Best Tas In Toronto (Ontario)

[calgarybride2015]

@@snswedding2016 @@krystalball thank you for info!!!

 

Krystal Most likely we'll have the wedding September 2016. I've been to GS before and loved it! @calgarybride gave an amazing review and when i saw the palapas for the reception, it just gave me chills LOL

I love their Presidential package, it's expensive but it covers everything we need! We love the 4 hours private dinner at the beach (which i'm sure can be changed to the palapas), 4hr DJ and 10 passes to the spas which will be used for our bridal party and parents.

My only problem is that it's for maximum 10 people. I'm not sure how much will it be for more people (we're expecting to have 30-40). Any info would be much appreciated!

Price over the 10 depends what food you want. We paid approx $32 per person for the beach BBQ. But if you wanted the surf and turf it was around $50 I think. That includes everything needed for the extra people (ie chairs, tables, toast, appetizers, cake, Etc). Their handouts list the exact price in peso. That was the conversion to Canadian when I got married.

 

From my experience and research the presidential package is the palapa. I believe the platinum package is the beach.

 

 

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[Ruzanna]

@@calgarybride2015 as always very helpful!!!! thank you! i'm really hoping to be able to book GS.

 

Regarding TAs: So far i spoke to 2 recommended TAs. they sounded very nice and gave me some good info. Honestly our main objective is to have it under $1500 for our guests.

Now one of the TAs mentioned that we need to sign a contract with her, but how will we get info from others to beat the price if we sign a contract? 

@@krystalball did you sign a contract with Sandi? 

[snswedding2016]

@@Ruzanna I didn't sign anything with Karen until I booked. We didn't sign a contract with Karen specifically but it was our contract with Transat for our group booking. 

 

Will the other TA give you quotes without signing a contract?

[krystalball]

@@Ruzanna I did sign a contract with Sandi, which wasn't my favourite part of the process, but at that point I was kind of at my wit's end trying to find a decent resort under $1,500 and since she was recommended by a friend I just went for it. The reason they ask for a deposit to start working with you is essentially just to prevent you from using them to price match and wasting their time 

 

You really have two options with the two TA's you're looking at now:

1) Stick with Karen and as long as she comes back with pricing that meets your criteria you're golden (you can always price match by contacting a Flight Centre rep and asking for a quote).

2) Sign a contract with Sandi (the $50 you pay offsets against your wedding travel costs so you're not out of pocket) and price match using Karen / Flight Centre as noted above. If they come back with better prices, you just forward the written quote from the other TA and she will match it.

 

Really depends on whether you got along better with one TA over another and/or if you are ok with the idea of locking in with one TA by putting down a deposit. I don't think you can really go wrong either way!

[Ruzanna]

@@snswedding2016 Yes, the contract is with the company. Both Karen and Sandi gave me good info.

 

I asked Sandi what cost per guest i should expect and she honestly said around $1500. I want it to be lower, since if you book your travel as a vacation (outside of the wedding) then you can get 7 days All inclusive at Grand Sirenis in September for $900-$1200. If the group rate is higher than my guests just booking, then i'm not sure what i'm going to do. how can i ask my guests to pay way more, just to be "in a group package" LOL

 

  @@krystalball that's also a great idea! FI and me will be looking next week, since he's pretty busy with work. I hope either Sandi or Karen will be my TA, because they both sounded very nice.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Ruzanna

[calgarybride2015]

@@krystalball Yes, the contract is with the company. Both Karen and Sandi gave me good info.

 

I asked Sandi what cost per guest i should expect and she honestly said around $1500. I want it to be lower, since if you book your travel as a vacation (outside of the wedding) then you can get 7 days All inclusive at Grand Sirenis in September for $900-$1200. If the group rate is higher than my guests just booking, then i'm not sure what i'm going to do. how can i ask my guests to pay way more, just to be "in a group package" LOL

 

@@snswedding2016 that's also a great idea! FI and me will be looking next week, since he's pretty busy with work. I hope either Sandi or Karen will be my TA, because they both sounded very nice.

Has anyone quoted you a group price then showed you what it would be without the group? Our group price was always lower than anything I could find online which helped our case but generally I was under the assumption they were. That's one reason people get group rates because they tend to be better.

 

 

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[krystalball]

@@Ruzanna I would take Sandi's "estimated price" with a grain of salt since she hadn't contacted the airline to get an actual quote. If she guessed around $1,500 it's probably because my group pricing is about $1,485 for the same resort and she's been dealing with putting down deposits for my guests non-stop for the last few days, lol.

 

tripcentral.ca is showing sept 2015 prices of about $1,000 to $1,100 for GS so I would expect group rates in a similar price range or slightly lower for sept 2016.

[Ruzanna]

@@calgarybride2015 That's why i was very surprised!!! she didn't say that it's going to 100% be $1500. she said "around $1500".  I just checked tripcentral and 1 week, all inclusive, Grand Sirenis September 2015 (our wedding is Sep 2016, prices don't change as much) is $980!

 

When we traveled to GS in 2012 we paid around $950.

 

That's why i'm a bit confused. she said that because it's guarantied rooms, hence the price....plus if you book 11-12 then 1 free (you know the usual deals they Agencies have). Hopefully i'll be able to get more info about the prices.

@@krystalball yes for sure! 

If you don't mind me asking, why is your group rate $1485? We always travel April or September-October because of the good rates. Or is it because we book it last minute (1-2 months before)?

[calgarybride2015]

@@calgarybride2015 That's why i was very surprised!!! she didn't say that it's going to 100% be $1500. she said "around $1500". I just checked tripcentral and 1 week, all inclusive, Grand Sirenis September 2015 (our wedding is Sep 2016, prices don't change as much) is $980!

 

When we traveled to GS in 2012 we paid around $950.

 

That's why i'm a bit confused. she said that because it's guarantied rooms, hence the price....plus if you book 11-12 then 1 free (you know the usual deals they Agencies have). Hopefully i'll be able to get more info about the prices.

Just remember that the prices will be higher in 2016 than 2015 depending on the economy. Prices have steadily gone up each year even from 2014 to 2015.

 

We used Air Canada and ours was every 16th person free I do believe. We also got a free upgrade to first class.

 

Unless she's quoted that exact week she's just guessing. My travel agent could tell us what places to consider due to pricing she had seen come back in our range but until it's quoted it's anyone's guess. Is the hotel already booking up? The plane? Etc. Those make a large difference.

 

Generally the rock bottom pricing could be because you booked last minute and the resort and / or airline is trying to fill their plane. You wouldn't want to take that risk with your wedding.

 

Edit - I remember being bummed that resorts I had priced out for my trip in 2013 were sooooooo much higher for 2015. But the travel agent was invaluable in steering us in the right direction. She actually suggested the GS to us. It was never on our radar. In January Calgary paid $1565 and Toronto $1465. The people who booked alone paid closer to $1800.

 

 

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Edited May 21, 2015 by calgarybride2015

[Ruzanna]

@@calgarybride2015 Thank you. I'm really stressing out about those prices though. Honestly having traveled in Mexico before, these prices seem so high! My FI's family has traveled too, so i'm not sure what their reaction will be to find out they have to pay $1400-$1500 for a trip they can book for $1000. 

But you're right, I can't take the "last minute" risk on my wedding. Maybe some of my friends that are on a tight budget will be able to book it separately last minute.....not sure. 

 

I'm stressing out about my guests' cost, instead of my wedding.....LOL so backwards! haha