Mediterranean Cruise Resources

[JoeyandDavid]

FYI

Anne Vipond who help write the book Panama Canal By Cruise Ship, also has a book out Mediterranean by Cruise ship.. My copy just arrived at the book store I had to order it…..

[Mebert]

JoeyandDavid,

I forgot to mention that you should have a few euros before you go to Europe. That will help you make it until you can get to an ATM. You may need some spending cash before you can find an ATM or money exchange agency or bank to exchange currency. I understand that banks offer the best rates.

[JoeyandDavid]

Mebert Thanks for the advice we were going to pick up 200e from AAA they seem to have a good deal on packs of 100 euros...

On another money related topic I was told by my local Washington Mutual Bank was that if I go into a bank in Europe with my ATM VISA CHECK CARD.. I can do a cash advance up to 2000 dollars..(up to the amount in my checking) and there will be zero service fees although it will take a few days to register in our account it is still treated like a Credit card cash advance HOWEVER if i use a regular ATM I can only access 300usd at a time and fees may apply :grin:

[Joanandjoe]

Joey, did you ask WaMu whether they have reciprocal banks in Europe? That would eliminate ATM charges. I believe that someone on the other CC board in which we both particpate said that European banks generally do not charge for ATMs, but the U.S. banks in which you have your accounts may do so.

[JoeyandDavid]

Joe they told me any banks ATM with either the PLUS, Interlink or Star Logos would work for us..

Thats all i know .. is there a specific question I should pose to them?

[Joanandjoe]

Yes, Joey, the question is whether there are any banks in Europe for which WaMu would not impose an ATM fee. In other words, does WaMu either not charge for foreign ATM's, or have any correspondent banks in Europe.

Do't use a debit card or cash advance: they're much too expensive.

[JoeyandDavid]

"Do't use a debit card or cash advance: they're much too expensive."

I dont understand...... its like the bank cashing my personal check? no?

[Mebert]

JoeyandDavid,

Joanandjoe is correct. Check with your bank to see if they charge commissions on credit card purchases. If not, conserve you cash for smaller purchases and use your credit card for major purchases. If you end up in Venice you may end up buying Venetian glass and shipping it back to the states. Venetian glass may be a pricey purchase.

[Joanandjoe]

Let's correct my prior post. A cash advance on a credit card is a loan. You get charged a service charge, plus interest until you pay off the "loan". Expensive and not a good deal.

I may be wrong about a debit card. If you get cash using a debit card, I'm not sure if that's a loan against the card or simply a withdrawal from your checking account. We use an ATM card which is good only for cash, but not for purchases, so we don't know the rules regarding debit cards. Mebert, can you help?

[JoeyandDavid]

I think i got off topic somewhere..

Let me see if I can get on the same page as you guys.

Fact: WaMu suggests that instead of atm go inside and get a cash advance using debit card NOT credit CARD no fee on WAMU end. Because we need more than the daily limit of 300 e in some ports

Fact: the Credit Card I plan to use for Purchases are at a rate of 1% per swipe plus transfer rate.

Fact: I can get cash money in the casino on my shipboard account once again no fee's except for interest on credit card at settlement time.

Those three things I think I know.

So are you guys saying I may have recieved wrong information? or is there something I am not seeing...

Thanks