There are a few small things I do that significantly transform my cruises, including one tiny thing
I did this week for my next cruise that took me less than 3 minutes and left me $2,000
of hard cash up.
I have pulled all these small but transformative things I do together as I want to share with
you five small and simple things that you can do that, I genuinely believe will transform
your next cruise.
By the way, if you're new here, I'm Gary Bembridge and it's my goal to make it fun and easy to
discover, plan, and enjoy unforgettable cruising vacations.
On my next cruise, as I record this, in the Mediterranean on Azamara Quest I did a dummy
booking a month before going and found my cabin grade was now half the price I paid.
Half!
A staggering $1,800 less.
I asked my agent to contact them, and they slashed my fare to that price, returning $1,800
to me.
If I had not checked and asked, I would have been sailing having paid twice the price of
people booking closer to the sailing date.
Before going on a cruise, one small thing I always do is to check if it is on sale cheaper
than when I booked or paid for it.
If it has, I usually get money back, additional onboard credit or an upgrade.
I find the quickest and easiest is to do a dummy booking on the cruise line website.
The advantage of this is the website defaults to whatever region you've booked, so most
comparable.
I also, which again takes a few minutes, add a tracker for my cruise on Cruisewatch.com
(https://www.cruisewatch.com/cruise-price-alerts).
They send alerts whenever prices change.
So, I then know to go and double check my specific cabin grade.
As Cruisewatch.com does not track all cruise lines, like UK-based lines for example, my
alternative is CruiseCritic.
I search for my cruise and then go into “Fare Insight” where I can set up a price tracker.
There are a few watchouts and need-to-knows when doing this simple check:
With maybe one exception, Saga Cruises, the lines will not pro-actively adjust your fare
down if they cut fares.
You must contact them.
There are lines that make it easier and guarantee to match lower fares if you contact them.
At time of recording, this includes Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Azamara, but this
guarantee changes, so ALWAYS ask when you book your cruise, what happens if the price
goes down.
Make sure you know
I am seeing some lines being trickier, like most of the Carnival Group.
For example, I've had success with Cunard where I've managed to get upgrades when fares
fell, but other people have struggled to get them to budge when prices go down with Cunard
arguing the fare was locked in the terms of conditions of a specific promotion.
So, as I said, when you book a cruise, ask what happens if the price goes down?
Once you’ve paid your final balance the lines are less willing to match any fare reductions,
so always do that dummy booking at least before you pay your final balance.
Finally, be prepared to push for or get upgrades, of which I have had quite a few on my last
cruises as prices have been falling, or extra On-board credit if you can’t get the fare
cut.
A big tip.
If you do have to settle for on-board credit, check once on the ship if unspent on-board
credit is refundable or non-refundable as you may then be able to get that in cash in
the end anyway.
The second small thing you can do comes with some risk.
It may transform your cruise, but perhaps for the worst, and this is around getting
upgraded.
This was confirmed just two days ago when a channel follower, Donna, messaged me to
say she had been upgraded from the ocean view cabin she'd chosen and booked into a balcony
cabin that was in a terrible position above a noisy nightclub and next rowdy bar.
She was very upset.
So, what small things can you do when it comes to upgrades, and how do you avoid Donna’s
issue
To put you in line for an upgrade, the small step you can take when booking is making sure
you, or your travel agent, has the “will accept an auto-upgrade” option ticked.
However, I NEVER do this as I then usually have no choice but to accept whatever cabin
the line upgrades me too.
I could find I am in a cabin like Donna’s.
My small step is to do the opposite, and I make sure the “will accept an auto upgrade”
is not ticked, because I like to choose my cabin and location and do not want to take
the risk the so-called upgraded cabin is in a location I dislike.
If you are not concerned about location or happy to risk, then make sure you take the
easy step to opt into an auto-upgrade.
If you are concerned, then make sure it is not ticked.
Another quick thing that could transform the cruise, but will cost, is bid for an upgrade.
Many lines will send an email asking you to bid to upgrade.
If you're going to bid for an upgrade, bid low.
Don't over bid and end up paying the same as you would if you'd booked the cabin anyway.
And also don't assume that there are actually upgrades.
Also take a few minutes on the second day of your cruise, to swing by the Front Desk
and ask if they've got any upgrades.
Most people go ask on embarkation day and upgrade prices will be at their highest then.
By the next day, prices will have come down.
And you get to check the cabin out.
While there is some risk in how these steps could transform your cruise, the next one
has no risk and lots of upsides in my experience.
I have found this one has transformed many of my cruises for very little time and effort,
and it is the part way through cruise questionnaire.
Many cruise lines send out a questionnaire a few days in, or part way through, a cruise
asking how things are going.
It can really transform things as I’ve found.
What's important to understand, in my view anyway, is the Hotel Director is THE most
important person on a cruise, and that's where the mid-cruise questionnaire comes from.
Many people think the Captain is the most important person.
Of course, he is in terms of safety and sailing, but all the departments we as guests use report
to the Hotel Director.
The cabins, bars, dining, shore excursions and entertainment.
I've had many changes that transformed cruises through this using the part-through cruise
questionnaire.
I was moved on day three of a cruise from an ocean view to a balcony cabin on Silversea
Silver Cloud in Antarctica, because there were some annoying but not totally cruise-ruining
noise in the cabin from some machinery underneath at random times in the night.
I mentioned this in the questionnaire that I was finding a bit disturbing, and the Hotel
Director called and asked if I wanted to move.
He moved me to a better location, to a balcony and a quiet cabin.
As was the person in the next-door cabin who did the same as me.
I had vibrations from the engine on a CroisiEurope Mekong River cruise that was again annoying
but not a disaster.
I mentioned it to the Hotel Director chatting one day at reception, and he immediately said,
“We've got another empty cabin up front if you’d like to move".
They have the power to make these decisions and the questionnaire is a direct line to
them usually.
So, use it and remember that the Hotel Director are that questionnaire could transform your
cruise.
But why limit transformation to just on the ship?
I have also transformed my time in ports by making a small and not very time-consuming
change.
On that recent Azamara Mediterranean trip I spoke about, the line offered me a choice
of seven trips in Marseille, so I went onto an independent tour provider group website
(ShoreExcursionsGroup.com), and they offered me a choice of 18 excursions.
Their options included more active and unusual ones including e-bikes tours and gastro tours
the line did not.
In Monte-Carlo, Azamara had just 3 tours plus two private van options that cost over $1,000
a day.
ShoreExcursionsGroup.com had 6 times as many tours (17 in all) including one driving exotic
sports autos, and their private car tours were almost half the price.
Taking a few minutes checking independent tour provider sites could transform your whole
experience in ports, with different and more exotic options, but also cut your budget for
excursions.
The sites to look at include shoretrips.com and shoreexcursionsgroup.com.
These are easy and simple as you input your cruise line, ship and departure date and they
bring up your itinerary and all excursion options on the date your ship is there.
In minutes you could transform your port into a more interesting and varied day in port
than the line is offering.
However, there are a few small things you can also do to get your fellow passengers
help transform your cruise for you – as I do.
One thing that takes little time to set up but provides a mine of information and help
are two features on CruiseCritic.com.
First, I sign up for the roll call for my cruise and secondly, I sign up for the “Meet
and Mingle” on my cruise too.
In the roll calls I can chat and discuss tips and tricks for my trip.
It’s particularly good when going as a solo traveller or perhaps when wanting to have
some familiar faces when I arrive.
In those roll calls, people will be arranging getting together for pre tours, post tours,
or even clubbing together to book private tailored van tours in some ports.
The “meet and mingle” is also a fantastic thing.
Many lines host a CruiseCritic “meet and mingle” at the start of the cruise.
There are free drinks and snacks, and I get a chance to talk to the people from Roll Call.
I get at the beginning of the cruise to get to know some familiar faces and people to
arrange to go to dinner with or go on tours with.
And importantly, I discover surprising tips and tricks because there are always diehard
fans of the line and those who know the ship inside out, and love to share their tips and
tricks.
The first one I ever went to was on Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam in Alaska and I discovered
some little-known things to do and places to go in Skagway and the other ports.
Some lines are official partners like Azamara, Carnival, Celebrity, MSC, Silversea, Royal
Caribbean, Viking, and then some are more unofficial partners in the program like Holland
America, Princess, Norwegian but still host the events.
If you want to know other key things that I think you should do and not do pay for on
a cruise, join me across in watch this video where I start with one of the big things that
I regret paying for on a cruise?
See you over there.