Cruises are surging back to popularity among Canadians this March break, as more travellers look to try a buoyant mode of tourism they may have avoided since the COVID-19 pandemic.
His company has seen more than double the tally of cruise bookings for this month versus a year earlier. “It can have a little bit of sticker shock,” Vanderlubbe added. “But it includes meals and includes entertainment … It’s a good value.” Marty Firestone, president of insurance firm Travel Secure Inc., said health-related wariness of cruise travel has largely faded, with the urge to escape even a mild Canadian winter overtaking that of saving money by staying home.
“They may go for a shorter time, they may go to a cheaper destination, they may look for bargains. But the pattern has been that they still go,” said Jill Wykes, editor of Snowbird Advisor, an online resource for migratory Canadians.