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…e booking what you think will be your dream cruise on one of the four most popular lines… only to realise within hours of boarding that it’s not for you at all. The atmosphere feels wrong, the crowd isn’t what you expected, the dining doesn’t match your tastes, or the entertainment isn’t your style. Suddenly, that “great deal” becomes an expensive mistake. I don’t want that to happen to anyone. That’s why in this guide I compare the world’s four b…

…ord a personal greeting, Christmas message, or personalised cruise tips for a friend or family member, you can book one here: 👉 https://www.Cameo.com/garybembridge These have been popular for birthday greetings and increasingly people are asking me to record personalised cruise tips for someone’s upcoming cruise….

…smoking areas, the dress code, and so on. Second, I found the same things popular on regular cruises are on ultra-luxury too. Trivia was packed, live music and shows busy, talks well attended, and like on regular cruises many would avidly be collecting points for attending the activities to redeem for branded merchandise and gifts at the end. In fact, the biggest realisation was that ultra-luxury cruisers just want the same thing as regular cruis…

…ry, and sexual assault. Jamaica has similar warnings in place. Even hugely popular destinations like The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos are under advisories urging extra caution and care due to crime levels. On top of that, I’ve noticed a rise in unlicensed tour operators—particularly on beaches offering jet skis, parasailing, snorkelling trips, and other water sports. Many are uninsured and unlicensed, which poses real risks. Taxi scams are also in…

…lty restaurants on the larger ships. Red Ginger for Asian (one of the most popular among guests), Toscana for Italian, Polo Grill for steak, and Jacques for French. The fare allows one visit each, unless in the top-end cabins, but I found I can usually get more during the sailing. Casual Dining For casual dining there is the Waves Grill on the Pool Deck for healthy breakfast, burgers and hot dogs at lunch, and turns into a pizzeria at night. Baris…

…alian and The Chef’s Table), specialty coffees and teas, and access to the popular Nordic Spa. Weaknesses? I found the areas of weakness for Viking are the following. First, I found and get the same comment all the time: “Gary, the ship was lovely – but it was too quiet.” That’s Viking doing what it was designed to do, it’s laid back, quite cerebral and the bars don’t usually get a late-night crowd looking to party. By ten in the evening, it can f…

…terms of watch outs, while there’s a huge choice of cruise lines as it is popular with families, even usual adult lines like Holland American and Princess are often packed with families. So, if looking for an adult experience consider adult-only Virgin Voyages, Oceania, or Viking. The season is short running from April to October, fares can get hefty so book early, and excursions fill up fast and are costly. So, make sure you budget for these too…

…lking about from Miami to San Diego via the Panama Canal, many of the most popular excursions were completely sold out well before the trip. So, I do more independent tours these days. I mostly use ShoreExcursionsGroup.com (where if you do use them, use the code “TFT5” at checkout to get a 5% discount on top of any other promotions they may be running) and I also use VentureAshore.com. As well as offering lower priced and smaller groups, the two r…