(Ontario) Universities and Dec Holiday Cruising

[LuCruise]

My son will be going to university next year in Ontario.  We typically cruise March break and summer but will be switching to December holiday time going forward so he can cruise with us.  So far we have booked 

-  New Years cruise Dec 2023  

- Xmas cruise Dec 2024

 

I have tried to look up the calendars online for some of them for this year and it seems like the break between end of exams and start of next session in January lines up with Ontario school board December holidays.

 

Is this typically the case?  The cruises themselves are refundable but my worry is waiting on airline until we can confirm (1) where he'll be (as it's his first year so don't know what university yet), (2) his Dec exam schedule, (3) his Jan start date for next term

 

What do others do with kids in university with respect to airline and booking?  If they always line up then we should be ok.  The new years one is Sun - Sat, with school most likely starting on the Monday (as long as no weather issues to get home).  The Xmas one is Sat to Sat, so at worst case would need to get him home from university and go.

 

 

 

Edited January 1, 2023 by LuCruise

[gnome12]

I hate to be a spoilsport, but have you considered that your university-aged child might not wish to travel with his parents every year?

[LHT28]

call the schools & ask  they should be able to give you the info

[LuCruise]

6 minutes ago, gnome12 said:

I hate to be a spoilsport, but have you considered that your university-aged child might not wish to travel with his parents every year?

Yes and that's why we will cruise as a family while we can.  The booked cruises were discussed with him.  The flight for 2024 won't be for awhile so can always cancel/modify the cruise booking if he changes how he feels.

[LuCruise]

2 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

call the schools & ask  they should be able to give you the info

Thanks.  The thing is he's at the point where he is applying for first year so we don't know yet where he will be , and won't until the Spring .  So I guess 6-8 months out we will have a better idea.  Since it's main holiday time, flight costs only go up once released....but we may jut have to wait until then at the earliest.

[phabric]

You can book your air  through the cruise line and not pay until final cruise payment. 

Edited January 1, 2023 by phabric

[LuCruise]

6 minutes ago, phabric said:

You can book your air  through the cruise line and not pay until final cruise payment. 

Thank you.  I didn't realize Air2Sea was available to Canadians and that you don't pay until final payment. Our cruise is Royal so that sounds like it may be a great option.

 

Three questions

1. If your cruise is in CAD, the flight is also in CAD?

2.  If we cancel our (refundable) cruise and before final payment, then the flight is also 100% refundable?

3.  I am guessing the flight dates are locked in?  

[phabric]

3 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Thank you.  I didn't realize Air2Sea was available to Canadians and that you don't pay until final payment. Our cruise is Royal so that sounds like it may be a great option.

 

Three questions

1. If your cruise is in CAD, the flight is also in CAD?

2.  If we cancel our (refundable) cruise and before final payment, then the flight is also 100% refundable?

3.  I am guessing the flight dates are locked in?  

1) cruise & air are in CDN

 

2) if cancelled before final payment, all would be refunded.  If you just cancel cruise, air is automatically cancelled.  Can cancel/Modify air anytime before final , if you see better price/times.

 

3) you choose the dates you want to fly, You can choose pre & post cruise dates. If you decide to change the dates you have chosen, you can change if flights are available, you would pay a new price.  If you check, and the price has gone down, you can Modify (not cancel) your air booking.  If you Modify your air, you will get a New Air booking number each time and will have to re add seats and airline passenger numbers.

 

Air prices/flights comes out about 330 days before your disembarkment date. Example - my cruise ends Nov 23/2023, air was available Dec 28, 2022.

 

You can book yourself online or call in.  When I did Air@Sea with Royal, I called in  and they found a better price than online through them .  If you call in mention you want, payment at final cruise payment.
 

Due to winter weather in Ontario example this year airports closed book air day or two before your cruise.

[LuCruise]

23 minutes ago, phabric said:

1) cruise & air are in CDN

 

2) if cancelled before final payment, all would be refunded.  If you just cancel cruise, air is automatically cancelled.  Can cancel/Modify air anytime before final , if you see better price/times.

 

3) you choose the dates you want to fly, You can choose pre & post cruise dates. If you decide to change the dates you have chosen, you can change if flights are available, you would pay a new price.  If you check, and the price has gone down, you can Modify (not cancel) your air booking.  If you Modify your air, you will get a New Air booking number each time and will have to re add seats and airline passenger numbers.

 

Air prices/flights comes out about 330 days before your disembarkment date. Example - my cruise ends Nov 23/2023, air was available Dec 28, 2022.

 

You can book yourself online or call in.  When I did Air@Sea with Royal, I called in  and they found a better price than online through them .  If you call in mention you want, payment at final cruise payment.
 

Due to winter weather in Ontario example this year airports closed book air day or two before your cruise.

That's great.  Thanks so much for all the info.

Even with the uncertainly, when we book flights, we are locked in (unless we pay refundable, which costs so much more so only did this when things started up post covid ).  So sounds like a great idea to book Air2Sea in general.

[phabric]

1 minute ago, LuCruise said:

That's great.  Thanks so much for all the info.

Even with the uncertainly, when we book flights, we are locked in (unless we pay refundable, which costs so much more so only did this when things started up post covid ).  So sounds like a great idea to book Air2Sea in general.

I always book through any cruiseline air.  Sometimes, you can choose 2 different airlines to get price/flight you want.    I watch my booking to see if it has gone down and then modify it to the lower price.  Closer to final payment, I check the airline price vs cruiseline and take whatever is cheapest.

 

I have found Air Transat has the best price for Toronto to Ft Lauderdale.  Only problem is they don’t fly each day like AC or WestJet.

[broberts]

Universities typically post academic calendars for at least the upcoming year on the web sites. It should be a matter of just a few minutes to check his top picks.

[LuCruise]

11 minutes ago, phabric said:

I always book through any cruiseline air.  Sometimes, you can choose 2 different airlines to get price/flight you want.    I watch my booking to see if it has gone down and then modify it to the lower price.  Closer to final payment, I check the airline price vs cruiseline and take whatever is cheapest.

 

I have found Air Transat has the best price for Toronto to Ft Lauderdale.  Only problem is they don’t fly each day like AC or WestJet.

Yeah, we flew Air Transat once on our first family cruise.  At the time of booking we didn't realize they only ran one flight a day and just on certain days.  We had no issues and all was good, but too nervous to book them again in case any issue, especially when cruising is to time sensitive.

Edited January 1, 2023 by LuCruise

[LuCruise]

16 minutes ago, phabric said:

I always book through any cruiseline air.  Sometimes, you can choose 2 different airlines to get price/flight you want.    I watch my booking to see if it has gone down and then modify it to the lower price.  Closer to final payment, I check the airline price vs cruiseline and take whatever is cheapest.

 

I have found Air Transat has the best price for Toronto to Ft Lauderdale.  Only problem is they don’t fly each day like AC or WestJet.

Sorry, one other question.  Are these actually refundable fares (which tend to cost a lot more)?  Or are the flights like booking non-refundable through airline or something like Expedia?

[phabric]

2 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Sorry, one other question.  Are these actually refundable fares (which tend to cost a lot more)?  Or are the flights like booking non-refundable through airline or something like Expedia?

I don’t know as I have never needed to cancel after final payment.  I take travel insurance and if air was cancel by me or airline I would claim it on the insurance.

[Been There, Planning That]

Based on three granddaughters in university, the two in engineering had last exams on the 23rd and the one in science earlier (Queens and Carleton).  It's my impression that they didn't have firm dates until a month or two earlier.  And those in Arts often have major assignments in lieu of exams so that would allow for more flexibility.

 

Missing a class or two in the new year would not  be as challenging as an exam before Christmas.

Edited January 1, 2023 by Been There, Planning That
Clarity

[LHT28]

2 hours ago, LuCruise said:

Thanks.  The thing is he's at the point where he is applying for first year so we don't know yet where he will be , and won't until the Spring .  So I guess 6-8 months out we will have a better idea.  Since it's main holiday time, flight costs only go up once released....but we may jut have to wait until then at the earliest.

no harm is call those that he has applied to

check the website of the schools  it is probably listed for this semester

They will probably have the same time frame every year

JMO

 

[LuCruise]

37 minutes ago, Been There, Planning That said:

Based on three granddaughters in university, the two in engineering had last exams on the 23rd and the one in science earlier (Queens and Carleton).  It's my impression that they didn't have firm dates until a month or two earlier.  And those in Arts often have major assignments in lieu of exams so that would allow for more flexibility.

 

Missing a class or two in the new year would not  be as challenging as an exam before Christmas.

Thank you for an idea of this year.  My son would be the exam scenario.  

Yeah, so next December, the risk would be on the return if any bad weather (as happened this year)

 

[LuCruise]

54 minutes ago, phabric said:

I don’t know as I have never needed to cancel after final payment.  I take travel insurance and if air was cancel by me or airline I would claim it on the insurance.

Sorry my question wasn't clear.  I meant more in terms of the price.  It sounds like a refundable fare when booking with Air2Sea, so wondering if the prices were what you would pay for refundable (which is $$$) vs the regular basic fare of non-refundable.

[phabric]

I am not sure, ask the air agent.  I have found cruiseline air is a little cheaper to the States than the airlines price, much more cheaper to Europe.

 

What I like about cruiseline air is no payment until final payment and if the price changes I can Modify/cancel with no $ penalty until final not able to make any changes without $ penalty if I had purchased direct with airlines.

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, Been There, Planning That said:

It's my impression that they didn't have firm dates until a month or two earlier. 

I think that is the case with most Ontario universities and faculties. They will publish calendars a year or earlier showing the dates for the exam period, but the exam dates for specific courses are only announced a few weeks before the exam period starts. For example, uOttawa's published exam period for next year is December 8 to 21,  2023, but the dates for specific exams won't be known until next November.

[DirtyDawg]

22 hours ago, Fouremco said:

I think that is the case with most Ontario universities and faculties. They will publish calendars a year or earlier showing the dates for the exam period, but the exam dates for specific courses are only announced a few weeks before the exam period starts. For example, uOttawa's published exam period for next year is December 8 to 21,  2023, but the dates for specific exams won't be known until next November.

I teach at an Ontario university and I don't know when the 2023 December/January break is just yet. Looking at the calendar for this year (2023) I'd guess that most universities will go at least until Dec. 21st (Thursday) or 22nd (Friday) for exams so If I were the OP I would not plan on leaving until the 24th at the earliest. (The 23rd is also a possible exam date ) The OP's son might finish exams earlier but that schedule is not finalized until mid November. I would not count on getting all early exam dates especially for first year courses. Also, don't think that the university or the Professor will grant any student a deferred exam because of a conflict with a travel schedule. The chance of that happening is next to nil.  (Nil if the OP's son is in one of my classes) Start up in Jan. 2024 will likely be on Monday Jan. 8th. So there is enough time for 10 or 11 day cruise but probably not a fourteen day cruise. 

[LuCruise]

2 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

I teach at an Ontario university and I don't know when the 2023 December/January break is just yet. Looking at the calendar for this year (2023) I'd guess that most universities will go at least until Dec. 21st (Thursday) or 22nd (Friday) for exams so If I were the OP I would not plan on leaving until the 24th at the earliest. (The 23rd is also a possible exam date ) The OP's son might finish exams earlier but that schedule is not finalized until mid November. I would not count on getting all early exam dates especially for first year courses. Also, don't think that the university or the Professor will grant any student a deferred exam because of a conflict with a travel schedule. The chance of that happening is next to nil.  (Nil if the OP's son is in one of my classes) Start up in Jan. 2024 will likely be on Monday Jan. 8th. So there is enough time for 10 or 11 day cruise but probably not a fourteen day cruise. 

Thank you for the feedback.  Next year (his first year), we 'should' be ok as the cruise is Dec 31 to Jan 6.  So as long as we can fly home on the 6th and get him back to residence at school on the 7th, he should be good. This is where it is a risk with weather.

 

We will definitely keep the following year in mind as that cruise is the the Saturday just where it sounds like exams could go right to the Friday.  From the suggestion above, it does sound like Air2Sea is a very good idea.  We would plan on flying the Friday but might have to move it to Sat, or a late evening flight in he has an exam right to the end.  Appreciate the direct feedback from a professor.  

[LHT28]

39 minutes ago, LuCruise said:

Thank you for the feedback.  Next year (his first year), we 'should' be ok as the cruise is Dec 31 to Jan 6.  So as long as we can fly home on the 6th and get him back to residence at school on the 7th, he should be good. This is where it is a risk with weather.

 

We will definitely keep the following year in mind as that cruise is the the Saturday just where it sounds like exams could go right to the Friday.  From the suggestion above, it does sound like Air2Sea is a very good idea.  We would plan on flying the Friday but might have to move it to Sat, or a late evening flight in he has an exam right to the end.  Appreciate the direct feedback from a professor.  

I bet the exams will be done before Christmas

teacher want the time off   they are not going to come in between Christmas & New Years 😉

 

[DirtyDawg]

4 hours ago, LHT28 said:

I bet the exams will be done before Christmas

teacher want the time off   they are not going to come in between Christmas & New Years 😉

 

Some might but not me. Mrs. Dawg would make me the Late DirtyDawg if I did that. 👼

[1kaper]

On 1/1/2023 at 4:58 PM, Fouremco said:

I think that is the case with most Ontario universities and faculties. They will publish calendars a year or earlier showing the dates for the exam period, but the exam dates for specific courses are only announced a few weeks before the exam period starts. For example, uOttawa's published exam period for next year is December 8 to 21,  2023, but the dates for specific exams won't be known until next November.

 

Just want to add on to that, if you are considering travelling after the exam period, pay attention to the cancellation dates.  There are usually 2 days scheduled at the end of the exam period to be used if exams have to be cancelled on the regular scheduled day.  A lot of student will plan their travel after they have finished their scheduled exams and then find themselves in a jam when one of them is cancelled and they have to use the make up day.