Canadians on Carnival?

[Jackale]

Just wondering? How many Canadians are here and travel with Carnival, we are from Nova Scotia and heading out next week for Miami-Bahama...Without free airfare (aeroplan points) to Miami, I don't know how many Canadians can do this - as we don't have many 'warm weather" ports that are conveniently located..I mean we have Halifax and Saint John on the east coast - but I like the warm weather - so cruising to New England in the fall is not for me.

[Yemaya]

We are Canadians in Southern Ontario and we love to cruise. The airfare is starting to become a problem as we have 8 people going this time (November) and we are considering driving - we worked it out and even with food and a hotel on the road and parking at the pier it would be less than airfare right now. My husband hates the idea of driving though, it is such a long drive. We will just be waiting and seeing if airfare gets more reasonable before then or we will drive. We like the warm weather cruises as well - not interested yet in a New England in the fall either. Wish we had closer ports but we don't so we will have to keep finding the cheapest way to get to them.

[mcarlson]

We're Canadians, from Newfoundland, and cruise with Carnival. We just took our first cruise (not our last!) in May and without Airmiles, it would be difficult to cruise. I guess it just means a little extra saving time, there's usually some great deals, cheap airfare to Ft.Lauderdale/Miami in the Spring so that's an option too, just wait for the deals!

 

-Megan

[rickb]

We are also from Halifax and have cruise with Carnival 4 times so far with 4 more booked. The have to be to warm weather ports or we won't go. :D

 

Regarding the airfare, you just need to budget for it. Until the recent jump in airfares, you could fly from Halifax to Miami for around $450. That's about $600-$650 now. :(

[Travel Angel]

I always see plenty of Canadians on ships I sail on... in fact made some very good friends at dinner when they are table mates.... I don't think that air costs are stopping y'all from cruising anymore than anyone else flying from the states !

[jayscore]

Hi neighbors! Although I'm from N. Wisconsin, I understand your concerns about air fare. The nearest airport for me is Minneapolis, 2 1/2 hours away. The going rate is around $620 per, US bucks.

I agree, I want to see palm trees, not pine trees! Just my 2 cents worth.

[Jackale]

I know that if I were to book the same flights today - for 4 people it would cost me in excess of $6000...I did not spend that on the any of my all inclusive resorts in the caribbean, so without the free airfare - I could not have even imagined cruising as an option. Of course with this being the last 'family' vacation - Dh and I will have a little more flexibility and available funds with vacations planning

[Travel Angel]

I know that if I were to book the same flights today - for 4 people it would cost me in excess of $6000...I did not spend that on the any of my all inclusive resorts in the caribbean, so without the free airfare - I could not have even imagined cruising as an option. Of course with this being the last 'family' vacation - Dh and I will have a little more flexibility and available funds with vacations planning

 

Ahhhhhh yes, the "empty nest syndrome" does have it's benefits as we get older doesn't it :D

[Xplode]

When we fly out of Toronto to Miami or Ft Lauderdale it usually costs us $99-$199 PP one way :cool:

 

We are flying to Rome in November and it is a little more expensive...the best price so far was $750 pp one way...but I am sure we can get it for around $500 pp ;)

[RizzoLee]

Out of 5 past cruises, we've driven 2 times from Toronto to Florida. I didn't find it so bad if you do 12 hours each day. The problem we encounter is that it takes up a lot of vacation time, and I worry about the car breaking down somewhere (we own 4 & 5 year old cars though, and renting one is too expensive).

 

We've had a blast on the road, and even with gas being so expensive these days, it's still cheaper.

 

We were going to put our honeymoon on hold with the cost of everything rising, but I researched a little more, and found a cheaper day to sail, and a cheaper day to fly! From Buffalo to Tampa it's $190 each!

[bellagirl]

Hi-We're from New Brunswick,so we usually fly out of Halifax or take a flight to Toronto or Newark to get to the sunny South. For our Xmas Miracle cruise, I thought we did pretty good by getting Carnival air out of Halifax to Ft. Lauderdale for 500/pp. That includes the hotel,transfers,etc.

We will look for our own air as the trip approaches, but for now,we're keeping it as it is. If we lived in Toronto or Montreal, we'd be cruising a lot more!!!! Shelly

[onejeepster]

Enjoy your first cruise. We are from Halifax and have been on few Carnival Caribbean cruises. Our first was before Christmas and it was quite a sight to see the ship decorated for Christmas and the ports of call having Christmas lights on the palm trees...

 

Our next cruise this year will probably be our last cruise to involve airfare as it is getting too expensive (We had booked in February prior to all the rate changes). For our cruise next year we are going with our friends and driving to NY to cruise from their. We won't stop cruising we will just change our method of gettting to the departure port.

 

Dave

[magic&buddy]

We live in Toronto and have cruised out of Miami 3 times. We will cruise out of NYC this summer and will take the train there. We always fly to Miami however as prices go up we might drive to Buffalo and fly to Miami from there - have found better deals that way.

[CGinMTL]

We live in Montreal ( 20 min from airport) but find that when flying to the USA, we can save $150 - $200 / person by flying out of Burlington Vermont.

(2 hrs away). It has the added advantage that we go through customs before we fly & have a bigger variety of foods we can take on the plane.

When we find a cruise we like. We shop for air (try all combinations). If we find reasonable air, we have the travel agent " hold" the cruise for us 24 hrs.

Then we book the air & confirm the cruise. This has worked well for us in the past.

[CarolR]

We live in Kitchener, just west of Toronto and are sailing out of NYC in August as well. I didn't consider the train before. If I may ask, what is the cost of the train to New York. We were going to drive but found a flight on JetBlue out of Buffalo for $388.00 for two.

[Margarita Mom]

Just wondering? How many Canadians are here and travel with Carnival, we are from Nova Scotia and heading out next week for Miami-Bahama...Without free airfare (aeroplan points) to Miami, I don't know how many Canadians can do this - as we don't have many 'warm weather" ports that are conveniently located..I mean we have Halifax and Saint John on the east coast - but I like the warm weather - so cruising to New England in the fall is not for me.

 

Hi fellow Haligonia. We cruise at least once a year on Carnival. I have to agree with you though, the airfare is becoming a problem. We lucked out and booked our March break cruise with our four kids out of San Juan for around $500 a ticket. Of course that was just before the airfare went crazy. I don't think it will change my love affair with Carnival, just means we have to tighten out belts in other areas. Where there is a will, there is a way. I don't know how I would put up with this weather if I didn't have a cruise booked to look forward to.

[Jackale]

I know there will always be deals! - but they are not always obvious to us new to cruising. I think some of the travel agents could arrange for a group style booking - you know halifax (or other maritime city) - cruise return for X number of dollars, if enough booked it could be cheaper (as in the way they charter planes to the caribbena). Does anyone know of any such type of offers that have been arranged?

[DreamTeam]

Try flying from Australia lol.......

 

Melbourne to Honolulu to Vancouver then Honolulu back to Melbourne. $2800AUD for 2 people. Not cheap but hey it's not everyday we aussies can see Alaska, Vancouver and Hawaii :D

 

Cheers

Col & Sue

[Chrislynn55]

Hello fellow Canadians,

 

We live just outside Toronto and we drive to virtually all of our cruises. Our cars are usually late model so we don't worry about breaking down on the road, and we always leave a few days ahead so bad weather won't be an issue....never had any problems so far. We can get to New York by car in under eight hours and to Port Canaveral in about twenty-two hours (we break the Florida drive up into two days). We much prefer driving rather than all the hassle of flying these days.

 

An interesting note....after our Elation cruise a couple of years ago, my brother's family left their vacation home in Orlando for the drive home to Toronto at about the same time our family was disembarking the ship in Port Canaveral. With the three different planes we had to take home (and waiting for all those planes and then waiting for luggage in Toronto) my brother actually arrived home by car before we did flying!! Made us wish we'd driven to that cruise too!

[tatay]

I am in Toronto and have always used southwest out of Buffalo to fly to Florida. Savings add up for a family of 4 compared to driving or flying out of Pearson.

We have considered driving but with the price of gas, 24 hour drive, 2 hotel nights, cost of meals during the drive, tons of "are we there yet?", not to mention back pains from driving 12 hours, we always end up flying.

Just as I was typing this, I got a "ding" from southwest and they have buf-tampa for $89 1-way.

[copper6606]

Hi, we live in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia. We fly out of Halifax. Since most years we cruise in Feb. or March- the prices of flights are outrageous! We try to put EVERYTHING we can on our Visa and gather as many airmiles as possible. So far we have had about 12 free flights [ over the years.] We just sneaked in this year. All of our daughter's tuitions for University went on the card as well [ you just have to pay it off right away] ! We were thinking of walking on "The Cat" and taking it over to Portland, Maine. The airport is about a 5 min. taxi drive and then flying out of there. I was surprised that the flights were quite reasonable [ compared to ours]. I know that is fine until the fall , but I sure wish this was an option for Feb or March. -That would be a little Ferry ride I wouldn't want to take!:eek:

[Rockee4055]

Just wondering? How many Canadians are here and travel with Carnival, we are from Nova Scotia and heading out next week for Miami-Bahama...Without free airfare (aeroplan points) to Miami, I don't know how many Canadians can do this - as we don't have many 'warm weather" ports that are conveniently located..I mean we have Halifax and Saint John on the east coast - but I like the warm weather - so cruising to New England in the fall is not for me.

 

Jackale - we've encountered many Canadians onboard the ship. We've spent a lot of time north of the border, kind of as our second home. M grandmother and cousin lived up there for many years. She lived in Deseronto and my cousin in Mississauga.

 

I can pick up the Canadian accent in a heartbeat and have had many conversations with them. I spoke to a couple that lived about a mile from my grandmother and spend a lot of time on Whitefish lake where they had their cabin...very very small world.

[ManyMore]

WAIT!!! They let Canadians cruise on Carnival? :eek: LMAO!!

[Midazolam]

OP, You need to check out the roll call for the Triumph sailing on November 22, 2008:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=673263

 

I will be on that sailing. The roll call has more Canadians than any other nationality. They seem to me to be a good group and very willing to spend a November week in the Caribbean and not at home in Canada:)

 

I myself live in Missouri, and right now I would rather be anywhere other than near the Mississippi River. Here is a photo of my home town, Hannibal Missouri. You can see the levee is holding for the major part of the town, but the poor folks on the south end of town (left side of the photo) are wet.

 

 

Larry

[pkrchkr]

Hello my fellow Canucks,

We have sailed 4 cruises 3 on Carnival,1 on RCI. For the most part we have left out Winnipeg but 1 cruise we left out of Edmonton( DH is int he the military and " they send you where they need you" or so they try and convince us)This next cruise in the fall is a family reunion cruise. We have a 2 hour drive as DH is no posted to Shilo( near Brandon Manitoba).Relatives are coming from Victoria Winnipeg and Calgary. We will all be meeting in Vancouver and flying down from there. We have not met alot of Canadians on board but have made alot of new American friends since we started to cruise.

With the dollar being so good these days it is the best choice for our family and since our kids have never left Canada this is going to be a great experience for them.

Dh is from Dartmouth NS says hi to all the blue nosers!!!!:D