Ask Dave

Welcome to “Ask Dave”! A few years ago you might remember when I did short advertorials several times a week.  After this one you will see a highlighted destination or travel supplier that I will look at objectively. There will be a travel tip here and there and expect to see a few special value departure selections.

Early Life

Early in life, I chose having fun traveling versus maximizing income.  I have been one of the luckiest people having travelled to all 7 continents, over 80 countries and on 20 different cruise lines on over 75 cruises. If you ask me where the best bar to go to for a business trip while in Chicago I won’t be much help to you at all, but I can give you very good advice on planning pretty much any cruise around the world or for land or tour vacations!

Selling travel became a career in 1991.  My first venture was chartering a ship for a mini cruise with Doug and the Slugs as our headline entertainment.  We did 13 full ship charters that while successful, became a bit too risky - so we adjusted to become a rather entrepreneurial travel agency and today are one of Canada’s largest with lots of accolades and awards.  In 2020, as example, Holland America awarded us for booking over 100,000 passengers on their cruise line.  

I’m 64 now, and not involved with the day to day, but I love to talk about my travels plus am delighted when I can give suggestions and direction to those keenly interested. When I am not out of the country, I am more than happy to talk to you personally about your potential travel plans.  I’m not involved with managing any bookings but hopefully can help you choose a great vacation with the right provider. So, feel free if you wish to ask for me – please ask our receptionist to set up a time!

Non-Commissioned Professionals

Of course I am hoping you will book with us, but if you choose not to, I encourage you to give your business to a Canadian travel agency and not with a giant US company or direct. During the mayhem of COVID it often took hours on hold or even days to speak to a human – at CruisePlus, it was rare if you didn’t have one of us to talk to within minutes.  We did the waiting for our clients. The industry is still a bit understaffed, but we are getting closer to the service levels before COVID. Another big misconception is that you get better pricing by booking directly with cruise lines or tour operators.  We almost always offer better value, service and advice with our team of non-commissioned professionals.  Before you book anywhere else, please give us a chance on any premium to luxury travel. It’s been a brutal 2 years during COVID for all us agencies and we appreciate and need your business now more than ever.  Your kind patience is appreciated as our “busy” levels are a bit unpredictable.

CruisePlus' Exclusive Deals for Travel Planners

Please have a look at our ever growing selection of my writings at Ask Dave along with short travel tips that also should help you with your vacation planning.  There are also CruisePlus exclusive podcasts available on the page for you to listen on informative discussions with senior industry executives.

CruisePlus also has a new exclusive deal for travel planners.  If you organize the bookings for even as few as 2 other rooms besides yours, you will save significantly on your host room on hundreds of cruises and land vacations.  Whether you are leading for friends and/or family, or are part of any common interest, membership or hobby group, I doubt you will find a better deal.  Please contact us for details by email at grouptravel@cruiseplus.ca or by calling our office asking for our group department.

That’s it for the introduction!  No matter if you’re ready to explore now or are just in the dreaming stage, be sure and sign up for our weekly emails and/or join us on Facebook Page or Instagram.

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Cheers for now,

Dave Frinton, Founder