Caribbean Cruiser Curious concerning Cash.....
March 9, 2025 4:56 PM Subscribe
Most tips are included, but how much cash do you generally bring for excursions and your room steward, etc?
Next month, Other Half and I are going on a cruise! Yay! It's our first one together, and the first one in years for both of us. We did an inclusive package for "gratuities" but we also want to thank those who go above and beyond for us with cash. Plus we don't want credit card fees if possible. We're not big shoppers, so we're not looking to buy high ticket items at all. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!
Next month, Other Half and I are going on a cruise! Yay! It's our first one together, and the first one in years for both of us. We did an inclusive package for "gratuities" but we also want to thank those who go above and beyond for us with cash. Plus we don't want credit card fees if possible. We're not big shoppers, so we're not looking to buy high ticket items at all. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!
I'm assuming you're in N America for my answer. Most cruise lines don't allow any payments by cash, even for tips. They want a closed ecosystem and cash is not part of it.
For offship, if you're going someplace dollar dominated take small bills, mostly 5s and 10s to buy whatever. Souvenirs, drinks, what have you. If you're going somewhere euro denominated, don't bother with cash unless it's your local currency. Every place takes cards, you'll deal with more hassles and fees getting euros than just paying with a card. Same for the £.
Japan or China is a different beast. I've never taken an Asian cruise but I've heard Japan is still a cash society for the most part. Cruise critic may have more info on those types of cruises.
posted by fiercekitten at 7:01 PM on March 10
For offship, if you're going someplace dollar dominated take small bills, mostly 5s and 10s to buy whatever. Souvenirs, drinks, what have you. If you're going somewhere euro denominated, don't bother with cash unless it's your local currency. Every place takes cards, you'll deal with more hassles and fees getting euros than just paying with a card. Same for the £.
Japan or China is a different beast. I've never taken an Asian cruise but I've heard Japan is still a cash society for the most part. Cruise critic may have more info on those types of cruises.
posted by fiercekitten at 7:01 PM on March 10
As far as on-board is concerned, the only way you will be able to use cash is to buy 'cruise credit' or whatever your cruise line calls it from the help desk. All payments on-board will be via a card supplied by the cruise company. That doesn't mean, of course, that you can't slip crew members a bit of cash, although I think all but cabin housekeeping crew will politely reject it. We've done a couple of cruises over the past year or so and have tipped the cabin crew AU$20 per day, despite tips being explicitly included in the fare.
Onshore depends a lot on where you are going. Just about everywhere will accept US$ and most places that cruise ships frequent will accept pretty much any major currency as well as Visa or Mastercard (don't even try Amex). Make sure you know what overseas transactions will cost if you use your card and note that some banks don't charge for these (we bank with ING who refund all overseas transaction costs).
As well as fora like CruiseCritics, there is probably a Facebook group or 12 specific to the ship you are going on and these can be a good source of inside info as well as a healthy dose of eye-rolling.
Have fun!
posted by dg at 10:34 PM on March 10
Onshore depends a lot on where you are going. Just about everywhere will accept US$ and most places that cruise ships frequent will accept pretty much any major currency as well as Visa or Mastercard (don't even try Amex). Make sure you know what overseas transactions will cost if you use your card and note that some banks don't charge for these (we bank with ING who refund all overseas transaction costs).
As well as fora like CruiseCritics, there is probably a Facebook group or 12 specific to the ship you are going on and these can be a good source of inside info as well as a healthy dose of eye-rolling.
Have fun!
posted by dg at 10:34 PM on March 10
Data point from occasional cruisers! We've been on 4 cruises - two on Holland America and two on Viking - all ocean-going. 3 out of 4 were European, 1 was the Panama Canal transit. We've always pre-paid gratuities, but always leave cash at the end for cabin stewards. We only left cash for the Holland America dining staff (waiter and wine person) because we had the same team/same table for dinners - they learn fast what you like and take great care of you.
We gave an envelope at the end (gosh, bring envelopes, they can be hard to come by on the ship for some reason!) with $10 per day for the cabin staff to split, and $10 per day for the dining staff to split, and again, this is over and above the pre-paid gratuities. We handed the envelope to our "main" steward and our waiter with a note of thanks.
Casually listening to others, I heard everything from "they've already been tipped so we don't leave anything extra" to "a dollar a day" to "what you're only leaving $10?" As a former service worker, I believe in tipping to recognize awesomeness, but it all depends on your means and personal POV. Happy to chat via MeMail if you have any other questions!
posted by ersatzkat at 6:50 AM on March 11
We gave an envelope at the end (gosh, bring envelopes, they can be hard to come by on the ship for some reason!) with $10 per day for the cabin staff to split, and $10 per day for the dining staff to split, and again, this is over and above the pre-paid gratuities. We handed the envelope to our "main" steward and our waiter with a note of thanks.
Casually listening to others, I heard everything from "they've already been tipped so we don't leave anything extra" to "a dollar a day" to "what you're only leaving $10?" As a former service worker, I believe in tipping to recognize awesomeness, but it all depends on your means and personal POV. Happy to chat via MeMail if you have any other questions!
posted by ersatzkat at 6:50 AM on March 11
Also, we have a debit card that refunds ATM transaction fees, so for excursions and little bits of shopping, we use local ATMs. We actually do this everywhere we travel - ships or no - we have a few little ziplock bags of euros, pesos, and pounds from previous trips.
posted by ersatzkat at 6:53 AM on March 11
posted by ersatzkat at 6:53 AM on March 11
You are not logged in, either login or create an account to post comments
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 6:05 AM on March 10