…Cruise Tips” and “River Cruising Essential Tips and Tricks” shares another cruise tip. This time it is: Cruise contract watch-outs When you book and pay your fare you are agreeing to the terms of the cruise line contract. You are unlikely to be given a copy of it but can access it online, in the brochure or requesting a copy from your cruise agent. Here are a few things to be aware of: Refuse to let you cruise: You are likely to have agreed that t…
…azy? The reality is, whether we like it or not, gratuities are part of our cruise fare, and the way cruise lines pay and set wages for the crew is including the gratuities. They are not on top of the wage the crew are promised when agreeing a contract. They make up the wage they are offered. If you want crew to get something on top of their set wages, you need to then tip on top of auto-added gratuities. These charges are not a way of rewarding cr…
…tch you with the right cruise. They will be able to identify which type of cruise, size of ship, line and cabin is right for you. Do not get distracted by the promotions and advertising you may see and make your choice based on price alone. Getting the mix right is essential. You can cruise to most destinations, especially the Caribbean and Mediterranean where there may be 20 or more different options. Understand what the cost of your trip will be…
…Go Cruise with Jane) to go on a tour of the relatively new (launched 2010) cruise ship called Celebrity Eclipse. The ship may be best known as being diverted to Spain during the Volcanic Ash Cloud drama when European air space was closed down. The ship, instead of being shown before being named officially, was sent to bring back stranded travellers. So we drove down to Southampton, where the ship was docked for the day on Halloween Day (31 October…
…for travellers that want the amenities and entertainment that the new mega cruise ships offer, but dread busy decks and the hustle and bustle that comes with it. It offers a stylish, calmer and more pampered existence hidden away as a retreat within their large and busy cruise ships. It means that when you have had enough of the big shows, the noisy casino or loud bars, you can withdraw into the quiet sanctuary of your suite, visit the quiet loung…
…late to get back to the ship you then have a contact to notify and assist. Cruise ships will not wait for passengers who do not get back in time for the all aboard and departure time, but if they know what is going on then plans will be made. I prefer to take a photo of the details before I head out for a day in port as one less thing to take. Budget for the “hidden extras” Cruises are not as all-inclusive as many travellers expect, and what the f…
…e able to (as the CDC puts it) “mitigate the risks of Covid-19 onboard its cruise ships”. If they pass they can apply to resume cruising. So, these are really important. All of the lines have to run these, so for example, Carnival Corporation will be running them for all their lines planning to operate out of US ports such as Carnival, Princess, Holland America ,and then even for lines like Cunard that call into US ports, as the CDC includes any c…
…uise author and expert, share six activities that are no longer allowed on cruise ships. Click the play button in the player below to listen to the episode. These were covered in an article on CruiseFever.net and include: Messages in a bottle. Streamers at sailaway. Hitting golf balls into the ocean. Smoking in the dining rooms and staterooms. Visits from friends and family on embarkation day. Skeet shooting. Subscribe to the podcast to make sure…
…which means I feel I offer unbiased and balanced overview of cruising and cruise ships. By signing up as a Tips For Travellers Patron, you help me to keep doing that. Exclusive Patron-only video content (all-levels) The most important reason to join is EXCLUSIVE patron-only video content. This is what people want and this is content I create just for my Patrons – it is not available anywhere else. These videos range from behind the scenes of maki…
…kers. The 4 different theatres focus on: (1) Ask the experts; (2) Meet the Cruise Lines; (3) Small Ship Cruising and (4) World of Travel. Each have programs that run all day. Most of the cruise Lines have competitions with a free cruise as the prize. This is to get you to fill out a form to enable them to build their database. You can cover all the cruise lines you want to in a concentrated time. An hour or two, assuming you don’t of to the talks,…
…disspointing that the Caribbean islands do not make more of themselves to cruise ship passengers. They do seem to make more of an effort to promote what their individual islands are about, and what makes them different from the others, to land based travellers. Maybe that is because they are fighting for travellers to make a choice to come and visit, and they know they have to make a choice on where to come and stay. For cruise passengers the rea…
