Transatlantic US to Barcelona need euros

[Biaggio]

When we disembark in Barcelona where is the best place (ATM?) to get eros? We’ll need to taxi from the port to our hotel, and spending money while in town. Thanks 

[FireFishII]

When I google Barcelona taxis taking CC, I found out that they do take CC.  I would recommend that whenever possible, to use your CCs.  I believe the only time you would need Euros is when you are buying something from a street stand.  Almost all shops and restaurants will take CC.  Just call your CC company to let them know when you will be in Barcelona. 

[Biaggio]

Thank you

[FireFishII]

Just had another thought.  You may want to have some small EURO bills for tipping. 

I don't know about your bank at home but I can get Euros from my bank.  I just need to ask for it a couple weeks before my cruise. 

[smokeybandit]

I was in Europe for a few days last year and used my CC for everything. Didn't even bother getting any cash and it wasn't an issue.

[Traveling Mike]

When I need cash ahead of time I go to Chase and order the foreign currency.  Most banks will not have it but you can order it and it will be ready in 3 or 4 days.  All you need is a Case Credit card or a Chase account.  I understand Bank of America and Well Fargo does the same thing.

[deButler]

54 minutes ago, Traveling Mike said:

When I need cash ahead of time I go to Chase and order the foreign currency.  Most banks will not have it but you can order it and it will be ready in 3 or 4 days.  All you need is a Case Credit card or a Chase account.  I understand Bank of America and Well Fargo does the same thing.

Went to our Chase branch last week to order Euros for this same cruise to Barcelona. Very easy and only took 2 days.  But we are only 3 days from embarkation so might be too late to do it this time. 
 

Will say the easy process was offset y te terrible exchange rate but you usually can’t have it all.

[ChessE4]

We were in Barcelona I Oct and atm fees were high. My best rate was obtained in US at my bank, provided I ordered 200 or more. I wouldn't travel in Europe without Euros. Too many things can go wrong, and there are street markets everywhere.

[FloatyBoaty]

I've ordered AU$ and NZ$ from Bank of America for my upcoming cruise. I didn't know I could do this when we went to Barcelona last year and we got stuck paying the outrageous fees at the airport for our first batch of Euros. When we needed more, we used a Santander Bank ATM and Schwab refunded us the ATM fees as they do all ATM fees. 

[Coastalmikey]

If you are a BofA customer, check out the Global ATM Alliance. Fee free in some parts of the world. Example, in Spain it is Deutsche Bank.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_ATM_Alliance

[DoomSlayer]

I would not worry about getting Euros before your trip if you have a credit card with reasonable or no foreign fees.  Credit card should be able to get you to where you are staying via taxi and then you can use an ATM at the bank if you want some pocket money.  You will always pay a premium if you do it through your bank in the US or at the airport and is not worth it.  Travel and tourist related services usually take the major three cards, but local stores and restaurants are more limited, and Master Card seems to be the most popular.  Amex is not popular outside of the travel industry in Europe and good luck with Discover -- not much adoption of it outside of the US.

Having a variety of card types is recommended.  I went over one Christmas to take my UK team at work out to dinner for as part of a company holiday party.  Our corporate cards were Amex.  We racked up a large bill at a restaurant for dinner and drinks, and when the bill came, they would not take Amex.  Had to put it on a personal card and do an out of process expense report.  Moral of the story -- ask about what cards are accepted before you buy a dinner or something else.

If you do plan on traveling to Europe again in the future, you may want to consider bringing some home for the next trip.  Before covid, I used to travel a lot to UK and Europe and kept about $250 equivalent in each currency so I would not have to rush to an ATM right away.

[JasonOasis]

Your local bank might be able to help you out, if not most international airports in the US have a foreign currency exchange for you to exchange dollars for euros. 

Secondly I would not use a debit card in a foreign country at all even at an ATM. So if you're not going to exchange your dollars for euros before you go then I would suggest you simply use a credit card.

[FireFishII]

The ATM onboard may be able to give you Euros instead of US dollars.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-atm-cash-service#:~:text=You are certainly welcome to,and limited currency conversion services.

 

[DoomSlayer]

36 minutes ago, JasonOasis said:

Your local bank might be able to help you out, if not most international airports in the US have a foreign currency exchange for you to exchange dollars for euros. 

Secondly I would not use a debit card in a foreign country at all even at an ATM. So if you're not going to exchange your dollars for euros before you go then I would suggest you simply use a credit card.

Good point on the debit card.  I have had my credit card skimmed in Mexico and had to file disputes and fraud with security.  Luckily, it was a lower limit card and the card company took care of me, but if it was my debit card, they could have wiped me out.  They were "sneaky" starting with smaller purchases and moving to larger ones to see what my limit was.  I was at sea with RC when these transactions occurred and got back home to learn my card had been compromised.  Sad part was, it was from a vendor at port in the Costa Maya terminal area.

[Marga]

18 hours ago, FireFishII said:

Just had another thought.  You may want to have some small EURO bills for tipping. 

I don't know about your bank at home but I can get Euros from my bank.  I just need to ask for it a couple weeks before my cruise. 

There is no need for tipping here in Europe. At least not like in the US. 

Also there are ATM's everywhere so you can get easily once off the ship. 

Mastercard and Visa are accepted almost everywhere. American Express not so much. 

[teddy]

While on the subject of credit cards....

This is probably common knowledge to most, but we are newbie international travelers (other than Canada).  In preparations for our upcoming European cruise, we realized our one credit card charged 3.5% on foreign transactions.  Easy enough for us to get one that doesn't, but if someone hadn't mentioned it to us, foreign transaction fees never would have been on our radar.

[Pattycruise]

8 hours ago, FireFishII said:

The ATM onboard may be able to give you Euros instead of US dollars.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/onboard-atm-cash-service#:~:text=You are certainly welcome to,and limited currency conversion services.

 

My understanding is the ATMs utilize US currency. The “limited money gif conversion” could be guest services.

[ChessE4]

Vision had a Euro atm which was 6.95 plus my bank's foreign atm fee for 13.00 total. Barcelona bank was same plus conversion fee. In US 10 for mail fee, nothing else. Thus, my best rate was in US. I agree that if your bank refunds atm fee, that can be cheaper..  PS. Guest services charged 1.11 per Euro when rate was 1.03, about 8 percent markup.

[Coastalmikey]

20 hours ago, JasonOasis said:

Your local bank might be able to help you out, if not most international airports in the US have a foreign currency exchange for you to exchange dollars for euros. 

Secondly I would not use a debit card in a foreign country at all even at an ATM. So if you're not going to exchange your dollars for euros before you go then I would suggest you simply use a credit card.

What I have done is open a second checking account just for this purpose. Having an ATM card tie to a second checking only and transfer money into the travel checking account when necessary to withdraw money outside of the country. Even if the card is cloned, the loss would be minimal if you transfer just enough money into the account as necessary for your withdraw that day.

[FireFishII]

I have a second bank account for all my transfers.  This way if someone makes a mistake and withdraw too much money, the amount they would be able to withdraw is limited. 

I agree with @Coastalmikey about debit cards.  I have stopped using my ATM card  as a debit card and will only use it as a CC, which rarely happens.  I rather get the rewards from credit companies.   

[Ray]

I use a Revolut prepay Mastercard. I can convert money into 68 different currencies and keep them on locked card until i need to use, once used i can just freeze card again on an App.

Exchange rates are also better than banks and i can withdraw currency abroad FOC. 

 

[Riley]

For Transatlantic cruises there is usually an ATM that dispenses Euros. Alternately, Guest Services can change money, though you a) pay an unfavorable exchange rate and b) they usually cap it at $50 or $100 per cabin. 

[She Sails Away]

This may not apply at all, because I'm not sure what the situation in Barcelona is, but I discovered when I was walking around London for three days that there was a huge scarcity of public restrooms. Or shops with readily available restrooms that would welcome you as long as you bought some food or drinks.  Your best bet was to go into a subway station to use the restroom there, and those required euros to put into a turnstile to gain access to the restroom.