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I have 4 out-of-the-ordinary pieces of cruising advice that you are unlikely to have heard before - certainly put this way. These are 4 cruise tips that I am sure you will not have thought of before, or at least like this, but could change the way you cruise and why significantly
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0:00
one night stands having an affair
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sticking to just one part and not being
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advised these are all considerations
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surprisingly when you're planning a
0:09
cruise vacation though
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not in the way you might expect as
0:13
you're about to discover as i share with
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you the very best cruise advice that i
0:17
can give you if you're new here welcome
0:19
aboard i'm gary bembridge and it's my
0:21
goal to help make it fun and easy to
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discover plan and enjoy unforgettable
0:27
cruise vacations one of the best pieces
0:29
of advice i have about cruising is to
0:31
avoid the cruise equivalent of one night
0:34
stands as tempting
0:36
and as thrilling as they may appear
0:38
you're unlikely to find the part of your
0:40
dreams on a one-night stand in real life
0:43
and that's true in cruising too taster
0:46
cruisers are the cruise equivalent of
0:48
one night stands these short one or few
0:50
night cruises are supposed to let us try
0:53
out and taste a new cruise line they are
0:56
though
0:56
a terrible way to find out what a cruise
0:59
line is really all about first of all
1:02
the people who are regulars to the
1:04
cruise line don't really go on these
1:06
short-tasted cruises you won't find the
1:08
usual passengers and the mix at best
1:11
they're people like you and me just
1:13
checking the line out but much more
1:15
likely as they're usually priced really
1:18
low it's people seeking a cheap short
1:21
break or a party time and they would
1:23
never normally go on the cruise line we
1:26
actually stopped taking our mothers on
1:28
these taster cruises because we found
1:30
that even on state lines like cunard the
1:33
taste of cruises were getting too loud
1:35
raucous and pretty untypical for them to
1:38
actually enjoy also
1:40
bear in mind that the program is
1:42
designed to show a kind of hyped up
1:44
image of the cruise line it's a sales
1:46
pitch they're going to be showcasing the
1:48
very best parts like the best production
1:50
shows the best quiz shows the best
1:53
cooking displays the best whatever
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i've even been on one taster cruise
1:59
where i discovered the guest
2:00
entertainers book which were a fantastic
2:02
high energy drag show
2:04
they're never ever booked on their
2:06
regular sailings they only had this act
2:09
on because they felt it'd be more
2:10
entertaining for that cruise than their
2:13
usual entertainment which says
2:15
everything so the most i get from these
2:17
taster cruises is to see the ship to see
2:20
the cabins you can't judge what the
2:22
cruise experience will be you can't tell
2:24
what it's going to feel like until
2:25
you're on a cruise line cruising between
2:27
ports with the usual passengers
2:30
so instead of going on a taster cruise
2:33
save time and save money up towards
2:35
going on a proper cruise and do what i
2:36
do
2:37
watch cruise vlogs on youtube so for
2:40
example
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i wanted to know if disney cruise line
2:44
was the right line for me going as an
2:46
adult so instead of booking myself onto
2:48
one of those little taster cruises i
2:50
went
2:50
effectively on a disney cruise by
2:53
watching vlogs and i specifically
2:54
watched sean and steph in real life
2:57
now unfortunately the rather wonderful
2:59
sean has subsequently passed away but
3:02
through their amazing day by day vlogs i
3:06
saw what disney is about and that helped
3:08
me make up my mind and based on that i
3:10
actually booked my first disney cruise
3:12
but i got to experience a true cruise
3:14
through the vlogs have you ever gone
3:17
back to an x in my dating days like most
3:19
people i did but the things that annoyed
3:22
and drove me wild soon
3:25
returned the same is true with cruise
3:27
lines and i've learned that the hard way
3:29
the first cruise line that i ever went
3:31
on was piano cruises it was the only
3:34
line that i used and cruise with for
3:36
many many years for me that was what
3:38
cruising was all about
3:40
now because i'd always wanted to do a
3:42
transatlantic i eventually went on
3:44
cunard and suddenly realized there is so
3:48
much more out there
3:49
and so much more that i found was so
3:52
much better suited to me than piano
3:55
cruises i stopped using piano cruises we
3:58
went our separate ways now piano i
4:00
noticed had been changing they've been
4:02
doing things differently that introduced
4:03
loads of new ships so i decided post
4:06
pandemic to give them a try again
4:09
now unfortunately i found it was just
4:12
like going back to an ex in real life
4:15
the spark wasn't there the things i
4:17
didn't like was still there
4:19
it just
4:20
absolutely and utterly didn't work
4:22
i found out and i believe very strongly
4:24
that once you fall out of love with a
4:26
cruise line you shouldn't go back
4:28
because you're likely to find that the
4:30
things that weren't right for you in the
4:32
first place still aren't right as i
4:34
found out with piano cruises so the
4:36
question is then is sticking with what
4:39
works
4:41
always the right thing to do
4:42
after switching to cunard i was enjoying
4:45
the ceremony the style of formality but
4:47
i did keep thinking maybe
4:50
i was missing out
4:52
cunard were dependable
4:54
and they were my dependable partner but
4:56
i was tempted to try something exotic
4:58
something different something totally
5:00
not my type something a little bit wild
5:03
and exotic as i said now for me that was
5:06
costa cruises they had flashy new ships
5:09
they sound very italian
5:10
very exciting very relaxed very informal
5:13
the opposite of cunard so i headed off
5:16
and it really wasn't for me it just
5:18
wasn't the experience i wanted i was
5:21
attracted by the glitz the glamour the
5:23
sexiness the difference of it all
5:26
but just found the ships to brash to in
5:28
your face the program to boisterous to
5:30
holiday camp style for me so i wasted my
5:33
time and money having my little fling
5:36
and little affair it just wasn't me it
5:39
didn't have the experience i wanted it
5:41
didn't have the kind of entertainment i
5:43
wanted it didn't have the food options i
5:46
wanted it just wasn't right for me
5:49
so having that left field affair just
5:51
really didn't work out people often ask
5:53
me why i've never been on carnival
5:56
because i know for all their offer and
5:58
do really well for their audience it's
6:00
just not for me
6:01
that fund ship experience is not the
6:04
sort of thing that i want so i exclude
6:06
them
6:07
rather than risk my time
6:09
and my money that's also why for example
6:12
i do relatively limited amounts of trips
6:15
online like norwegian cruise line and
6:18
royal caribbean because fundamentally
6:20
they're not my kind of cruise experience
6:22
they are big resort ships which are just
6:25
kind of not what i enjoy both of those
6:27
of course do some amazing and
6:28
interesting things like go-karts water
6:31
show spectaculars ice skating water
6:33
slides
6:35
huge array especially dining but i go
6:37
cruising for different reasons
6:40
trying something different just because
6:42
it sounds very exciting brasher bigger
6:46
it's got lots more new attractions new
6:48
features
6:49
resist that i recommend think very
6:52
carefully about it that thrilling affair
6:55
may not be totally satisfying as i did
6:57
with my costa i could have better spend
7:00
my time and money without getting
7:02
distracted by things that weren't
7:03
fundamentally important to me so what
7:05
should you do if you're tempted about
7:07
trying something new do what i do now
7:09
and use the cruise forums on sites like
7:12
cruise critic and facebook groups set up
7:14
by fans of the line they're really
7:17
really good and excellent for asking
7:19
questions like i'm this type of person i
7:22
like these kind of things
7:23
how would i get on this line would it be
7:26
for me now people in those are more than
7:28
happy to give you their personal
7:29
insights and experiences for example i
7:32
found this really helpful when i was
7:34
looking at going on viking ocean for the
7:36
very first time i found a we love viking
7:39
uk cruises group there's also we love
7:41
viking u.s cruises group and i went in
7:44
there and i started talking to people
7:45
and that really helped me decide viking
7:48
was right for me the trip was a really
7:50
good great great success
7:52
people often rush to try a new ship
7:54
because it is new and it's the latest
7:57
thing without really thinking about the
7:59
line and what's important and i've
8:01
stopped doing that so because people i
8:02
mean they're often really surprised when
8:04
i'm not jumping on the latest ship like
8:06
when piano iona launched or kind of a
8:09
mardi gras i started selling and this is
8:11
the reason why
8:13
a flashlight ship is no substitute for a
8:16
more meaningful trip on a line that
8:18
better suits me doesn't mean i recommend
8:20
you stick to one line once you've found
8:23
one that you like and just not take any
8:25
risk at all in the real world of course
8:28
sticking with one partner is highly
8:30
valued and it's the right thing to do
8:31
when it comes to dating however what
8:34
about in cruising i had a revelation on
8:36
this through all the experiences that
8:38
i've spoken about so far you know the
8:40
one-night stands the affairs all that
8:42
kind of stuff
8:43
in the real world
8:44
uh what i realized is there's always
8:46
someone i'd much rather go to a big rave
8:49
party with a different person i'd much
8:51
rather go hiking with
8:53
or to a fancy restaurant with or
8:55
somebody else who might be better
8:56
company to go to the theater or
8:58
something cultural with so that's why
9:00
when i'm asked
9:01
what is your favorite cruise line i find
9:04
it very difficult to answer because i
9:06
learned through my piano and q knot
9:08
experience that only having one faithful
9:11
partner
9:12
is probably not the actual way to go
9:15
when it comes to cruising i have now a
9:17
few lines that meet my key needs and i
9:20
choose which one to use
9:22
and which one to go with depending
9:25
entirely on what i'm doing so for
9:27
example
9:29
when i go to alaska i prefer to go on
9:32
either princess orlando america holland
9:34
america have been cruising there for
9:35
something like 70 years princess for
9:38
over 50 years
9:39
those are the experts in the area they
9:41
get the best births they get into
9:42
glacier bay they have fantastic
9:44
relationships in all the ports they have
9:46
their expertise they have alaska kind of
9:49
in their veins this is why my next
9:51
alaska trip for example is booked on
9:52
princess if i'm going on an expedition
9:54
cruise for example to antarctica or the
9:57
arctic i value and rate you know having
10:00
an incredible expedition team as really
10:03
really key now i found those on silversy
10:06
to be absolutely outstanding on my trips
10:08
there now although they're expensive
10:10
versus some alternative options they're
10:12
always my first choice for expeditions
10:14
and so for example for my first
10:15
galapagos trip i book with them i'm not
10:17
going on one of the other cruise lines
10:19
that i also like for other types of
10:21
cruising
10:22
if i'm looking to cross the atlantic i
10:24
will always gravitate back towards
10:27
cunard and do the full traditional
10:29
transatlantic rather than kind of a
10:31
repositioning cruise which of course is
10:33
much cheaper and there are many more
10:35
options for me the whole sense of
10:37
experience on the queue queen mary 2 is
10:40
part of what i want to do when i cross
10:42
the atlantic so that's why i would
10:44
choose that line but i wouldn't choose
10:46
cunard for other trips
10:48
you know i've tried
10:49
them on different trips and there are
10:51
other cruise lines that perhaps are
10:52
better to do the mediterranean in or the
10:54
caribbean in so i don't just default to
10:57
one particular cruise line so if i am
10:59
going to the caribbean or the
11:00
mediterranean i focus on premium mid and
11:04
small size lines that cater for me like
11:06
celebrity honda america or much more
11:08
like oceania and azamara because they
11:10
tend to have the most interesting
11:12
itineraries in the caribbean
11:14
for me
11:15
it's not about rigidly sticking to one
11:18
line but i like to have a small select
11:20
choice group of favorites that i then
11:22
take based on who will be the best and
11:25
the most fun to take me where i'm going
11:28
you know i meet many many people on
11:30
cruises which is fantastic but they
11:33
will only go on say princess or seabourn
11:36
or region seven seas or celebrity and
11:38
they will never try another line which
11:41
is great it's one option however
11:44
when you're traveling to many different
11:46
parts of the world different lines have
11:48
different expertise different
11:49
experiences different ports of core
11:51
different relationships that could
11:53
provide a better experience so i feel
11:55
that a small select group
11:58
of
11:59
loyal kind of friends that you know you
12:01
can have a great time with
12:03
feels like the right way to go now as
12:04
you think about that once you watch this
12:06
video of the nine best cruises in the
12:08
world you should be doing and taking
12:11
because they sell out really fast with
12:13
the one
12:15
that has the most bragging rights
12:17
find out which it is and i'll see you
12:18
over there
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