Norwegian Cruise Line Removes Currency Exchange Onboard & More

In an email shared with customers on the 12th of January 2024, Norwegian Cruise Line announced that they are making changes to the currency exchanges onboard their ships.

What is Changing?

Norwegian Cruise Line has announced that they will discontinue foreign currency exchange services on board their ships.

There will be nowhere else for guests to change currencies onboard. If guests need to do this they’ll have to do it before the cruise, or in ports.

Only USD will be accepted for settling onboard accounts.

The most common way to settle an onboard account on a cruise is a credit or debit card assigned to the account pre-cruise. This isn’t changing.

Generally speaking, cruise ships are mostly cashless and when I cruise I usually only local currency for the ports, to find out more about why this is, check out this post: You Can’t Use Cash on a Cruise – Here’s Why

When Does This Come Into Effect?

February 1st 2024.

What Does This Mean For Cruisers?

Paying Account With a Card	No Change
Paying Account With Dollars	No Change
Paying Account With Other Currency	Changes (See Below)

If you are taking a cruise with Norwegian and you plan to pay off your onboard account with a credit or debit card, there is no change.

If you are taking a cruise with Norwegian and you plan to pay off your onboard account with US dollars, there is no change.

If you are taking a cruise with Norwegian and are going to pay off your onboard account in Euros, Pounds or another currency you won’t be able to do this anymore. You’ll have to pay with a card or get your money changed to dollars on land.

You won’t be able to do this on the ship as there won’t be currency exchanges onboard.

I recently took a cruise with Norwegian in Europe where I exchanged cash before getting on the ship.

I’ve never been one to use the exchanges onboard as they are often not great rates. I personally won’t miss the removal.

Read the full release here:

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE SERVICE DISCONTINUATION

Dear Valued Guests and Travel Partners,

Thank you for choosing to sail with us for your upcoming cruise vacation.  We have important information to share, and travel partners are asked to share this information with impacted guests.

Effective February 1, 2024, we will no longer provide foreign currency exchange services on board, and USD will be the only form of currency accepted for the settling of your onboard account. If you are in need of US currency for your upcoming cruise, we encourage you to obtain it prior to embarkation. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

As always, we are at your service and look forward to providing you with a truly memorable onboard experience!

Sincerely,
Norwegian Cruise Line