I have booked a Baltic Cruise for July 2026 with 2 stops each in Denmark (Copenhagen + Skagen), Sweden (Stockholm + Visby) and Germany (Hamburg + Kiel), as well as Helsinki and Tallinn. I know in most stops the Euro is used, but both Sweden and Denmark use their own currency. I have some Euros in cash from a previous trip, but was wondering how beneficial it would be to have cash in the other currencies (though I realize many businesses have gone cashless or take cards).
Thanks!
For shore excursions you’ll probably be okay with just plastic. If a street vendor in Denmark or Sweden only accepts cash he or she will probably take Euros, albeit at a poor exchange rate, to avoid losing a sale. Alternatively you could take Euros with you and change a small quantity into Danish or Swedish currency on the ship. Good luck with the trip!
We have cruised a lot and found that we usually could save a lot of $$ by booking private tours instead of the ship's excursions.
If you do that, you might need to take cash.
Consider comparing the prices of such tours against the usually expensive ship's excursions.
https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles/best-baltic-cruise-shore-excursions
https://shoreexplore.com
Don't bother getting the local kronor currency. Everything, and I mean everything in Denmark and Sweden can be purchased by card, as well as in Estonia. Euros are very good to have many places in Germany, though.
By the way, don't get your heart set on actually docking at Visby. The ocean can get pretty rough there, and ships often are forced to forgo the port. But you'll love the cruise; it's a beautiful part of the world!
We purchased $100 for each currency for our Baltic cruise this fall
Purchased the currency for Denmark and Sweden from our bank and sold the unused currency back to them when we got home
Much appreciated for all the replies!
This can be solved quite easily by using ATMs. Sure there will be some who eschew that approach, but it works. There are ATMs readily available all over and if you have the appropriate card then you will incur NO transaction fee and have ALL ATM fees reimbursed.
Otherwise use your CC. That works also. Any place not taking your CC, then move on to another. Have you missed a chance of a lifetime? Or a trinket or meal that will not make a difference.
Such is life.
Be glad of all this convenience. In the past you had no CCs, and for cash you had to find banks and their open hours or money exchangers and their fees.
Or you can go to your bank and arrange to get currency for the Euros or other you think you may need. Of course, how much? Maybe it is enough when there or too much and bring it home.
