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I've been asking experienced cruisers I’ve met what they did to make their cruise vacation perfect. And they are all saying the same things as other smart cruisers I've asked on past cruises.
Well, mostly the same because while there 5 things all agree on, there is one that splits smart cruisers into two opposing camps. As you will hear.
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0:00
i'm here in my cabin on Explorer
0:02
Journeys Explorer 2 And as with other
0:04
cruisers I've been on I've been asking
0:06
experienced cruisers I've met what they
0:09
did to make this cruise vacation perfect
0:12
And I'm surprised that they're all
0:14
saying the same things as other smart
0:16
cruisers I've asked the same question on
0:18
past cruises Well almost the same
0:21
Because while there are five things all
0:23
agree on there's one that splits smart
0:26
cruisers into two opposing camps as
0:29
you'll hear Welcome aboard I'm Gary
0:32
Benbridge and let me start with what
0:34
smart cruisers all do I found all agree
0:37
on the best times to book a cruise to
0:39
get the best value deal They focus on
0:42
two key booking periods which I do too
0:46
First of all they book a cruise when the
0:48
line releases new itineraries This they
0:52
say is the most important trick that
0:54
they use It's when prices are the lowest
0:56
and added included bonus perks are at
0:59
their highest Most of my upcoming
1:01
cruises I've actually booked on
1:03
itinerary launch because I get so much
1:05
more for my money For example I booked
1:08
on this Explorer Journeys cruise when
1:10
the line launched the itinerary and I
1:12
got a launch deal of 30% off Later this
1:16
year I'm going on a region 7C's
1:18
Navigator West Africa cruise I booked it
1:22
when it was launched and I got a
1:23
three-ight postday safari trip included
1:26
in the fair Next year I booked on a 31-
1:29
night America South America trip Again I
1:33
booked when it came on sale I got a
1:35
launch deal that included the have it
1:37
all package with premium Wi-Fi drinks
1:40
package shore excursion credits special
1:42
dining and even gratuitities Now that
1:45
would have cost over $2,000 to purchase
1:48
for the cruise if it hadn't been bundled
1:50
in The second booking trick that smart
1:53
cruisers including me use are flash
1:56
sales Now this is when lines are trying
1:58
to either hit sales targets at the end
2:00
of a quarter or are trying to fill up
2:02
certain regions or perhaps even ships
2:05
that aren't completely sold out Now I'm
2:07
signed up for most cruise line email
2:09
newsletters and I follow all of them on
2:11
social media And when these flash sales
2:15
pop up I'm ready and raring to go to
2:18
fill gaps in my travel schedule So for
2:20
example I've booked two cruises for next
2:23
year using this approach One is on
2:26
Celebrity Silhouette from New York via
2:29
Canada Greenland and ending up in
2:31
Iceland Now they were offering 70% off
2:34
the second guest in a 48 hour flash sale
2:37
making it an incredibly cheap cruise to
2:39
go on The other is a Crystal Cruise
2:41
Serenity transatlantic Again there was a
2:43
time limited promotion with fair
2:46
discount but they also were offering
2:47
sweet upgrades on that particular cruise
2:50
So I booked a regular balcony cabin and
2:52
got a sapphire suite instead The next
2:55
thing that smart cruisers do is they
2:57
choose their cabin and do not leave it
3:00
up to the cruise line Why Cruisers
3:03
who've been on many cruises have often
3:05
experienced how a poor cabin location or
3:08
type can ruin or really negatively
3:11
affect their vacation when they haven't
3:13
chosen one themselves and they've left
3:15
it up to the line As the saying goes
3:18
once bitten twice shy So many people
3:21
tell me a cabin is not that important
3:24
It's just a place to get changed in and
3:27
to sleep in
3:29
However as smart cruisers agree once you
3:32
have a cabin that doesn't suit you it
3:34
can and will make a misery of your
3:37
cruise So what did I and other smart
3:39
cruisers do on this particular cruise
3:42
Well first of all I did not book a
3:44
guaranteed fair Now these are fairs
3:47
where you book the cabin grade and the
3:50
cruise line actually allocates you a
3:52
specific cabin Cabins by the way that
3:55
are left over after people who've booked
3:58
using a fair where they can choose their
4:00
specific cabin They've hoovered up all
4:02
the best cabins in that particular grade
4:04
including the best locations leaving the
4:07
less desirable ones in that grade for
4:09
the cruise line to allocate you Secondly
4:12
smart cruisers again including me choose
4:14
a cabin surrounded on all sides by other
4:18
cabins So above below either side of me
4:22
and ideally opposite me as well We also
4:26
check the deck plans on the website to
4:28
make sure the cabin is well away from
4:30
hightraic areas and far from venues like
4:33
kids clubs nightclubs live music venues
4:35
the theater and so on And finally which
4:39
the deck plans will also show choose a
4:42
cabin without an interconnecting door to
4:44
the one next door to avoid potentially
4:46
noisy neighborhoods arguing TVs partying
4:50
or whatever I have in fact many other
4:53
tips on choosing a cabin to make for a
4:55
better cruise It's in this video and
4:57
I'll give you a link at the end of this
4:59
Another thing smart cruisers tell me
5:01
that they all do is avoid falling into
5:03
the lowest fair trap but instead focus
5:07
on what all call the porttoport cost
5:11
Cruise lines offer low headline cruise
5:13
fairs to attract passengers but then
5:15
they have multiple onboard costs that
5:17
ramp up the real cost of cruising
5:21
Analysts looking at cruise line revenues
5:23
say that most passengers will spend an
5:26
additional 50% to 100% of what their
5:29
cruise fair was once they're on board So
5:32
what do Smart Cruisers and I always do
5:35
when I'm looking at and comparing
5:38
cruises to work out the likely
5:40
porttoport cost factoring in all of
5:43
those costs So when deciding on a cruise
5:44
I look really carefully at what is and
5:47
isn't included in the fair Now I'm here
5:50
on what is a luxury cruise line Explorer
5:53
Journeys and the Headline Fair does
5:56
initially look rather costly Now the
5:58
balcony cabin I booked cost £350 That's
6:01
£260 per person per night So it was $7 a
6:04
night for the cabin double occupancy
6:06
Sounds a lot However there are many
6:09
inclusions in that fair And I found it
6:11
compares surprisingly close to going in
6:14
a balcony cabin on even premium lines
6:16
like America Celebrity Princess once I'd
6:19
paid for that cabin and then added on
6:22
all the inclusions onto that fair Let me
6:24
explain a bit more detail So my Explorer
6:26
Journeys fair included unlimited
6:28
alcoholic drinks and special coffees An
6:31
equivalent drinks package on those lines
6:33
I mentioned would have cost as much as
6:35
$60 per day My fair here included
6:40
high-speed Starlink Wi-Fi for three
6:42
devices with streaming The equivalent on
6:45
those lines would have cost me about $50
6:47
US a day The fair here also includes
6:50
gratuitities while on those lines that
6:52
would have been an additional $17 to $20
6:55
a day per person So stripping those out
6:58
means on a light forlike basis this
7:00
cabin before all the inclusions that
7:02
cost extra on other lines actually cost
7:04
around $220 per person a day Now for
7:07
$220 before those inclusions I could
7:10
have booked a balcony cabin on one of
7:12
those premium lines Actually when I
7:14
checked I could even booked it on a
7:15
value line like Royal Caribbean that
7:17
departed the next day to us out of
7:19
Barcelona that I was on this ship By the
7:22
time I disembarked that Royal Caribbean
7:24
ship having paid about $130 a day of
7:26
add-on costs for drinks Wi-Fi
7:28
gruituities that would actually have
7:30
cost me the same as this cruise So while
7:33
this is an extreme example because
7:35
remember I also used another smart
7:37
cruiser trick I spoke about earlier
7:38
because I booked this cruise for 30%
7:40
less by booking at a 2-day launch You
7:43
kind of get the point about really
7:44
looking at the porttoport costs Smart
7:47
cruisers look beyond the headline fair
7:49
and what it will cost them from stepping
7:51
on the ship to getting off when choosing
7:53
and booking a
7:55
cruise Inclusions and what things cost
7:57
on board vary dramatically by line And
8:00
this is how to budget and choose a
8:02
cruise to get the very best value at a
8:05
point in time Now having ensured a great
8:07
value cruise there is something that all
8:10
smart cruisers do even before they get
8:13
on board They pre-book absolutely
8:15
everything before boarding These days
8:18
that is done online in the manage my
8:20
cruise section on the cruise line
8:22
website or on their app on for the
8:25
mobile phone Now these are the things
8:27
that smart cruisers tend to focus on
8:30
first If the cruise line requires
8:32
booking an arrival time at the cruise
8:34
terminal they go in as early as they can
8:36
on the app or online to ensure they get
8:38
a time that works absolutely best for
8:41
their travel plans Now for this
8:42
particular cruise it's a smaller ship It
8:45
holds less than 900 guests This was
8:48
required so that wasn't an issue on this
8:50
particular time The next area is dining
8:52
Now for most lines that means
8:54
specialtity restaurants Though on some
8:57
like Princess you can book main dining
8:59
room times if you've opted into anytime
9:02
dining And then by doing that you can
9:04
ensure you get the times you want by day
9:06
and don't just have to randomly join a
9:08
line and wait Now for this particular
9:10
trip I could book three of the included
9:12
specialtity restaurants Sakura a
9:14
Panasian restaurant Marble and Co
9:16
steakhouse and Anthology which is an
9:18
Italian Now as a smart cruiser I made a
9:21
note of when bookings opened and I went
9:24
in exactly when they opened on the app I
9:27
was able to get the days and times I
9:29
wanted for all of those Now since I've
9:31
been on here I've met many people that
9:33
left booking those until they're on
9:35
board They're a bit frustrated because
9:36
they have to settle for late dining
9:38
times on less than ideal days So doing
9:40
it early is key Another thing that smart
9:43
cruisers book as soon as they are
9:45
available are excursions Now this has
9:48
been a real plus for me as I've been on
9:51
so many cruises where people have left
9:53
booking their excursions till close to
9:55
the cruise or they waited on board and
9:57
missed out And I've met people here that
9:59
have missed out on some iconic
10:01
excursions But let me give you another
10:03
example Recently I was on a Holland
10:05
America cruise We called into the
10:06
Forklands Now this had very limited
10:08
excursions to see penguin colonies which
10:10
are there now Most passengers missed out
10:13
because by the time they got on board
10:15
Smart Cruisers had gone in before the
10:18
trip booked up all the penguin
10:19
excursions before they had even
10:22
boarded Many lines also let us book spa
10:24
appointments again allowing smart
10:26
cruisers to swoop in and have the best
10:28
dates and times up front Most cruise
10:31
lines will also let us book packages
10:33
like drinks and Wi-Fi online in advance
10:36
Smart cruisers do that because there's
10:38
usually great discounts when pre-booking
10:41
that are not available once you get on
10:42
board You will pay more I also want to
10:44
talk about a few things that smart
10:46
cruisers tell me they always do to
10:49
reduce their risk when cruising Smart
10:52
cruisers get to the port city the day
10:54
before a cruise all have either
10:57
experienced the stress of almost or
10:59
actually missing a cruise departure due
11:01
to you know unforeseen traffic flight
11:04
delays or certainly as in my case seen
11:07
others do it So on my last Caribbean
11:10
cruise for example it was on Oceanania
11:12
Vista out of Miami a group of I think it
11:14
was around 10 people had to join the
11:16
ship in the next port at their own cost
11:19
because bad weather meant their
11:20
connecting flight was delayed They
11:23
actually arrived at the port just as the
11:25
gang way had gone up but the local
11:27
authorities refused to let them embark
11:30
because final clearance paperwork had
11:31
been done and clearance leave had been
11:34
given So they had to make their own way
11:36
to the next port Also smart cruisers
11:39
always travel with insurance Now if that
11:41
particular group I mentioned had
11:43
insurance that would almost certainly
11:45
have covered their costs to get to the
11:47
next port to join the ship However I
11:49
discovered they didn't have insurance
11:51
Now while only a few lines require
11:54
insurance as a condition to travel like
11:56
Pino Cruisers and Kunod in the UK so for
11:59
UK residents traveling with them have to
12:01
have insurance but all polar region
12:03
expedition cruise lines also require you
12:05
to have insurance But most lines
12:07
generally just recommend you have it But
12:09
having a travel insurance policy is
12:11
really important None of us go on a
12:13
cruise intending to fall ill have an
12:15
accident or get injured and we don't
12:17
really give it a thought But I have seen
12:19
so many horror stories of people getting
12:22
injured or falling along cruises being
12:24
disembarked into local hospital or even
12:26
needing to be medivvaced off the ship
12:28
The costs are absolutely astronomical
12:31
I've seen just so many people tens of
12:34
thousands of dollars out of pocket Also
12:37
by the way Smart Cruisers me included
12:40
make sure that we have insurance when
12:41
actually booking a cruise because then
12:43
it's covered if we have to cancel it for
12:46
any reason Personally I have an annual
12:48
policy because it makes it so much
12:50
easier because I do so many cruises that
12:52
works out financially and makes sense
12:54
Another area that smart cruisers do to
12:57
reduce risk is port by port They assess
13:00
whether it makes sense to do excursions
13:02
or self-explore So they have a look at
13:04
the government travel advice sites So
13:05
for me in the UK I always look at the
13:07
foreign office site people in the US at
13:09
the state department site and I have a
13:11
look and check what the latest travel
13:13
advisory is for the ports Now smart
13:16
cruisers if they see an increased risk
13:18
instead of self-exploring we'll stick
13:20
with the cruise line excursion or
13:22
perhaps even stay on board So for
13:24
example on this cruise we're calling on
13:26
some ports in Morocco with some mixed
13:28
advisory on safety So I will be doing
13:31
cruise line excursions not
13:32
self-exploring imports that I want to
13:35
self-explore but have relatively good
13:37
rating from the foreign office I still
13:39
go check sites like what's import.com
13:42
because they give information on safety
13:44
considerations actually in and around
13:45
the port nearby towns and sites so I
13:47
know what my safety risk is Also smart
13:50
cruisers including me to reduce the risk
13:53
of missing the ship departure will in
13:56
those ports that where the ship is far
13:58
away from the key sites also use line
14:00
excursions For example on a
14:02
Mediterranean cruise Florence is a good
14:03
hour and a half away from the ports
14:05
where the cruise ships dock On a
14:06
Japanese cruise Coyoto is a good hour
14:09
and a half away from Coobe or Isako
14:11
based on where the ship docks So when I
14:13
was on those various cruises I also used
14:16
cruise line excursions to reduce the
14:17
risk of you missing the ship So if these
14:20
are all the things that smart cruisers
14:21
agree about what was the one thing that
14:24
they actually disagree about Smart
14:27
cruisers are probably split 50/50 about
14:30
using travel agents or booking directly
14:33
with the cruise line Now many smart
14:34
cruisers feel they know cruising really
14:36
well because they've been on many many
14:39
cruises They feel they know the ins and
14:41
the outs And so some say it's absolutely
14:43
best to go direct to the cruise line
14:45
because you're cutting out the middlemen
14:47
Other smart cruisers including me by the
14:50
way feel that a travel agent is really
14:52
important particularly when there's
14:54
flights hotels transfers involved
14:57
because if anything goes wrong in that
14:58
chain I can then just contact my travel
15:00
agent Sarah Bolton who then sorts it out
15:03
for me Now this has happened to me
15:05
numerous times and she's bailed me out
15:07
several times So for example recently
15:09
there was a traffic control strike in
15:12
Greece where we were due to disembark
15:14
Everyone who hadn't used a travel agent
15:15
was rushing around trying to get
15:17
connected to Wi-Fi trying to make calls
15:19
and trying to sort out flights I simply
15:20
just sent Sarah a message enjoyed the
15:23
rest of my time on board and left her to
15:25
sort it out She also took up the battle
15:27
to get a line to fair match when they
15:29
launched a flash sale promotion
15:31
undercutting what I'd paid fairly
15:33
significantly And then she had specific
15:35
contacts at the cruise line and she got
15:37
my fair eventually cut by almost $2,000
15:40
I didn't have to do anything other than
15:41
ask her to do it Also cruise lines never
15:44
undercut travel agents So the fair at
15:46
worst will be the same as going direct
15:48
But sometimes travel agents can get
15:50
better prices in terms of some special
15:51
deals They might get added perks or be
15:53
able to give you extra onboard credit
15:56
However I can see why one smart cruiser
15:58
friend of mine he lives within a very
16:00
short driving distance of a Florida port
16:02
He only cruises on Princess Cruises and
16:04
nothing else And he sees therefore no
16:06
reason to have a travel agent because
16:08
his cruising is so simple and it's so
16:10
straightforward I can see the point If
16:13
you're an experienced cruiser by the way
16:14
is there anything that you feel I've
16:16
left out so far Why don't you leave that
16:18
in the comments But before you do that
16:20
why don't you join me over in this video
16:22
where I dive into as promised what smart
16:25
cruisers do to get the very best cabins
16:28
on a ship every time See you over there
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