Keep Calm Travel Planners, Saint Albert, AB (2026)

I was very happy with my results I decided to share my planners through Kindle Publishing on Amazon. I am a retired "entrepreneur", at least I thought I was but then another idea pops into my head and off I go. I love to travel and I love to capture my memories on paper and after chatting with other travellers, I am not alone! Putting pen to paper is not for everyone but it is for many and it is my hopes that my planners will fulfill that need for travellers.

01/20/2026

It's Official!! I've just launched my first book!! I decide to write a book about RV Living, I think it turned out pretty good and it is now available on Amazon!! It is my FIRST BOOK and my FIFTH publication! I am pretty excited!! If you are part of the RV world and love RV hacks, tips and tricks, I feel you would enjoy this publication. If you do purchase the book, I would love to hear your feedback!!

01/14/2026

Are you wondering if you should book your Princess cruise with a Plus or Premier Package? In 2024 we took a 10-Day Mediterranean Cruise and booked the Plus Package. This was our first time booking with a package and so the “accountant” in me needed to see if the package was worth the money. Each Plus Package cost $60USD per day (cost increased to $65USD in July 2025) and of course you must take it for the entire cruise, and it is based on double occupancy. Our 10-day cruise cost us $1,200 USD for the Plus Package for both of us. In order so see if it was worth it, I needed to track our consumption. I must be honest; there were days I wasn’t tracking so well but here is how it looked at the end of the cruise.

All of the items are listed in US$ and the cost is for both of us:

WiFi on two devices, $500.00 (I know! That’s crazy but that is the cost)
Crew Appreciation, $320.00 (the cost increased by $1/day in 2025)
Room Service Fee, $30.00 (we had breakfast in our room 6 times, mostly on port days)
Ocean Now Fee, $15.00 (one time delivery fee)
Casual Dining, $64.00
Drinks (includes wine with dinner), $1,020.00 (no judging, it was included!)
Water (bottled water is included in the Plus package), $85.00
Coffee (I love their cappuccinos!), $50.00
Specialty Desserts (you can have 2/day, we had 3 in total), $45.00
Soft Drinks/Pop/Soda, $10.00
Medallions Shipping: $27.00

For a grand-total(ish) of $2,166.00! That is an added value of $966.00 USD!

Now, had we not purchased the package, it is very likely we would not have had as many drinks. We probably would have had half as many so -$510.00, and the same would apply to the water -$42.50 and probably the WiFi -$250.00. I may have collected my medallions at the port -$27.00 and skipped the casual dining all together -$64.00. Okay let’s add that up: $1272.50!

As you can see there is value in the Plus Package. And not having to look at a $1,200 - $1,500 bill at the end of the cruise is a nice way to finish the trip!

As for the Premier Package, the cost is $100/day USD. I cannot speak from experience; however, I can do the math. WiFi is included for 4 devices per guest ($45/day/pp); and I wonder just how many devices is someone travelling with? They do include a $200 shore excursion credit, that’s nice and one could easily spend $200 on excursions. Unlimited casual and specialty dining ($65/day/pp), that is a great perk if you use it for more than 50-60% of your time on the ship. So just the WiFi and the Specialty Dining, you are in your money. There are many other perks as well, reserved seating in the theatre, digital downloads of photos are also part of the deal. Perhaps I can revise this review in the future should we decide to try the Premier Package. 😉

I hope this helps you decide on a Package for your future cruise!!
Life is Better on a Cruise!!! ⚓️

11/28/2025

TRAVEL PROTECTION INSURANCE
When we were younger and working, we seldom considered purchasing Travel Protection Insurance, we had booked and we were going, plain and simple. As we get older and are more susceptible to health issues, we want to protect our hard earned dollars.
When you buy insurance from your cruise line company to protect your cruise expense, my experience (with Princess) is the cost of your protection is calculated with a certain percentage against the cost of your TOTAL cruise invoice. With Princess, Standard Protection is 9% of your total fare and Platinum is 12% (Ruby and above pay standard rate and get platinum coverage some of the benefits of sticking to one cruise company).
I took a deep dive to see if I could get around paying 9% protection on my Plus package and here is what I discovered.
With Princess the packages are referred to as PLUS or PREMIER packages. Your cruise line may call them differently and the important part is how they calculate your Protection fee.
I had read that you should book your cruise without the Plus or Premier package, and add your choice of package after the final payment to avoid paying insurance on your package. You can add a package right up until the day you board the ship. What I read was incorrect, digging a little deeper, I found out that your insurance will increase with any additional cost to your cruise total bill (excluding excursions).
As I continued my dive, I did find out that you can avoid paying protection premiums on your "packages" if you add your Plus or Premier package once you board the ship. Go to the Customer Service Desk and simply request it. HOWEVER you should know that should you decide to wait until you board, the price for your package cost more. Today, Princess charges $65/day (US$) for the Plus package, if you were to book after boarding the ship, the cost increases to $70/day.
Then I did a comparable using the numbers from our last cruise:
Cruise Cost: $2788.96
Plus Package: $810.00
Vacation Protection @9%: $310.96
Grand Total: $3,909.92
If I had purchased after boarding the ship (assuming the same exchange rate as my numbers are in Canadian dollars):
Cruise Cost: $2788.96
Vacation Protection: $251.01
Plus Package (at +$7/day CDN): $890.00
Grand Total: $3,929.97
There you have it! There is NO benefit to booking without the package, the increase cost of the package will erase the Vacation Protection Savings. And in this example I am assuming the same exchange rate but you need to keep in mind, the charge will be added to your bill in US Currency. The ONLY advantage of waiting until you board the ship is if you have ON BOARD CREDITS to use, I've read that you OBC could (but this information seems to be vague) be applied against the Plus Package charges.
I hope this information is beneficial to you! When it comes to cruising, we all try to save a little money, however for me, this is not worth the hassle AND should the US exchange fluctuate a little, even just by 1%, the latter would cost you more.

11/11/2025

I currently have 3 cruise planners available for purchase:
* 16 day cruises (planner will capture 3-16 day cruises)
* 35 day cruises (planner will capture 2-35 day cruises)
* And my most popular planner so far, an 80-day cruise.

There are 2 more planners in the works, one for a Wold Cruise of 125 days and one that will hold both cruise and land travel for a total of 32 days (16 day cruise + 16 day land).

Each cruise planner will hold all of your travel details from pre-departure to your return home. Here are some sample pages for the cruise planners.

11/05/2025

I decided to create planners because I couldn't find one planner out there (and I looked at many) that captured all the information I needed to capture during my travels.

A good “planner” is a document that captures all the information required to properly execute a plan. When information is missing, then it is fair to say that the “plan” may not work out. There is an expression that says, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail” and failing on a holiday, in my opinion, is not an option.

My initial focus was creating a cruise planner, as I was about to set sail. Since the initial "Keep Calm and Cruise On with Your Ultimate 16-Day Cruise Planner" was launched, I have created 2 other Cruise Planners, 35 days & 80 days as well as a "Travel Planner" that will help you stay organized with your land travel.

I am currently working on an RV Logbook and RV Planner that I will launch in the next few weeks as well as a Land & Cruise Planner, a World Cruise Planner. I do need to create a longer land "Travel Planners" for those who may be considering month long holidays!

My books are available on Amazon, they are a Prime Item, and they typically will arrive on your doorstep within a couple of days! I hope you’ll give my planners a try and when you do, please leave me a review so I know what is working and what I may need to work on.

Address

Saint Albert, AB
T8N7Z1

Website

https://www.amazon.ca/stores/Suzanne-Moreau-Couillard/author/B0D563MLVG?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalE

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