Cruise Currency Converter
Port prices come in euros, pounds, pesos and dozens of other currencies. Turn any of them into US dollars, or into your own currency if you're sailing from somewhere else, at the day's mid-market rate.
- Live daily rates
- About 80 currencies
- Free, no signup
By Joey Boleslawski — founder of Seabound Journeys, CLIA-affiliated travel advisor, and Florida Seller of Travel (Ref. No. ST15578).
What that price really is
Type the amount on the menu, the sign or the tour listing, pick its currency, and see it in yours.
At today's mid-market rate
Loading the latest rates…
Common at cruise ports
Rates By Exchange Rate API · Estimates for planning only. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
The rate you see, and the rate you pay
The converter uses the mid-market rate: the midpoint between what banks pay for a currency and what they sell it for. It's the fairest single number for comparing prices, and it's the one you'll see quoted in the news.
Nobody actually pays it. Your card network converts at its own rate on the day the charge posts, your bank may add a foreign transaction fee, and a cash exchange desk at the pier builds its margin into the rate it offers. So read the result as a close estimate, then expect to pay a little more.
- Daily, not live to the second. The feed refreshes once a day, and the date under the result tells you which day you're looking at.
- Any pair works. Sailing from Toronto or Sydney? Convert euros straight into Canadian or Australian dollars without going through US dollars first.
- Small amounts round. Results over ten round to whole units, and currencies like the yen and the won never show decimals.
Two habits ashore, and one check onboard
Pay in the local currency
When a card terminal offers to charge you in dollars, the conversion rate comes from the merchant's payment provider, and it typically carries a markup. Pick the local currency and let your own card do the converting.
Do the math before the till
Where shops take US dollars, change often comes back in the local currency at a rate the shop sets. Knowing the real number first is how you spot a bad one.
Onboard, your account is kept in the ship's own currency.
That's US dollars on most sailings from North America, but not on every line or every ship, particularly those sailing in Europe and Australia. Your line's onboard account terms say which, and it's worth checking before you set a budget.
Prices in both currencies, wherever you read them
Our port and shore excursion guides quote prices the way the museum, the ferry or the taxi rank publishes them: in the local currency. Beside each one you'll now see a dollar estimate, like this: €20.
Tap the estimate to see the same price in euros, pounds, Canadian and Australian dollars, or choose another currency to show beside every price on the site. Prices that were already published in US dollars stay exactly as the operator quoted them.
Know the real number before the card machine asks. The rate you accept at the till is the one you'll pay.
Quick answers
The questions readers ask most about this one.
Where do the exchange rates come from?
From ExchangeRate-API's free daily feed. It publishes mid-market rates, the midpoint between buying and selling, and refreshes them once a day. Your browser keeps a copy for up to 12 hours so the page stays fast.
Why does my card statement show a different number?
Because nobody pays the mid-market rate. Your bank or card network applies its own rate on the day the charge posts, and some cards add a foreign transaction fee on top. Treat the converter as a close estimate, not the amount you'll be billed.
Should I pay in dollars or the local currency when a card machine asks?
Usually the local currency. When a terminal offers to bill you in dollars, the merchant's payment provider sets that conversion rate, and it typically includes a markup. Choosing the local currency leaves the conversion to your own card.
Do the port guides convert prices automatically?
Yes. On our port and shore excursion guides, a local price shows a dollar estimate right beside it. Tap the estimate to see it in euros, pounds, Canadian or Australian dollars, or to pick another currency for every page.
Is my currency choice saved?
Only in your own browser, on this device. Nothing is sent to us, and clearing your browser data resets it to US dollars.