Live Cruise Q&A From Palm Springs! Saturday 4 October (9am PT/ Noon ET/ 5pm UK)

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[Music] body and welcome from sunny hot Palm
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Springs where I think it's going to be like about 90 something degrees uh and whatever that is 30 something degrees.
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Absolutely loving it. I might sound a bit nasly. One of the things that have killing me a little bit having been in Vegas and then in Palm Springs is this
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aircon just completely messes up my nasal passages. So I might sound kind of
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husky and Barry Whiteesque today. Um so it's kind of unusual. Here I am on of
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course the uh Pacific side on the west coast. So for me it's 9:00 in the morning. Um so I'm guessing we probably
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got lots of um west coasters. I think I've already seen that. So let's get into a couple of housekeeping things
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then I will dive in. So here I am. This is the Airbnb that we have in Palm Springs. Uh we have been in Vegas. Um
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we're actually going to Los Angeles for the day tomorrow. Uh because we're taking my mother-in-law Sally want to
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see the Hollywood sign. So we're going to surprise doing a helicopter ride over that as well. And then couple more days
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here and then we're heading back to Vegas and home. So next weekend uh on we
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get back on Saturday. So Sunday we were back to the Sunday schedule for the live streams. Um, one more housekeeping
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thing. Uh, just remind you that I have a giveaway. The the the makers of these um, uh, N of 8 uh, hiking shoes have
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given two pairs. So, if you scan the QR code, the giveaway ends next weekend.
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I'm drawing it next weekend. I think I should draw it on the Sunday or the Monday, I can't remember. So, enter that if you want to. I've also put a link in
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the notes of this. Um, so, uh, if you want to enter that, they're pretty good shoes, actually. I I I got a pair of
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those. Um they sent me a pair which was very nice. Wore those actually. They were so good. Mark actually bought a
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bought a pair. I probably should have asked asked the people to have sent me some rather than bought those. But
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anyway, um so let's get stuck in. Oh, just remind of course which most people know is write the word question before
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the question. If it's a little bit echoey, I didn't bring my normal microphone. So, I'm just using the my
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MacBook uh microphone, although it has worked okay in the past when I've done that. So, let's get stuck into the
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questions. So, Claudia had a bunch of questions. Lineia's got Len's Line L's
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got a couple of questions. So, let's get stuck into those. So, Claudia um just
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pointed at the end that she's booked the new Celebrity River. You might have seen that they're launching in 27 is it? They
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had a pre-sale which sold out in six minutes and then went on sale and they sold out. So, a huge amount of interest
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they're creating uh with the launch into river. I'm really intrigued with what
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they're doing with the ships. I've read some stuff about the ships. We haven't seen we've seen some sort of renderings.
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Um it's hard to see they're going to pack all of that into those ships. So, it's going to be quite interesting to see when we get much more detail.
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Anyway, Claudia sent me some different alternatives on route. So, um good to know that you've got that locked in. So
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Claudia's asking the question on a Norwegian fjords cruise. Is it worth to extend a typical 7-day cruise and go up
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into the Arctic Circle to Claudia? If you can, I would. So I would look at some of the options where you go a
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little bit further, but you're right. Most of them tend to be seven days. A lot of them will go out lots out of the UK. You've got some going out of uh the
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the Holland, I guess. Some will go out of Bergen and so on. So I would look at ones that go a bit further. So you could
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look um of course at Jehuchans or Havilia. We actually had a discussion the other day on my captain's zoom call
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what is it Havalia or Havia because people have been on that and we were trying to remember they were trying to remember how it was pronounced but they
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do some of those more intensive ones but I would try and do that. I can't remember what time of the year you're going to but um also of course it's if
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you go sort of towards the end of the season if going up there you get a chance to see things like the the
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northern lights. So some lines will guarantee northern lights. to some of the UK lines like Fred Olson uh Saga
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which I don't know if that would appeal so you actually you won't be able to book SOG because they pretty much
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limited to only booking UK residents but some of them will guarantee a northern light so to grin and I think HX
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expeditions which has spun off from that they do sort of a guaranteed northern light so I would I've only been to Trumpsa once and it was really kind of
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fascinating getting that far up and of course you can then tick off on your bucket list that you have uh have done that is asking everybody if they've got
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recommendations for Budapest and Prague hotels. I've never stayed in Budapest, but I have stayed in Prague a couple of
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times, both when I was working full-time and actually I like the hotel so much we went back. Uh so hotel called Augustine.
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I did actually check it still looked like it open. Uh it's an old monastery, so it's quite quirky. So I think you
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might quite like it. Um because it's kind of a little bit quirky and unusual. So the rooms are very unpredictable. Um
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and it seems to pretty good location. Um so have a look at the Augustine. it may not be to your taste. Um, and you know,
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I've just suddenly had a brain wave. I have actually stayed in a hotel in Buddhapest when I was working full-time. Um, I sat in I think it was the Hilton.
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I do remember now. The Hilton and I always forget which way around. I think Buddha is the one side in Pesh is a side
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that has the castle and all that on the top. And I did once for work stay at the Hilton. And um
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they they actually upgraded me because I checked in really late. had arrived, gone to meetings, got out to dinner with
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people from the office and then when I checked in, they gave me the presidential suite which is really annoying because I booked I got into the
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room at like 10:00 at night and had was being picked up at 7 or in the morning. So, but that had incredible views down
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to where all the river boats and stuff are. So, I'm guessing you think you're linking to your celebrity groups, but have a look at the Hilton um because
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that does incredible views down onto uh either the Buddha side or the Pesh side. I can't quite remember. Lady golf for
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welcoming me to this part of town. Um asking if to go to El Paso. So so far we
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have um relaxed quite a lot at the pool. We took we went yesterday to Sunnylands
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which was fascinating. We'd been on the ball and booked Sunnylands. For those who don't know, Sunnylands is owned by
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the is it the Annenburggs, which was very wealthy um couple who did lots of
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philanthropic work and they they've hosted everyone from Nixon, the Reagans,
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the Obamas, Queen Elizabeth, uh etc., etc., etc. Arnor Schwasenegger and
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stuff. They and they would host these very glamorous parties, but also they'd arrange kind of get together. So um you
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know like um President Obama had a summit with Chinese uh president and all
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sorts of kind of interesting stuff like that. Anyway, it's very beautiful. You have to be on the board to book a house tour. Um we then someone asked me a
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little bit about restaurants. We have been we had to go to Billy Reeds which for those who don't know it's it's a bit like you're stepping into it's been
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there since the 70s. It's it's it's open. I think it's 50th anniversary and we we always recommend people go there.
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And when you walk into Billy Reeds, you feel like you're stepping into sort of like a bit of a an oldworld brothel.
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That's the best way of putting it. Um it has the most enormous menu that you can possibly imagine, but it's a bit of an
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institution. So, we went there. Sally, we liked it. We've been to Bill's, which is renowned for having great pizza. I
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thought was okay. Um and we've been to Wilmer and Freda, which I guess is another bit of an institution. So, we're
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starting to play around with that. Of course, we went to the famous Thursday market. Um, lots of people with
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connections to Palm Springs joining today, which is great. So, Lana has a question. When on Sun Princess in the
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sanctuary, I think you shared there was music playing. Did you hear anything of Princess wanting to create a clublike
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experience? So, that's that's a good point actually because I didn't get a sense that they were trying to create
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that, but you're right. What they did is they had sort of you know musicac playing um which wasn't particularly
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intrusive but it was there like all kind of unfortunately pool decks have but
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what they did do every now and again is they would have like sometimes at sail away or one day when we had a C day
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there was this interesting combo which was uh she was a DJ and he was a saxoponist and they were married couple
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and they had they played a set for like an 45 minutes and he would walk around with his sax but no it wasn't kind of
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the idea wasn't all kind of get up and party. So certainly when I was on that was not what it was. I didn't get a
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sense because again because it's called the sanctuary club you kind of the club thing would I think job but the good
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news was they didn't seem to be creating kind of a club uh environment. So so
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that was that was good. Uh Lady Ger have you cruised South Africa and if so which
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line? Uh I've only for six years. Um yes. So I know we've had the discussion I guess before about looking at
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alternatives to Oceanania. So I have only cruised South Africa once and I did
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it on Silver Sea on their Silver Spirit. Uh they had one of the the nicest itineraries at the time. Um Ocean does
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quite a nice itinerary. They used to use I think some of their smaller ships that they're phasing out. I don't know. I
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feel like don't quote me as I feel like they started to get Riviera or Marina down there. I can't remember. So there
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was um the two lines that were doing a lot of South African cruises that were sort of homebased there. Silver Sea put
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Silver Spirit there. Very nice at a couple of days up a couple of ports in Nibia which were very interesting. Uh
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then right down to Durban um and so on. So you had a chance to do some of the uh
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the um safari excursions. The problem with the safari excursions of course is by the time you get to the safari parks
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it's sort of 11 a.m. which is really too late for animal viewing but it's still better than none. And we did see some
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pretty good animal sites. Uh the other line that was based there, but I think they're shifting is Norwegian. Now Norwegian had very terrible reviews. U
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very mixed reviews. I did know some people who went on it and they weren't very impressed with it. MSC also
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operates so they kind of older ships. Um so uh the Silver Sea is definitely worth
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looking at. Um very nice they know the region very well. Had very good excursions. I used to have included
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excursions. Now with the change in their fairs, they don't have included excursions anymore and that they have uh
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what they call all-inclusive plus where you get a credit uh for excursions. They have all-inclusive which doesn't include
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it and then they have what they call last minute fairs which come on sale uh 5 months before. Now if you play your
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timing right, you can because obviously silver is more costly than Oceanania, but if you play your timing right, um
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you can often get some good deals. So, at the moment, and I think it ends in November, they're running 30% and 40%
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off promotions. Um, I guess, you know, it's kind of uh I guess they're trying
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to hit the year in targets, but also next month, no, this month, in the middle of this month, they're releasing
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more itineraries and that's why I think they're running the promotions. So, you might get a really good deal. I I just booked a silver whisper which goes on a
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route that I had on my wish list which goes from Papieti goes around Hawaii quite nicely and goes
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to Vancouver and it was way cheaper that I would be spending on Oceanania. In fact, it cost me about the same as an
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Aqua cabin in Celebrity. So, if you played around because I've played around with that 30% off um and all that kind
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of stuff. So, it's probably worth looking at um those. Let's have a look. Mity Craft with friends. It's good to
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see you here again. Do you notice that the volume on cruise ships is loud? I thought it was my imagination until I
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used the decibel meter app on the phone. 90 to 100. So, Mity uh crafts with
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friends. Um I have found that more on the large resort ships. You know, I've
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I've described I think in some of my videos, you know, walking onto Symphony of the Seas or even on MSC. um sort of
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to lesser degree on some of the Norwegian trips I've been on is I feel like I'm getting hit by a wall of sound
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because you you walk into that really big massive kind of atrium area. Uh and
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it's just so loud. So I do find those ships incredibly loud because you've got a lot of people. Uh you know the space
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is quite big but there's a lot of people and then you've got music at hubup. So I do find those those particularly loud
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those bigger ships. I think once you get more into I don't know what you measured it on but I found on those more what I
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guess they call premium so your Holland America Kunard Celebrity Virgin Voyages
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and so on I found them less loud probably because there's fewer people there so there's not that general
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loudness I mean obviously parts of it are loud uh particular the evening you know live music venues and so once you
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get on to the you know the oceanas that we're talking about there or the next grade up the silver CC will definitely
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Absolutely not. So, they still will have music out of the pool, but there's just not as many people. But I agree with you. The the thing that that always
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strikes me when I head into those big ships is that wall of sound. Um, absolutely. Lots of people. Um, so Kevin
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is here. Jeff is here. Good to see you, Jeff. Um, few tips here on that. Uh, oh,
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that's just for LA, which is great. Nancy has a question around uh Crossy
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Europe. Um so I've been on as as Nancy says I've been on Crossy Europe but
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you're right I haven't been on for a while. I've done European river cruising with them. I've done barge cruise with
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them and I did uh the Meong with them just as we were heading into CO. So I
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still feel uh very positively toward cross Europe. I still see very good thoughts and reviews around across
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Europe. uh what what I think is good about cross Europe is first of all they
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are generally very good value so if you're looking for a river cruise in any region of the world because they are
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spreading more and more and more they are one of the best value now depending which country you're booking from you can book in different combinations so I
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think I'm right in saying in the US they tend to bundle excursions in price if you're coming from say the UK you can
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buy a package with excursions or not so it's a little bit pick and mix as well so That's also quite good if you're
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looking for good value as well and you can pick a mix your excursions a bit. Um they you know they they have pretty good
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food I think for the price. Uh you know obviously it's very French focused. The the important thing to understand with
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across Europe is they are still very uh French dominated. So generally speaking
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even though they're trying to become more international you do have a bit hit and miss. So I have been across Europe for example where there was only another
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couple and I the only English speakers. They would run excursions though in in English English they would obviously do
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briefings to make sure that we understood. I when I went on that barge cruise there was 15 people or 14. I was
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the only English speaker. So you need to be comfortable but obviously speak French. Um you know they're very welcoming of international guests. And
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of course the crew like most European are very bilingual. telling us Brits and
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stuff not as bilingual as European. So they still are incredibly good value. Other thing Nancy with Cross Europe is
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they they although they don't have the biggest fleet I think I'm saying Viking has the biggest fleet but they have they
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cruise on more rivers than any other. So they're very good in terms if you're looking for different options. They have
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introduced what they call their their kind of reg I don't call what they call it but sort of regular ships. Then they
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have their premium ships. So sort of like a three star fourstar. So they have differentiated a little bit but
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definitely they are really good value um good excursions definitely definitely worth working good sound quality is good
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um uh Pete talking about parts yes as you're coming you have those big wind
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those big wind turbines ah Francis good to see you here I'm cruising out of San
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Juan on an eastern Caribbean on Azamara next fall very nice I've never been to San Juan what is most what is most worth
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visiting in San Juan. Good question, Francis. I have been to San Juan twice
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and I have only ever strolled around the town. I haven't been on any excursion at
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all and and I can't remember why I have done that, but why I haven't explored more. So, I've only been the town. The
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town's okay. Um, so if anybody can do a better job than I am doing at explaining
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what's to see in San Juan, uh, please leave those comments for Francis. Sorry, I don't have a better view. I do I I
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think I've got um next year on I'm doing a virgin brilliant lady which I think
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goes to San Juan I need. So any good tips would would be good. Um just write
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the word uh question so I don't miss it here. But let's see Jay YouTube. Hello from Germany. Hi there from Germany.
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Excuse me. Have you been on Queen Elizabeth after the refit? I'd really like to hear your opinion. So Jay, I have not been on since the refit. Um
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there are a couple of videos. So um the um Helen and Richard of Visit us, they
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have uh they've been on quite soon after the refit. So I haven't been on now. It's interesting because I was on a
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podcast recently uh which I actually need to uh pub publish links to because I think it's out now with the sellway
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magazine and they were talking about how the view had been Queen Elizabeth update had slightly been done to target a
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little bit more the American uh market a little bit more apparently but now they're pulling Queen Elizabeth out of
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the US. Um but I haven't been on it. Um, I have on my to watch list uh Paul uh
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Paul and Carol, sorry. Um, Helen and Richard's video of it, so I don't have more than if anyone here has been. Uh,
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Franc's got some tips on things in car. Dennis has just got off New Amsterdam.
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Very nice. Um, central V. So, lots of other lots of
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other good tips there. Um, Regent Grand. Yeah. Oh, very nice. So
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Warren is just back from Regent Grandia which is a very nice ship. Absolutely. Uh Dand Betic let's have a look have a
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look. Sunnyland. So let go off talk about Sunnylands. Belly reads is just so good. Um uh so yeah it's it's if you
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ever come to pass rings it's it's sort of it's I guess I don't know about it. Mark been
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to it before and he'd only hadn't realized about going to the house but it's absolutely fascinating. Absolutely
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fascinating. Warren is asking, sorry, just have a slurp here.
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How do you uncover hidden shipboard credit offers? So, in reality, Warren,
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they they never really are hidden as such, but one of the things you'll
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sometimes find depending on the travel agent, some travel agents will often
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bundle in onboard credit. So a lot of it is if you work with a travel agent uh
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asking them if they have any kind of on additional onboard credit offers for any
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of the particular uh promotions but you'll normally find Ron that uh the
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lines will normally advertise them. So one of the things I would I always use and find quite helpful is on I don't
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know how active you are on social media but particularly on Instagram and on Facebook. If you um are a Facebook and
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Instagram user, uh interact with cruise content and certainly follow the cruise
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lines because often in if they're running flash sales, they will come up on um on instant on social media. So,
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for example, it won't happen now because we're not we're in October. I just want to see if there's something on here, but
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certainly um often you'll find also Warren at the end of a quarter
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um you'll often find flashes may happen. I guess they they're trying to hit uh quarterly sales targets or whatever. But
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certainly I did notice in the run. I'm just trying to see I'm literally clicking through Instagram to see if I can prove my point. But I got quite a
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lot of um ads coming up for different offers which may have then um onboard
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credit. So I'm sorry, excuse my throat.
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Sorry about that. Um so you so now it's into October. So they
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kind of disappear. Oh, here we go. Right. So, so will that show up? So, this is now showing up uh in my an
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Instagram field uh feed. So, it's probably in reverse because the way it's but it's got up to $300 free onboard
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spend per stateroom book now. So, they're doing so so I find often these
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kind of promotions pop up um on Instagram, Facebook. So follow if you follow the sort of you know go on there
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follow uh you know princ whatever lines you're interested in they will often pop up and you'll find they're often kind
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just they're short sharp kind of stuff that's that's that's what I found
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PPPJ uh question slightly off topic have you heard of Las Vegas so expensive visitors down 22%. So, um it's they're
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not down 22%, but you're right, Vegas visitors are down slightly uh by well
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slightly, I guess, up to seven up to 7%. Uh the 22% number, which you've probably
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heard, is uh people visiting from Canada. So, um what I've seen in the various media and also I follow quite a
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uh Las Vegas um vlog channels and one of them, Jacob's life in Las Vegas, he
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every he does a update every month and he has all the official data in which is quite interesting. He has visitor
21:35
numbers. He has visitor numbers by the strip and downtown. He has gambling spend, etc., etc. Anyway, so what
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they're seeing is overall numbers are down about 7% uh year on year. Uh and
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the trend is continuing. Uh but Canadians um are down quite significantly. So bookings uh flight
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bookings, which is why you probably heard the 22% number, are down about that level. So, I've I've read various
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reports, you know, because Canadians um it seems big visitors to Las Vegas, so
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they're down. But, you know, I think you're right. And and there's lots of discussion because I did watch a video the other day from the um the I guess
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he's the CEO owner of CIRC, CIC, CIRC, which is one of the big new downtime
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hotels, so near Fremont. um who was saying that they are more optimistic about um turning it around. Uh he does
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he thinks people are pessimistic but certainly the data from the official data it's down. Vegas has, you know, I
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think it's going to be interesting to see because Vegas has definitely um
22:40
taken the piss, as we would say in the UK, I guess, is, you know, they have just because, you know, you you think
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you're booking a hotel for X amount, but then they add on obviously all the taxes, then they add resort fee, which
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is just crazy. You know, it could be $50 a night. Um then they introduced you
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know when we used to go to Vegas a lot uh early on you didn't pay for parking then they started parking charges you
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know just the price of things are kind of crazy now we have been we have been fortunate on both our first visit and
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our second visit because um both our stays are comped and the reason they're
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comped is Mark is in last year was quite a big regular visitor to Vegas was
23:23
working in California would go to Vegas on the weekends So kind of uh gambling wise I went last been less frequently
23:30
than him. So we we actually got stuff comped with resort credits. So actually for us it wasn't that expensive but when
23:36
you look at stuff it is expensive and I think it's going to be interesting to see because I do feel they've priced themselves out. you know certainly I
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mean 20 years ago or something longer I you know you go to Vegas for a cheap you know fantastic thing you know buffets
23:49
and everything was so cheap and it it is definitely um uh you know they need to I
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think they need to price correct so you can actually get quite good deals. It was interesting again in that Jacob and another one called Ruby video they were
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talking about lots of um of the the chains like MGM and Caesars who own most
24:07
of the hotels there. doing these now weekend deals which are really rather snappy pricing. So hopefully it'll it'll
24:14
price correct but you know it is slightly crazy pricing.
24:20
Uh Dennis asking the question sorry
24:26
have you noticed classical music on ships declining? I just stepped off the new Amsterdam and found the classical
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music was down to a duo rather than a quartet trio on the last cruise. Yes,
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definitely. I think we've seen particularly in that traditional
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cruising category. So that what the cruise line calls the premium category. So uh you know in there you've got
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Celebrity, Holland America, Princess got Kunard, Virgin etc in there. So
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certainly you know Holland America is one of the most notable because of course they used to have that partnership with the Lincoln Center
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Stage which ended. Then they um announced they were going to do some sort of ad hoc stuff with Lincoln Center
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Stage which was very erratic and was seemed to be only be on longer voyages. Now they have recently announced Dennis
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that they are going to dial up classical music a little bit more excuse me rather than uh because they
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doing a couple of concerts and stuff. So they've said that they're going to increase it. So we will see. But absolutely um you know on Kunard you
25:30
have a little bit more um but less so. So you will still have the little trios
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you know the string quartets. Um on some of the you know if you go on
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uh Viking for example Vikings definitely have retained more classical music. They will normally have a pianist and some
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you know some violinists for example. uh they they will have fairly steady theme.
25:56
Um certainly on when I was when I did that repositioning cruise on Silver Sea, they had a little bit of it but not a
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lot. Um but yes, it's definitely dialing down. I think you know cruise lines are
26:08
becoming a little bit more obsessed with targeting more families, targeting younger, which I think is also
26:14
interesting. I've got a video coming out soon where I talk a little bit about how it's really interesting because we
26:20
actually have an aging population. So, you know, you see a lot particularly in the west, we have an aging population.
26:26
So, there's more and more people going to be over 60, but the cruise lines are kind of madly chasing everyone young.
26:31
It's sort of well, hang on a minute. There's more and more people heading in that direction, but anyway. Um,
26:38
so let's have a look. Brian, we couldn't book uh part of your group. We were in Sadam. Hopefully, quickly meet you.
26:44
Good. So, we'll I'm sure we'll see each other on board, which would be great. Um,
26:50
Tina, how do you get travel insurance for a cruise in 2027? I know you book your
26:56
cruises very much in advance with Sarah looking at a regent Mediterranean cruise in October 2027. So, Tina, what I do, I
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mean, I don't what the way that I do it is I have an annual policy. So, every
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year uh it normally updates normally I think it ends at about May time. I think
27:15
I renew it. So, I have an annual policy. So, the advantage with that is it then covers any uh bookings that I may need
27:22
to cancel because it's within that booking period. So, the the insurance kind of kicks in uh when you book it.
27:28
So, so the annual policy takes care of that. But you should be able to I'm not sure where you're based, but you should
27:35
be able to take out if you want a specific policy, you should be able to take out um specific policy. One of the
27:42
defaults you could do um if you wanted to is take take out cruise line
27:47
insurance. Now cruise line insurance generally uh it's it you find it's better to not take out cruise line
27:52
insurance but some cruise lines will offer kind of some some insurance. So that's one way of of linking. I'm trying
27:59
to remember region to do that but the way the way I do it is because I have that annual policy um covering it. But
28:06
certainly I know in the US people know in the US with things like Alian for example people will will take it out um
28:13
linked to a specific uh uh booking. Um now I'm not a huge expert on on
28:18
insurance but that's that's kind of what how I do it and how other people I've
28:23
spoken uh to uh do it. Let's have a look. Barbara Owen, good to see you here
28:29
again. Um, they've booked, Barbara's booked a Coral Princess Alaska 2027
28:36
family trip as a small ship sailor Viking Silver Sea looking for tips uh
28:41
for enjoying a bigger ship and not feeling jostled. Right. One of the
28:47
things you could do um no that one of the things that Princess I'm not I'm not 100% sure on coral princess but um and
28:56
that class but I'm pretty sure. But what princess do Barbara is they have a
29:01
sanctuary. They call them different things on different lines but they have a sanctuary which is paid for area. Uh
29:08
so you you know so it's a by definition of the name it's a calmer quieter space.
29:13
So so particularly when you're going to Alaska um what you will find in Alaska as you're suggesting is there will be a
29:19
lot of families. The ship will be very full and it will be more rowdy. So certainly when I was on Princess and
29:24
Hall America, you know, the kids kind of overtook the indoor pools and stuff like that. So one of the things to look at is
29:30
that sanctuary space. Um because I think I'm right in saying that you need to be
29:36
16 and over to book it, but don't quote me on that. I need to double check that. But that's one option. Have a look and see if they got a sanctuary space
29:41
because that's going to give you some kind of uh quiet time. The other um the
29:47
the other thing to do um is
29:54
I'm just trying to think if this because they don't have any adult specific area as as such. I mean one of the things
30:00
that you may want to do for example now you may want to do dining as a family is you know things like dining will tend to
30:07
be bit quite busy when I've certainly been on those dining early is quite busy. Um so what you might want to do
30:13
for example instead of going for anytime dining if you actually booked fixed dining now that may be more challenging
30:20
with the family but you know anytime dining gets very busy on these and you end up waiting and kind of jostling and
30:26
waiting in lines. The advantage with fixed dining the fixed dining is fixed dining which doesn't suit everybody. The
30:31
advantage is you can get a table I guess for the whole family um but it's going to feel a little bit less manic because
30:36
you're always going to not have to line up go etc. Um, those are the main things, but you're
30:43
right, the ship will be busy. Um, it will, um, but of course Alaska is fantastic and you'll be with your
30:48
family. But those are my top tips for now. If I think of anything better, I will I will pop pop those in. Um,
30:57
just remember write write the word questions so I don't miss it. But here, luckily today, because it's an unusual
31:02
time day, the questions are maybe not as often as as many as usual. so I can
31:09
hopefully get through them all and not miss any. Um Kevin looking at a 10day Alaska cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line
31:15
Joy. It goes to Hyperglacia in and out of Seattle. Any plus or minuses on this cruise? Okay, so Kevin, a couple of
31:22
things to look at with Norwegian cruises or in fact any cruise that goes out of Seattle is the following. First of all,
31:30
have a look at the time that you're in each of the ports. So, one of the things that um you know on some of the
31:36
Norwegian itineraries uh that I've looked at, but it was on a shorter one. It was a 7-day one uh that friends had
31:43
booked that I got them to unbook, that's a word, because they changed something else. But you'll find they were in port
31:48
for very short periods of time. So, they would go to like Ketchan and they were getting there at 6:00 in the morning and leaving at lunchtime. So, not really
31:54
enough time to see the place. So, first of thing is when you have a look at it, look at how long you're in the ports
32:00
for. So make sure that you're in the ports for a good long period of time so that you actually can go and do the
32:06
things that you want to do. You know good excursions uh time to self-explore and so on. So that's the first uh that's
32:14
the first thing to do. Now I think probably um on the tender cruise you might find that works better. Secondly,
32:21
um have a look and see which of the Portuguese. So, you know, most people if you haven't been to Alaska before, um
32:28
you'd probably want to go to Ketchacan, Juno, uh Skagway. Now, they are very
32:33
busy. They are kind of very busy ports, but they're kind of the three kind of big key ports. So, you want to try and
32:39
see if you can hit all of those three if you can because in Juno you have some great glacia uh tour options which will
32:46
kill your budget possibly but you have some great um up onto glacia some good whale watching tours but even so for
32:54
much more affordable you can either get uh much you can excursions the menhole glacia and the um visitor center um or
33:02
you can get the some buses that go that are less costly but that they have some really good options. Skagway, you can do
33:08
the train, which is fantastic. There's also some quite if the salmon run is depending on when you're going. If the
33:14
salam runs on, you can get some good bear watching excursions. Um, and um,
33:21
and catch a can. You've got the the lumberjack show, which is uh, kind of
33:26
corny, but it's really good fun. And then they have some quite nice totem pole stuff. So, you kind of want to have those included. Now, I'm guessing also
33:33
you may go to Victoria on the way back because they have to call it Canada. Now, Victoria is a really nice uh city
33:39
and some of them do very short stops. So, sometimes Norwegian will call it 8:00 at night, 11:00 at night just so
33:46
they can tick that box. But if if it is if possible, see if you've got a good
33:52
long time in Victoria because it's a very beautiful city to explore. It's a very good whale watching as well uh in
33:58
Victoria. Um but it's it's just very beautiful city. Um anything anything
34:03
else timing wise? Um if I don't know what time you and I I personally like going to that's the beginning of the
34:09
season. It's less busy, a little bit less frantic. Um but if you you still can see a good chance of seeing whales
34:15
and stuff like that. May is is one of the I mean chance it's going to rain a lot whichever you go but May into early
34:22
June tends to be less so. If you really do want to see more wildlife, it tends
34:28
to be a little bit more sort of August September time when the salmon run uh
34:33
begins. So it's kind of there's plus and minuses of both. But those would be my those would be my my key tips uh for
34:41
that Seattle. So can I just say Seattle hotels can get crazy expensive. So once
34:48
you have uh locked in that cruise, look at booking your hotels and maybe your
34:54
flights as well because um you know Seattle you know it's one of the most
34:59
expensive places for hotels to stay. Uh, so I would I would try and I would try and do that. Claudia has a follow-up
35:06
question on the um the best time. So it tends to be sort of October time because
35:13
a lot of a lot of cruise lines don't really sell in the winter. Um, so you find about that sort of October is a
35:18
really good time um normally for that. Um, some oh look some good tips from
35:23
Dennis on joy which is good. Um, let's have a look. Uh let's have a look.
35:31
There's some chat there which I think I have done.
35:37
Uh lady golf giving me some insight. Uh you've arrived in the overseeding season when the grass is scalped and then
35:43
overseated with winter rice. So lots of stuff in the air. Oh that's that's good. The other thing that we also had which
35:49
maybe is linked to that then is although died down the first couple of days we were here um we got bitten like crazy.
35:57
Um I actually went and got antihistamines in the end but like we got bug spray but we were just like
36:03
bitten like crazy but it seems to have died down so that could be why as well um there whips travel has a question
36:10
which cut offs um have you been so hopefully you'll pop that up um later
36:16
Sam thank you for the videos which is very good minds you I should probably do a little promo for my video which will come out at the end of this um
36:25
Boka boys good to see you boys Yeah. What are your thoughts on Oceanani's new Sonata class with 1,450 passengers? Ship
36:32
looks gorgeous but too large perhaps. I agree. It's very interesting because and
36:38
I think I spoke about it be before. Generally speaking, I think it's a such
36:43
a pity that everybody's going bigger. Now I know in some cases like with the silver seed silver nova silver ray
36:50
they're kind of bigger because they've gone into LG and the clinicians they need more they need more space to be
36:56
able to have the tanks and so on. So they've of course put more cabins and things in but it's really interesting
37:02
because um if you look at the kind of the the splits of categories is that
37:09
small ship luxury which is really where Oceanana kind of sits. The small ship was always sort of defined as like a
37:15
thousand traditionally speaking. And that is kind of like quite a nice number. You know,
37:21
you've got sort of the se 700 800 or so um sort of ultra going, you know, maybe
37:27
up to 400 passengers, you know, fewer passengers, but this to me starts to feel like, you know, you're not getting
37:32
that far off sort of some of the older I know that must have gone now, but some of the older premium class ships. So, I
37:39
think it's a pity certainly having been on Marina and and um Vista
37:46
1,200 1,250 didn't feel kind of crazy busy, but that I feel that extra 200
37:52
just gets kind of starts becoming more midship size and some of that luxury
37:57
part of luxury for me which I suspect you you guys think as well is it's about
38:03
fewer passengers a bit like um someone was asking earlier, it's about fewer
38:08
passengers, less lines, more space, etc. So, I haven't dived a lot into Sonata
38:13
class. I haven't actually looked if it's much bigger, if it's a bigger ship or just more passengers, but I I think it's
38:19
a video that everyone's kind of nudging bigger and bigger. Um Tom
38:25
watching from Lis on the Crystal Symphony are fantastic actually. So, if you're on Crystal Symphony, I was on a
38:31
podcast I mentioned earlier with Sailor uh with Ritzy Travel Guide and him and his wife
38:37
are actually on Symphony. I've been following them on on Instagram. Uh Susan Mills uh randomly found Yes, because I'm
38:44
sort of randomly on uh on on today. And it's interesting because you're both on Facebook. I actually had forgotten to
38:50
put the link on Facebook and on uh LinkedIn and I did it literally about 15
38:56
minutes before we went live. So maybe I should do that more often because it perhaps it helps a little bit more um a
39:02
little bit more spontaneous as it were. Uh let's have a look question on Silver
39:08
Sea Antarctic Expedition. So Lisa, debating between Silver Seas and
39:14
Expedition Cruises with or without the included charter flights. Thoughts? Um,
39:20
so just to clarify, so what I think what
39:25
I think I might get you to clarify this, but I I'll I'll um I'll explain what I
39:31
think you're asking and then if I haven't answered it, do it. So with the silver sea trips, you have to have an uh
39:36
expedit a charter is part of the the the trip because what happens is you
39:43
normally sell with like many expedition cruise actually you either fly into Buenoseries or what silver cities you
39:48
fly into Santiago then you group in Santiago then they take you on charter flights down to Pun uh down to um
39:58
man's blank port Williams. Port Williams anyway I
40:04
think it's Williams anyway where they depart from um so they you do a charter flight which goes from Santiago you
40:09
actually change up into arenas up to smaller planes which can then land there then you join the cruise cruise there um
40:15
so the charter flights are part of the fair now you can theoretic I guess you may be able to just join in in in that
40:22
port but it's quite difficult to get to there's not many flights so and it's including the fair so I would do the
40:28
Santiago because you then within the the system you within the silver sea system.
40:33
Now what you might be asking which may be so that's that I would do it with a chart of flights definitely blind to
40:39
Santiago many more options um to get to Santiago the what you might also be asking Lisa
40:46
is they do two two types of Antarctica trips one of which is uh where you you
40:52
you sail out from Port you do the Drake passage um and then they have the others
40:58
where in fact now you probably stay in the new hotel they've built and then you you do the flight um run into Antarctica
41:06
and then you join the ship there person. So if that's the question you're asking, I would actually encourage you to go
41:12
with the one where you get on and you do direct passage. Um now the flights can
41:18
be a little bit unpredictable. Now once you get more into the middle of the season less so but um you know I have
41:23
friends who were who did that but they lost two days of their trip which is
41:28
only I think six or seven days because the the wind the weather conditions weren't they weren't able to fly so the
41:35
people who were on it they were stuck I mean worst place to be stuck uh for two days still in Antarctica um before they
41:42
could get back uh when we when I did at the beginning of the season the the crews after us were supposed to the ship
41:48
I was on silver endeavor. The ship was actually going to sail um to start the the flights um going to sail there empty
41:55
actually and then start the flights, but they had to get everybody to board the ship in the port and do Drake Passage
42:02
because the the the runway is too frozen to start the flights. So, it's a little bit more unpredictable and Drake Passage
42:08
is not there's lots of hype about Drake's Passage, but you know, I wouldn't worry too much about Drake's
42:14
Passage. We travel asking the question we can't really annoying and it's good to see you here by the way. Um we can't
42:20
do the aerial tramway. Love the aerial tramway. Um we're excited about doing the aerial tramway because I've been to
42:25
Palm Springs a couple of times in the last couple years and we actually didn't do the tramway because we've done it before. Bringing Sally here, my
42:31
mother-in-law. We we had a tramway as one of our things to do. It's closed for two weeks or maybe three weeks for their
42:38
maintenance. So it only opens after we've left. So it's really annoying. Um,
42:43
and it's really frustrating because I've really because I hadn't been up the a tramway for a while and I really want to
42:49
do it. So, it you're right. It's a fantastic experience. Um, for those who don't know, it's really weird because you you you go up the tramway.
42:57
Sorry, excuse me again. You go up the tramway and then, you know, the temperature goes quite dramatically. People will go and they they will hike.
43:04
I think you do some overnight hikes, but incredible experience. Um, and it's a really massive um, a tramway thing.
43:12
Tramway car. Is that the right word? Um,
43:19
civil curiso. Curisso. We have just booked a 21-day. Wow. 21
43:26
day. Fantastic. Caribbean 2026 in an aft balcony cabin.
43:32
Curious your thoughts on those stateaterooms. So, I am probably
43:37
one of the like one of the 10% of people or whatever the number would be who are not a massive fan of cabins. So, most
43:44
people absolutely love them because you are as the name says you're at the back
43:50
of the ship, you know, you just have this view across the wake of the ship as you're sailing out and if you're sailing
43:56
out of port, it's really beautiful. Um, for me, I like being midship. Um now one
44:03
of the things with off balconies you have fabulous views often you have bigger balconies so it's another big
44:08
appeal to people um so most people they're very highly sought after they will sell out really quickly they're one
44:14
of the most highest demand sometimes they even have a premium uh one of the small watch outs depending on the ship
44:21
is they're some can have a little more vibration because you've got kind of I guess the rudders and all sorts of things underneath there depending on
44:26
what ship you're on um and obviously if you have rough seas because the way
44:32
ships move. You may have a little bit, you may have more movement. So, we have been uh on cruises with friends. We were
44:37
mid ships. They were at off cabins. This is not the Caribbean, by the way. So, and we were going through uh down from
44:44
Hawaii down. We were supposed to go to um Fiji or somewhere. And we it was kind
44:49
of not monso cyclony weather. And that, you know, their cabin was incredibly
44:54
bouncy. But in the Caribbean, you're less likely to have have that. So, it's more of a watch out if you're going through periods of of very rough sea.
45:02
So, I am in the minority. People absolutely love them. They're fantast
45:09
uh nice views, you know, out at the back and so on. Um those are my only those are my only watch outs. But, um so,
45:15
Enchant Enchanted Princess. So, certainly you will find 90% of people will be extremely envious of you. I like
45:22
being midship um just because obviously if you're midship also the advantage of being midship is everything is sort of
45:27
equidistant you know and if you're going up to the pool deck or the lo or whatever you're going down because the theater kind of more midship the back
45:34
you kind of the restaurants are norally the back so that's a little bit more convenient but kind of you just have
45:39
more distance to go but for most people that they're not they're not bothered about that um
45:46
how did Kevin have a dessert on us thank you uh how Kevin give us a super stick oh they actually got name or what it's
45:52
called, super sticker. Um, thank you very much for that, Howard and Kevin. Good to see you here. Thank you very much. Um,
46:00
someone asking a question. Uh, there we go. So, yeah. So, 8:00 p.m. to
46:06
12:00 p.m. That was the thing. So, you you're in I'm see this is a question about the being in Victoria at that very
46:11
late that that late that late time. They do have some stuff. You're right. Someone made a point is often Norwegian
46:17
will have some stuff. I was trying to think who I was following recently. Paul and Carol had done something recently,
46:23
but they had they were their time in Victoria was cut short because they had
46:29
they had a leak in the ship. Um, and they had to stop the ship for a while to fix it. And so I think their time in
46:34
Victoria is truncated. But you sometimes can find there are some activities that so I would I would take I would take a
46:40
look at those tours as people have have suggested. Oh, okay. So Tom was saying they were on the previous cruise. That
46:45
was the point about the travel guide. Okay. So, they've they've already off. So, that's that. Let's have a look. Uh,
46:55
here we go. Um, Angie, when you were traveling in the yacht club, did you ever feel the need
47:02
desire to see the rest of the ship or was staying there enough? Was it worth the extra dollars compared to standal cabin? So, yes, you can't you can't
47:10
really stay you can't really stay in the yacht club, I don't think, because you you know, if you want to go to see any
47:16
of the shows, if you want to go to the casino, if you want a variety of bars, um if you want the bigger pool, you
47:23
know, a proper pool as it were, you need to leave the yach club. So, I I don't know anybody I'm sure there must be
47:28
people who never leave the yach club, but the yach club, yes, absolutely. I I spent a large percentage of my time
47:35
outside of the yach club. So yach club was more a way of retreating from kind
47:40
of the busyiness of the ship uh rather than a destination itself. So you're
47:46
right. I mean you do have a pool deck and stuff. So you could theoretically stay there, but if you really want to
47:51
take the advantage of being on a big ship, which is why I think one would go on the yach club. Um yes, absolutely.
47:57
Now in terms of the extra dollars, so yes. So, one of the things you could do, Angie, on some of the ships, on many of
48:03
the ships, um, you can actually do yacht club surprisingly inexpensively because
48:08
they have inside cabins. So, for example, I was on Virtuosa and they had maybe eight or 10 inside cabins within
48:15
yach club, which still had all the perks, you know, the butler, the restaurant, etc., etc., etc., the concier, uh, reserve seats. So, it is
48:22
pretty good. You know, these MSE ships are very big, so you have some pluses. um you know it's nice to have a
48:29
dedicated restaurant. The restaurant has slightly has definitely has more elevated food. It's open seated dining
48:34
so you don't have you know to fight the big kind of big dining rooms has a it
48:40
has its own kitchen has more elevated food for example um you have the nice
48:46
bar you drinks are the drinks are included you have really nice afternoon tea which you don't have in the rest of
48:52
the ship um so I do think it's worth it you know if your budget can stretch it I do think it's worth it because you get
48:57
all the pluses of being on the big ship uh you know the shows and all that kind of and blah blah casino and big pools,
49:05
but you can kind of with withdraw and retreat into it. So, I I I do think it's
49:10
uh it is a big plus and certainly compared to other cruise lines that have those um shook within ships, it's it's
49:18
definitely uh really really really good really good value. Angie has a follow-up
49:23
question. Um in fact, Jos's got a question also linked to
49:29
Antarctica. So, maybe I'll do that. You can see in the mirror marks just arrived back from the gym. So with regard to
49:36
dog, did you investigate other lines like Atlas and Quirk? So yes, I I did um
49:42
and certainly Quark to me is the most appealing of those two. Quark I have
49:48
constantly looked at uh Quark um particularly their new ships. Is it marine? Their new ships look very
49:55
appealing. Quark of course has been in the expedition business for a very long time. uh they have a reputation of
50:00
having really good expedition leaders uh and their newer ships because their ships are very variable um so I focus
50:07
more on the new ships which are a little bit some of the older ships are a little bit kind of rough and ready so the new ship um definitely I would look at Atlas
50:14
I have more mixed views about um they are quite new they chartered their ships
50:20
to in fact they've chartered their ship one of their ships to Quark actually um to for Antarctica so um so I have more
50:28
questions marks about just because they're new and more kind of questions. So personally though I personally
50:35
because obviously you're spending an enormous amount of money. So with Antarctica the the two lines that I have
50:42
defaulted into is Silver because they have been again in the expedition for a
50:47
very long time. Uh Laurent Common Brett I think that's you pronounce his name. I apologize if I've massacred his name. Uh
50:54
you know who leads the expedition side. You know they are very very good at expedition. They have incredibly good
50:59
teams in Antarctica. So they have people who have been season after season after season. So they know the region, they know the ships, they have captains who
51:06
know the region incredibly well. Um so I I do like Silver Sea. Um again they have
51:12
quite a top range of ships because you got obviously the Endeavor which is really new and modern. It was the old crystal ship. You've got silver cloud
51:19
which I have been on which is a little bit more dated and silver wind I guess it is. Um so more varied. Um I also do
51:28
look at Ponant. Now Ponant obviously it's a French line but they have um you
51:34
know they know the region incredibly well. They obviously have them I haven't been on yet but come and shako they're
51:39
very modern ship. I've been on more what they call the sister ships. So L rial I've actually booked to go um they do
51:47
some unusual itineraries. So they go right to the south of New Zealand. So some very interesting itineraries. So
51:53
I've booked that for 27 with a very good deal because I managed to get in on the day they launched where they had 30% off
51:59
and no solo supplement. Um so they also do some both silvery and pon also if
52:05
you're traveling solo um they do on certain sailings beginning and the end of the season do no or very low solar
52:12
supplements. But pan again have very strong expedition teams because I guess
52:17
if you're an Antarctic expert you know and you're French um French profess or
52:23
whatever you know you don't have that many options maybe so when we went on when I went on pan
52:29
we had the most phenomenal uh expedition team like really like phenomenal um and
52:37
they were just on for shorter kind of contracts but so those are the two that I look at but quark I think is a very
52:42
interesting want to look at and I do know some people who've been off national geographic limblat I haven't
52:47
been on that but those for me would be the ones to really to to kind of really really uh really really focus on um
52:54
poker boys making the point about Vegas becoming a little bit crazy. Okay. So, in terms of HX, I'll tell you um Tim,
53:01
one of one of the reasons personally that I tend to steer away from like Viking and to a lesser degree HX is one
53:09
of the things that you you you know they tend to have slightly larger ships.
53:14
So, one of the things in Antarctica is you really ideally want to if you can uh and your budget can stretch so far, go
53:21
on a ship that has 200 or fewer passengers because first of all that that means they can land in more places.
53:27
Uh there's more landing opportunities and also some places you're only allowed a maximum of 200 people on that landing
53:34
at a say in the morning or afternoon and you're only allowed 100 people out at a time. So some of the bigger um HX ships
53:41
might have three 400 people. So you have fewer landings. So um because they just
53:47
can't have as they can't go to as many places and so you can only have 100 people out at any one time. So you you
53:53
may have fewer landings uh than than a ship say that has 200 like the penant
53:58
and some of the silvery. Now that's why some people like to go even smaller lines which have maybe a 100 people
54:03
because they can do even even more. So what I would say Tim is is is definitely
54:09
um if you watch the video you've got lots of the tips. So I I would have a look and and sort of understand how many
54:15
lands you're getting, where you're going, and how they do that. Um, and the other thing I would say is follow the
54:22
packing stuff. Uh, you know, make sure you got all the right gear. I'm not sure whether HX have, you know, the hiring
54:29
system, whatever, but just get all the gear and, um, go to every single lecture
54:35
and every single briefing. Uh it is just so important to you get that because
54:41
Ajax obviously have a reputation for they've been doing it for a very long time. They have a reputation for very
54:47
good strong expedition teams as well. So but just go to all those and be you know
54:52
worry about um uh you know rest and sleep when you get back. Um so that that
54:58
would be the key. If you are sailing across straight passage uh and you're worried about motion sickness, just take
55:04
whatever you have with you that makes you feel comfortable. Those would be that would be my because Marilyn's had a
55:11
left. Um so, uh someone asked me about medical
55:16
insurance. Have you heard that is itch and annual policy? really really important by the way when you are booking travel insurance make sure it
55:23
has specific cruise cover which to your point Tahara um that will cover things
55:29
like evacuation uh also if you're because obviously the ship will leave you if you're if you if they need to if
55:35
you have a serious health issue they'll disembark you in a port and you'll be in a local hotel and stuff and you need
55:40
insurance that's going to get you back home because cruise line will not get you back home. are really really
55:46
important um that it has cruise cover. Um so sometimes I know a lot of people say well I've got uh travel insurance
55:52
covered by my credit card check because that may not be enough. Um
56:00
so Bill's Bills fan 72 look at this
56:07
thinking of an Iceland cruise which cruise lines do you recommend? So, but a lot of it obviously depends on what
56:13
you're looking for on a cruise line, but um a couple of cruise lines sort of do
56:18
an Icelandic kind of bas in Iceland do a kind of a circuit. So, Viking, for example, if that appeals, you know, it's
56:26
18 plus. It's obviously a little bit more pricey than some lines, but they have they they they base some two ships
56:34
there. I might be right. Maybe it's one, but they have two ships there. They'll do a Rekovic to Rekovic really good
56:39
itinerary. uh they will have um really good enrichment speakers uh talking about Iceland, talking about the geology
56:46
etc. So they would be definitely one of the ones that um I would strongly recommend. Oceania that we were talking
56:52
about earlier they do some quite nice Azamara uh you know these are all slightly smaller ships because actually
56:58
some of the ports have limits um so I think I'm right saying is fewer um you
57:04
know will limit the total number of passengers that allowed to go there. Some of the ports are quite small. So,
57:09
I've been on, for example, I once, it doesn't really exist anymore, but I went on voyages to antiquity
57:15
and the ship was very small. So, we went to some ports that uh even a Viking ship
57:21
couldn't get into. So, you want to try and go on a small ship because you're going to get get a chance to go to more ports. Um uh definitely more ports uh
57:29
and smaller ports, more out of the way ports. But for me, if I was going to go to to Iceland, the Viking would be very
57:36
high on the list. Now you can do some so for example I'm actually doing a a a sort of repositioning cruise on
57:42
Celebrity Silhouette which is going out of New York goes up through Canada
57:47
Greenland ends in Rekovic. Now they then do a an Icelandic um tour. So obviously
57:53
it's going to be way more cost effective than a Viking option assuming that you're not going in a suite. I guess
57:59
probably it's about the same. assuming you're going in more balcony cabin or an aqua cabin or whatever uh or even inside
58:04
on ocean view it's going to be way more cost effective but they are is not as intensive um but what you also want to
58:11
do bill7 if you go to Iceland is the two sort of key
58:17
tours that you want to do is out of sort of rakovic you get the golden circle which covers some of the key iconic
58:24
sites and then out of um I think it's I
58:29
don't pronounce at Aura you get the jewels of the north and they cover off many of that kind of thing. So you sort
58:35
of want those two ports uh on your itinerary if they are stopping in those where you can do a jewels of the north
58:42
and a golden circle tour then you're probably going to see a lot of what you what you what you want to what what you
58:48
want to see. Um Greg asking the question is club dining on Princess worthwhile in
58:53
your opinion? So obviously Greg with for those who don't know so club dining is on if you go on on the new ships on sun
58:59
and sky they have a different concept they have the san club which you can buy into
59:05
uh either go club or you can buy into san club or what they have on the rest of the fleet is club dining. So club
59:12
dining uh you get if you have booked a suite you definitely get if you're on a mini
59:18
suite you get it a cont I don't know on that but you can then buy a club Greg I it depends of what you're looking for
59:24
the advantage with club dining is you can do anytime dining um and you pretty
59:29
much you always get a table you know the problem is if you do um anytime dining on Princess depending what you're on you
59:35
can sometimes end up having to wait whatever it also means that you don't have to do the fixed dining um so I've
59:41
always found front club dining. It's about the convenience of knowing I'm I want to go to dinner at 7:30, whatever,
59:46
blah blah blah. You go down there and no, no issues. They also have um
59:52
embarcation day lunch, but that's not a massive thing, but that's quite handy. So, um I think it's pretty good um if
59:59
because you certainly when I've been on any Princess Cruise and had club dining, I've never had to wait for a table. In
1:00:05
fact, what they did one time ship I was on now was on Majestic. I was on Majestic in Alaska and I went to club
1:00:13
dining and the club dining was full but they took me to a table uh sort of non-
1:00:18
club dining area of the dining room but straight away I got a table straight away. I didn't have to wait. So that that that was that was quite that was
1:00:24
that was really helpful. Let's have a look. We're rapidly running out of time. So let me see if I've got let me do one
1:00:32
one more maybe quick try and squeeze in two more questions. Sam,
1:00:38
what premium brand do you feel is the best loyalty program? Um, personally,
1:00:43
um, I would say Celebrity and I'll tell you why Celebrity. So, obviously in the premium category, you've got Holland America, Celebrity, Kunard, uh, Virgin
1:00:51
Voyages, Holland America. Did I say that already twice? Um so the reason I say celebrity is because celebrity uh across
1:00:59
the Royal Caribbean group uh you know you you as you build status it's moves
1:01:05
between the brands. So you know so if you go on Royal Caribbean celebrity or
1:01:11
silver sea you effectively status matches. So through a combination of my Royal Caribbean trips and my celebrity
1:01:17
trips when I went on Silver Sea I was like high status. So I got things like free laundry and so on. uh even though I
1:01:24
hadn't really been on Silver Sea very often. So that's why I feel it's got the best loyalty program in terms of the individual perks. You know, none of them
1:01:30
are particularly earthshattering in reality, but I like the fact that as you move around brands now, interesting
1:01:36
enough, last week Norwegian Group announced that they're going to do the similar thing. But of course that
1:01:42
Norwegian don't have a premium brand because they have Norwegian, Oceanania, and Regent. So they don't have a premium brand. So for me, celebrity is the one
1:01:49
that I value the most because as I move around brands or your taste change, your status kind of goes with you. Then of
1:01:56
course um what is interesting what I did is I had status matched on Silver Sea
1:02:03
through my Celebrity andor Caribbean. So I got status on Silver Sea. Because I
1:02:09
said it's on Silver Sea, I was able to status match when I went on Explore Journeys because Explore Journeys only has a short list of lines that they will
1:02:15
status match and they're all kind of premium luxury lines, but I was then able to status match on Explorer. So
1:02:22
that's why I felt it was valuable in terms of just its transportation
1:02:27
or what whatever that is, whatever the right word is. So hope that helps Sam. Okay, GGT. We're selling into Coobe on
1:02:34
Crystal. We have two days in port during cherry blossom season. What's the best way to see Kyoto private tour versus
1:02:41
ship tour? Best things to do in port. So I would um definitely do I personally I
1:02:46
I whenever I've been into either Coobe or Osaka, which is gets you to CO, I
1:02:52
have always done a cruise line excursion because it's quite far away. So just
1:02:58
being linked is is is pretty good um from that perspective. So, I would do I
1:03:04
would do a ship tour. Um, they they have great ship tours. Um,
1:03:10
so I would just do that because you kind of you're kind of linked to that. The advantage because you got two days, you got you don't have to worry that
1:03:16
stressing about kind of about getting back. So, actually in reality in in Coobe I I actually when I was in Coobe I
1:03:24
went to Aanka. Um, so I've been to Aaka before, but actually I did on one day I did a tour into a Saka which I found
1:03:32
very interesting. Um, and they had some great tours as well. Uh, so I haven't even done anything in Coobe um,
1:03:39
particularly other than a little bit around the dock area. So my view would be take a look what your options are in
1:03:44
Osaka because you got the Saka Castle and other stuff like which which are really interesting. So I would look at
1:03:50
their tour options for Osaka. So thanks everybody for joining me. Um so so lady
1:03:58
golf is asking so region is their ultra luxury brand. It's about definitions. Lady office is asking the question. So
1:04:04
really region is considered ultra luxury. So uh they have oceania which is
1:04:09
sort of their luxury brand and then regent is their ultra luxury brand. It's kind of a definite definition
1:04:15
definitional thing just the way the industry looks at it. Anyway, thanks so much for joining. I have a video coming out um in fact it's probably out now
1:04:22
which is looking at river cruising versus ocean. So take a look at that. I'll be back um usual time on Sunday
1:04:28
next weekend. Thanks so much for joining me. I really appreciate it and have a fabulous rest of the weekend. Cheers.
1:04:44
[Music]

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