What are the best cruise tips after 30 sailings? — featuring Cruzely.com

0:00 after nearly 30 cruises you learn a thing or two about sailing that you don't learn on your first or second or even fifth cruise and some of those things are genius level moves that make your trip even better that's why I'm sharing what I've learned with you right now so that you can have a better Cruise

0:17 starting day one now before I get started I just wanted to let you know that if you love this channel you can become a member your support gives you special recognition on the Channel more access and even some cool Cruis Le gear to show off your fandom to learn more click the join button below this video to check it

0:39 out with that out of the way my first tip is one that I've come up with over more than a decade of cruises I call it the 5105 Rule and it helps with your cabin selection the first number five is for the deciding factor on whether or not you should get a balcony a balcony cabinet is always nice but if you're

0:56 wondering when it's worth the money and when it's not use the 5day tripl link as the cut off anything shorter than that you'll be out and around the ship and in Port for so much of your cruise that a balcony is great but it's definitely not a must-have trips longer than that 5 days however and you definitely want a

1:14 balcony cabin so there's more downtime on the cruise and it's just a long time to go without natural light or fresh air in the room and if your trip is exactly 5 days you can really go either way but I'd lean more toward getting the balcony cabin now the 10 15 they go together and

1:31 they explain where on the ship is best to book a modern cruise ship will have a main interior area as typically a few decks in the middle of the ship like decks 6 through 8 then there is the pool area that's at the very top of the ship I've learned that being in between these two areas normally around decks 10

1:51 through 15 that's ideal as it gives you easy access to both without having to go too far the only drawback to this location is that when when you arrive back on the ship from a portol you will have to wait for an elevator to go back up to your room and it will be crowded the rest of the time however it's

2:11 ideal I feel like on about a third of the ships that I've sailed on they have one of these and for those that aren't familiar this is the device for saving electricity it's designed to house your room key card if you turn on the lights without a card inserted then they will automatically shut off after a few

2:28 minutes this way if you aren in in the room the lights aren't on here's the thing it's way too easy to have your card inserted leave the room and then realize that you forgot your card with the door automatically locking when closed you have to head the guest services to get back in your cabin now

2:45 many people simply bring an old card with them to keep in the switch the entire trip that's the best thing to do but if you forget that you can get a little creative now if you brought a towel clip or a lanyard for your card clip that to the card when it's in in the slot these are big and they're

3:02 eye-catching they make the chances of walking out with your card inserted significantly less this smart tip is only for those sailing on Royal Caribbean but that's literally millions and millions of people each year most people know that every Cruise Line offers discounted packages if you book before the cruise

3:22 I'm talking about discounts on things like wifi or drink packages and a Royal Caribbean's case excursions and things to do on Coco K now rural Caribbean loves to move these prices around Black Friday usually has big sales but even outside of that time the prices they can vary for someone looking for the

3:40 absolute lowest price it can really be frustrating what I've learned however is that you can book a package cancel it and then rebook it with zero penalty so if you book the drink package for $80 a day then it drops to $70 per day you can cancel and get the lower price and the rest of your money refunded yes you have

4:01 to keep an eye on the prices but it does make it easier to get the best deal possible unfortunately crowds they're just a part of cruising despite what those Cruise ads show with people out on the ship having a great time with no one else around that's really not the case but over the years you learn some of the

4:22 rhythm of how people Cruise that's a big help in avoiding crowds and getting a little bit more Elbow Room for one people on the ship they aren't out and about that early if you want to swim or get in a hot tub and don't want to share with a bunch of other people doing it earlier in the morning is ideal one I

4:39 personally like to use is with the private islands if all board is at 5:00 p.m. at CoCo K or Ocean Key and by about 300 p.m. the place really starts to empty out often I'll head down in the morning head back to the ship around midday to cool off and get a nap and then head back down in the afternoon for

4:56 a second round this way I drastically avoid the crowds while still getting plenty of beach time speaking of those private islands one smart tip I've learned over the years is that while you can spin as much as you want here with Cabanas or beach clubs and jet skis and water parks and

5:17 all of that it's much smarter to use these stops as freebies the private islands run by the cruise lines they have been built up as profit centers a family could easily spend thousands of dollars in a single day here if they wanted to but there are also so many included things to do like the beaches

5:34 and the pools and food that it's hard not to have a good time even without spinning a dime it can be the opposite however in traditional ports of call there you practically have to spend money to have a good time unless you're fine just walking around sightseeing that's why I like to save my money on

5:52 days in those private destinations and instead spend on excursions in other ports of call in places like KML or other ports you're going to have a much better time if you book those excursions now I think one of the biggest changes I've noticed in cruising during my years is that prices and the

6:14 opportunity to spin have gone way up nowhere is that more evident than with food on the ship back in the day it used to be that all the food was included on the cruise then that turned to a few specialty restaurants charging nominal fees today it seems like many places outside of the buffet and the dining

6:32 room are an extra charge and the prices can be really high I've seen some charging upwards of $6 per person for a meal no thank you but these charges have also crept into the dining room but it's actually not a bad deal you usually find a premium section of the menu from the steakhouse when you're in the main

6:51 dining room on the annoying side these plates are upch charges for things like good steaks and I'm not talking about those ones normally served in the dining room and things like lobster now on the plus side this gives you a chance to get a meal from the steakhouse for about half the cost of dining there

7:06 and without needing that reservation so if you're in the mood for a steak but you don't want to pay full price or they're simply booked up try ordering off of the dining room menu it's a smart play now I've never gotten a massage on a cruise to me paying $150 plus gratuiti it's too expensive for a service that

7:28 lasts an hour but but what wasn't heavily advertised is the thermal pass and after buying one of those I am hooked a thermal pass gets you access to the ship Spa it comes with the hot tubs the heater loungers saas rainfall showers and way more and with a day pass you get to hang out here as long as you

7:47 want best of all the passes they're only about 40 or 50 bucks for a day to me that is an absolute steal now there are plenty of people that know about these passes so days at se they can get busy but you rarely see it listed as an item on the Spa menu so you might have to ask to me it's one of the best deals on the

8:10 ship a great move that smart Cruisers make is something that many have never considered and that is limiting time after of the ship when it's underway now there was a research paper that got some publicity done a few years back it measured the pollution around the outside of the ship it turns out that

8:27 certain parts of the ship notably the back of it it can have air that isn't so fresh this makes sense with the exhaust in the middle of the ship that means the back part of the ship is under those exhaust fumes when the ship is sailing of course the wind direction it will also have some impact on where that

8:44 exhaust goes even without a study however I've certainly noticed that you can find what looks to be soot or Ash around the back of the ship and just like how I wouldn't want to lay out my towel and get some sun behind an idling car I also try to avoid hanging out in this area if I can can now it doesn't

9:01 mean that I avoid it completely after all there's usually a lot to do in this section of the ship but I just don't sit and relax in this part if I can help it I touch briefly on food on the ship it seems these days a number of specially restaurants is soaring while the free options are dwindling in fact

9:22 some ships have the buffet the dining room and maybe a spot or two where you can grab a snack included in the fair that's it I do have to say Carnival is one of my favorites for having a lot of included options so I do want to give them kudos for that but no matter the line or the ship that you sale smart

9:38 Cruisers know that when they can eat they should eat anywhere other than the buffet the buffet is the only place that's open for breakfast lunch and dinner no matter what you're going to eat a lot of meals here during your cruise it's by far the most convenient place to eat but the buffet quality well

9:56 it's Buffet quality it's not bad but it's nothing right home home about so after you've eaten here three or four times if you're like me you've definitely had your fill the smart move is to hunt out other restaurants around the ship including dining room serving breakfast and lunch to where when you do

10:14 eat the buffet it still has some novelty to it the pro move when it comes to getting on the ship just hold your horses after dozens of cruises I'd wait to be the absolute last person on board the ship if I could but the majority of people they want to get on board as soon as they can I can

10:34 only tell you that this is a hassle unless you have some sort of VIP status like booking a suite or really high loyalty now when you board early you're going to face long lines at security and checkin then once you are on the ship it's unlikely your room is going to be cleaned and ready for you if you get on

10:52 before about 1 or 2:00 so you get the luxury of exploring the ship with your bag in toe when you show up and Bo later there's practically no line at checkin you can go immediately to your room and drop off your things it's a much smoother and less hectic way to start your cruise my last smart move is one that I

11:16 always do and I think it helps me get the trip started all right some people don't realize it but you have homework to do before you actually get to cruise there's a mustard drill where you have to watch safety videos and then check in at your must station it's mandatory and it only takes a minute but you can go do

11:33 it at any time before the ship leaves my suggestion and what I normally do is knock this out first thing hell you can even do it with a drink in your hand if you want to I also think it's smart to take some time and unpack your suitcase as soon as you can in your cabin that way you don't have these things hanging

11:52 over you as you get your vacation started there's no mustard drill to interrupt having a good time and if you go out and have a late night on that first first day and a lot of you do you come back to a room where all your stuff is already unpacked and ready that's way nicer than having to dig through a full

12:07 suitcase when you're tired and you just want to go to bed thank you for watching and I hope that you learned a thing or two to make your next Cruise even better remember I'd love to have you join up as a member to sport crule which can include me sending you some pretty cool gear you can always prepare for your

12:24 next cruise by visiting Cruis le.com and until next time happy sailing [Music] me