029: Planning port activities - who else will be there?
Release Date: 06/25/2014
I Put Royal Caribbean "Royal Suite" Cruising To The Test (podcast 386)
Essential Cruise Tips
When I think of Royal Caribbean, I think of feature-packed mega resort ships, with good value cabins. However, I have seen Royal Caribbean now has some of the biggest and most expensive suites money can buy at sea. So, instead of using some savings to book a smaller luxury cruise line that I usually would, I decided to splash that cash on a Royal Caribbean suite to see if I would get all the service, glitz, and glamour they promise in their “Royal Class Suites”. Become a Tips For Travellers Patron: and get exclusive Patron-only content, downloads and livestreams Visit my Tips For...
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I Try ROYAL CARIBBEAN To See If It's For Cruisers Like me (Podcast #384)
Essential Cruise Tips
I like cruising on small and medium-sized ships that aren’t busy, and a bit laid back. But I also love going to Vegas, with its big brash shows, buzz, and excitement. So, I decided, to see if a big resort ship would work out for people like me, so I nervously booked myself on Royal Caribbean’s Symphony of the Seas, which at the time was the second-biggest ship in the world, holding up to 6,680 passengers. Now that I've experienced the best and worst of a mega ship resort cruising, I now know who should or shouldn't be booking themselves on one of these. And why! Become a Tips For...
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I Cruise The World's Top-Rated Line That Few Have Heard Of! (Podcast #385)
Essential Cruise Tips
The “cruise bible”, the authoritative Berlitz “Complete Guide to Cruising and Cruise Ships”, has for years said this line has the best ships in the world, but almost no cruisers outside its home country have ever heard of it, even though it's 50% owned by Royal Caribbean, a line everyone’s heard of. So, I decided I should test the line out to see if they were better, and if I would recommend that cruisers like you consider taking a risk and cruising a line you’ve never heard of. Become a Tips For Travellers Patron: and get exclusive Patron-only content, downloads and livestreams...
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Things Expedition Cruises Don’t Tell You (Until It's Too Late!) (Podcast #383)
Essential Cruise Tips
At the start of my recent Greenland Arctic expedition cruise, an ominous notice appeared in the daily program. It required us to attend a mandatory (written in capital letters no less!) meeting at 5pm. Having been on four previous expedition cruises to Antarctica, the Arctic and Galapagos I knew to expect this meeting. But most did not, and many were confused as we’d had the muster drill which they thought was the only mandatory requirement on cruises. Concern grew when the Expedition Director made an announcement saying failure to attend would have significant implications for the cruise....
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The Cruise Lines Everyone Is Raving About RIGHT NOW (And Why!) (Podcast #382)
Essential Cruise Tips
I’ve been diving into the latest cruise line reviews, reviewing all the comments and messages I receive and comparing that with my own recent cruising experiences, and from all that I came across five cruise lines that passengers seem to agree are the hottest cruise lines right now, ones rising with the tide and floating above all others, so ones perhaps you should consider more than ever before right now. Here’s what I found. Become a Tips For Travellers Patron: and get exclusive Patron-only content, downloads and livestreams Visit my Tips For Travellers YouTube:
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Cruise Lines To Steer Clear Of These Days. And Why! (Podcast #381)
Essential Cruise Tips
As none of us want to waste our precious vacation time and money on anything but those cruise lines on top of their game, I've been diving into the latest cruise reviews, pouring over the thousands of comments and messages I get, and been cruising on many cruise lines to see which are hot - and which are not - right now. Based on all that here are the lines I think you may need think about carefully, and why. Become a Tips For Travellers Patron: and get exclusive Patron-only content, downloads and livestreams Visit my Tips For Travellers YouTube:
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Seasoned Cruisers Have STOPPED Packing These. Here's Why! (Podcast #380)
Essential Cruise Tips
There are things I no longer pack for a cruise as things have changed, others I pack different things to do the same task, things I have always packed for a cruise vacation and still do and some things I don’t understand why people pack for a cruise at all. Find out what they are and why you should rethink what you pack for a cruise Become a Tips For Travellers Patron: and get exclusive Patron-only content, downloads and livestreams Visit my Tips For Travellers YouTube:
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My Solution To The Biggest Issue With Cruises These Days! (Podcast #379)
Essential Cruise Tips
With cruise lines now pretty much able to sell their ships out completely at a hundred percent or higher capacity, I want to tell you how you can hunt down and find cruises and cruise ships that are not going to be completely packed to the rafters and will have the best cruise experience. This is the techniques that I use. Become a Tips For Travellers Patron: and get exclusive Patron-only content, downloads and livestreams Visit my Tips For Travellers YouTube:
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Crafty Ways To Steer Clear Of The Crowds On Busy Cruises (podcast #378)
Essential Cruise Tips
Cruise lines are packing their ships full these days. They're admitting that they're selling at 100% or higher capacity. So, ships are really, really full, and I've seen this firsthand on a recent cruise, like MSC Cruises, Norwegian, or Caribbean, even Princess in Alaska. So, I want to share with you proven techniques to deal with managing crowds and avoiding crowds. Become a Tips For Travellers Patron: and get exclusive Patron-only content, downloads and livestreams Visit my Tips For Travellers YouTube:
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Hot Issues Dividing Cruisers RIGHT NOW! (Podcast #377)
Essential Cruise Tips
On my last cruise, a Windstar Fjords cruise, I posted clips on Instagram of the best attended event of my entire cruise. It immediately ignited a fiery, lively, and divided debate about if the event was a good idea or not. It got me thinking about other things that I talk about on social media or in my videos, that spark heated debates and where cruisers fall into “for” or “against” camps, with few on the fence. So, let's find out where you stand on these right now as I suspect that, like me, your stand is shifting as we face a new world of cruising. Become a Tips For Travellers...
info_outlineGary Bembridge author of "The Cruise Traveler's Handbook" provides another 60-Second Cruise Tips. For more visit http://www.60secondcruisetips.com and http://www.tipsfortravellers.com/cruise-travelers-handbook
With the growth in cruising destinations are likely to have multiple ships in port at the same time as yours. As the towns, attractions and sights can get crowded when multiple cruise lines are visiting, planning your time on land in advance is important.
The website I use to help plan my port activities is called CruiseTimetables.com. The site has details of which ships will be in port each day. You input the port and date and it shows the ships and maximum passenger numbers that will be there.
For example, using the site I knew that around 15,000 people would be in St Thomas on one stop and so I booked a quiet day exploring the coastline on a catamaran instead of fighting traffic and crowds on land tours.
Knowing the volume of people in port may also be a good reason to book a private tour or to self explore to get you to key attractions earlier than regular excursions. For example in St. Petersburg it led me to book a private early-morning tour which finished touring the Hermitage as the hoards arrived.