How many Euros to bring?

We'll have our credit cards and debit cards, but would like to have some idea how many Euros to bring for a 14 day Budapest to Amsterdam cruise. We will be staying one night before the cruise begins at Le Meridien in Budapest.

We are signed up for the June 4, 2015 cruise in case there are any others here who would like to introduce themselves.

Bob and Nancy

Comments

  • Bob and Nancy,

    Remember extra tips you might want to give to the tour director. I don't know how that works on Tauck cruises since I have only been on land journeys. If you're a member of AAA, you can get the pocket pack Euro currency they sell. It's in small denominations for under $100.
  • A few points:

    First, in Budapest you'll need Forints for the first couple of days since they aren't on the Euro (yet).

    Second, the easiest way to deal with this in our experience is to just draw Euros in modest amounts from ATMs as you proceed. The amount you'll need is almost impossible to determine since it will be highly dependent on the small purchases and dining you do along the way and how many of those items you charge. Depending on your bank's policies, out-of-network ATM charges may only carry the exchange fee which will be as good as any you'll get without a per-use charge so small amounts don't carry any penalty. The easiest way to zero out your remaining Euros is to apply them to any ship's charges you may have and then pay the balance with a charge card. Of course, now that the ships are all-inclusive, its hard to rack up much unless you buy a lot in the boutique.

    Third, You'll want to use any credit card(s) you may have that don't charge a foreign exchange.

    Finally, unless you don't expect to return to Europe in the next year or two, just hang on to the extra Euros. That's what we do so we always have some on-hand from the moment we arrive. It's like playing the lottery with the exchange rate...you might come out ahead (or lose).
  • edited October 2014
    I start out with about 300 and do the rest in mostly CC and a few ATM withdrawals. On riverboat cruises you don't have to be concerned with money for the tips cause you don't tip the TD or any bus drivers.

    If you are with AAA you can order any amount from them.
  • You don't need much. As others said, there really isn't much to pay for on the ship unless you have laundry done, gift shop, etc and that can all be settled up the last day by credit card.

    Off the ship, it depends on what you want to spend money on. We got through a week in France on less that $150 is euro's mostly for shopping purchases that weren't big enough to bother charging. Our old style and new "chipped" cards worked fine and we even found an ATM with the CU (credit union logo) that only charged 1% transaction fee. Check your bank/credit union's policies on foreign transactions and use the cards with the best deals.

    We arrived in Paris with about $20 in euros (courtesy of inlaws that had some to trade) just to make sure we could tip the porter at the hotel (wasn't sure if he was covered by Tauck), buy a drink or bite to eat, etc before having to track down an ATM.

    As an alternative to monetary tipping, you can also recognize outstanding crew members or directors by mentioning them by name in you end of cruise comment form. It's easy to remember your directors names since you'll spend so much time with them, but the crew members can easily get overlooked.

  • Hi Bob and Nancy,

    We just signed on for the June 4th '15 tour, and are looking forward to our first cruise. It looks like an amazing itinerary, and next June will be here before we know it.

    Eleanor and Dick
  • Hi Bob and Nancy, Eleanor and Dick,

    We too are booked on the June 4, 2015 cruise from Budapest To Amsterdam and will be staying at Le Meridien the night before as well. Looking forward to meeting you.

    Julie and Bill
  • Hi Bob/Nancy, Eleanor/Dick and Julie/Bill,

    We are also on the June 4, 2015 cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam and will be at same hotel the night before. Have not booked airline yet. Where are you all coming from? We reside in FL. Look forward to meeting you!

    Nancy & Richard
  • Hello Bob/Nancy, Eleanor/Dick, Julie/Bill, and Nancy and Richard,

    We booked our flight through Tauck and are flying into Budapest June 3 from Philadelphia. Staying at the Le Meridien and look forward to meeting all of you.

    Bonni and Tim
  • Hello Fellow River Cruisers!

    We will be staying at Le Meridien in Budapest the night prior to the June 4 start of the cruise. Will be flying to Amsterdam on June 3 from Seattle on Delta via polar route. Will be flying home from Amsterdam via Delta with a stop in New York to visit our daughter and family in Brooklyn.

    Look forward to meeting and seeing all of you!

    Bob and Nancy
  • Bob and Nancy, Eleanor and Dick, Julie and Bill, Nancy and Richard, Bonni and Tim -

    Hi! Came late to this forum, but we're on the Budapest to Amsterdam voyage on the 4th also. We'll be coming in on the 3rd Delta from Amsterdam. Won't hit the Meridien until early evening I'm guessing, but look forward to meeting you all. Can't wait!

    Steve and Jill
  • Hello Bob & Nancy, Eleanor & Dick, Nancy and Richard and Julie & Bill:

    We are also going on the June 4 cruise Budapest to Amsterdam and will arrive in Budapest on June 2 staying at the LeMeriden for two nights prior. It would be great to meet all or some of you before the cruise and get acquainted. We will be traveling with two other couples, one from Pgh and one from SC. We are from Aurora, OH. Really getting excited about this adventure!

    Rodger and Sandy
  • IS anyone out there booked on the Jewel for the July 26th Budapest to Amsterdam trip. Joyce and I have booked it and are wondering if anyone else has done so.
  • We are also booked on the June 4 trip and look forward to meeting everyone. We will be staying at the LeMeridien Budapest June 3. We will be flying from Columbus, Ohio. Judy & Dean
  • Bonni-Tim wrote:
    Hello Bob/Nancy, Eleanor/Dick, Julie/Bill, and Nancy and Richard,

    We booked our flight through Tauck and are flying into Budapest June 3 from Philadelphia. Staying at the Le Meridien and look forward to meeting all of you.

    Bonni and Tim

    Hi,
    We are also on the June 3 river cruise and will be flying in from Philadelphia on June 3 staying at theLe Meridien. Which airline are you using? It is nice to see all of the posts for this same trip. We are really looking forward to our first river cruise and to meeting some nice people.

    Juliann and John
  • A friend was on a July river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest and could only use cash or debit card in the port towns. I wanted to see if anyone else experienced this. Thank you for any responses.
  • I can't speak about the towns on this itinerary, but we used our credit cards several times in France last summer - both chip/pin cards and old mag strip cards. We only used cash for small purchases like post cards.
  • A friend was on a July river cruise from Amsterdam to Budapest and could only use cash or debit card in the port towns. I wanted to see if anyone else experienced this. Thank you for any responses.
    My wife and I returned from this trip about a month ago. It probably depends on where they were shopping. We were able to use our chipped Capital One credit card with no trouble at retail stores where we shopped. However in Budapest near where the Treasures was docked there was a very large indoor flea market where most of the merchants took only cash. As you would expect there was an ATM nearby for your shopping convenience. Shop on! Have a great trip.

    Greg Jones
  • Hummm, markets - well that makes sense. Many flea markets, farmers markets, etc here in the states would likely only take cash as well. Probably something to remember for those on the Christmas Market cruises.
  • Just returned from the July 2nd Budapest to Amsterdam cruise. Along there I do not remember spending too many Euros if any. I did spend some forints the 2 days I was in Budapest before the cruise, but nothing outrageous.

    I took a total of 300 Euros with me and had 95 Euros left when I got home. But I also spent a week in Berlin after the cruise.

    Certain things were already prepaid before I left home, such as two days of Hop-on-hop-off bus sightseeing in each city, Budapest and in Berlin. The hotel in Berlin was also prepaid from home.

    I do not buy gifts to take home anymore since things I have bought in the past never saw the light of day again. As an example, I take my daughter and her husband out for a very nice dinner, we all have a nice evening.
    Gifting solved!

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