Everything we have written, sorted by the trip
Guides to the three kinds of week we plan, and to the advisor who plans them. Written for people leaving from Canada.
All-inclusive
What one price covers, where to sleep inside a resort, and how long to go for.
When to book an all-inclusive, and what each window buys you
The deals are in the autumn. The deals are at the last minute. Both are true, and which one applies to you depends on how movable your dates are and how much of the choosing you want to…
Why a Caribbean all-inclusive feels different from home
By the second or third morning, the differences from home start adding up, from the buffet to the fruit to the crew…
How to read the room categories at an all-inclusive resort
The room screen runs from a plain word up to a grand one, with a photograph of the same bed beside each.…
What the resort’s front desk can fix, and what was decided at booking
Some of what goes wrong on the first day can be sorted at the desk. Some of it was decided the day…
Cruise
Choosing a cabin, reading a fare, and what a week at sea is like from one morning to the next.
What a cruise fare already includes, and what costs extra
Plenty of first-time cruisers treat the fare as a floor and pay for something that was free two decks away. The included week is real. It's just scheduled instead of advertised.
A seven-night cruise from Canada isn’t always seven days
The sailing is seven nights. Reaching the pier from your city can add a day before it and a day after, and…
When you book a cruise decides more than the price
One friend swears by booking early, another by waiting until the ship is nearly full. They're both right, because they're buying different…
Choosing a cruise cabin that’s right for you
The booking screen offers a few categories, then a plan of identical rectangles, and treats them as one small choice. They are…
Group travel
Weddings, reunions, and milestone trips. How held space works and who has to hold it.
Who you travel with shapes a group trip more than the resort does
Most organizers settle on the resort first and never weigh who's coming, though the mix decides far more of the week and can't be changed once the list is set.
Picking a week for a group trip when school breaks don’t line up
Organizing a trip for families in different provinces means the school breaks won't overlap. The week the whole group travels decides which…
When the group trip is booked and one person is hard going
The names are set and the deposits are paid. What you can still change is how the group talks to itself, so…
Why your group quote is higher than the price you found online
A group quote in hand, and the same resort cheaper on a booking site. Before you carry that suspicion back to the…
The advisor's edge
What an advisor does that a booking site cannot, and what to tell one so they can help.
What you have to declare coming home to Canada
Rum from the resort, a carving, a bottle from the airport shop. What goes on the form, who in the family gets an allowance of their own, and how much of one a single bottle of spirits uses…
What a travel advisor can do when your trip falls apart, and what nobody can
You're weighing whether an advisor is worth it, and the test is the day something fails. If you've been stranded once, you…
Why an Ontario travel agent asks about insurance before you pay
The card comes out, and the question about travel insurance arrives with it. It reads like an upsell at the worst moment.…
What to tell a travel advisor about the trip you want
The instinct is to ask for everything, because none of it seems expensive to request. Deciding what the week is about, and…
Rather just ask someone?
Tell us roughly who is going and when. We will come back with what fits, and say so when the thing you are looking at is wrong for you.
Tell us about your trip