I have received several questions about how to pay the expenses and the currencies that are handled in the cruises that call in different countries. As well, It is one thing in which currency you can pay the expenses you have inside the ship and another question, which is obvious, the expenses you make in the port or in the places where you go on excursions.
In general, in the cruises that are made through the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, Northern Europe, the Antilles and those transatlantic trips departing from Europe, the legal tender on board is the euro.
And for cruises in the Caribbean, South America and South Africa, and transatlantic cruises that depart from America and arrive in Europe, the legal tender on board is the American dollar.
There is a general recommendation that says that if you travel outside of Europe, it is best to pay in dollars.
The truth is that any expense you have on the boat, and that is not included in the ticket You can do it in cash, in cash, or with a credit card, It is sure that they accept it and the debit ones according to the shipping company. The most common credit cards are American Express, Visa, Mastercard and Diners, with this form of payment it will be your bank that will carry out currency conversion.
The most common when paying with the credit card is that a form is filled out with the data and on the penultimate day they leave you a provisional invoice so that you can verify if everything is correct. At any time of the trip you can ask for your movements and account status.
Normally shipping companies ensure cash collection "forcing" to leave a minimum deposit, so that the boarding pass also becomes a cash card. When the deposit is exhausted, you will receive a warning message, so that you can recharge the card, from experience I recommend that you keep all the tickets. I recommend that you read this article about shopping on the high seas.
It is also possible that the ship has ATM and exchange office.