Post Covid-19 Travel Discounts

[outofofficebrb]

Thanks Dan - I know Bruno, the owner of AMIRA, very well and I love his boat and the adventures they put together - always a good option. You may already know that Colombia is closed up until May 30 and we currently have clients joining the FEROX on May 31, so still awaiting word on exactly how we will work that out but Captain Tony is a good man and as they say, when the going gets tough, the tough get going - and we will work it out. Like everyone else, every boat in the world is having challenges on how they deal with this crisis, but on the whole I am proud of how most of them have stepped up to the plate and are working things out. Its not really fair to expect that boats refunds people's monies, but all the ones I have dealt with
are agreeing to re-schedule, and partly thanks to scubaboard, Nautilus stepped up to the plate and has agreed to 100% credit, albeit divided into 2 vouchers. Those vouchers are valid for 4 years and are fully transferable so it might even work out that Scubaboard can help people holding those vouchers, by asking those planning to book a Nautilus boat, to utilise one of those vouchers. It might be an idea to go through an agent to safeguard everyone, but not necessarily. We have been working hard rescheduling clients thru June and will probably be looking at July very shortly, but we ask our clients to be patient as the bar changes every day and borders open and close, and flights may or may not operate. We need to be understanding and compassionate with each other but above all, be patient and it will all work out.

your point about the Nautilus vouchers going through an agent is a good one. There comes the issue of travel insurance coverage (covid aside) and if you are only paying 50% on the official invoice because you bought a 50% credit from an individual and have a credit visible on the invoice, the net amount you pay shown there is the coverage you will get if you need to make a claim unless you get an agent to change how it is displayed, perhaps through an accounting arrangement between all involved parties.

 

[Darnold9999]

Just a hint for travel agents - it annoys Canadians when you tout the strength of the US$ as an incentive to book. We pay in CA$ which at the moment takes $1.41 to purchase a USD. The strength of the US$ is usually a disincentive for us.

 

[outofofficebrb]

Just a hint for travel agents - it annoys Canadians when you tout the strength of the US$ as an incentive to book. We pay in CA$ which at the moment takes $1.41 to purchase a USD. The strength of the US$ is usually a disincentive for us.

Understandable and a good point; he is not speaking to the specific strength of the USD vs the CAD which, as you say, is not good. Nor is he talking about general strength of the USD. In the context of this thread, he is touting the strength of the USD against the Euro which applies to the OP’s situation and boats he is interested in which would benefit him and essentially extend an “additional discount” if he is based in the US or has an account with USD.

 

[Dom@DiveAdvice]

I am with you but unfortunately all boat rates are quoted in USD or Euros and I am not aware of any quoted in CA$, so at some stage one has to take the plunge. If you see an alternative solution, please let me know.

 

[Dom@DiveAdvice]

Thanks Out of Office - yes that si what I was proposing. We can quote in Euro and that means you pay slightly less in USD. Sorry but cannot do that for CA$.

 

[outofofficebrb]

I am with you but unfortunately all boat rates are quoted in USD or Euros and I am not aware of any quoted in CA$, so at some stage one has to take the plunge. If you see an alternative solution, please let me know.

Using something like a TransferWise Borderless or Revolut account could help. You can hold USD and convert CAD to USD when the exchange is favorable. It won’t help in the immediate future but in the long term, it’s a solution. Revolut also has a setting where you can have them auto exchange a particular amount you set when it reaches a target exchange rate you set. It’s at the bank interchange rate which is a lot better than usual avenues. Pretty neat! Also great for travel to use ATMs for free at very good exchange rates vs your regular ATM card and you don’t expose your real ATM account numbers or money in those accounts. You can do the same for Euros and other currencies. TransferWise lets you hold more currencies.

 

[Dom@DiveAdvice]

your point about the Nautilus vouchers going through an agent is a good one. There comes the issue of travel insurance coverage (covid aside) and if you are only paying 50% on the official invoice because you bought a 50% credit from an individual and have a credit visible on the invoice, the net amount you pay shown there is the coverage you will get if you need to make a claim unless you get an agent to change how it is displayed, perhaps through an accounting arrangement between all involved parties.

Yes an agent should be able to act as the go between so one is invoice for the full cost of the regular trip. All is possible.

 

[Darnold9999]

Understandable and a good point; he is not speaking to the specific strength of the USD vs the CAD which, as you say, is not good. Nor is he talking about general strength of the USD. In the context of this thread, he is touting the strength of the USD against the Euro which applies to the OP’s situation and boats he is interested in which would benefit him and essentially extend an “additional discount” if he is based in the US or has an account with USD.

Understand all of that but the OP did say he was based in Canada. However you are right sometimes I can get a better deal paying in USD rather than Euro and sometimes it works better the other way. Always worth paying attention. The CAD price for my next trip booked with a deposit, but not paid for has gone up about 15% since I booked it just because of currency conversion. With any luck the spread will narrow before I actually have to pay

 

[outofofficebrb]

Understand all of that but the OP did say he was based in Canada. However you are right sometimes I can get a better deal paying in USD rather than Euro and sometimes it works better the other way. Always worth paying attention. The CAD price for my next trip booked with a deposit, but not paid for has gone up about 15% since I booked it just because of currency conversion. With any luck the spread will narrow before I actually have to pay

Read-fail on my part....You are right. Sorry about that. I suggest the Transferwise and Revolut options, then, for the future!

 

[Peter Bomberg]

Thanks guys, you have now officially all gotten me in trouble!

But in a great way, we are (as it stands) heading for a 3 month trip to Aus-NZ (if anyone is in that area tell me and we would love to meet for a glass of wine or coffee), we start in Sydney (NYE) and then Mike Ball, Australian Open, Leafy and Weedy sea dragoons on our way to the Poor Knights and America's Cup in NZ but now Nathalie is thinking hmm a 3 week trip to Indonesia is a great side trip (love her to pieces but my wallet doesn't) so thanks guys

So yes Dom@DiveAdvice I will message you and any saving I can get I will take, I am sadly still trying to talk her into a 1 week in the Caribbean but it's a loosing proposition as nothing on this side of the pond compares!

And look on the bright side maybe by then the CAD will climb back to being worth something