$2 bills

[Jailman]

On my last sailing on Odyssey while I was sitting around the pool I ordered a drink and when the server brought it, I gave him a $2 bill as a tip.  He looked at it and told me it was "funny money" and gave it back to me.  I tried to tell him it was real but he insisted it was not.  Anyway, it was no tip for him.  Has anyone else ran into this problem?

[WAYNO]

Never ran into such a problem, but I've also never tried.  A foreign server, having never seen a two dollar bill, and certainly having no knowledge of one...  His naivete cost him a tip.  I would not have pushed the issue so far as to deny him a tip.  But that's just me. 

[smokeybandit]

I've come across servers who truly don't want $2 bills because they can't exchange them in their home countries.

[Pooch]

I don’t get the novelty.  One would have to go out of their way to obtain (or amass) a bunch of $2 bill.  Why would you bother?  Tip in bills the crew recognizes!

[FSUFAN]

31 minutes ago, Pooch said:

I don’t get the novelty.  One would have to go out of their way to obtain (or amass) a bunch of $2 bill.  Why would you bother?  Tip in bills the crew recognizes!

Anyone can go to any bank and ask for $2 bills. Same with $1 Sacagawea coins.  If the bank doesn't have them on hand, they can order them.

People on another travel board talked about using them all the time as a way to "separate" yourself from other passengers. 

[Srp431]

I showed my 12 and 17 yr kids a $2 bill and both gave me a funny look, not sure if it was real or not. So maybe it's not just international folks who question the bills. Another one is the one dollar coins.

[Zacharius]

Yeah, definitely avoid doing this with non-US persons. I'm saying that as a non-US person. $2 bills are pretty much unheard of outside the US - very few people know they exist, and even fewer are able to change them out in their own country (or any other country, for that matter). Stick to the normal currencies. 

[CrimsonCruiser]

Yeah I have to agree with most folks here - as a USAian who is aware of $2 bills I know that even in the USA they are often seen as novelty. I used to collect them as a kid because they were given as a prize for good grades back in school.

I also know that even some USA stores won't even take $2 bills because they can't give them back to customers OR for some reason, their bank doesn't like to take them. So I can't even begin to imagine what a non-USAer would think seeing it.

[teddy]

Many years ago I used to work in one of our stores that was near a “social“ bar and the workers from there would have hundreds of dollars in twos that they used to pay for their groceries. 
 

I finally had to ask and was told that the management of the bar encouraged patrons to tip with $2 bills. 

[Cello56]

Why would you want to make things more difficult for staff that are already working long hours at difficult jobs? Hand them currency they are familiar with and will be able to bank with no issues. Setting yourself 'apart' from the other passengers as someone mentioned is making the tip all about the giver instead of a thank you to the receiver. 

[AlohaLivin]

3 hours ago, Jailman said:

On my last sailing on Odyssey while I was sitting around the pool I ordered a drink and when the server brought it, I gave him a $2 bill as a tip.  He looked at it and told me it was "funny money" and gave it back to me.  I tried to tell him it was real but he insisted it was not.  Anyway, it was no tip for him.  Has anyone else ran into this problem?

I have read many cruise board threads on this issue over the years. There are apparently some  cruisers who love the $2 bills for easier tipping, but in my reading the vast majority of crewmembers do not like them as they have a difficult time converting those bills. I’m sure there are a number of reasons for this, not the least of which is that many individuals have never heard of them. I  am a 60 yo US citizen and I may have seen two of these $2 bills ever; those outside the US likely would not consider these bills legitimate money as they are rarely used. IMHO there is no sense in creating bigger problems for the crew with the $2 bills if one’s’ purpose is to show appreciation by tip when giving them two $1 bills is really just as easy. Definitely not worth whatever ego boost people may get by “standing out” as @FSUFAN indicated some travelers do.

[Ampurp85]

When I waitressed, lots of older Americans would leave me $2 bills, folded sort of Origami style. I would save them because I thought they were unique; no store in my neighborhood would accept them even though they were legal currency. I hated this if it was the actual tip, was annoyed if it was something extra. I personally don't understand why people want to give these to cruise crew members. I don't understand the thought process that barely used tender in our country would be appreciated by someone with a different currency........who already needs to convert one into another. 

[ellcee]

I think people mean well by giving $2...but the same people don't realize that many people in the USA don't even realize they are real, let alone people outside of the USA.

 

I have 2. I still don't know what to do with them. 
 

[Zacharius]

3 hours ago, teddy said:

Many years ago I used to work in one of our stores that was near a “social“ bar and the workers from there would have hundreds of dollars in twos that they used to pay for their groceries. 
 

I finally had to ask and was told that the management of the bar encouraged patrons to tip with $2 bills. 

"I was going to give them $5, but okay, here's $2"

[Zacharius]

25 minutes ago, ellcee said:

I think people mean well by giving $2...but the same people don't realize that many people in the USA don't even realize they are real, let alone people outside of the USA.
 

Oh this is absolutely the case. They mean well...they're tipping. And they're tipping with something that seems "fun" and "unique". But I have found that these people are often the ones who haven't traveled much outside of cruising or similar planned/guided trips and don't understand that when these folks get back home, even if they're from developed places like Western Europe (which most aren't), those $2 bills are worthless.

I am from a small (population wise) country in southern Africa and can assure you probably .001% of the population knows they even exist. 

[HeWhoWaits]

6 hours ago, Jailman said:

On my last sailing on Odyssey while I was sitting around the pool I ordered a drink and when the server brought it, I gave him a $2 bill as a tip.  He looked at it and told me it was "funny money" and gave it back to me.  I tried to tell him it was real but he insisted it was not.  Anyway, it was no tip for him.  Has anyone else ran into this problem?

Sadly, I've experienced a $2 bill not being accepted at multiple US retailers because the under-educated staff aren't familiar with them.

[HeWhoWaits]

3 hours ago, Srp431 said:

 Another one is the one dollar coins.

Yet in most of the world, the equivalent of $1 is ONLY available in coins.

[CharmMicah68]

Here that Canadians!!??  That goes for your TOONIE!  Nobody wants it.  kidding.  We love you Canada!  We just don't love your Football.  Hockey, YES!  Football, NO!

[Jailman]

5 hours ago, WAYNO said:

Never ran into such a problem, but I've also never tried.  A foreign server, having never seen a two dollar bill, and certainly having no knowledge of one...  His naivete cost him a tip.  I would not have pushed the issue so far as to deny him a tip.  But that's just me. 

At the time at the pool, I only had a few $2 bills on me.  The main reason I was using them is it's much easier to carry the $2 bills to carrying a bunch of singles.  I certainly did not do it to be showing off or a ego boost or to stand out.  This thread has made me aware of the trouble the crew has in exchanging them.  I will be bringing singles from now on.

[SPS]

25 minutes ago, Jailman said:

At the time at the pool, I only had a few $2 bills on me.

A FEW? I've never had more than one $2 bill on me, EVER. I'm also pretty sure I've only had a $2 bill no more than three times in my 51 years, and I'm certain that two of those times were in my childhood.

Frankly, I'm not sure why they even get printed anymore , given their low desirability and that many people don't even know that they exist and are legal tender. When my daughter waited tables, she thought a previous customer was both pranking her and stiffing her on the tip. She didn't know it was real. Thankfully, she didn't throw the $2's away!

 

 

[FireFishII]

31 minutes ago, Jailman said:

At the time at the pool, I only had a few $2 bills on me.  The main reason I was using them is it's much easier to carry the $2 bills to carrying a bunch of singles.  I certainly did not do it to be showing off or a ego boost or to stand out.  This thread has made me aware of the trouble the crew has in exchanging them.  I will be bringing singles from now on.

I did not know this about the $2.  I love to use them and educate our US retailers about them.  But if they give me grief, I am more than willing to swap the $2 for $1's.  Of course the $2 just don't go very far any more.  I would do this with the $1 coins. 

Interesting story, I was behind someone at a bank in 1982.  They had a Silver Certificate bill and wanted to know if it was real.  I tried to buy it off them but they turned me down. I have not seen a Silver certificate bill since the 1990's.  

[USCG Teacher]

4 hours ago, CrimsonCruiser said:

I also know that even some USA stores won't even take $2 bills because they can't give them back to customers OR for some reason, their bank doesn't like to take them.

I know when I worked retail, we were supposed to ask if they had anything else, but not outright refuse them.  For us it wasn't because our bank wouldn't take them; rather it was because our automated deposit system in our POS (either translation of the acronym applies here) couldn't reconcile them.  The banks slowed down the deposit if the counts didn't match exactly, even if the totals lined up (like entering a $2 as 2 $1s or counting it as a nickel roll to make it stand out).  As long as we got it early enough in the day, I was usually able to return it as change because I asked everybody from that point on if they wanted a $2 back.  99.99% of the time I found a taker.  All of this being said, I wouldn't consider giving them to foreign-based crew, they were a big enough of a pain for me in a NJ mall!

[CrimsonCruiser]

22 minutes ago, USCG Teacher said:

I know when I worked retail, we were supposed to ask if they had anything else, but not outright refuse them.  For us it wasn't because our bank wouldn't take them; rather it was because our automated deposit system in our POS (either translation of the acronym applies here) couldn't reconcile them.  The banks slowed down the deposit if the counts didn't match exactly, even if the totals lined up (like entering a $2 as 2 $1s or counting it as a nickel roll to make it stand out).  As long as we got it early enough in the day, I was usually able to return it as change because I asked everybody from that point on if they wanted a $2 back.  99.99% of the time I found a taker.  All of this being said, I wouldn't consider giving them to foreign-based crew, they were a big enough of a pain for me in a NJ mall!

Yeah when I worked retail I think we got them...4 times in my 3 years there and we essentially had to treat them like 50s and 100s. Check them with the counterfeit marker (no water marks on those either since they've never bothered to modernize the printing on $2) and stick them under the tray. The bank would take them but we had to let them know cuz their counting machine didn't recognize the bills, so they had to be factored in manually.

 

I feel like I heard from somewhere that the mint is actually trying to get them out of circulation? Like if banks get them they aren't supposed to give them back out. They get sent back to the mint like damaged/overused bills? Anyone else hear that?

[barjpoe]

The other problem that might come up is that in the till there really isn't a slot designated for $2.  

The normal till from right to left is $1, $5, $10, $20 , then the other slot may holed the rolled coinage.

The bigger bills usually go under , so would you also put the $2 there if you got them?

[teddy]

2 hours ago, Zacharius said:

"I was going to give them $5, but okay, here's $2"

lol

I have no idea what current etiquette is....this is going back 30 years, and ones were the common tip.

[Vancity Cruiser]

2 hours ago, CharmMicah68 said:

Here that Canadians!!??  That goes for your TOONIE!  Nobody wants it.  kidding.  We love you Canada!  We just don't love your Football.  Hockey, YES!  Football, NO!

Are you kidding me? The larger field? The larger ball? The waggle? The Rouge? 

Besides if it wasn't for the CFL where would all those Big 10 players not good enough for the NFL end up? 

[AlohaLivin]

It seems to me that comments about people being somehow uneducated or undereducated because they are not familiar with two dollar bills are overly critical. Their lack of knowledge regarding these bills has nothing to do with education and everything to do with whether they’ve come across something that is extremely rare.  The bottom line is that a $2 bill is rare and thus a lot of people are not familiar with them… therefore a lot of people are not going to want them… thus it’s more of a hindrance to the people receiving one and probably should be avoided. 

[USCG Teacher]

2 hours ago, barjpoe said:

The other problem that might come up is that in the till there really isn't a slot designated for $2.  

The normal till from right to left is $1, $5, $10, $20 , then the other slot may holed the rolled coinage.

The bigger bills usually go under , so would you also put the $2 there if you got them?

Yep, that's exactly what we'd do, underneath with the $50s, $100s and the check we'd get like three times a year!

[HeWhoWaits]

1 hour ago, AlohaLivin said:

It seems to me that comments about people being somehow uneducated or undereducated because they are not familiar with two dollar bills are overly critical. Their lack of knowledge regarding these bills has nothing to do with education and everything to do with whether they’ve come across something that is extremely rare.  The bottom line is that a $2 bill is rare and thus a lot of people are not familiar with them… therefore a lot of people are not going to want them… thus it’s more of a hindrance to the people receiving one and probably should be avoided. 

You certainly have a right to that opinion and many probably agree with you. However, I submit that if you're not familiar with US currency, you should not work in a job that requires you to handle that currency. Just because it is less familiar doesn't remove the fact that it says right on the bill "This note is legal tender for all debts public and private." Similarly, it you can't make change accurately without the register telling you exactly what to hand back, you shouldn't handle any money.

My not quite seven year old granddaughter knows a $2 bill is spendable and she's o nlyin first grade. She thinks it's funny, but she knows it's real money.

That same statement on the money makes me want to go to a restaurant that posts a sign saying "no bill larger than $20 accepted" and partake of their services before handing them a $50 or $100 bill in payment. "Says right here that the note is legal to use for what I owe you so your choice is to accept it or give me my meal for free because I have no other cash and don't carry a credit card." It's especially galling when the change they would have to make is less than $5.

[Atlantix2000]

14 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said:

Just because it is less familiar doesn't remove the fact that it says right on the bill "This note is legal tender for all debts public and private."

It does say that.  But so do all counterfeit bills so it doesn't really help if the person thinks $2 bills don't exist.  They're just reacting the same way you would if someone handed you a $3 bill that says "This note is legal tender for all debts public and private."

[HeWhoWaits]

16 minutes ago, Atlantix2000 said:

It does say that.  But so do all counterfeit bills so it doesn't really help if the person thinks $2 bills don't exist.  They're just reacting the same way you would if someone handed you a $3 bill that says "This note is legal tender for all debts public and private."

But here's the difference - I am educated enough to know that a $2 bill is legit and a $3 bill is not. Those who handle money SHOULD know about $2 bills and dollar coins. At the very least, their employers should educate them about their jobs.

Reminds me of an old joke (which is surely not culturally sensitive enough for some) - A counterfeiter messed up and instead of printing $10 on the bills they said $18. They went to a remote village in a poor section of Appalachia and asked the first person they came across if they had change for an eighteen dollar bill. The reply was "Sure do. Would you like two nines or three sixes?"

[CharmMicah68]

3 hours ago, Vancity Cruiser said:

Besides if it wasn't for the CFL where would all those Big 10 players not good enough for the NFL end up? 

One of the funniest things I've ever read.....as a BIG 10 Fan (Go Blue!)!  Classic!  I    will be taking this as my own personal slam to other BIG 10 Fans!

[barjpoe]

1 hour ago, HeWhoWaits said:

You certainly have a right to that opinion and many probably agree with you. However, I submit that if you're not familiar with US currency, you should not work in a job that requires you to handle that currency. Just because it is less familiar doesn't remove the fact that it says right on the bill "This note is legal tender for all debts public and private." Similarly, it you can't make change accurately without the register telling you exactly what to hand back, you shouldn't handle any money.

On a side note I had a rain check for 4 items for $10. When I present the RC, the cashier could figure out the cost of 1.

[Pooch]

10 hours ago, FSUFAN said:

Anyone can go to any bank and ask for $2 bills. Same with $1 Sacagawea coins.  If the bank doesn't have them on hand, they can order them.

People on another travel board talked about using them all the time as a way to "separate" yourself from other passengers. 

Yeah but not in a good way!

[TXcruzer]

Don't be "that guy". The $2 bill is a novelty to you, but is is a giant headache to the crew.

 

Heck, there are retailers, even in the USA, that will not accept them.

Get a stack of singles, or a smaller stack of $5 bills.

[TXcruzer]

1 hour ago, HeWhoWaits said:

But here's the difference - I am educated enough to know that a $2 bill is legit and a $3 bill is not. Those who handle money SHOULD know about $2 bills and dollar coins. At the very least, their employers should educate them about their jobs.

Reminds me of an old joke (which is surely not culturally sensitive enough for some) - A counterfeiter messed up and instead of printing $10 on the bills they said $18. They went to a remote village in a poor section of Appalachia and asked the first person they came across if they had change for an eighteen dollar bill. The reply was "Sure do. Would you like two nines or three sixes?"

Do you realize that there are retailers in the good ole USA that will not accept the $2 bill?

 

Why promote your crusade at the expense of the crew?

[WAYNO]

6 hours ago, Jailman said:

At the time at the pool, I only had a few $2 bills on me.  The main reason I was using them is it's much easier to carry the $2 bills to carrying a bunch of singles.  I certainly did not do it to be showing off or a ego boost or to stand out.  This thread has made me aware of the trouble the crew has in exchanging them.  I will be bringing singles from now on.

And all the more reason, my reply said "speaking of what I'd do".  I was not there, I was not involved, and I cannot speak for another persons actions, or the reasons a person was forced into a corner to make such a decision. 

And I don't think I was critical of the crew being uneducated.  I believe many people are unexposed to all the nuances of American currency, as I am of others' currency when abroad.

[HeWhoWaits]

47 minutes ago, TXcruzer said:

Do you realize that there are retailers in the good ole USA that will not accept the $2 bill?

 

Why promote your crusade at the expense of the crew?

I never said you should give the crew $2 bills.

And those retailers are breaking Federal law in not accepting the $2 bills.

[CruiseGus]

49 minutes ago, HeWhoWaits said:

I never said you should give the crew $2 bills.

And those retailers are breaking Federal law in not accepting the $2 bills.

Just like they are breaking the law when they say "no cash" credit cards only.?

That statement on our paper money is a throw back to the days when each bank issued there own paper money.  Is it really a law on the books?

[WesKinetic]

3 hours ago, HeWhoWaits said:

Just because it is less familiar doesn't remove the fact that it says right on the bill "This note is legal tender for all debts public and private."

The "legal tender" part is only good in the United States. The Royal Caribbean fleet are all foreign-flagged ships. They accept US dollars (as do most cruise ports) as a convenience due to the number of US customers on board. But they are under no legal obligation to do so.