When you are planning a cruise, you need to make sure that you have cash to spend. There are many wonderful experiences you will enjoy during your cruise, but you cannot have a good time if you do not have the money you need. There are a few options for money transfers when you get on a cruise ship, and you need to decide what works best for you.
Bring Cash Onboard
Your best option is to bring American dollars onboard the ship when you start the journey. You could use your cash in the ship casino if it has one, and you can convert your American bills to any other currency when you get to your next destination. However, American dollars are useful because some vendors in foreign countries would prefer to have American dollars.
Is There An ATM?
There may be an ATM on the cruise ship. You need to do some research before going on your cruise because you do not know if you can withdraw money any time you like. If the ship has an ATM, you need to know how much it charges to withdraw money. The fee for each withdrawal depends on your bank, the bank that manages the machine, and any fees the cruise line may charge.
Have Money Transferred To Each Destination
You can have money transferred to each destination to ensure that you have cash waiting for you when you arrive. If you transfer money to Colombia from the US, you need to decide on an amount that makes sense for your travels. Plus, you need to know where you will pick up your money.
When you have money transferred to each new location, you need to know if a transfer office is accessible. Some destinations do not have a transfer office that will be easy to reach. Because of this, you may need to make a special trip just to get your money. You may pay too much to use an international ATM, or you may need to save your money until you get to a destination that has a transfer office.
Budget Properly
When you find out where you are going, you must budget properly for each destination. You can never know precisely how much money you will spend in each location, but you can approximate how much money you will need. You could use an online transfer system to send the money to yourself from an app, or you could ask someone from home to transfer the money to each new destination.
If you only need a small amount of money for each destination, you can avoid carrying around large amounts of cash. If you have someone you can call at home who has your card or bank information, they can send the money to each new location. Make sure that you can get to the transfer office, get your friend to send you a screenshot of the receipt, and pick up your cash as soon as you can.
Use The Cruise Line’s Cash Program
Some cruise lines have a cash program that allows you to buy in, use a special card or wristband, and shop on the cruise ship as much as you want. When this is the case, you can save the cash in your wallet because you are using the cruise line’s program to make purchases on the boat.
A cruise ship has a staff member called a purser or bursar onboard who can help make change or convert traveler’s cheques into cash. However, most cruise lines have a limit on how much cash they will convert for passengers. There could be thousands of people on the boat, and there is only so much cash in the ship’s vault.
Check Exchange Rates
If you are traveling to multiple locations during your cruise, you might want to pick up cash in the country that has the best exchange rate. You can research exchange rates before your trip starts. When you send the money, you can pick the country with the best rate, and you can pick up enough ash for much of the trip in one place.
For example, you can transfer money to Colombia from the US if that exchange rate is the best rate of your trip.
Conclusion
The money transfers that you send during your vacation can arrive at a transfer office close to the docks, or you can get cash on the cruise ship. Money transfers carry the lowest fees, and you can have someone back home send the money to you so that you do not need to worry about it while you are traveling. Pick a stop on your cruise that will make picking up cash simple, visit the purser, use an ATM on the ship, or enroll in the cruise line’s cash program.
