Canadian crusiers

[Ottawamomof2]

We have a European cruise booked for next summer and I think we will keep it because we are super excited and we'll just save extra to account for the exchange. We are also going away next week to Myrtle Beach for one week and we are paying over $1000 just in exchange :eek: So needless to say, we are NOT looking to go on any US trips for a while...which sucks because we would love to do NYC, Las Vegas and even back to Miami...just way too expensive and unaffordable.

[Macadian]

Other than a late deal coming along, we will be giving cruising a miss for the foreseeable future. :(

Edited August 12, 2015 by Macadian

[Scrappytraveller]

I'm already booked in CDN for this fall and next fall. What will be brutal will be the on board spending for next year since I haven't bought the OBC for that one. A premium drink package is now $100/day with tip, way out of reach. I'll just have to be boring and thirsty. ;)

I was hoping to upgrade from an inside for my next cruise. I'd upgrade at the US price but not at the CDN price, it makes the total additional cost way too high just to have a window or balcony.

[Evangaline]

It's tough to cancel a cruise after it is booked and you are looking forward to it, so I stuck with this one for next month, but we were really hammered at final payment. To make it worse, for the first time, I booked my air through Choice Air and this is to Istanbul, so it was not cheap to begin with. After I booked, I realized it was in US dollars:( Major meltdown.

 

I had decided that there would be no more cruises until the Cdn dollar came back to life, but people are talking about booking in CDN $. How do you do that? Are the prices just 35% higher or is it better than that? Was also interested in this deal with Princess where is it just 10% higher. How does that work?

[Safety Squirrel]

I have always purchased my cruises in Canadian funds through a TA and they know I always book I Canadian funds. Sometimes you win. Right now -- the Canadian dollar sucks:eek: However, if I want to travel -- will have to pay the exchange if I visit the USA, Europe etc.

 

In 2012 I paid $1.60 approximately for one British pound - now it is over $2.05 for one British pound. It will hurt on my British Isles cruise; however, I will still go -- will cut back on the shopping and souvenirs. I remember when the Canadian dollar was only $.70 US but I still went to Disney World etc.

 

They are not predicting the Canadian dollar will go to par with the US dollar any time soon -- so if I want to continue to travel -- will just have to budget. I am sure that the low Canadian dollar will impact some Canadians on travelling to other countries; fortunately I will be able to budget for this:).

[brfan]

I'm already booked in CDN for this fall and next fall. What will be brutal will be the on board spending for next year since I haven't bought the OBC for that one. A premium drink package is now $100/day with tip, way out of reach. I'll just have to be boring and thirsty. ;)

I was hoping to upgrade from an inside for my next cruise. I'd upgrade at the US price but not at the CDN price, it makes the total additional cost way too high just to have a window or balcony.

 

You can buy OBC through Celebrity Gifts. They are currently charging $30.60 CAD for $25 USD OBC, which is still a better rate than you can get at the bank.

[Scrappytraveller]

You can buy OBC through Celebrity Gifts. They are currently charging $30.60 CAD for $25 USD OBC, which is still a better rate than you can get at the bank.

 

Thanks, yes I've done it for this year's cruise but wasn't too keen to give Celebrity hundreds of dollars over a year in advance. Maybe I should consider it though, doesn't look like there will be any improvement anytime soon. It can always be reimbursed if the rates change for the better or i change my mind.

[CanadianDee]

I dunno. In the past, sometimes we've been on the winning side of the exchange rate, sometimes not.

 

We still have a cruise planned for next year and a trip with the grandkids to Disneyworld. Pricey, yes, but we'll change things up a little to compensate. We booked the cruise early, so the dollar wasn't quite as bleak. For our Disney trip, we'll stay at a vacation rental instead of a Disney resort. That kind of thing.

 

Buying some OBC in advance might be another compensatory move.

Edited August 13, 2015 by CanadianDee

[1982CruzStart]

We booked our fall cruise in USD last year when our $ was looking better. The final payment this year was a little painful but we bought USD in advance so it wasn't as bad as it might have been. We booked with a US TA that gave us big OBC so we aren't expecting to have to need too much more USD on the trip.

 

We booked our 2016 European cruise in CAD before Celebrity increased their exchange rate so we got a great deal for next year. We booked under the 123 Go promo that included all 3 perks for a suite and with a US based TA that gave big OBC so we aren't expecting to need any USD for that cruise. We are doing a river cruise on the same trip and lucked out by booking when there was a CAD $ promo so locked that part of the trip in CAD as well.

 

As i live to travel we will just bite the bullet and pay what we have to go where we want. I will just try and get the best deals I can.

[Can'tstopcruising]

We did.

 

I have done quite a bit of research in the past, but I never found a US agent who would let me book in Canadian funds.

 

I hope one day, I can find out who you use!

[retired067]

I have done quite a bit of research in the past' date=' but I never found a US agent who would let me book in Canadian funds.

 

I hope one day, I can find out who you use![/quote']

 

Me too, sometime ago I did read there was one in Florida, but no name was given

[bonedoc7]

Me too, sometime ago I did read there was one in Florida, but no name was given

 

 

I always book directly with the cruise company. I like having control over my bookings and I always keep track of prices. I have no problem waiting on hold if it's going to save me $ or get me new perks. In the past, I would receive major attitude from TAs every time I called to see about price reductions or new promotions (after doing dummy bookings and all the research anyways). on our last cruise, I managed to get my SIL's final balance owing go from $1700 to a balance owing of $120. Only took me 45 min on hold. I just now make sure when I have the cruise company give me a quote, it's in Canadian dollars. I don't even worry about the U.S. Equivalent. I make my decision based on our budget availability at the time.

[Grandmaanne7]

I have done quite a bit of research in the past' date=' but I never found a US agent who would let me book in Canadian funds.

 

I hope one day, I can find out who you use![/quote']

The easiest way to do this is to book onboard in CDN and then transfer to a US TA. This is most advantageous as well because you get all the perks of booking onboard and then the perks from the TA. You do need to shop around to get the best TA for you and sometimes you even need to be persistent and call more than once to get the right person. It took me some doing but now I have the right contact and have an upcoming cruise with the 123 promotion (obviously booked months ago) and $950 OBC! I am happy because I locked in at a reasonable (not amazing) price in CDN so I don't have to be concerned about the rise in cost as the dollar tumbles. The last cruise I booked in US $ cost considerably more by the time final payment arrived. That hurt! :( We do have a cruise that is booked with a Canadian TA so we are locked in at a good price (because we booked so long ago) but the extra OBC is almost nil. It will be hard to shop Canadian again when the US TAs are so generous with the OBC.

[Cruise Junky]

I have done quite a bit of research in the past' date=' but I never found a US agent who would let me book in Canadian funds.

 

I hope one day, I can find out who you use![/quote']

 

I use two US agents and both can handle Cdn currency bookings

[Evangaline]

The easiest way to do this is to book onboard in CDN and then transfer to a US TA. This is most advantageous as well because you get all the perks of booking onboard and then the perks from the TA.

 

Trying to figure out how this works. If you book onboard in CDN, do you have to pay the whole amount? I may not be getting this at all, but if you transfer a booking to a US TA, are they not going to want their price in US dollars, before they let you get their perks?

[Cruise Junky]

Trying to figure out how this works. If you book onboard in CDN, do you have to pay the whole amount? I may not be getting this at all, but if you transfer a booking to a US TA, are they not going to want their price in US dollars, before they let you get their perks?

 

Some high volume US agents will take bookings in Canadian.

[ABCruiser]

I use two US agents and both can handle Cdn currency bookings

 

 

I wish to meet you on board someday so I can ask who you use for US agents

[Kamloops50]

Any TA should be able to book directly with the cruise lines in CDN $.

[Grandmaanne7]

Trying to figure out how this works. If you book onboard in CDN, do you have to pay the whole amount? I may not be getting this at all, but if you transfer a booking to a US TA, are they not going to want their price in US dollars, before they let you get their perks?

No, you do not have to pay the whole amount. Just a reduced deposit in CDN funds. The TA will honour the CDN price in CDN $. The perks you get are in US funds (OBC). Your credit card will be charged in CDN for both the deposit and the final payment. This is not a "con". (That's about the only hint I can think of that will be allowed on CC. ;)) Good luck!

[Christine Frances]

I have done quite a bit of research in the past' date=' but I never found a US agent who would let me book in Canadian funds.

 

I hope one day, I can find out who you use![/quote']

 

I have one:cool: The only issue I have is that he can only do group bookings in USD so instead of a discount off the price I go with his OBC offer.

Edited August 14, 2015 by Christine Frances

[wendycook22]

If you add it all up with cruise, flights, drink package is it cheaper or better to book on your own? My wife would prefer the package cause we live in Hamilton and it's easier to fly out of Hamilton than Toronto. Are they going to offer it in 2017 and when do they come out?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Small world we are also in Hamilton.

 

I just paid for the remainder of my cruise that I booked last year. It sadly was in US. I also have another one booked for 2016, also in Us (I use a US company due to added perks/and lower cruise pricing). My Hawiian cruise is now 500.00 more pp. The US exchange hurts but oh well - we get to do a Caribbean cruise November 21, and Hawaiian cruise in April!

 

The difference is the exchange rate when you book vs when you pay your cruise in full. The rate when I first booked my Caribbean cruise was pretty much at par, now it is 35 cents on the dollar. I believe that is the reason people are commenting on US vs CAD. If you booked and paid in full when the exchange rate was lower you are good if you book and did a deposit when the exchange rate was lower, you are now having to pay the remaining balance of your US currency cruise at a much higher exchange than originally anticipated.

Edited August 14, 2015 by wendycook22

[CanadianDee]

I have done quite a bit of research in the past' date=' but I never found a US agent who would let me book in Canadian funds.

 

I hope one day, I can find out who you use![/quote']

 

For our upcoming cruise, I got a good deal (in my opinion) on a 1, 2, 3 Go promotion. I booked it directly with Celebrity in Canadian dollars, then transferred the booking (still in Canadian dollars) to a U.S. travel agent for extra OBC.

[LA_Design]

just got an eMail from my pal in Toronto Canadia. He reckons that in recognition of the difficulties faced by the exchange rate , Brits and USA people will now be surcharged for maple syrup and clamato juice. In order to keep the peace the 18% gratuity will be waived for the uk non-tippers [emoji41]

[cocacola86]

Where in Hamilton you from? Go Jays Go!

[bonedoc7]

Go jays go!!!