Essential Cruise Tips

Gary Bembridge author of "The Cruise Traveler's Handbook" provides another 60-Second Cruise Tip. For more visit 60SecondCruiseTips.com and subscribe free to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher Radio and TuneIn RadioWhat Happens If I have Toothache On Board?Cruise ships carrying more than 12 passengers are required to have a doctor and medical facilities on board. River cruise ships are unlikely to carry a doctor as they are always within reasonable reach of land to access emergency and essential medical assistance.You will find that you are likely to be well covered if you have any medical problems on a cruise.However, the same is not true if you have dental problems. Cruise lines do not have dentists and dental facilities on board. If you suffer from tooth ache or other problems, like a crown or filling coming out, the most you should expect is some help with the pain and assistance on trying to locate a dentist in the next port. Many lines used to try to help patch up and deal with simple problems, but the increased insurance risk and chance of being sued if things go wrong meant that they no longer are prepared to provide this.Before you cruise make sure your teeth are in good condition, ideally by having a check-up. Take a simple tooth repair kit that you can buy from most large pharmacies and drugstores. This will enable you to temporarily fill fillings or stick back crowns if they fall out until you can see a land-based dentist.

Gary Bembridge author of "The Cruise Traveler's Handbook" provides another 60-Second Cruise Tip. For more visit 60SecondCruiseTips.com and subscribe free to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher Radio and TuneIn Radio.

TBEX At SeaIn an earlier episode I spoke about theme cruises, and how they are becoming ever more popular.If you want to cruise the Caribbean while learning more about how to be a travel blogger you should consider attending the TBEX At Sea themed cruise.The Travel Bloggers Exchange, known as TBEX, run the world’s largest travel blogger conferences in North America, Europe and Asia and will be hosting a week long cruise in 2015.It takes place onRoyal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Sea which departs Ft. Lauderdale on October 31st with ports of call at Nassau, Bahamas, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten, returning to Ft. Lauderdale in the morning of November 7th.This themed cruise is aimed at bloggers in the cruising, family travel, luxury travel, couples travel, adventure, and baby boomer travel niches. Sessions during the cruise will be designed as advanced, in-depth workshops suitable for experienced bloggers, and will be held on days when the ship is at sea. There will be special TBEX events onboard as well as free time to enjoy all the amenities the ship offers, or just to kick back and relax. Port time will be free for individual shore activities and excursions at your option.To find out more visit TBEXCON.com

Gary Bembridge author of "The Cruise Traveler's Handbook" provides another 60-Second Cruise Tip. For more visit 60secondcruisetips.com and subscribe free to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher Radio and TuneIn RadioBad Cruise Habits To Avoid: Part FourOnline you will find lists of categories of annoying cruisers, bemoaning the fact that too many people become annoying, irresponsible and selfish on board. I wanted to share some more thoughts about bad habits every cruiser should avoid.For example:Do not be a corridor noise nuisance. Although most cabins are fairly sound proof, the noise of children running and screaming up and down the corridor and noisy chatter in the hallways will be heard in cabins and can be very distracting and intrusive. Door slamming of the cabin and balcony doors also reverberates through to the next door cabin. Avoid it.Be on time for and during excursions. Excursions run by the cruise line work to a set and strict schedule. They rely on every guest following the requests of the guide on times to re-join the group and return to the meeting point or coach to keep the tour on track and on time. There are often stragglers who know that the tour and bus will wait for them if they run late, disrupting and delaying the experience for everyon

Gary Bembridge author of "The Cruise Traveler's Handbook" provides another 60-Second Cruise Tip. For more visit 60secondcruisetips.com and subscribe free to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher Radio and TuneIn RadioBad Cruise Habits To Avoid: Part ThreeOnline you will find lists of categories of annoying cruisers, bemoaning the fact that too many people become annoying, irresponsible and selfish on board. I wanted to share some more thoughts about bad habits every cruiser should avoid.For example:Pay attention and stay focused in the safety drill.

Although incidents at sea are rare, they are a real possibility. At every muster drill I see people chatting, checking their phones and not focusing on the message and instructions - and generally not taking the briefing seriously. It only takes up to 30 minutes of your vacation time and the rules and guidance does change. It could save you or your fellow passengers life.Do not be a secret balcony smoker.

Smoking has, or is, being severely restricted on most cruise lines to designated areas on deck and many have stopped allowing smoking on balconies. However, in my experience, many smokers are still smoking on their balconies and drifting smoke remains an issue and, even worse, they are flushing the butts into the toilet system to hide the activity. The system is not geared to cope with them.Listen to the next episode for more bad habits to avoid

Gary Bembridge author of "The Cruise Traveler's Handbook" provides another 60-Second Cruise Tip. For more visit 60secondcruisetips.com and subscribe free to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher Radio and TuneIn RadioBad Cruise Habits To Avoid: Part TwoOnline you will find lists of categories of annoying cruisers, bemoaning the fact that too many people become annoying, irresponsible and selfish on board. I wanted to share another thought about another bad habit every cruiser should avoid.Do not be a chair hog.

This topic seems to cause the most discussion, upset and complaints about fellow passengers. The three main areas it takes place is (1) around the pool or sun decks where guests place books, magazine and towels first thing in the morning on loungers and then head off to eat or do other things, (2) in the buffet restaurants where people book tables and then go off to fetch food and (3) in the theatres. Although all cruise lines have a policy on booking loungers and chairs, they are usually not very strong in enforcing it. The reason is that the crew tend to take the flack from irate passengers who are seat hogs. Some lines, like the Carnival Group ones, say they will remove items left unattended for 30 minutes and may do. However, if everyone just used loungers and chairs in the restaurant when they needed them the problem of finding a seat would be removed in most all cases.Listen to the next episode for another bad habit to avoid

Gary Bembridge author of "The Cruise Traveler's Handbook" provides another 60-Second Cruise Tip. For more visit 60secondcruisetips.com and subscribe free to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher Radio and TuneIn RadioBad Cruise Habits To Avoid: Part OneOnline you will find lists of categories of annoying cruisers, bemoaning the fact that too many people become annoying, irresponsible and selfish on board. I wanted to share a thought one bad habit every cruiser should avoid.While most cruise passengers are courteous, and considerate - there are things everyone should follow to make sure they are respectful, and make pleasant companions. For example:Follow every precaution to avoid bringing or spreading Norovirus.

Cruise lines cannot prevent the virus being brought on board, and they rely on passengers to be honest. If there's an outbreak on a ship, it creates an enormous amount of extra duties for the crew, on top of their existing responsibilities, and it's a highly disrespectful way to treat fellow cruisers. I've been on a ship where there was an outbreak. The key reason it spread was that passengers followed neither the advice on sanitization nor the quarantine requirements after contracting the virus. Wash your hands with soap and water regularly, and use the antibacterial gel placed around the ship. Follow the guidance and stay in your cabin if you contract a virus.Listen to the next episode for another bad habit to avoid

Gary Bembridge author of "The Cruise Traveler's Handbook" provides another 60-Second Cruise Tip. For more visit 60secondcruisetips.com and subscribe free to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher Radio and TuneIn RadioSolo Travellers Saving Money: Part ThreeThe cruising industry is looking at making cruising financially more attractive to solo travellers who usually have had to pay large surcharges to stay in cabins designed for twin occupancy. Over the next few episodes I will share tips for solo travellers wanting to go cruising, for example: Consider European river cruising.Many of the river cruising lines, including Tauck and Uniworld, operating in Europe waive surcharges on many of their cruises through the year. This form of cruising usually offer more deals for solo guests than their ocean counterparts. It is with asking your travel agent to check which are offering deals when you want to travel and sign up for the email newsletters of lines to get alerts of deals.Set up a Google alert for solo travel deals.If you google “cruise deals for single travellers” or “cruise deals for solo travellers” you will find the latest deals. If you set up an alert and define how often you want to receive them (e.g. Weekly, daily etc) you will be alerted when lines are offering lower surcharges, or waiving them all together, on specific sailings or over a certain period.

Gary Bembridge author of "The Cruise Traveler's Handbook" provides another 60-Second Cruise Tip. For more visit http://www.60secondcruisetips.com and subscribe free to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher Radio and TuneIn RadioSolo Travellers Saving Money: Part TwoThe cruising industry is looking at making cruising financially more attractive to solo travellers who usually have had to pay large surcharges to stay in cabins designed for twin occupancy. Over the next few episodes I will share tips for solo travellers wanting to go cruising, for example:

Cruise on lines that have programs to partner up solo travellers.

Lines like Holland America and Princess have a matching program where solo travellers can sign up to be partnered up with another guest to share a cabin. Your travel agent or the line can manage this. You do, however, risk sharing with someone who you do not get on with.Sign-up for solo travel site newsletters.

There are a number of sites that focus on finding and promoting deals for solo travellers which they send out in their eMail newsletters. They are a great resource for finding the best options. I recommend http://solotravelerblog.com which has become one of the largest online resources for solo travel advice and deals. Sites like http://www.singlestravelintl.com and Solosholidays.co.uk arrange solo group cruises as well offering individual bookings and deals.Get more tips in the next episode

Gary Bembridge author of "The Cruise Traveler's Handbook" provides another 60-Second Cruise Tip. For more visit http://www.60secondcruisetips.com and subscribe free to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher Radio and TuneIn Radio

Solo Travellers Saving Money: Part OneThe cruising industry is looking at making cruising financially more attractive to solo travellers who usually have had to pay large surcharges to stay in cabins designed for twin occupancy. Over the next few episodes I will share tips for solo travellers wanting to go cruising, for example: Cruise on a line that has dedicated solo cabins.There many lines that offer solo cabins on some of their ships. New ships coming on stream seem to have solo cabins as standard and so look at the newest ships in any fleet.The following are best known for their solo cabins:

• Cunard (Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria).
• Norwegian Cruise Line. They have a specific solo guest haven on their newer and larger ships.
• P&O Cruises. They have solo cabins on all of their newer ships including Azura, Ventura, Arcadia, Aurora, Oriana and Britannia.
• Fred Olsen. All their ships offer solo cabins.
• Costa Cruises have some single cabins, both inside and outside, on half of its ships.
• Royal Caribbean are starting to offer more options. The new ships, Quantum of the Seas and Anthem of the Seas, have solo “studio” cabins on each ship.

Get more tips in the next episode

Gary Bembridge author of "The Cruise Traveler's Handbook" provides another 60-Second Cruise Tip. For more visit http://www.60secondcruisetips.com and subscribe free to the podcast on iTunes, Stitcher Radio and TuneIn Radiocruise, cruising, tip, tips, advice,Who is who on board: Part ThreeThere are many hundreds of crew on board responsible for creating your cruise experience. Some you come across every day and others you may never see as they drive operations behind the scenes. Three of the most visible ones on every ship are:Excursion ManagerThe Excursion Manager is responsible for the promotion, bookings and delivery of the port-excursion program. They are a valuable source of information about the best things to do in port, as they see all the ratings and comments left by previous guests and have usually visited the destination often.Future Sales ManagerThe Future Sales Manager is responsible for promoting and taking bookings for future cruises with the cruise line. They will usually be able to offer extra discounts or benefits than if you book once back home. They can also give good advice and tips on popular routes, ships and cabins.Restaurant Maîitre d’The Maître d’s are responsible for managing the restaurants. They manage the table seating and the service from the waiting staff. They will be the person to discuss any dietary issues, special requirements and if you want to be allocated another table.Listen to other episodes for more insights on who is who on board