This is great news but it’s not entirely new news to us as destination wedding specialists. Not only are destination weddings more affordable than traditional weddings, but the beach is the ideal location for comfortable attire. Just think: Could you ever get away with wearing flip flops at a home wedding?

Photo: courtesy of Nitro:licious blog

So it was exciting for us to read earlier this week how the down-to-earth, budget-friendly trend (common in destination weddings) has been catching on!

Not only have we seen it in movies, like Carrie Bradshaw ditching the usual frock for something more simple in Sex in the City 2, but also in clothing store chains and mainstream articles written by fashion reporters.

The Toronto Star’s fashion reporter, Derrick Chetty revealed in his article, “The Style List: Street style, budget bridal and British retail mecca,”  that fashionable clothing store J. Crew recently opened a bridal boutique in Manhattan to supply customers with what they want.

Since we don’t have J. Crew here in Canada, Chetty went on a hunt for something similar to accommodate Canadian brides. He found what he was looking for at H&M. He describes this white gown as, “casual and breezy, yet romantic, making it perfect for a beach wedding.”

It’s only $59.95 and 25% of the sales goes towards youth HIV/AIDS awareness programs. A win-win-win scenario if we’ve ever seen it.

You can read more about H&M’s support of AIDS awareness on Nitro:licious blog.

However, if you’re dream is to walk down the aisle in a big, beautiful, frilly wedding gown for your destination wedding, don’t let fashion dictate your decision! Even so, this post may still be useful to you. Why not buy the inexpensive option and use it for some phenomenal, unusual trash-the-dress photos?

As destination wedding specialists, it’s always our pleasure to share up-to-date wedding industry knowledge with you. Just a reminder, though, if you’re looking for a wedding gown – we won’t ever sell you wedding accessories! Unlike some destination wedding specialists, we prefer to focus so we can always provide you the best service.

Was this information valuable to you in making your destination wedding dream come true? Let us know in the comments below and if you have any questions you’d like answered, put those in the comments, too, or contact us the old fashioned way.

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The Government of Cuba announced travellers must now present proof of health insurance before they enter the country, effective May 1, 2010.

This is what you can now expect at Cuban customs:

Upon arrival, travellers may be required to present an insurance policy, insurance certificate, or medical assistance card valid for the period of their stay in Cuba.

Those who do not have proof of insurance coverage may be required to obtain health insurance from a Cuban insurance company when they arrive.

By the way, temporary residents and Cubans living abroad must also hold valid health insurance policies.

Additional information you should know:

• Although proof of Canadian provincial health insurance (such as OHIP), is sufficient for visitors to enter Cuba, your provincial plan may cover only part of the costs and will not pay the bill up-front, as required. It is therefore recommended that travellers purchase supplemental health insurance. (Note: some private insurers also require the traveller to pay costs up-front and be reimbursed later.)
• Cuban authorities will not allow anyone with outstanding medical bills to leave the country.
• All health insurance policies will be recognized except those issued by U.S. insurance companies, as they cannot provide coverage in Cuba.

For additional details concerning this new travel requirement, please consult the Embassy of Cuba in Canada and/or click here for the information they’ve published on their website.

If you’re Canadian and plan to visit Cuba, consider investing in supplemental health insurance. Our provincial health care insurance, while worthwhile here at home, is limited and covers only basic needs. While travelling, you may need prescription drugs and expenses associated with unforeseen health care emergencies.

We recommend travelling (especially to a destination wedding) with insurance – it’s the most important travel tip ever – and we trust RBC to provide top-notch products and services. As an RBC partner, you can contact us to help you with the most appropriate travel insurance for you.

Are you Cuba bound this year? What do you think of these new Cuba travel regulations? Will you be purchasing supplemental health insurance for your trip?

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According to our sources, recently published articles have advised that all visitors entering Cuba will be required to purchase health insurance beginning May 1, 2010.

Although the procedures and requirements by the Cuban government have yet to be fully disclosed, the preliminary reports state:

“…all tourists, foreigners with temporary residence in Cuba, and Cubans living abroad visiting the country, will be required to purchase health insurance when travelling to Cuba. This health insurance is to be sold by non-Cuban insurers approved by the Cuban government, or by Cuban firms providing insurance products at Cuba’s ports of entry. Diplomats and representatives of accredited international organizations will be exempt.”

Our chosen insurance provider, RBC Insurance, is currently communicating with the appropriate government officials to determine traveller requirements. They expect to have additional information within the next two weeks when the Cuban Government announces their list of approved out-of-country insurance companies.  

RBC Insurance is also communicating with the Cuban Consulate in Ottawa, the Canadian Embassy in Cuba, the Cuban Tourist Board, the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada and Asistur to obtain full details. Asistur, the Cuban Government’s assistance agency, and RBC Insurance has enjoyed a very strong partnership lasting 18 years. They have worked closely to assist and settle claims for insured travellers to Cuba.

Stay tuned in the following weeks as we keep you up-to-date on this mandatory Cuban policy regarding health insurance for travelers heading to this beautiful, tropical country. If you haven’t already, sign up for our RSS feed or have new posts delivered to your email.

Weddings By Oceans has complete trust in RBC Insurance and we recommend their products to all our clients. If you’re planning a Cuba destination wedding this year, please contact us for advice on all of your out-of-country health and trip cancellation insurance.

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Following the recent amalgamation of TUI (Signature) and Sunwing, we would like to share with you some upcoming changes at Sunquest (Thomas Cook Canada) with Riu Hotels & Resorts.

Riu has advised us that they will be making certain hotels available to The Sunwing Group in Canada going forward. For the winter 2010/11 season, the portfolio of Riu’s Caribbean and Mexican hotels will be split between Thomas Cook Canada and The Sunwing Group.

Weddings By Oceans has enjoyed a mutually beneficial partnership with Sunquest and Riu Hotels. We are very proud of our achievement as one of Canada’s leading Riu supporters in Canada. We plan to fully support both companies as we continue to sell Riu properties.

Thomas Cook Canada (Sunquest), is pleased to have secured their strategically important Riu properties in our high-performing destinations for next winter:

Aruba – Riu Palace Aruba
Nassau ( Bahamas) – Riu Palace Paradise Island
Costa Rica – Riu Guanacaste
Los Cabos (Mexico) – Riu Santa Fe
Puerto Vallarta (Mexico) – Riu Vallarta
Cancun & Playa del Carmen (Mexico) – Riu Cancun, Riu Palace Mexico, Riu Tequila, Riu Playacar
Jamaica – Riu Palace Tropical Bay, Riu Ocho Rios
Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) – Riu Palace Macao, Riu Bambu
Puerto Plata (Dominican Republic) – Riu Bachata, Riu Mambo
Florida (Miami – South Beach) – Riu Florida Beach

Sunquest assures us that:

“Scaling back our Riu relationship gives us a significant amount of flexibility, and we now have an opportunity to complement our high-performing Riu properties with a broader portfolio of exclusive product. We are very excited about our product line-up, and we’re especially pleased with the new properties we’ve been able to secure, which fit our strategy of offering quality and exclusive products, representing excellent value for money.”

Weddings By Oceans is excited to see more exclusives come our way from Thomas Cook Canada next season!

We have not yet received official word from Signature/Sunwing (Sunwing Travel Group), however we speculate that they will be given Riu Palace Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), Riu Palaca Cabo San Lucas (Los Cabos, Mexico) and Riu Riviera Maya (Playa del Carmen, Mexico) to name just a few of the remaining Riu’s up for grabs next winter.

We are hopeful that with the addition of Riu to their program, the Sunwing Travel Group and Weddings By Oceans can continue to support this fabulous chain of properties.

“Weddings by Oceans has worked closely with Riu Hotels & Resorts and I am happy to say that they have always conducted themselves professionally. They sell many weddings with us and we have confidence in their ability to sell our product. In the few years Weddings By Oceans has been selling Riu they have already risen to one of our top agencies and is a Riu Partner Club Gold Member (highest level of sales).” Nova-Lee Black, Riu Resorts Representative – Canada

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Punta Cana is home to fragrant coconut groves, lush rainforests, limestone caves and many natural glories to behold. Its beaches are among the best in the world; stretching adjacent to a beautiful sea with 7 different hues of turquoise waters.

The Dominican Republic (DR) shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti and there have been several inquires from clients with regards to the impact this may have on their upcoming travel.

The DR Ministry of Tourism is assuring visitors that all of its cities, tourism and resort areas are conducting normal business operations:

“The DR government, consulates and embassies are also working diligently with international communities to provide earthquake relief for Haiti. Millions of Dominicans have donated time, money, supplies and expertise to help Haiti in these critical hours of need,” said one statement.

All of the tourist areas, hotels, resorts, airports and seaports are open and receiving visitors. The DR experienced NO damage from the earthquake or its aftershocks.

Major tourism regions, including Punta Cana and La Romana on the east coast, as well as the popular destinations on the north coast, are welcoming tourists from all over the world, says the ministry.

• All of the DR’s eight international airports are open.
• All Of the DR’s cruise terminals and seaports are open.
• All of the DR’s  beaches, hotels, resorts and tourism businesses are conducting normal business operations.
• The DR did not experience any damage from any aftershocks that occurred in Haiti.

Wedding By Oceans would like to wish all of you who are preparing to depart in the upcoming weeks for the Dominican Republic a wonderful trip. We will see many of you there, as we are escorting several destination wedding groups.

If you’re interested in a Dominican Republic destination wedding in Punta Cana, please contact us.

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Transat Holidays has informed us that effective March 1, 2010, Mexico will require North American travellers to show a valid passport before entering the country.

From the news release:

“this measure harmonizes Mexican border control policy with that of Canada and the US under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI).”

Homeland Security says the WHTI, “requires all citizens of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Bermuda to have a passport or other accepted document that establishes the bearer’s identity and nationality to enter or depart the United States from within the Western Hemisphere.

The travel document requirements make up the departments of State and Homeland Security’s Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. This change in travel document requirements is the result of recommendations made by the 9/11 Commission, which Congress subsequently passed into law in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004.”

For more information on the WHTI, read this Tourism Toolkit published by the Canada Border Services Agency.

If you have a destination wedding planned in Mexico, make sure to send your guests this post.

If you would like an unforgettable destination wedding in the Mayan Riviera, check out our complimentary services and then contact one of our Cyber Maids of Honour for a free quote!

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1. The US Secure Flight Program & Canadian Travellers

As of November 1st, 2009, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) implemented the next public phase of their U.S. Secure Flight Program. In this post we explain what this program is, who’s involved and how will it effect you as a Canadian traveller.

Secure Flight is a behind-the-scenes program developed by the TSA in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security. It promises to enhance the security of domestic and international air travel through the collection of specific passenger information for the purpose of comparing it to US security watch lists.

Click here to read the program brochure.

Airlines have been asked to collect this information from passengers upon booking and submit it to U.S. authorities so that they can match it to their watch lists, which identify known and suspected terrorists. Homeland Security says the program streamlines the security process and helps passengers whose names are similar to those on watch lists avoid misidentification.

The other benefits of the program include improving the preflight security process (since the watch list matching takes place before boarding passes are issued) and does not affect the security screening that takes place at the airport.

For anyone who booked a U.S. flight before November 1st, this next stage of the program does not affect you. Effective immediately, when you book a flight destined to the United States, your airline will gather the following information* (minimum 72 hours prior to departure):

• Your full name as it appears on the government issued I.D. that you will be using to travel
• Date of birth
• Gender
• Redress number, if applicable (see below for more information)

*Failure to provide this information may result in additional screening time, check-in time and/or denied boarding.

Since the U.S. authorities have stated their intention of expanding the requirements to all flights that enter the United States airspace, some airlines (such as Transat Holidays and its partners) have already begun collecting passenger information on every booking to ensure compliance and operational efficiency, should these changes be made in the near future.

Your privacy concerns are addressed

Respected airlines, such as Transat Holidays, offer privacy policies to ensure passenger information remains protected. The TSA also promises that the Secure Flight measures use state of the art technology to ensure privacy and has published their own privacy policy to address the concerns of passengers regarding identity theft.

What is the Traveler Redress Inquiry Program (DHS TRIP)?

If you’ve ever been held up in airport security, especially more than once, you’ll want to look into getting a `redress number’.

A redress number is issued by The Department of Homeland Security through their Traveler Redress Inquiry Program. This program has been created as a single point of contact for people who have questions or seek resolution regarding difficulties they experienced during their travel screening at transportation hubs (like airports and train stations) or while crossing U.S. borders.

Click here to visit the DHS TRIP or file a complaint.

If you have any questions about the Secure Flight Program, click here to access FAQs. What are your thoughts on these new U.S. travel requirements? Knowing that they will not affect your travel experience, are you willing to provide your airline with the requested information?

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