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6 Cruise Extras Worth Paying For, And Those DEFINITELY Not !
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Jan 28, 2025
What cruise extras and add-ons should you pay for, and which should you avoid? I look at the many cruising extras on offer that are not included in your fare, and which are worth paying and splashing out on, and which you should not - and why 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
0:00
i've seen so many cruise passengers
0:01
unnecessarily blow a fortune on all the
0:04
add-ons offered by the cruise lines
0:06
so i'm going to suggest which you should
0:07
go for and which to skip
0:09
some as you will see are perhaps
0:11
opposite to what many cruisers including
0:13
maybe you
0:14
are doing in my experience your cabin
0:17
while maybe it won't
0:18
make your cruise it could absolutely
0:20
break the enjoyment of your cruise
0:22
get it wrong and it's really hard to
0:24
have a great time
0:26
so many people find out the hard way and
0:28
they keep telling me a better cabin
0:30
is absolutely worth paying extra for
0:33
especially these days
0:35
cabins have become in my view much more
0:38
important in post
0:39
pandemic cruising because we do all need
0:41
to have a place that actually we
0:43
wouldn't mind
0:44
being in for a period of time if we have
0:46
to quarantine
0:47
and i think we're also going to find
0:49
cabins may be a place where we want to
0:51
spend more time
0:52
as you adapt to the new way of traveling
0:54
so i recommend
0:55
at least look at a balcony cabin you'll
0:58
have access to fresh air
1:00
you can enjoy the sailing sunrises
1:03
sunsets
1:03
the great view set out there a big
1:06
warning once you've cruised in a balcony
1:07
cabin
1:08
it's really good and it's going to be
1:09
hard to go back to an ocean view or an
1:12
inside cabin but i really do believe
1:14
that a good cabin
1:16
is worth paying extra for and i always
1:18
do
1:19
although a lot of cruise passengers i
1:21
speak to only self-explore imports to
1:23
save money
1:24
i really do think that excursions are
1:26
worth paying for on many many cruises
1:28
to absolutely get the most out of every
1:31
single port
1:32
so first off if you're cruising perhaps
1:34
to a place you've never been before
1:36
or perhaps it's a really foreign place
1:38
you know unfamiliar languages
1:40
unusual customs or perhaps it's got a
1:42
reputation for being a little bit risky
1:44
or the sites are actually a very long
1:46
way from the port they can often be an
1:48
hour or
1:48
two hours away from the port then
1:50
spending extra to go on an
1:52
organized cruise line tour is absolutely
1:55
worth
1:56
splashing out on you'll get great
1:57
information you have all your questions
1:59
answered
2:00
and you will get to see the key sites
2:01
they make sure you do that now remember
2:04
if you go on a cruise line tour they
2:06
will
2:07
absolutely make sure you get back to the
2:08
ship on time or the ship will wait if
2:11
you are delayed
2:12
they will never wait for late comers who
2:14
are self touring
2:15
or on independent excursions so that's
2:17
also a big plus
2:18
in ports that are new to me i almost
2:21
always go on cruise line excursion even
2:23
if it's
2:23
one of those on your own tours they're
2:26
partly escorted
2:27
they take you to a place give you a bit
2:28
of information and give you some free
2:30
time
2:30
especially dining is one area that i
2:33
have traditionally been more torn on i
2:35
was in the not worth it camp
2:37
but i've definitely moved into the it is
2:39
worth spending on
2:41
but in certain and very specific cases
2:44
now cruise lines have made it a part of
2:46
the cruise experience
2:47
and they're constantly adding to the
2:49
range and the choice of
2:52
you know especially dining venues all of
2:55
which are pretty appealing
2:56
now of course the dining that's included
2:58
in the main dining room
3:00
the buffet restaurant perhaps informal
3:02
dining venues around the pool they will
3:04
be enough they will be great
3:06
but going to one of the speciality
3:07
dining venues can actually add a sense
3:10
of event
3:11
and add a bit of occasion to the cruise
3:13
so asian
3:14
brazilian italian french sushi
3:18
and on and on and on those venues they
3:20
give you a chance of having a table to
3:21
yourselves
3:22
instead of you know having to share it
3:23
with strangers as you may have do in the
3:25
main dining room or sometimes when you
3:26
go to the buffet restaurant it gives you
3:28
the opportunity to dine in a more
3:29
intimate setting
3:30
together just with your partner tasting
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some new cuisine that you may not have
3:34
tried before
3:35
so if you are on a cruise celebrating a
3:37
special event like a birthday
3:39
or perhaps a wedding anniversary or you
3:41
just wanted to be a little bit romantic
3:43
they are definitely
3:44
worth the extra money i'm not convinced
3:47
though
3:47
that going to them often is worth the
3:50
fairly large extra costs so resist
3:52
the temptation to book packages if you
3:55
do want to go
3:56
and try lots of them though one of the
3:58
big tips i've got is to go
4:00
to dining at these specialty venues
4:02
during lunch time
4:03
because the surcharge is usually much
4:06
much lower so you can
4:07
try them all at a lower cost if you're
4:10
on medium
4:11
and large ships one of the best things
4:14
that you can spend
4:15
extra on is access to the private
4:18
adult-only cabana areas
4:19
these are on many many lines you know
4:21
princess cruises holland america
4:22
seabourn
4:23
and so on you can escape from the busy
4:26
pool decks and have a space to relax
4:28
and unwind many will include some drinks
4:30
some food some snacks
4:32
and they will sell daily or cruise long
4:34
packages
4:35
these are in my view a really great
4:38
treat that makes sea days especially
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enjoyable
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and that's when they really become worth
4:42
paying for on those sea days
4:45
linked to that is the private cabanas on
4:47
the cruise line
4:48
islands in the caribbean these can be a
4:50
little bit costly if you're traveling
4:52
just as a couple you know just two of
4:53
you
4:54
but if you're traveling with friends or
4:55
you've made friends on the cruise then
4:57
they definitely become
4:58
more attractive cost wise and definitely
5:00
then worth it
5:01
the great thing is you've then got a
5:03
place of your own on the private island
5:04
where you can lie in the sun or you can
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escape from it because there'll be shade
5:08
they'll often include snacks drinks
5:10
wi-fi snorkel gear
5:12
all that kind of stuff so you won't have
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to fight for a deck chair
5:15
you don't have to worry about someone
5:16
removing all your belongings you know if
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you go of wandering
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or exploring on the private island or
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perhaps go and get something to eat you
5:23
will need to reserve
5:24
these cabanas really early because they
5:26
book up
5:27
very quickly so this definitely proves
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the point that they are worth
5:30
splashing out on because they are so
5:32
popular although many of us say that we
5:34
like to switch off on a cruise most of
5:36
us
5:36
in reality are used to being connected
5:39
to our friends or family and in fact
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they expect us to be even when we're
5:43
away it's the new norm
5:44
so if your cruise line does not bundle
5:47
wi-fi into your fare which
5:48
the good news is more and more of them
5:50
are starting to do then i recommend you
5:52
budget wi-fi
5:53
as you are almost certainly going to
5:56
want to use it at some point
5:57
so buy it for the entire cruise before
6:00
you go
6:01
before you board or the minute you board
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because that's when you're going to get
6:05
the best price
6:06
now if you only want really basic
6:08
connections so you just want to do some
6:09
social media
6:10
perhaps some instant messaging many
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lines have
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much lower price packages now so for
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example carnival
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offer a social media messaging package
6:19
for about eight
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us dollars a day after years and years
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and years of
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really lousy internet the lions are
6:26
moving to really super fast wi-fi so
6:28
you've got things like royal caribbean
6:30
and princess where you can stream movies
6:32
you can use netflix you can facetime you
6:34
can watch that video call home and it's
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brilliant
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being connected is in reality what we're
6:38
used to and i think it is
6:40
worth spending that little bit extra to
6:42
have it because it's kind of what we do
6:45
personally i think skipping beverage
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packages is a really good idea
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because in most cases it's going to cost
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you more than buying drinks individually
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one big warning sign for me is just how
6:56
pushy
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the cruise lines are in trying to get
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passengers to buy
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drinks packages this suggests to me that
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it must be a good earner for the line
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and perhaps less good for the passenger
7:06
first of all you have to consume an
7:08
enormous amount
7:09
to make them worthwhile and cheaper than
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buying drinks individually
7:13
secondly most lines require everyone
7:17
in the same cabin or even in some cases
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cabins with the same credit card
7:20
registered
7:21
to also buy the same package so
7:25
it becomes really really expensive
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because everyone has to buy the package
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so at a minimum do a rough calculation
7:31
of how many drinks you will have
7:33
and if it really will be cheaper take
7:36
into account if you have a very
7:37
very poor intensive itinerary because
7:39
you'll actually be on the ship
7:41
much less time to use the package and if
7:43
you have
7:44
private island calls so for example in
7:47
the caribbean
7:48
check that you can actually use your
7:49
package on those islands because that's
7:51
not always the case
7:53
now the only time i've ever had a drinks
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package
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is if it's bundled into the fair either
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as standard so like celebrity
8:00
currently or it's part of a fair
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promotion
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and i've looked at it i've worked it out
8:05
and they definitely prove to me
8:07
that they do not pay back so really
8:10
really be cautious the sparrow ships are
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busy
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and in my view they're not worth
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spending your money on
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the prices in cruise line spas
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are much higher than most five-star
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hotels on land
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and you'll have a really hard sell push
8:26
at the end of your treatment
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to get you to buy products now the
8:29
consultants they own commission on that
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and they've become really really skilled
8:33
at getting passengers to buy those so it
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becomes
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a pretty expensive activity to do
8:39
now the only time i personally use the
8:40
spa is if i've got a lot of on-board
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credit
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and haven't found better value things to
8:45
spend it on
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like the spa attending events like wine
8:49
whiskey and other tastings
8:50
is also probably not worth splashing out
8:53
on
8:54
these again will largely be geysers for
8:57
product selling and again they're
8:59
masters at making you buy
9:01
this brings me to shopping on board if
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you are going to buy things on board
9:05
be that anything from toiletries alcohol
9:08
clothing
9:09
jewelry really important check what you
9:11
can pick it up for
9:13
in the ports you're calling on or back
9:15
home so that wi-fi you bought
9:16
will come in handy for doing that
9:18
duty-free alcohol and perfume is
9:20
probably going to be your best bet for
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getting a decent price but generally
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on board shopping in my view in my
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experience
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it's not good value and something that
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you shouldn't be splashing out on
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the other thing that lions push a lot
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are the photos which again suggests to
9:35
me
9:35
that they are probably a good owner and
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may not be as good value
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for us as cruise passengers photos on
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board will cost
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a lot of money whether you buy them
9:44
individually or in packages now i'm not
9:47
convinced they're worth
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paying for will you really treasure them
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or they basically stay packed away
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once you get home so really think about
9:54
whether you really really will treasure
9:56
these photos
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one thing to consider though is if you
9:59
do want some professional portrait shots
10:02
for display at home price what they
10:04
would cost you at home
10:05
versus booking a session on the ship in
10:08
my experience
10:09
this is one thing that usually costs
10:10
less in my experience
10:12
doing them on the ship than on land so
10:14
in that case it's worth it if you want
10:15
more cost saving and budgeting ideas for
10:17
cruising
10:18
i've created this playlist with two
10:19
videos that you will find helpful
10:22
so click to watch them right now
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