Which money?

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Sestra

Guest
I will be staying in Vancouver for 1 night after returning from an Alaskan cruise and was wondering about the money. Will I have to exchange some dollars for Canadian dollars to eat out and so forth?

Thanks!
 
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dusty

Guest
sestra

i was wondering the same thing. as soon as i land at the airport i am going to exchange some us money to canadian. i will be there a day before and have 2 land tours planned and some shopping , so i am going to be ready to have some of their currancy with me. other wise i will use my credit card. of course i am going to have dollar bills on hand for tips. i also am going to be on a tight schedule so i am going to buy a few bottles of wine in the duty free shop at the airport to take on the ship. i hope you figure out the best thing for you to do and have a good time. dusty
 
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AnnW

Guest
American money will work very well in Vancouver -- and you'll get a reasonable exchange at most large establishments. But if you want to go to the smaller "local" restaurants, you'd need to exchange some cash. YOu can do that at the airport.

There is a duty fee that you have to pay to pass through the Vancouver airport, too -- so you might want to ask about that, and be sure you ahve enough cash!
 
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Sestra

Guest
Well, when I get in I will basically be stuck at the airport hotel (Fairmont) unless I decide to find transport to see something. :) Don't know how tired I wll be and the pool and spa might look inviting but I was worried about even having meals at the hotel restaurants. I did manage to find a site that said alot of places will take US dollars and give you Canadian change. I wouldn't mind taking some home as souvenirs actually. Anyone know if hotels do money exchanges?
 
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AnnW

Guest
Yes indeed, hotels do money exchanges, AND they'll all take American dollars, and give you change in American dollars if you wish (and they'll give you a reasonable exchange rate, as well.) Or yes, give you change in Canadian, if you want that, too.

But why "souveniers"?? It's real money...might as well either spend it, or exchange it back into American dollars! Except for a handful of small coins which we missed, we changed everything back to American dollars when we left the airport.
 
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Laura E.

Guest
We were in Vancouver last August for 3 days after our cruise. The airport and most other places accept American dollars. We stayed at the Fairmont-Waterfront and they did money exchanges at a very reasonable exchange rate. We only exchanged a little at a time incase we didn't go through it all since we used credit cards at the hotel and restaurants. Be careful if you are using American dollars on a taxi. They gladly accept it but seem to add an addition 25 to 30 percent onto the normal exchange rate.
 
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Sestra

Guest
I just like having foreign coins. I collect them in fact when I can find any. In my job we often get coins that slip past unobservant eyes and I will exchange them for US coins. In England, I bought a set of English coins in a pack especially set up for tourists, in mint condition. Nice! :)
 
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Sestra

Guest
Anyone know if the Purser's Desks on cruise ships will do any exchanges before docking, like say the night before?
 
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