Currency and cell phones on Eastern Europe trip

As a family of three we did that tour in 2013. I got cash as needed at a bank ATM. When we landed in Prague I picked up cash at the airport to get started. The guide would let us know ahead what currency was going to be needed and approximately how much we may need. They also explained how to exchange it if there was too much left over. I made a point to try to be just short at the end of each country and then, such as at an evening meal, I would step out to a nearby ATM while my family waited at the table and get just right amount of cash I needed to pay the bill. It was fairly easy to leave a country with little or no cash that could not be used in the future. I can't answer your cell phone question as we travel with an emergency cell phone and communicate with family and friends at home through iMessage on WIFI. We have only traveled in Europe on RS Tours and so far have had no need to use a cell phone there.

I assume you are referring to the RS Eastern Europe tour, going through the Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia and Croatia. If so, all of the countries on the tour are in the EU and covered by EU roaming, which is free as of June 15, 2017. Simply buy a SIM card in the first country (C.R. on the RS tour) and use it all the time, just make note of your roaming data allowance, which can differ from the domestic allowance and ensure that credit can also be added online, as you won't be able to buy top-up cards once you leave the Czech Republic.

If you are referring to some other tour or your own trip, you will have to share exactly which countries you'll be visiting as conditions are not the same everywhere.

TMobile works in all the RS Eastern European tour countries. I know that first hand. I never know how to answer the "how much money do I need question" . My wife spends 3x more than I do, so do I recommend based on her habits or mine? The good thing is the majority of the places you come in contact with will take a credit card and there are ATM's all over the place. In the next country you will find an exchange house that will change what cash you have left from the previous country. Sure, you may loose a few percentage points in the transaction, but how much is that? $3?. The cost of food and drink in the places you are visiting is going to be roughly equivelent to the US, or 20% cheaper if you get out of the tourist areas. Does that help any?

Thanks to all of you for your advice/ suggestions! I figured the currency wouldn't really be an issue, but wasn't sure about how easy it is to exchange any leftover currency when going from one country to the next. As far as the cell phone service, I wish we had TMobil, but we have Verizon, so will have to see what plans they offer. However, I do have a European phone, so I suppose I can just get one SIM card when we arrive and use it all over EE, since, as one of you mentioned, as of June 2017, the same SIM card can be used all over Europe? That's really a great benefit!
Any other help is always much appreciated!!
Happy travels to all!😉

The same SIM card could have been used all over Europe before, too, but now you won't be charged extra for using it in other European Union countries. Note the distinction - roaming fees have only been abolished within the EU (and Liechtenstein, Iceland and Norway), not in the whole of Europe. That is an important point when travelling in Eastern Europe, where many countries are not part of the EU.

IF you are on the RS tour, the guide will make sure the first stop in each country will be at an ATM to get cash for that country. Exchanging any leftovers is easy enough (or was when I was visiting those countries) with plenty of exchange booths as well as banks willing to do the exchange among those currencies vs the countries using Euros.