My Story: About Gary Bembridge
This is the story of why I am so driven to travel, and why I have this blog, YouTube channel and podcast – to constantly share what I learn along the way. So, as many travellers as possible can be inspired to discover, plan and enjoy incredible travel and cruise experiences, just like me.
There are so many choices that have to be made at every stage of your cruise vacation. If you make the wrong choices, like I have done in the past, you and your family won’t have that incredible experience you are dreaming of. So, this is my background story, from my childhood in Africa, to my adult-years in London and the beginning of what became a huge part of my life and your useful cruise planning tool – Tips for Travellers.
I was born in Zimbabwe, which is also home to the most stunning attraction I have ever seen in all my travels
Born in Bulawayo Zimbabwe (which was called Rhodesia at the time) to British Parents – English Dad and Scottish Mum. I am a British Citizen, which is important as it meant I was able to move and live easily in the UK, and travel so much easier than if I was not! Had I not had that British Passport, there would have been countless visas involved, as well as other hassles, so it was a blessing.
I grew up in Bulawayo and then Harare (Salisbury as it was called), both big cities with a bustling and thriving population. Sometimes, people think of Africa and automatically picture the vast wilderness, where wild animals roam, but this wasn’t the case for me – there aren’t many lions wandering down the streets. Although, there were Game Reserves not too far away.
London Obsessed
As a boy, I was obsessed with history and I longed to live in London, which I saw as the centre of the World. I constantly nagged my parents to move back to the UK. It seemed so much more exciting than Africa, and I wanted to see all the places I read about. My list was endless! Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, Carnaby Street, and the British Museum, just to name a few. The latter mostly for the Egyptian displays.
The only other country my parents took me to before turning 20 was South Africa. This made me even more determined to see as much of the world as I could once, I started working and earning my own money. My visit to South Africa took me to Cape Town. At the time it was still Apartheid, but it was the only country, at the time, we could visit because the borders to other countries, such as Botswana, Mozambique and Zambia were closed.
Military Service
I did 18 months military service in Zimbabwe, after school during the Civil War before One-Man One-Vote Independence. During my service, I was a weapons instructor, training soldiers to man the convoys that escorted civilians and goods traffic between the major towns. It was far too dangerous to travel alone. I was a Browning machine gun, automatic rifle, and pistol expert. In 1980, after military service, I left Zimbabwe to go to university.
Zimbabwe is home of the most stunning and amazing place and attraction I have ever seen. This is the Victoria Falls on the Zimbabwe/ Zambia border. It remains my most favourite attraction in the world. You must see it. It’s hard for me to describe it to you, it really is one of those things you need to see for yourself, as it’s very natural and undeveloped in the surrounding area.
Me at Victoria Falls. The best attraction I have ever seen
I went to University in South Africa and had my first job there. It is also home to one of the most beautiful cities
I studied marketing and business at the University of Natal in South Africa, and then worked in Johannesburg for 4 years for Unilever. The craziest thing was that I never went to Cape Town during the 7 years I was in South Africa. I only went years after leaving.
This was just pure madness as Cape Town is probably the most beautiful city destination in the world and is now one of my favourite places.
It proved to me that you MUST explore the country around you before you think about going abroad, so you do not miss what’s on your doorstep.
London has been my home since 1987. It is my favourite city in the world, and home of the most luxurious and poshest hotel I have ever stayed in!
I adore London. For as long as I can remember, I wanted to live here and have done since the mid-1980s. Even in my job, when I was spending at least half the month in New York and then Paris, I kept London as my home base. London is exciting, historic, diverse, and generally fabulous.
Of the hundreds of hotels I have stayed in around the world, it is still home to the most luxurious hotel I have ever stayed in: The Berkeley. I stayed here on the night of my wedding to Mark in 2009. They upgraded us and put us in the stunning Chelsea suite. Nothing has beaten it.
Berkeley Hotel Chelsea Suite on my Civil Partnership 2009. A very special day and hotel
Choosing a global marketing career enabled me to travel for over 20 years all over world. And led me down an unexpected path.
I love marketing, and I chose a career that enabled me to take on regional and global roles. Most of my career was spent at Johnson & Johnson, where I was the Global Vice President for Johnson’s Baby Marketing. I stayed here until retiring from corporate life in 2012.
It took me all over the world and meant I could see the cities I’d often dreamed of. This is when I started making travel content, to share my tips and experiences from the places I visited.
I posted my first audio podcast in 2005, from my hotel room in Sydney. It was all about the city (https://tips4travellers.libsyn.com/podcast3-mp3 ). My first YouTube video came on 24 June 2006 (a video tour of a guest house we were staying in, in Cape Town https://youtu.be/Wc4qTwI8rUg ).
The second video I posted was about a Cunard Queen Mary 2 Queens Grill cabin (https://youtu.be/58IuFxpSbqU), and it was this that started my journey. A journey that would eventually turn a hobby into a career.
My Johnson & Johnson days
I stumbled across cruising by accident. But it changed everything.
I first boarded a ship, with some reluctance, in 2004. I’d been invited to talk at a marketing conference on board P&O Cruises Aurora. The ship had been charted by Richmond Events and I had mixed feelings about going a cruise ship. That was until we sailed out of Southampton. In that moment, I got my first taste of the thrill of being at sea and all that a ship had to offer.
I came back and immediately booked Mark and I on a taster cruise. My mission then was to sell the idea to him, and from there, my cruising journey and obsession grew.
The videos I posted over the years about my cruise adventures became the ones that people were most interested in on YouTube. It got me thinking maybe this little hobby could be so much more.
Being diagnosed with cancer drove me to travel even more.
Just after New Year in 2012 I discovered I had cancer and I spiralled downhill fast. Chemo was a great success and by the middle of the year I was in remission and have been since.
Once given the all-clear, the first thing I did was book a cruise. It was aboard Queen Elizabeth and took me to the Fjords.
After this, I booked more and more cruises. And posted vast amounts of cruising content. It then grew into kind of a big deal on YouTube.
Many people ask me why I travel and cruise so much, and the answer is simple. I don’t want to miss out on the things that I enjoy in life. As a boy, I was driven so much by travel and experiences that as an adult, I left the country I was born in. I was so desperate to see the world that it influenced my career choices. Having tasted the fragility of time and the uncertainty of how long I can and will be able to travel in life, I want to pack it in thick, fast, and now. So, that’s exactly what I am doing.
The rest, as they say, is history!
My YouTube channel exploded and became the most subscribed to and viewed cruise-focussed channel. As of August 2026 that equates to 511,000 subscribers and 196,000,000 all time views, with approx. 2 to 3 million video views per month. Not bad going for something I started as a little hobby.
I cruise around 10 times per year and my trips are self-funded and I do not take press trips, free, or discounted cruises offered by cruise lines.
Contact
My main channels
- Tips For Travellers on YouTube is the most subscribed to cruise vlogger channel on YouTube and has over 100 million all-time video views. New videos are posted every Saturday, and I host weekly Cruise Q&A livestreams.
- Tips For Travellers Blog
- Tips For Travellers on Facebook
- Tips For Travellers on Twitter
- Tips for Travellers on Instagram
Essential Cruise Tips Podcast
Cruises Done To Date
- 132: Celebrity Silhouette 13-Night Canada, Greenland & Iceland (21 June – 4 July 2026)
- 131: Cunard Queen Mary 2 7-Night Transatlantic (Southampton to New York) (10 – 17 June 2026)
- 130: Windstar Wind Surf 8-Nights Classic Italy & Dalmatian Coast (Venice to Rome) (13 – 21 May 2026)
- 129: Holland America 31-Night Oosterdam South America, Inca & Panama Canal Discovery (8 March – 8 April 2026)
- 128: Group Cruise: Holland America Zuiderdam 15-Night Panama Canal (31 January – 15 February 2026)
- 127: Oceania Riviera 19-Night Sydney to Papeete (10 – 28 December 2025)
- 126: Regent Splendor 15-Night New York – Miami Caribbean (2 – 17 November 2025)
- 125: Silver Nova 18-Night Seward to Tokyo Transoceanic (21 Aug – 9 Sept 2025)
- 124: Avalon Waterways Envision 7-Night Romantic Rhine River Cruise (15 – 22 July 2025)
- 123: Sun Princess Sun Princess 7-night Mediterranean with France & Italy (7 – 14 June 2025)
- 122: Sky Princess Scandinavia (Paul & Carole Group Cruise) (17 – 24 May 2025)
- 121: Explora Journeys Explora II 11-Night Canary Islands (2 – 14 April 2025)
- 120: Crystal Symphony 11-Night Toyko – Manila (14 – 25 Feb 2025)
- 119: Regent Seven Seas 16-Night Miami to Los Angeles Panama Canal (Dec 2024)
- 118: Silversea Silver Endeavour 18-Night Antarctica, Falklands & South Georgia (29 October – 16 November)
- 117: GROUP CRUISE: Celebrity Eclipse 11-Night Boston, Maine & Canada (Sept 2024)
- 116: Seabourn Pursuit 10-Day Kimberly Australia (July 2024)
- 115: Viking Orion 10-Night Alaska & Inside Passage Cruise (June 2024)
- 114: Queen Anne 14-Night Canary Islands (May 2024)
- 113: (Channel Members / Patrons Group Cruise) Holland America Eurodam 7-Night Eastern Caribbean Cruise (April 2024)
- 112: Oceania Vista 7-Night Tropical Retreats Caribbean (March 2024)
- 111: Royal Caribbean 6-Night Symphony of the Seas Western Caribbean (March 2024)
- 110: Silversea Silver Spirit 15-Night South Africa (January 2024)
- 109: Norwegian Viva 10-Night Westeren Mediterranean (November 2023)
- 108: Regent Seven Seas Explorer 11-Night Japan (October 2023)
- 107: Royal Caribbean Symphony of the Seas 7-Night Western Mediterranean (September 2023)
- 106: Hapag-Lloyd MS Hanseatic Inspiration 17-Night Canadian Arctic & Greenland (August 2023)
- 105: Windstar Star Pride 11-Night Midnight Sun (July 2023)
- 104: Paul Gauguin 7-Night Tahiti and Society Islands (June 2023)
- 103: MSC Virtuoso 7-Night Norwegian Fjords (May 2023)
- 102: AmaWaterways 11-Night Secrets of Egypt & Nile River Cruise (April 2023)
- 101: Holland America Oosterdam 14-Night South America Passage (February 2023)
- 100: Regent Seven Seas Navigator 10-Night Caribbean (January 2023)
99: Holland America Koningsdam 7-Night Mexican Riviera (December 2022)
98: Silversea Silver Origins 7-Night Galapagos (November 2022)
97: Cunard Queen Elizabeth 7-Night Western Mediterranean (October 2022)
96: Disney Magic 7-Night Norwegian Fjords (September 2022)
95: Celebrity Edge 7-Night France, Italy and Spain (August 2022)
94: Holland America Nieuw Statendam 10-Night Scandinavian Cruise (July 2022)
93: Majestic Princess 7-Night Alaska Voyages of the Glaciers (June 2022)
92: Cunard Queen Mary 2 7-Night Transatlantic Westbound (May 2022)
91: Azamara Quest 7-Night Western Mediterranean (April 2022)
90: Viking Sky Venice, 7-Nights Venice, the Adriatic & Greece (March 2022)
89: Oceania Marina 10-Night Panama to Miami (February 2022)
88: Holland America Nieuw Statendam 11-Night Southern Caribbean (January 2022)
87: Ponant Le Lyrial 18-Night Antarctica (November 2021)
86: Seabourn Ovation 7-Night Greek Isles (October 2021)
85: Sky Princess 5-Night UK “Seacation” (September 2021)
84: Celebrity Silhouette 7-Night UK Scenic (Inverness, Kirkwall, Glasgow) (August 2021)
83: Virgin Voyages Scarlet Lady 4-Night Uk Summer WeekDaze (August 2021) ***
82: Princess Cruises Regal Princess 4-Night Seacation (August 2021)
81: P&O Britannia 4-Night Scenic Cruising (July 2021)
80: Saga Spirit of Discovery 6-Night UK (June 2021)
79: Viking Venus 7-Night Scenic British Isles (June 2021)
78: Holland America Zuiderdam Caribbean / Panama Canal (Mar 2020)
77: CroisiEurope Mekong River Cruise (Jan 2020) **
76: Oceania Insignia Western Caribbean (Nov 2019)
75: MSC Grandiosa Preview (Nov 2019) **
74: Norwegian Encore Shakedown (Oct 2019) **
73: Sky Princess Cruises Shakedown (Oct 2019) **
72: Saga Spirit of Discovery France (Oct 2019) **
71: Seabourn Encore Mediterranean (Sep 2019) **
70: CroisiEurope Loire Canal Barge (Aug 2019) **
69: Saga Sapphire Iceland (July 2019) **
68: Saga Discovery Pre-Naming Cruise (July 2019) **
67: Paul Gauguin Society Islands French Polynesia (Jun 2019) **
66: Viking Vilhjalm Danube River Cruise (Apr 2019) **
65: Silversea Silver Cloud Antarctica (Feb 2019)
64: Celebrity Equinox Western Caribbean (Jan 2019)
63: Cunard Queen Elizabeth Mini-cruise (Dec 2018)
62: Holland America Statendam (Dec 2018) **
61: AmaWaterways Rhine (Nov 2018) **
60: Azamara Greek Isles (Oct 2018) **
59: Azamara Pursuit Launch (Aug 2018)**
58: Voyages to Antiquity Iceland (Aug 2018) **
57: Hapag-Lloyd Europa 2 Med (July 2018) **
56: Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam Alaska (May 2018)
55: Royal Princess British Isles (May 2018) **
54: CroisiEurope Seine River Cruise (April 2018) **
53: Queen Victoria Hamburg mini-cruise (March 2018)
52: Avalon Romantic Rhine River Cruise (Basel to Amsterdam) (Nov 2017) **
51: Windstar Star Pride Gaelic Explorers (June 2017) **
50: Princess Cruises British Isles (May 2017) **
49: Silversea Silver Muse (April 2017) **
48: Titan Serenade European River Cruise (March 2017) **
47: Oceania Insignia Eastern Caribbean (December 2016)
46: Fred Olsen Balmoral “Spanish Autumn Break” (November 2016) **
45: Windstar Star Breeze “Venetian Passageways” (October 2016) **
44: Emerald Waterways “Enchantment of Eastern Europe” River Cruise (September 2016) **
43: CroisiEurope Loire River Cruise (July 2016) **
42: Queen Elizabeth Japan (March 2016)
41: Queen Victoria San Francisco to Sydney (March 2016)
40: Queen Victoria Fort Lauderdale to San Francisco (February 2016)
39: Queen Victoria Southampton to Fort Lauderdale (January 2016)
38: P&O Britannia Caribbean Transatlantic (Oct 2015)
37: Silversea Silver Explorer Arctic (July 2015) **
36: Fred Olsen Fjords (May 2015) **
35: Royal Caribbean Anthem of the Seas (April 2015) **
34: P&O Britannia Naming (March 2015) **
33: Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic Crossing New York – Southampton (January 2015)
32: Queen Mary 2 Caribbean (December 2014)
31: Queen Mary 2 Bruge Christmas Market (December 2014)
30: MSC Armonia (post stretching dry dock) (November 2014) **
29: Seabourn Sojourn “Autumn Isles” Mediterranean (October 2014) **
28: Crystal Cruises “European Cachet” (Rome to Southampton) (August 2014) **
27: MSC Lirica Mediterranean (June 2014) **
26: Uniworld River Beatrice Danube river cruise (May 2014) **
25: Queen Mary 2 Hong Kong to Dubai (April 2014)
24: Queen Mary 2 World Cruise Sydney to Hong Kong (March 2014)
23: Norwegian Getaway Inaugural Europe (January 2014) **
22: Costa Serena Mediterranean (December 2013) **
21: MSC Divina Miami Caribbean Inaugural 2013 **
20: Holland America Mediterranean 2013 **
19: Norwegian Epic Mediterranean 2013 **
18: Silversea Baltic 2013 **
17: MSC Preziosa Mediterranean 2013 **
16: Queen Mary 2 Caribbean 2012/ 2013.
15: Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic 2012.
14: Queen Elizabeth Fjords 2012.
13: P&O Arcadia Russell Watson Theme Cruise 2011.
12: P&O Arcadia Europe 2011.
11: Queen Elizabeth Europe 2011
10: Queen Mary 2 Europe 2010.
9: Queen Mary 2 Transatlantic 2009.
8: Queen Victoria Europe 2008.
7: P&O Arcadia Caribbean 2007
6: P&O Aurora Europe 2007
5: Queen Mary 2 Hamburg 2006
4: P&O Arcadia Mediterranean 2005
3: QE2 Transatlantic 2004
2: P&O Aurora Mini Cruise 2004
1: P&O Aurora Europe 2004
Note: The cruises marked with ** were press or comped trips
Greetings! I saw both your videos for Princeton Hyatt and Westin Princeton and I must agree, not very impressed. Next time you visit Princeton, I would love to have you as my guest and for you to assist me with this same type of video. I feel we are offering a much better room for 1/2 the cost and I would like to share this with you and your service provided. I hope to hear from you soon. Safe Travels!
Tony Morreale
General Manager
Hampton Inn Princeton
Thanks for taking the time to watch the videos and comment.
I will most certainly take you up on your offer when I am next your way. I used to be in the area about once a month but less so now!
Gary
Hi Gary,
I enjoy your podcast very much. However, I as a NYC resident, I believe that your recent podcast on New York could have offered more thoughtful suggestions. Some examples that I think are always worth mentioning as suggestions to tourists: visiting some of the many wonderful parks (especially Riverside Park and Fort Tryon park instead of the heavily travelled Central Park), seeing an Off-Broadway show (as a cost effective alternative to a Broadway show), also – TKTS often has much better deals on plays rather than musicals, visiting the food court in the basement of the Plaza Hotel – amazing food and reasonable prices, eating at a classic NY Jewish Deli such as 2nd Ave Deli, a visit to Chinatown for dim sum, a walk to Brooklyn and back over the Brooklyn Bridge (great views, great exercise, and it’s free!), viewing the store windows at Bergdorf Goodman’s department store (iconic institution and some of the most artfully crafted store windows you’ll ever see).
I could name numerous other activities, all free or very inexpensive, which I believe are incredibly gratifying and give folks a taste of the “real” New York. I hope that you’ll consider including these alternatives the next time you cover our great city.
Many thanks,
Jeff Marder
Jeff. First of all, a huge thanks for listening to the podcast. Secondly, an even bigger thanks for the great suggestions. I am back in NYC at the end of August and was thinking of finding a different angle than the recent podcast which (as you say) was very much focused on the expected and usual tourist places to visit. I love your suggestions, not all of which I have done on my many trips there. If you have more then please add them and I will look at how to see and cover as many as I can in a more “insider” and “off the usual tourist track” podcast for later this year. I think it will a very popular one! Gary
Hello Gary,
Great tips you have very interesting reading. Can you please advise regarding a med Cunard cruise (I know onboard it is $) but is it best to take cash euros or would you advice a prepaid card? Thanks
Thanks. Glad you found them helpful. I usually take Euros in cash especially if booked excursions as little additional spend in port. I tend to take too much as only costs are tip, drinks, food and any purchases which key be at markets. Everyone says prepaid cards are better if buy at the right time and can use them to draw out cash from machines. Safe if loose it
Hi Gary,
I came across your Celebrity Eclipse Review page (https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/celebrity-eclipse-my-thoughts-based-on-a-tour-of-the-ship/) today while searching for travel resources. There’s a lot of great content on there – thanks for taking the time to put it together.
Thanks again,
Phoebe
Hi Gary,
First of all – awesome podcast and tips for travellers, definitely useful so keep on traveling and recording!
Second, I am hugely surprised you have not been in Poland yet apparently. This is without a doubt one of the most beautiful country in Europe (having been myself also in England, Portugal, Spain, Italy and Germany can confirm that). It has basically everything that travelers need. Long beaches at Baltic Sea coast with multiple beautiful lighthouses and the land of 1000 lakes (Mazury) which was finalist of new 7 nature wonders in 2011 on the north side of the country. On the south side two types of mountain ranges, first shared with Czech Republic ‘Karkonosze’ that are not so tall (highest peak is Sniezka 1600m) and you can easily navigate, walk tens of kilometers and view spectacular sights, and second much more impressive but also demanding mountains called ‘Tatry’ with highest peak Rysy around 2500m above see level. There are plenty of guided walks on both of them.
There are also many really nice historical cities with Gdansk – the main port city, Warsaw – rebuild capital after 2nd world war, Krakow – main cultural city and Wroclaw.
And then there are people, most of young people (below 35years old) speak English so you would not have troubles with any requests or questions.
I would recommend visiting Poland especially in the summer (June-August).
Hopefully will see one day podcast from that country, would be curious of your opinion.
Thanks for the message and kind words. Glad you enjoy the podcast. I have not seen much of Poland and would love to. I have been to Warsaw twice many years ago for work but did not get to see much. I must plan to come!!!
Hi Gary
I was wondering if you could recommend a luxury way to see India for the first time. I would like to see it but don’t want to rough it. Can you help me get started? I trust your judgement.
David
David. India is one place I have never been and so don’t have any good tips I am afraid!!! Gary
Hey Gary, how are you!
First off love your podcasts they are informative and very helpful, so cheers to you!
My name is Kyra and I’m with Courconnect, a Spanish language and cultural immersion company, from your podcasts its clear that we share a love of culture and travel as a way to truly connect with the places you visit.We collaborate with hundres of schools and offer affordable prices to students and assist on destinations and what courses to choose from. We would love to speak to you further about a proposal so let us know!
Thanks. contact me at gary(at)tipsfortravellers.com
Gary I’ve been watching your videos and they are amazing thank you but I noticed it looks like your lymph glad in your neck is swollen if you have not already I would have it looked at!!! I was trying to find another way to message you but this was all I could find.
Thanks for watching and the message. Yes I have had it checked out and do regularly. I did have lymph cancer a few years back but this is a fat deposit / collection thing but they monitor as part of my regular check ups. Thanks for your concern and message. G
Kia ora/Hello
If you do postings of free activities that cruise passengers could do while in Wellington, please look at my website (no ads) that describes the scores of outdoor staircases in the CBD and throughout the city. It’s also a geographic and historical guide.
Please have a look at
WellingtonSteps.com
Cheers
Alana Bowman
Hi Gary!
No suggestions, just wanted to say that I love your videos (even though I have never been nor will be on a ship anytime soon)!
Regards from Birmingham, UK
Nathan 🙂
We are sailing Queen Mary 2 the end of May this year from Southampton to Yew York and return. Could you please tell us what is involved. We understand we must leave the ship but where to we go before we can re board.
Thanks very much
Gary
Hi Gary, my husband and I recently (January 2022) went on our very first cruise. We didn’t have any real knowledge on our own about cruises and didn’t know anyone who went on cruises. But thanks to your videos, I felt much more prepared. I wanted to let you know that I have found your YouTube videos to be a tremendous help. From what to expect to what to pack and all the tips and everything, your YouTube videos are awesome. I just wanted to say Thank You!