Currency exchange rate on Magic compared to bank in US

[swimfin]

Hi!
Yep! Me again! ... sorry! I finally had the chance to connect with my bank in person about getting currency for my trip to Norway (Will be in CPH for 2 days prior and 2 days in Iceland on the way home) In a nutshell, the bank I am using for my currency exchange seems a bit "off," yet I could just be "off" myself and this is the "going rate!" So, I'm curious if the boat will give similar rates or better than a local bank when getting currency. Here's my dilemma ... get my Norwegian currency now, or wait given the information below:

Quoted today:

$97 USD = $600 DKK
$89 USD = $8000 Icelandic Krona

When I look at the exchange rates that I know my CC would "get" if paying that way, I get:

$97 USD = $645 DKK
$89 USD = $8936 Icelandic Krona

The Icelandic Krona didn't seem too bad yet the DKK seemed "off." ... anyone else who's going soon, have you exchanged any money yet? THANKS for all viewpoints! Cheers!

 

[MaleficentRN]

They do not exchange currency on the ship, that I am aware of. The best exchange rate I got while in Canada was by using a credit card with no foreign transaction fee to pay for things.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi!
Yep! Me again! ... sorry! I finally had the chance to connect with my bank in person about getting currency for my trip to Norway (Will be in CPH for 2 days prior and 2 days in Iceland on the way home) In a nutshell, the bank I am using for my currency exchange seems a bit "off," yet I could just be "off" myself and this is the "going rate!" So, I'm curious if the boat will give similar rates or better than a local bank when getting currency. Here's my dilemma ... get my Norwegian currency now, or wait given the information below:

Quoted today:

$97 USD = $600 DKK
$89 USD = $8000 Icelandic Krona

When I look at the exchange rates that I know my CC would "get" if paying that way, I get:

$97 USD = $645 DKK
$89 USD = $8936 Icelandic Krona

The Icelandic Krona didn't seem too bad yet the DKK seemed "off." ... anyone else who's going soon, have you exchanged any money yet? THANKS for all viewpoints! Cheers!

Exchange rates onboard the ship will be worse than what you get from your bank.

At least that's been our experience with changing currency onboard.

We found we get the "best" rate by using an ATM in port, if necessary. And we get a minimal amount (around $100 in US) for small bills to have on hand as soon as we get there.

 

[Geomom]

Exchanging currency through your bank is at a higher rate than what you'd get from an ATM machine, plus banks usually charge a fee of $10 just to place the order. The ATM machine has the 'going' rate that you see listed in the currency converters online.

I discovered the bad bank exchange rate myself last year getting Canadian currency...lesson learned. DD17 used a debit card at the ATM in Germany this spring and got Euros at the current exchange rate. Also bought stuff with her debit card at London Heathrow at the current pound sterling exchange rate.

 

[swimfin]

Exchange rates onboard the ship will be worse than what you get from your bank.

At least that's been our experience with changing currency onboard.

We found we get the "best" rate by using an ATM in port, if necessary. And we get a minimal amount (around $100 in US) for small bills to have on hand as soon as we get there.

THANKS! I was thinking of $100 too!

 

[clten]

We purchased a little bit of currency for all the stops on our Northern Europe/Norway B2B cruises. (We like to have at least a little local currency in hand when we arrive - enough for cab fare at least and learned the hard way not to depend on an ATM working when you get there!) I can't speak for the exchange rate for Iceland but the exchange rate you received from your bank for Denmark is about what we got from Travelex (which was about the same rate my bank was giving but they had a fee to do each exchange - and since we were just doing a small amount of each currency really made it a bad deal compared to Travelex.)

You can exchange money on the ship (at Guest Services). Their exchange rates are not great (but not the worst I have seen either). We have used them when we weren't sure we needed to have cash (again having it for cab fare in an emergency, don't want to be stuck somewhere and not have options). The good thing about exchanging money on the ship is they will buy it back (bills only; no coins) for the exact same rate they sold it to you.

 

[RedSox68]

We purchase all our foreign currency through AAA -- no shipping fees. But you have to call them every day to see what the rate is. The rates you see online or at bank sites are NOT what you will get -- those are rates for people exchanging thousands of dollars worth of foreign currency, not hundreds.

 

[3Down1Up]

Agree with Shmoo - we exchanged dollars on the Magic for Euros (Med cruise) and the exchange rate was not as good as what our bank gave us. We arrived with Euros already; only used the ship to exchange for some last-minute needs. And there is max for exchanges at Guest Services - can't remember if it's a daily max or max per cruise, and can't remember the amount. So short answer - my advice would be to only rely on exchanging money on the ship for small or last-minute needs.

 

[swimfin]

THANKS to everyone! I made the exchange today and it was much better than I expected! Rates were spot on! Cheers!

 

[swimfin]

We purchased a little bit of currency for all the stops on our Northern Europe/Norway B2B cruises. (We like to have at least a little local currency in hand when we arrive - enough for cab fare at least and learned the hard way not to depend on an ATM working when you get there!) I can't speak for the exchange rate for Iceland but the exchange rate you received from your bank for Denmark is about what we got from Travelex (which was about the same rate my bank was giving but they had a fee to do each exchange - and since we were just doing a small amount of each currency really made it a bad deal compared to Travelex.)

You can exchange money on the ship (at Guest Services). Their exchange rates are not great (but not the worst I have seen either). We have used them when we weren't sure we needed to have cash (again having it for cab fare in an emergency, don't want to be stuck somewhere and not have options). The good thing about exchanging money on the ship is they will buy it back (bills only; no coins) for the exact same rate they sold it to you.

EXCELLENT to know about the ship!!! THANKS for the reassurance on my exchange! Cheers!