When To Book All Inclusive Group Travel Packages From Canada

[peachykeen159]

No worries, so hard to find brides that went through WestJet! From when we secured pricing, our guests had 2 weeks (technically 3 but our agent wanted the additional week to sort things out). So we actually did the passport invitations and had those done in November one we were 100% sure on the location and just didn't put pricing in them. We created a website and put that in the invites and went live with it as soon as we got the pricing. Once we secured it we had all the invites ready to go and most people got them within 1-3 days of us securing pricing so they could maximize their time to get the $200 down. Anyone we knew wouldn't be getting the invite until the second week, we sent them the link to the website. 

 

Yes Westjet gives people less time to get the deposit down, but I don't believe the other airlines give you that much time to pay the rest of the balance which i think is what people are more concerned with. I went to a destination wedding 2 years ago and they used Sunwing, basically they got pricing and the entire balance had to be in April 1st (We found out end of January/early February) so there was a big rush to get it all in even though we weren't going until end of November. The other thing to keep in mind with Westjet is that you do need to have a good rough idea of your numbers since they aren't a chartered airline. When we got our quote we had to have the approximate numbers of each location. We ended up having more people than we expected coming and ran out of Saskatoon seats so 6 of the guests are paying $300 more than everyone else because they were last to sign up...So my advice on that would be going with higher numbers if it could be a possibility but obviously not too crazy because when they price things out, they were average the price of all the numbers you give them. 

 

If you are going to go with Westjet, you do have the time to start giving people a heads up on pricing and how quick the deposit will be needed so I wouldn't worry about that part. @@Chawrela

[vancouverpetunia]

When we were getting quotes, we did have to wait for WJ. They only publish them about 330 days in advance. Less than a year, anyhow. I did find that WJ did not give guests much time to put down the deposit - I think I was also told 2 weeks. Whereas we booked with Transat and guests had 80 days, with the balance due about 4 months before our departure date. 

 

I agree with @@peachykeen159 - you might want to start prepping your guests with a general details so they can start planning. Approx timing of wedding/travel, location, approx cost, deposit deadlines, etc.

[Chawrela]

^{@@peachykeen159 @vancouverpetunia  Thanks Ladies! That is quite a quick turn around but if guests are prepared for it ahead of time then it is totally doable. I think with destination weddings most guests know in advance- and we do have the time to notify them. That is very smart to have all of the invitations ready ahead of time...I was thinking about that yesterday as our travel agent also said she will do up inserts for the invitations that can just be put inside once prices are secured. I have had a few bad experiences with some of the other carriers so if I can go with westjet I would much rather do that! And even if they only release their info 330 days out it could be worth waiting for those reasons!}

 

^{I can't tell you guys how much I appreciate your input- it is so hard to figure this stuff out on your own! Wishing you both the best with your wedding planning and can't wait to hear your reviews!}

[calgarybride2015]

I agree WJ turn around was super fast!! We used Air Canada solely based on price. We had 30 days to sign the agreement. Then guests had 90 days to make a deposit to get the group rate. Then it was due 90 days before we flew.

 

I booked in May 2014 for my January 2015 wedding. At the time WJ was the pricey one. Really so many factors play a role. Even booking 9 months out my flight changed due to a flight schedule that had not been confirmed. So a heads up on that.

 

I think for the resort and economy that price seems standard my travel agent says they have to 'predict' pricing on what happened the year previous and with the dollar, the prices are NOT what we have seen before. Given you have time, I would maybe wait a little bit. What did your travel agent suggest?

 

 

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Edited August 19, 2015 by calgarybride2015

[peachykeen159]

No problem! Good luck with the planning. So glad I found this website so I could speak with other people going through this process!