joyb
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by joyb on Apr 11, 2016 16:31:25 GMT
Has anyone booked a trip using Costco Travel? It is now an option for Canadians and I'm thinking about booking a river cruise through them. I haven't checked out pricing yet but according to their website, it looks like they offer a 10% discount which is considerable. Not sure how they compare with Alberta Motor Association which is who I usually book through. Any feedback would be appreciated.
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Post by plane2catch on Apr 12, 2016 1:41:20 GMT
Joyb, I've booked several Trafalgar Tours through Costco. I am an American and was sad to learn on the BB that Costco wasn't granting Canadians a discount. Great news if Costco has changed their policy. I usually, would book my trips 12 months in advance to get the 10 % early payment discount. I would combine that with the 5% previous customer discount and the additional 10% from Costco. I would always use my Costco American Express credit card to get an additional 3% rebate check from Trafalgar. On two of my trip's Costco sent $100 voucher checks as a thank you for travelling with them. It all seemed a bit unreal but it is true!
I know that Costco is planning on changing from American Express to Visa this year. Not certain if Visa will be giving the 3% rebate that American Express offered. It will be nice to get some feedback from you if you end up booking with Costco on a Visa Card.
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Post by marielouise on Apr 12, 2016 13:53:30 GMT
Costco travel was introduced very recently in Canada, so i don't know if you will find anyone here using them yet. Also we used to pay at the store with American Express and get an annual rebate, that changed more than a year ago. Capital one is the credit card associated with Costco and we get an annual rebate on purchases, 1% I think and 2% on gasoline. I don't know about travel. I use the Alberta Motor Association (AMA) also for my Insight and Trafalgar travels but unless they have a special promotion, I never get a discount. I would try Costco if they are cheaper. I have never had a problem or needed to use insurance which I only occasionally buy through AMA, so I don't know if AMA would be more helpful.
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Post by plane2catch on Apr 12, 2016 17:04:10 GMT
I got a letter from Costco that said their new Visa card would give 1% on general purchases and 4% on gasoline purchases but the letter made no mention of any additional rebate associated with Travel Purchases. Not quite sure when I will be receiving the new card in the mail.
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joyb
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by joyb on Apr 12, 2016 20:37:44 GMT
Thank you all for taking the time to reply...much appreciated.
Costco Travel is new in Canada. I usually book my trips with Trafalgar through AMA and in the past have always booked early to get the discount. Was supposed to go to Ireland last year...had everything booked for June and then in March my world turned up side down with a cancer diagnosis. AMA and Trafalgar were very good about giving me a full refund. Went through surgery, chemo and then radiation. Still taking a cancer drug by injection every 3 weeks until mid-May then booked for a mammogram and consult with radiologist and my oncologist. Hopefully everything will be clear and I can get back to my travels.
Have been thinking about a river cruise for awhile but won't be able to book anything too far in advance, given my health issues now. I talked to my TA at AMA and she thinks she will be able to find me a cruise to my liking but not sure she will be able to get me any discount. I travel by myself so with the single supplement, it can get quite pricey.
If I book through Costco Travel, I'll certainly post on the forum to let people know.
Safe travels, everyone!
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Post by plane2catch on Apr 12, 2016 22:42:21 GMT
Joyb, it sounds like you have been through a lot with your health. I am praying for you and hope your health improves. If you do end up going on a cruise let the BB know which cruise you chose and how it turned out. Best of Luck to you.
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Post by marielouise on Apr 13, 2016 1:14:08 GMT
I am sorry to hear about your health problems but wish all the best for a healthy recovery. If you do go on a river cruise I'd be interested to hear about your experience. It is good to hear that AMA and Trafalgar gave you a refund. Did you have insurance through Trafalgar or AMA? When i went to Peru, and last year to the Czech republic which required insurance, I had the AMA insurance.
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Post by tiffany on Apr 13, 2016 13:19:14 GMT
My parents have a Costco membership in Ontario, but because they don't have a Costco credit card, they have to pay for everything with cash when they shop there. I wonder if it works the same way with their travel, or if one could use their own credit card. If anyone from Canada books a tour through them, I'd love to hear about the process and the discounts involved. If the savings are significant, I would look into getting a Costco membership just for the travel.
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joyb
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by joyb on Apr 13, 2016 14:16:50 GMT
Thank you all for your good wishes.
My insurance was through AMA but some of the refund came directly through Trafalgar as I cancelled about 4 months before the tour started. The balance came through my insurance. No problems with either one which was very good. I just had a form that my doctor filled out with my diagnosis and saying that I was unable to travel. I thought it was handled very well and received my refund within a couple of weeks.
After reading through the comments here about Costco, I checked in to their CapitalOne mastercard. I have an executive membership with Costco but always pay cash or debit card when shopping with them. CapitalOne said I would get back 2% on all shopping including travel....3% at restaurants. This comes in to effect after accumulating $3,000 in spending...up to this amount it's 1%. I do a lot of my shopping at Costco so it won't take long to reach the $3,000. The refund is in the form of a voucher once a year...January, I think...then can take the voucher to a Costco warehouse and exchange for a Costco cash card or cash.
Will see how this works out and will post after I make a booking through Costco Travel. It looks like the Trafalgar tours are reduced by 10% also along with the river cruises, so along with that and the additional 2%, it looks like a pretty good deal.
Thanks all.
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Post by Tulips on Apr 13, 2016 21:38:41 GMT
Joy,
i hope one your health returns to normal soon so you can travel!
Uniworld waives the single supplement on a number of their cruises, and if an itinerary suits, that would be a significant savings.
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Post by californian on Apr 13, 2016 23:17:20 GMT
If Costco in Canada works as in the US, is fantastic! when you add all the discounts possible, they come to almost 25%, the new Visa card is supposed to be out around June 20, I hope it works the same as Amex. I have been using Costco Travel for years, have saved a bundle. The phone has been a little slow lately, holding for long time, I think it might be because of added services to Canada? It's better to call very early in the morning, they open at 5:30.
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Post by tiffany on Apr 14, 2016 13:58:22 GMT
If Costco in Canada works as in the US, is fantastic! when you add all the discounts possible, they come to almost 25%, the new Visa card is supposed to be out around June 20, I hope it works the same as Amex. I have been using Costco Travel for years, have saved a bundle. The phone has been a little slow lately, holding for long time, I think it might be because of added services to Canada? It's better to call very early in the morning, they open at 5:30. In order to book through Costco, do you have to use their credit card, or can you use any credit card? A savings of 25% might be worth the yearly Costco membership, and applying for their credit card. I never shop at Costco as my place is too small for buying in bulk, and it's not close to were I live, but it might be worth signing up for the travel alone though.
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Post by californian on Apr 14, 2016 14:54:07 GMT
Hi Tiffany, I don't know the rules of if they will change now with Visa, but when I signed up for Costco membership years ago I didn't not have their credit card, I got Amex later with another promotion. And to tell the truth, I don't remember how I paid before, but cash or checks (and at one time Discover card) were always accepted. The credit card is free anyway, is good anywhere not just Costco, and it gives you rebates ($). Visa sent me the other day the information buy I discarded it, I don't remember much, except that I didn't have to apply, it's automatic.. In the US they have two kinds of membership, one for $50 and the other with Costco rewards for $ 100 annually. I always had this one because I do buy sometimes big items there (laptop, camera, tablets, furniture) and I get nice rebates, but I might downgrade to the $50 level next time. I had received about $50 vouchers to use on the tours as well. I think is worth it, I hope you can find out more, you could save a good amount.
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joyb
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by joyb on Apr 14, 2016 20:55:41 GMT
Tiffany, I have the executive membership but shop at Costco a lot so it pays for me as I get 2% back at the end of the year and it's always enough to pay for my membership in full plus a bit extra. The 2% back on the membership excludes travel.
As for the credit card, I just applied for it so not sure how it will work. I called them and was told I would get 2% back on purchases (including travel) once I reached $3500. Not sure if that is true as I got a welcome email saying 1% rebate after reaching the $3500. I'm going to use the credit card and keep track for the rest of the year...then see what I get as a rebate at the end of the year. There are so many credit cards out there, it's difficult to figure out which one is best and everyone has different spending habits.
I know I will get the 2% Costco membership rebate back but you have to spend quite a bit to make it worthwhile to be a member, in my opinion. Not sure it would be worth it for you.
As for booking travel through them...I'm still quite uncertain. There's a big difference between what is offered US vs Canada. I called the contact number on Costco Canada's website and just wanted to ask a couple of general questions. Was not able to get through to anyone that could answer general questions as it was an automated system...select 1, 2 or 3 for cruise, land, or rental cars...etc. I selected land as I wanted to ask them about Trafalgar tours...the US website listed them but Canada didn't. The fellow I spoke with was very friendly but so very unhelpful. Told me to call Trafalgar myself, book with them directly and ask if I would qualify for the 10% discount. He said that they are still rolling out new features for the Canada website as it was only made available this past October. He was actually from the US.
When I'm ready to book either a river cruise or a land tour, I am going to contact them again and see what they offer. I was really hoping a Canadian on here had booked through them already but that doesn't seem to be the case. Would be interested to know if they ran into any problems.
I'll post on here what I find out later on as it seems a few people are interested. My feeling right now is that I may be better off staying with by current TA as at least I know I can pick up the phone and talk to her or one of her associates if a problem arises (although in all my travels, I have never had any problems).
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Post by plane2catch on Apr 15, 2016 2:22:24 GMT
Joyb, that $3,500 threshold is a new one to me. Kinda sad seems like Costco Canada is going cheap with their discounts just like the frequent flyer programs. I remember back in 1982 when people weren't travelling as much you could get a FREE first class upgrade at the gate if the seat was available and you were a frequent flyer member. No money, no points needed.
Back to Costco. What a shame that when you called to book through Costco the US representative advised you to call Trafalgar directly. I would try calling again if you have the time. It is possible another individual would be more knowledgeable.
I use to call American Airlines years ago and sometimes I would get a representative over the phone who would make no effort whatsoever to help find a routing to Europe which was available for frequent flyer use. I can't tell you how many times I would thank them and turn right around and redial the 800 line and find a representative that would try alternative routes and the next thing I knew I had my flight to my requested destination.
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joyb
Junior Member
Posts: 59
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Post by joyb on Apr 15, 2016 13:35:28 GMT
Thanks plane2catch. Good idea to call again. I'll wait until later in May when I'm ready to actually book as I want to compare their pricing with what my TA can get for me.
I'm not sure why there is such a difference between the US and Canada as for Costco perks. You would think they would be the same. It won't take me long to get to that dollar threshold though as I'm certainly a bulk buyer!
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Post by grandma7 on Apr 20, 2016 19:18:45 GMT
You do not have to use the Costco Capitol One Credit Card at Costco. They accept any Mastercard. I regularly use my Presidents Choice Mastercard at Costco because I prefer to use my PC reward points when I want to - not just in January when Costco gives me my rebate cheque. As for the additional 10% off that Costco gives - on top of the 10% early pay and the 5% previous customer - my Travel Agent also gives me another 10% - he is in Edmonton and is excellent - check the website - I probably can't give his name here as that would be advertising. I have never booked with Costco as there are advantages to booking with a Travel Agent not a huge company.
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Post by californian on Apr 21, 2016 1:53:48 GMT
I discover a couple of days ago that not all the Trafalgar Tours have el 10% for early payment. Some don't have any discounts at all, others only 5%. Just one more thing to watch.
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Post by plane2catch on Apr 21, 2016 2:34:51 GMT
I discover a couple of days ago that not all the Trafalgar Tours have el 10% for early payment. Some don't have any discounts at all, others only 5%. Just one more thing to watch. California, what the heck!! Guess Trafalgar is changing their game just like when they did away with their forum. I wondered when you just booked your trip to Portugal what kind of discount did you get? I assumed you used Costco too?
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Post by californian on Apr 21, 2016 16:12:18 GMT
That's right, Plane2catch. While looking to replace the tour (already paid in full in December), with the Best of Portugal, we decided to change the date for several reasons, one being the more expensive air, the first date we picked, had no discounts at all, at the end we settled for 5%, at least the air was cheaper. But yes, and I don't know if this is new or I never put attention before, but if you go to the site of the tours, you will see. A few of the best of Portugal have no discounts, most of them (later in the year) do have them, but it's only 5%. I am glad I have used the 10% in all other tours, especially when traveling with the grand kids.
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Post by tiffany on Apr 22, 2016 17:11:25 GMT
I know that Trafalgar does not offer discounts on certain tours like Greece and Turkey tours (or any tour where they have to contract out to another company), but I did not know that they didn't offer discounts on their Portugal tour. When I went to Portugal, I got my 5% return customer discount, as well as the 10% early payment discount. I also saved by booking before the 2014 brochure was released, which meant I paid the 2013 price. I think this is a new thing for Trafalgar. It's unfortunate, as they may lose some loyal customers by not offering their discounts anymore.
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Post by plane2catch on Apr 22, 2016 23:58:04 GMT
Tiffany this I a recent development. It is use to be for early payment you got an additional 10% off if paid in full for 12 months; 7.5% off if paid in full in 10 months or 5% off if paid in full within 6 months of departure.
I took advantage of the 10% prepayment on 6 of my trips as I had a liberal leave policy at work and was able to plan in advance ahead. For my other trips with Trafalgar I remember either purchasing Red Hot Deals where the trips were discounted an extra amount due to low numbers of participants or like the Aussie's taking two TT trip's back to back to get the second trip discount of 5% on the cheaper of the two trips.
I think TT has done away with the 5% second trip discount. I remember you couldn't combine this particular discount with the 5% past traveler discount.
Additionally, in speaking with Trafalgar the 5% frequent past traveler discount does not diminish after a 5 year period like it did previously. If my memory services me correctly the 5% was reduced to 2% 3years after your past trip and to 1% if it was 4 years from your last trip with them. Maybe they will revert back to their old ways of doing business.
You never know even when booking through Costco, Costco transfers you to Trafalgar where you speak with a Trafalgar representative when making your booking. You just call Costco first and provide your membership number. I thought that Costco would not give their additional 10% discount on top of the Red Hot Deals but they always still did.
I think you might have some luck by asking to speak to a manager at Trafalgar when trying to make a reservation and explaining that you have used their company for years and had always received the discounts. You never know unless you ask. My first trip with Trafalgar was Australia back in 2001.
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Post by californian on Apr 23, 2016 1:15:12 GMT
Exactly, plane2catch, it used to be 10-7-1/2-5% before, but for the last couple of years or at least one year ago, the price given for paying early was always a fix amount, not a percentage. And even now is "hidden" also, the price with the discount is advertised, but you have to figure out how much it really is. But I think the 5% discount for frequent booking no matter how long between trips has been honored for a couple of years; the daughter that is going with me now, went for her first Trafalgar tour in 2007, and then in 2014, she did get the 5%, 7 years separation between trips. And yes, getting thru Costco/Trafalgar is more difficult now, it used to be you could always ask for the same person, get an extension, could leave a message and get a call back o communicate by email. It's a little frustrating now, it's better to call very early.
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Post by tiffany on Apr 23, 2016 13:08:41 GMT
I booked my Eastern Europe tour in September, and I got my 5% return customer discount, and was offered the early payment discounts of 10%, 7.5% and 5% if I paid in fully early. I wonder if the changes regarding discounts are only being applied to Americans? I'll have to ask my travel agent when I see her next.
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Post by plane2catch on Apr 23, 2016 14:31:30 GMT
I booked my Eastern Europe tour in September, and I got my 5% return customer discount, and was offered the early payment discounts of 10%, 7.5% and 5% if I paid in fully early. I wonder if the changes regarding discounts are only being applied to Americans? I'll have to ask my travel agent when I see her next. September is not to long ago. I don't think that TT is advertising the 10%, 7.5%, 5% early payment options in writing in their Brochures anymore. That is why I suggest on asking to speak to a TT manager when booking through Costco once they have transferred the call through to Trafalgar. I might even say " I will book the trip on such and such date provided you give me X discount" and base that on their past pricing policy. It never hurts if they say no just call back the next day and book the trip based on what they offer.
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Post by tiffany on Apr 24, 2016 12:44:50 GMT
I booked my Eastern Europe tour in September, and I got my 5% return customer discount, and was offered the early payment discounts of 10%, 7.5% and 5% if I paid in fully early. I wonder if the changes regarding discounts are only being applied to Americans? I'll have to ask my travel agent when I see her next. September is not to long ago. I don't think that TT is advertising the 10%, 7.5%, 5% early payment options in writing in their Brochures anymore. That is why I suggest on asking to speak to a TT manager when booking through Costco once they have transferred the call through to Trafalgar. I might even say " I will book the trip on such and such date provided you give me X discount" and base that on their past pricing policy. It never hurts if they say no just call back the next day and book the trip based on what they offer. I have the 2016 brochure for Europe and Britain in front of me, and they are offering the discounts in the brochure, however, there is a note in small print underneath that says "Limited availability by departures". I guess they are only offering discounts on certain dates, like Californian said.
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Post by plane2catch on Apr 24, 2016 16:49:59 GMT
Tiffany, does the brochure make ANY reference to the 7.5% early payment discount and the number of months in advance purchase to obtain the 7.5% discount?? If not, I maintain that they are no longer advertising and promoting their Early Payment discounts.
Additionally, if they are not giving the mere 5% early discount on EVERY tour in my opinion that (excuse the language) sucks.
I guess I sound like a whinny American but I surely was spoiled and got accustomed to their discount structure. Guess that is why I travelled so much in the 2007-2013 time frame. Between the free airfare with American Airlines and TT's discounts it seemed like travel was a fairly cheap pastime.
Still without as great of a discount, I like the conveniences of coach travel. I most likely would not be able to afford to have seen so much without the economies of scale that the group tours provide.C
Don't quite understand how Chech's upcoming tour with Globus monograms to South America could be much cheaper than TT's. The independent travel allows you to pick and choose your free time but to make an enjoyable vacation you will still have to be paying for the time and entertainment you obtain at your destination. I think one time she mentioned that she could do without of some of the included meals on a coach trip. I suppose you could opt for McDonald's and save some bucks there along the way but I enjoy visiting different restaurants for their ambiance.
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Post by tiffany on Apr 25, 2016 13:13:37 GMT
Tiffany, does the brochure make ANY reference to the 7.5% early payment discount and the number of months in advance purchase to obtain the 7.5% discount?? If not, I maintain that they are no longer advertising and promoting their Early Payment discounts.
Additionally, if they are not giving the mere 5% early discount on EVERY tour in my opinion that (excuse the language) sucks.
I guess I sound like a whinny American but I surely was spoiled and got accustomed to their discount structure. Guess that is why I travelled so much in the 2007-2013 time frame. Between the free airfare with American Airlines and TT's discounts it seemed like travel was a fairly cheap pastime.
Still without as great of a discount, I like the conveniences of coach travel. I most likely would not be able to afford to have seen so much without the economies of scale that the group tours provide.C
Don't quite understand how Chech's upcoming tour with Globus monograms to South America could be much cheaper than TT's. The independent travel allows you to pick and choose your free time but to make an enjoyable vacation you will still have to be paying for the time and entertainment you obtain at your destination. I think one time she mentioned that she could do without of some of the included meals on a coach trip. I suppose you could opt for McDonald's and save some bucks there along the way but I enjoy visiting different restaurants for their ambiance. Hi Plane2catch, yes, the brochure gives dates. It says if you pay by Jan 14, you get 10% off, by Feb 25 you get 7.5% off, and by Apr 28 you get 5% off. Like I said, it says underneath "limited availability to departures". I believe you still get your 5% return customer discount as well. I too like the convenience of coach travel. I don't' have a problem with independent sight seeing, but I hate having to organize hotel rooms and train tickets etc. I like the the tour company takes care of tall of that for you. I also like visiting the different restaurants, and almost always sign up for the optional meals while on tour. I'm not a fast food person though, and I think I ate at a McDonald's once while on tour, and only because it was the only place available at the time.
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Post by chech on Apr 25, 2016 14:21:40 GMT
I too like the convenience of coach travel. I don't' have a problem with independent sight seeing, but I hate having to organize hotel rooms and train tickets etc. I like the the tour company takes care of tall of that for you. I also like visiting the different restaurants, and almost always sign up for the optional meals while on tour. I'm not a fast food person though, and I think I ate at a McDonald's once while on tour, and only because it was the only place available at the time. The Monograms tour takes care of everything - hotel, transfers, intercity travel, included touring and that. I didn't have to organize anything. On this tour, we'd arrive early afternoon, have the rest of the day to explore then have a morning included tour, the afternoon and next day free. Optionals were offered for the free afternoon and day just like TT but the nice part about Monograms is that I know exactly when the free time is and when optionals are available. That makes it possible to plan what I want to do - like knowing the Venice included tour would be done by noon....so I was able to book Murano/Burano through Viator (as the optional only included Murano). It also means I can book stuff TT usually doesn't offer...like the Vesuvius and Etna tours. Viator in Italy rocks! And the local hosts happily confirmed all my extra tours regardless of whether I booked via Monograms or Viator. And this style also gives people the freedom to eat what they want and when they want. I prefer a bigger lunch and disliked having the big TT dinners - some very late. Italy makes a great panini which was more than enough to pick up when I was heading back to the hotel for dinner. I prefer quick meals (not necessarily McD's...that's just my euphemism for non-sit-down-and-waste-three-hours-with-a-slow-waiter meal...LOL) as it means more time to explore and stuff. I do get the sit down meals during the tours like the spaghetti extravaganza we had on the slopes of Vesuvius. Wait till you see the pic of the waitress and her bowl of spaghetti! LOL The nice part about getting my local food tasting in during included and optional touring is that the food is usually pretty good. I had a kick-butt lasagna on the Capri tour by going to the recommended restaurant..but when I picked a restaurant to have lunch in while walking in Venice, I think the lasagna was a frozen product. Which in Italy, I'd expect that's a crime. LOL
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Post by plane2catch on Apr 25, 2016 16:32:09 GMT
Hey Tiffany. Back to the discounts. What page does it give the dates and percentages on in your Brochure? I'd like to see if it is also in the US Brochure. Assuming you have a different Brochure with trips quoted in the Canadian Dollar.
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