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I am frequently contacted by stressed cruise passengers at the end of their tether, seeking my help on how to get out of a costly blunder they've made. In recent weeks, several cruisers have been in touch about the same four issues that seem to keep catching people out these days. I thought I needed to warn cruisers about them. As well as telling you about them, I will suggest how to solve them if you have, or do, find yourself caught up by one.
Links mentioned in the video:
VentureAshore cruise port excursions: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/excursions
ShoreExcursionsGroup port excursions: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/shoreexcursions
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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 114 cruises I have done to date.
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00:00 Start
00:31 Bidding Mistakes
04:12 Fare Mistakes
06:32 Change of Plan Mistakes
10:50 Unexpected Cost Mistakes
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0:00
I'm frequently contacted by stressed
0:02
Cruise passengers at the end of their
0:04
tether seeking my help on how to get out
0:06
of a costly blunder that they have made
0:09
in recent weeks several Cruisers have
0:11
been in touch about the same four issues
0:14
that seem to keep be catching people out
0:17
these days so I thought I needed to warn
0:18
Cruisers like you about them so welcome
0:20
aboard I'm Gary bembridge and as well as
0:23
telling you about them I'm going to
0:24
suggest how to solve them if you have or
0:27
do find yourself caught up by one of
0:30
these I'm going to start with a mistake
0:32
that's really easily made an upset
0:34
Denise contacted me about has a deal
0:37
with the cost of her Cruise doubling
0:39
that's right doubling to a price that
0:41
she couldn't afford due to a
0:43
misunderstanding on her part she wanted
0:45
to know how she could get it back to the
0:47
original price so what happened and how
0:50
did she get into this horrible fix
0:52
Denise booked a last minute cruise on
0:54
MSC Seashore from Port Canaveral in a
0:57
yacht club Deluxe Suite it cost her
1:00
$3,200 per person that's
1:02
$6,400 in total for the cabin several
1:05
days later like I did for my last msse
1:07
Cru she received an email with the
1:09
opportunity to bid for an upgrade she
1:11
saw she could upgrade to a royal suite
1:13
for
1:14
$3,750 per person and excitedly thinking
1:17
that wasn't a big increase on her
1:19
current cabin price she placed the bid
1:22
what Denise hadn't realized that when
1:24
bidding the bid is an additional cost on
1:26
top of the existing fair and not a
1:29
replacement Fair Fair the bid was
1:31
accepted and her credit card was charged
1:33
in total
1:34
$13,900 for the crew doubling the price
1:38
of her cruise to something she struggled
1:41
to be able to afford she frantically
1:43
contacted MSE customer services who
1:45
proved really unhelpful she spoke to a
1:47
travel agent to see if they could get it
1:49
reversed however the terms and
1:51
conditions of the bid which were Linked
1:53
In the email made it clear that once she
1:55
had bid she had accepted the terms and
1:58
conditions which meant once the bid was
2:00
accepted it was locked in now as well as
2:03
making sure you always check the terms
2:05
and conditions before bidding what
2:07
should you do if you find yourself in
2:10
Denise's situation now my advice was to
2:13
be persistent and to work through the
2:15
travel agent she'd book through to put
2:17
pressure on MSC even though the travel
2:20
agent weren't actually part of that
2:21
upgrad bid process travel agents have
2:24
relationships specific contacts they
2:26
have sales representatives within the
2:28
cruise lines who of course have an
2:30
interest in keeping that relationship
2:32
strong with the travel agent because
2:33
they rely on those agents to promote and
2:36
sell the line while the people manning
2:38
Cruise Lines customer service phone
2:40
lines actually have limited scope and
2:42
ability to address problems and issues
2:44
like this now I'm delighted to say that
2:46
this persistence bines paid off and MSE
2:49
did finally relent and reverted her
2:51
booking to her original another good
2:53
reason I feel for working with a travel
2:55
agent who can Lobby on your behalf
2:57
upgrade bidding is fraught with issues
3:00
and others have asked me for help or
3:02
I've actually stepped in to assist when
3:04
I see problems arising Channel followers
3:07
pet and Julie when asking some questions
3:08
about an upcoming celebrity Edge Cruise
3:11
told me they had bid for an upgrade into
3:13
one of the two level Edge Loft Suites I
3:16
suggested they first check though with
3:18
their travel agent what upgrading
3:20
without going through the bid process
3:21
would cost them they checked and it was
3:24
less than the bid they had submitted
3:26
luckily they had time in their case to
3:28
cancel the bid and UPG by their travel
3:30
agent for Less Jamie a friend of mine
3:33
was going solo on MC cruises and told me
3:35
he was going to bid for an upgrade into
3:37
the yacht club now I warned him that
3:39
although in the bid process he was
3:40
seeing a price per person the terms and
3:43
conditions also say that all bids are
3:45
charged at duel occupancy so if he had
3:48
bid and it had been accepted he would
3:50
have paid twice the price that he
3:52
thought it was going to be he of course
3:54
didn't bid now if you ever receive these
3:57
opportunities to bid please make sure
3:59
you read the terms and conditions
4:02
because once the bit is accepted there
4:03
may be no turning back including if you
4:06
actually don't like the cabin or
4:08
location of the upgrade cabin that
4:10
you've been given the next issue is one
4:12
I probably get contacted by more people
4:14
about than any other and this is when
4:17
fair prices change and particularly when
4:19
they go down for example just this week
4:22
Sally asked if I could help she' booked
4:24
a Norwegian Cruise departing in the next
4:27
month so next month through a travel
4:29
agent
4:30
and of course that means that she'd
4:32
already paid the final balance now
4:34
following my advice she had been
4:36
tracking fairs and saw that the price of
4:38
the cruise had gone down by £800 that's
4:42
$1,000 and she wanted to know if there
4:44
was anything she could do as neither her
4:46
travel agent nor the cruise line seemed
4:49
inclined to assist her to get the low
4:51
fair and money back now I told her I
4:54
felt that she was asking them the wrong
4:56
question to get money back my advice is
4:58
that once the fin balance is paid to
5:01
focus on trying to get upgraded to a new
5:04
cabin that now matches the price that
5:06
you actually paid now this was confirmed
5:09
by another follower Nick also in the UK
5:11
who' booked on inside cabin on Fred
5:14
Olsson which is in 3 months time now
5:16
since he' booked the fairs went down
5:18
twice and both times he contacted them
5:21
and they upgraded his cabin to match the
5:23
new pricing he's actually now able to go
5:25
in an Ocean View cabin however for
5:28
cruises that are way in the future where
5:30
only a deposit has been paid it is worth
5:33
pushing for fair changes I got a message
5:35
from Mary in Australia who's been
5:37
tracking fairs as I recommended and she
5:40
said last week she saved nearly $9,000
5:42
Australian doar that's
5:44
$5,000 $3,000 on an Oceania Canada and
5:48
New England cruise and $2,000 on a
5:50
silver Sea Cape Town round trip which is
5:53
over a year a now I get many messages
5:56
from people saying they have had similar
5:57
results even today as I Was preparing
5:59
this I got a tweet on X from Phil saying
6:02
tracking had got him £528 that's about
6:05
$670 lower Fair on a Royal Caribbean
6:08
cruise by tracking and then asking for
6:10
the lower fair to avoid the costly
6:12
mistake of paying more than you must you
6:14
should track Fair changes for your
6:17
cruises like all those followers of the
6:19
channel I've spoken about have now I
6:21
have an article on my blog at T
6:22
travelers.com which explains how to do
6:25
it unfortunately as a warning not all
6:28
lines will play ball but it's definitely
6:30
worth trying the third issue that I get
6:33
many many messages about including some
6:35
again this week from a tips for
6:37
travelers Patron Julianne is around when
6:40
Cruise Lines change itineries or drop
6:42
ports either before or during the cruise
6:45
and people often ask me when that
6:47
happens what compensation can they get
6:50
particularly if they've booked a a
6:52
cruise that they included a place that
6:55
they really really wanted to go to
6:56
that's the reason they booked the cruise
6:58
now Jillian is booked on a Sun princess
7:00
Cruz and just as departure neared she'd
7:02
been advised at cotor which is a port
7:05
that she was really looking forward to
7:06
and one reason that she booked the
7:08
cruise had been swapped out and dropped
7:10
now on Investigation she discovered that
7:12
it had been changed to another Port bar
7:15
on all Sun Princess Cruises for some
7:17
time now many people in a similar
7:20
situation tell me they feel this should
7:22
be not only a more timely warning but
7:24
also a chance to get a compensation or
7:27
to cancel instead of having to go on a
7:29
cost cruise with ports that they booked
7:31
it for were actually now missing I get
7:33
messages frequently asking what options
7:36
Cruisers have if the cruise line changes
7:38
an itinery before their Cruise or
7:41
actually drop ports once on it now as I
7:44
told Julianne the terms and conditions
7:47
which every Cruiser accepts when booking
7:48
a cruise means there is little that one
7:51
can do because the terms and conditions
7:53
allow cruise lines to change itineries
7:55
and ports for pretty much any reason
7:58
without the chance to cancel or get any
8:00
compensation however many of the cruise
8:03
lines do say that if the change is
8:05
significant or really consequential then
8:08
you can so while I advise Julian the
8:11
change from cotor to bar is not really
8:13
significant for getting compensation and
8:15
cancelling is going to be unlikely but
8:18
if in your view it is a significant
8:20
change of itinerary before departure
8:23
then rather than go on a costly Cruise
8:25
you don't want to do then push for it
8:27
making the case why it is significant
8:29
how however if you want to make sure
8:31
that you are compensated for missing a
8:33
port the most reliable way of ensuring
8:35
that is the fact that some insurance
8:37
policies include missed ports insurance
8:40
so it is worth checking with your
8:41
insurer if they do have missed Port
8:45
options you then just need a letter from
8:47
the ship confirming that a port was
8:49
missed I would say though that if there
8:51
is a specific port or ports you're
8:53
booking a cruise for and if you miss
8:55
them it would be kind of
8:57
devastating understanding that getting
8:59
to a port Port is not guaranteed so
9:01
booking a cruise for a specific port or
9:03
ports alone could be a very costly
9:06
mistake because you're going to be
9:06
committed to a cruise with limited
9:09
chance to cancel get compensation if
9:11
that must C Port gets dropped before or
9:13
join the cruise if it's a must se you
9:15
might even need to consider going on a
9:17
landbased trip another way you could be
9:19
out of pocket linked to Ports being
9:20
dropped is around excursions if you book
9:23
a cruise line Excursion they will
9:24
automatically refund it if booking with
9:27
a third party or dependent provider take
9:31
care with who you book and always always
9:34
check their terms and conditions
9:36
well-known providers like Venture
9:38
shore.com sh excursions group.com and
9:40
vior have in their terms and conditions
9:43
that if the ship doesn't make it to the
9:44
port they will refund you but keep
9:47
checking those t's and C's however I've
9:50
been following the experience of a lady
9:51
called Jill on a Carnival Legend Crews
9:54
to Canada and Greenland who lost over
9:57
$420 by booking with a local provider in
9:59
Greenland who would not refund the tour
10:02
cost even though the ship's call on that
10:05
Port was cancelled due to weather it's
10:07
been reported that she found a tour
10:09
Company online which was called Santa
10:12
Cruz tours and when she tried to get a
10:14
refund she saw that the terms and
10:15
conditions on the website said that the
10:18
tours were
10:19
nonrefundable so jel apparently then
10:22
tried to get a charge back through her
10:24
credit card company because the service
10:25
wasn't delivered but they wouldn't
10:27
refund her because they said it was
10:29
clear on the website that the tours were
10:32
nonrefundable so again like the
10:35
experience at the start of this that
10:37
Denise fell into with her costly bidding
10:39
experience it is a real key reminder
10:42
always check the terms and conditions
10:44
when booking or committing any money
10:47
that you're making when it comes to
10:48
cruising to avoid a nasty Financial hit
10:51
another issue that I get contacted about
10:53
is around solving costly issues around
10:55
falling ill or getting injured on a
10:57
cruise I've again been following the
10:59
experience of Diana she was a passenger
11:02
on Norwegian Bliss in Alaska and she's a
11:04
really good example of how even a simple
11:07
issue can end up costing even more than
11:10
the whole Cruise now she was very
11:12
seasick feeling dehydrated from throwing
11:15
up she felt so bad that she made her way
11:17
to the medical center out of ours they
11:19
gave her IV treatment to restore fluids
11:22
they gave her some seasick pills and a
11:24
bill for staggering
11:28
$2,297 now while it sorted to
11:30
seasickness the bill made her feel sick
11:32
because she had to pay that whilst she
11:34
was on the ship her experience is a
11:37
solitary lesson on the costs of going to
11:39
the medical center on a cruise ship and
11:41
how you can quickly end up with a huge
11:44
cost for even a simple issue Cru lines
11:47
charge between $100 and $200 each time
11:49
you see the doctor if the nurse does
11:51
anything you get charged for her or him
11:53
even if it's just taking some readings
11:55
and everything that gets used gets
11:57
charged Additionally you know perhaps
11:58
some dress or whatever now the good news
12:01
is that Diana actually had travel
12:04
insurance and was able to successfully
12:07
claim all of that huge cost back there
12:10
are a few things that I recommend that I
12:13
would have actually recommended to her
12:15
and I recommend to you that could have
12:17
avoided that big cost First of all take
12:20
a first aid kit with you to deal with
12:22
minor issues and scrapes including
12:23
seasickness you know perhaps dehydration
12:25
from getting seasickness to be
12:27
rehydrated things like that can prevent
12:29
event uh things escalating and acquiring
12:31
the medical center I always take a first
12:33
aid kit if you do have an issue where
12:35
you need to see a doctor considering
12:37
whether it's actually going to be more
12:38
cost effective to see an emergency
12:39
doctor or local doctor in the next Port
12:42
of course di couldn't do she was seasick
12:44
but thirdly like Diana did have have
12:47
travel insurance now while it's
12:49
important to have insurance also make
12:51
sure that you get your costs or the
12:53
visit to the medical center very well
12:55
documented and leave the ship with as
12:58
much written confirmation as you can to
13:01
avoid a costly surprise later now Diana
13:04
had a really detailed bill for her time
13:06
in the medical center to submit to
13:07
insurers but someone who contacted me
13:09
for help Alice did not and is now rather
13:13
out of pocket now her mother
13:15
unfortunately H her back on a Royal
13:17
Caribbean cruise at the Coco K Private
13:20
Island stop on a water slide I believe
13:22
now while they reported the guest
13:23
services they didn't go to the medical
13:24
center to be examined and so she had no
13:27
medical records to take away nor did
13:29
they ask for any confirmation from the
13:31
ship that they had reported her injury
13:34
now over time she still wasn't getting
13:36
any better she was in pain medical costs
13:38
were ramping up so she tried to get some
13:40
of those costs covered by Royal
13:42
Caribbean because she was injured as
13:44
part of their experience they turned it
13:46
down because there was no documentation
13:48
and as the claimed injury was now also
13:50
months ago they argued even if there was
13:53
it was no longer within the window of
13:55
time they had to file a claim and they
13:57
hadn't checked again those kind of
13:59
itions now if you want to know how to
14:01
save money Beyond these and not just
14:03
avoid costly surprises like these why
14:05
don't you watch this video where talk
14:07
about things you should never buy from
14:09
your cruise line and why to save you
14:11
money see you over there
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