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Do You Make These Cruise Cabin Mistakes?
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Jan 28, 2025
Cruise Cabin mistakes and screw ups to avoid. Choosing a cruise cabin is much more important than any cruise passengers think. Not all cabin are equal, even in the same grade. Many cruisers say to me that a cruise cabin, or cruise stateroom as some cruise lines call them, is not that important as they do not intend to spend any time in them. Discover why this is a mistake that so many cruise passengers tell me they got wrong, along with other cruise cabin tips I have learnt (mostly the hard way) ABOUT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS: If you want to get cruising right, Tips For Travellers makes it easy to plan and have the incredible cruise experiences you dream of every time. All my Tips For Travellers advice, tips and tricks tips draw on everything that I have learnt on the 77 cruises I have done to date. BUY MY CRUISE-THEMED T-SHIRTs ————————————————- Check out my T-Shirt range: http://bit.ly/TFTStore SUPPORT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS ————————————————————— Become a Channel Member and get perks: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/Join Become a Patron on Patreon and get perks: https://www.patreon.com/tipsfortravellers Make a donation: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=V9STJGYSEMGLJ Buy my book “Cruise Traveler’s Handbook: USA Amazon https://amzn.to/2YVFmG4 and https://amzn.to/3tzIxBn UK Amazon https://amzn.to/3oXbzYc and https://amzn.to/3qawqIQ FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA ——————————————— TikTok: @garybembridge
View Video Transcript
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if you get it right you almost don't
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notice it but if you get it wrong
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you will keep kicking yourself and so
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will whoever you're cruising with that's
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why
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i've put this together if you're new to
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the channel welcome aboard i'm gary
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bembridge and my tips for travellers are
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here to make it easier to find plan
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and have those cruise vacations you and
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your family
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dream of with that in mind let's get
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going one of the biggest mistakes that
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people make
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is they don't want to spend time or
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money on their cabin because of the idea
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that they don't spend any time in there
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i don't spend any time in my cabin
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i just sleep in my cabin it's not that
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important from there comes
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a huge amount of misery and unhappy
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cruise experience i know
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because i learned the hard way and i
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literally get hundreds of comments
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confirming just this it's also actually
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not true
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every single day you will spend up to
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half of your day this is 24 hours a day
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you're gonna spend six to eight hours
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sleeping perhaps one or two hours
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getting ready
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in the morning evening perhaps when you
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come back from an
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excursion so you could be spending half
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of the day there
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the biggest regret i get is that people
1:05
didn't take that
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seriously enough everyone assumes of
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course that
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everything will be perfect it'll run
1:12
smoothly and be just right on a vacation
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but it may not be and it's really not
1:17
worth taking that risk because if it
1:18
goes wrong
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then you have real problems so for
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example it's all fine until you
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have a huge amount of noise which means
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you don't get the rest that you want
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anchors going up nightclubs theaters gym
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equipment banging
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the scraping of chairs on a pool deck
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above you parting people around the
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elevators
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problem neighbors or kids noise coming
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through interconnecting door
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crew coming and going through slamming
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access doors people heading off port
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if your access to that areas right next
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to where you are all night kitchen noise
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vibration from engines and so on i won't
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keep going
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on but there is a huge amount of things
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that could actually get in the way
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of you enjoying and having a great time
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so even if you're partying late you
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still want to be able
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to catch up on your sleep your mind will
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never nap or chill out before going out
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and so that's why it's really important
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to focus on your carbon and don't just
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assume that you're not going to spend
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any time there
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the second thing is you might have to
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spend time in your cabin now in the past
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this could have been say due to a
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norovirus outbreak when you are then
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required
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to stay in your cabin you could be there
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for a few days
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i was once quarantined or forced to
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quarantine in a small ocean view cabin
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had an obstructed view there was noise
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all day because it was above a walkway
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and so it was pretty pretty
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uncomfortable i was there for three days
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also of course more importantly with the
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risks of coronavirus
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and the whole quarantining process a
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whole lot of people
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actually spend up to two weeks
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guaranteed in their cabin and if they
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didn't have a great cabin
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that was a real big issue now the new
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protocols mean that you're unlikely
2:49
to be forced to stay in your cabin for
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that long but you could find yourself
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because these new protocols
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if you are found to be a close contact
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to someone from positive be forced to
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stay in your cabin
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so you do need to also think about what
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happens if i have to stay
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in my cabin so what should you actually
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do well
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the first thing i recommend that you do
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is choose your cabin
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based on a fare where you're allowed to
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choose your cabin not a guaranteed fare
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now this could cost you a little bit
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more but not always a guaranteed fare
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means a cruise line allocates the actual
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cabin to you you have no say
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but always then once you've done that
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look at the deck plans whether it's
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online
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in brochures or downloading a pdf or
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whatever but basically
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simply make sure that you're surrounded
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on all sides by cabins
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so you've got something above you below
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you either side of you and opposite you
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that's the best way of ensuring
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you're going to be away from those
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problem areas the second mistake
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is about not being clear on your
3:43
requirements
3:44
and making sure that you book really
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early if you do have requirements
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whether it's for its accessible needs
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your solo traveler family or whatever
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it's really really important
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if you are either fussy about your cabin
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like i am
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or you're going to have needs so
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accessible cabins is a really important
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one if you do need accessibility issues
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or you need a family cabin all those
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kind of things which are pretty limited
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like solo cabins
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because this is going to drive really
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what's important to you when it comes to
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cabin is an inside cabin an ocean view
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cabin a balcony cabin
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or a suite really really important write
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down your very specific requirements
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make sure your agent has them or
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certainly you have them as a checklist
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things to think about is as i've already
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mentioned is it accessible for example
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if you're traveling with someone who has
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accessibility needs
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do you need an interconnected cabinet
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what sort of amenities do you want do
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you want a bath
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or a shower what sort of size do you
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need do you want a balcony that's
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perhaps
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not overlooked so you can sunbathe is it
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close to the smoking areas do you have
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lots of
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storage space whatever it is just make
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sure you spend some time with you
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whoever you're traveling with around the
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sort of things that are really important
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to you
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in your cabin and really really think
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about it
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me i have a very simple list which my
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travel agent has
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and she knows exactly the sort of cabin
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that i want
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every single time also very importantly
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you need to plan ahead if you have
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special needs
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and you're going to have the greatest
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chance of getting the cabin you need
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when
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the new cruises come on sale so if you
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do have needs
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really really important plan ahead sign
5:13
up for the email newsletters
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let your agent know and as soon as they
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come on board and
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are on sale start booking those so you
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make sure you have the most
5:22
choice possible the next mistake that i
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see
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is not thinking about the people that
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you're traveling with
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so for example i wake up really early
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but my partner doesn't
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so people are often asked what they
5:33
should do for example if one is an
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insomniac
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or whatever so when traveling for
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example i like to choose a cabin which
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has a curtain that you can draw
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to separate the bed and the seating area
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now these are pretty common
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for cabins which have a sofa bed so they
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can sleep three or four people
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so knowing that's an important issue
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means that you can look for a cabin that
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addresses
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that specific need that i have and my
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partner has but if you're traveling with
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friends
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check what is important to them so if
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you're sharing a cabin
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one of those cabins with curtains for
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example could be a great idea
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if you're traveling with others have a
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think around do you want cabins close to
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each other do you want to be
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interconnected for example
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we travel quite often with our mothers
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and if we don't plan well they've ended
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up being on different decks
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far away they get lost and it's much
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less fun because they're not just right
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next door
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opposite to pop by so really just think
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about the sort of things that
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are important for example bathroom size
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is a really important one
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particularly if you both have real needs
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around getting ready at the same time
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which you're likely to do
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so think really carefully about those
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kind of things what is it that's
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important for you
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and the people you're traveling with so
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again a bit like i said earlier write
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down requirements write a checklist with
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everybody
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don't leave it a chance make sure every
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little quirk that people might have
6:45
some of them could surprise you another
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mistake that i see
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is people fretting and worrying about
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whether they should be on the port or
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the starboard side port being left
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starboard being right
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and i get lots of people asking me what
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should i do don't worry about it
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at all in reality it's not important so
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if you're out
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sailing it's mostly at night you're
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going to be far away from land so it's
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not
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really going to make a difference the
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ship can dock either side
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port or starboard and they will do that
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based on whatever's right
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for that particular port they're in with
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its weather the one they've been
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allocated
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to docket or whatever now it is perhaps
7:20
a little bit important
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if you are heading say on a one-way trip
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in alaska because you might want to
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get the chance to see the sunrise or the
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sunset or whatever or you're sending
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into new york
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on transatlantic you might want to be on
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the port side however
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that is not the important thing focusing
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on port and starboard is not important
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focusing
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on which deck you want to be in and
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whether you want to be
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in the front the middle or the back of
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the ship and that's really really much
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more important so if you're worried
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about seasickness for example
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being on a low deck right in the middle
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really important
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if you want to be perhaps near the
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dining venues you might want to be there
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mostly at the back you might want to be
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more at the back
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or if you want to be near the fitness
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center which is more in the front
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so think about those kind of things that
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you want to do don't worry about port
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and starboard it really is going to make
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no difference at all even on cruises
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where site seems really important so for
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example alaska when you do senior
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cruising
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the capital will actually move the ship
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around so both sides get to see the
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glaciers and in fact on those sort of
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sites seeing scenic cruises it's better
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to be up on deck
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anyway so again you might want to choose
8:22
for example to have a cabin right at the
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back which is a balcony at the back so
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you're actually looking at the back and
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getting scenery that way
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so deck and where your on the ship is
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much important than port and starboard
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another really common mistake and this
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might surprise you that i see is taking
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an
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auto upgrade assuming you will get a
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better cabin now i never
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ever put down to take the auto upgrade
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which means that you get moved to a
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higher grade and the cruise line chooses
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where you go
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i focus on choosing the right cabin in
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the grade that i'm in
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make sure that it's really dresses all
8:54
of those issues i've spoken about and
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it's going to be a great cabin
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the danger with taking an auto upgrade
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is you
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normally get no say in the cabin that
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they move you to
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so you tick the box the cruise line
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moves you to a cabin and you don't have
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any say now there's one or two
9:10
exceptions to that but basically you
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might find yourself in a cabin that you
9:12
really don't like
9:13
i've had so many people contact me
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saying they thought the upgrade
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was a great idea they ticked auto
9:18
upgrade and they found themselves in a
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cabin
9:20
which they didn't actually really like
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because bear in mind you'd likely to be
9:23
upgraded to the worst
9:25
of the next grade up because they're
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going to move all those people who've
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paid
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up to the better ones and basically the
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worst ones if you like are left
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at the end of that so what should you do
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focus on choosing the right cabin in the
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grade that you are
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at first the other thing you could do
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though is ask your agent
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if upgrades are available close to the
9:43
setting because you'll often find you
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might be able to pay for an upgrade
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and choose a cabin and you don't have to
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pay that much
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but avoid the auto upgrade
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the biggest mistake of all is people
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forgetting that it's all about location
9:56
location location
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so deciding where on a ship you want to
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be that meets the sort of way that you
10:01
want to cruise
10:02
is the most important thing of all it's
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all about
10:06
as it is with where you live about
10:07
location as i mentioned earlier do you
10:09
want to be close to facilities
10:10
dining rooms night lives whatever and
10:12
this is becoming more important
10:14
particularly on the big mega ships
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otherwise you could find yourself
10:17
walking around huge amounts so actually
10:19
what should you do
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what you should do is take a look at the
10:22
deck plans again pdfs
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online talk to your agent and basically
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run through what you
10:27
and your partner or family think you'll
10:29
be doing on a cruise and decide where on
10:31
the ship that you want to be
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front middle back and which deck which
10:36
is going to give you the best cabin to
10:38
give you the best cruise experience with
10:39
what you want to do
10:41
i have tips for different cabin types
10:43
which you really need to know about
10:44
to also help you decide now i've put
10:46
them in this playlist right here there's
10:48
two videos in here to take a look at
10:49
so click right now to watch to find out
10:52
what you should be doing
10:54
when it comes to choosing a grade
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