Usually i just watch these videos for fun and to see the expensive ships, but these tips in this video are honestly really good for all cruisers, budget cruisers as well. Excursions are a huge expense and it really helps to know about these alternate oks we to book them and to see what’s in port ahead of time.
Hello, Gary love your videos. One secret I learned from Celebrity is if you do not have a drinks package on day one of the cruise they will sell you a single-person drinks package on the boat. After that double order and save half of that cost. We cruised to the Med on 05/02 and paid full price for the drinks package. When we cruised to Alaska on 09/02/22 my bill was 1/2 because we did not pre-order the drink package when we booked the cruise. You just have to go to the bar twice. I saved a ton.
You have convinced me to use a Travel agent. I have found a team that is terrific. They have access to trips and airfares that i do not. i just booked a cruise to Egypt/Jordan. I was able to get in on the first day of offering and i was only charged a 25% single supplement. they will be my go to from now on
Thank you ! I just finished not very pleasant conversation with Holland America. I booked cruise 3 days ago for Alaska and noticed today ( because of your advice! Thank you again) reduction of price ( 400$ reduction for my stateroom). They absolutely refused to give me on board credits or upgrade , or at least something . I called them back , spoke to another representative, ( it is my first cruise with Holland America) , I was more persistent this time . Well, after 40 ! Minutes finally received on board credits ! God! Why are they so difficult? Thank you Gary !
Another fairly sure fire way to save money is stock ownership. I bought 100 shares of Carnival during the pandemic for $8/share. With at least 100 shares, you get $100 on board credit for a 7-13 day cruise, $250 for 14 or more on any of the lines they own. I'm getting ready for my second Princess cruise since the purchase and the stock is currently about $150 higher than when I bought it. RCL and NCL do the same thing though RCL is over $60/share so that is quite an investment for a $100 credit.
@@susankara7520 I guess I missed that fine print. I just put in for my second Princess credit for an AK cruise though I really don't think it was discounted, LOL. If the stock gets anywhere near it's pre-pandemic share price, it's sold!
I call B.S. on your comment. I play the market and Carnival shares are nowhere near $150.00 as you say. As I write this on May 14th. 2023, they are at $9.83. Even over the last five years, the highest that they have been is $66.19 on January 29, 2018.
@@tazman572 I don't think you understood the original comment. They didn't mean the price per share, but the total value of the shares purchased. They bought 100 shares at $8 per share. $800 total. So if it's $150 more now, then the total value is $950. Pretty certain that's what they meant.
Tracking your bookings for price drops is the best! I've saved thousands over the years. The biggest haul was when our 15-day cruise to Hawaii dropped 3 times between when I booked it and when we sailed six months later.
As long as you do it before final payment date. I was a travel agent for 30 years. If a price is lower with a certain promotion, then they have to rebook into that new promotion, so you may lose other perks in your past promotion and also you may lose your preferred cabin. Thx
I seldom comment on RUclips posts…but I just watched this one and it inspired me to check out an upcoming cruise we booked a while back. Saved me $1500!!! You’re the best😁
Well I thought that I had a pretty good handle on the cruising game but I learned so much and gained access to valuable resources through this excellent video. Thank you Gary!
So much helpful info in this video, Gary! Recently back from Antarctica and it was lovely to see Argentina snippets in your entry...Ushuaia was SUCH a beautiful port town that we already miss. We cannot wait to go back to South America and your online research resources will be incredibly useful. Continued good health and safe travels to you!
Thanks again. You always have great content. I agree 100% with you about cruise critic. I found out that a hotel we booked in Florida for one night pre cruise had permanently closed and they didn't notify anyone with future reservations. If I hadn't read that and then double checked we would have arrived and had no hotel
Some very useful tips - I was aware of a couple of the websites (what’s in port/cruise critic) but will be adding the others to my cruise favourites folder! Thank you 👍😎
I love listening to you. Always get drawn in to watching way too many of your videos.I've never cruised but we'll be on Emerald Sakara this spring/summer. Hope you'll review them sometime too but so far you've already provided a wealth of tips.
Great video. Been on 17 cruises, but didn't know half of what you just posted. thank you. Looks like you are in a Neptune.....clock on the wall...Enjoy. That was one of our BEST cruises ever....penguins can't be beat. thanks again
Great video Gary! So much helpful information! I've added all of those websites to "My Favorites" and can't wait to start investigating all the ports I'll be visiting!
Holy Cow... I learned so much on this one post. We are using a travel agent but are much more hands on people. Just finding where we will dock at each port was crazy helpful. We are going to travel to UK this summer on Oceania and this is our first cruise since our disastrous honeymoon Carnival Cruise 30+ years ago.
Thank you for such an honest review, it’s very much appreciated and I’m glad you have done this, because if bloggers like you do not highlight these disgraceful penny pinching ideas, then the cruise lines will keep on stripping lumps of off traditional cruising
These are great weapons to know. I’m especially interested in researching excursions. We booked a Norwegian fjord cruise on Celebrity after looking at your favorite cruises video🙌🏻. I’m worried about the price of the excursions so this is great information. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing all this great info...going to try some of these things for my second cruise. The first cruise I went on I earned from my company, so this is the first cruise we are booking ourselves!! Thank you!
Thank you Gary, I am one of your subscribers. Having enjoyed many of your videos, I have to say this one truly offers great tips. Wishing you joy in life.
Excellent video!! You suggest sites that I've never heard of. This will be very helpful for my first EU cruise that we're taking next year. Thank you!!
Wow, as someone who has only been on one cruise a decade ago this was so helpful! I only knew of cruise critic but even then I didn't really know about the Meet and Mingle either.
You choice of how you pay for the cruise and travel can be a winner. Use a debit/credit card that offers refund of international card fees. Most cruiselines are us based and so a recent $6000aud booking was a refund of $180 included in the fare. Visa MC are 3%
On our Norway Cruise, we will definitely look at the what’s in port website as, when you did your Disney Cruise there, some ports are within walking distance to the most interesting activities.
Planning my excursions for our Greek Isle adventure - have noted down the shore excursion websites, as I'm currently trawling through TripAdvisor 'best things to do', making a note of the company used, and heading over to their website. Fun, but time-consuming! Thank you for that!
We tried getting money back from P&o as we’d booked 18 months before but now offering £400 on board spending they dismissed us even though we’ve sailed with them for years so not bothering booking early with them again 😊
I’ve never come across a cruise that will add promotions to a fare without requiring a repricing and sometimes requiring you to cancel and rebook. If the fare itself goes down, that’s a different story. Have you had luck with any lines just adding current freebies to an already booked cruise?
Agree with whatsinport. We were in ancona italy and took a local taxi driver for a tour with stops that were relaxed as he could just pull up and park then enjoyed some local suggested food and markets. Cheap and relaxing and so good. Just check the driver speaks english.
Hi Gary. Another great video. Last year I booked an upcoming Cunard Fjords cruise. I paid the ‘early saver’ rate of £1,299. Two months ago, Cunard dropped the fare to £799. I did contact them to ask for the reduced fare or alternatively an upgrade/onboard credit. They refused. So much for an ‘Early Saver’ rate! In future, I will be waiting longer to book in the hopes the prices will drop.
I'm so glad I viewed your channel/ videos, so much information I wouldn't have thought of, now in overload , but in a good way , cramming in as much information as possible, for warned for armed.
I do not recall if I have seen these tips on your videos or others, but you might remind folks that if they cruise one line regularly, if they buy stock in that company (usually about 100 shares) they can get on board credit for their cruises. Also, Facebook has a lot of cruise groups where you can post questions like on cruise critic.
Just saved me nearly $500 on our June cruise. Thanks Gary! Now if you just had a tip for getting us the $7000 in Covid expenses that Holland promised to reimburse us for nearly a year ago. Can’t even get them to answer the phone….
This was an awesome video and I am going to suggest to other content creators that their viewers check it out. I also want to mention that Holland America “upgraded” us to a window cabin on deck 1 for our 18 day trip to Hawaii and I had a hard time sleeping at night. I visited guest services at 1:30 and very nicely told them that the cabin was so noisy I was not able to sleep and our account was credited with a good amount of money the next day and I did not even ask for anything.
Yes, an upgrade is not always really that. One needs to have other cabins each side of you and above and below you, for the cabin, to be quieter. Take care.
My husband and I do one to two cruises a year. My husband has health issues which require we book late, within a month or two. We may get a lower fare but the perks cruise lines offer for early bookings are often not available. Our options are limited because the itinerary we’d like is often full. We’re picky about ships too, we don’t want big ships with lots of people and “stuff”. We prefer balcony rooms but they sell out first. I’d love to see you do a video with helpful hints for people who must book late.
Thank you for these comments. You are both right. Insurance is available. The problem is we have attempted to use it twice when we had had to cancel to disappointing outcome. We were told insurance didn't cover flare-up of pre-existing conditions. And yes, last minute airfare is higher. We mostly try to drive to the cruise center, or we pay extra for flights that can be canceled. Usually still less than last minute rates.
@@paulachristie7807 as a former TA of 30 years, I know that many folk never read the policy. I used to speared the time going over the major points of a policy, and that is a major points. Yes if you have a pre existing condition that is not stable, it will never be covered. Read policies as to what “stable “ means in your policy, as it can vary. One should study the small print before buying that insurance. Good luck next time.
Thanks for your tips Gary. I look forward to doing a cruise and putting all of these tips to use. Hopefully this time I won’t get Covid LOL first time I go on a cruise is also the first time I get Covid back in May 2022.
we r cruising in Oct on Celebrity- Honolulu to Australia and all the excursions except for one were through the roof in price- as a result, we r looking for and finding tours via Trip Advisor and will be booking that way..........................
Great advice. Love all your videos.I have done many Viking. Always use Viking to book. Would love to see video of travel agents vs going straight to ship to book cruise
I am Retired TA, of 30 years. So I certainly do not need a travel agent now. But I use a friend that I used to work with who works for Cruiseship Expedia and I use her because they have so much blocked cruise cabins that they get shipboard credits for their clients if one wants a sailing that they have blocked. As Expedia Cruiseship Centers have 500 offices in N. America, so they block a lot of space between them all. this is why I use a travel agent.
If you are a frequent cruiser consider buying $1000 in Carnival Corporation stock per person in your cabin. You get $100 shipboard credit per person as a result. It only takes 10 cruises on Carnival Corporation ships to get that money back but you do have to call to arrange it, they do not do it automatically. Also, if you take money out at the cashier cage in the casino it is counted as money used for gambling and you will often be comped a free cruise or receive a cabin upgrade on a future cruise.
Cruise Critic is awesome through roll call we got a better deal through the group and got to know them at the meet and mingle also my hubby loves to golf so through those 2 groups he can make arrangements with fellow passengers for a golf dat with clubs
Idk if you edit everything yourself but I always love it the production value is extremely high
Sorry, cannot understand your point.
Gary, this may be the most comprehensive collection of cruise research sites by any crusie vlogger ive seen in years.
👍🏻👍🏻
Usually i just watch these videos for fun and to see the expensive ships, but these tips in this video are honestly really good for all cruisers, budget cruisers as well. Excursions are a huge expense and it really helps to know about these alternate oks we to book them and to see what’s in port ahead of time.
Your cruise fare tracking tip saved us almost $2000. Plus we got more per passenger credit. Thank you!
awesome!!!!
@@tipsfortravellers gygyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
@@pulpdoc02 what ???
Hello, Gary love your videos. One secret I learned from Celebrity is if you do not have a drinks package on day one of the cruise they will sell you a single-person drinks package on the boat. After that double order and save half of that cost. We cruised to the Med on 05/02 and paid full price for the drinks package. When we cruised to Alaska on 09/02/22 my bill was 1/2 because we did not pre-order the drink package when we booked the cruise. You just have to go to the bar twice. I saved a ton.
You have convinced me to use a Travel agent. I have found a team that is terrific. They have access to trips and airfares that i do not. i just booked a cruise to Egypt/Jordan. I was able to get in on the first day of offering and i was only charged a 25% single supplement. they will be my go to from now on
Thank you ! I just finished not very pleasant conversation with Holland America. I booked cruise 3 days ago for Alaska and noticed today ( because of your advice! Thank you again) reduction of price ( 400$ reduction for my stateroom).
They absolutely refused to give me on board credits or upgrade , or at least something .
I called them back , spoke to another representative, ( it is my first cruise with Holland America) , I was more persistent this time . Well, after 40 ! Minutes finally received on board credits ! God! Why are they so difficult?
Thank you Gary !
“Whats in port” site is excellent resource thanks Gary 💙 🚢
Absolutely!!
Another fairly sure fire way to save money is stock ownership. I bought 100 shares of Carnival during the pandemic for $8/share. With at least 100 shares, you get $100 on board credit for a 7-13 day cruise, $250 for 14 or more on any of the lines they own. I'm getting ready for my second Princess cruise since the purchase and the stock is currently about $150 higher than when I bought it. RCL and NCL do the same thing though RCL is over $60/share so that is quite an investment for a $100 credit.
We have been denied stock credit by HAL because of discounted cruise prices. 😢
@@susankara7520 I guess I missed that fine print. I just put in for my second Princess credit for an AK cruise though I really don't think it was discounted, LOL. If the stock gets anywhere near it's pre-pandemic share price, it's sold!
👍 best wishes on good weather! We had fire smoke last July and fog for all of glacier bay!! 🙃
I call B.S. on your comment. I play the market and Carnival shares are nowhere near $150.00 as you say. As I write this on May 14th. 2023, they are at $9.83. Even over the last five years, the highest that they have been is $66.19 on January 29, 2018.
@@tazman572 I don't think you understood the original comment. They didn't mean the price per share, but the total value of the shares purchased.
They bought 100 shares at $8 per share. $800 total. So if it's $150 more now, then the total value is $950.
Pretty certain that's what they meant.
Tracking your bookings for price drops is the best! I've saved thousands over the years. The biggest haul was when our 15-day cruise to Hawaii dropped 3 times between when I booked it and when we sailed six months later.
As long as you do it before final payment date. I was a travel agent for 30 years. If a price is lower with a certain promotion, then they have to rebook into that new promotion, so you may lose other perks in your past promotion and also you may lose your preferred cabin. Thx
I seldom comment on RUclips posts…but I just watched this one and it inspired me to check out an upcoming cruise we booked a while back. Saved me $1500!!!
You’re the best😁
Great to hear!!!!! Hope you have fun spending the savings!
What an EXCELLENT video! So much useful info even for experienced travelers. These websites for shore excursion info will be priceless!!
Thanks 👍🏻 good to hear you found it helpful
Gary, I can’t thank you enough for your great and thorough advise…a sure credit to the Cruise Travel Industry
Have used Whats in Port for many cruises. Absolutely love it.
Well I thought that I had a pretty good handle on the cruising game but I learned so much and gained access to valuable resources through this excellent video. Thank you Gary!
So much helpful info in this video, Gary! Recently back from Antarctica and it was lovely to see Argentina snippets in your entry...Ushuaia was SUCH a beautiful port town that we already miss. We cannot wait to go back to South America and your online research resources will be incredibly useful. Continued good health and safe travels to you!
Thanks again. You always have great content. I agree 100% with you about cruise critic. I found out that a hotel we booked in Florida for one night pre cruise had permanently closed and they didn't notify anyone with future reservations. If I hadn't read that and then double checked we would have arrived and had no hotel
Thanks so much for all this information Gary. I am heading out on my first solo cruise next month and all your tips have and will come in handy.
This is the best TFT video you have done. Very helpful.
Thanks for watching, great to hear you found it interesting
For anyone wanting to self-explore in port, the websites you have listed here are invaluable. Thank you so much for sharing these tips:-)
agree!!!
Love, love, love these tips. This is the greatest! I'm learning a lot about cruising from you.
Some very useful tips - I was aware of a couple of the websites (what’s in port/cruise critic) but will be adding the others to my cruise favourites folder! Thank you 👍😎
OMG, this video is the BEST. Thank you so much. I've always found your videos informative. But this one is RIGHT ON TIME . Thanks!!👏👏
Thanks for watching, great to hear you found it interesting
I worked on ships in the past, love to watch u r vids! Soon we ll be moving over from (ex) crew members to passengers. Love your tips for travellers!
Wow, what great tips you have shared! Thank you for being so thoughtfully thorough with your information.
As always Gary you have reviewed smoothly and fully many topics & pleasure to listen to. I thank you for some hints I finally wrote down. 😊
Great to hear!
I love listening to you. Always get drawn in to watching way too many of your videos.I've never cruised but we'll be on Emerald Sakara this spring/summer. Hope you'll review them sometime too but so far you've already provided a wealth of tips.
Great video. Been on 17 cruises, but didn't know half of what you just posted. thank you. Looks like you are in a Neptune.....clock on the wall...Enjoy. That was one of our BEST cruises ever....penguins can't be beat. thanks again
OUTSTANADING WEAPONS! This was the BEST advice I've heard, and I've been on 60 plus cruises!
Great video Gary! So much helpful information! I've added all of those websites to "My Favorites" and can't wait to start investigating all the ports I'll be visiting!
Holy Cow... I learned so much on this one post. We are using a travel agent but are much more hands on people. Just finding where we will dock at each port was crazy helpful. We are going to travel to UK this summer on Oceania and this is our first cruise since our disastrous honeymoon Carnival Cruise 30+ years ago.
Thank you for such an honest review, it’s very much appreciated and I’m glad you have done this, because if bloggers like you do not highlight these disgraceful penny pinching ideas, then the cruise lines will keep on stripping lumps of off traditional cruising
These are great weapons to know. I’m especially interested in researching excursions. We booked a Norwegian fjord cruise on Celebrity after looking at your favorite cruises video🙌🏻. I’m worried about the price of the excursions so this is great information. Thank you!
THANK YOU! I've not heard of what's in port, what a great tool! This has been what I was looking for. Thanks again Gary 😊😊😊
Loved this video Gary, and will bookmark these sites. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge with us all 😊
Glad you enjoyed it, and hope they prove to be very helpful!
Some of these I knew, but I definitely learned some new tricks! As always, your content is some of the most informative out there. Thank you!
Wow, thank you for all the informations and links. Really useful. 😊
Thank you for sharing all this great info...going to try some of these things for my second cruise. The first cruise I went on I earned from my company, so this is the first cruise we are booking ourselves!! Thank you!
Thank you Gary, I am one of your subscribers. Having enjoyed many of your videos, I have to say this one truly offers great tips. Wishing you joy in life.
This it’s probably one of the best informational cruise videos I’ve seen. Great job. ❤
Very valuable tips, Gary! Now I have to get my cabin upgraded.
Excellent video!! You suggest sites that I've never heard of. This will be very helpful for my first EU cruise that we're taking next year. Thank you!!
Thank you for your amazing knowledge Gary. I find your channel incredibly helpful.
You are very welcome
Well, you've done it again, Gary. Thanks for the great tips.
Thanks for watching, great to hear you found it interesting
Wow, as someone who has only been on one cruise a decade ago this was so helpful! I only knew of cruise critic but even then I didn't really know about the Meet and Mingle either.
You choice of how you pay for the cruise and travel can be a winner. Use a debit/credit card that offers refund of international card fees. Most cruiselines are us based and so a recent $6000aud booking was a refund of $180 included in the fare. Visa MC are 3%
Thank you Mr. Bainbridge for your wonderful tips!!!
On our Norway Cruise, we will definitely look at the what’s in port website as, when you did your Disney Cruise there, some ports are within walking distance to the most interesting activities.
Continuing to binge watch your content Gary. Keep up the great work 🙏
Thanks for the info Gary! I already knew about Cruise Critic and Resort Pass, but the other sites will come in handy.
Thanks, Gary. You are always full of good information!
This is very helpful for our scheduled trips! Thanks!
I'm off on Cunard for a week in July and my onboard spending has just gone up to over $800!!! Blimey,that's a lot of cocktails 🥳😂
So helpful! FYI when you call RC for a lower price, the key word is reprice.
You answered my questions (HAL April 2024 cruise). Thank you, Gary.
Planning my excursions for our Greek Isle adventure - have noted down the shore excursion websites, as I'm currently trawling through TripAdvisor 'best things to do', making a note of the company used, and heading over to their website. Fun, but time-consuming! Thank you for that!
Not a big fan of trip adviser. Its a marketing tool and often misleading eg very costtly tickets to colessuem vs formal channels.
@@paulgerrard9227 Oh I don't buy through TA. I just use it as a tool to see what's out there, and then I go to the tour operator's own website.
We tried getting money back from P&o as we’d booked 18 months before but now offering £400 on board spending they dismissed us even though we’ve sailed with them for years so not bothering booking early with them again 😊
I’ve never come across a cruise that will add promotions to a fare without requiring a repricing and sometimes requiring you to cancel and rebook. If the fare itself goes down, that’s a different story. Have you had luck with any lines just adding current freebies to an already booked cruise?
Wow, lots of great information!!
Signed up for a few just now, as usual thanks for your detailed vlogs!!
This is great info i do cruise alot and use all your subjections. one other is to buy 100 shares in the cruise company.
Excellent tips. I've bookmarked all the websites. Thanks Gary.
I'm so glad I found this video. These are exactly what I needed for my own cruise planning.
Oh wow - I haven't even thought about tracking the price of my cruise AFTER I've paid for it - my travel agent's going to LOVE me this year... Ha!
Agree with whatsinport. We were in ancona italy and took a local taxi driver for a tour with stops that were relaxed as he could just pull up and park then enjoyed some local suggested food and markets. Cheap and relaxing and so good. Just check the driver speaks english.
Thank you so much for these great tips Gary!!!
Some great tips, we’ve definitely found those drinks package calculators helpful in the past! 🥂
Yes they are!
Thanks --this has been extreemely helpful for my next trip, especially the port information.
Hi Gary. Another great video. Last year I booked an upcoming Cunard Fjords cruise. I paid the ‘early saver’ rate of £1,299. Two months ago, Cunard dropped the fare to £799. I did contact them to ask for the reduced fare or alternatively an upgrade/onboard credit. They refused. So much for an ‘Early Saver’ rate! In future, I will be waiting longer to book in the hopes the prices will drop.
Same deal with NCL
Hi, then if you were still outside of the final payment date, and your deposit was refundable, then you could cancel and rebook with the new price.
Awesome information. Thanks so much.
I'm so glad I viewed your channel/ videos, so much information I wouldn't have thought of, now in overload , but in a good way , cramming in as much information as possible, for warned for armed.
Fantastically arranged and informative video. Thanks so much. Some of this info will help me better serve my clients :)
I do not recall if I have seen these tips on your videos or others, but you might remind folks that if they cruise one line regularly, if they buy stock in that company (usually about 100 shares) they can get on board credit for their cruises. Also, Facebook has a lot of cruise groups where you can post questions like on cruise critic.
Yes! good point as I do mention in tips but worth weaving in more often!
Amazing!
I would say this is one of your best videos. Well done.
Glad you think so!
Just saved me nearly $500 on our June cruise. Thanks Gary!
Now if you just had a tip for getting us the $7000 in Covid expenses that Holland promised to reimburse us for nearly a year ago. Can’t even get them to answer the phone….
Great tips, Gary! Thanks so much!
Thanks for watching, great to hear you found it interesting
Thanks for all these great resources - super helpful!
Fantastic video Gary thank you so much :) im going to check out all of your suggestions :)
Professional! Thanks for sharing all these good tips!
Brilliant video Gary. Very helpful.
Thanks, Gary - great Weapons! 🚢🚢🚢
This was an awesome video and I am going to suggest to other content creators that their viewers check it out. I also want to mention that Holland America “upgraded” us to a window cabin on deck 1 for our 18 day trip to Hawaii and I had a hard time sleeping at night. I visited guest services at 1:30 and very nicely told them that the cabin was so noisy I was not able to sleep and our account was credited with a good amount of money the next day and I did not even ask for anything.
Yes, an upgrade is not always really that. One needs to have other cabins each side of you and above and below you, for the cabin, to be quieter. Take care.
Fabulous tips as usual..thank you for sharing the really useful sites
Excellent information Gary….you are fantastic!
Thank you, going to Alaska next month with Celebrity. Didn’t know these weapons
Thank you so much for this valuable information!
Super helpful video, Gary! Thank you!
My husband and I do one to two cruises a year. My husband has health issues which require we book late, within a month or two. We may get a lower fare but the perks cruise lines offer for early bookings are often not available. Our options are limited because the itinerary we’d like is often full. We’re picky about ships too, we don’t want big ships with lots of people and “stuff”. We prefer balcony rooms but they sell out first. I’d love to see you do a video with helpful hints for people who must book late.
Consider cancellation policies eg HAL sell optional insurance to limit loss and refund. Up to 24hrs prior to departure.
Plus airfare is so much higher at last minute. A major drawback for us.
Thank you for these comments. You are both right. Insurance is available. The problem is we have attempted to use it twice when we had had to cancel to disappointing outcome. We were told insurance didn't cover flare-up of pre-existing conditions. And yes, last minute airfare is higher. We mostly try to drive to the cruise center, or we pay extra for flights that can be canceled. Usually still less than last minute rates.
@@paulachristie7807 as a former TA of 30 years, I know that many folk never read the policy. I used to speared the time going over the major points of a policy, and that is a major points. Yes if you have a pre existing condition that is not stable, it will never be covered. Read policies as to what “stable “ means in your policy, as it can vary. One should study the small print before buying that insurance. Good luck next time.
Thanks for your tips Gary. I look forward to doing a cruise and putting all of these tips to use. Hopefully this time I won’t get Covid LOL first time I go on a cruise is also the first time I get Covid back in May 2022.
Your information is always brilliant!!
Excellent tips Gary as always. Many thanks
Glad you enjoyed it
Thanks for the web site information. We will check these out.
we r cruising in Oct on Celebrity- Honolulu to Australia and all the excursions except for one were through the roof in price- as a result, we r looking for and finding tours via Trip Advisor and will be booking that way..........................
Great advice. Love all your videos.I have done many Viking. Always use Viking to book. Would love to see video of travel agents vs going straight to ship to book cruise
I am Retired TA, of 30 years. So I certainly do not need a travel agent now. But I use a friend that I used to work with who works for Cruiseship Expedia and I use her because they have so much blocked cruise cabins that they get shipboard credits for their clients if one wants a sailing that they have blocked. As Expedia Cruiseship Centers have 500 offices in N. America, so they block a lot of space between them all. this is why I use a travel agent.
If you are a frequent cruiser consider buying $1000 in Carnival Corporation stock per person in your cabin. You get $100 shipboard credit per person as a result. It only takes 10 cruises on Carnival Corporation ships to get that money back but you do have to call to arrange it, they do not do it automatically. Also, if you take money out at the cashier cage in the casino it is counted as money used for gambling and you will often be comped a free cruise or receive a cabin upgrade on a future cruise.
Gary -- so very, very helpful ! ! ! Thank you ! ! !
Wow! VERY helpful guidance! Thank you!
Thanks for watching, great to hear you found it interesting
Cruise Critic is awesome through roll call we got a better deal through the group and got to know them at the meet and mingle also my hubby loves to golf so through those 2 groups he can make arrangements with fellow passengers for a golf dat with clubs
I really love your videos! They are very informative without being over the top 😊
Thank You , Gary
Great video Gary, thanks.
Wow, really appreciate this video! Thank you for the tips!
Thanks for watching, great to hear you found it interesting