Topic: Money? Best as Cash, Travellers cheques or PREPAID CARDS

Looking through cruise answers relating to carrying money about there seems to be nobody but me advocating PREPAID CARDS. WHY?
They are safer than any other form of money and just as conveniemt as a credit/debit card. if your not sure what I'm on about follow this link........


http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money#prepaid


It's hightime we all used them and get all the cruiselines to accept them for on board accounts in addition to credit cards. Pete

You will need to register a normal credit card at the start of any cruise. The cruise line will obtain a pre-authorisation, to check that the card is good for all anticipated expenditure.

With pre-paid cards, electronic payments are deducted immediately from the pre-paid balance, so they can only be used to settle transactions of fixed amounts. Pre-authorisations are not available with pre-paid cards. So don't rely upon pre-paid cards on a cruise ship. Many lines will not accept them.

My subsequent advice assumes that you will be travelling on acruise line that uses the US Dollar (or the Euro) as on-board currency. It will not apply, if sterling is the on-board currency.

A few credit cards do not impose any foreign exchange supplement on transactions in foreign currencies. A no-fees credit card is undoubtedly the best way to pay your cabin account. The Post Office credit card (MasterCard) is very good and I believe Abbey / Santander also issue no fees cards.

However, some cruise lines try to convert the balance of your cabin account into sterling - and charge an additional 3% for the privilege. If you use a no-fees credit card to pay your cabin account, you must instruct the cruise line in advance that they should bill your credit card in US dollars - and NOT convert the balance into sterling.

I also take US Dollar travelers' checks as a reserve - just in case. I order the travelers checks on-line from Travelex, who guarantee to offer the best exchange rates. You can use US dollar travelers checks on board the ship to pay the balance of your cabin account (if you wish). You can also exchange them for cash (US Dollars) at the purser's desk.

When you go ashore, you will need to pay for everything in local currency (cash, credit card or travelers checks).

The choice will depend upon the destination. In the USA, you will require US Dollars. In Canada, you will need Canadian Dollars. Throughout most of Europe, you will pay in Euros. In Iceland (where the economy has collapsed), you should pay for virtually everything by credit card.

In many third world countries, local people often prefer US Dollars to their own currency. US Dollars are accepted (or can be exchanged) virtually everywhere, so always take plenty of small denomination US Dollar bills.

When you purchase foreign currencies and Travelers' checks from Travelex, you can also opt to pay a small supplement, which entitles you to return any unused currency or checks to Travelex at the same exchange rate that you purchased them. It follows that if you pay the supplement, the overall cost of your initial purchase and the subsequent encashment at Travelex can never exceed the amount of the supplement.

I always use Caxton FX Card, this is a pre-paid Mastercard and they do USD or euro cards, good exchange rates and easily managed over the internet or via text messages, no charges and card is accepted on cruise lines and anywhere else mastercards are accepted, useful in europe to with draw euros via cash machines when needed. I loaded my USD card when exchange rate was close to 2 to 1 and still have a few hundred dollars left.

Interesting that you say:........ When you go ashore, you will need to pay for everything in local currency (cash, credit card or travelers checks.......as the whole point of a prepaid card is that it does everything a Traveller's Cheque (note correct spelling) does and also works in an ATM to give you local currency, with no charge. As for on board accounts, some people don't have/like credit cards so a prepaid card should be accepted in the same manner as cash, with the added bonus of being a much safer method of travelling with money, by the cruise lines. One other advantage of a prepaid card is you are only one phone call/text message away from having it "topped-up"
if the need arises. I think you should consider them as the new and improved traveller's cheques and give them a try. Just like Bluebird I have a Caxton FX with a Nationwide card as backup. Bluebird has given a good succinct review of the cards. Have you read the link to moneyexpert that I gave?

We prefer to use our Nationwide c/c while on holiday but as we often go away on long trips we prepay on that. We always pay accounts in full so as not to incur interest and this makes sure we don't miss any 'due dates'. We also take a N/W debit card to use for any local currency so never feel the need to carry much cash or travellers cheques.

QUOTE:

Traveller's Cheque (note correct spelling)

Not if you are using American English-: Traveler's checks.

QUOTE:

Not if you are using American English-: Traveler's checks.

I find it very sad that we allow the Americans to dominate everything which includes our written language, and some of the spoken language. We should stick up ourselves. In fact when I was told to use american english in my work place I flatly refused and gained the respect of my collegues who then also refused, after all it is our language. To me traveller's checks are actions taken to find out information, check documentation etc. before travelling not a means of carrying money. Still based on today's news, cheques are due to be phased out by 2018 and the spelling problem will go away all by itself.

QUOTE:

Interesting that you say:........ When you go ashore, you will need to pay for everything in local currency (cash, credit card or travelers checks.......as the whole point of a prepaid card is that it does everything a Traveller's Cheque (note correct spelling) does and also works in an ATM to give you local currency, with no charge. As for on board accounts, some people don't have/like credit cards so a prepaid card should be accepted in the same manner as cash, with the added bonus of being a much safer method of travelling with money, by the cruise lines. One other advantage of a prepaid card is you are only one phone call/text message away from having it "topped-up"
if the need arises. I think you should consider them as the new and improved traveller's cheques and give them a try. Just like Bluebird I have a Caxton FX with a Nationwide card as backup. Bluebird has given a good succinct review of the cards. Have you read the link to moneyexpert that I gave?

I agree that a pre-paid card should work in the same way as an ordinary credit card. The problem is that the cruise line will not be able to obtain a pre-authorisation. There have been previous reports that some cruise lines have refused to register pre-paid cards.

That is why I recommended the use of a no-fees credit card. Incidentally, Nationwide cards are no longer free of charges outside of Europe. If the ship's currency is US Dollars, Nationwide will load the exchange rate by 1% (which is still better than the 2.75% or 3% loading from most other card issuers in the UK, but not as good as the 0% loading with the Post Office credit card).

As far as travellers' cheques are concerned, I was careful to use the correct terminology. For sterling and most other currencies, they are Travellers' Cheques. For the US Dollar version, they are Travelers' Checks. Just look at the wording on the "check".

You have stated that another advantage of a prepaid card is you are only one phone call/text message away from having it "topped-up", if the need arises. That is probably correct. However, why not use an ordinary no fees credit or debit card, to avoid the possibility of having to telephone from some remote place.

You will gather that I am not a great fan of pre-paid cards. However, if they work for you, that is fine - but don't assume they can be used everywhere.

It is always prudent not to rely on one single payment method. Take several alternatives, which might include cash, travellers' cheques (or travelers' checks), credit & debit cards, and pre-paid cards.

My HSBC credit card gave me a very good exchange rate for my recent onboard transactions on Azamara Journey this November. I was very pleasantly surprised.

if using credit cards make certain you have a back up cash or another credit card. a friend of mine his card would not swipe or register in atms through wear and tear this was in Asia he got into big troubles with no money. in Asia money changers are on most corners of the street so take cash.