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I guarantee there are loads of freebies and free stuff you, and other cruise passengers, are missing out on your cruise. Free Things you can get on a cruising vacation simply by asking for them, or just by doing something simple. No matter how often you go on a cruise ship, there will be some free cruise stuff you did not know about in this video!
ABOUT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS: If you want to get cruising right, Tips For Travellers makes it easy to plan and have the incredible cruise experiences you dream of every time. All my Tips For Travellers advice, tips and tricks tips draw on everything that I have learnt on the 90 cruises I have done to date.
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0:00
cruise brochures and websites list the
0:01
obvious things included in our cruise
0:03
fares but they don't list many freebies
0:06
and free stuff i've discovered that you
0:08
and i can get on a cruise if we simply
0:10
ask for it or do something very simple i
0:13
want you to know about all of them and i
0:15
guarantee
0:16
no matter how often you cruise there
0:18
will be some you have no idea about if
0:21
you're new here welcome aboard by the
0:23
way i'm gary bembridge and it's my goal
0:25
to make it fun and easy to discover plan
0:28
and enjoy unforgettable cruise vacations
0:32
so let's go get some free stuff many
0:35
cruise lines like oceania that i was
0:37
just on let me collect points every time
0:40
that i take part in activities you know
0:42
things like name the tune trivia quizzes
0:45
deck games table tennis all sorts of
0:47
other activities now on oceania it's
0:50
called big o points and for every
0:53
activity that i take part in i can
0:55
collect points
0:56
all of the events are highlighted in the
0:58
daily program with that particular logo
1:00
then i redeem the points at the end of
1:02
the cruise for gifts and merchandise
1:05
things like key rings caps t-shirts and
1:09
so on now many bigger cruise ships they
1:12
will run even bigger opportunities
1:14
they'll run audience participation shows
1:16
like mr misses belly flop competitions
1:19
passenger talent shows and you'll get
1:21
gifts or bottles of champagne for either
1:23
taking part or for winning again free
1:27
stuff on a recent virgin voyages cruise
1:29
for example we could take part in
1:31
activity we made and decorated sea
1:33
horses we then raced them and there were
1:35
vouchers to redeem on board for
1:38
merchandise free stuff another easy way
1:41
to get gifts is by going to the shopping
1:43
advisor talks on board these talks are
1:46
most common on alaskan and caribbean
1:49
itineraries the line brings onboard
1:51
shopping advisors they give talks and
1:53
they push all sorts of products and
1:55
stores within the various ports you're
1:57
calling on now to incentivize people
1:59
like you and me to come to the talks
2:02
they almost always give away gifts like
2:05
jewelry charms t-shirts
2:08
caps gift certificates and so on also
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really importantly when i get off in
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those ports where they've been talking
2:14
about them again mostly in alaska and
2:17
caribbean regions i look out for stores
2:20
offering similar gifts and freebies
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simply by calling in it's important to
2:25
note however that these stores tend to
2:27
be those promoted by shopping advisors
2:30
and you'll find that things like fe
2:33
diamonds international del sol color
2:36
changing shops those kind of chains you
2:38
find everywhere i also by the way can
2:41
often get key amenities that i've
2:42
forgotten to pack like combs razors
2:45
toothbrushes you can get them for free
2:47
from guest services or by asking your
2:49
cabin steward now some lines don't offer
2:52
them and they'll send me off to their
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onboard store but many cruise lines will
2:56
offer you those free amenities also by
2:58
the way at guest services i can usually
3:00
get for free postcards pens stationery
3:04
and used packs of cards in the casino
3:07
they only use packs of cards a very
3:10
limited amount of times and then those
3:12
cards are normally available for guests
3:13
like you and me you can get them free
3:15
buy guest services or through the casino
3:18
many of them are branded with the cruise
3:19
line logo so they are especially cool
3:22
free things to have now in terms of
3:24
higher value gifts and treats the thing
3:27
that i really like is raffles and
3:29
there's two raffles that i always focus
3:32
on do
3:33
on embarkation day the spa they normally
3:36
hold a raffle it's to encourage us to go
3:38
and tour the spa and of course get a bit
3:39
of a sales pitch
3:41
i get a raffle ticket and i make sure
3:43
i'm back at the draw time usually around
3:46
a sail away time because you have to be
3:48
there to win most people forget so you
3:50
have quite a high chance of winning in
3:52
fact i've won free massages and free
3:55
treatments on seabourn and holland
3:57
america before so that's a really great
4:00
thing to do also when i'm in the spa
4:03
they often give short sample massages or
4:06
treatments to encourage bookings another
4:08
great little freebie the other venue
4:10
that does great raffles are the on-board
4:13
shops particularly if they're launching
4:15
something new on a cruise like
4:16
merchandise or a jewelry line
4:19
go to the launch event
4:20
that if they have a raffle i've never
4:22
won one of those raffles yet but they
4:24
can give away charms earrings ship
4:27
branded merchandise and much higher
4:29
value prizes one area to get more
4:32
freebies
4:33
which you probably going to argue you
4:35
don't really need more of is food but
4:37
there is something that's really
4:38
important so watch out for that
4:41
i get asked a lot about things about
4:42
food so i'm going to give those from the
4:45
slightly more absurd to some really
4:47
interesting ones if you do want more
4:48
food remember you can dine at multiple
4:51
venues one
4:53
after the other so if for some crazy
4:55
reason you could decide to eat in the
4:57
main dining room then go to the buffet
5:00
then order room service all in one
5:02
evening now i'm not sure you want to do
5:03
that but it is something you could do
5:06
but more importantly foodie events like
5:08
on azamara chocolate buffets seabourn
5:11
champagne and caviar sailaways or their
5:13
offices on deck or the oceania grand
5:16
event brunch or white parties all those
5:19
kind of special foodie events are
5:21
included in the fair now many cruise
5:24
lines you can order more than one main
5:27
course in the main dining room i am
5:29
seeing some cruise lines starting to
5:31
charge a surcharge so check the menu and
5:34
if it makes no mention of a surcharge
5:37
it's almost
5:38
certain that you can order more than one
5:40
main course what i do is if there are
5:42
two main course dishes that i really
5:44
want and i can't make up my mind then i
5:47
don't i simply ask if i can have smaller
5:49
portions of both of those things and
5:52
that will usually incur no up charge at
5:55
all if you're an ice cream fan don't
5:57
assume your only option is the extra
6:00
charge gelato or ice cream shop on board
6:04
you'll normally find tucked away in the
6:06
lido buffet or somewhere on the pool
6:09
deck you can almost always get
6:12
traditional soft serve ice cream for
6:15
free so ask if there's any free ice
6:17
cream options don't just automatically
6:20
you have to spend your money at the
6:21
gelato shops they are pretty expensive
6:23
in my opinion now whilst those food
6:26
ideas seem a bit trivial there are a
6:28
couple of really important tips when it
6:31
comes to free things and food and this
6:34
is especially important if you have any
6:36
dietary issues or perhaps you're a fussy
6:39
eater
6:40
now on many lines
6:42
you can go off menu now while more
6:44
upscale lines and venues like say q not
6:47
queen's grill they can let you go
6:49
completely off menu you can order
6:51
anything you want so when i've been in
6:53
queens grill and i say wanted to roast
6:56
chicken dinner one night i could have
6:58
that i just had to ask her at lunchtime
7:00
i could have anything that i wanted but
7:03
importantly quite a few lines
7:05
have allowed me to go off menu not when
7:08
it's as upscale as that
7:10
and it's particularly if i want
7:11
something that perhaps is on the lunch
7:12
menu or is on one of the other
7:14
restaurants but not on the menu in my
7:17
restaurant most lines also have standard
7:20
dishes available which may or may not be
7:22
on the menu things like steak chicken or
7:24
salmon so you don't get charged to have
7:26
those
7:27
if you're vegan
7:29
vegetarian gluten free or have any other
7:31
dietary needs or quirks
7:33
talk to the maitre d at the very
7:35
beginning of the cruise they will work
7:37
with you on options if for example you
7:39
find on your cruise line there's only
7:41
one vegan or vegetarian option is the
7:44
norm
7:45
ask because often i've found for no
7:48
extra charge
7:49
they will plan and work with you to have
7:52
other choices the other thing which i
7:54
love as a freebie is afternoon tea i'm a
7:58
massive big fan of afternoon tea now
8:01
some lions have a free one and are paid
8:04
for one so for example on piano cruises
8:06
and on princess they often have a free
8:08
one in the main dining room and a
8:11
fancier one
8:12
either in the restaurant or the lobby
8:13
which you pay for so make sure that you
8:16
go for the free afternoon tea but
8:17
seriously have afternoon tea it's a
8:19
great freebie i often see people in the
8:21
morning heading up to the lido to get a
8:23
cup of coffee or a cup of tea and
8:24
heading back to their cabin if room
8:27
service is free
8:28
i use that because i get a much better
8:31
quality cup of tea or coffee and it
8:33
means i don't have to head all the way
8:34
up to the leader and back this all leads
8:36
me on to the next area of drink
8:39
there's a lot of opportunities on
8:41
cruises for free drinks now if you want
8:44
alcoholic drinks there's at least five
8:47
or six key places i've found where you
8:50
can get yourself some free drinks number
8:52
one
8:53
go to the captain's welcome and farewell
8:56
parties or if there's any formal
8:58
organized receptions
9:00
two if you're invited to go on a hosted
9:03
table by an officer or one of the
9:05
entertainment team or one of the crew
9:07
the drinks and wine will be covered by
9:10
them three
9:11
if you're a member of the cruise line
9:14
loyalty club they will almost always
9:17
host a cocktail party with free drinks
9:20
fourthly there's usually free champagne
9:23
at the art auctions you have to buy art
9:25
but you'll get free champagne fifthly
9:27
the onboard shops they usually have a
9:30
drinks event at those launch events i
9:32
was talking about with the raffle
9:33
earlier so that's another great
9:35
opportunity
9:36
and sixthly the cruise critic meets and
9:39
mingle events now you have to sign up
9:41
these before the cruise on the cruise
9:43
critic website they always have free
9:45
drinks and free snacks you can always
9:48
get free tea free coffee free juices
9:51
iced tea in the lido buffet that's
9:53
normally available 24 hours a day
9:55
without any need to pay at all i don't
9:57
always feel that i need to go to that
9:59
premium speciality coffee shop
10:01
particularly if i don't have a drinks
10:02
package i will go up there now the other
10:05
thing although not everyone's keen on
10:07
that is the water on board ships is fine
10:10
to drink
10:11
but even better nowadays because cruise
10:14
lines are accelerating they move away
10:16
from single-use plastic water bottles
10:18
they're starting to install free
10:21
refillable water stations with much much
10:24
better tasting water than you're going
10:25
to get from your bathroom tap on that
10:27
oceania cruise i was referring to
10:29
earlier they actually gave us refillable
10:31
bottles to use but i always take a
10:33
refillable water bottle along with me on
10:35
a cruise now to make sure that i can get
10:37
good quality drinking water for free i
10:40
don't have to buy water to take out on
10:42
tour or even when i'm around the ship
10:43
for example a really great way i found
10:46
to get freebies is when i'm cruising
10:48
during a life event a birthday an
10:51
anniversary or your honeymoon
10:54
make sure that the cruise line knows
10:56
that you're going to be traveling during
10:58
that time
10:59
make sure the travel agent lets them
11:02
know and make sure that your cabin
11:05
steward knows we are upgraded for
11:07
example to a penthouse suite on a queen
11:10
mary 2 transatlantic on my honeymoon the
11:12
travel agent told cunard and asked if
11:15
they could do anything and it came up
11:17
trump's
11:19
tell the restaurant you're dining in on
11:21
your birthday or your anniversary night
11:24
because they almost certainly
11:27
will make a fuss with a cake or some
11:29
kind of fancy dessert or maybe even a
11:31
glass of something another slightly
11:33
strange freebie area and with some watch
11:36
out is around the area of medication
11:40
and medical treatment if you're feeling
11:42
seasick cruise lines will give you free
11:46
c-sec medication
11:48
if you have stomach upsets you can also
11:50
get free medical attention
11:53
and medication if you have covert
11:55
symptoms the same however you may find
11:58
yourself being quarantined if the
12:00
stomach upset is thought to be norovirus
12:03
as i discovered or of course if you do
12:05
have covid the other thing that i see as
12:07
an important free thing to get by asking
12:11
is improving and even upgrading my cabin
12:15
if i find the bed too soft too hard i
12:18
don't like the pillows i find the duvet
12:20
too thick too thin i get too cold too
12:22
warm i always speak to the cabin steward
12:26
there are many many things that they can
12:28
do and it won't cost you anything they
12:30
can bring a mattress protector to make
12:32
the beds softer for example i'm obsessed
12:34
with feather pillows i finally get
12:36
headaches if i use others so i always
12:38
ask for a feather pillow and even on
12:40
cruise lines which don't have any sort
12:42
of fancy pillow concierge services
12:44
they'll normally track down that for me
12:47
so if there's anything in your cabin
12:48
that falls short bear in mind they can
12:51
sort it out and it's not going to cost
12:54
you anything
12:55
now if i have genuine issues with my
12:58
cabin like some really bad noise that's
13:01
coming from something or something like
13:02
the air conditioning is not working
13:04
properly i don't just live with it i
13:05
raise it with my cabin steward
13:08
when they couldn't get it fixed
13:10
i found they escalated to their
13:11
supervisor they checked the problem they
13:14
escalated to the hotel director and
13:16
quite a few times i've received a free
13:19
upgrade there's been a genuine problem
13:21
that everyone agrees is an issue one
13:23
area i personally have fallen short in
13:25
the past was by being too timid to ask
13:29
for what free benefits i'm actually
13:32
entitled to
13:33
a really good example is loyalty
13:35
benefits
13:36
you know i've never been handed a list
13:38
of what i'm entitled to when i get on a
13:40
cruise so i try and check before i go on
13:42
a cruise or even easier what i do is
13:45
all cruise lines have somebody allocated
13:47
to look after their loyalty club
13:49
passengers on board so i simply go to
13:51
them and ask them what benefits
13:54
perks or freebies i can get on this
13:56
particular cruise based on my status
13:59
level on a recent cruise it included
14:01
discounts in shops but i also discovered
14:03
i could get free specialty dining a tote
14:05
bag some laundry and so on things i
14:08
hadn't realized i was able to have and
14:11
they were completely and utterly free if
14:13
i'd splashed out for a high grade cabin
14:15
like a mini suite or a suite i know
14:17
there are many perks and freebies but
14:19
again there's no list supplied on
14:21
boarding there's no list in your cabin
14:23
so again i try and check online i ask my
14:25
agent but what i do is when i get on
14:27
board i ask the cabin steward or if they
14:29
have one at butler what am i entitled to
14:32
what are the freebies what are the perks
14:33
i discovered things like i could order a
14:35
range of canapes every day i could ask
14:37
for certain premium drinks i could have
14:39
a cocktail party with snacks in my cabin
14:42
for free i could dine in any restaurant
14:44
i wanted to on any day for no charge and
14:47
so on a really simple thing to do
14:50
is because cruise lines want us to do
14:53
the end of the cruise questionnaire
14:55
whilst we're still on board they now
14:57
have introduced prize draws on most
14:59
cruises for everyone who does it on
15:02
board so for example on oceania recently
15:04
they were offering 300
15:07
onboard credit as a
15:09
draw prize for anyone that had filled
15:12
out the
15:13
end of the cruise questionnaire now if
15:15
you want to know more things that smart
15:17
cruisers always do on a cruise to get
15:19
more and elevate their cruise watch this
15:22
video of seven things they always do
15:24
starting with the one thing that
15:27
absolutely transformed cruising for me
15:29
forever see you over there
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