May 26, 2007 (5/26/07) "First Magical Med Cruise!!" (The M&M's!)

[Disneynut64]

okay since i feel like i know everyone on this board i am going to ask a excursion question are people booking the shore exucrsions or hiring privae guides. i am so confused.. Trying to find the most economical way since there is so many of us traveling together. Any input would be grealty appreciated found a guide for rome 580 euro up to 8 people lunch on your own minimal walking. since there vehicle is a licensed gude can get where no other vehicles can get. help !!!!!cindy

 

[Arizona Rita]

Rita,

Are you the only one attending on both the sweet treats party, the suite party and the magic fountains? If there are others attending, please list their names.

Thanks!

Sue

Good Morning Sue!
This is what I'm hoping for:
Fountain- Chris, Rita, Eric and Lauren
Suite-Chris, Rita and Lauren
Treats-Rita
Eric is 13 and he can be picky with the things he does, whereas Lauren,10, wants to usually do everything!!
Have a great day!
Rita

 

[Scooby3x1y]

I did have a bad experience. When I paid for this cruise I used my CDN cc to pay the USD amount. After questioning the very high exchange rate charged, I was told it included a 2.5% foreign exchange fee.

I don't want any more surprises

Maybe there were some fees on our Visa's, but I guess I just expect that kind of stuff when you deal with traveling International.

Unfortunately, money is a necessity... Sue had great suggestions (same sentiment, but put more eloquently than I did), but as far as taking Euro, there literally is 3 or 4 places to get it in the airport, that we won't be taking any, and just pulling $ from several different accounts there.

I don't know if anyone else is experiencing this, but our Apartments and Private Excursions are requiring cash as payment. This is a bit of a problem since you can only pull so much out per day, and the cost is high enough that one days worth of Euro isn't enough.

 

[newgeneb]

okay since i feel like i know everyone on this board i am going to ask a excursion question are people booking the shore exucrsions or hiring privae guides. i am so confused.. Trying to find the most economical way since there is so many of us traveling together. Any input would be grealty appreciated found a guide for rome 580 euro up to 8 people lunch on your own minimal walking. since there vehicle is a licensed gude can get where no other vehicles can get. help !!!!!cindy

Hi - My wife and i have booked about 10000. $$$ worth of shore trips lol - some of them are high price but look to be worth it - Disney always does it Right

 

[winotracy]

I don't know if anyone else is experiencing this, but our Apartments and Private Excursions are requiring cash as payment. This is a bit of a problem since you can only pull so much out per day, and the cost is high enough that one days worth of Euro isn't enough.

This was a big consideration for us with the apartment. One we were interested in required a damage deposit of 200 Euros which would be paid back when we checked out. Our flight is at 9:30 in the morning and we'd have to have 200 Euros when we checked in only to get it back and have to exchange it again before leaving. We opted to get an apartment where we could pay the final payment with credit card.

 

[sweetsue]

Sue,

You said it so much better than I did....

Don't know about better - definitely more wordy!

Which reminds me - I forgot to add to be careful of ATMs at the Barcelona airport. Apparently there are some cheesy ones right by baggage claim that'll charge an arm and a leg. Instead, use the bank-affiliated ATMs (I think they are by the arrivals hall). (This is a "Rick Steve's" tip).

Sue

 

[renegade7]

I was wondering how everone is obtaining their Euros. With the worry about pick pockets, I don't imagine anyone would want to carry a large amount of cash.

Do you use your bank card at the ports? What if there is a problem with the card.

Do you bring Euro travelers cheques? Some shops may not accept them.

Do you buy them onboard DCL? Perhaps you can deposit an amount (USD)with DCL into your onboard account and buy Euros from DCL as required (ie use them as your bank)?

I was wondering how the others here are handling this. Thanks

I am planning on bring a few hundred Euros (no more than 500) with me as I just have pay the spread because of having a business account at Wells Fargo - no extra fee. I plan on using my credit card for most things, but from what I read, if the amount is less than 10-20 Euros most places don't take Credit Cards or they prefer Cash.

Before you leave double check with your credit card company about FEES! We came home from Germany last year and found HUGE fees for exchage rate on our Mastercard. I havent researched this yet but I am going to double check everything with each bank and card.....

We did find that with any of our Visa's. We used 4 different cards. Our fees were minimal. We did used CC's for purchases only....ATM Debit cards for cash. Any cash advance on CC will be quite high.

What is everyone else's experience?

Someone posted on a thread an article about this very subject. Capital One is one of the few cards that do not charge an extra fee exchange rates. I will look and try to find it and update this post.

Additionally I have WAMU and BofA checking/savings account. I still need to follow up with WAMU, but I have checked with BofA and if I use my ATM card or Check Card within their Global ATM Alliance (see below) there will be no fees (i.e. like going to Bank of America ATM).

Barclays (United Kingdom)
BNP Paribas (France)
China Construction Bank (China)
Deutsche Bank (Germany)
Satander Serfin (Mexico)
Scotiabank (Canada)
Westpac (Australia and New Zealand)

 

[sweetsue]

okay since i feel like i know everyone on this board i am going to ask a excursion question are people booking the shore exucrsions or hiring privae guides. i am so confused.. Trying to find the most economical way since there is so many of us traveling together. Any input would be grealty appreciated found a guide for rome 580 euro up to 8 people lunch on your own minimal walking. since there vehicle is a licensed gude can get where no other vehicles can get. help !!!!!cindy

Your Rome guide is at a very reasonable price. If you're going to spend money anywhere - make it in Rome! We're paying 450 Euro for only 3 people - and I know others that are paying closer to 1000 Euros.

We're doing Rome through a private guide and the rest through shore excursions booked on board. It was more a matter of convenience than trying to find the most cost-effective route. I had a bunch of Disney $ that is paying for our shore excursions - and with only 2 adults and one child the excursions aren't that bad.

Sue

 

[sweetsue]

Maybe there were some fees on our Visa's, but I guess I just expect that kind of stuff when you deal with traveling International.

Unfortunately, money is a necessity... Sue had great suggestions (same sentiment, but put more eloquently than I did), but as far as taking Euro, there literally is 3 or 4 places to get it in the airport, that we won't be taking any, and just pulling $ from several different accounts there.

I don't know if anyone else is experiencing this, but our Apartments and Private Excursions are requiring cash as payment. This is a bit of a problem since you can only pull so much out per day, and the cost is high enough that one days worth of Euro isn't enough.

We had the same issue with our apartment in Paris. We're actually going to submit a paypal payment to them before we leave instead. This means we'll have paid in full before we even see the apartment, so there is a bit of a risk there. But they seem to be well established and are listed both on their own website and through other rental websites. They have multiple apartments in over 4 different locations so I'm not that concerned. The credit card payment actually comes due AFTER I would have had to get the cash out, so it works out well for me.

We also have this with the private excursion. I really hate to spend time in Rome getting Euros, so I"ll probably do it in Barcelona. Of course this means I'll have to carry it while we're waiting to board that first night, but I bought a money belt just for that purpose. I'll keep a smaller amount of cash in my messenger-pouch style purse. Passports will go in the money belt. Copies will go in the purse. ONE credit card in purse, rest in money belt. Etc. Etc...

I've been spending today going through my wardrobe trying to piece together outfits that go together. I think I"m going to end up all in biege. At least those colors all match each other!

Sue

 

[renegade7]

I am planning on bring a few hundred Euros (no more than 500) with me as I just have pay the spread because of having a business account at Wells Fargo - no extra fee. I plan on using my credit card for most things, but from what I read, if the amount is less than 10-20 Euros most places don't take Credit Cards or they prefer Cash.

Someone posted on a thread an article about this very subject. Capital One is one of the few cards that do not charge an extra fee exchange rates. I will look and try to find it and update this post.

Additionally I have WAMU and BofA checking/savings account. I still need to follow up with WAMU, but I have checked with BofA and if I use my ATM card or Check Card within their Global ATM Alliance (see below) there will be no fees (i.e. like going to Bank of America ATM).

Barclays (United Kingdom)
BNP Paribas (France)
China Construction Bank (China)
Deutsche Bank (Germany)
Satander Serfin (Mexico)
Scotiabank (Canada)
Westpac (Australia and New Zealand)

Here are the 2 articles:

Currency Conversion Fees

Per the article try to get one of these credit cards for no overseas fees...
SunTrust
First Union/Wachovia
Capital One

Currency Conversion Fees #2

Happy Reading

 

[winotracy]

I called my bank and they only charge 1% for transaction fees overseas so I'll definitely go this route. My problem is that we only have one ATM card and I learned the hard way that we won't take cash advances on the credit card.

 

[sweetsue]

I called my bank and they only charge 1% for transaction fees overseas so I'll definitely go this route. My problem is that we only have one ATM card and I learned the hard way that we won't take cash advances on the credit card.

Just make sure that you have the overseas phone number for the bank. As long as you can call while they are open you should be okay. The account should only get flagged once. After you've cleared up the flag, it should stay okay for the rest of the trip. I had this happen once when I lived in Colorado and went to Miami. The shut off the credit card, but I was able to contact the company immediately and get it fixed. We were then able to buy whatever it was I needed so desperately! You also might want to ask them what their hours are for this type of problem so you know in advance.

Sue

 

[kpros]

Sue

I also heard that the ATMs over there only allow a 4 digit pin. Is that correct? So you have to make sure that your ATM pin is 4 digits - no more, no less.

Ken

 

[sweetsue]

Here are the 2 articles:

Currency Conversion Fees

Per the article try to get one of these credit cards for no overseas fees...
SunTrust
First Union/Wachovia
Capital One

Currency Conversion Fees #2

Happy Reading

Great articles! Definitely shows that there are still differences out there. One of my credit card issuers just added a currency exchange fee this past month (prior to that there wasn't one). I imagine Capital One will soon smell the profits and add in their own fees too!

Sue

 

[sweetsue]

Sue

I also heard that the ATMs over there only allow a 4 digit pin. Is that correct? So you have to make sure that your ATM pin is 4 digits - no more, no less.

Ken

Ken,

I hadn't heard that one yet! Makes sense though - ATMs were originally designed with only a 4-digit pin. Better safe then sorry - change your PIN now if it's not 4 digits.

Sue

 

[renegade7]

Ken,

I hadn't heard that one yet! Makes sense though - ATMs were originally designed with only a 4-digit pin. Better safe then sorry - change your PIN now if it's not 4 digits.

Sue

Yes, this is true from what I have been told. (Can't remember if it was my bank when I opened my account or from the tour agency that we used for my school trip to the UK though.)

 

[meb51]

We are also struggling with the issue of how best to obtain Euros especially for the private tours that we booked. My DH was wondering what advantages/disadvantages there might be in using prepaid credit cards to obtain Euros. Is anyone planning to do this?

I was also wondering if one of you really lucky back to back cruisers would mind letting us know the exchange rate that Disney is giving around the time you get to Spain on Tuesday (5/22) .

 

[LegalBriefs]

Ummm, I've never worn a toga! I don't know how I became an "expert" I also didn't come up with the idea- someone PM'd me the idea and asked me to give the pitch. As this information is not required for tests this quarter- I no longer remember who asked me to do this....I can tell you all about chronic inflammation


However, I think I can figure it out....


I have had a cold for the past few days and have been in bed....I'm feeling better now.

I will be happy to help the Toga-Challenged... perhaps we could do a Toga totorial 30 mins before the get-together... Bring a sheet (or other fabric) and a cord... The togas can be more or less elaborate depending on the amount of fabric and cording you like... For most, depending on style and modesty, it takes from 1 to 3 sheets... twin size usually work best... I've seen all sorts of things used, from towels to blankets... in any case, I'll be happy to help y'all out...

 

[holidayfanatic]

Yes, this is true from what I have been told. (Can't remember if it was my bank when I opened my account or from the tour agency that we used for my school trip to the UK though.)

I can confirm that European pin numbers are 4 digits.

 

[sweetsue]

We are also struggling with the issue of how best to obtain Euros especially for the private tours that we booked. My DH was wondering what advantages/disadvantages there might be in using prepaid credit cards to obtain Euros. Is anyone planning to do this?

I was also wondering if one of you really lucky back to back cruisers would mind letting us know the exchange rate that Disney is giving around the time you get to Spain on Tuesday (5/22) .

I really don't know much about prepaid credit cards but these are the things I would ask the credit card company:
1) Can you use an ATM to get cash from the prepaid credit card while in Europe?
2) What are all of the charges including any service charges and currency exchange fees?
3) What is today's exchange rate?
4) If I were to withdraw 100 Euros today, how much would it take out of my credit card in TOTAL?

These are decent questions for your bank too!

Sue