Up next in 10
I Run Rings Around The Latest CRUISE RIP OFFS (You Can Too)
2K views
Jan 28, 2025
Now more than ever cruise lines are looking how to get more money from cruise passengers than ever before. I look at 10 things they are doing to extract more cash from us today that I think are rip offs and what I do to reduce or avoid them so all you can too. GET EXCLUSIVE PERKS LIKE MEMBER-ONLY BONUS VIDEOS BY BECOMING A CHANNEL MEMBER: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_qE-Obs2ocdmPXY0TIU-cw/join Links mentioned in the video: https://www.cruisewatch.com/cruise-price-alerts https://www.tipsfortravellers.com/cruise-ship-fare-tracking/ https://www.cruzely.com/cruise-line-drink-package-calculator/ https://www.cruisemummy.co.uk/cruise-drinks-package-calculator https://www.resortpass.com https://www.ventureashore.com https://www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com BUY MY CRUISE-THEMED T-SHIRTS ———————————————— * Check out my T-Shirt range at https://tipsfortravellers.myspreadshop.com , http://bit.ly/TFTStore or https://tips-for-travellers.creator-spring.com SUPPORT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS
View Video Transcript
0:00
I was reminded of the need to be on the
0:02
watch for Cruise rip-offs when I got one
0:05
Cruise Line recently to give me back 1
0:07
800 of the fare I'd paid when I saw
0:10
exactly what they were doing I'm going
0:12
to show you how I spotted it what I did
0:14
and nine other rip-offs to watch out for
0:17
these days welcome aboard I'm Gary
0:19
bembridge and it's my goal to make it
0:21
fun and easy to discover plan and enjoy
0:23
Unforgettable Cruise vacations now more
0:27
than ever Cruise Lines want to get us to
0:29
pay as much as possible for our cabin
0:32
and they have departments and clever
0:34
computer Dynamic pricing models to make
0:37
this happen now this is where I feel
0:39
that personally I'm ripped off too often
0:42
because I book early and they often
0:44
penalize Me by later charging people
0:47
much less for the same cabin as I've
0:49
booked if the cruise isn't selling that
0:52
fast so what do I do simple I track
0:55
fares and I ask for a price reduction
0:57
upgrade or onboard credit to match the
1:01
new low Affair it's really easy to do on
1:04
sites like cruisewatch.com where I
1:07
simply input my cruise and they alert me
1:09
when fares change I also sometimes use
1:12
Cruise Critic because cruisewash.com
1:15
doesn't cover all of the lines
1:16
particularly UK based lines that's how I
1:20
got that one thousand eight hundred
1:21
dollars back on my Azamara Quest
1:23
Mediterranean Cruise because I saw the
1:26
fair dropped and they'd scrapped the
1:28
solar supplement that I had been charged
1:30
on my recent Viking Sky Adriatic and
1:32
Oceana Marina Panama trips I was
1:35
upgraded From A Balcony cabin to a suite
1:37
again when I was alerted that fares had
1:40
changed now I have suggested this in
1:43
other videos and I have instructions on
1:45
how to do it on my blog tips for
1:47
travelers.com I get messages every
1:50
single week from passengers all around
1:52
the world that this has worked for while
1:55
this is a big one I found more reports
1:57
actually happen once I'm on board the
2:00
ship many lions have started to
2:02
introduce all-inclusive add-on bundles
2:04
with supposedly large discounts of up to
2:08
50 percent versus buying the items
2:10
separately most bundle 3 on board costs
2:13
like Wi-Fi gratuities drinks Excursion
2:17
discounts or specialty dining and come
2:19
with names like celebrities always
2:21
included Holland America have it all
2:23
princess plus princess Premiere and
2:26
Norwegian Cruise Lines free at sea but I
2:29
think they're potentially misleading and
2:31
can be a rip-off because they don't work
2:34
for everyone for me for example because
2:37
they only include basic Wi-Fi I end up
2:40
paying to upgrade to a streaming level
2:42
anyway I don't drink alcohol so the
2:45
drinks package is wasted on me now
2:48
talking to passengers who do drink
2:50
though those bundles often fall short
2:53
for them too because they're usually the
2:55
basic drinks package and have many
2:57
limits like only cover drinks up to 12
3:00
or 15 or exclude many brands or only use
3:03
how Spirits beers or wines most
3:06
passengers I speak to seem to upgrade to
3:08
a better package in the end anyway I
3:10
believe Lions have introduced these
3:12
because they've worked out that they
3:14
make more money this way why else would
3:17
they do them so do I do I don't buy the
3:20
packages any longer
3:23
I just buy the things I need and know I
3:26
will use like a better wi-fi and I often
3:29
buy it online before the trip if they
3:31
offer discounts I found in most cases
3:34
I'm spending less now than when buying
3:36
the bundled package but at least do a
3:39
comparison before you buy them if going
3:42
that package route or on lines like
3:44
Carnival and Royal Caribbean that do not
3:46
currently have at the time recording
3:49
those all-inclusive bundle deals watch
3:51
out for a rip-off potentially around
3:54
drinks packages again remember Cruise
3:56
Lines must have worked out that drinks
3:59
packages make them more money than not
4:01
having them drinks packages on Royal
4:04
Caribbean or Carnival can cost between
4:06
400 and 600 per person for a seven night
4:11
cruise and that's the price before they
4:14
add an 18 gratuity they require everyone
4:16
over 21 in your cabin to usually buy
4:19
that package and have lots of small
4:21
print terms and conditions that limit
4:23
the number of drinks or cost of drinks
4:25
that are actually included so before
4:27
buying one use an online drinks package
4:31
calculator the best I found are on
4:35
cruisley.com and on cruisemummy dot Co
4:40
dot UK
4:42
you choose your line input how many
4:44
drinks you think you're going to have
4:45
per day and it calculates if it's worth
4:48
buying the package or not now many
4:51
people doing that tell me they find it's
4:54
often not especially if you have a very
4:56
Port intensive Cruise having a drinks
4:59
package talking of ports another ripoff
5:03
in my view are Cruise Line Excursions
5:06
Cruise Lines try to scare us with the
5:08
risk of factors of not using them like
5:12
if a cruise line Excursion is delayed
5:14
getting back to the ship they will only
5:16
wait for it but not for anyone else
5:17
secondly that they've carefully screened
5:20
all their operators and thirdly they
5:22
talk about convenience however
5:24
I pay a premium for those three benefits
5:28
the cruise lines don't run excursions
5:30
themselves they can track those out to
5:33
local companies and they're making a
5:34
markup which can range talking to
5:36
various insiders anything up to 300
5:39
percent also by going that route
5:41
unlimited to what they have so it's a
5:44
bit of a rip-off in a way because
5:45
there's many many more things that one
5:48
can do in a port so here's what I do
5:51
first of all
5:52
I look at self-exploring if there's
5:55
something the line office that I want to
5:56
do I check how close it is to the port
5:59
first or if it's very easy to get to for
6:01
example in Bergen recently instead of
6:03
doing the costly Cruise Line Excursion
6:05
to go on the floor buying funicular up
6:08
to the top of Mount Florian I found it
6:11
was literally a 10 minute walk on the
6:12
ship and cost almost nothing to use the
6:15
funicular I also look at hop on Up of
6:17
buses they normally go to all the main
6:20
sites leave from the port and they're
6:23
more flexible and cheaper especially if
6:26
you're the sort of person who likes
6:28
panoramic Coach Tours for example hop on
6:30
up a bus is a great alternative
6:32
in the Caribbean instead of booking a
6:34
cruise line Beach Excursion I use a site
6:37
called
6:38
resortpass.com for example on an
6:42
upcoming cunningstam Mexico trip they've
6:44
got some stunning resorts in Puerto
6:46
Vallarta for way less than a cruise line
6:49
transfer and Excursion however if you
6:51
don't want to self-explore my go-to
6:53
alternative is using a third-party
6:55
provider like
6:57
ventureassure.com and Shore
6:59
excursionsgroup.com
7:02
there I input my cruise line my ship and
7:05
departure date and it brings up all the
7:08
excursions that are available through
7:11
them for my ports they're usually much
7:13
cheaper than the cruise line option and
7:15
I find has a greater variety of Tours
7:18
generally
7:19
excursions are not the only area I feel
7:21
a rip-offs where the line has contracted
7:24
them out there are things on board that
7:26
I had always assumed were run by the
7:28
cruise line but actually contracted out
7:30
that because of that have an element of
7:33
ripoff 2 I think the spa is run by
7:36
contractors and in my view horribly
7:38
overpriced perhaps as the contractor
7:40
needs to make a profit as well as the
7:43
cruise line on top of that profit there
7:46
are three things that I think add to the
7:48
that rip-off first of all the high price
7:51
Rockets up after the treatment because
7:53
there's an auto added gratuity of 18
7:56
normally second many missed that as a
7:59
Slip you sign at the end has a blank
8:02
line for gratuity and many people add
8:04
gratuity on top of the gratuity
8:06
thirdly the therapists are trained
8:08
incentivized and required to push more
8:12
treatment series and also sell products
8:14
now my partner Mark often Falls for this
8:16
rip-off despite my best efforts often he
8:19
ends up buying a series of treatments
8:21
for supposedly an issue identified in
8:23
his first massage like dry skin or a
8:26
tight back and he ends up buying costly
8:28
products which he never uses so here's
8:30
what I do I either only go to the spa if
8:34
I've got leftover onboard credit
8:36
and I always go on a port day there are
8:39
big reductions on Port days because it's
8:41
less busy most cruise lines also
8:43
contract out the photography Department
8:46
personally I think it's a big rip-off
8:49
especially as photos have remained
8:51
incredibly costly despite the shift to
8:54
digital it was going to cost me forty
8:57
dollars for just two photos that are
9:01
taken on my Disney Magic cruise recently
9:03
forty dollars each for a digital photo
9:06
although I did actually speak to several
9:08
parents and they were actually very
9:09
happy paying the over 300 cost of a
9:12
photographic package because they found
9:14
they had around 200 photographs taken of
9:16
their kids posing with all the
9:18
characters so they were saying it's only
9:19
cost me a couple of dollars per digital
9:22
photograph so that's something to bear
9:25
in mind but on most lines it's still
9:27
working out at twenty dollars to thirty
9:30
dollars per photograph what do I do I
9:33
never buy the photographs I keep an eye
9:35
out though on the locations where
9:36
they're taking photographs because of
9:38
course they know the absolute best
9:40
locations and many people use that like
9:43
I do when the ship's quiet to either
9:46
take a selfie or get another passage to
9:48
take a photograph with my camera or
9:50
smartphone one thing that baffles me and
9:53
experts seem to agree on
9:55
as a rip-off is the art auctions and art
9:59
sales this is another contracted out
10:01
service and it's normally either Park
10:03
West or Clarendon Fine Art the art
10:05
auctions and sales are pitched as an
10:08
investment with free champagne hosted
10:11
auctions and prize draws to entice you
10:13
and me in
10:15
however many of the Arts seem to be
10:18
prints or limited series and I feel are
10:20
probably unlikely to be investment or
10:22
collector grade now to avoid being
10:24
ripped off don't go into it thinking
10:26
it's going to be an investment but if
10:28
you'd like a piece of art pay what you
10:30
feel it's worth for you to have but
10:32
don't think you're investing what do I
10:34
do I don't buy art but as many people
10:36
who run the gallery and the auctions are
10:39
incredibly knowledgeable about art and
10:42
art history if like on my recent Cunard
10:44
Queen Elizabeth Western Mediterranean
10:46
trip they are running enrichment talks
10:48
about well-known artists or anything to
10:51
do with art I actually do go to those
10:52
now I get asked a lot about Cruise Line
10:55
Insurance particularly Cruise Line trip
10:58
protection and if this is a rip-off now
11:01
I'm not an expert on finance so I'm
11:02
giving you my personal perspective here
11:06
I personally found Cruise Line trip
11:08
insurance policies don't usually give me
11:11
the same or as good cover as I can get
11:13
from a third-party specialist insurer
11:16
they also don't always cover my
11:18
pre-existing conditions
11:21
I found Medical cover limits are often
11:24
lower and coverage starts and ends often
11:27
with the cruise and so when I'm doing
11:29
flights pre and post days I'm not always
11:32
covered and if the cruise line goes
11:35
under the policy seems to go under with
11:38
a two so what do I do I don't buy Cruise
11:40
Line cover and I use third-party travel
11:43
insurance providers I take it out as an
11:45
annual policy because I can here in the
11:48
UK and so I'm covered even if I have to
11:51
cancel a booking that I've made I'm
11:52
covered all the time now I use a company
11:54
in the UK called all clear I'm not
11:56
recommending it I'm just telling who I
11:58
use in the US I hear lots of people
11:59
talking about Allianz or
12:01
tripinsurance.com to price compare so I
12:04
can't recommend any specific insurer I
12:06
would recommend at least comparing that
12:09
to the cruise line one I cannot talk
12:11
about rip-offs without mentioning one
12:13
that affects me a lot as nine out of my
12:16
ten trips are Solo and it's really the
12:19
struggle to do with those large solar
12:22
supplements I often pay the same as I
12:25
would if my partner Mark was coming
12:27
along too it's a quite complicated area
12:30
and so I have a whole video around this
12:32
called how I cruise better cheaper and
12:35
smarter solo where I go into this in
12:37
much more detail so that affects you
12:40
please check that one out I also think
12:42
the onboard shopping advisors are a
12:45
ripoff I mostly find them on my Alaska
12:47
and Caribbean cruises where they hold
12:50
events recommending shops suggesting
12:52
deals and giving us various incentives
12:54
now as all the stores in the program
12:57
have paid fees to be in there
12:59
and the advisors are funded ultimately
13:01
by the shop through fees and commissions
13:04
I remain very skeptical
13:07
they recommend the same old chains
13:10
diamonds International Effie Del Sol and
13:14
so on but bear in mind that there is a
13:16
hidden agenda there and money is
13:18
changing hands behind the scenes so I
13:21
don't necessarily feel that they're
13:22
going to direct me towards the shops
13:24
that perhaps have the best deals in
13:26
those ports what do I do well actually
13:29
go to the talks because they're actually
13:31
very entertaining and they also have
13:32
lots of freebies I handed out or Raffles
13:35
and basically though anybody that I'm
13:39
with I please plead with them to at
13:41
least check the prices online if they
13:43
are going to buy anything in those Port
13:45
shops
13:46
if you find this interesting I want to
13:48
know seven things that I found smart
13:50
Cruisers do watch this video which
13:52
starts with the one thing that
13:54
transformed all my cruises for the
13:56
better see you over there
#Shopping
#Travel & Transportation
#Vacation Offers