Onboard Credit...so how much spending money...

[Rea]

How long is a piece of string? I'm pondering over how much money to exchange for a 17 night cruise around the Greek Isles? We have plenty of onboard credit but I'm unsure how much cash to take when we go ashore. I don't think we should need too much but I'm more hesitant than normal as I'd read quite a few reports about the state of the Greek Economy so I'm unsure about getting money out of the banks there should we need it?

Anybody been in the past couple of years or have any recommendations?

Thanks

[gismo1554]

We took around 50 euros per port and didn't use it all last year when we did Greece & Italy (& France). I was happier having it and not using it than withdrawing from banks over there to be honest but that's because I'm always paranoid about withdrawing from a foreign bank. It depends what you are planning on doing in each port. I factored 20 euros for gifts and I think I probably spent 5 euros (magnet & postcard in each port) and then 10 euros for something to eat (didn't even bother in most ports) and 20 euros in case we decided to do a bus tour of some sort. If you look at what you are likely to do in each port then you can probably guestimate how much you are likely to need.

[stecee]

Is there an ATM on the ship you could use?
I'm sure they've had one on the ships we have cruised on.

[Pootle]

We always keep a supply of euros, but when I did a Greek Isles cruise last year, we spent little more than the cost of a few coffees in most places. The one place I bought stuff, I paid with credit card.

If you are doing the ship's excursions, you might need small amounts for tipping the driver/guide, and if not, are you likely to need cash for taxis or local buses?

Can't comment on ATMs, but unless you are on a British or European cruise line, my experience has been that they deal only in US dollars on board so I would not count on being able to get euros.

[Sotong]

You can usually get currency euros etc on the ship, although often a poor exchange rate. Would be ok for a small amount in an emergency in my opinion.

Gillian.

[gismo1554]

Yeah on Disney there isn't an ATM but you can get currency exchanged at certain times at Guest Services but its also only at certain times so may not be as convenient as getting in advance

[Rea]

Thanks for all the advice. It helps a lot to get other peoples advice and opinions. Much appreciated.

[gismo1554]

You can guarantee by sods law you will either have too much or too little lol I always think going for too much is the best way.

[Rea]

Originally Posted by gismo1554

You can guarantee by sods law you will either have too much or too little lol I always think going for too much is the best way.

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I think you're right there!