How many CDNs are still cruising with the low dollar

[Cruise Junky]

Actually X adjusted their pricing on our existing cruise after booking. We had booked at about 1.14 and when they adjusted our sailing to a more current rate overnight they went to 1.30 and it is now worse. Nothing to to do with those BBB perks as the US pricing did not change:(

 

I don't think Ruth is talking about canadian prices being higher because of the BBB, she's talking about the US price being higher which it absolutely is. With crappier itineraries I might add :mad:

[Du vent dans les voiles]

We have booked last year for this February and next year but we will definitely spend less money during the croise

 

Josée

[hildacloake]

Our March 2016 cruise might be the last one for a while. Booked last year with OBC and drink package. Prices are ridiculous with Celebrity with their 'free' perks.

 

Cruised every year for the last 11 years, and it's time for a change anyway. Will be discovering our beautiful country more -- there is so much to see and do here :)

 

I do love cruising, but it's the same-o-same-o! Maybe I'll appreciate it more after a break from it for a while :confused:

[Swann5]

Last November my hubby booked an inside cabin on Millennium to Alaska for August 2016, at a really good price in Canadian dollars; since then the cost has gone up $800. Based on our weak dollar and the increasing cruise fares, we will be doing all-inclusive holiday this fall, for the first time in over a decade, and will be looking to other cruise lines for an affordable option when we can afford to return to cruising in the future.

 

Dianne

[Elusive_Cruiser]

On the Eclipse Feb 7th...booked 18 months ago in Cdn$ at a good rate. We bought US$ when our dollar was at par. Still using them , but we will run out this trip.

This will be our last U.S bound trip until our dollar improves. Maybe in 2 years??

 

 

You were clearly the smart one! It's not too often that our dollar gets more favorable then par. Want to sell a little at a profit? :)

[Elusive_Cruiser]

We book our cruises early, as experience tells us they do nothing but go up in price. We book in Canadian dollars. We are sailing next month. We booked our flights last March. They are, today, $200 less than we paid. However, our hotel, which we did not prepay, will cost us 50% more. Same goes for cab fare, meals, etc. During our two pre-cruise and one post-cruise day in Fort Lauderdale we will be spending 50% more than we anticipated.

 

We have also booked the 2017 Mardi-Gras Cruise and a 2018 cruise, both when they were first released. Had no issues with the ’17 and if you look now, insides are going for double what we paid for our C1. But airfare and hotels, if the exchange gets worse, which they say it will, could make this prohibitive.

 

For 2018 – we’ll see. It is very expensive right now. Do not think we will take this cruise if the price does not come down.

 

I will be very sad. L

[Elusive_Cruiser]

Last November my hubby booked an inside cabin on Millennium to Alaska for August 2016, at a really good price in Canadian dollars; since then the cost has gone up $800. Based on our weak dollar and the increasing cruise fares, we will be doing all-inclusive holiday this fall, for the first time in over a decade, and will be looking to other cruise lines for an affordable option when we can afford to return to cruising in the future.

 

Dianne

 

Where will you go for an all inclusive? Any where warm is governed by the USD, no? Except Cuba?

[Cruise Junky]

Where will you go for an all inclusive? Any where warm is governed by the USD, no? Except Cuba?

 

They're all priced reasonably in Cdn. Brother and SIL cancelled a Celebrity cruise and are currently on the Mayan Riviera. Way cheaper

[Elusive_Cruiser]

They're all priced reasonably in Cdn. Brother and SIL cancelled a Celebrity cruise and are currently on the Mayan Riviera. Way cheaper

 

Good to know - I was under the impression that the Mexican pricing was tied to the USD. Think I will start checking that, plus Cuba, as options for our vacation dollars.

[Cruise Junky]

Good to know - I was under the impression that the Mexican pricing was tied to the USD. Think I will start checking that, plus Cuba, as options for our vacation dollars.

 

Cuba definitely won't be priced in US ;) ...yet

[Elusive_Cruiser]

Cuba definitely won't be priced in US ;) ...yet

 

hehe,true enough. But we like better food offerings than we hear you get there! We have quite a few friends and family who travel to Cuba, but you go for the weather, people and beaches... NOT for the food!!

[Cruise Junky]

hehe,true enough. But we like better food offerings than we hear you get there! We have quite a few friends and family who travel to Cuba, but you go for the weather, people and beaches... NOT for the food!!

 

I hear that too. You definitely have to go 5 star if you go to Cuba.

[PNW Traveler]

We're not Canadian but decided this year on a winter cruise alternative. Am posting from a luxury condo on Kauai. The cost for two weeks was less than a 7 day Caribbean cruise (balcony) and is a great winter getaway. Will be visiting west Canada this summer. We always enjoy our driving trips in beautiful Canada.

[Elusive_Cruiser]

We're not Canadian but decided this year on a winter cruise alternative. Am posting from a luxury condo on Kauai. The cost for two weeks was less than a 7 day Caribbean cruise (balcony) and is a great winter getaway.

 

That is very interesting!- - any idea why? Isn't Hawaii generally expensive?

[Cruise Junky]

That is very interesting!- - any idea why? Isn't Hawaii generally expensive?

 

You can do it pretty inexpensively in a condo. We rented in the Ilikai in Honolulu for years we paid around $950 US for the week. Last Christmas and New Years we rented a townhouse over looking the golf course at Turtle Bay for $1800 US for two weeks. If you need a three course meal every night, then yes you'll pay but it can very done a lot cheaper.

[PNW Traveler]

Condo on the beach between Wailua and Kapaa on island of Kauai. We mostly cook in. Restaurants within walking distance if we want to eat out. Lovely pool, tropical gardens. Condo is 800 square ft plus. Great WiFi. Cost is about $1000 US/week, about average for area. Lots of winter options for winter travel other than cruises. We love cruising and have cruised many times but the cost and the itinerary must both be attractive.

[truel1111]

In early Dec 2015, I booked Jan 2016 Celebrity to south Caribbean. I kind of regret now. Not only Caribbean taxi/tour/excursion is all in US$, they are expensive.

Edited January 17, 2016 by truel1111

[Ex-Airbalancer]

When the dollar was low from about '96 to '08 we did all-inclusive from Cuba to Brazil, for some very good prices

Then we started cruising Europe and TAs, for excellent price , book inside TA for $650'CAD and got upgrade to balcony , Aqu for $999 , balcony with drink package for $1150,

Did a Holy land 2 week cruise in an inside for $550 for 2 weeks , and all the cruise was with at least $300 OBC

Now inside TAs are over $1500 . Celebrity fares are too high !

now I am at a lost what to do ?

We have friends in the US , that we can couch surf but there still air fare , car rentals and food to buy, this low dollar is a killer :eek:

[cormike1]

We have booked all our upcoming cruises in CDN $'s thank goodness. Some included perks and some didn't so we will have to grin and bear it and pay the price for the extras. Thank goodness our Mardi Gras cruise in Feb. 2017 is in CDN and we prepaid gratuities way before the dollar dropped. The price is totally outrageous for this cruise now!!! $10,000/pp for a suite would you believe. Anyhow we have these booked and that is it for now. Our dollar is supposed to be like this and lower for the next couple of years so we will see what happens next year but definitely we will watch how we spend our money!

[Swann5]

Where will you go for an all inclusive? Any where warm is governed by the USD, no? Except Cuba?

 

My niece has chosen to get married at an all-inclusive on the Mayan Riviera, Mexico. So far, our CDN dollar is still performing well against the peso. As we haven't done an AI for so long, it will be very interesting how it compares to our cruise experiences. The AI she has chosen has a reputation for very high food quality, premium Mojito Bar and other beverage and entertainment options. As we have started to create our own 'sea days' by staying on the ship in some of our less desired ports and enjoying all the ship's amenities while the ship is less crowded, maybe more all inclusives will be in our future, time will tell. We are also interested in the Mediterranean, but we will be doing lots of research on both cruise and land options.

 

Dianne

[smtcan]

We have one cruise booked for this year. We booked over a year ago in US dollars, because the price and benefits were better. We bought enough US dollars at that time to pay for the cruise and are glad we did. We are not big spenders on board, and will probably spend less this time. We are also looking at All Inclusive resorts instead of cruises for our next trips. Celebrity has priced us out of its market with inclusions that we do not require and inflated prices.

 

Sheila

[wendychloecruiser]

Don't worry about things you have no control over. Just remember that as a Canadian you are fortunate to wake up in the best country in the world. :):)

[RickT]

Cruising can still offer good value (even with our low dollar) but it's no longer the no brainer it once was.

 

I will continue to cruise as long as it's value and enjoyment factor is equal to or better than my other choices. Who knows, back when our dollar was last at this level, Celebrity took pity on us and gave us a better than the going rate exchange both on the cruise fare and shipboard credit. I haven't checked that lately.

 

Ultimately I will continue to travel and maybe that will be within Canada or perhaps Europe but I suspect you'll see me on a cruise sooner rather than later.

Edited January 17, 2016 by RickT

[boblin]

Thought I'd put my 2 cents in too. (Oops, don't have those in Canada anymore!) I usually take 2 cruises per year, but have only a Celebrity TA booked this year for April. Excellent price in $US for balcony cabin. I have my portfolio manager put an infusion of $US from my $US trading acc't into my $US bank account, pay with my $US credit card and delude myself that I'm not paying any currency transaction fees. LOL! At worst those stocks were purchased when our $ was much higher!

 

I also book hotel rooms on Priceline or Hotwire and save there. ($150 CDN booked months ago, vs $300 US now on hotel website.) Also have saved this year on transatlantic flight from GTW to Toronto because of increased competition in that market. I refuse to stop cruising altogether because NOW is my time to travel and I won't put it off. I have always been pretty choosy, tho' and don't spend much onboard and arrange private shore excursions.

[Ginnyfyr]

We usually book our cruises through a TA in Arkansas but will book directly through the cruise lines until our dollar improves. She always got us great deals and threw in lots of OBC but it's just not worth it with the exchange. We just did a New Year's cruise that we booked through her and it cost us almost $1000 more with the exchange rate! We have two cruises booked for this year - Alaska in May on Princess and a Pacific Coastal with X in September, but we booked both directly with the cruise line so it's in CAD so won't have to worry about the exchange rate. We'll cut back some at home to save up for the US dollars we'll have to purchase - fewer dinners out, etc. Life's too short to not travel!