Any Canadians changing their cruising plans?

[deercottage]

The Canadian dollar being so low right now versus the US dollar, does that change your cruising plans with Oceania? We are booked for October on the Regatta and thinking about the added cost.

[LHT28]

We have a cruise book & now paid for

another one in November (HAL) but I had a stockpile of USD to cover both

After that it will be if we want to cruise we will pay the price

We cruised when it cost 65 cents more per CAD

 

I guess if you want to cruise you need to pay the price or stay home

 

Lyn

[no fuss travel]

We are double thinking about next year. The dollar is supposed to sink to $0.75 to the USD. This not only hurts Canadians, but Americans across the border as they count on Canadian shoppers. The only thing we are purchasing in the US at the moment is gas for our car as it is 57% of the price we have to pay here at home. No transit tax and tax on taxes.

[Cruise Junky]

We did switch our 2016 cruise from Oceania to Celebrity and booked Celebrity in Canadian at a 13% exchange rate. There were other factors involved but cost was one of them.

[oceansandseas]

o

 

 

DH and I have a cruise coming up but we have paid for it in full already.

 

Saying that, last night I was not sure if I wanted to book a certain hotel in USA for the 2 nights before our cruise. I was booking in Canadian dollars. Thought that I would wait another day. By noon today it had gone up $6.00 per night.

 

I do remember about 10 years ago when our dollar was very low and we cruised. I believe though that the prices of the cruises were not as expensive as they are now. The exchange rate on $10,000.00 is a lot more than the exchange rate on $5,000.00.

 

Bottom line, we probably will cruise yearly to get away from the snow, but maybe not B2B Caribbean, just 1 cruise.

 

We should do what Switzerland did.

 

 

o

[ladysail2]

I usually cruise with Royal Caribbean and I can book in Canadian $$. That is the route I'm taking except for the odd non-RC cruise. If I like an itinerary then I will pay for it, regardless of the sinking loonie, LOL I'll consider it a 'treat' and not splurge on other things.

 

Joyce :D

[madams]

We are booked for Marina in October. Yes the low Loonie makes things more expensive but you only live once. I feel that if we don't travel while we are in good health we will regret it later. We took the Oceania air credit and booked our own air in CDN dollars.

We would have had to pay the deviation charge to get the flights we wanted.So taking the credit amount and the deviation charge based on USD into account we were able to save some.

 

This trip has been our "bucket list" for a couple of years so we will make it happen.

[Minoushka]

Some companies charge $ canadian at par ...check that out ...worth it

[Baybear]

Slightly off topic... But I seem to have heard that Canadian "prices" in "Canadian dollars" are higher than US prices in "US Dollars" so does that mean someone traveling to Canada from the US is still paying about the same prices as in the US for food, lodging, etc?

 

Since even though the exchange rate is favorable to the US, the Canadian prices are higher than US...

[orchestrapal]

Slightly off topic... But I seem to have heard that Canadian "prices" in "Canadian dollars" are higher than US prices in "US Dollars" so does that mean someone traveling to Canada from the US is still paying about the same prices as in the US for food, lodging, etc?

 

Since even though the exchange rate is favorable to the US, the Canadian prices are higher than US...

 

No it does not mean that. Whatever percentage the Canadian dollar is DOWN against the US dollar will be the price for you. Big savings while it remains down.

[hypercafe]

Does this mean that in the past you were getting a discount on the trip due to the exchange rate?

 

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[no fuss travel]

I used to do the calculations. If it was cheaper to pay US prices then I would leave from Seattle, if it was cheaper to pay Canadian, I would leave from Vancouver. Companies that allow you to pay in Canadian have two different brochures, one in Canadian prices and the other in USD. If you are close to the border you can make a choice which way you want to go. Oceania though does not offer us this luxury of choice so depending on where we want to go will depend on what we do. We have a cruise booked for September, took the air credit, paid in Canadian for our air for less money than we got in air credit as there was an introductory air special for a new airline flying direct from Vancouver to Europe, did not have to pay the deviation fee, and have booked a land tour that we really wanted to do in Canadian dollars. Yes, we will have to pay more for our cruise, but we feel it is worth it as we can cross several places off our bucket list. Next year we are still going to bite the bullet but not on Oceania as we have booked a river cruise to a country that we have wanted to visit and lucked out in getting the last cabin for that particular cruise a couple of months ago. For the other trip, we are going to find a Canadian company to go with so we can pay in Canadian dollars. Also that is a land trip as no cruise ship goes there:D

[Wendy The Wanderer]

...

We cruised when it cost 65 cents more per CAD

...

 

We did too, and since then I have speculated in US currency as the C$ spiralled up. Now we winter in Florida, so we're stuck, all around. Just the way of the world--at least we're paying less for gas. Meanwhile, we have two river cruises booked, one to Egypt which will be a definite "go" no matter what, I would imagine. We'll see what the Tauck trip costs when we get an actual invoice for 2016, then see how the dollar's doing when it's final payment time.

 

Some companies charge $ canadian at par ...check that out ...worth it

 

Yes, this is definitely worth looking for--I know that PG Cruises, the Paul Gauguin, have been offering fares at par for Canadians--not sure if this offer is still open. We just cruised in Tahiti again last September, so we're not interested, but sounds like a good deal.

[Minoushka]

Will cancel Celebrity Transat for next fall .will not go on as many ...probably mush fewer cross border shopping too ...boohoo ,...no fair ...boohoo

[Mumofnine]

The Australian Dollar has also dropped considerably against the USD; believe Oceania cruise fares will be increasing by at least 15% for us from 1 April.

Edited January 29, 2015 by Mumofnine

[Waynetor]

We were supposed to be on the Insignia right now. Instead we are on a Princess ship - they are cerantily just adding 10% to the US price and they also allow to prepay gratuities and drink packages in Canadian at 10%. Good deal while it last

[Anna201213]

Me too I have a cruise coming up in Feb but we have another one in Nov 2015 there is a possibility that we will cancel because it is a lot of money in US that we did not calculate when we gave the deposit a long time ago

[potterhill]

When we book something in US dollars we just know we will pay. Can't stay home forever! Going to Florida for 3 weeks in February. Not even considering changing plans.

 

Mo

 

 

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[Cruise Junky]

When we book something in US dollars we just know we will pay. Can't stay home forever! Going to Florida for 3 weeks in February. Not even considering changing plans.

 

Mo

 

 

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I'm not staying home, just booking with a cruiseline that takes Canadian at a much better rate :)

Edited January 30, 2015 by Cruise Junky

[ladysail2]

I'm not staying home, just booking with a cruiseline that takes Canadian at a much better rate :)

 

It's nice that some of them do deal in Can currency when booking. At least the onboard expenses, though in US $$, are lower than the price of the cruise.

:D

[YoHoHo]

Yes, we are changing our cruising plans.

 

A 25% premium is a lot. That cruise advertised at $USD 5999 pp just went up by $3000+ per cabin (most purchases are for two.)

 

DW has been wanting more land trips so a trip in Euro's will give better value now. Hmmm, or maybe a cruise in Euro's??

 

The money has to come from somewhere. Won't stop travelling but does affect plans. One would have to be foolish or very secure in their finances to not consider such a rapid 25% increase. I like to think I'm not the former and I know I'm not the latter yet .Respecting my Scots/Dutch ancestry dictates such consideration. It will settle out and we'll eventually adjust to the new normal but yes, it will affect our plans.

 

Not whinging, it was a good ride. Now back to regular viewing...

Edited January 30, 2015 by YoHoHo

[Cruise Junky]

It's nice that some of them do deal in Can currency when booking. At least the onboard expenses, though in US $$, are lower than the price of the cruise.

:D

 

Exactly. On both of our Celebrity cruises we already have the drink package which would be the largest expense. I'm happy and relieved to have been able to change them both to Canadian at between 12-13%. If we hadn't have got a great deal and a great cabin for the Med, I'd be switching to a land trip in a heartbeat.

[LHT28]

Keep an eye on those Canadian priced cruises

Most cruise lines set their rate for 3 mths then recalculate based on the way the $ is going

Sometimes the CAD rate can be 10% more than just paying in USD after your exchange

For the past few yrs our CAD has been close to par so it has been good news but I remember when it was not always the way

 

Do the math before you commit

[neepawa]

We had looked at the TA, Montreal to London in May on Marina but have opted for a land tour at home in Canada because of the exchange rate. Since we have visited 9 provinces, it is time to do Newfoundland and Labrador for 12 days in August 2015.

 

Cheers,

 

Don

[Occy]

We were just on the verge of booking for later this year when the Cdn. $ took a nose dive. We are now re-thinking our plans and may go out East (Maritimes)and do a land holiday in Canada instead. We still aren't 100% sure.