It's Hard to be a Canadian

[molsonschooner]

fellow canadian here and i feel your pain! we have always cruised disney and have our first ever rcl cruise booked for 2016 and it may be a game changer. first being able to pay in canadian is a big plus. we will be saving about $2000 from what a dcl cruise would cost us. thats not a small amount.

 

even with the u.s. dollar being so high we find it cheaper to fly out of the u.s. than it is to fly out of canada. have you looked at that option? that might save a bit.

also, as a p.p. mentioned, you can pre purchase obc's at a rate of $1.10 cnd per $1.00 u.s., that for sure helps.

 

have a great cruise and enjoy your time with your child.

 

we always fly out of buffalo. Much cheaper than flying from Toronto. We drive from east of Toronto so we actually go right past Pearson on our way to Buffalo.

[DirtyDawg]

we always fly out of buffalo. Much cheaper than flying from Toronto. We drive from east of Toronto so we actually go right past Pearson on our way to Buffalo.

 

For years we have done the same. But lately the prices out of Pearson have been better.

 

All in cruising has gotten more expensive for Canadians but at least we can still do Cuba on the cheap.;) Our Yankee cousins can't do that........yet.

Edited June 5, 2015 by DirtyDawg

[Shih-tzu]

LuCruise... I have a bad habit of buying my cruise and paying for it and then forgetting about it. With prices getting out of control (especially flights), I think I'm going to have to start thinking about flying out of Buffalo. It's not that I can't afford it, it just bothers the hell out of me to always be paying top price for everything just because I want to support our national airline, Air Canada.

 

I can see our local airport lights from my house....BUT if I drive 3 hours to Bangor, the airline tickets have usually been about 1/2 the prices on Delta flights than from here on Air Canada to Florida, and 1/3 the price when we went to California. This year however, for some odd twist of fate, I managed to get a flight from our local airport to San Juan via Air Canada (and partners) for about $500 less than from the US - so I nabbed it fast before they could push the prices back up. (I am also including the exchange, etc in my "savings" calculation) (mind you, as the web sites/prices fluctuate there may not be that big of a difference right now).

 

I always worry about possible winter driving/weather issues travelling 3 hours to the airport as well....if it's snowing a bit here I could actually walk to the airport if I had to....I try to factor in price/exchange/driving.....and then decide what's reasonable.

 

As another poster mentioned, they live in Halifax so the cost of airfare is more.... try living in NB where they add another $150 or more onto that again so they can send you to Halifax,then to Montreal/Toronto and then get you on a plane to where you really want to go......

[Jypsy2000]

We're from Hamilton and fly out of Buffalo, which is a lot cheaper. Does anyone know how you look at prices on RC website in CDN dollars all I get in U.S. Dollars.

 

Near the bottom of their homepage is the name of the country/currency the site is being viewed as. If you're getting U.S. dollars, it probably is saying "United States". Click that, and change it to "Canada". The prices should now be listed in Canadian dollars.

[molsonschooner]

For years we have done the same. But lately the prices out of Pearson have been better.

 

All in cruising has gotten more expensive for Canadians but at least we can still do Cuba on the cheap.;) Our Yankee cousins can't do that........yet.

 

We got flights on Jet Blue for our September cruise. Buffalo to Fort Lauderdale for about $140 US pp each way. When we looked at flying out of Pearson the cheapest we saw was about 700 Canadian return each.

[Virtopia]

Fellow Torontonian here! I've been pretty fortunate with flights, thank goodness. My upcoming RT to San Juan was about $440 but we also checked about flying out of Buffalo and it was almost the same cost. I do think you will enjoy your cruise though ... Royal hasn't disappointed me yet.

[budisal]

I'm looking forward to it.

[SPacificbound]

Email the special needs department.

 

special _ needs @ rccl . com

 

phone (866) 592-7225

 

Taken from this page.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/allaboutcruising/accessibleseas/home.do?cS=NAVBAR&pnav=1&snav=7

 

I hope you all have a wonderful cruise. :)

Edited June 5, 2015 by SPacificbound

[e11wa]

By the time you add it all up, it comes out at $4700 Cdn with taxes, etc added in. What the heck happened to cheap cruising?

that is about $4900 aussie dollars. for a week.

 

That is what it costs just to get my wife and I to miami from australia.

[budisal]

Thanks SPacificbound. Will do.

[budisal]

E11wa. Wow! Just the flight? Ok... I'll shut up now.

[adjjb12]

I booked a one week Caribbean cruise for my son and I for June. One week in a hot area of the globe during Canada's hottest months. How expensive can that be? Well, let's start adding it all up. We're from Toronto, so let's start with over $600 EACH in airfare. Let's take a cheap cruise... after all, it's basically just a father/bonding time, so no need to pay a premium to go anyplace really special. Then there's the Canadian dollar, now valued at about 72 cents U.S. By the time you add it all up, it comes out at $4700 Cdn with taxes, etc added in. What the heck happened to cheap cruising?

Anyway... RCCL better make it worth my time. First time sailing with Royal Caribbean. Have been spoiled on X and Holland America. However, I've got to admit, I've never been nickel and dimed to death by any of the other lines like I have been with RCCL. On the other hand, I've never had a bad cruise. First, and possibly, ONLY time sailing on Royal. One chance only... too many other good cruise lines to choose from out there for the same money.

I'm Canadian and cruised RCL and not sure how RCL is to blame for the CND dollar and for the price of airfare. Living in Canada there's lots of ways to go through not paying $600 for airfare. Driving, connecting, flying out of a US airport (ie Buffalo). Paying RCL in Canadian funds.

Edited June 5, 2015 by adjjb12

[ryano]

OFF TOPIC and understood if deleted but I have to ask anyway

 

Who told you to soak catheters in vinegar? Not a good idea. I've seen mention of this but the truth is It does not kill all bacteria nor does it really sterilize. Soap and warm water is the best method if you can't use a new sterile cath every time. The Shepherd Center and other rehabilitation centers has done much research on this.

 

I'm T12 paraplegic with over 20 years of dealing with this also. Sorry for going off topic but the vinegar is not a necessity nor would I ever consider it for this use. I was taught never to soak Catheters in anything but a dry plastic bag. I'm sure Special Needs will make it happen though if you just HAVE to have it. They are wonderful to work with.

Edited June 5, 2015 by ryano

[Bowmanvilletravel]

Fellow Canadian here....another idea is to drive to Baltimore, only about 8 hours from Toronto....plus the cruise prices are lower.

[papaflamingo]

Couple of comments.

Just because people question your attitude doesn't make them "rah rah" supporters. For some reason anyone who doesn't agree with an upset poster is considered a "cheerleader." So get over that.

You never stated anything in your original post about any special needs. You got some contrary comments and suddenly "up the story." So what do you expect.

But here's my thoughts. Sure RCCL "nickels and dimes." So does everyone else. Remember the price of Oil? In 2000 it was a few dollars a barrel. Now it hovers around $70-$100. The cruise line needs to make up for that. The cost of the cruise in real dollars is way down. So how do they make money? Well, they cut out the expense of mailing Cruise Docs. Most everyone has a computer and printer. Download your docs., keep them in the computer (no need to print), then print your 4 or 5 luggage tags. If you don't want to do that, have them hand printed at the pier. Lots of people do that, no big deal. But I, for one, don't want my cruise price to go up even $1 because others don't want to download Docs or print luggage tags. So they break it out and if you want them mailed, YOU pay for it. I choose to save the money.

Other than that, what else has been "nickel and dimed?"

Royal Caribbean is not responsible for air fares.

Royal Caribbean is not responsible for the value of the Canadian Dollar.

 

As others have said, call Special Needs. They will likely take care of your issues.

So, am I a "cheerleader?" Hardly. I'd be happy to tell you all the things I don't like about Royal Caribbean. But for me, the pluses outweigh the minuses. I go on a cruise excited and happy and determined to not let small irritants ruin it for me. You seem determined to let small irritants override your experience.

Good luck.

[DirtyDawg]

We got flights on Jet Blue for our September cruise. Buffalo to Fort Lauderdale for about $140 US pp each way. When we looked at flying out of Pearson the cheapest we saw was about 700 Canadian return each.

 

Great price. Way to go!:) For us it was a no brainer to automatically book through Buffalo but in the last 6 months or so the flights we booked were cheaper out of Pearson for some reason. Oh well, it's another option to look at for future flights.

[LuCruise]

Great price. Way to go!:) For us it was a no brainer to automatically book through Buffalo but in the last 6 months or so the flights we booked were cheaper out of Pearson for some reason. Oh well, it's another option to look at for future flights.

 

It's funny. I just did a check and for us, Buffalo is more expensive than Toronto fights. Maybe it's the day or time of year I checked.

Cheapest tickets $556 CAD from Buffalo vs $510 CAD from Toronto. Go figure.

(And we managed to grab them at $416 from Toronto but that was a 12hr deal that was gone later the same day)

[ryano]

For some reason anyone who doesn't agree with an upset poster is considered a "cheerleader." So get over that.

 

That is no different than people that come here with legit complaints being called whiners, moaners, complainers etc :) We ALL need to get over the name calling IMHO.

 

Just food for thought :)

[trev71]

I am from Canada and I know the dollar is not at 72 cents its more like 79. Maybe it will go up or down you never know. But if you are worried about cheap cruising maybe you should just stay home. From one Canadian to another

 

 

Edit: I have talked about the Canadian dollar in other fourms here. But like I tell my wife it is what it is. If you want to cruise you are going to pay. If you want a cheap trip there is always Cuba

Edited June 5, 2015 by trev71

[pspercy]

First time sailing with Royal Caribbean. . .. . . .However, I've got to admit, I've never been nickel and dimed to death by any of the other lines like I have been with RCCL

 

??????????

[grand isle joe]

....what ever happened to the McKenzie brothers?........do you know if they cruise too?......and those pesky Hanson brothers from Slapshot......now THAT would be a great cruise........so long as Justin Bieber doesn't show up on board everyone should be safe..............:cool:

[tserface]

I totally understand. All of the prices are going up a lot. Airfare is higher than ever with the new cost of paying for luggage. When going on a cruise you have to bring a lot of "stuff". We're in Oregon and our airfare was around $700 each for our last cruise, not counting the cost of parking, driving 2 hours to and from the airport since our local airport doesn't go anywhere "cruisy".

 

And the per person cost of cruising is starting to go up (catch up).

 

We still do it and still love doing it and still have a blast, but you're right, it's not as cheap of a vacation as it was once. I used to tell people it was a ton cheaper than land based (all inclusive) vacations, but that's not always the case. Of course, when you do that you're forced to stay in one place for the time and I like waking up somewhere different every day.

 

First world problems... :)

 

Tom

[Paddy41]

One thing that I like about RCL us that you can book in Canadian...so what you book with is what you pay. If you look ay Disney for example, you book with their inflated price AND THEN need to convert to Canadian when you pay it off.

 

 

 

Also, there is a thread about buying OBC at a 1.1 exchange rate.

 

 

 

 

I booked my B2B for July in Canadian dollars. Only 10% added on to the US price. I added onboard credits using Canadian dollars as well. $499US cost me $550CAD. Most people have found that $499 is the most you can do at one time without RCCL actually seeing your credit card ....but you can do it more than once. When you check in you make your payment show 'cash' and then if you haven't used up all the OBC you go to guest services at the end and get it back in US$. Good deal! Meanwhile my booking is showing beverage packages, specialty dining, shore excursions, etc. all in CAD if I want to reserve and pay ahead.

 

I have cruised on RCCL, NCL, Costa, MSC, Carnival. Can you explain how RCC is nickle and diming you more than the others?

[JessyCruises]

I can see our local airport lights from my house....BUT if I drive 3 hours to Bangor, the airline tickets have usually been about 1/2 the prices on Delta flights than from here on Air Canada to Florida, and 1/3 the price when we went to California. ...

 

 

 

Where are you from in NB? We are just outside Saint John and usually drive to Portland or Manchester and fly Southwest. We can usually get to FL return for $250-$300 usd, sometimes less. It adds up when there at least 33 of us every time. We only ever fly from home if it's paid on points.

Edited June 5, 2015 by Canadian Disney Mom

[ewenix]

By the time you add it all up, it comes out at $4700 Cdn with taxes, etc added in. What the heck happened to cheap cruising?

Anyway... RCCL better make it worth my time. First time sailing with Royal Caribbean. Have been spoiled on X and Holland America. However, I've got to admit, I've never been nickel and dimed to death by any of the other lines like I have been with RCCL.

 

I'm curious. You say you're being nickel and dimed by RCCL, so how much was a similar cruise on X or HAL, where you're not getting nickel and dimed?

Edited June 5, 2015 by ewenix