Overrated Tips Every Sensible Cruiser Should Stop Using - RIGHT NOW!

Comments · 332

• JA

  @janh1154 · 1 year ago

  We were in Kobe ( Japan 🇯🇵) and I organized a trip for 4 persons to Kyoto : took taxi to train station , one hour train to Kyoto and then 4 x taxi between the attractions (Golden pavilion, bamboo forest , 1000 gates shrine and Geisha district). Train back to Kobe and walk to the ship ( Seabourn Quest ) after amazing Kobe beef dinner. The trip was 200 $ in total ,instead of ships price of 1.300 $ ( 4 persons). We really enjoyed the expensive and luxury dinner ( 800 $ ) knowing how much money we saved by just using our brains …. and Google Maps obviously.

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• RI

  @richardgotshall2703 · 1 year ago

  If an onboard package includes gratuities, a package often will save you money. By like Gary says: Do the math before you sail. Don’t buy after you get on the ship.

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• MU

  @muemelification · 1 year ago

  I really don’t care if a drinks package will actually save me money. I don’t want to think about buying another drink while on board. If I feel like it, I want to order it.

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• PE

  @peterwaugh9416 · 1 year ago (edited)

  Tours have always been a hot topic. I've tried both. A private tour is no guarantee of getting a better experience. I've had good & I've had not so good. One tour took me straight  to their friend's souvenir shop for an hour. I didn't go in, I caught a taxi back to the city centre & just walked about. The one thing I can say about ship tours is that if you not satisfied you go to the tour desk onboard & can ask for a refund. Only happened once & all the passenger from that bus were lined up behind me. We got refunds. Over priced yes but just about everything on a cruise is.

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• FR

  @FraserAtSea · 1 year ago

  I totally agree with this video, especially the loyalty programme point. While I don’t agree with being loyal to one cruise line, I DO think everyone should join every loyalty programme, and work their way up ‘across the board’ slowly. This approach often surprises me when I take a cruise and realise I’ve climbed the ladder without even realising!

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• TI

  @tinawozniak374 · 1 year ago

  I'm a big proponent of using local tours.  We did a 24 day  Iceland, Greenland last year and not a single excursion was purchased through the cruise line. We had a ball.

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• JA

  @janh1154 · 1 year ago (edited)

  Well done Gary ! I do agree in every single point. &nbsp;<br>For me there is general rule : everything they try to sell onboard is a scam . <br>Everything- also spa , jewelry, clothing etc<br>Thanks Gary !

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• PW

  @pware9643 · 1 year ago

  Cruised more than 35 times.. never book excursions with the cruise line, saved thousands. &nbsp;Never book the drink package unless it’s crazy deal, which nowadays is never. &nbsp; Always go for the best price and best itinerary, not the best on your loyalty cruise line..

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• AI

  @aimeerogers4542 · 1 year ago

  I don&apos;t think it&apos;s important to do Cruise line excursions unless you&apos;re visiting a port where there is no tourist infrastructure such as places in West Africa. There was that horror story a couple of years ago where a group of people on a Norwegian cruise ship going to different ports in Africa, arranged a tour with a third party vendor who promised to get them back to the ship in time to catch the last tender. He didn&apos;t and they spent a lot of time and money to finally catch up to the ship. I just think people need to do their research.

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• JA

  @jasonwelle · 1 year ago

  I think the &quot;tip&quot; about not using cruise excursions really depends on the destination. Recall the group who used a private tour in São Tomé and didn&apos;t make it back to the ship in time.

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• SY

  @sylviagovers8061 · 1 year ago

  We started cruising back in 2012 on P&amp;O (we are in Australia) and we made sure that we went on whatever cruise appealed to us, regardless of the company name. So after 12 years and over 80 cruises we are Elite on Princess, Diamond Plus on Royal Caribbean, Elite Plus on Celebrity and Platinum on Carnival. This gives us lots of perks for each cruise we do, so we can definitely benefit from spreading ourselves over the 4 main cruise lines that come down here. The funny thing about our perks is that I don&apos;t drink any form of alcohol, so I get lots of free Diet Cokes on each cruise, yay.

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• US

  @user-kh8oi5xr1d · 1 year ago (edited)

  We book based on itinerary and ship size, but also to ensure we make the most of our airline travel costs. We have sailed NCL, Princess and RC. Celebrity is our current favourite and we just started sailing with them in June 2024 and joined their Captains Club and Blue Chip Casino Club, we are now Elite which gives us Diamond privileges on RC also. For us the only real benefit is the free laundry and free internet through BC. &nbsp;In 2026 we will try HAL as some of their itineraries appeal to us. When planning we &nbsp;use of many of the sites you recommended regarding: excursions, port visits, cabins, itineraries and other very useful information you share, so thank you. We will travel 150 plus days this year, including about 100 days on cruises. We have adopted many of your suggestions that have increased our travel pleasure!

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