Denmark/Norway money question

[bode]

We will be taking the Norway 7 night cruise but will be flying into Copenhagen a few days early to 1)work on our jet lag and 2)enjoying the city before the cruise.

For those of you who have done this I need suggestions. I plan on taking a credit card and a debit card which I believe will be widely accepted (I will also have some American currency as well) but should I also get some Denmark and Norwegian Currency? Will there be possible times where I will be somewhere that does not accept the cards nor american currency?

 

[linetbo]

I did the Northern Europe last year and I brought with me currency for all the cities we visited. In Copenhagen we paid with cash and credit card.

 

[DisneyConvert]

I think it depends on what your touring strategy is going to be. Do you like going out on your own and visiting small shops or buying from street vendors? Or do you plan to stick primarily to Disney's Port Excursions?
.
We did the Northern European in 2015 (loved it!) and did not take one Disney Excursion. Most museums, transit, etc. will take US CCards (make sure yours doesn't have that Overseas surcharge), but street vendors and some small shops will often prefer cash.

My wife made sure we had $50~$80 worth of each of the local currencies before we left and it worked out well. We may have ended up buying silly trinkets (shot glasses) and candy at the last gift shop before we got on the ship, but that's touring.

 

[Groverg3]

Apparently some places only take cards with chip and pin (e.g. McDonalds apparently), and most US cards are chip and signature. A person in our cruise group asked the Copenhagen visitor's bureau about it and they suggested getting some currency in case the card wouldn't work. Automatic kiosks also tend to require chip and pin. Hope this helps!

 

[MUN]

I did the Northern Europe last year and I brought with me currency for all the cities we visited. In Copenhagen we paid with cash and credit card.

I don't mean to highjack this thread, but did you use a pin and chip credit card, or a swipe type credit card? We are on the June 4th sailing out of Copenhagen. Also, in Norway, did you need Norwegian currency or did you use a credit card or perhaps Euros?

MUN

 

[scottishclover]

I don't mean to highjack this thread, but did you use a pin and chip credit card, or a swipe type credit card? We are on the June 4th sailing out of Copenhagen. Also, in Norway, did you need Norwegian currency or did you use a credit card or perhaps Euros?

MUN

I wouldn't get Euros. Before our Norway cruise last year we spent time in Sweden and Denmark and took the three different types of currency. They are not interchangeable. You wouldn't spend Canadian dollars in the U.S. and the same rules apply in Scandinavia. Makes spending money a lot more interesting when you have 2 types of Krone and also Krona in your wallet!

We had chip and pin credit cards - that is the norm in Europe.

Just a side note - your money won't go far so take plenty!!

 

[Pens Fan]

I don't mean to highjack this thread, but did you use a pin and chip credit card, or a swipe type credit card? We are on the June 4th sailing out of Copenhagen. Also, in Norway, did you need Norwegian currency or did you use a credit card or perhaps Euros?

MUN

We paid with a combination of Norwegian krone and credit card. Norway is not on the Euro, and though it might be possible to convince someone to take them, we never tried. All of our credit cards are chip and signature, rather than the European standard chip and pin and we were still able to use them at most places, though it was sometimes a hassle. From what I understand however you cannot use them at some (if not most) automated pay systems - say if you're buying train tickets. There has to be an actual person there to hand you something to sign. As others have suggested, before I left I got small amounts of Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic and British currency from our bank. (we were on the Norway/Iceland sailing). It really came in handy having the cash and we didn't need to spend time hunting down an ATM right off the bat at each port.

At the end of the cruise I went down to guest services and gave them the leftover foreign currency to apply to our account. I know we didn't get the best exchange rate that way, but our bank charges a hefty fee for each different kind of currency so that would have probably cost us more than what we lost in the exchange rate on board. Plus it was an easy way to get rid of it, and lower that end of the cruise bill

 

[MUN]

I wouldn't get Euros. Before our Norway cruise last year we spent time in Sweden and Denmark and took the three different types of currency. They are not interchangeable. You wouldn't spend Canadian dollars in the U.S. and the same rules apply in Scandinavia. Makes spending money a lot more interesting when you have 2 types of Krone and also Krona in your wallet!

We had chip and pin credit cards - that is the norm in Europe.

Just a side note - your money won't go far so take plenty!!

I know that Canadian money is worthless in the US; however, I read that some places in Norway and Denmark take Euros. I have Euros from previous trips and we plan on spending time in Germany and the Netherlands after our cruise.

MUN

 

[scottishclover]

I know that Canadian money is worthless in the US; however, I read that some places in Norway and Denmark take Euros. I have Euros from previous trips and we plan on spending time in Germany and the Netherlands after our cruise.

MUN

Possibly in the tourist shops by the cruise ports Euros are accepted. You will probably be charged more for buying in Euros than in local currency though.

 

[timrousbeastie]

Apparently some places only take cards with chip and pin (e.g. McDonalds apparently), and most US cards are chip and signature. A person in our cruise group asked the Copenhagen visitor's bureau about it and they suggested getting some currency in case the card wouldn't work. Automatic kiosks also tend to require chip and pin. Hope this helps!

I've been able to use my chip and signature cards most larger shops and restaurants in Copenhagen. Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted and AmEx has become more common in recent years, but I wouldn't count on it. I always get cash for my 2-3 annual visits to be on the safe side. Another reason is that many smaller businesses pay a steep fee to accept cards like AmEx and Discover and they prefer that you use cash, in particular for smaller purchases. In September, I enjoyed a meal with my family at a Michelin rated restaurant there. They did not accept American Express although the bill was well over $2,000.

Copenhagen is consistently ranked among the most expensive cities in the world, but the strong dollar gives Americans a nice discount right now compared to previous years.

I am Danish but have lived in the US for almost 25 years.

 

[PurplePencil]

I don't mean to highjack this thread, but did you use a pin and chip credit card, or a swipe type credit card? We are on the June 4th sailing out of Copenhagen. Also, in Norway, did you need Norwegian currency or did you use a credit card or perhaps Euros?

MUN

When we were in the Baltic last summer, we had one chip and signature that specializes in foreign travel. More US cards have pins so that should be less of an issue

 

[AquaDame]

I know that Canadian money is worthless in the US; however, I read that some places in Norway and Denmark take Euros. I have Euros from previous trips and we plan on spending time in Germany and the Netherlands after our cruise.

MUN

You're right, some places may but how can you plan ahead when you aren't sure who will...? I'd recommend OP err on the side of caution and have a little money, or at least have a plan to get some from an ATM if needed which may require prior research in regards to fees and such. Another problem people often forget (myself included) that tech sometimes fails... we were in Barbados and had no Barbados dollars at all as the distillery we were going to took US CCs. Sadly they had a storm that knocked out their phone lines and took the machine down and we HAD to pay CASH. It was quite a scramble to find an ATM nearby, call our bank (expensive) and get the PIN set up so we could use an ATM on the spot. I doubt a storm will roll through Copenhagen knocking out the phones but stuff happens - I've seen square readers just randomly stop working here in the US too when I go to pay. Only ONE of FIVE CCs worked for gas in Dublin - no problems at all any other time in three countries over three weeks. The machine was downright picky.... I'll never assume after that lesson!

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

Apparently some places only take cards with chip and pin (e.g. McDonalds apparently), and most US cards are chip and signature. A person in our cruise group asked the Copenhagen visitor's bureau about it and they suggested getting some currency in case the card wouldn't work. Automatic kiosks also tend to require chip and pin. Hope this helps!

This for sure! Most people don't realize they likely don't have a true chip and pin card and instead it's a chip and signature card. I think my USAA card is my last true chip and pin card and we did need this to purchase train tickets at the kiosk from Copenhagen to Malmo when we visited in 2015 on our Norway/Iceland/Scotland cruise. We mainly used our credit cards wherever we could and had no issues however I did get a little currency for each of the countries we were visiting, just in case. I think I had five different currencies to keep up with as we ended up visiting seven total countries.

Based on what we did, the currency wasn't needed however I wouldn't hesitate to get them again as you never know when you might need some or have CC issues.

Hope this helps
Heather

 

[cruiser21]

I have had no trouble using a chip and sign card all over Europe. I've traveled in Europe the last three Summers. No trouble buying train tickets either. I have never been to Copenhagen though. It could be different there.

 

[FrozenDisney]

Possibly in the tourist shops by the cruise ports Euros are accepted. You will probably be charged more for buying in Euros than in local currency though.

Euros is accepted by larger hotels and some McDonalds, but they will probably give back in Norwegian currency. Where they do, there will be a poster near the cash register or the door that says which currencies are accepted

 

[Snyders22000]

We did the Norway/Iceland cruise last summer out of Copenhagen. We arrived 3 days early and traveled around and saw many of the sights and ate at local restaurants. We never got any local currency and had no issues at all using our US VISA chip credit cards while we were there. We even took the train out of the main city and no issues in outlying areas either (or at any of the ports). The only time I did get currency in a local currrency was to pay a private guide at one of our ports and some currency for tipping guides, etc.

 

[Anchors Away 2016]

I don't mean to highjack this thread, but did you use a pin and chip credit card, or a swipe type credit card? We are on the June 4th sailing out of Copenhagen.

I was in France in 2015 and so I still had a swipe type card. I found that most of the machines the vendors had (not the automated ones, but the shops) DID accept the swipe type card. The only trouble was, the merchant often didn't know how to "Swipe" it. When i asked permission (in my pigeon French) to swipe it for them, it worked fine, no problem.

 

[MUN]

I was in France in 2015 and so I still had a swipe type card. I found that most of the machines the vendors had (not the automated ones, but the shops) DID accept the swipe type card. The only trouble was, the merchant often didn't know how to "Swipe" it. When i asked permission (in my pigeon French) to swipe it for them, it worked fine, no problem.

I learned today that my no foreign transaction fee card is a "chip and sign" vs. a "chip and pin" card. I understand that "chip and pin" cards are rare in the USA.

 

[cruiser21]

I learned today that my no foreign transaction fee card is a "chip and sign" vs. a "chip and pin" card. I understand that "chip and pin" cards are rare in the USA.

I was told by my cc company that they could send me a pin, but it was to get cash. Of course the interest rate on that is high. They told me if I used the pin for regular transactions I would get charged the interest rate. I have no idea if this true. We all know high reliable telephone customer service agent are. I decided not to chance it. I've never had trouble with the chip and sign.

 

[MUN]

I was told by my cc company that they could send me a pin, but it was to get cash. Of course the interest rate on that is high. They told me if I used the pin for regular transactions I would get charged the interest rate. I have no idea if this true. We all know high reliable telephone customer service agent are. I decided not to chance it. I've never had trouble with the chip and sign.

I'm glad the chip and sign worked well. I was told by my credit card company not to use my pin in Europe with my "chip and sign" card, rather if it asks for a pin to either hit cancel or enter "0000". The rep told me that my card would most likely work as a "chip and sign" card most places where there was a person. It may not work at the non-attended machines. I think most of the places I go where I go, the workers will be familiar with US-based credit cards. My only concerns are with transit pass machines.