there was no fee involved. Only paper currency was
exchanged so one had to be aware of how many coins they were carrying
around. If nothing else, they could be used for tips and the credit cards
could be used for large purposes.

My experience has been that exchange rates and/or service fees on
ships are considerably more expensive than those on land. I don't
know about Princess, though.

My advice is to get cash from a reputable (i.e. bank run) ATM when you
get to shore.

Check your credit card surcharge, also, as these vary from card to
card. You get a very good rate of exchange usually, though, from any
of the major cards.


Mason Barge

"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee."
-- Abraham Lincoln

So far by calling my credits card companies, they all charge either a
2 or 3 % surcharge if they have to convert from euro to dollar.


On Tue, 06 Apr 2004 17:51:20 -0400, Mason Barge
wrote:

On Tue, 06 Apr 2004 00:14:23 GMT, "Thomas E. Parody"
wrote:

I don't know how universal it is, but when I was on the Golden Princess,
they had onboard a machine that converted various currencies (US dollars,
Canadian dollars, etc.) to Euros and vice versa. I found this to be
extremely convenient. I don't believe that there was a markup over daily
exchange levels and there was no fee involved. Only paper currency was
exchanged so one had to be aware of how many coins they were carrying
around. If nothing else, they could be used for tips and the credit cards
could be used for large purposes.

My experience has been that exchange rates and/or service fees on
ships are considerably more expensive than those on land. I don't
know about Princess, though.

My advice is to get cash from a reputable (i.e. bank run) ATM when you
get to shore.

Check your credit card surcharge, also, as these vary from card to
card. You get a very good rate of exchange usually, though, from any
of the major cards.


Mason Barge

"If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee."
-- Abraham Lincoln