Fouremco

Today they had a flight departing Toronto at 12:53 and arriving in Fort Lauderdale at 16:04. That sounds pretty workable to me, unless you are flying in on embarkation day.

Were you able to determine why they were consistently departing late? We are flying YOW-FLL next month.

Another CC thread on the topic: https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2977180-entry-fee/

Spend the time to research the many things to see and do in and around Hilo and up the north-east coast of the Big Island. Then rent a car for the two days. I'd suggest spending day one driving up the coast, stopping at the many beautiful spots along the way. As you'll be staying the night in Hilo, you'll be under no time pressure, so take your time to enjoy everything that this route has to offer. Then for day two, visit the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and some of the highlights in and around Hilo.

If you want lush, there are tons of places to visit near Hilo if you rent a car. For example, the Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve & Garden https://htbg.com.

That would be my recommendation as well. We stayed just outside Kona for a couple of weeks a few years ago, and drove all over the island enjoying ourselves. A bit of research will provide lots to see and do during the available port time.

The taxi driver will be happy to take US cash, but you'll probably get a very poor exchange rate, and you change will be in CAD. Much better to use your credit pard to pay in CAD and benefit from a better exchange rate from your financial institution, especially if it doesn't charge an FX fee.

Hopefully Martin can help bring a stop to the boys' early golf seasons!

I think that the main difference in approach is that @CDNPolar more often books with the cruise line and transfers the booking to the TA after the fact, whereas I more often book directly with the TA. But we both use the other approach at times. I was out in Navan watching my grandson play, so I missed the Sens game. But it's nice to know that they can knock off the first place team!

One of the advantages to the big-box call centre approach is that any of the agents are ready to assist, and their hours are pretty good: 8:00am - 10:00pm ET | Sat & Sun 9:00am - 5:30pm ET. It's always possible that something urgent might arise outside those hours, but I don't know any TA that's open 24/7 and offers comparable perks. Your question isn't directed to me, but I do the same thing for much the same reasons. Because I have the time, interest and experience, I do all of the research when planning a cruise, so when I'm ready to book, I know exactly which cabin I want on which ship on which cruise before I pick up the phone to call my agency or go on their website to make my booking. And it's purely because of the perks that I book with them instead of directly with the cruise line. That said, for an Hawaiian cruise next October, when doing a last minute review of available cabins, one of our preferred cabins that had been booked until this point had become available, so I immediately made the booking online with the cruise line and subsequently transferred it to our TA, again for the perks. While the TA was open, and I could have called them, I didn't want to risk someone else snatching up the cabin in the extra few minutes that might have taken.

As @CDNPolar said, it is a call centre but they all seem equally qualified to answer questions or address any issues we might have. As far as I know, contact is only by phone, but that's my preference anyway. One of the things that I've found very useful is if I have an issue that the agent can't resolve directly, they'll initiate a 3-way call with their cruise line contact and the three of us can discuss the best approach. It saves a lot of potential back and forth 1 on 1 phone calls between me and the TA and the TA with the cruise line contact. As we are regular shoppers at their store, having the shop card is ok for us. But for someone who doesn't shop there, I can see how that would be an issue.

Until a few years ago, Canadian TA's gave next to nothing. Perhaps an inexpensive bottle of wine in your cabin or some meagre OBC. Then the big-box store opened its travel department here, very much a game changer. While they don't offer any particular deal on booking fees, charging the cruise line going price, you will receive a shop gift card that runs in the 8% range of your booking fee, plus 2% cash back at the end of the year, for a total return of 10%. We booked with them for the first time in 2018. We had attended a cruise fair hosted by our then TA, a cruise specialist with offices across Canada. For the particular cruise and cabin category we were after, they couldn't offer a better price than if we were to book directly with the cruise line, and the best perk they could offer was a bottle of wine. We went home and I phoned the big-box TA, booked exactly the same cruise/cabin, and received a $500 shop card and $145 cash back. Needless to say, we've been with them ever since. For an upcoming cruise we have a $925 shop card and will get a $230 and change cash back. During the first years of COVID, with cancellations, FCC's and rebookings, a simple call to the TA resolved any and all issues, and they've handles every question or concern we've had with aplomb. As has been pointed out in other threads, the major potential disadvantage is that they don't handle all cruise lines. With Celebrity, Holland America, Princess, Royal Caribbean and other mainstream lines you should be ok. One benefit in booking with any Canadian TA, or with a very small number of US TA's that will take bookings in CAD, is that you know exactly what you will owe when it comes time for final payment. With today's economy, I wouldn't want to book for a couple of years in the future in USD not knowing what will happen with exchange rates.

Our upcoming family cruise includes a stop in Curaçao. We will be renting cars and heading out for a beach day, and we're trying to decide between these two beaches. DW and I have visited both in the past, and we lean towards Cas Abao, but it's been a few years since our last visit, and things can change. And our daughter says today that members of a Curaçao social media site that she frequents leans towards Porto Mari. Other than amenities, which seem quite similar, what makes one beach better than the other? Also, which one tends to fill up earliest in the day? By the time we get our cars and head out, I imagine we'll get there around 9:15 or so, hopefully in time to rent some chairs in a shaded area.

Amazon also sells a pretty wide range of holders. My thoughts too. I'd love to have a broader use of my iPhone wallet.

Having lost our 17 year old Coton de Tulear just a couple of months ago, we know how upsetting this is and hope that all will work out for your dogs. Is there any possibility of hiring a dog sitter?

You can also buy a wrist strap and wear it like a watch.

Thanks all. That's what I would have assumed, but I just wanted to make sure.

What currency did you use, the Haitian Gourde (HTG) or USD?

What is the vendors' preferred currency for purchases made in the Artisans' Village, the Haitian Gourde (HTG) or USD?

As eTA's have increasingly come into vogue over the past number of years, different countries have developed different approaches on their use. Double checking is definitely a sound precaution. Enjoy your cruise!

That isn't quite accurate, as many countries issue a variety of visas unrelated to the recipient moving to the country. Take Canada, as an example. Citizens of select foreign countries do not require a visa when flying into Canada as a tourist. British citizens, for example, can apply for an eTA instead of a visa. Tourists from all other countries must apply for a visitor visa. And an eTA is only valid when arriving by air, so you still need a visitor visa, not an eTA, when arriving by car, bus, train, or boat, including a cruise ship. Different rules apply to US residents.

November 30, and both of our new cards arrived in today's mail. That's just 9 days following the second announcement of renewal approvals. Quite frankly, we were lucky that the cards even made it at all, as neither envelope was sealed and it would have been quite easy for the contents to have slipped out while they were in transit. Oh well, all's well that ends well.

Oh dear, direct flights from Halifax to Fort Lauderdale are few and far between. If you are worried, you might want to book fully refundable seats on another airline. If the strike is on in April, you'll still get to your ship without a worry. If the strike doesn't happen in April, you can fly Air Transat and cancel your other tickets for a full refund.

When booking a cruise close to or past final payment date, changes to the exchange rate won't have much, if any, impact on the price comparison. But when it comes time for the final payment for your 2025 cruise, there could be quite a change in the exchange rate, and the (then) lower fare offered by the US TA when booking is now going to cost you more than had you booked with a Canadian TA in CAD. There is a certain peace of mind for me in knowing exactly what I'll pay a couple of years down the road, particularly with today's rocky economy. Exchange rates aside, I'm very pleased with my Canadian big box TA, where the perks generally work out to about 10% of the booking price. I've compared numerous cruises with some of the better known US TA's and have seen no reason to book south of the border. The only drawback for some is that the TA doesn't handle all cruise lines, but that hasn't been an issue for us as we can book our three preferred lines.

Air Transat flight attendants have voted to strike as early as January. We have a family cruise in January, with different members holding bookings on WestJet, Porter and Air Transat. Hopefully the labour issue will be resolved by then, or the strike is delayed until after our return date. https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/air-transat-strike-mandate-1.7040842