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Cruising, YouTube And Cruise Tips. Bill Panoff (Porthole Magazine) and Gary Bembridge Chat
Jan 28, 2025
I met up with Bill Panoff, CEO of the well-known Porthole Cruise Magazine, in Fort Lauderdale to talk about all things cruising. I found out about what Porthole is and does and then we spoke about my background and how I got into cruising and then explore aspects of cruising like what the best things are about a cruise and some key insights and tips.
Porthole Cruise Magazine: https://www.porthole.com
Cruise Control with Bill Panoff YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOPT0wcyD-Sq8GYQjLzYV-A
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Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
hi I'm Gary beverage this is another of
0:01
my tips for travelers I'm here in Fort
0:03
Lauderdale at the offices of portal
0:05
cruise magazine with the CEO bill pan
0:08
off and we're gonna have a chat about
0:09
cruising hi Bill Gary how are you very
0:12
good thank you thanks for being on the
0:13
channel my pleasure thanks for the
0:15
invite so but maybe just sort of for
0:16
those people who don't know is
0:18
consumable about portal magazine because
0:20
if you can for a long time I sure we've
0:22
been publishing porthole for over 25
0:23
years and you know I was a cruise
0:25
director on ships many many years for
0:27
Carnival I worked on the Carnival the
0:29
Mardi Gras the festival I mean ships you
0:31
probably never heard of that but
0:33
nevertheless I started in the industry
0:34
when cruising was just in its infancy
0:36
and at that time there was no magazine
0:38
to speak to the consumer about cruising
0:40
so I got an idea I surrounded myself
0:42
with people who knew publishing I sold
0:45
some of the advertising and that was the
0:46
birth of a portal which is now the
0:48
leading cruise consumer magazine in the
0:51
marketplace it's kind of like Connie
0:53
Ness traveler for cruisers we cover
0:55
destinations new ships what's hot on
0:57
board where to go new regions things of
1:00
that nature and the people who are
1:02
reading the magazine are frequent
1:05
cruisers armchair travelers and those
1:07
who just have an interest in learning
1:08
more about cruising but you also have
1:10
because on the website you have kind of
1:12
videos and you you then have cruise
1:14
control dueling yes of course control is
1:16
a YouTube channel that was born out of
1:18
porthole magazine and it's a channel
1:20
that I host much like the channel you
1:22
host and we cover cruising I go on ships
1:24
occasionally and we cover what's hot and
1:26
cruising new destinations new ports I do
1:29
interviews on the channel occasionally
1:30
and it's cruise control with bill pan
1:32
off is the channel on YouTube
1:34
great so building now why don't you ask
1:36
me a bunch of questions about what do
1:37
you want to know about me you're
1:38
starting your beginning in the industry
1:40
was quite unusual I mean used to work
1:42
for Johnson & Johnson's I understand
1:44
mobile marketing yeah and you were on
1:46
board a cruise ship giving a
1:48
presentation unlikely for Johnson &
1:51
Johnson I believe and then you just got
1:52
exposed to this cruise industry and then
1:54
caught on like a bug I mean I think the
1:57
thing that I learned I was like so many
1:58
people it was a cruise is not for me
2:00
which most people say and then I
2:03
realized once you get on a cruise you're
2:06
addicted now the minute I got on the
2:09
ship I've went another ship that's like
2:10
I was amazed at the ship because you you
2:12
have no real
2:12
effective despite of what you've seen
2:14
and whatever so you're gonna ship
2:15
whereas while the ships amazing then the
2:19
minute we pulled away from the dark and
2:20
started sailing out to sea that's when I
2:22
got it
2:23
I only got cruising and from then on it
2:25
was addicted I think that was the bigger
2:27
half for me because what I still use now
2:30
is that sense of how do you get people
2:32
to get past that it's not for me right
2:34
once they're on the right Cruise Line I
2:36
know that you know people are hooked
2:37
what is the one thing that really
2:39
appeals to you about the cruise
2:40
experience one thing if you could just
2:41
summarize it I think the one thing that
2:44
appeals to me is that sense of just
2:48
being at sea right that this is an
2:50
incredible feeling when you're looking
2:52
out and there's just ocean all around
2:55
you that for me is this the amazing
2:57
thing because there's nothing like that
2:58
you know we've also experienced our
3:00
language of great but being at sea
3:01
there's something in all I think there's
3:03
something in us as people that when
3:05
you're to see it's magical it's like
3:06
people like to live by the sea there's
3:08
something about the sieve it destroys
3:09
you that's the best thing as being
3:11
Elsie's like sea days I love sea oh yeah
3:12
yeah I mean I used to work on board as a
3:15
cruise director and it just it's magical
3:17
to be out there and the tranquility I
3:19
think what he's incredible yeah yeah
3:21
yeah perfect so the the channel tips for
3:23
traveling how does it differ from other
3:25
channels out there I mean it's so
3:26
informational and so topical and just
3:28
really well done thank you I mean for me
3:32
the the the key thing I mean it's partly
3:34
in the name tips of travelers there are
3:35
a lot of cruise blogs and vlogs out
3:38
there are a lot about they talk about
3:40
the experience and a lot of it's about
3:41
look at me on a cruise here's what I'm
3:43
doing which is fine and some people like
3:45
to watch that you know the whole
3:46
vlogging thing is quite big but for me
3:48
my real focus is helping people
3:50
understand how to do things
3:52
anything better so my approach is around
3:56
tips I'll talk about you know how the
3:58
cruise line works how do you pack what
4:01
should you be aware of what's included
4:02
on include since it's quite practical I
4:04
think that's the key the key difference
4:07
it's it's less about my experience and
4:09
more about packaging experience and how
4:11
I can help you cruise better find the
4:13
right cruise line I think that's
4:14
probably the the key difference and
4:16
you've probably converted a lot a lot of
4:18
non cruisers to cruises obviously
4:19
because a lot of people have
4:20
misconceptions about claustrophobia and
4:22
motion sickness and things of that
4:24
nature
4:24
I mean it's interesting because I you
4:26
know looking the great thing about
4:27
YouTube and and following I've got is I
4:29
gave lots of comments and questions the
4:31
thing that still amazes me is how many I
4:33
get or people who say I I'm never gonna
4:36
go cruising but I love watching your
4:38
videos about cruising so I think that's
4:40
you know that to me says this is
4:42
probably the the people are using it to
4:44
get onto cruise ships right I think the
4:46
other thing that it helps a lot is
4:47
helping people find the right cruise or
4:50
help them have the confidence to move
4:52
cruise lines you know so for example
4:54
someone loves Carnival but finds it very
4:57
difficult to me because it's familiar so
4:59
I think what do I do is actually if
5:00
you're thinking of going on Royal
5:01
Caribbean or Holland America and do a
5:04
little videos around what you can expect
5:05
how it's different right I think that
5:07
helps a lot what is the biggest
5:09
misconception that non cruisers have
5:11
would you I would say the biggest
5:13
misconception by far is I'm gonna feel
5:15
trapped that's the one thing I hear and
5:17
my point is like first that's impossible
5:20
because first of all you're probably
5:22
gonna go to be on the ship from 6 and
5:23
hookers till they talk in the morning
5:25
and then you've still got a eat drink go
5:28
to show gamble party sleep you can't
5:33
possibly find any time to feel trapped
5:35
that I think the biggest misconception
5:36
I've found and once they're on board
5:39
they're mildly surprised once I'm or
5:41
they're frustrated because they can't do
5:42
everything so fun people come back while
5:43
coming and saying I'm really frustrated
5:45
because I you know I just get chose to
5:48
do anything particularly if they're
5:49
going on the bigger ships there's too
5:50
much going on now if you're going off on
5:51
port you just have them there's not
5:53
chance you do everything on board right
5:55
it's impossible right right
5:57
you have a favorite destination and my
5:58
favorite destination is when we were
6:01
talking about designed arctica right so
6:02
I I think the the the destinations which
6:06
are my favorite of sessions are the ones
6:07
that cruise you can only get there by
6:10
cruising or the best I've experienced
6:12
them is by cruising so
6:13
Antarctica the Arctic Alaska those sort
6:16
of places which you know a cruise is the
6:18
most magical way to see them it may be
6:20
your lighting what my favorite
6:21
destination is normally the one I'm
6:23
currently on or about to go to because
6:25
wherever you go to you know cruising
6:27
takes you to good places because you
6:29
know they because they know people like
6:31
it so it's very unlikely on a cruise you
6:34
go to a place you don't like because you
6:35
might be a hundred percent
6:37
the cruise lines not gonna take you
6:39
places that passengers aren't gonna like
6:41
right yeah
6:42
what is your plan in 2020 what is your
6:44
itinerary look like well I'm very lucky
6:46
because of what I do I mean 2020 I think
6:48
is pretty full now I'm going to add
6:51
article again well I'm doing a couple of
6:53
trips around Europe both River which is
6:57
which I love I love doing River River
7:00
five Mississippi for the channel is is
7:01
very popular doing some ocean river
7:04
Mekong that you mentioned and so there's
7:11
so many plate so many places I'm getting
7:12
yeah it's it's really a great honor and
7:14
a pleasure to meet you and hopefully we
7:16
could do this again in the near future
7:17
and for those viewers watching it's tips
7:19
for travellers on YouTube Gary
7:21
Bainbridge a pleasure being right very
7:23
much is how do you happy sailing ahead
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