On my last cruise, a Queen Mary 2 Crossing, I was nervous about disembarkation. Not because the trip was ending, but I was apprehensive about a potentially uncomfortable encounter with my cabin steward. Him loitering and wondering if I was going to give him a tip, and me feeling guilty because I wasn’t. Gratuities on…
It was 10 o’clock in the evening on a Viking cruise, I was chatting to the cruise director when an innocuous announcement came over the tannoy system. She turned and ran. When I discovered how the bridge knew she had to run and how they let her know, it me thinking about other hidden things…
On my first Cunard Transatlantic crossing, an English couple on the restaurant table next to me were desperate to get off the ship. They hadn’t understood what they had signed up for and had to endure another five sea days before New York. On another, I met an Australian couple that hadn’t appreciated what was…
My heart sank as I boarded Queen Mary 2 in Southampton for my first trip in around 8 years, a Transatlantic Crossing. I spotted areas on the hull looking battered and rusty. Was this evidence recent critics were right, and Queen Mary 2 was becoming rundown, and her glory days were done? Join me as…
There are seven back-to-back sea days crossing the Atlantic on Cunard Queen Mary 2. Not surprisingly, one big fear many have about doing a transatlantic is getting bored with little to occupy them. I too was apprehensive about the one I have just done, as after many sea-day heavy cruises since cruising resumed, I was…
I get upgraded more than most cruise passengers because I don’t use the most common ways other cruisers chase upgrades. I do something different. Here’s what I’ve found works to get upgraded to a better cabin than I’ve paid for. Auto Upgrades The first thing most do, and the one that I hear more horror…
Here it is. I have updated the list of all 124 cruise vlog channels on YouTube that I am aware of as at the half year point! Hopefully you will use this list to find and support emerging and channels new to you! Some observations and key movements since the last update at the end…
This was all sparked by a swimming pool on Virgin Voyages Scarlett Lady. Just after I boarded, I was looking at the pool wondering why on earth it was so small for a 2,770-passenger ship. What were the ship architects and the line doing? And why on earth had they done it? It got me…
A German couple, Renate and her husband Volker, were thrown off a Mein Schiff cruise for something they did in their cabin that they thought was fine to do. They weren’t aware of the cabin rules which, if broken, could see passengers like them, you and I disembarked, banned for life, fined, or have our…
If I had followed these 7 pieces of cruise advice on recent cruises, I wouldn’t have made it to one, overpaid for another, booked the wrong cabin, bought something I never needed, and much worse as you’ll discover. Here’s what cruise advice to ignore and why. Book Direct With The Cruise Line Susan, a first-time…
Easy-to-Make Cruise Packing Mistakes: 11 things you shouldn’t forget to pack for your cruise! I want to look at 11 things that you really shouldn’t forget to pack before you set out on your cruise. Starting with the three obvious things that you need to pack and could probably get away with sailing your whole…
Port Day Essentials: 9 things you should not leave your cruise ship without! When we head out in port on an excursion or self-exploring, we don’t assume that things are going to go wrong – we always assume that we’re going to have a great time. However, that’s not always the case, and there are probably…
Discover the 10 Unusual Laws You Could Break Cruising! I’m going to look at a whole bunch of laws that you may find you end up breaking without even realising it when you’re going on a cruise – some of which can have incredibly serious consequences. Wearing camouflage The first of these laws is around…
I explore the reasons for and against using Holland America for your Caribbean cruise. I want to look at a couple of reasons for and a couple of reasons against choosing Holland America for your next Caribbean cruise. Let’s start by taking a look at the reasons for choosing Holland America for your Caribbean cruise.…
What are the best places to cruise month by month? I want to share with you my recommendations on what cruises I think you should do month by month based on the best time to visit a destination. Firstly, let’s acknowledge that there are two cruises that you can do, largely speaking, all year round:…
These are the 9 cruises that are best to book in advance. Find out why. When they’re booking a cruise, many people are looking for the best deal, so they’ll time when they book based on when they think they’re going to get the best prices. For many people, the key time to get some…
