Friday, August 15, 2014

Details, Details! Travel Is Expensive

I am leaving on Saturday to visit my sister in Ontario for nine days. I will spend Saturday night at Brooks and LindaLee's place in Shawnigan Lake. Or at least part of the night as my flight leaves Victoria at 5:25 AM so I have to be there by 4:25 AM! Then comes a 7 1/2 hour lay-over in Vancouver Airport before my flight to Toronto leaves at 2:15 PM. Ouch! I hope I can find a soft seat in the airport. I miss the comfort and convenience of my motorhome!

Internet is going to be a problem. I bought a Canadian Virgin Broadband pay as you go stick a couple of years ago and just assumed I could top it off for another month. However I waited till the last minute to do this and was informed that Virgin no longer offers this service. I am stuck with the stick I bought which is now useless.

I went down to my local Telus dealer and found I would have to purchase a $150 stick and open a $40 per month account which I could cancel when I got home. Still, $190 for ten days Internet is to much.

I have a SmartPhone I bought from T-Mobile in the US last year so I could use that with a Rogers plan to create a "Hotspot". This would cost $10 for the SIM plus $25/mo for 500 MB data or $40/mo for 5 GB which I can cancel whenever I want. Now this is more like it! I called T-Mobile to get a free unlock code for the Smartphone and was told I would have it within 24 hours which would make it about 6:00 PM tonight. Rogers is open until 9:00 PM so with any luck, this will work out for me! If not, I will be a regular customer at the Tim Horton's near my sisters.

In any case, it will be an exhausting time for both me and my sister but I am really looking forward to seeing her and my nephew and nieces. It looks like we will be getting some beach time at Wasaga Beach sometime in my visit.

EDIT: Well, the Smartphone did not work. It accepted the SIM and looked like it was working. I could see the hotspot on my laptop but no data would transfer. The woman at Rogers played with it for at least half an hour and finally gave up. She found an old, used Internet stick in her drawer which she put the SIM into and gave me (for FREE). It works! I have Internet on a "Flex" plan. If I use 10 MB or less in a month it is $5, 100 MB is $10, 500 is $20 and 5 GB is $40. It will only bill me for what I use.




23 comments:

  1. Enjoy your time in Kitchener and Wasaga beach with your sister, looks like the weather should be pretty good for you, not too hot though.
    We will be back in Kitchener area on the 25th, looks like we will miss you I think.
    Travel safe and enjoy your time in southern Ontario with the family.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Then we will see you down in the USA!

      Delete
    2. That would be good, sorry we will miss you, but I know you will be busy anyway.

      Delete
  2. We have a mi-fi for use in Canada. It's also pay as you go, and it's also fairly expensive. I think for short term things like your trip to your sister's, I would have simply done the Tim Horton's or McDonald's or local public library route.

    You can "cancel whenever you want", but be careful that you cancel well enough in advance. I know with Bell that I need to call and cancel before August 31 in order for the cancellation to take place on September 30th!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am assuming I will have to pay an extra month to cancel so it will cost me an additional $25. It's only money! I like the idea of being able to tether or create a hotspot and $25 - $40 per month is not a bad deal. It is actually comparable to the USA and Mexico costs.

      Delete

      Delete
  3. Just before we headed out across Canada in 2011 we purchased an unlocked 3G capable Ipad, and then got a graduated data plan from Telus that costs us $5 a month to maintain. I use it rarely these days, but the $60 a year is a small price to pay for the convenience of having it available when we need it. You've got a tablet of some sort don't you? Maybe it's time to upgrade to an LTE device?

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have a tablet but it is WIFI only and my unlocked USA T-Mobile Smartphone is not compatible with Canadian providers (?)

    I just got back from Rogers and after trying for a half hour to make it work, she finally just gave me a used stick. Their plan is also $5 per month for 10 MB or less, $10 for 100 MB, $20 for 500 and $40 for 5 GB.

    My brand loyalty for Telus disappeared when they started firing and throwing my co-workers in jail.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We use the Rogers and have the same plan , with the wiifi hub, great LTE in the Kitchener area. we love it.

      Delete
    2. Sounds like the same sort of plan I use. And I forgot to mention that you need a new travel agent. What's up with the long layover 40 minutes by air from home?!?

      Delete
    3. The selections were pretty much picked over by the time I got off my butt and tried to make reservations. Les (below) is right though, I should have just made my own way to Vancouver Airport. Oh well, I read in a forum that there are comfortable benches with no armrest dividers near the elevator to the hotel.

      Delete
  5. Hey big guy we are too old for these early morning flights you can get on harbor air in Nanaimo and 25 minutes later at the airport I always go this route a great flight and no early mornings you deserve it do it...cheers les

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are right Les, that was stupid of me not to have figured that out. I could have slept a few more hours and parked for free with friends in Nanaimo.

      Delete
  6. I'm curious to know the cost of your flight. Doesn't matter where I originate from within Canada, I've never been able to get to Montreal for under $600. If I had lots of time, I could drive to Minot, fly from there to Albany, and then take a train to Montreal for about $400 round trip total. Insane!

    Have a great trip!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am flying on Air Canada AirMiles. It cost me 10,000 points plus $142 cash. However, there is a cheap deal being offered for Victoria to Toronto right now to Toronto right now for $520 (all in).

      Delete
    2. I think I need to start collecting Air Miles!

      $520 is a good price!

      Delete
    3. Aeroplan. She collects them with her credit card but the majority of her points came from when she traveled on business years ago. We have never used any until now. There are enough left for two tickets anywhere in the world.

      Delete
  7. Do they have a library where you are going? Many restaurants offer free wifi - Your options seem so expensive to catch a little wifi. Many times I latch on to an unprotected Internet connection just fishing around.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have done that before but found that all the money I spent on coffee would have made it cheaper to buy a stick! ;) There used to be lots of unsecured signals around but not so much any more.

      The "Flex Plan" I found with Rogers should be pretty good - $5 per month for 10 MB, $10 for 100, $20 for 500 and $40 for 5 GB. I should be under the 500 MB level.

      Delete
  8. Nice of the Rogers lady to simply give you that used stick. Remember that new WIFI hot spot I bought last January for $60.00, it is is small and can be used in Mexico, USA and with Rogers in Canada, you just have to change your SIM card.

    Ouch on the connection time but that is only a small part of your vacation. FYI Kelowna to Edmonton return is just over $500.00. Ridiculous.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That's one thing I didn't grasp while in Canada, air miles for everything you purchased. They were always asking, do you have an airmiles card?

    ReplyDelete