Essential Cruise Tips

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

6 More Money Saving TipsI am always asked how cruisers can save money on board. The following are six more tips on savings to help you stay within budget:

1. Use the free juices, teas, coffees and water at meals and in the buffet rather than ordering them at the pool, bars or lounges.
2. Water fountains are around the ship and, although it is not encouraged, you can refill water bottles there. Many lines allow you to bring bottled water and sodas on board. Check in advance if this is permitted.
3. See if your cruise line allows you to bring any alcohol for use in your cabin. Most do not, but some may permit limited quantities and charge corkage fees in the restaurants.
4. Attend cocktail parties you are invited to as they serve free drinks and canapés.
5. Check if there will be a CruiseCritic Meet & Mingle event and sign up. In addition to receiving free refreshments you will also meet other guests who will have money saving tips.
6. 6Stay clear of promotional activities like merchandise sales tables, shopping talks, art shows and auctions and on-board stores.Do not shop close to the port as these are likely to have premium prices. Ask the crew where they go to shop as they are likely to know the best markets, stores and malls.

Get more of my money saving tips in other episodescruise, cruising, tip, tips, advice,

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

6 Money Saving TipsI am always asked how cruisers can save money on board. You can be sure that the line will be working hard to get you to spend money and you need to budget and ensure you monitor and track your spending.The following are five tips on savings to help you stay within budget:

1. Compare arranging your own flights, pre and post trip accommodation and transfers to and from the ship. You can often beat cruise line prices.
2. Research the ports you will be visiting before departing and plan some self-touring or alternative inexpensive independent provider tours.
3. Return to the ship for meals if self-touring rather than buying food on land.
4. Use the shuttle bus and public transport instead of taxis. You will always find other passengers who are also finding their own way around or have been to the port before to assist. The local tourism office will also help.
5. Review the packages offered on embarkation day and assess if you can save or budget better by purchasing these. The most common ones offering the best discounts are for drinks, Internet and excursions.

Get more of my money saving tips in other episodescruise, cruising, tip, tips, advice,

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

Photography and cruise line excursionsIf you are a keen photographer or video maker and want to ensure that you will have time to capture the images you want, you should avoid cruise line or independent group tours. Instead you should plan to self-tour or hire a private guide.Scheduled port tours are designed to visit as many sights and attractions as possible in the limited time available. They want passengers to feel they have seen all the key things in that destination and leave little time at each stop to take in the scene and to frame and take photographs and video. You will be fighting with the rest of your busload of visitors to get a good position to take photographs and they will also be cluttering up the scene. The tour guides will be hurrying you along to meet the schedule and you will have limited time to shoot the sceneYou should identify the scenes you want to photograph or video in advance and plan self tours, like on the hop-on hop-off bus, or find an independent guide who you brief in advance to plan the flow and timing of your day.

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

Daily program as saviourAlways take your daily program out with you when you leave the ship to explore a port, even on a cruise line excursion. It could prove to be a saviour should you get lost, left behind, injured or mugged.The daily program has the contact details of the cruise line’s agent in the port. It will give their address and phone numbers. Some programs also include the ship’ emergency contact details and the address of where the ship is docked if you need to catch a taxi or get a lift back.I have seen the daily program come to the rescue of a number of passengers across the years, especially in ports where the guests did not speak the local language. For example in Palma De Mallorca a mother and her young son were left behind when a guide miscounted the numbers of our tour bus and could have been left behind when the ship departed as it was towards the end of the day. She had the program with her and called the agents and explained what had happened. Transport was despatched and the ship waited for them to arrive back before departing.

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

Beach towelsYou do not need to pack beach towels when you go cruising. Cruise lines will supply them but deal with how they give them to you differently.Value cruise lines, like MSC Cruises, require you to sign out beach towels against your cruise card from a booth on the pool deck or when you get off the ship in destinations with beaches or water parks. If you do not return the towels you will be charged for them. It is important to make sure when you return towels that your account has been cleared.Premium cruise lines, like Cunard, usually have a beach towels in your stateroom that they will replenish after you have used them, as they do for your bath towels. They also have them available around the swimming pools without requiring you to sign them out.As with all linen, cruise lines are trying to reduce unnecessary use of detergents and water and encourage you to reuse beach towels and bath towels. On value lines you can retain the towel for your entire cruise and on luxury lines they will only be replaced if left on the floor or in the bathtub.

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

Taking alcohol on boardCruise lines want you to buy drinks on board to drive their revenues. Therefore, most cruise lines will not allow passengers to bring alcohol for personal use onto their cruise. They screen for it being brought on at the start of the cruise and after excursions. If they find any they hold it until the end of the cruise when they return it to passengers. It is important that you get a receipt when it is taken from you.The lines know that some destinations are known for their local wines, spirits and other alcohol-based drinks and expect their guests will want to take some home with them. However, they will still require it to be handed in until the cruise is over.If you are on a ship that is cruising in a region that allows them to sell duty-free alcohol on board, you will also only be able to take it at the end of the trip.Some cruisers try ingenious ways to sneak alcohol through the screening and there are blog posts with tricks on how. However, the lines are aware of most these practices - and probably follow the same postings.

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

Shareholder benefitsIf you own shares in a cruise line you may be able to get on-board benefits when you sail with them. Stock exchange listed companies, like Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian, offer these perks. In order to receive them you have to own a minimum number of shares (usually 100), contact the line before you travel to request them and provide proof that you own their stock. They do not make it easy to claim the perk so start the process well in advance of travelling. To how to get them check the line’s corporate pages or search on Google for “(name of cruise line) stockholder benefits".The benefits change over time so stay up to date of what they are currently offering. Some examples of the additional benefits have been: • Carnival: $250 on-board credit for cruises of over 14 days • Norwegian Cruise Line: $100 on-board credit for cruise of over 7 daysThese benefits should not be the main reason for buying cruise line shares and you must make considered investment decisions before investing money. You also need to be aware that they can change their policy and requirements at any time.

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

Important documentsBefore you head off on a cruise, especially when you are travelling outside of your home country, scan in copies of all key travel documents. Take paper copies along with you - packed in a different bag to the one carrying the originals. eMail a set to you and a trusted friend or family member or load them onto one of the online cloud storage services like Dropbox or Google Drive. After you have created the folder, simply send the link to your nominated emergency helper.The documents should include copies of your passport, visas, prescriptions and bookings. If your original documents are lost, stolen or damaged you will have access to the copies to help facilitating and getting yourself out of the situation. By having a friend at home who can access the documents they can step in to assist if you are incapacitated or unable to get Internet access.The advantage of using Dropbox or Google Drive is you can use that to keep key documents for as long as they are valid and do not have to remember do it for each trip. It is a bit of hassle to set up but may prove invaluable.

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

Always travel with insurance

You should always have travel insurance when going on a cruise. Some cruise lines may ask the name of your insurance company and their emergency helpline number before issuing your tickets. But even if they do not you should take out insurance as costs associated with problems you may encounter can be significant.

Take out insurance to cover cancellation of your cruise. Deposits and fares are usually not refundable and so if you have to cancel you can find that you are out of pocket. If you or a member of your party falls ill while cruising the medical costs on board or in foreign ports could be hefty. If you have to be evacuated from the ship or repatriated home along with the people traveling with you the financial outlay could be significant.

It is also advisable to have coverage for lost or theft of baggage and valuable items like cameras, laptops, smartphones and tablets.

When taking out insurance ensure your agent or company knows that you are going on a cruise, which part of the world you are visiting and how long the cruise is for to ensure you get the most appropriate coverage.

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

Transatlantic crossing on Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 or repositioning cruise on another line?You should go on a Cunard Crossing at least once. It is the only remaining classic journey from the era of crossings before jet travel. They are the only line with a real “ocean liner” versus cruise ship: the Queen Mary 2. It is designed for the rigours of the north Atlantic with a strong hull to withstand the constant battering and to be stable even in the Atlantic. It is the only surviving scheduled transatlantic service between Europe and New York. The ship and on-board schedule is geared for entertaining people at sea for a week. There is a range of stateroom grades and prices ranging from a few hundred dollars up to $40,000 per person.Most lines offer repositioning cruises which tend to be competitively priced and run at the start and end of the European Summer when they move their ships to regions like the Caribbean. These usually spend a week cruising ports and a week crossing the Atlantic. As they do not cross the north Atlantic it tends to be smooth sailing despite their cruise ship designs. The most classic crossing is the Cunard one.