Here are some updates from this week…

Hi, everyone!  This is my take on some of what we are seeing right now…

As we all know, the travel situation is still a bit up in the air for Canadians, as we still sit under an array of travel advisories and changing regulations in regards to entry to destinations worldwide.  If you have a current booking departing before the end of the year, you likely are already aware that vaccine acceptance and what qualifies as fully vaccinated changes based on destination and sometimes travel supplier.  Please watch this closely and take note of any penalty dates that could come into effect.

Today the EU has taken US visitors off its safe travellers list. This is non-binding on EU countries, so there is no clear indication of what this may mean yet.  

We do have clients travelling at this time, and many of them have reported having a great experience, but there are some things to be aware of.  One of them is that flights are being cancelled at an accelerated rate.  Another is difficulty in arranging the appropriate test to enter Canada upon return.  

All of this just highlights that we are in a bit of an altered world, so if you do travel, please pack an extra dose of patience and kindness and be prepared to roll with it. What you expect to happen may change with no notice, and getting around may become more difficult.

Case in point:  Our family was just on a vacation in Ucluelet, and found that many of the restaurants were operating on reduced hours and an altered menu.  There is just not enough staff to cover the demand, and this is at a time when the area is extremely busy – I’m not sure I’ve ever seen the beaches so packed.  When we checked into our hotel, their new policy included no cleaning service during your stay and check out was done remotely.  This was not an issue for us, but it’s good to be aware.

Case in point #2:  We are dealing with a flight issue and have today waited for 7.5 hours on the phone for Air Canada on two separate occasions.  We are trying to exercise that double dose of patience!

This phenomenon is not just in the travel industry, but I don’t know any company in this industry that looks the same as it did pre-pandemic.  We are changed.

Our office is currently very busy with requests for 2022.  We are seeing that cruises to Hawaii and Mexico, as well as Europe, are in demand.  We have also seen a real increase in interest to travel to other parts of Canada…maybe this is our time to support businesses closer to home.  Ask us!

That said, we are smaller as well and stretched quite thin.  Thank you for your patience as we wind our way through to the other side of this trying time.  Our team is amazing and they are here to answer every call, and every email…but we may be a bit slower than we used to be, and we ask that you consider your readiness to travel before you request a quote.  Thank you for your support, we truly appreciate it!  

Best wishes from the CruisePlus Team – Shelley

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