Cruise Ship Crew Secrets The Lines Don’t Want Us To Know! (Podcast #445)
Essential Cruise Tips
After doing well over 100 cruises, I thought I knew everything about life on a cruise ship. That was until a dinner hosted by a senior crew member on my last cruise, where they revealed a surprising secret about cruise ship crew that I was totally unaware of! That got me wondering what else I, and other passengers, have no idea about cruise ship crew. Welcome aboard, I am Gary Bembridge and after much research and talking to crew off the record, I found 6 secrets kept well hidden from us passengers that I think you will find surprising and maybe even shocking. Become a Tips For Travellers...
info_outline
5 Secrets Cruise Lines Won’t Tell You (But You NEED to Know!) (Podcast #444)
Essential Cruise Tips
Cruise line glossy brochures and their enticing adverts promise a carefree and trouble-free vacation, BUT they don’t tell the whole story. There are several important things that can and do significantly impact us as passengers that the lines seem reluctant to talk about or be upfront about. Welcome aboard, I'm Gary Bembridge and join me as I unmask five unspoken things that directly affect us all, and why I believe you need to know more about them. Become a Tips For Travellers Patron: and get exclusive Patron-only content, downloads and livestreams Visit my Tips For Travellers...
info_outline
So Many Panama Canal Cruisers STILL Get These 5 Things Wrong! (Podcast #443)
Essential Cruise Tips
I have done a Panama Canal transit four times and on every trip I see passengers making the same mistakes that get in the way of making it their adventure of a lifetime. But some of the errors are so easy to make that even an experienced cruiser like me can get tripped up – as I did on my most recent Panama Canal trip on Regent Grandeur. So, welcome aboard, I’m Gary Bembridge and hear 5 things I have learnt the hard way that you need to know about doing a Panama Canal cruise. Links mentioned: David McCullough’s “The Path Between the Seas. The Creation of the Panama Canal” **...
info_outline
This Cruise Line Says It's The World's Best! I Put That To The Test (Podcast #442)
Essential Cruise Tips
Days before heading off on Regent's newest ship, the Grandeur, the line launched new advertising promising that “nobody does it better”. In in they also claimed to have the “world's most luxurious fleet”, and that no cruise line beats them on destination experiences, hospitality, luxury spaces, and dining. Having been on Regent before, while I found them great, I didn’t think they beat every line, so this latest trip turned into the perfect opportunity to really test out if Regent now does do cruising better than everybody else. I am Gary Bembridge, and this is what I found. And as...
info_outline
6 NEW Cruise Scams & Tricks To Watch Out For This Year! (Podcast #441)
Essential Cruise Tips
I’ve been contacted recently by way too many cruise passengers that have been caught out by new scams that have emerged since my last video about this topic, including one a good friend stumbled upon on his latest cruise – and one using me to scam cruisers like you! Here are the latest cruise scams to watch out for! Links mentioned in the video: Get 10% any of The Cruise Maps products using *USA ESTA: UK ETA : Canada ETA: CIBT Visa: Become a Tips For Travellers Patron: and get exclusive Patron-only content, downloads and livestreams Visit my Tips For Travellers...
info_outline
Cruise Lines JUST Banned These 6 Much-Loved Items!! (Podcast #440)
Essential Cruise Tips
I’m upset as one item I've taken on every cruise I've done to date has just been banned. But I'm not the only one devastated about new cruise line bans, as three people contacted me about a less-publicised ban making cruising more costly for them. While I saw another recent ban got one cruiser banned for life when she unwittingly broke it. I’m Gary Bembridge, and I’m here to tell you about six items cruise lines have recently banned that could change the way you cruise. Forever. Become a Tips For Travellers Patron: and get exclusive Patron-only content, downloads and livestreams...
info_outline
6 Tricks You Should Use To Beat Today's Soaring Cruise Fares (Podcast #439)
Essential Cruise Tips
Every cruiser can see that cruise fares have been rising scarily fast, and cruise lines are telling Wall Street investors that they expect fares to keep rising well over inflation as demand for cruising is so high. But despite that, I have found ways of paying less than most people on every one of the 12 upcoming trips I've got booked. I'm going to show you how I, and other smart cruisers, cruise for less than others in this time of rising fares. Become a Tips For Travellers Patron: and get exclusive Patron-only content, downloads and livestreams Visit my Tips For Travellers YouTube: ...
info_outline
Changes EVERYONE Cruising In 2025 Needs To Know About (podcast #438)
Essential Cruise Tips
If you've got a cruise booked in 2025, or thinking of booking one, there are startling changes being made by cruise lines, governments, and the actions of some local port residents that you need to be ready to deal with. Even if you've been cruising recently and think you know how things work, these changes could catch you by surprise and throw your cruise plans off course. Here are six changes I think you need to be ready for in 2025. Links mentioned in the video: UK ETA: EU ETIAS: Videos Mentioned: Money saving: Banned Items: Become a Tips For Travellers Patron: and...
info_outline
The Smartest Way To Deal With These 6 Cruise Nightmares (Podcast #435)
Essential Cruise Tips
I've recently been following several cruise-gone-wrong sagas that inspired me to make this. They include outraged passengers raging because the Captain decided to miss iconic ports that most had booked the cruise for, and a distraught family facing a medical bill of $150,000 after their father fell ill on European cruise. Like you I assume all my cruises will be perfect, but not all are. Here are the main things I’ve seen go wrong, and how to be ready for them and what to do if it happens to you. Become a Tips For Travellers Patron: and get exclusive Patron-only content, downloads and...
info_outline
I Put Silversea's Costly Expedition Cruising To The Test. WORTH IT? (podcast #436)
Essential Cruise Tips
Knowing that the expedition cruise I wanted to do would cost me the same as buying a new luxury car, I needed to make sure that the line I went with would deliver something special and make every dollar worth it. After much deliberating, I decided to entrust Silversea with this huge sum of money as I've been on shorter expedition cruises with them before, thought they did a good job, though I was apprehensive as the cost of getting it wrong was so enormous. On this trip, I discovered just what Silversea Expedition are doing well, and not so that well these days, as you will hear. Become a...
info_outlineThe Advantages of Cruising
There are many advantages that cruising has over land-based vacations. The following are some of the key ones:
Inclusive fares. A cruise fare will include your accommodation, cruising from port to port, meals, and entertainment. Some premium lines also include drinks, gratuities and excursions.
You are likely to spend a fair amount on board on items like gratuities, drinks, excursions, gambling and Internet access. However, these are at your discretion.
Packing. You only have to pack before and at the end of the cruise and not every time you visit a new destinations you would have to do on land.
Travel time is part of your vacation. You are able to relax and enjoy the facilities of the ship as you sail between destinations. You do not loose time commuting to airports and sitting on planes or in your vehicle moving between places you are visiting.
Simplified immigration. If you are visiting multiple countries you do not have to line up and pass through immigration at each one. Once you have checked in and the line has your details and passport they handle the authorities in most cases, except when disembarking. You will just have to use your cruise card to swipe off and back onto the ship.
Visiting places difficult to see by land or get to by plane. There are some parts of the world that are best, easiest or can only be seen on a ship. This includes hard to access places like Alaska and the Norwegian Fjords or passing through the Panama and Suez Canals. There are also places like the Galapagos Islands, Arctic, Antarctica and some of the Polynesian islands in the Pacific Ocean that are hard or impossible to reach by commercial plane.
Overview of a region. Cruises can provide a good overview of the highlights and attractions of a region like the Caribbean, Mediterranean and Asia by visiting up to seven different destinations in a week. It gives you a chance to get a feel for where you would like to go back and spend more time in. This would be hard to achieve on a land-based vacation as you would not have the time to get to and see as many places.
Wide variety to appeal to each member of your travel party. Ships and cruises have many options and choices available, including different cabin types and grades, activities, dining venues, entertainment and excursions. This means that different members of your travel party can enjoy very different experiences within the same shared trip. You do not have to make as many compromises and everyone has time to pursue their individual interests and passions but come together for meals and other joint activities.
Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes or Stitcher Radio