Anyone with travel experience have any suggestions for providing access to emergency cash or credit card for a dependent on vacation travel out of the country?

I know someone whose son is going on a Caribbean cruise with some friends, just a short (5-day) on Carnival, and they weren't sure if or how you'd handle something like emergency cash (or credit card?) for expenses like unexpected medical needs, eg injury from a fall or something like that. I didn't have a good answer for him, so I thought someone with more travel experience here might have some insight or suggestions - including "don't sweat it" LOL. He sez there are only two stops, so it may be much ado about nothing, but I thought I'd inquire.

HE thought about buying a cheap travel insurance medical policy for his son, but I'm betting most of those places won't file claims - he'd have to pay up front and get reimbursed.

Best bet would be to carry cash when he gets off the boat. A lot of the smaller places will require a minimum and they seem relectant to process a credit card sometimes.

Definitely see if you have free foreign transaction fees. A lot of the bigger cards have them. I personally like my Chase Saphire card.

Check JohnnyJet.com | Travel Deals, Tips, Destinations and More! (http://www.johnnyjet.com/) to see what he says for that. I am not sure about emergency but when I went to Spain I got some Euros at Intrust on 10th and McArthur, and I got a prepaid card with chip at Chase for those times I needed a card with a chip.

I would do cash as well. Most places you go on cruises will accept US dollars. Especially Caribbean. I just did a Caribbean cruise in August and had no issues accessing funds when necessary(casino on-board ;))

That depends on how much cash people are talking about. It's never a good idea to carry large amounts of cash when traveling. Also, if using a credit or debit card, always advise the credit card company or bank ahead of time that you may be using the card out of the country. A charge from out of the country can set off alarms that might cause a it to be denied.

If cash isn't an option, some cards have no foreign transaction fees such as chase sapphire preferred. Online banks such as Simple also have no foreign transaction fees. Others such as Ally bank have no ATM fees*

Thanks for the options, guys. I think his primary concern was his son having to carry an excessive amount of cash to cover any incidental expenses, and last time I talked to him he said he'd done some checking and thought adding his son as an authorized user on one of his existing cards would probably be a good option.

Thanks for the options, guys. I think his primary concern was his son having to carry an excessive amount of cash to cover any incidental expenses, and last time I talked to him he said he'd done some checking and thought adding his son as an authorized user on one of his existing cards would probably be a good option.

If you don't use the card much, you could also lower your credit limit to ensure there isn't excessive spending.