If you are thinking about booking a cruise this episode is a must watch.
We give you five reasons to book a cruise right now
and then look at three reasons why you should wait
until this whole situation is over.
Well, Ahoy there cruisers.
We're cruise with Ben and David.
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So the number one reason to book a cruise right now
is prices are really good.
Cruise lines are working overtime to get people booking cruises again.
This is the same with travel agents they need your business right now.
This means that there's some great deals available.
We've seen some cruises half the price as there were before.
But, it's still important to shop around.
Check prices direct with the cruise line
and then with the travel agent to see who has the better offer.
Flights are also cheaper too at the moment.
So if there's a need to fly to the port that's an extra benefit too.
And there's loads of brand new ships on the horizon to sail.
You've got Royal Caribbean's Odyssey of the Seas, the Celebrity Apex,
Virgin Voyagers brand new Scarlet Lady, Princess Cruises' Enchanted Princess
and Carnival Mardi Gras and much more.
All these ships bring cutting edge new features to make your cruise vacation amazing.
It really is an exciting time.
Even though it's not an exciting time if you know what I mean.
Obviously, booking a cruise to sail on these ships right now
you'll find those lower prices.
Making it much more affordable.
So once cruising starts again and the demand is higher
cruise prices are sure to go up.
So now is a good time to book.
Also, take a look at cashback sites.
I was just looking before we made this video
and i've seen cashback of up to a £100
on some cruise lines including Princess Cruises and Royal Caribbean.
So it means a little bit of extra cash back when you book your cruise.
So, the second reason to book a cruise right now
is there is loads of incentives running at the moment.
Princess are offering up to £400 off per person on selected sailings.
As well as an all-inclusive package with big discounts
and many cruise lines such as Norwegian and Royal Caribbean
are offering onboard credit as well.
Royal are offering up to $350 on board credit plus extra perks
and they have some crazy short cruises that are going for around $200 per person.
We've also seen some Carnival Cruises for less than $130 for two nights.
That is crazy.
It's probably cheaper to go on a cruise than it is to stay at home.
Yeah and they're doing two for one deposits as well
making it super cheap to book right now.
That's absolutely crazy!
Celebrity have got some great deals too with free drinks packages.
And Norwegian are allowing you to get cheaper cabin upgrades
by booking a balcony cabin for the same price as an ocean view cabin.
All these cruise lines need your business at the moment
so that's why we're seeing some of the best deals we've ever seen before.
But it's still always worth having a look around to find the perfect deal for you.
The deals are changing constantly.
So keep an eye on the different cruise websites.
Sign up to the cruise lines newsletters
and sign up to travel agents newsletters as well
to get the best discounts directly to your inbox.
When you're booking with a travel agent
make sure you're getting all the benefits that the cruise line is offering
when you book direct with them
by checking their website before booking.
The travel agent should pass all those benefits onto you
and the travel agent may be offering their own benefits as well.
So number three is the flexibility.
Most cruise lines are offering a cruise with confidence scheme.
This includes lines such as Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Carnival, Princess.
basically all of them.
Check on their website.
It means you can cancel and change your cruise
right up to the last minute.
Up to 48 hours in most cases.
This gives you the perfect peace of mind.
You won't lose anything if you want to change the date of your cruise.
So there'll be no extra charges.
Or if you don't feel comfortable sailing.
You can cancel right up to the last minute.
But remember,
you can't cancel and get a refund.
You can just cancel and change your cruise.
So the cruise with confidence scheme allows you to change your date
and receive a future cruise credit to use on another sailing.
We do recommend you book well into 2021 at the moment for safety.
Because it doesn't look like cruising will be back at least for a few months.
And if you feel nervous there's deals all the way into 2021,
almost up to 2022.
When we are sure cruising will be back in full swing.
If your cruise is cancelled
most cruise lines will give you extra credit to say sorry.
Most are offering 125% credit for the cruise that has been cancelled.
This means you can put that extra 25% towards something extra like a long cruise
or a cabin upgrade.
You can really treat yourself.
So the fourth reason to book a cruise right now
is that it is safer than ever.
All cruise signs have completely redone and rehashed their health and safety protocols.
Cruises were very safe before, we're not saying that they were unsafe.
But they have really gone the extra mile with what's going on in the world.
They'll be one of the safest places on earth.
Cruise lines have been working hard with organizations and top doctors
to make it as safe as possible to cruise.
Top professors have said they will be safer than visiting any city in the world.
Enhanced cleaning schedules and new protocols will keep you much safer than previously.
There's better pre-boarding checks
things like testing and temperature checks to ensure that the virus doesn't find its way on board.
And god forbid if it does manage to get on board the cruise ships
they've got detailed protocols on how to deal with it
and how to keep the infected people isolated and in the best care as possible.
The medical centers on board have also been improved with more doctors and nurses,
better medication and better care provided on board if necessary.
So number five is less people on board.
Cruise lines are going to return with fewer people on board at the beginning
many only going up to fifty percent or sixty percent of capacity.
Meaning there'll be less people on board
and, if you like that sort of thing, it'll feel nicer.
There'll be loads of spare seats in the theater and lounges
and it'll be much easier to get that dining reservation you want..
Plus booking a cruise will really give you something to look forward to.
Okay so let's have a look at the three reasons why you shouldn't book a cruise at the moment.
First one's pretty obvious it's uncertainty of everything that's going on.
Should you wait until you have a clearer picture of what's going on with cruise
and what is going to happen in the future?
Well it might be worthwhile doing this if you are worried.
Going on a cruise should not cause any anxiety
so if you are worried about what's going on
you should really hold off.
We don't want you to lose any sleep over it and it's just not worth it.
We still don't know what ports are going to be opened in the future.
Ports could be cancelled or changed
so if you're really set on going to a particular port
it may be worthwhile holding off.
But if you are flexible and just want to cruise
go for it.
Number two will it feel like an actual vacation?
With all the extra protocols such as wearing face masks,
social distancing and extra boarding checks
and things like temperature checks and tests.
Will actually still feel like a vacation?
Well we just don't know yet because we've still yet to cruise.
But it's a valid thought.
Will it feel more like a hospital than a floating luxury hotel?
Interaction with crew will be different
as they'll be wearing face masks at all time.
Meaning that you can't get a smile out of them.
It's going to be different.
Venues will be limited to different capacities
and you'll be sat away from other passengers.
So some people might love this - If you like being by yourself.
But others who like making new friends on cruises
and chatting with other passengers may find it a bit solitary.
This is going to change soon enough though when there's vaccines and better tests.
These extra protocols are just temporary and will be relaxed and reduced at some time.
For us we would still choose to cruise because a holiday and a vacation is what you make it.
And finally the big question will the cruise lines survive?
We know this is a worst case scenario but we truly don't know.
2021 is going to be tough for everybody in the travel industry.
Including cruise lines.
It's been well over six months since cruise lines have sailed with passengers
and that is a long time to go without any income or revenue.
We've already lost several cruise lines.
These are generally smaller lines like CMV
but we also lost the Royal Caribbean joint venture
Pullmantur Cruises.
If they do go bust there's always the risk that you could lose your money.
So some tips here of how to avoid this.
We recommend only paying deposits via a credit card
and paying your balances off at the last minute.
This way you are much less likely to lose any money
and you're also covered with protection on your credit card.
We don't want to scare you here though.
Most major cruise lines are looking financially safe at the moment.
Most have said they could go for another six months or more without cruising
before we need to start getting more worried Ben.
Yeah we've had a good look at all of the major cruise lines like Royal Caribbean,
MSC, Princess.
Anybody in the Royal Caribbean group, anybody in the Carnival group
they're all looking very safe at the moment
and said they can go a long time more without cruising.
So don't let that really worry you at the moment it is the smaller independent lines which are more at risk.
But as you said if you book with a credit card you're going to be perfectly safe
and if you pay at the last moment
that means you haven't gave all of your money away yet.
Yeah and make sure you've got travel insurance as well
and check your travel insurance
if it will cover you for a situation where the cruise line does go burst.
Yeah and if your government isn't really recommending cruise at the moment,
like the US and the UK,
travel insurance won't be valid because nobody's going to insure you in that case are they.
So that's it for this episode.
Thank you so much for watching
So what are you going to do?
Have you booked another cruise or you're going to wait to see what happens?
Let us know in the comments section below.
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And the captains of the week this week are Bette and Jeff.
Ahoy Bette and Jeff!
That's it till next time. Happy Cruising!