You're about to discover eight services
that could change the way you cruise, forever.
Hi, I'm Gary Bembridge.
This is another of my Tips for Travellers.
I want to share with you eight amazing services
that I think could help you
think about and cruise very differently.
Starting with this one.
Finding a cruise mate.
If you're a solo traveller,
you are often hit with a big surcharge for double occupancy.
So finding someone to cruise with you is the way to go.
However, you might not have friends
or family that want to go cruising.
So there are a whole bunch of really interesting services
that help you find a cabin mate.
There's probably three big buckets
of ways that you can do that.
First of all, there are very specific cruise agents
that will actually package singles holidays
and offer a matching service as part of the deal.
And if they can't find a suitable match
you will still pay the lower price.
So a good example of that is Vacations To Go.
They put together solo cruises
throughout the year in all different regions,
and they do that matching service.
So that's a good one to look at
if you want someone else to do the job for you.
There's also a whole bunch of cruise sites
that you can go to where they offer matching services.
So, a couple of ones that I have come across
that I know really work for people is
there's cruisemates.com, there's cruisetrends.com,
silversurfers.com, Cruise Mate Finder.
So a whole bunch of sites that are cruise related
and there's lots of forums there,
where you can find a cabin mate.
Another one that's really popular
and a lots of people have found,
have worked for them is using the site meetup.com.
On there if you search for solo cruises or single cruises,
you'll find lots of groups which are often
location or cruise specific, where people are
looking to meet other people to go cruising with.
The next really interesting service
is around luggage transfer services.
It can be a real big hassle taking your bags on flights,
getting them, transferring to the buses,
getting to the ship, carrying on the ship
and all that hassle of bags, you know,
wherever it is around the world
that you're joining your cruise.
There are a whole bunch
of luggage transfer opportunities that you have.
Now, many of the cruise lines partner
with different companies to do that,
but you can also go to the companies direct.
The main company that cruise lines
partner with is called luggageforward.com.
So Princess Seabourn Regent Services, Cunard,
Holland America, Oceania, Uniworld, Viking and Windstar,
at the time of recording, all use luggageforward.com.
Crystal Cruises uses a different company
which is called luggageconcierge.com.
But if you want to do it yourself
there are many other sites online.
So for example, there is another site
which is also very popular,
which is called luggagemule.co.uk, out of the UK.
It can be a relatively expensive thing to do
because they charge between five to $8, a pound, roughly.
So it could cost you $200 or $300
to send your bag to the ship and vice versa,
but it could take a lot of hassle out.
If you want a less expensive way of doing it,
also understand what other options your cruise line offers.
For example with Royal Caribbean you have an opportunity
where you can actually check your bags in on the ship
and they take it to the airport.
Or you have Disney, for example, where if you are staying
at one of their resort hotels in Orlando,
they will then transfer that bag right through to the ship.
The third service that could transform
your cruising experience,
a lot of people might already know about,
and that's Independent Shore Excursions.
But there're a couple of services
which are really great because they integrate
really seamlessly with the cruise experience.
On these sites you basically go, you input your cruise
and then for every single port
it will give you the excursions which they offer.
You normally find there are smaller groups
and they are a cheaper price.
Some of the ones to look at are shoretrips.com,
CruisingExcursions.com, and shoreexcursionsgroup.com.
They also will include guarantees
that we'll get you back to the ship on time
and if they don't it will be their cost
and hassle to get you to get back to the ship.
But these are companies that
have been around for a long time
and really integrate seamlessly
with the cruising experience.
And that's something that people are using more and more,
because excursions can be a big cost
and the advantage of some of these services
is you can do some different excursions
often with smaller groups and at a lower cost.
But always check the terms and conditions
and make sure things like getting you back
to the ship on time is covered.
Another service that I came across
that is fantastic because it makes
cruising possible for people that
have accessibility or other issues,
and this is companies that you can
hire accessibility equipment,
whether it's as simple as wheelchairs
or mobility scooters, right through to equipment
that help make your cabin accessible friendly,
specific things for your bed or bath or whatever.
And these are great because it means people
that perhaps couldn't cruise before can now
make sure that the cruising experience is set up for them.
And these are companies they partner with
different cruise lines,
and they set it up on the ship themselves,
because they have arrangement with the ships.
If you ever looking at anything like that,
the companies that I know,
and have heard people use and are very happy with
include companies like specialneedsatsea.com,
mobilityatsea.com and another
company called scootaround.com.
So these are great companies with great services.
So, even if perhaps one day you've injured yourself
and you're going on a cruise,
and you just need a wheelchair
because you've broken a leg or something,
take a look, because it's going to revolutionise the way
that you cruise, great services.
Linked to that is another great service
which is perhaps a little bit more specialised,
and these are people who will provide carers
with medical backgrounds, so they're normally nurses,
who will come on a cruise with you
if you do have any medical needs
and it avoids you, then having to use the medical centre,
but also a lot of cruise lines won't let you on
unless you have someone who cares for you,
so they can make sure that they will escort you
on excursions, they'll sort out your cabin
if there's any any special needs
and deal with any medical issues you've got.
One of the companies that does that
is a company that's called medicaltravelcompanions.com.
And these are really helpful whether
you have a medical issue,
a mental issue or anything like that.
And they will come on a cruise with you
and they will look after you and all of your needs.
So that's a great service,
again, because it means that people who perhaps
couldn't go cruising before can now go cruising.
One of the services that isn't going to cost you any money
is if you're travelling by yourself
whether you're lady or gentleman
and you love to dance, a lot of cruise lines
have gentlemen or lady dance hosts.
These tend to be on cruise lines which
will have live dance, music and it means that
you also have someone to dance with
without having the embarrassment of
trying to find someone to dance with.
Now, you have to be really careful if you are
interested in that particular service, who provides it.
So you'll find lines like Cunard have it.
I've been on Saga Cruises who also have it.
So, take a look at the cruise lines,
you'll tend to find that it tends to be
cruise lines have a slightly more
traditional cruising experience.
So take a look and find out if they do have dance hosts,
that's a service that will certainly make you,
in the evenings, have a great time
and not restrict you in what you can do,
versus people who're travelling with friends or family.
Another service which is really great,
particularly if you're going
on a cruise for a special occasion,
is many cruise lines have massive online shops,
which you can order online before you go.
So, you can order things like room decorations,
or treats in the room, whether it's champagne,
chocolate strawberries, flowers,
special gifts, merchandise, all sorts of crazy things
that you can do, things that you wouldn't even expect.
Now, some of them, also,
you can then buy and have delivered at home.
But the great thing is, if you're going on a cruise
with a friend or family or partner,
and you've got some event coming up,
an anniversary, a birthday, something like that,
you can order some crazy things for your cabin.
So, when you arrive your cabin
can be decorated, there'll be lots of treats there.
So, some of the ones to look at,
for example, some of the biggest lines
that have them are the Carnival Fun Shop,
which is at carnival.com/funshops,
Royal Caribbean have royalcaribbean.com/royalgifts.
A Norwegian site is norwegiangiftshop.com.
When it comes to shopping
and buying things online for cruising,
there's another service which may not be applicable to you,
unless you're a crew, but there is sites out there,
and companies out there that will
help relieve the pressure of crew
when they have limited time on board
to have to go and do chores.
So, for example there's a site called forcrewonly.com,
and they'll do all the shopping
in certain ports for crew, they bring it to the ship,
and so the crew just has to come off and fetch it
from the delivery people there.
They'll do things like that, they'll even,
you can have Amazon orders processed through there.
They have an online site where there's a myriad of things,
from toiletries, to gifts, all sorts of things,
that crew can then order.
It means that when they do have
that limited amount of time,
they can actually go and relax,
and enjoy themselves or have a nap, or whatever,
and let someone else do the shopping.
There's loads of different services growing
and popping up all around the place,
as cruising becomes more and more popular.
Those are eight of them that I've come across
that I think will change the way that people cruise,
and the things they do on cruising, a really big way.
If you have any others, I'd love to hear from you,
but I do have many more videos,
packed full of cruising tips, advice and ideas.
So, why don't you watch another one of those right now?