Low canadian dollar

Question for all..

do you think with the low Canadian dollar you will see less and less Canadians on a cruise..Even thought Carnival has the lowest pricing, it is still way too much to be paying ...

I know I will have to sit and really think...do I want to spend the price and almost half again for the same cruise...I don't think so..I work hard enough for my money to give it away..

Question for all..

 

do you think with the low Canadian dollar you will see less and less Canadians on a cruise..Even thought Carnival has the lowest pricing, it is still way too much to be paying ...

I know I will have to sit and really think...do I want to spend the price and almost half again for the same cruise...I don't think so..I work hard enough for my money to give it away..

For sure. I am Canadian and that will be our last cruise. We sailed on NYE and could have gone to a 5 star all-inclusive for the same price.

I have not booked a cruise this year and will not until the Canadian dollar is better. 42% more is way to much looks like it will be a stay vacation this year unless things drastically change.

We are cruising in May but this was paid for back in Aug, when the $ was slightly better and we thought it would get better. This will be our last trip south in a while :(.

Question for all..

 

do you think with the low Canadian dollar you will see less and less Canadians on a cruise..Even thought Carnival has the lowest pricing, it is still way too much to be paying ...

I know I will have to sit and really think...do I want to spend the price and almost half again for the same cruise...I don't think so..I work hard enough for my money to give it away..

I think some Canadians may select a different vacation but even with the low Canadian dollar, you can still find buys on the various lines. If you normally book a balcony or suite, then clearly the exchange rate would be a significant increase but on a guarantee, inside or oceanview rate, the low dollar isn't enough to persuade me from booking. I went to the UK in August and that conversion was worse but I went anyway and had a wonderful time.

I booked our upcoming cruise back in August for a cruise this month and the exchange rate then was around 0.75 and I still got a great deal (I think). I picked up $55US at the bank yesterday and the conversion was almost $80.

Resort vacations don't interest me anymore and the taxes on the resort packages are ridiculously high.

As long as I get to escape the cold Canadian winter even temporarily, I am going!

Another thing to look at is our dollar vs other currencies. Yes it's taking a beating vs the USD, but not so much compared to the Euro. We'll probably be heading to St Martin for a week this spring, fly in CDN $, pay for everything else in Euros... :D

We will still cruise!

Booked our cruise on the Splendor while exchange was still decent, even prepaid our gratuities then.

BUT my cruise on NCL is costing me a small fortune!!

Our dd's future mil was booked with two couples,, the mom of one of them was going to be her cabin mate but she decided she couldn't go , so Jodi would have had to pay solo suppliment or lose her deposit. Since its over our sping break and I am off work I decided to take the cabin mates place. This cruise for an inside is $300 more than my balcony next month!! At least it includes the beverage pkg!!

On the bright side...I get to cruise twice this year a month apart!!

We booked a 14 day cruise in March for a family of 4. Exchange has increased our trip by $2100. We decided that this will be our last family cruise until the dollar gets better. :(

Does Carnival let you purchase OBC at a discount rate?

Hope it's ok to post here. We're taking a Royal Carribbean cruise but I am Canadian and ouch..the dollar hurts right now. On Royal, you can purchase OBC at 10% (i.e. $400 USD costs $440 CAD). So this certainly helps with onboard expenses.

I think travelling via a cruise or any land based vacation in the USD is gonna be more costly for us now.

Does Carnival let you purchase OBC at a discount rate?

Hope it's ok to post here. We're taking a Royal Carribbean cruise but I am Canadian and ouch..the dollar hurts right now. On Royal, you can purchase OBC at 10% (i.e. $400 USD costs $440 CAD). So this certainly helps with onboard expenses.

I think travelling via a cruise or any land based vacation in the USD is gonna be more costly for us now.

I am sailing a TA on Royal May 1st (booked in CAD )and have also been able to purchase OBC. Great perk.

I wish Carnival booked in CAD.

With the low dollar I am more selective where I spend my money. Especially paying double as a solo. Back to inside cabins. Definitely do not buy much.

Still cruising though.

Another thing to look at is our dollar vs other currencies. Yes it's taking a beating vs the USD, but not so much compared to the Euro. We'll probably be heading to St Martin for a week this spring, fly in CDN $, pay for everything else in Euros... :D

The exchange rate for Euros is much worse than the USD, by about 10 cents.

I have 2 cruises planned in 2016... My March 12 day cost me a small fortune at final payment...

I am doing a quick get away in Oct with my Mom... but.. I will not be cruising again for a while...

An all inclusive in Can funds will be the way to go for a bit..

Sad, but the dollar has priced me out of cruising for the time being.

The exchange rate for Euros is much worse than the USD, by about 10 cents.

When you compare the chart for the Euro vs CDN for the last two years: http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=CAD&to=EUR&view=2Y

VS the chart for the USD vs CDN for the last two years: http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=CAD&to=USD&view=2Y

You'll see that the Euro-CDN exchange rate is about the same now as it was two years ago, while our dollar is about 25% worse vs the USD than it was two years ago.

In other words, heading to countries that price things in Euros hasn't got any more expensive for Canadians (assuming their prices have stayed roughly the same).

For what it's worth, the condo we rented in St Martin was 650 euros or so for 8 nights. Food tends to be more expensive there, but the shops on the French side usually give you a discount when paying in Euros.

edit: I just wanted to give a little insight that it's not the Canadian dollar that's tanking, so much as a strengthening US dollar.

When you compare the chart for the Euro vs CDN for the last two years: http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=CAD&to=EUR&view=2Y

 

VS the chart for the USD vs CDN for the last two years: http://www.xe.com/currencycharts/?from=CAD&to=USD&view=2Y

 

You'll see that the Euro-CDN exchange rate is about the same now as it was two years ago, while our dollar is about 25% worse vs the USD than it was two years ago.

 

In other words, heading to countries that price things in Euros hasn't got any more expensive for Canadians (assuming their prices have stayed roughly the same).

 

For what it's worth, the condo we rented in St Martin was 650 euros or so for 8 nights. Food tends to be more expensive there, but the shops on the French side usually give you a discount when paying in Euros.

 

edit: I just wanted to give a little insight that it's not the Canadian dollar that's tanking, so much as a strengthening US dollar.

Completely agree with you. There's only been about a 10% shift in the Euro vs 40% in the US$. We cancelled an Australian cruise for an Australian land trip. That was a no brainer seeing we're at par with the Aussie dollar. We'll probably do more land trips to Europe or wait for Canadian bargains

We are going feb on carnival sunshine 13 day , booked a year ago when rate was good, bought enough american money to pay for it,so that is why we are going, but nothing booked ahead,

We have no intention of booking another cruise while our exchange rate is low. If fact, we are avoiding any US winter destinations this year and are making plans to do the same for the following winter.

Lots of other options out there that we can take advantage of until our currency comes back a little. The only exception will be a last minute bargain basement cruise or one priced in a similar currency such as AUD.

We will be more selective, but we're also prepared to make some sacrifice (such as inside instead of balcony) if the total price is still right as compared to the cost for other vacation options (within Canada or to the US)

Also, this is another reason to book in CDN $$$ instead of USD. We booked in CDN, paid our deposits, then watched the Loonie fall as our cruise price stayed the same. If we had booked in USD we'd likely have cancelled and done something else.

I have a deposit down on a 2017 and a 2018 cruise; I can get a full refund until a few months before sailing, so I have lots of time to consider what to do.

We only cruise ever couple years anyway, so it's not a big deal. I remember cruising in 1999-2001. That was pain lol. 60% exchange rate. $750 each for an inside cabin turned into $2400, plus airfare and spending. This upcoming cruise, I booked last March and have been making payments as the year went on, plus I was buying USD as well. Plus the cruise was quite a bit cheaper through the TA I used than any other price I saw, so that took away some sting. Still taking a hit, but not as bad as if I waited until final payment for everything. Bought our flights in June, and noticed the other day they are down probably the equivalent of the increase in exchange since then.

I guess I can take solace in the fact that gas prices are down so that's helped cushion the blow a touch.

We booked a Panama Cruise in USA dollars for April. Paid the deposit & gratuities, air is on points BUT the balance owing of $6,080 due the end of the month is going to cost an additional $2,000+.:eek: What to do???? We just retired and the dollar does this...Gee :mad:

Also, this is another reason to book in CDN $$$ instead of USD. We booked in CDN, paid our deposits, then watched the Loonie fall as our cruise price stayed the same. If we had booked in USD we'd likely have cancelled and done something else.

Totally true. This was a big factor when we booked our Royal cruise over Disney cruise (and so glad we did).

What other lines let you book in CAD?

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I am sorry for the loss of value in the Canadian $. But I am confused over the pitch that Europe is a better option. Maybe those people don't know how expensive Europe is regardless of the value of the $, American or Canadian. Maybe I am missing something.

We booked our April 2016 cruise in October 2014 in Canadian $. Am I ever glad we did that. With the current exchange our cruise would cost us over $2000 more. The exchange will hurt us on or condo bookings for 9 days before the cruise but we have been saving for a long time for this so will be ok.

jamessemaj...it depends where in Europe. We were in Greece/Greek Islands for six weeks this past Sept/Oct. Prices were good, euro was 1.44 Cad.

We spent about the same on a land trip as we would have on a 14 day cruise priced in USD. We have had several Med cruises in the past and are very familiar with the pricing-especially the last minute pricing.

We would choose a land trip to Sicily, Greece, Turkey, Croatia over a Med cruise given the current pricing/exchange rate. This winter we are paying a little more to fly to Thailand but we are saving considerably more in accommodation and currency exchange fees.

There are many alternatives to travelling to the US or buying travel priced in USD.