While the cheapest way to go to Antarctica is on a regular cruise line and ship sailing past the Antarctic Peninsula as part of a South America itinerary, there is a huge catch making it less fulfilling as you do not get to land or do zodiac rides to get close to wildlife. For a true Antarctic experience, an expedition cruise is the way to go. However, as the cost of these cruises is prohibitive to most, I asked my friend, Martin Johnson who runs Polar Routes (a dedicated Antarctic and Arctic travel agency), to help me identify the most budget-friendly ways to get there. And in this I share how you can cruise to Antarctica for less and without breaking the bank.

Links mentioned in the video

• Download the PDF comparing the 21 Antarctica cruise lines: https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/polar  
• * Polar Routes: https://www.polarroutes.co.uk
•  * Polar Routes Antarctica Hosted Group Cruises: Ponant: https://www.polarroutes.co.uk/cruises/antarctica/emblematic-antarctica-14-days-by-ponant/
•  and HX Hurtigruten Expeditions: https://www.polarroutes.co.uk/cruises/antarctica/antarctica-falklands-south-georgia-25-days-by-hx/

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I have been intrigued as recent reviews of Crystal Cruises have been very positive, including it having the highest passenger ratings on Cruise Critic in the ultra-luxury category, better than Regent Seven Seas, Silversea and Seabourn. So, I decided to test Crystal Cruises out to see if they really are the best of the ultra-luxury lines. This is what I discovered.

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After doing well over 100 cruises, I thought I knew everything about life on a cruise ship. That was until a dinner hosted by a senior crew member on my last cruise, where they revealed a surprising secret about cruise ship crew that I was totally unaware of! That got me wondering what else I, and other passengers, have no idea about cruise ship crew.

Welcome aboard, I am Gary Bembridge and after much research and talking to crew off the record, I found 6 secrets kept well hidden from us passengers that I think you will find surprising and maybe even shocking.

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Cruise line glossy brochures and their enticing adverts promise a carefree and trouble-free vacation, BUT they don’t tell the whole story. There are several important things that can and do significantly impact us as passengers that the lines seem reluctant to talk about or be upfront about. Welcome aboard, I'm Gary Bembridge and join me as I unmask five unspoken things that directly affect us all, and why I believe you need to know more about them.

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I have done a Panama Canal transit four times and on every trip I see passengers making the same mistakes that get in the way of making it their adventure of a lifetime. But some of the errors are so easy to make that even an experienced cruiser like me can get tripped up – as I did on my most recent Panama Canal trip on Regent Grandeur. So, welcome aboard, I’m Gary Bembridge and hear 5 things I have learnt the hard way that you need to know about doing a Panama Canal cruise.

Links mentioned:

David McCullough’s “The Path Between the Seas. The Creation of the Panama Canal” ** Buy on USA Amazon: https://amzn.to/3E3QV65

 ** Buy on UK Amazon: https://amzn.to/3CdECnb

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Days before heading off on Regent's newest ship, the Grandeur, the line launched new advertising promising that “nobody does it better”. In in they also claimed to have the “world's most luxurious fleet”, and that no cruise line beats them on destination experiences, hospitality, luxury spaces, and dining. Having been on Regent before, while I found them great, I didn’t think they beat every line, so this latest trip turned into the perfect opportunity to really test out if Regent now does do cruising better than everybody else. I am Gary Bembridge, and this is what I found. And as always to offer an unbiased review I booked and paid for this trip myself like every single cruise I go on

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I’ve been contacted recently by way too many cruise passengers that have been caught out by new scams that have emerged since my last video about this topic, including one a good friend stumbled upon on his latest cruise – and one using me to scam cruisers like you! Here are the latest cruise scams to watch out for!

Links mentioned:

• Get 10% any of The Cruise Maps products using https://www.TheCruiseMaps.com/TFT
•  USA ESTA: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta
•  UK ETA : https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-an-electronic-travel-authorisation-eta
•  Canada ETA: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/eta.html
•  CIBT Visa: https://cibtvisas.com
•  
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Every cruiser can see that cruise fares have been rising scarily fast, and cruise lines are telling Wall Street investors that they expect fares to keep rising well over inflation as demand for cruising is so high. But despite that, I have found ways of paying less than most people on every one of the 12 upcoming trips I've got booked. I'm going to show you how I, and other smart cruisers, cruise for less than others in this time of rising fares.

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I’m upset as one item I've taken on every cruise I've done to date has just been banned. But I'm not the only one devastated about new cruise line bans, as three people contacted me about a less-publicised ban making cruising more costly for them. While I saw another recent ban got one cruiser banned for life when she unwittingly broke it. I’m Gary Bembridge, and I’m here to tell you about six items cruise lines have recently banned that could change the way you cruise. Forever.

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If you've got a cruise booked in 2025, or thinking of booking one, there are startling changes being made by cruise lines, governments, and the actions of some local port residents that you need to be ready to deal with. Even if you've been cruising recently and think you know how things work, these changes could catch you by surprise and throw your cruise plans off course. Here are six changes I think you need to be ready for in 2025.

Links mentioned in the episode: 

UK ETA: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-an-electronic-travel-authorisation-eta 

EU ETIAS: https://travel-europe.europa.eu/etias_en

 Videos Mentioned:

Money saving: https://youtu.be/qWLw-tJbSKg

 Banned Items: https://youtu.be/WCveKKbpJRw

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