We're taking a 9 - Day Cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines this September that makes calls at the ports of some countries that don't accept Euros.
Any ideas on the easiest and most cost-effective way to change $$'s in these countries?
(Denmark, Sweden and Russia). Thanks much!
See this recent thread covering the same question for a different cruise itinerary. We normally use a debit card to withdraw local cash from ATMs in each country.
Two words - "ATM machine".
Bank ATM. You really won't require much local currency if you're just spending 4-5 hours on the ground in any of those countries. Many shops and restaurants take Visa as they're highly electronic societies.
When we were in St. Petersburg, we had to pay for our own lunches and the restaurants took Visa. Otherwise, our tour guide loaned us money and we settled on a credit card at the end of the second day.
It is actually five words -- Debit card at bank-owned ATM.
With the exception that if you are stopping at any of the Scandinavian countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark) they are nearly cashless societies, you can use a "no Foreign Transaction Fee (FTF)" Credit card for purchases of a dollar or two, and they would prefer it.
We took the same cruise a few years ago. In st. Petersburg since we didn't get the visa, everything was paid for through the private guide we hired, entrance fees, etc. for lunch they took charge card. The souvenir stores we stopped in took any currency you had, dollars, euros, etc. they also accepted credit cards. They only place we needed cash was at the bathrooms at the Peter and Paul Fortress. Our guide gave us the few coins we needed. Even in Tallin we charged everything.
Easiest way is using ATM machine. But I am pretty sure if you have like a visa credit card, you can use it to anywhere because it automatically exchanges the currency.
