iancal

Google is your friend. It is how I found out where we could easily get our antigen tests. At one point we were considering Greece. At the time a negative test was required to return home thru Athens. Did a quick google search. Came up with site that had a dozen labs in Athens and suburbs (Glyfada, Piraeus, etc) that did the tests. Web sites indicated time for results, whether they spoke English, cost, and how to book online, etc. Cost was incredible as I recall. Greek Gov't place a ceiling of 60E on a PCR test at the time when our local labs were charging $200 CAD. The labs on the web site listing were charging between 40 and 60E for a PCR test. Our antigen tests in Toronto cost $40. Others nearby were $30. Cruisers have reported that they are available in suburban pharmacies (Walmart /Costco) for as little as $18. and $20 CAD respectively however we have no direct knowledge of this.

We typically avoid $500-750 credit card FX charges each year by using the no fee Home Trust Card. It is not unusual for us to buy travel products in other countries. Last two five day AI stays in Mexico were purchased from a UK firm in GBP. Same with cruises purchased in USD and AUD. The difference can add up quickly. It becomes even more apparent if you buy, and then have a refund at a later date. All of a sudden you have lost 5 percent on the transaction because you get dinged both ways. We saved $150 on our recent Portugal land trip. Simple to calculate. It just total credit card purchased X 2.5 percent. Canadian banks are coining it on FX charges. My goal is not to encourage them.

Of course the HAL brand could be sold off. So could any of the others. There is nothing magic about any of their brands. They all have a financial value. The real question is will Carnival make a decision to sell a brand and if so which brand would yield the best return. Everything is for sale...it is just a matter of price and terms.

The interest rate that Carnival Corp is paying on new long term debt is a very good indicator of the risk factor that the financial community/lenders place on Carnival Corp or on any other business for that matter My understanding is that it is currently just over ten points. We are not cruising at the moment. In the past we have done mostly last minute cruises as part of an extended land trip. One way of judging demand on all of the mass market cruise lines is to take a look at price drops 45 days and closer in to sailing dates. Not only prices, but cabin availability. We buy balcony cabins. We get a sense of how well a ship is selling by the availability of those balcony cabins, whether or not they are only gtys vs specific cats, and the price. The cruise lines can put out as many upbeat PR statements as they want. The financial analysts can do their thing. The answer is in the numbers. They are not difficult to discern. Quarterly losses or profit. Cash flow/burn rate. Cash or cash equiv. on hand. Assumption of debt and the interest rate attached. Share dilution. And others. The share price is in part a reflection of this, as are the analysts projections/recommendations. This is not about emotion or how one may feel attached to one of the Carnival brands. It is about numbers and financial forecasts.

On our last fall trip to Greece before covid we spent a week on Corfu. Our experience is that the number of cruise ships certainly does make a difference on how busy Corfu town is. And how enjoyable it is. We drove in to town mid morning. First thing we noticed was the number of cruise ships. We spent five minutes in town and left. Far too crowded. Got as far as the fort entrance, saw the line, and decided to leave. We returned on another day. We went into Corfu town several times. Afternoon was always less crowded. We enjoyed other parts of the island more than we did Corfu town.

At the end of the day cruise conglomerate quarterly financials will tell the story. My guess is that the cruise industry is in for a number of successive quarters of less than stellar performance. I also believe the Morgan Stanley CCL report may cause other firms to do a similar analysis.

Crystal Symphony Med cruise. Our all time favorite.

I certainly would not be converting any prepaids to FCC these days. On any cruise line. I view FCC's as a bit of a trap...despite the discount or bonus that may be applied. Nor would I be buying any discounted gift cards on any cruise line.

When you load this card with foreign currency, say 1000 euros, are you charged the current FX rate (the visa FX rate or the xe rate) or do you pay a premium?

I cannot imagine NOT paying for any large purchase, travel or otherwise, with a credit card. The other proviso is not paying too far in advance. Understand your credit card issuer rules when it comes to challenging a credit card charge. Some Crystal cruisers got burnt badly on both. Those who converted pre payments to FCC's we no longer covered by their credit card protection.

It is not about what the court may or may not do. Rather it is about the financial ability of the average customer who believes he or she may have an issue to be answered, to engage legal services.

The airline industry contracts of passage are explicitly for the legal protection of the airlines. These contracts, plus the millions of money well spent on airline Government lobbyists, ensure that that their apple cart is not upset. Yes, many people would be somewhat surprised if they bothered to read, let alone understand, these contracts. Exact same issue with other contracts...most especially cruise and cell phone contracts. The reality is that many people believe that an airplane ticket is an airplane ticket. They appear to have no knowledge of ticket fare codes and what those those fare codes mean or imply when things go south. No one reads them yet everyone assumes what they want to assume at any point in time regardless of the actual T's and C's/

Equinox.

The ingredients for concern are flashing red. Capital intensive business. High debt load. High interest rates. High fixed costs. Excessive ship inventory. Variable and unpredictable customer demand. Ongoing cash flow challenges.

Exact same thing is happening in the UK. In spades. The airlines are cancelling flights. Several airports are directing carriers to cancel scheduled flights because of staff shortages and clogged airports. In some airports there is a serious labor shortage. Not always foreseeable. It is what it is. It is not always the carrier's fault. Regulation will not solve staff shortages attributable to covid. Cost of flights, like cruises, is down to supply and demand. Our flight from Portugal was delayed by 7 hours. We have made a claim under the EU261 regs for 600Euro compensation each. Of course, claiming and being paid out are two different things. We flew from Calgary to Toronto in mid may. Fare is usually about $300. This time it was $58. The return one way fare had jumped to $600-800. We managed to grab a $250. late evening flight...last two tickets at that price. Our base fare to Portugal, purchased in March, was $650. Shopping for a similar fare in September. They are at $950-1100. Thailand pre covid was $750-800 return. Now fares are $1200. for our Jan travel. Everyone suddenly wants to travel. It if was your business and you had more demand than product what would you do? No different than hotels, resorts, cruises, etc.

Absolutely the worst ES that I have every stayed at. I would give it a pass.

Could not agree more. I constantly hear people complaining about covid restrictions, etc in other countries (once they arrive), air fare prices, air schedule delays/changes/ hotel prices. We have been traveling internationally for years. Sometimes you need to bob and weave, roll with the punches. Everyone has a choice. Travel, adjust your travel plans accordingly, or stay home. It is just that straightforward. These are challenging times for everyone. Suppliers, carriers, and customers. A sense of entitlement will only make the challenges seem worse than they really are.

We are not cruising. But we are travelling. We will be avoiding certain airports, will be doing carry on only, and will expect some delays. We had a seven hour Just returned from a Europe trip. One of the biggest complaints we heard for fellow travelers was baggage checking issue. So for us, tentatively planning a trip to Europe in the fall means that we will avoid airports in the London area and others, stick to our usual carry on only, and hope for the best. As for pricing...the market decides. At the moment our Europe flights in the fall look much more expensive than the flights we booked in late March for our May/June trip. Our snowbird air to Thailand looks like it will be 50 percent higher in cost (at the moment) than our pre covid trips. On the flip side of higher flight costs, we have enjoyed many low cost flight bargains over the years. The one thing we always try to do is book direct for air and understand what the fare code means. Not all tickets are the same. We had a seven hour and a two hour flight delay on the flights coming home from Portugal a few days ago. We just had to grin and bear it.

We use Nexus in Canada. Have done so for quite some time. Used it four or five times in the last six weeks.

I did DW's submission for her when we returned from Portugal. Took all of five minutes. Do not know what it is linked to but we were not asked to show the ArriveCan QR code when we entered the country or by the air carrier. Possibly because we used the Nexus line? Not really sure. Random?

We have gone to carry on only since retiring 12 years ago. Best travel decision we ever made. AIr tags would not be of much use to us in any event. We want our bags. Does not matter to us if Air tags tell us that bags are in London when we are in Athens or Istanbul about to board a cruise ship or take a ferry to some Aegean island. The bottom line is the same. No bags. The airline baggage app will probably tell us the same without the air tags.

It is just business. Carnival Corp will do, and should do, what is best for Carnival shareholders. We are not cruising at the moment. Perhaps in 2023. Last thing we want is to be quarantined on a ship. We are traveling though. Just got back from Portugal. A negative antigen test was a requirement of boarding the plane and entry. We did not view is as a big deal or particularly onerous. Fifteen minutes at the pharmacy and it was done. Masks were required, and enforced, on all public transport. Taxis, buses, planes and trains. We were aware of this before we made the decision to go. It really was not such a big deal either. We were just happy to travel. Planning another European land trip for the fall. Who knows what other countries will impose or lift restrictions by then.

We flew TAP premium economy from Toronto-Lisbon-Madeira last month. Excellent service. Great equipment. We have done both short and long hauls on TAP. They have all been good. One thing though. We have heard complaints about baggage handling. Cannot comment since we never check bags.

We just finished up a month of travel in Portugal. Mostly by rail. Discount for seniors is 50 percent.

Last month, on a land tour, we did a tour with Madeira happy tours. They offer several. I noticed that they will pick up at the dock.