1
00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,480
Speaker 1: Welcome to How to Money. I'm Joel and I am Matt.

2
00:00:03,560 --> 00:00:06,520
Speaker 1: Today we're talking cruises, the cheapest way to travel with

3
00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:28,640
Speaker 1: Ilana from a Life Well Cruised. Yeah, so, typically the

4
00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:31,960
Speaker 1: way this podcast works is that we share our first

5
00:00:32,000 --> 00:00:36,279
Speaker 1: hand account of something personal finance related. So save up

6
00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:38,920
Speaker 1: three to six months of living expenses for an emergency fund.

7
00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:42,320
Speaker 1: Of course, we did this years ago, investing in real estate,

8
00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:45,800
Speaker 1: becoming a landlord. That's something we have done multiple times over.

9
00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:50,600
Speaker 1: Even pursuing entrepreneurship by scaling a podcast side gig into

10
00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:53,239
Speaker 1: a full fledged business. Well, that's something that you are

11
00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:55,840
Speaker 1: listening to right now. But when it comes to going

12
00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:59,000
Speaker 1: on a cruise, Joel and I are total idiots. Neither

13
00:00:59,080 --> 00:01:01,960
Speaker 1: of us have ever been on a cruise before, but

14
00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,760
Speaker 1: we're intrigued and so we figured it made a lot

15
00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:06,720
Speaker 1: of sense to bring on a pro And so we're

16
00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:10,120
Speaker 1: joined by Ilana from a Life While Cruised, which is

17
00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:12,920
Speaker 1: a cruise and a travel blog. And she also has

18
00:01:12,959 --> 00:01:16,679
Speaker 1: a YouTube channel where she has around forty five million views,

19
00:01:16,760 --> 00:01:20,040
Speaker 1: which is just incredible, but it makes sense considering the

20
00:01:20,040 --> 00:01:23,200
Speaker 1: helpful content that she's publishing over there. So Alana, we

21
00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:26,080
Speaker 1: hope you're ready because we have a ton of questions

22
00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:28,760
Speaker 1: for you. Thank you for joining us today on the podcast.

23
00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:31,880
Speaker 2: Oh thanks so much for having me on. Super excited

24
00:01:31,880 --> 00:01:32,760
Speaker 2: to talk with you guys.

25
00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:36,319
Speaker 1: We're excited too, Alana and I've got so many questions because,

26
00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:38,920
Speaker 1: like Matt said, we are total newbies at this. But

27
00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:41,520
Speaker 1: the first question we ask anybody who comes on the

28
00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:44,319
Speaker 1: show is what do they like to splurgeh On Matt

29
00:01:44,319 --> 00:01:46,920
Speaker 1: and I we drink fancy craft beer from time to time.

30
00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:49,280
Speaker 1: We're having the next one. Now, what is it that

31
00:01:49,360 --> 00:01:51,480
Speaker 1: you splur John while you're still trying to save and

32
00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:52,720
Speaker 1: invest well for your future.

33
00:01:53,200 --> 00:01:56,000
Speaker 2: Well, firstly, I do like to splurge on cruises. That's

34
00:01:56,040 --> 00:01:56,680
Speaker 2: definitely one.

35
00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:58,480
Speaker 1: Hundred percent I figured.

36
00:01:58,920 --> 00:02:02,200
Speaker 2: But besides that, when it comes to traveling in particular,

37
00:02:03,040 --> 00:02:06,920
Speaker 2: I splurge on direct flights. They could be economy, but

38
00:02:07,120 --> 00:02:11,639
Speaker 2: I will not even look at any flight that has

39
00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:14,480
Speaker 2: any stop. Part of that is because I have flight anxiety,

40
00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:18,639
Speaker 2: so it's a very practical reason. And otherwise it's also hotels.

41
00:02:18,720 --> 00:02:21,480
Speaker 2: I'd rather spend a little bit more money on a

42
00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:25,399
Speaker 2: hotel in a great location, safe, nice looking. So those

43
00:02:25,400 --> 00:02:26,640
Speaker 2: are my kind of splurges.

44
00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:29,000
Speaker 1: Those direct flights, they just save a lot of time

45
00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:32,360
Speaker 1: and hassle when you're traveling too, right, Yeah, is it

46
00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:34,280
Speaker 1: more like you mentioned kind of the flight anxiety. Is

47
00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:36,960
Speaker 1: it more just the fewer the planes the better, or

48
00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:39,840
Speaker 1: is it also about kind of reclaiming some of your time.

49
00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:45,279
Speaker 2: Well absolutely both, Okay, so yeah, definitely it's for the convenience.

50
00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:47,359
Speaker 2: But at the same time, it really is very practical.

51
00:02:47,400 --> 00:02:53,760
Speaker 2: I know that crash anyway. Crashes happen more on landings

52
00:02:53,800 --> 00:02:57,440
Speaker 2: and take offs, so I just reduce my risk, that makes.

53
00:02:57,280 --> 00:02:59,640
Speaker 1: Sense, But they also probably occur just as frequently as

54
00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:03,720
Speaker 1: somebody falling overboard on a cruise. I don't think that's

55
00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:05,120
Speaker 1: something that we're planning to get to.

56
00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:06,920
Speaker 2: No, we won't even talk about that.

57
00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:11,000
Speaker 1: Yeah, ever happens like this kind of makes me think

58
00:03:11,040 --> 00:03:13,200
Speaker 1: about when we first reached out to you to record,

59
00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,720
Speaker 1: and of course you weren't available because you were actually

60
00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:19,680
Speaker 1: on the cruise I think at that point. And so

61
00:03:19,720 --> 00:03:21,760
Speaker 1: for us dudes who have never been on a cruise,

62
00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:24,360
Speaker 1: can you tell us why it is that you love

63
00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,200
Speaker 1: cruising so much? Is it specifically because you don't like

64
00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:30,520
Speaker 1: flying that you're like, you know what, for me, it's boating, Like,

65
00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:32,480
Speaker 1: what is it for you that causes you to want

66
00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:34,560
Speaker 1: to go on as many cruise as you possibly can.

67
00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:36,920
Speaker 2: Oh, that's a good question. Well, first of all, though,

68
00:03:36,960 --> 00:03:39,960
Speaker 2: it is actually for the vacation itself. On a cruise,

69
00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,840
Speaker 2: you can travel to several different destinations all within one trip,

70
00:03:44,400 --> 00:03:46,920
Speaker 2: and your hotel moves with you, so you don't have

71
00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:50,840
Speaker 2: to pack and unpack to go to different locations. You get,

72
00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:55,080
Speaker 2: you know, great meals, fine dining, your entertainment pretty much

73
00:03:55,120 --> 00:03:59,600
Speaker 2: for five star accommodations, all in one travel experience, and

74
00:04:00,120 --> 00:04:03,160
Speaker 2: overall it's a pretty reasonable way to travel.

75
00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:07,960
Speaker 1: Okay, Well, I'm curious too because, like COVID was almost

76
00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:10,200
Speaker 1: the death knell for some of the cruise companies. Did

77
00:04:10,280 --> 00:04:13,360
Speaker 1: that cramp your cruising style? And how do you feel

78
00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:15,880
Speaker 1: like that's changed the industry because that was Man, that

79
00:04:15,920 --> 00:04:17,160
Speaker 1: was a rough couple of years right there.

80
00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:20,360
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, absolutely. I don't know what I thought when

81
00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:25,920
Speaker 2: it kind of all first happened, but definitely cruises were

82
00:04:26,040 --> 00:04:29,360
Speaker 2: completely stopped for I believe it was more than eighteen months,

83
00:04:29,360 --> 00:04:32,440
Speaker 2: but definitely eighteen months. So you would have thought that

84
00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:35,360
Speaker 2: some of the cruise lines would have just gone bankrupt

85
00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:38,599
Speaker 2: after that, but they didn't. At least on the most part,

86
00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:41,600
Speaker 2: all of the big cruise lines are still around. They

87
00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:46,400
Speaker 2: invested a ton of money into safety protocols and health protocols,

88
00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:49,640
Speaker 2: and now they're back better than ever. In a lot

89
00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:53,640
Speaker 2: of ways, cruises have become even more popular vacations than

90
00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:54,440
Speaker 2: they were before.

91
00:04:54,760 --> 00:04:57,039
Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, I mean, and you said a second ago

92
00:04:57,080 --> 00:05:00,000
Speaker 1: that you think that they're more than reasonable, but I mean, honest,

93
00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:02,520
Speaker 1: just in preparation for this episode, looking at some of

94
00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:04,840
Speaker 1: the prices out there, like they really do seem like

95
00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:06,840
Speaker 1: the most affordable way to travel, like you said, and

96
00:05:06,880 --> 00:05:09,400
Speaker 1: see multiple countries at once. And so we want to

97
00:05:09,440 --> 00:05:12,760
Speaker 1: start off by talking about finding a deal on a cruise. Sure,

98
00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:14,880
Speaker 1: and it seems like that, like we're right in the

99
00:05:14,880 --> 00:05:17,320
Speaker 1: middle of what's known as wave season. Is that right?

100
00:05:17,760 --> 00:05:19,719
Speaker 1: It seems like that that's when you are able to

101
00:05:19,720 --> 00:05:23,960
Speaker 1: snag the biggest discounts on some of the different different cruises.

102
00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:25,640
Speaker 1: What should folks be looking for there?

103
00:05:25,839 --> 00:05:29,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely so, starting sort of in January all the

104
00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:31,799
Speaker 2: way through March, there are typically a lot of great

105
00:05:31,800 --> 00:05:34,920
Speaker 2: deals on cruises, although you can find good deals at

106
00:05:35,400 --> 00:05:38,360
Speaker 2: all different times of the year, but definitely right now,

107
00:05:38,400 --> 00:05:41,480
Speaker 2: a lot of cruise lines are having sales on third

108
00:05:41,480 --> 00:05:45,000
Speaker 2: and fourth passengers. So that's really good for families that

109
00:05:45,040 --> 00:05:48,839
Speaker 2: are willing to cruise all in one cabin. So cabins

110
00:05:49,320 --> 00:05:53,400
Speaker 2: on cruise ships are smaller than hotel rooms, but for

111
00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:56,000
Speaker 2: families that are willing to do that, oftentimes they can

112
00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,360
Speaker 2: have their kids sailing free or sailing at really highly

113
00:05:59,520 --> 00:06:03,520
Speaker 2: discount rates. Other times cruises are just sort of on sale.

114
00:06:03,600 --> 00:06:06,880
Speaker 2: There are some discounts, some percentages off even on like

115
00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:09,719
Speaker 2: let's say a second passenger, So when your two people

116
00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:13,240
Speaker 2: in the cabin, the second passenger might sail for forty

117
00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:16,919
Speaker 2: to sixty percent off, so that's a good deal. And otherwise,

118
00:06:17,080 --> 00:06:20,080
Speaker 2: even if the prices are about the same as before,

119
00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:23,760
Speaker 2: there are perks when people are traveling and cruising. So

120
00:06:23,800 --> 00:06:29,520
Speaker 2: that can include free gratuities for instance, or extra onboard

121
00:06:29,560 --> 00:06:32,760
Speaker 2: credits that you can use for excursions and other things

122
00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:33,360
Speaker 2: on the cruise.

123
00:06:33,680 --> 00:06:36,000
Speaker 1: So when you book matters, it sounds like I guess

124
00:06:36,000 --> 00:06:38,039
Speaker 1: I'm curious about all the other ways you can save too.

125
00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:41,000
Speaker 1: You've talked about being flexible with dates. We know that

126
00:06:41,080 --> 00:06:43,040
Speaker 1: when you're booking airfare. We talked about Airfair just a

127
00:06:43,040 --> 00:06:46,160
Speaker 1: second ago. That just changing your dates by a day

128
00:06:46,279 --> 00:06:49,320
Speaker 1: or two forward or backward can save you a ton

129
00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:53,000
Speaker 1: of money getting to your destination. But that can also

130
00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:56,320
Speaker 1: be true of a cruise itself, right, like the dates

131
00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:59,320
Speaker 1: that you're departing and can make a big difference in

132
00:06:59,360 --> 00:06:59,960
Speaker 1: how much you pay.

133
00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:04,120
Speaker 2: Oh absolutely, And for instance, I'm going on a cruise

134
00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:08,600
Speaker 2: on January seventh, and the cruise that I'm doing, if

135
00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:10,720
Speaker 2: I would have booked it for New year so just

136
00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:14,080
Speaker 2: you know, the week before, I probably would have paid

137
00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:18,240
Speaker 2: oh goodness, maybe not double, but pretty close to double.

138
00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:21,440
Speaker 2: So it's significantly more expensive to go on a cruise

139
00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:24,360
Speaker 2: at New Year's than it would be to go one

140
00:07:24,360 --> 00:07:27,960
Speaker 2: week later. But the same thing happens during different times

141
00:07:27,960 --> 00:07:32,000
Speaker 2: of the year. So, for instance, cruises tend to be

142
00:07:32,320 --> 00:07:36,240
Speaker 2: most expensive during school breaks, during the holidays, and during

143
00:07:36,280 --> 00:07:40,760
Speaker 2: summer breaks. And so if people can go during shoulder

144
00:07:40,880 --> 00:07:44,240
Speaker 2: season while the kids are still in school, before they've

145
00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:46,880
Speaker 2: gotten out of school, the prices are going to be

146
00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:50,560
Speaker 2: somewhat better, And it definitely can make a difference if

147
00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:56,280
Speaker 2: people go one week before or one week after a holiday,

148
00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:57,440
Speaker 2: that will make a difference.

149
00:07:57,520 --> 00:08:00,480
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm curious to hear that, because I guess, again

150
00:08:00,600 --> 00:08:04,960
Speaker 1: having been you know, being completely ignorant ubes when it

151
00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:08,960
Speaker 1: comes to comes to cruises. I didn't know if the

152
00:08:09,080 --> 00:08:11,720
Speaker 1: actual cruise lines had that kind of flexibility as well,

153
00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:13,680
Speaker 1: but it sounds like they do. I'm curious then, like,

154
00:08:13,680 --> 00:08:16,280
Speaker 1: what if you end up booking something and the price

155
00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:17,920
Speaker 1: ends up going down, like you, you know, maybe you

156
00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:20,480
Speaker 1: book a week after it sounds like everybody else is

157
00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:22,480
Speaker 1: going to book their cruise, and so you're able to

158
00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:24,280
Speaker 1: get a deal, But what if it continues to drop?

159
00:08:24,360 --> 00:08:26,800
Speaker 1: Is that something? Are there ever any instances I guess

160
00:08:26,840 --> 00:08:28,920
Speaker 1: when you're able to get any of that money refunded

161
00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:33,560
Speaker 1: to you, like some of the more favorable airlines will

162
00:08:33,600 --> 00:08:34,400
Speaker 1: oftentimes offer.

163
00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:37,400
Speaker 2: Yeah, it definitely does happen. And that's something that for

164
00:08:37,520 --> 00:08:40,760
Speaker 2: people that are cruising often they know that the best

165
00:08:40,800 --> 00:08:44,360
Speaker 2: time to book a cruise typically is as far ahead

166
00:08:44,400 --> 00:08:46,680
Speaker 2: as possible, So a lot of times people will book

167
00:08:46,720 --> 00:08:50,280
Speaker 2: a cruise eight months to a year before, sometimes even

168
00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:53,520
Speaker 2: longer than that. But the benefit of doing that is

169
00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:56,600
Speaker 2: people are able to book their preferred date, they're able

170
00:08:56,679 --> 00:09:00,240
Speaker 2: to brook the book excuse me, their preferred cabin. But

171
00:09:00,640 --> 00:09:05,800
Speaker 2: at the same time, if the price does decrease as

172
00:09:05,960 --> 00:09:09,160
Speaker 2: they get closer to sailing, then the cruise line will

173
00:09:09,360 --> 00:09:13,960
Speaker 2: usually honor the lower price up until final payment, so

174
00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:17,959
Speaker 2: I probably do have to explain cruises most of the time.

175
00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:21,840
Speaker 2: Most cruise lines have when people do book, you book

176
00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:24,600
Speaker 2: and you put a deposit on your cruise, So that

177
00:09:24,640 --> 00:09:28,600
Speaker 2: deposit could be, as an example, five hundred dollars per person.

178
00:09:28,679 --> 00:09:31,760
Speaker 2: That's just an example. The deposit can differ depending on

179
00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:36,760
Speaker 2: the cruise line and depending on the different promotions that

180
00:09:36,800 --> 00:09:40,240
Speaker 2: they have, but if that deposit is five hundred dollars,

181
00:09:40,320 --> 00:09:44,240
Speaker 2: that's usually a refundable deposit, and the final payment is

182
00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:47,440
Speaker 2: anywhere from seventy days to one hundred and twenty days

183
00:09:47,600 --> 00:09:51,520
Speaker 2: before the cruise. So if the price does come a

184
00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:54,199
Speaker 2: little bit cheaper, let's say four months before the cruise,

185
00:09:54,480 --> 00:09:56,760
Speaker 2: you simply have to call your travel agent or the

186
00:09:56,800 --> 00:09:59,440
Speaker 2: cruise line and they will almost all the time lower

187
00:09:59,480 --> 00:10:02,079
Speaker 2: that rates so that you can get that refund on

188
00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:02,600
Speaker 2: the cost.

189
00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:05,679
Speaker 1: The difference nice is that across the board with all

190
00:10:05,679 --> 00:10:07,040
Speaker 1: the different cruise lines.

191
00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:10,280
Speaker 2: It is as long as you're booking. Like in North America,

192
00:10:10,400 --> 00:10:13,480
Speaker 2: sometimes the rules are a little bit different for UK residents,

193
00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:17,040
Speaker 2: but that's pretty much on most of them on the

194
00:10:17,080 --> 00:10:20,760
Speaker 2: mainstream cruise lines, so that includes everybody from Carnival to

195
00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:24,840
Speaker 2: Princess Cruises to Royal Caribbean. It may not include some

196
00:10:24,920 --> 00:10:27,160
Speaker 2: of the luxury cruise lines, but most of the popular

197
00:10:27,200 --> 00:10:29,800
Speaker 2: cruise lines. That's pretty much what happens.

198
00:10:29,840 --> 00:10:31,760
Speaker 1: That's cool. It should provide I think, some peace of

199
00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:35,320
Speaker 1: mind from people being able to book early and then knowing, oh, hey,

200
00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:37,200
Speaker 1: if the price goes down, I don't have to just

201
00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:40,760
Speaker 1: wait for the perfect deal. I can hopefully book and

202
00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:43,400
Speaker 1: then let the deal come to me well after the fact. Yeah.

203
00:10:43,440 --> 00:10:45,480
Speaker 1: And also too, the fact that you said that it

204
00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:48,839
Speaker 1: sounds like that deposit is also refundable. Is that also

205
00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:51,400
Speaker 1: across all the popular cruise lines in the US as well,

206
00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:52,360
Speaker 1: So all of.

207
00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:55,280
Speaker 2: The cruise lines have an option to book with the

208
00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:59,440
Speaker 2: refundable deposit. Okay, However, some of the cruise lines do

209
00:10:59,640 --> 00:11:02,400
Speaker 2: sometimes offer a better price if you book with a

210
00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:06,160
Speaker 2: non refundable deposit, so that really is up to the person.

211
00:11:06,480 --> 00:11:10,800
Speaker 2: Some people absolutely know the date that they want to cruise,

212
00:11:11,080 --> 00:11:14,160
Speaker 2: so then one hundred percent if they can book with

213
00:11:14,280 --> 00:11:18,080
Speaker 2: a non refundable deposit, that's going to be their best bet. However,

214
00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:20,839
Speaker 2: sometimes people do want a little bit more flexibility. They

215
00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:23,600
Speaker 2: haven't booked their area yet, and they're not one hundred

216
00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:26,320
Speaker 2: percent sure of their date that they're going to sail,

217
00:11:26,600 --> 00:11:28,720
Speaker 2: so then they'll want a book with a not excuse me,

218
00:11:28,760 --> 00:11:30,040
Speaker 2: with a refundable deposit.

219
00:11:30,160 --> 00:11:33,440
Speaker 1: Gotchakay? All right? So I've seen a lot of there's

220
00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:37,320
Speaker 1: a new cruise ship launching now in twenty twenty four.

221
00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:39,760
Speaker 1: It's the biggest one ever. It's the Icon of the Seas,

222
00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:42,800
Speaker 1: I believe, right, and it's getting a lot of publicity.

223
00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:46,080
Speaker 1: I saw commercial for it during like the college football

224
00:11:46,160 --> 00:11:48,880
Speaker 1: stuff recently. And these things are like floating islands. They've

225
00:11:48,920 --> 00:11:51,840
Speaker 1: got eighteen story slides going into pools and stuff like that.

226
00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:55,040
Speaker 1: I exaggerate only a little, but just a little, Yeah,

227
00:11:55,120 --> 00:11:57,319
Speaker 1: just a little. But what what is your take on

228
00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:02,080
Speaker 1: booking like the newest, latest, coolest versus booking an older

229
00:12:02,120 --> 00:12:04,640
Speaker 1: cruise ship which might save you more money? And how

230
00:12:04,720 --> 00:12:07,080
Speaker 1: much money? Are we talking about the difference the disparity

231
00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:12,880
Speaker 1: between kind of those fancy, new in demand megaships versus

232
00:12:12,880 --> 00:12:15,439
Speaker 1: maybe some of the older ones with fewer amenities.

233
00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:19,040
Speaker 2: Yeah, so definitely. I Mean, the Icon of the Seas

234
00:12:19,120 --> 00:12:22,679
Speaker 2: looks absolutely amazing and people are so interested in it,

235
00:12:22,840 --> 00:12:26,480
Speaker 2: so it really is commanding the highest prices. But if

236
00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:28,920
Speaker 2: you love a lot of the things that are offered

237
00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:31,480
Speaker 2: on Icon of the Seas, so that's a Royal Caribbean

238
00:12:31,520 --> 00:12:35,640
Speaker 2: cruise ship. Royal Caribbean has many amazing cruise ships, including

239
00:12:35,960 --> 00:12:39,120
Speaker 2: the Oasis class, so the Oasis of the Seas, And

240
00:12:39,559 --> 00:12:42,360
Speaker 2: if people do want to actually get the best deal,

241
00:12:42,760 --> 00:12:45,040
Speaker 2: then what they can do is just look at an

242
00:12:45,040 --> 00:12:48,120
Speaker 2: older cruise ship that still does offer for instance, the

243
00:12:48,160 --> 00:12:53,120
Speaker 2: water slides, the zip lines, the many pools and many

244
00:12:53,160 --> 00:12:55,920
Speaker 2: hot teps, all of the different dining options, and the

245
00:12:55,960 --> 00:12:59,400
Speaker 2: price difference can really be significant. I can tell you

246
00:12:59,480 --> 00:13:03,319
Speaker 2: I was actually speaking with my friend just yesterday and

247
00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:06,160
Speaker 2: she did end up booking a cruise with Rural Caribbean

248
00:13:06,280 --> 00:13:10,640
Speaker 2: where they did have a sale for kids under twelve

249
00:13:10,640 --> 00:13:12,880
Speaker 2: were sailing free. So you know, she called me up

250
00:13:12,920 --> 00:13:14,520
Speaker 2: and she was like, what do you think should I

251
00:13:14,559 --> 00:13:17,800
Speaker 2: do this cruise ship or this other cruise ship both

252
00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:21,280
Speaker 2: with Rural Caribbean and the cruise ship that was a

253
00:13:21,280 --> 00:13:25,560
Speaker 2: little bit older that was refurbished in twenty eighteen quite

254
00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:31,080
Speaker 2: extensively was actually it was almost twenty five hundred dollars

255
00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:35,280
Speaker 2: less than the newer cruise ship. So in the end,

256
00:13:35,400 --> 00:13:38,880
Speaker 2: because they it was. It's their first cruise, it's their

257
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,400
Speaker 2: kids first cruise. I think their children are ten and twelve.

258
00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:45,240
Speaker 2: Now she knows they're absolutely going to love it. And

259
00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,360
Speaker 2: in their case, they wanted to save the money and

260
00:13:48,440 --> 00:13:51,839
Speaker 2: they decided to go for that little bit of an

261
00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:54,520
Speaker 2: older cruise ship. And this way they can use the

262
00:13:54,559 --> 00:13:58,440
Speaker 2: money that they saved on the excursions, on the drink packages,

263
00:13:59,280 --> 00:14:02,960
Speaker 2: on thee and for them, for them, it's worth it absolutely.

264
00:14:03,040 --> 00:14:05,480
Speaker 1: Okay, So is there a resource like how do you

265
00:14:05,640 --> 00:14:07,960
Speaker 1: know I guess whether or not the boat that you're

266
00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:11,560
Speaker 1: looking at is older as a complete novice here as

267
00:14:11,559 --> 00:14:13,600
Speaker 1: a rookie, how do you know, I guess if the

268
00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:16,559
Speaker 1: ship has some of the different amenities even like you mentioned,

269
00:14:17,040 --> 00:14:19,400
Speaker 1: is that all detailed out? How do you tell if

270
00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:20,720
Speaker 1: you are getting a good deal or nut?

271
00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:25,160
Speaker 2: Sure? So, Actually, the cruise line websites are really good resources.

272
00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:27,760
Speaker 2: They're going to have all of the information, so you

273
00:14:27,800 --> 00:14:31,360
Speaker 2: can actually look up the cruise ship that you're looking at.

274
00:14:31,480 --> 00:14:34,320
Speaker 2: You can take a look and see the information about

275
00:14:34,320 --> 00:14:38,400
Speaker 2: the cruise ship, what restaurants are on, what type of

276
00:14:38,440 --> 00:14:41,960
Speaker 2: activities are available on that cruise ship, and it usually

277
00:14:42,240 --> 00:14:45,480
Speaker 2: will give you some information about when that cruise ship

278
00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:49,800
Speaker 2: was last refurbished. But honestly, a really good resource is

279
00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:53,640
Speaker 2: a travel agent that specializes in cruises. These people tend

280
00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:57,600
Speaker 2: to absolutely love going on cruises themselves, and oftentimes they

281
00:14:57,640 --> 00:15:00,160
Speaker 2: really do have the best deals and the best information

282
00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:00,600
Speaker 2: as well.

283
00:15:00,760 --> 00:15:02,800
Speaker 1: Do you have any tips for finding like a great

284
00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:03,440
Speaker 1: travel agent.

285
00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:10,040
Speaker 2: A lot of the big travel agencies that are also

286
00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:15,640
Speaker 2: online websites, so you know, anybody from Expedia, Cruises, Vacations

287
00:15:15,680 --> 00:15:20,400
Speaker 2: to Go, but also you know smaller agencies that specializes

288
00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:23,440
Speaker 2: that specialize in cruises, They're going to be super helpful

289
00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:24,040
Speaker 2: as well.

290
00:15:24,200 --> 00:15:26,560
Speaker 1: And a lot of people think that that using a

291
00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:29,480
Speaker 1: travel agent is going to add to the cost. But

292
00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:32,920
Speaker 1: how does that relationship work and does going through a

293
00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:35,160
Speaker 1: travel agent? Is that going to cost me more than

294
00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:37,240
Speaker 1: booking directly with the cruise line itself.

295
00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:39,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's such a good question. I think a lot

296
00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:42,560
Speaker 2: of people think that using a travel agent is going

297
00:15:42,640 --> 00:15:45,640
Speaker 2: to cost them more money. But the way it works

298
00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:48,760
Speaker 2: is travel agents get paid, at least when it comes

299
00:15:48,800 --> 00:15:51,320
Speaker 2: to cruises, they get paid from the cruise line. So

300
00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:54,720
Speaker 2: the cruise line really builds in a commission for the

301
00:15:54,800 --> 00:15:59,400
Speaker 2: travel agent and that doesn't change the cost for the passengers.

302
00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:01,920
Speaker 2: So whether you book directly on the cruise line website

303
00:16:02,480 --> 00:16:05,320
Speaker 2: or by calling the cruise line, or you book with

304
00:16:05,960 --> 00:16:10,840
Speaker 2: a reputable travel agent that specializes in cruises, the price

305
00:16:10,840 --> 00:16:14,760
Speaker 2: should be the same, if not lower, with a travel agent.

306
00:16:14,840 --> 00:16:19,200
Speaker 2: What happens is with these big agencies, what they do

307
00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:23,960
Speaker 2: is they're able to book group travel rates that they

308
00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:26,800
Speaker 2: book up cabins way in advance, like a year or

309
00:16:26,920 --> 00:16:30,600
Speaker 2: more in advance, and they're basically holding that inventory at

310
00:16:30,640 --> 00:16:34,440
Speaker 2: the lowest price that is available. So, especially when you

311
00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:38,320
Speaker 2: are booking in advance, you're oftentimes going to find a

312
00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:43,400
Speaker 2: better price that is available from a travel agency or

313
00:16:43,600 --> 00:16:47,680
Speaker 2: from one of those large travel websites. And at the

314
00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:50,400
Speaker 2: same time, you might find, at the very least, even

315
00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:52,920
Speaker 2: if the price is the same, that the travel agent

316
00:16:53,160 --> 00:16:55,680
Speaker 2: is going to give you a little extra perk. So

317
00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:58,760
Speaker 2: that could be different times they'll have promotions and that

318
00:16:58,840 --> 00:17:00,760
Speaker 2: will be through the cruise line as well. But it

319
00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:04,320
Speaker 2: might be free gratuities. It might be you know, an

320
00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:07,160
Speaker 2: extra onboard credit of fifty dollars that you can use

321
00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:10,399
Speaker 2: towards excursions or drinks or something else you know, or

322
00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:11,720
Speaker 2: it might be a bottle of wine.

323
00:17:11,720 --> 00:17:16,440
Speaker 1: Okay, well, hey, I take anything. Okay, So another again,

324
00:17:16,480 --> 00:17:18,480
Speaker 1: this sounds like maybe this is more of a cruise thing.

325
00:17:18,480 --> 00:17:20,880
Speaker 1: But when you say free gratuities. Normally, when you hear

326
00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:24,040
Speaker 1: something is free, it means it's, oh, you receive this

327
00:17:24,080 --> 00:17:25,960
Speaker 1: thing and you didn't have to pay for it. But

328
00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:28,520
Speaker 1: with gratuity being something that's normally something that you give,

329
00:17:29,280 --> 00:17:32,200
Speaker 1: how does that work. Does that just mean that, hey,

330
00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:34,879
Speaker 1: you actually have a special badge or something that means

331
00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:37,040
Speaker 1: that you don't have to leave tip or what does

332
00:17:37,080 --> 00:17:37,360
Speaker 1: that mean?

333
00:17:37,440 --> 00:17:40,120
Speaker 2: Yeah, So when you go on a cruise, part of

334
00:17:40,160 --> 00:17:44,600
Speaker 2: the I guess it's the tradition on cruises is that

335
00:17:44,840 --> 00:17:49,919
Speaker 2: passengers are sort of expected to give a gratuity to,

336
00:17:51,320 --> 00:17:53,920
Speaker 2: you know, the waiters, the people that are cleaning your cabin,

337
00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:56,960
Speaker 2: so the house can being the housekeeping, et cetera. But

338
00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:00,439
Speaker 2: rather than giving you know, twenty dollars to one person

339
00:18:00,840 --> 00:18:03,119
Speaker 2: you know, and ten dollars to another and fifty dollars

340
00:18:03,160 --> 00:18:06,680
Speaker 2: to another, or leaving money for every time you go

341
00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:09,840
Speaker 2: to the dining room and you go and eat a meal, instead,

342
00:18:09,840 --> 00:18:12,479
Speaker 2: what cruise lines will do is they will have a

343
00:18:12,520 --> 00:18:17,840
Speaker 2: suggested automatic gratuity that is charged to your account every

344
00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:20,919
Speaker 2: day of your crews and most cruise lines now the

345
00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:26,040
Speaker 2: suggested gratuity is between sixteen dollars and twenty dollars per

346
00:18:26,080 --> 00:18:28,879
Speaker 2: person per day. But that includes all of the people

347
00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:32,080
Speaker 2: who help you on the cruise to make your crews better,

348
00:18:32,200 --> 00:18:35,199
Speaker 2: so you know, your housekeeping, your waiters, and even some

349
00:18:35,240 --> 00:18:37,399
Speaker 2: of the people that you don't see that are behind

350
00:18:37,400 --> 00:18:42,040
Speaker 2: the scenes as well. So basically, when you have free gratuities,

351
00:18:42,119 --> 00:18:46,080
Speaker 2: I'm using like air quotes, gotcha, but that just means

352
00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:49,359
Speaker 2: that those automatic ratuities would be paid for you, so

353
00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:52,800
Speaker 2: you couldn't have that charge to your account while you're

354
00:18:52,840 --> 00:18:53,439
Speaker 2: on the cruise.

355
00:18:53,480 --> 00:18:56,119
Speaker 1: Gotcha. That makes sense essentially like a fen Yeah, totally,

356
00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:59,080
Speaker 1: it's like a fee that's rolled off essentially that they're

357
00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:01,919
Speaker 1: covering for you. I love the insight you gave about

358
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:04,600
Speaker 1: travel agents, and that's super helpful. I guess, you know,

359
00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:08,000
Speaker 1: given the Internet age and kind of the DIY mentality

360
00:19:08,040 --> 00:19:09,760
Speaker 1: that Matt and I have and a lot of our

361
00:19:09,800 --> 00:19:12,240
Speaker 1: listeners have. It it makes me think of like, when

362
00:19:12,240 --> 00:19:14,440
Speaker 1: I'm trying to book a flight, I'm not usually calling

363
00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:16,679
Speaker 1: a travel agent. I'm going to directly to Google flights.

364
00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:19,000
Speaker 1: I'm kind of playing around with the dates with the

365
00:19:19,040 --> 00:19:23,640
Speaker 1: destinations and trying to commandeer the best price I can

366
00:19:23,640 --> 00:19:26,280
Speaker 1: find for the given trip I want to take. What

367
00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:30,239
Speaker 1: does something like that exists for cruises where there's an

368
00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:33,680
Speaker 1: algorithm and you can kind of add or subtract and

369
00:19:33,800 --> 00:19:35,800
Speaker 1: you can kind of hone in on kind of some

370
00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:39,200
Speaker 1: of the best deals that are available, Like, how would

371
00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:42,680
Speaker 1: one go about DIY booking? Is there a third party

372
00:19:42,720 --> 00:19:43,800
Speaker 1: site that can help us do that?

373
00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:46,320
Speaker 2: I'm not aware of one. I think a lot of

374
00:19:46,320 --> 00:19:48,720
Speaker 2: people would think of that as you know, looking on

375
00:19:48,800 --> 00:19:53,520
Speaker 2: vacations to Go or Expedia or any of those different sites.

376
00:19:53,680 --> 00:19:57,439
Speaker 2: But those are still big travel agencies. They're just online

377
00:19:57,480 --> 00:19:59,960
Speaker 2: travel agencies, but real people work for them, gotcha.

378
00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:02,919
Speaker 1: Yeah, So either that or just going directly to the

379
00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:06,000
Speaker 1: individual cruise line cruise websites that sounds like they've got

380
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,360
Speaker 1: a lite just takes a little more a little more.

381
00:20:08,320 --> 00:20:10,960
Speaker 2: Leg work, It takes a little more digit and and

382
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:13,800
Speaker 2: again I'm not working as a travel agent, but they

383
00:20:13,800 --> 00:20:19,119
Speaker 2: do have access to to listings and to some of

384
00:20:19,160 --> 00:20:22,560
Speaker 2: the sales, Like they'll see some of the promotions that

385
00:20:22,600 --> 00:20:25,640
Speaker 2: are available. They'll see that before you and I will.

386
00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:30,639
Speaker 2: On the consumer facing websites and things like that. And

387
00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:33,000
Speaker 2: it's just it is a little bit different than flights because,

388
00:20:33,040 --> 00:20:36,640
Speaker 2: if I'm not mistaken, most of the airlines have cut

389
00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:39,600
Speaker 2: the commissions years ago from travel agents, which is why

390
00:20:39,640 --> 00:20:43,160
Speaker 2: it's not cheaper usually with a travel agent for a flight,

391
00:20:43,280 --> 00:20:45,440
Speaker 2: but that is not the case with cruise lines.

392
00:20:45,480 --> 00:20:47,720
Speaker 1: Gotcha. Okay, So you mentioned kind of getting a jump

393
00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:50,280
Speaker 1: on some of those bookings that you can get via

394
00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:52,879
Speaker 1: a travel agent. I think I've heard you mention that

395
00:20:53,640 --> 00:20:55,840
Speaker 1: you've got the ability to get a really good discount

396
00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:58,840
Speaker 1: for you to book a future cruise while you are

397
00:20:58,880 --> 00:21:00,560
Speaker 1: currently on a cruise. Is that right? Is that a

398
00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:02,400
Speaker 1: good way to get a deal as well?

399
00:21:02,680 --> 00:21:04,960
Speaker 2: Yes, a lot of people think that it's like too

400
00:21:05,000 --> 00:21:08,800
Speaker 2: good to be true, but definitely, when you're on a cruise,

401
00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:12,399
Speaker 2: you can visit the future cruise desk and the future

402
00:21:12,480 --> 00:21:16,879
Speaker 2: cruise person representative will be able to book you on

403
00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:21,800
Speaker 2: a future cruise and they will offer you a promotion

404
00:21:22,040 --> 00:21:24,560
Speaker 2: while you're on the cruise. And usually that promotion will

405
00:21:24,600 --> 00:21:27,560
Speaker 2: either be that you'll receive an onboard credit that you

406
00:21:27,560 --> 00:21:30,359
Speaker 2: can use on the cruise that you're on at the moment,

407
00:21:30,440 --> 00:21:33,480
Speaker 2: and most people do have a certain amount of money

408
00:21:33,480 --> 00:21:36,199
Speaker 2: that they've spent on their creuse, so what reduces that

409
00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:38,600
Speaker 2: or you can get an additional on board credit on

410
00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:40,960
Speaker 2: a future cruise, and for people that are using a

411
00:21:40,960 --> 00:21:45,200
Speaker 2: travel agent already, that booking can still be serviced when

412
00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:48,600
Speaker 2: you get home by your existing travel agent. And something

413
00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:50,800
Speaker 2: that I like to do because I don't always know

414
00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:53,400
Speaker 2: what I want to book. I don't know why, I'm

415
00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:56,119
Speaker 2: just like that. I can't really pick my next cruise

416
00:21:56,200 --> 00:21:59,240
Speaker 2: while I'm on a cruise, but oftentimes I make what's

417
00:21:59,280 --> 00:22:02,200
Speaker 2: called an open booking, So I basically put a deposit

418
00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:04,600
Speaker 2: on a cruise knowing I'm going to do one, and

419
00:22:04,720 --> 00:22:07,879
Speaker 2: usually you have between two and four years, depending on

420
00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:10,159
Speaker 2: the cruise line to book the next cruise, and I

421
00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:12,119
Speaker 2: just put a deposit, and this way I get all

422
00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:16,320
Speaker 2: of the benefits by having that additional on board credit

423
00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:20,719
Speaker 2: that I'm always trying to accumulate for future cruises, and

424
00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:23,160
Speaker 2: then I can choose my cruise once I get home

425
00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:25,000
Speaker 2: and I have a little more time to kind of

426
00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:27,119
Speaker 2: figure out my schedule and where I want to go.

427
00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:31,120
Speaker 1: So you're saying that somehow sometimes you're able to get

428
00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:35,320
Speaker 1: like a credit for the cruise like it sounds like

429
00:22:35,440 --> 00:22:37,720
Speaker 1: essentially like dollars that you are going to be spending

430
00:22:38,280 --> 00:22:40,480
Speaker 1: while you are on the cruise. So does that apply

431
00:22:40,560 --> 00:22:42,600
Speaker 1: to restaurant It's like, what do those credits go towards?

432
00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:47,159
Speaker 2: Yeah, absolutely so on board credits on cruises is equivalent

433
00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:50,000
Speaker 2: to having like a cash credit that you can use

434
00:22:50,640 --> 00:22:53,360
Speaker 2: while you're on the cruise, and so that can be

435
00:22:53,440 --> 00:22:57,119
Speaker 2: things like some of the restaurants I should mention on cruises,

436
00:22:57,680 --> 00:23:00,760
Speaker 2: your dining is included, so there are a lot of

437
00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:04,680
Speaker 2: casual restaurants and fine dining that is included, but there

438
00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:07,960
Speaker 2: are also alternative restaurants that are a little bit more

439
00:23:07,960 --> 00:23:11,480
Speaker 2: intimate that will not be included, and if people choose

440
00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:14,320
Speaker 2: to go to them, there's going to be in there's

441
00:23:14,359 --> 00:23:17,479
Speaker 2: going to be excuse me, an additional charge. So with

442
00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:19,719
Speaker 2: your onboard credit, you might choose to go to one

443
00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:22,520
Speaker 2: of the specialty restaurants. So that's something that you can do.

444
00:23:22,920 --> 00:23:25,800
Speaker 2: Some people choose to get a photo package while they're

445
00:23:25,800 --> 00:23:28,280
Speaker 2: on their cruise, or you know, even just buy one

446
00:23:28,359 --> 00:23:30,800
Speaker 2: or two photos, So that's something you can use your

447
00:23:30,840 --> 00:23:33,800
Speaker 2: onboard credit for. And there's a variety of things or

448
00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:36,080
Speaker 2: even the shops, you know, so if you want to

449
00:23:36,480 --> 00:23:38,760
Speaker 2: do a little bit of duty free shopping while you're

450
00:23:38,800 --> 00:23:41,600
Speaker 2: on a cruise. You can use the onboard credit for

451
00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:42,200
Speaker 2: that as well.

452
00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:45,520
Speaker 1: Cool. Love it all Right, there's so much that we've covered,

453
00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:47,680
Speaker 1: but there's still so much to cover because I haven't

454
00:23:47,680 --> 00:23:49,920
Speaker 1: had all my questions answered yet. We've got a lot

455
00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:51,560
Speaker 1: more than we want to get into with you, and

456
00:23:51,800 --> 00:23:54,200
Speaker 1: we'll get to especially I want to like the different

457
00:23:54,240 --> 00:23:57,040
Speaker 1: cruise lines. What's the difference between all of them? So

458
00:23:57,040 --> 00:23:59,159
Speaker 1: we've got questions on that and more. Right after this,

459
00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:10,000
Speaker 1: all right, we are back and we're talking about cruises

460
00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:12,639
Speaker 1: with a Lana truly how it can be the cheapest

461
00:24:12,640 --> 00:24:17,280
Speaker 1: way to travel. And let's talk about choosing a specific cruise, Alana,

462
00:24:17,359 --> 00:24:19,960
Speaker 1: because you can basically it seems like you can cruise

463
00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:23,320
Speaker 1: pretty much anywhere, right, like whether you're taking like anywhere

464
00:24:23,359 --> 00:24:27,040
Speaker 1: there's water matte, like a river cruise in Europe, you're

465
00:24:27,040 --> 00:24:29,400
Speaker 1: not in your bath, like you could cruise up to Alaska,

466
00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:33,280
Speaker 1: the Caribbean, Alana, How do you think about choosing a cruise?

467
00:24:33,840 --> 00:24:37,159
Speaker 1: How are you factoring in like maybe the destination, the

468
00:24:37,359 --> 00:24:39,120
Speaker 1: port of call, maybe the length of cruise. I would

469
00:24:39,200 --> 00:24:41,280
Speaker 1: love to hear your thoughts on how it is that

470
00:24:41,320 --> 00:24:44,240
Speaker 1: you choose a cruise or are you like us and

471
00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:47,000
Speaker 1: you're letting the deal drive the destination. How are you

472
00:24:47,040 --> 00:24:49,520
Speaker 1: taking all that into account as you're making a decision.

473
00:24:50,200 --> 00:24:52,159
Speaker 2: Well, I think when it comes to picking a cruise,

474
00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:55,000
Speaker 2: you do want to think about the destination and what

475
00:24:55,040 --> 00:24:57,040
Speaker 2: you wanted of it. So some people really want to

476
00:24:57,080 --> 00:24:59,520
Speaker 2: go on a Caribbean or a Bahamas cruise because they're

477
00:24:59,520 --> 00:25:03,960
Speaker 2: looking for or that hopefully hot and sunny weather. But

478
00:25:04,080 --> 00:25:06,800
Speaker 2: other people are looking for a cruise that they're going

479
00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:10,159
Speaker 2: to have more of a travel experience that has a

480
00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:12,360
Speaker 2: little bit more culture involved or a little bit more

481
00:25:12,359 --> 00:25:15,120
Speaker 2: sight seeing. So in that case, perhaps it's a Mediterranean

482
00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:18,439
Speaker 2: cruise or as you mentioned, perhaps a river cruise. So

483
00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:21,320
Speaker 2: I think those are some of the biggest differences. Definitely,

484
00:25:21,359 --> 00:25:24,160
Speaker 2: though when it comes to cruising, there are so many

485
00:25:24,200 --> 00:25:28,199
Speaker 2: Caribbean cruises. It is the most popular cruise destination I

486
00:25:28,200 --> 00:25:32,440
Speaker 2: think in the world, So you could definitely find probably

487
00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:35,159
Speaker 2: the most chance of having a great deal on a

488
00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:38,919
Speaker 2: Caribbean cruise just because there really are so many ships

489
00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:41,520
Speaker 2: that are doing it. So that's a good way, especially

490
00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:44,200
Speaker 2: if it's a first cruise. A Caribbean cruise is probably

491
00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:45,200
Speaker 2: a good choice.

492
00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:48,080
Speaker 1: All right, talk to me about the different cruise lines.

493
00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:51,000
Speaker 1: We talked about different like newer and older cruise ships,

494
00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:55,560
Speaker 1: but what about like Norwegian versus Carnival versus Royal Caribbean.

495
00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:58,240
Speaker 1: Do they each kind of stand out and do better

496
00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:01,320
Speaker 1: at certain things worse at others? Or is it different

497
00:26:01,320 --> 00:26:04,000
Speaker 1: strokes for different folks? Are you able to find better

498
00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:07,720
Speaker 1: discounts on one versus the other or does it just

499
00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:10,399
Speaker 1: is it all up to the savvy shopper.

500
00:26:11,080 --> 00:26:14,040
Speaker 2: Oh, that's a good question. But I think that every

501
00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:17,080
Speaker 2: cruise line, as you said, different strokes for different folks.

502
00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:22,760
Speaker 2: I think that every cruise line attracts a different maybe

503
00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:26,440
Speaker 2: not a different person, but what somebody might want for

504
00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,840
Speaker 2: their vacation. So definitely, if you're going on a Carnival cruise,

505
00:26:29,880 --> 00:26:33,320
Speaker 2: you can expect a really good value. That's great for

506
00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:36,760
Speaker 2: people that are on a budget. It's great for families

507
00:26:36,800 --> 00:26:39,679
Speaker 2: that are cruising maybe with young kids, and they know

508
00:26:39,800 --> 00:26:45,879
Speaker 2: that they really want casual, good food, they want water slides,

509
00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:47,960
Speaker 2: they want you know, a little bit of a loud

510
00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:51,160
Speaker 2: party next to the pool. That's something that they would enjoy.

511
00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:54,280
Speaker 2: Then Carnival's a really good cruise line for that. But

512
00:26:54,600 --> 00:26:58,040
Speaker 2: somebody else might want a little bit more of an

513
00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:01,720
Speaker 2: adult atmosphere, maybe a little bit more of an upscale

514
00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:04,680
Speaker 2: even atmosphere, and then probably if they were going on

515
00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:08,119
Speaker 2: a cruise line like Celebrity, that would be a better fit.

516
00:27:08,600 --> 00:27:11,320
Speaker 2: And of course there are so many cruise lines you know,

517
00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:15,119
Speaker 2: in between, and you know, everybody is different in what

518
00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:15,840
Speaker 2: they would enjoy.

519
00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:19,360
Speaker 1: Okay, I'm of Norwegian descent, so I lean towards Norwegian

520
00:27:19,359 --> 00:27:20,920
Speaker 1: cruise lines, even though I've ever been on a cursise.

521
00:27:22,400 --> 00:27:24,159
Speaker 1: That's just the one I assume I would take based on,

522
00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:25,080
Speaker 1: you know, my ancestry.

523
00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:28,040
Speaker 2: That is fine. Although Norwegian Cruise Line is great and

524
00:27:28,080 --> 00:27:31,359
Speaker 2: they've got some really good deals. I should share it

525
00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:34,560
Speaker 2: with you. They have a Norwegian Cruise Line has something

526
00:27:34,840 --> 00:27:37,120
Speaker 2: called Free at Sea, and it's a promotion that they

527
00:27:37,200 --> 00:27:41,280
Speaker 2: run pretty much all the time. But you have the

528
00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:44,280
Speaker 2: option of booking either a standard rate so that's your

529
00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:47,160
Speaker 2: basic cruise rate, or you can book within the Free

530
00:27:47,200 --> 00:27:49,920
Speaker 2: at Sea and then the price is a little bit higher,

531
00:27:50,040 --> 00:27:53,320
Speaker 2: but you can get a free drink package, you can

532
00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:56,959
Speaker 2: get free dining. So if you're taking a sevent day

533
00:27:57,040 --> 00:28:01,120
Speaker 2: cruise and you're in, for instance, an insight cabin. Then

534
00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:04,520
Speaker 2: you can get one specialty restaurant. If you have longer cruises,

535
00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:07,480
Speaker 2: then you can get more specialty restaurants. You can get

536
00:28:07,480 --> 00:28:10,240
Speaker 2: a strictin amount of Wi Fi free, a certain amount

537
00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:14,359
Speaker 2: of short excursion credit that is free. So that is

538
00:28:14,400 --> 00:28:16,440
Speaker 2: actually a deal that you can get on Norwegian Cruise

539
00:28:16,480 --> 00:28:18,040
Speaker 2: Line if you're interested in them anyway.

540
00:28:18,280 --> 00:28:20,680
Speaker 1: That's cool. Matt would totally bank up Norwegian if he

541
00:28:21,600 --> 00:28:24,399
Speaker 1: that deal. Well, it is good to know that that

542
00:28:24,520 --> 00:28:27,600
Speaker 1: the different cruise lines have different personalities. I guess I

543
00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:30,520
Speaker 1: don't know if that's maybe a good way of describing. Obviously,

544
00:28:30,560 --> 00:28:32,320
Speaker 1: if you go on into Disney Cruise, I'm assuming there's

545
00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:35,080
Speaker 1: gonna be a lot of Disney stuff, right, Yes, yes,

546
00:28:35,280 --> 00:28:37,320
Speaker 1: lots of all the rest of them, in my mind,

547
00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:39,440
Speaker 1: are kind of like a locked I don't know, just

548
00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:41,680
Speaker 1: having not looked into it, it seems like it's maybe

549
00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:43,920
Speaker 1: more of a closed box. But I guess it is

550
00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:46,720
Speaker 1: not all that difficult to kind of figure out the

551
00:28:46,880 --> 00:28:49,880
Speaker 1: vibe of some of the different cruises that are out there.

552
00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:52,360
Speaker 2: Sure, and like you said, some cruise you know, every

553
00:28:52,400 --> 00:28:55,320
Speaker 2: cruise line does something a little bit different that they

554
00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:59,640
Speaker 2: do better. So Royal Caribbean has phenomenal entertainment and also

555
00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:03,440
Speaker 2: active during the day. But that would really suit people

556
00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:06,280
Speaker 2: who are either traveling with kids or who are very

557
00:29:06,600 --> 00:29:09,520
Speaker 2: They like to be active, so maybe they want to

558
00:29:09,560 --> 00:29:11,600
Speaker 2: go ice skating on a cruise ship, or maybe they

559
00:29:11,640 --> 00:29:14,840
Speaker 2: want to go zip lining. And then other people prefer

560
00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:17,760
Speaker 2: more of a relaxing experience, and you know, they'd much

561
00:29:17,840 --> 00:29:21,080
Speaker 2: rather spend time at the spa. So really there are differences.

562
00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:24,040
Speaker 2: So it is worth before a first cruise really figuring

563
00:29:24,080 --> 00:29:26,400
Speaker 2: out what you like, because otherwise some people go on

564
00:29:26,440 --> 00:29:28,479
Speaker 2: a cruise and they say, oh, gosh, I was bored

565
00:29:28,840 --> 00:29:31,200
Speaker 2: the music was so quiet, and then other people go

566
00:29:31,240 --> 00:29:34,120
Speaker 2: on a cruise and they say the pool was so crowded.

567
00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:36,840
Speaker 2: It wasn't what I liked at all. So it really

568
00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:39,280
Speaker 2: is just choosing the right cruise ship and cruise line

569
00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:39,560
Speaker 2: for you.

570
00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:42,000
Speaker 1: Yeah, and that's that's one of the things I want

571
00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:44,720
Speaker 1: to highlight here, is just that getting the lowest price

572
00:29:44,840 --> 00:29:47,440
Speaker 1: for a cruise that doesn't work for how you live

573
00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:49,680
Speaker 1: may not be the best value. That might be cheap

574
00:29:49,720 --> 00:29:51,600
Speaker 1: instead of frugal, right, and it's a good idea to

575
00:29:51,600 --> 00:29:53,840
Speaker 1: approach this from a frugal standpoint and try to get

576
00:29:54,920 --> 00:29:57,720
Speaker 1: a reasonable price on a cruise you're interested in. But

577
00:29:57,760 --> 00:30:01,760
Speaker 1: if you let the price drive the you picking maybe

578
00:30:01,760 --> 00:30:04,480
Speaker 1: a cruise line that doesn't work for your vibe or personality,

579
00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:08,520
Speaker 1: you might find yourself having like a more miserable experience

580
00:30:08,760 --> 00:30:10,920
Speaker 1: than you otherwise would have if you had maybe paid

581
00:30:10,920 --> 00:30:14,200
Speaker 1: a little bit more and picked the cruise line and

582
00:30:14,280 --> 00:30:17,360
Speaker 1: the itinerary that made more sense for kind of how

583
00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:18,120
Speaker 1: you liked to vacation.

584
00:30:18,600 --> 00:30:19,560
Speaker 2: Yeah, I agree.

585
00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:22,600
Speaker 1: Okay, so you just mentioned something about excursions, I guess

586
00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:25,680
Speaker 1: with maybe it was when you were talking about Royal Caribbean,

587
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:28,520
Speaker 1: but I've heard you mentioned that it makes a lot

588
00:30:28,520 --> 00:30:30,200
Speaker 1: of sense to book those ahead of time. Can you

589
00:30:30,240 --> 00:30:34,560
Speaker 1: explain why that's so important? And then I'm realizing too

590
00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:38,280
Speaker 1: that there are excursions that are like cruise line sponsored,

591
00:30:38,280 --> 00:30:41,400
Speaker 1: but then there are the other excursions like third party excursions.

592
00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:43,760
Speaker 1: So just I guess talk about why you would want

593
00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:46,240
Speaker 1: to jump on those bookings early, and then maybe kind

594
00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:49,920
Speaker 1: of highlight some of the differences between endorsed excursions versus

595
00:30:50,200 --> 00:30:51,880
Speaker 1: choose your own adventure excursion.

596
00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:56,000
Speaker 2: Sure, so when it comes to excursions, especially if there

597
00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:58,960
Speaker 2: is something that you really want to do, then you

598
00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:01,520
Speaker 2: do want to book that early. So as an example,

599
00:31:02,040 --> 00:31:05,160
Speaker 2: if somebody is going to Alaska and they have their

600
00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:09,240
Speaker 2: heart set on doing a helicopter excursion to the Menenhall Glacier,

601
00:31:10,080 --> 00:31:13,080
Speaker 2: that is going to book up pretty quickly. And that's

602
00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:15,440
Speaker 2: whether by the way people book it with the cruise

603
00:31:15,480 --> 00:31:20,040
Speaker 2: line directly or even with private companies just because that

604
00:31:20,160 --> 00:31:23,360
Speaker 2: is just such a popular excursion so or even whale

605
00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:26,840
Speaker 2: watching sometimes. So some of those excursions, the ones that

606
00:31:26,880 --> 00:31:28,840
Speaker 2: you really want to do, you want to get those

607
00:31:28,880 --> 00:31:33,080
Speaker 2: booked early. The other thing, though, is when you book

608
00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:35,920
Speaker 2: with the cruise line, if you do book it ahead

609
00:31:35,920 --> 00:31:39,440
Speaker 2: of time and you book it on the cruise line website,

610
00:31:39,920 --> 00:31:43,080
Speaker 2: then oftentimes there will be a lower price than if

611
00:31:43,120 --> 00:31:45,640
Speaker 2: you book it when you're on your cruise. So that's

612
00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:49,600
Speaker 2: another reason too. And in fact, on the cruise that

613
00:31:49,680 --> 00:31:53,280
Speaker 2: we are going on in a few days, there was

614
00:31:53,320 --> 00:31:56,200
Speaker 2: a sale I think it was on Black Friday, and

615
00:31:56,280 --> 00:31:58,080
Speaker 2: I took a look on the Cruise Line website and

616
00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:00,920
Speaker 2: they do usually send you an email when you have

617
00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:03,880
Speaker 2: a booking with them, so I was able to see

618
00:32:03,920 --> 00:32:08,920
Speaker 2: and the excursion that we're doing in Nassau, Bahamas was

619
00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:12,880
Speaker 2: instead of it being about two hundred and fifty dollars

620
00:32:12,920 --> 00:32:18,080
Speaker 2: per person it was instead it was like one twenty five,

621
00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:20,400
Speaker 2: maybe even a little bit less, maybe like one twenty three.

622
00:32:20,440 --> 00:32:22,720
Speaker 2: So it was fifty three percent off and I'm paying

623
00:32:22,760 --> 00:32:25,440
Speaker 2: for four people on this cruise up.

624
00:32:25,520 --> 00:32:25,800
Speaker 1: Yeah.

625
00:32:26,080 --> 00:32:29,520
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was like five hundred dollars in savings just

626
00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:32,120
Speaker 2: by booking it about five weeks before my cruise.

627
00:32:32,240 --> 00:32:34,600
Speaker 1: That's great, love it? Yeah, awesome? All right? Well, is

628
00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:37,440
Speaker 1: there is there any risk with third party excursions? By

629
00:32:37,440 --> 00:32:39,120
Speaker 1: the way, can you get left in the lurch? Can

630
00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:41,760
Speaker 1: you miss the boat essentially on the way back? About that?

631
00:32:41,880 --> 00:32:46,560
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, you potentially can those third party excursions. It

632
00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:49,240
Speaker 2: doesn't mean they're bad, by the way, There are really

633
00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:53,640
Speaker 2: reputable tour companies that people do book with, but it

634
00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:55,880
Speaker 2: is something to be aware of when you book with

635
00:32:56,040 --> 00:33:00,280
Speaker 2: the cruise line directly. One of the good things is

636
00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:03,560
Speaker 2: that the cruise ship will not leave without you. If

637
00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:06,400
Speaker 2: your tour is late coming back to the cruise ship,

638
00:33:06,520 --> 00:33:09,080
Speaker 2: or if something happens right like if that tour bus

639
00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:11,720
Speaker 2: breaks down or something like that, the cruise line is

640
00:33:11,720 --> 00:33:15,360
Speaker 2: aware and they are going to wait for you to

641
00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:18,480
Speaker 2: come back to the cruise ship along with the other people. However,

642
00:33:18,520 --> 00:33:20,440
Speaker 2: if you go off on your own, and you take

643
00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:22,440
Speaker 2: a cab to the other side of the island and

644
00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:24,400
Speaker 2: something happens and you cannot make it back to the

645
00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:27,520
Speaker 2: cruise shup on time, that cruise ship will leave without you.

646
00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:31,440
Speaker 2: So I think we've all seen those videos. Yeah, yeah,

647
00:33:31,480 --> 00:33:34,200
Speaker 2: of the people crying on the pier. Oh my gosh,

648
00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:37,360
Speaker 2: that's a cruiser's worst nightmare. So that's something to me.

649
00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:39,200
Speaker 1: What happen That's when you've gotta be able to swim fast.

650
00:33:39,720 --> 00:33:42,440
Speaker 1: So literally what happens in that situation. Let's let's say

651
00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:46,000
Speaker 1: someone does do that and literally hope you travel is

652
00:33:46,000 --> 00:33:48,520
Speaker 1: sailing off? Is that an instance where travel insurance comes

653
00:33:48,560 --> 00:33:49,800
Speaker 1: to play, Like are you able to get back on

654
00:33:49,800 --> 00:33:50,400
Speaker 1: the boat somehow?

655
00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:54,440
Speaker 2: Usually what would happen is that the person would have

656
00:33:54,520 --> 00:33:57,880
Speaker 2: to fly to the next cruise port or find a

657
00:33:57,880 --> 00:33:59,520
Speaker 2: way to get to the next cruise port.

658
00:33:59,600 --> 00:34:02,000
Speaker 1: So I'm guessing that would not be affordable.

659
00:34:03,000 --> 00:34:07,480
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'm actually really not sure you know what would

660
00:34:07,480 --> 00:34:10,640
Speaker 2: be even covered. I'm not a travel insurance expert, so

661
00:34:10,760 --> 00:34:12,640
Speaker 2: I don't know what would be covered, But I think

662
00:34:12,680 --> 00:34:14,560
Speaker 2: you just really want to avoid that.

663
00:34:14,680 --> 00:34:17,800
Speaker 1: Yeah, worst case scenario, avoid at all, almost at all costs,

664
00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:18,280
Speaker 1: for sure.

665
00:34:18,640 --> 00:34:21,279
Speaker 2: Yeah, but maybe travel insurance would cover that. I just

666
00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:23,600
Speaker 2: think you really do want to be careful. A lot

667
00:34:23,600 --> 00:34:27,840
Speaker 2: of times. It's not necessarily that people are you know,

668
00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:30,839
Speaker 2: are on an excursion, although that can happen, but it

669
00:34:30,840 --> 00:34:33,040
Speaker 2: does seem like, you know, based on some of the videos,

670
00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:35,840
Speaker 2: it does seem like perhaps sometimes people are spending a

671
00:34:35,880 --> 00:34:40,239
Speaker 2: little bit too much time at the local bar or

672
00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:42,440
Speaker 2: even shopping. You know, you see people coming back with

673
00:34:42,480 --> 00:34:45,759
Speaker 2: your shopping back, so they're they're really close by. They're

674
00:34:45,800 --> 00:34:47,800
Speaker 2: just betting that that cruise ship won't.

675
00:34:47,640 --> 00:34:51,560
Speaker 1: Leave set multiple on your phone people, you know, that's

676
00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:53,920
Speaker 1: that's the way to avoid that. Okay, talk to me

677
00:34:53,920 --> 00:34:58,000
Speaker 1: about booking a room, because you mentioned that the rooms

678
00:34:58,080 --> 00:35:02,160
Speaker 1: can be kind of small, and when I've looked into

679
00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:04,120
Speaker 1: I'm like, there's no way I would book an into

680
00:35:04,160 --> 00:35:06,560
Speaker 1: your cabin, Like I feel like I'd want that deck,

681
00:35:06,600 --> 00:35:08,160
Speaker 1: I'd want to be able to see some sunlight. But

682
00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:10,040
Speaker 1: you can also save a lot of money by booking

683
00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:12,239
Speaker 1: an into your cabin. But then I also saw you

684
00:35:12,239 --> 00:35:14,760
Speaker 1: say something about being able to book an interior cabin

685
00:35:15,040 --> 00:35:17,400
Speaker 1: and then bid for upgrades, and maybe that's the cheapest

686
00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:22,600
Speaker 1: way to potentially get a nicer cabin. When without like

687
00:35:22,680 --> 00:35:23,759
Speaker 1: paying full freight for it.

688
00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:26,960
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's one of the ways. So I would caution

689
00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:30,440
Speaker 2: though for somebody who really doesn't want to like you

690
00:35:30,480 --> 00:35:32,680
Speaker 2: had said, you really wouldn't want to be in an

691
00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:35,920
Speaker 2: interior cabin, so then I probably wouldn't do that. So

692
00:35:36,160 --> 00:35:40,080
Speaker 2: that is a good strategy. I'll explain that people can use.

693
00:35:40,239 --> 00:35:42,799
Speaker 2: They can book the lowest cabin that they still would

694
00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:45,920
Speaker 2: be okay with to stay in, and then bid for

695
00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:50,319
Speaker 2: an upgrade, so you can bid. As an example, we

696
00:35:50,400 --> 00:35:52,920
Speaker 2: have a cruise coming up we not the crews I'm

697
00:35:52,920 --> 00:35:56,600
Speaker 2: doing now, but a cruise after that. We that we

698
00:35:56,640 --> 00:35:59,600
Speaker 2: booked an ocean view cabin, so I didn't book an inside,

699
00:35:59,760 --> 00:36:03,680
Speaker 2: but I think that the balcony was about double the

700
00:36:03,760 --> 00:36:06,279
Speaker 2: cost of the inside, and I just thought it was

701
00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:08,040
Speaker 2: a little more than what I wanted to spend on

702
00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:12,200
Speaker 2: that cruise. But the ocean view cabin, so a large

703
00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:15,759
Speaker 2: picture window, was only one hundred dollars more worth three

704
00:36:15,800 --> 00:36:17,960
Speaker 2: people in the cabin, So it was like a no

705
00:36:18,040 --> 00:36:19,960
Speaker 2: brainerd that for one hundred dollars we were going to

706
00:36:20,040 --> 00:36:23,400
Speaker 2: do the ocean view rather than the inside. And I

707
00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:26,040
Speaker 2: know we're not going to be in our cabin very much. However,

708
00:36:26,160 --> 00:36:28,439
Speaker 2: I did bid for an upgrade. I don't know yet

709
00:36:28,480 --> 00:36:32,440
Speaker 2: if we got it, but I bid the minimum that

710
00:36:32,719 --> 00:36:36,359
Speaker 2: was available for an upgrade to a balcony, and I'm

711
00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:38,960
Speaker 2: really aware that I might get that upgrade. And if

712
00:36:39,000 --> 00:36:41,040
Speaker 2: I get it for about one hundred dollars, I'm very

713
00:36:41,040 --> 00:36:43,719
Speaker 2: happy with that. But if I don't get it, I'm

714
00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:46,520
Speaker 2: perfectly fine with staying in an ocean view, okay, but

715
00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:49,279
Speaker 2: for somebody who wouldn't be fine, then it's not a

716
00:36:49,280 --> 00:36:50,440
Speaker 2: good strategy to use.

717
00:36:51,000 --> 00:36:53,280
Speaker 1: That makes sense, It makes sense? Oh yeah, absolutely, okay.

718
00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:56,960
Speaker 1: So does the room that you book like in relation

719
00:36:57,040 --> 00:37:00,800
Speaker 1: to the ship? How does that impact the potential for

720
00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:03,560
Speaker 1: getting seasick because I think I saw I think I

721
00:37:03,640 --> 00:37:07,080
Speaker 1: saw something about rooms that are more towards the center

722
00:37:07,239 --> 00:37:10,000
Speaker 1: of the ship. I guess they pitch less if there

723
00:37:10,040 --> 00:37:12,800
Speaker 1: are waves or inclement weather. Is that true? Is so

724
00:37:12,880 --> 00:37:14,600
Speaker 1: basically like the closer you are to the middle of

725
00:37:14,640 --> 00:37:17,520
Speaker 1: the ship, the less rocky the ride's going to be.

726
00:37:17,760 --> 00:37:19,359
Speaker 1: Or did I completely read that wrong.

727
00:37:19,560 --> 00:37:22,160
Speaker 2: No, you've got it, okay, So just something to mention

728
00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:26,840
Speaker 2: is on most cruises now modern cruise ships have stabilizers,

729
00:37:26,880 --> 00:37:29,839
Speaker 2: so the kind of seasickness that people might have had

730
00:37:29,960 --> 00:37:33,040
Speaker 2: in the eighties and nineties. It isn't the same anymore.

731
00:37:33,040 --> 00:37:35,160
Speaker 2: And it's not even the same as something that you

732
00:37:35,239 --> 00:37:37,200
Speaker 2: might have if you go on a ferry or a

733
00:37:37,200 --> 00:37:40,719
Speaker 2: fishing boat. So it's not anything like that to worry about.

734
00:37:40,760 --> 00:37:43,440
Speaker 2: But it can happen that if the caesar stormy or

735
00:37:43,440 --> 00:37:46,960
Speaker 2: even a little bit windy, you can feel some movement

736
00:37:47,160 --> 00:37:50,560
Speaker 2: in the ship, and if you are prone to motion sickness,

737
00:37:50,640 --> 00:37:52,640
Speaker 2: then you want to be a little bit cautious with

738
00:37:52,719 --> 00:37:56,200
Speaker 2: where you are taking your cabin. The best place that

739
00:37:56,239 --> 00:37:58,920
Speaker 2: people can be is always going to be midship, just

740
00:37:58,960 --> 00:38:01,080
Speaker 2: because you're hedging your bets that you're going to have

741
00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:04,799
Speaker 2: the less the least movement. Excuse me, Yeah, so you'll

742
00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:08,520
Speaker 2: have the least movement if you're in the midship of

743
00:38:08,600 --> 00:38:09,080
Speaker 2: the cruise.

744
00:38:09,400 --> 00:38:11,719
Speaker 1: Gotcha, Okay, that makes sense because for honestly, for me,

745
00:38:11,800 --> 00:38:14,000
Speaker 1: that is the number one thing I think that is

746
00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:18,440
Speaker 1: keeping me from booking a cruise is I have gone

747
00:38:18,520 --> 00:38:22,040
Speaker 1: on some deep sea fishing trips before, and every time

748
00:38:22,400 --> 00:38:25,799
Speaker 1: I've gotten so sick. So I'm picturing that but just

749
00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:28,839
Speaker 1: stretched over days and days, and I'm thinking there's no

750
00:38:28,960 --> 00:38:30,840
Speaker 1: way that you can convince me to get on a

751
00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:33,360
Speaker 1: cruise ship. I don't know. You talking about the stabilizers

752
00:38:33,920 --> 00:38:35,880
Speaker 1: bolstered my confidence a little bit. And of course you

753
00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:38,480
Speaker 1: can get the patches or the little wristbands with the

754
00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:42,480
Speaker 1: pressure points, like there's all those other remedies to kind

755
00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:44,319
Speaker 1: of help you to combat that. Do you have a

756
00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:47,920
Speaker 1: favorite way to combat seasickness? By the way, is that

757
00:38:47,960 --> 00:38:48,960
Speaker 1: something that you deal with.

758
00:38:49,280 --> 00:38:52,600
Speaker 2: Yeah, a little bit. I actually don't get seasick very much,

759
00:38:53,239 --> 00:38:55,280
Speaker 2: but sometimes I do feel a little bit the movement.

760
00:38:55,360 --> 00:38:58,120
Speaker 2: My husband gets a little bit of motion sickness. And

761
00:38:58,200 --> 00:39:01,120
Speaker 2: there is a medication. It's an over the counter one

762
00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:04,480
Speaker 2: that I personally like. I know a lot of people

763
00:39:04,520 --> 00:39:08,239
Speaker 2: that take it preventatively, so they'll take one a day,

764
00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:11,359
Speaker 2: or some people can take to a day, morning and night.

765
00:39:11,440 --> 00:39:14,359
Speaker 2: And of course I'm not a doctor or a pharmacist,

766
00:39:15,040 --> 00:39:18,879
Speaker 2: so disclaimer, but I think it does work. It's called

767
00:39:18,920 --> 00:39:22,760
Speaker 2: bonine b n E, and I think it's very similar

768
00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:26,640
Speaker 2: to dramamine. I don't find that I don't get any

769
00:39:26,680 --> 00:39:29,239
Speaker 2: side effects at all, so I don't get that like

770
00:39:29,640 --> 00:39:32,439
Speaker 2: woozy feeling or that drowsy feeling that you could get

771
00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:35,279
Speaker 2: with some medication. So I find that works well. A

772
00:39:35,320 --> 00:39:38,600
Speaker 2: lot of people who are very prone to sickness swear

773
00:39:38,640 --> 00:39:41,120
Speaker 2: by the patch behind the ear. I've never tried it,

774
00:39:41,560 --> 00:39:44,040
Speaker 2: but definitely for somebody who thinks that they might get

775
00:39:44,080 --> 00:39:47,080
Speaker 2: motion sickness, that's a good idea. And like you mentioned

776
00:39:47,280 --> 00:39:50,240
Speaker 2: the c bands that work with pressure points on your wrists,

777
00:39:50,520 --> 00:39:53,759
Speaker 2: there's another product. I think it's called motion Ease. Some

778
00:39:53,800 --> 00:39:57,840
Speaker 2: people have said that that really works. But definitely on

779
00:39:58,000 --> 00:40:03,000
Speaker 2: an average Caribbean cruise or in an Alaska cruise, most of

780
00:40:03,040 --> 00:40:05,920
Speaker 2: the time you're not going to get a tremendous amount

781
00:40:05,920 --> 00:40:09,399
Speaker 2: of movement. Definitely nothing like you'd get on a smaller boat.

782
00:40:09,560 --> 00:40:12,080
Speaker 1: Okay, that makes sense. Yeah, well, I love the idea

783
00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:13,640
Speaker 1: too that you have the potential to save a lot

784
00:40:13,640 --> 00:40:15,840
Speaker 1: of money and get one of those interior what you

785
00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:18,720
Speaker 1: call it, like midship cabins. I guess, so you're saving

786
00:40:18,719 --> 00:40:20,759
Speaker 1: a ton of money and also, by the way, that's

787
00:40:20,760 --> 00:40:23,640
Speaker 1: going to keep you from getting sick, from getting nasty. Yeah,

788
00:40:25,040 --> 00:40:25,800
Speaker 1: feeling discussion.

789
00:40:25,840 --> 00:40:29,160
Speaker 2: Sure, but you can also take midship cabins and have

790
00:40:29,200 --> 00:40:32,200
Speaker 2: a balcony as well, by the way, and the other

791
00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:36,480
Speaker 2: alternative is even midship towards the aft. So anything between

792
00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:38,920
Speaker 2: the middle and sort of the back. The area that

793
00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:42,360
Speaker 2: you really want to avoid is the forward. The forward

794
00:40:42,520 --> 00:40:45,319
Speaker 2: is where you're going to feel the most movement if

795
00:40:45,320 --> 00:40:46,680
Speaker 2: there is rough weather.

796
00:40:46,960 --> 00:40:50,440
Speaker 1: Okay, okay, amazing tips And we've got the forward. We've

797
00:40:50,440 --> 00:40:52,200
Speaker 1: got a few more questions. We've got a few more

798
00:40:52,239 --> 00:40:53,520
Speaker 1: questions we want to get to with a lot of

799
00:40:54,680 --> 00:40:58,319
Speaker 1: maybe some offbeat sort of cruising questions that are just

800
00:40:58,440 --> 00:40:59,920
Speaker 1: on the top of our minds. Well, we'll get to

801
00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:10,600
Speaker 1: right after this. All right, we're back. We're still talking

802
00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:14,560
Speaker 1: with Ilana from Life Well Cruised about how cruises might

803
00:41:14,600 --> 00:41:16,960
Speaker 1: be the cheapest way to travel when you break it

804
00:41:17,000 --> 00:41:18,719
Speaker 1: down cost per night and where you get to go.

805
00:41:19,000 --> 00:41:21,120
Speaker 1: It just seems to be the case. And so maybe

806
00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:24,000
Speaker 1: Matt and I were getting over our version to cruising.

807
00:41:24,400 --> 00:41:27,239
Speaker 1: Alana is selling it now instead of that hiking trip

808
00:41:27,239 --> 00:41:29,960
Speaker 1: that we're planning. That's right, Maybe it'll just be like

809
00:41:29,960 --> 00:41:32,160
Speaker 1: a couple of cruise trip. Just me, buddy, you know

810
00:41:32,200 --> 00:41:34,600
Speaker 1: what I am, dow, I feel like if I'm going anywhere,

811
00:41:34,600 --> 00:41:36,640
Speaker 1: Alaska's at the top of the list, because that from

812
00:41:36,640 --> 00:41:38,080
Speaker 1: what I hear A lota tell me if I'm wrong,

813
00:41:38,120 --> 00:41:40,720
Speaker 1: you can see things that you wouldn't know, they wouldn't

814
00:41:40,719 --> 00:41:42,520
Speaker 1: be able to see from the mainland. So maybe that's

815
00:41:42,520 --> 00:41:44,200
Speaker 1: one of the selling points of the Alaska cruise.

816
00:41:44,360 --> 00:41:47,759
Speaker 2: Absolutely, And I was somebody who I wasn't sold on

817
00:41:48,160 --> 00:41:51,040
Speaker 2: Alaska because I live in Canada and the idea of

818
00:41:51,080 --> 00:41:54,040
Speaker 2: going somewhere they didn't have hot weather it was not

819
00:41:54,120 --> 00:41:58,359
Speaker 2: appealing to me. Oh my goodness. I loved Alaska so much.

820
00:41:58,440 --> 00:42:01,600
Speaker 2: I would consider going back again this summer. I'm sure

821
00:42:01,680 --> 00:42:03,719
Speaker 2: I could go back and I would just see and

822
00:42:03,880 --> 00:42:06,040
Speaker 2: do different things. Loved it definitely.

823
00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:07,839
Speaker 1: Okay, well, that one's going That one's on my list

824
00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:10,759
Speaker 1: for sure. Okay, talk to me though about We got

825
00:42:10,800 --> 00:42:14,359
Speaker 1: a couple other questions for you. One you've mentioned that,

826
00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:16,520
Speaker 1: of course people who listen to how to Money, they

827
00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:19,040
Speaker 1: care about their money and they care about investing. People

828
00:42:19,120 --> 00:42:23,520
Speaker 1: who have invested in cruise line stock can maybe get

829
00:42:23,560 --> 00:42:26,280
Speaker 1: preferential deals or treatment. Is that true?

830
00:42:26,760 --> 00:42:30,760
Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, and it's definitely a pro or an avid

831
00:42:30,840 --> 00:42:34,680
Speaker 2: cruiser secrets maybe not the right word, but it really

832
00:42:34,760 --> 00:42:38,600
Speaker 2: is a tip and something that people use. So if

833
00:42:38,640 --> 00:42:43,840
Speaker 2: you purchase one hundred shares of Carnival so Carnival Corporation

834
00:42:45,040 --> 00:42:49,319
Speaker 2: of Royal Caribbean. I think it's Royal Caribbean International. In

835
00:42:49,360 --> 00:42:52,839
Speaker 2: any case, it's Royal Caribbean or Norwegian Cruise Line. You

836
00:42:52,960 --> 00:42:58,320
Speaker 2: can get benefits. It's a shareholder benefit on the cruises

837
00:42:58,400 --> 00:43:01,520
Speaker 2: that you go on with in that family of companies.

838
00:43:01,600 --> 00:43:06,360
Speaker 2: So for instance, I have one hundred shares of Carnival stock,

839
00:43:06,560 --> 00:43:10,040
Speaker 2: and when I go on a Princess cruise, because Princess

840
00:43:10,080 --> 00:43:14,240
Speaker 2: is part of the Carnival umbrella, I get an onboard credit,

841
00:43:14,280 --> 00:43:18,360
Speaker 2: which is a shareholder benefit. When I book my cruise

842
00:43:18,480 --> 00:43:21,000
Speaker 2: with Princess and the same thing happens. I'm going on

843
00:43:21,000 --> 00:43:24,400
Speaker 2: a celebrity cruise soon. I have Royal Caribbean shares. You

844
00:43:24,440 --> 00:43:26,520
Speaker 2: do need a hundred to be able to get that benefit,

845
00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:29,640
Speaker 2: but I'm getting an additional one hundred dollars on board

846
00:43:29,640 --> 00:43:31,960
Speaker 2: credit because I have those shares.

847
00:43:32,480 --> 00:43:34,320
Speaker 1: Very nice, that's cool. It makes me think back to

848
00:43:34,600 --> 00:43:37,120
Speaker 1: was it last year a couple years ago when AMC

849
00:43:37,440 --> 00:43:39,480
Speaker 1: they were selling all the site and it's just like, hey,

850
00:43:39,520 --> 00:43:41,800
Speaker 1: every time you come in you get a free popcorn. Yeah,

851
00:43:42,080 --> 00:43:44,759
Speaker 1: if you're a shareholder, yeah. And I mean just our

852
00:43:44,880 --> 00:43:47,879
Speaker 1: general advice. We always try to encourage folks when they're

853
00:43:47,920 --> 00:43:50,960
Speaker 1: looking at their retirement portfolios to invest in the entire market,

854
00:43:51,000 --> 00:43:53,200
Speaker 1: right index investing, don't try to pick the winners and

855
00:43:53,239 --> 00:43:56,960
Speaker 1: the losers. However, if there is a certain token amount

856
00:43:57,040 --> 00:43:59,000
Speaker 1: that allows you to reap a benefit that's going to

857
00:43:59,040 --> 00:44:01,719
Speaker 1: be outsized to the investment that you make, I think

858
00:44:01,719 --> 00:44:04,839
Speaker 1: that's definitely something worth considering a lot of Let's talk

859
00:44:04,880 --> 00:44:09,359
Speaker 1: about just practically speaking, like is there WiFi like on

860
00:44:09,400 --> 00:44:11,960
Speaker 1: a cruise? How do you go about buying that? Is

861
00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:13,719
Speaker 1: that something that sort of like you were talking about

862
00:44:13,719 --> 00:44:15,879
Speaker 1: with excursions that you book ahead of time, you can't

863
00:44:15,880 --> 00:44:18,319
Speaker 1: call on your phone from the cruise, can you mean? Why? Yeah?

864
00:44:18,320 --> 00:44:19,000
Speaker 1: There's service.

865
00:44:19,120 --> 00:44:22,279
Speaker 2: It's so different, and that actually messes up a lot

866
00:44:22,280 --> 00:44:24,960
Speaker 2: of people because sometimes you know, they might have traveled

867
00:44:25,000 --> 00:44:27,719
Speaker 2: and they've gone to hotels and people are used to

868
00:44:27,840 --> 00:44:31,520
Speaker 2: that there's free Wi Fi everywhere you go, but it's

869
00:44:31,600 --> 00:44:35,000
Speaker 2: not the case on most cruise ships, and it's just

870
00:44:35,040 --> 00:44:38,239
Speaker 2: a completely different system. If I'm not mistaken, they're on satellite.

871
00:44:38,920 --> 00:44:41,640
Speaker 2: Things have changed over the last couple of years, but

872
00:44:41,840 --> 00:44:44,640
Speaker 2: Wi Fi is still expensive when you're on a cruise,

873
00:44:45,080 --> 00:44:50,080
Speaker 2: and those international phone plans don't really work on cruises.

874
00:44:50,120 --> 00:44:52,600
Speaker 2: You have to be really careful sometimes people think that

875
00:44:52,640 --> 00:44:55,040
Speaker 2: their phone is going to work when they're on a cruise,

876
00:44:55,200 --> 00:44:57,640
Speaker 2: they can make phone calls, but then unfortunately they can

877
00:44:57,760 --> 00:45:00,440
Speaker 2: end up with a really big bill, like in the

878
00:45:00,560 --> 00:45:03,239
Speaker 2: hundreds and even thousands of dollars after they get off

879
00:45:03,280 --> 00:45:05,120
Speaker 2: their crew, So they do want to be careful. But

880
00:45:05,239 --> 00:45:10,360
Speaker 2: you can purchase Wi Fi or intranet on your cruise.

881
00:45:10,600 --> 00:45:13,800
Speaker 2: So there are different Wi Fi packages that people can choose.

882
00:45:13,840 --> 00:45:16,440
Speaker 2: Some of them, you know, are lower priced and they

883
00:45:16,480 --> 00:45:20,319
Speaker 2: include just scrolling on social media and checking emails, and

884
00:45:20,480 --> 00:45:23,320
Speaker 2: you know, there are other more expensive Wi Fi packages

885
00:45:23,360 --> 00:45:26,040
Speaker 2: that are going to include streaming. So it is something

886
00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:28,040
Speaker 2: people want to shop around for a little bit, you know,

887
00:45:28,080 --> 00:45:30,120
Speaker 2: once they book their crews, to find the package that

888
00:45:30,239 --> 00:45:33,520
Speaker 2: actually suits their needs for for when they're on the

889
00:45:33,560 --> 00:45:34,040
Speaker 2: cruise ship.

890
00:45:34,120 --> 00:45:37,200
Speaker 1: Okay, do you have a favorite way to pay for

891
00:45:37,239 --> 00:45:39,680
Speaker 1: cruises or using credit cards? Is there is there any

892
00:45:39,840 --> 00:45:42,600
Speaker 1: like a most efficient method or a way to garter

893
00:45:42,719 --> 00:45:45,360
Speaker 1: the most rewards or a way that the cruise lines

894
00:45:45,440 --> 00:45:48,600
Speaker 1: incentivize you to book when you're doing business with them.

895
00:45:49,360 --> 00:45:52,920
Speaker 2: Well, you can definitely book using your credit card. Actually,

896
00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:56,960
Speaker 2: most cruise lines do have a credit card that is

897
00:45:57,080 --> 00:45:59,920
Speaker 2: their own credit card that you can book and you

898
00:46:00,160 --> 00:46:04,600
Speaker 2: can get points. Unfortunately, because I'm Canadian, you do have

899
00:46:04,680 --> 00:46:07,520
Speaker 2: to be a resident of the United States, so that

900
00:46:07,600 --> 00:46:08,840
Speaker 2: has never applied to me.

901
00:46:09,200 --> 00:46:10,600
Speaker 1: So I just sorry us.

902
00:46:11,160 --> 00:46:15,680
Speaker 2: Yeah, I know. So I booked using my regular credit card,

903
00:46:15,800 --> 00:46:17,600
Speaker 2: you know, and the one that gives me the most

904
00:46:17,800 --> 00:46:23,160
Speaker 2: reward points at home in Canada. But you can definitely

905
00:46:23,200 --> 00:46:25,640
Speaker 2: book with credit cards. I can't think of another way

906
00:46:25,680 --> 00:46:28,080
Speaker 2: that would be better. So I was going to mention

907
00:46:28,280 --> 00:46:31,520
Speaker 2: there is something that for people who are members of

908
00:46:31,640 --> 00:46:36,400
Speaker 2: aa RP. There are gift cards that people can purchase

909
00:46:36,480 --> 00:46:41,320
Speaker 2: and they can use those gift cards towards paying off

910
00:46:41,719 --> 00:46:44,360
Speaker 2: their cruise, and some people do that, and I believe

911
00:46:44,400 --> 00:46:47,600
Speaker 2: they get a ten percent discount on the aa ARP

912
00:46:48,040 --> 00:46:50,719
Speaker 2: cards and therefore it gives them a little bit of

913
00:46:50,719 --> 00:46:53,680
Speaker 2: a small discount when they're paying off their cruise.

914
00:46:53,800 --> 00:46:55,759
Speaker 1: School Well, if they're like you and you're going on

915
00:46:55,840 --> 00:47:00,919
Speaker 1: multiple cruises a month's that's actually so we haven't asked.

916
00:47:00,920 --> 00:47:03,719
Speaker 1: I'm curious a lot how many cruises have you gone

917
00:47:04,440 --> 00:47:07,080
Speaker 1: in total? And how many are you planning on going

918
00:47:07,160 --> 00:47:08,120
Speaker 1: on in twenty twenty four.

919
00:47:08,560 --> 00:47:11,400
Speaker 2: So I haven't gone on as many cruises as some people.

920
00:47:11,520 --> 00:47:13,200
Speaker 2: There are people that have been on you know, one

921
00:47:13,239 --> 00:47:15,719
Speaker 2: hundred cruises and more. I haven't done that. So we've

922
00:47:15,760 --> 00:47:19,280
Speaker 2: done I believe it's thirty five now. I did seven

923
00:47:19,360 --> 00:47:22,400
Speaker 2: cruises in twenty twenty three and that was the most

924
00:47:22,440 --> 00:47:23,719
Speaker 2: that I ever did in a year.

925
00:47:24,040 --> 00:47:27,400
Speaker 1: Nice. Well here's to eight or nine in twenty Yeah,

926
00:47:27,440 --> 00:47:29,560
Speaker 1: it sounds like you you might be on your way

927
00:47:29,560 --> 00:47:32,759
Speaker 1: to doing that. But okay, one last thing, this is

928
00:47:32,760 --> 00:47:35,040
Speaker 1: how to money. And like we mentioned, we always enjoy

929
00:47:35,120 --> 00:47:38,120
Speaker 1: a craft beer during the during the episode. I know

930
00:47:38,280 --> 00:47:41,440
Speaker 1: some cruise lines allow you to bring your own alcohol

931
00:47:41,520 --> 00:47:43,880
Speaker 1: a board. Conjol my show up with our own craft beer?

932
00:47:44,400 --> 00:47:47,680
Speaker 1: Is it cruise line dependent as to what their specific

933
00:47:47,719 --> 00:47:51,080
Speaker 1: rules are? And you earlier you mentioned like drink packages.

934
00:47:51,560 --> 00:47:53,880
Speaker 1: How do you go about if you want to enjoy

935
00:47:54,040 --> 00:47:55,719
Speaker 1: an adult beverage on the cruise? How do you go

936
00:47:55,760 --> 00:47:56,359
Speaker 1: about doing that?

937
00:47:56,680 --> 00:48:00,640
Speaker 2: Well, cruise lines will most appreciate if you either drink

938
00:48:00,640 --> 00:48:03,400
Speaker 2: packages or if you pay for drinks on board. But

939
00:48:03,560 --> 00:48:05,279
Speaker 2: what you can do I don't know if you can

940
00:48:05,320 --> 00:48:07,879
Speaker 2: bring beer. I don't believe that you can. I've never

941
00:48:07,920 --> 00:48:11,840
Speaker 2: really looked into it though, But you can bring wine

942
00:48:11,960 --> 00:48:15,040
Speaker 2: on board. Most cruise lines will allow you to bring

943
00:48:15,280 --> 00:48:19,120
Speaker 2: one bottle of wine per adult in the cabin, so

944
00:48:19,160 --> 00:48:20,560
Speaker 2: you can bring that on the cruise and if you

945
00:48:20,600 --> 00:48:22,440
Speaker 2: plan on, you know, having a glass of wine in

946
00:48:22,480 --> 00:48:25,160
Speaker 2: your cabin, then you know that's something good to do.

947
00:48:25,600 --> 00:48:27,800
Speaker 2: If you do take the wine out of your cabin

948
00:48:27,880 --> 00:48:30,239
Speaker 2: and you bring it to the dining room when the

949
00:48:30,280 --> 00:48:32,480
Speaker 2: waiter will open it for you, there is going to

950
00:48:32,520 --> 00:48:35,520
Speaker 2: be a corkage fee of between fifteen and twenty dollars

951
00:48:35,520 --> 00:48:38,560
Speaker 2: depending on the cruise line, so that may or may

952
00:48:38,600 --> 00:48:40,640
Speaker 2: not be worth it for you, but definitely if you're

953
00:48:40,680 --> 00:48:43,000
Speaker 2: drinking the wine in your cabin, or even if you

954
00:48:43,040 --> 00:48:44,880
Speaker 2: fill up your glass in your cabin and then you

955
00:48:44,960 --> 00:48:47,920
Speaker 2: walk around with a glass of wine, you can definitely

956
00:48:48,000 --> 00:48:48,279
Speaker 2: do that.

957
00:48:48,520 --> 00:48:51,000
Speaker 1: Like some of our fancier beers come with corks, so

958
00:48:51,120 --> 00:48:54,040
Speaker 1: I wonder if maybe that they let it slide. I

959
00:48:54,040 --> 00:48:55,880
Speaker 1: don't you take it up there and they're just like, oh,

960
00:48:55,960 --> 00:48:59,040
Speaker 1: so this is a wine. It's like, aha, it's actually

961
00:48:59,200 --> 00:49:02,560
Speaker 1: a goose. This is a Belgian lambiic so you thought,

962
00:49:02,960 --> 00:49:06,040
Speaker 1: but a cork for you, sir. A lot of this

963
00:49:06,080 --> 00:49:10,120
Speaker 1: has been like so informative and it's really like made

964
00:49:10,120 --> 00:49:14,000
Speaker 1: me kind of think twice about cruising in general. But

965
00:49:14,239 --> 00:49:17,120
Speaker 1: thank you so much for joining us today on the podcast.

966
00:49:17,520 --> 00:49:20,120
Speaker 1: How can our listeners find out more about you and

967
00:49:20,120 --> 00:49:22,080
Speaker 1: and all the good information that you're giving out.

968
00:49:22,520 --> 00:49:25,839
Speaker 2: Thanks so much for having me on. So your listeners

969
00:49:25,880 --> 00:49:28,880
Speaker 2: can find me either on my YouTube channel, it's simply

970
00:49:28,920 --> 00:49:32,960
Speaker 2: called Life Well Cruised. I also have a website lifewell

971
00:49:33,040 --> 00:49:36,000
Speaker 2: cruised dot com where I share packing tips and other

972
00:49:36,040 --> 00:49:40,359
Speaker 2: information about cruises, and as well on social media so

973
00:49:40,440 --> 00:49:43,480
Speaker 2: Instagram and Facebook under life Well Cruised.

974
00:49:43,640 --> 00:49:45,719
Speaker 1: Awesome, Alana, thank you so much for taking the time

975
00:49:45,800 --> 00:49:46,800
Speaker 1: to speak with us today.

976
00:49:47,040 --> 00:49:47,879
Speaker 2: Oh, thank you so much.

977
00:49:47,880 --> 00:49:49,640
Speaker 1: It was a lot of fun, all right, Matt. Now

978
00:49:49,680 --> 00:49:52,919
Speaker 1: I feel like I am aching for a vacation. Yeah,

979
00:49:53,120 --> 00:49:57,040
Speaker 1: cruising for a cruise boosom. I don't know pretty much.

980
00:49:57,600 --> 00:49:57,640
Speaker 2: No.

981
00:49:57,960 --> 00:50:00,920
Speaker 1: I mean it's the middle of January. It is the

982
00:50:01,040 --> 00:50:04,120
Speaker 1: time which you don't want to be, like, I don't

983
00:50:04,640 --> 00:50:06,440
Speaker 1: want to go on a cruise until January hits. And

984
00:50:06,480 --> 00:50:09,319
Speaker 1: I'm like, it's true. It's like that midwinter bleakness. It

985
00:50:09,360 --> 00:50:12,759
Speaker 1: makes sense that though the quote unquote wave season when

986
00:50:12,760 --> 00:50:14,640
Speaker 1: they offer a lot of the discounts is this time

987
00:50:14,680 --> 00:50:17,759
Speaker 1: of year. Yeah, and like these cruise lines are just

988
00:50:17,840 --> 00:50:20,080
Speaker 1: they're looking for those deposits so that they know that

989
00:50:20,080 --> 00:50:22,560
Speaker 1: they can basically bankroll these ships. Yeah, just a way

990
00:50:22,600 --> 00:50:25,560
Speaker 1: for them to do some planning because those things are expensive,

991
00:50:25,600 --> 00:50:27,759
Speaker 1: that's right, to maintain and to fuel all that kind

992
00:50:27,760 --> 00:50:29,480
Speaker 1: of stuff. Yeah, for sure. All right, So what was

993
00:50:29,520 --> 00:50:32,719
Speaker 1: your big takeaway from this combo? I think for me personally, dude,

994
00:50:32,800 --> 00:50:36,000
Speaker 1: it's the fact that she mentioned the stabilizers whatever these

995
00:50:36,000 --> 00:50:38,480
Speaker 1: things are on these on the newer cruise ships, and

996
00:50:38,480 --> 00:50:40,400
Speaker 1: it sounds like you might have to get a pretty

997
00:50:40,440 --> 00:50:44,080
Speaker 1: dang old cruise ship that doesn't have the stabilizers. But

998
00:50:44,120 --> 00:50:46,239
Speaker 1: for me, that is the number one thing that's keeping

999
00:50:46,320 --> 00:50:48,919
Speaker 1: me from hopping on a hopping on a cruise ship.

1000
00:50:49,040 --> 00:50:51,360
Speaker 1: I think is like, is the worry. It's the concern

1001
00:50:51,400 --> 00:50:53,960
Speaker 1: of getting seasick and not being able to enjoy a

1002
00:50:54,080 --> 00:50:57,560
Speaker 1: single day of that cruise because I'm I'm feeling terrible

1003
00:50:58,120 --> 00:50:59,799
Speaker 1: because I do get I do get motion sick. But

1004
00:50:59,800 --> 00:51:02,359
Speaker 1: here her talk about that and the fact that there's

1005
00:51:02,400 --> 00:51:04,839
Speaker 1: a lot of different drugs or remedies out there she

1006
00:51:04,920 --> 00:51:08,120
Speaker 1: mentioned bo nine, Dude, I'm totally going to look that.

1007
00:51:08,160 --> 00:51:10,520
Speaker 1: I mean, honestly, I might even look that up. For again,

1008
00:51:10,520 --> 00:51:12,719
Speaker 1: I know nothing about this and whether or not. You

1009
00:51:12,719 --> 00:51:14,480
Speaker 1: can give it to kids or not. But you know,

1010
00:51:14,600 --> 00:51:16,479
Speaker 1: like our kids get carsick when we go on longer

1011
00:51:16,520 --> 00:51:19,880
Speaker 1: trumps as well, and I'm thinking, okay, mental note, is

1012
00:51:19,880 --> 00:51:21,520
Speaker 1: that something that we you know, that we have on

1013
00:51:21,600 --> 00:51:24,200
Speaker 1: hand in case any of the kids start feeling a

1014
00:51:24,239 --> 00:51:26,480
Speaker 1: little queasy. But dude, seriously, for me, that was my

1015
00:51:26,480 --> 00:51:28,920
Speaker 1: big takeaway is that, Okay, cool cruises are a lot

1016
00:51:28,960 --> 00:51:32,040
Speaker 1: more within the realm of possibility. Yeah, knowing that that exists, No,

1017
00:51:32,280 --> 00:51:34,279
Speaker 1: that's yeah, I think that's fascinating. I think my big

1018
00:51:34,320 --> 00:51:39,920
Speaker 1: takeaway was to like, you can have all confidence booking

1019
00:51:40,160 --> 00:51:42,200
Speaker 1: well in advance the cruise that you want to go

1020
00:51:42,239 --> 00:51:44,520
Speaker 1: on and the dates, and then you know, wait for

1021
00:51:44,560 --> 00:51:46,360
Speaker 1: the discount to come to you after the fact, just

1022
00:51:46,440 --> 00:51:49,799
Speaker 1: basically like it'll probably go down in price. And then

1023
00:51:50,719 --> 00:51:53,200
Speaker 1: it sounds like, based on one Alana was saying, every

1024
00:51:53,239 --> 00:51:55,279
Speaker 1: single one of the major cruise lines is more than

1025
00:51:55,320 --> 00:51:59,240
Speaker 1: willing to basically refund you the money that's in excess

1026
00:51:59,640 --> 00:52:02,759
Speaker 1: of what the current prices. So I think that's a

1027
00:52:02,800 --> 00:52:05,480
Speaker 1: wonderful tactic to take if you're saying, like, well, I

1028
00:52:05,480 --> 00:52:07,359
Speaker 1: don't want to just be subject to the whims of

1029
00:52:07,640 --> 00:52:11,600
Speaker 1: a sale necessarily I definitely want to go on this

1030
00:52:11,760 --> 00:52:15,600
Speaker 1: trip specifically, well, the price might go down. You have

1031
00:52:15,640 --> 00:52:17,600
Speaker 1: to keep looking like just kind of like we talk

1032
00:52:17,640 --> 00:52:20,120
Speaker 1: about with auto rentals or something like that, you book

1033
00:52:20,160 --> 00:52:22,799
Speaker 1: the auto rental, the refundable auto rental, and then later

1034
00:52:22,840 --> 00:52:24,520
Speaker 1: on down the line you can check to see if

1035
00:52:24,560 --> 00:52:27,480
Speaker 1: the price has gone down and then rebook. What's similar

1036
00:52:27,520 --> 00:52:29,799
Speaker 1: with the cruise right where you book, and then you

1037
00:52:29,920 --> 00:52:32,439
Speaker 1: just call Instead of rebooking, you just call and say, hey,

1038
00:52:32,600 --> 00:52:35,960
Speaker 1: give me the discounted price now, and they're pretty much

1039
00:52:36,000 --> 00:52:39,080
Speaker 1: always gonna be like, Okay, you got it. And I

1040
00:52:39,160 --> 00:52:41,360
Speaker 1: love that as a tactic for getting to take the

1041
00:52:41,400 --> 00:52:44,520
Speaker 1: cruse you want and spending hopefully less money than you

1042
00:52:44,600 --> 00:52:46,760
Speaker 1: otherwise thought you would. Totally yeah, I think I should

1043
00:52:46,760 --> 00:52:48,760
Speaker 1: give folks a lot of peace of mind. That plus

1044
00:52:49,040 --> 00:52:52,400
Speaker 1: the refundable deposit. But let's get to the beer that

1045
00:52:52,440 --> 00:52:55,400
Speaker 1: you and I enjoyed during this episode was called Last

1046
00:52:55,440 --> 00:52:58,839
Speaker 1: Will and Testament. This is a beer by Monday Night

1047
00:52:58,920 --> 00:53:03,600
Speaker 1: Brewing was donated to the show by friend of the show, Ryan, So, Ryan,

1048
00:53:03,640 --> 00:53:06,160
Speaker 1: thank you so much for swinging by the clubhouse the

1049
00:53:06,160 --> 00:53:08,319
Speaker 1: office here and dropping off this old high school path.

1050
00:53:08,360 --> 00:53:09,919
Speaker 1: Plus he reached out and he's like, I've got beer

1051
00:53:09,920 --> 00:53:11,960
Speaker 1: for you. I'm like, yeah, thank you. I was bummed

1052
00:53:12,120 --> 00:53:14,320
Speaker 1: he invited us to like a he's got like a

1053
00:53:14,360 --> 00:53:16,640
Speaker 1: vinyl and cocktails Christmas party that we weren't able to

1054
00:53:16,640 --> 00:53:20,400
Speaker 1: attend them because that sounded like the coolest party. So nice.

1055
00:53:20,719 --> 00:53:23,000
Speaker 1: But yeah, what were your thoughts on on this particular beer? So?

1056
00:53:23,160 --> 00:53:25,600
Speaker 1: I thought it was delicious. It was in my mind

1057
00:53:25,719 --> 00:53:28,160
Speaker 1: the two notes that I was getting were bourbon and raisin.

1058
00:53:28,360 --> 00:53:32,120
Speaker 1: It was like bourbon soaked raisins in in beer form,

1059
00:53:32,400 --> 00:53:35,000
Speaker 1: and this was I like, I like that vibe. Yeah,

1060
00:53:35,120 --> 00:53:37,040
Speaker 1: I don't like raisins and my cookies because I don't

1061
00:53:37,040 --> 00:53:39,959
Speaker 1: like the consistency, but I like the flavor of the eyes,

1062
00:53:40,040 --> 00:53:42,440
Speaker 1: and I do like I can eat raisins by themselves.

1063
00:53:42,480 --> 00:53:44,560
Speaker 1: But like you love raisins and cookies, which I think

1064
00:53:44,640 --> 00:53:46,759
Speaker 1: is just like the stress. I like the chew and

1065
00:53:46,800 --> 00:53:49,520
Speaker 1: a nice oatmeal raisin cookie. But well, this this tastes great.

1066
00:53:49,520 --> 00:53:51,439
Speaker 1: I'm glad you could taste this because with your cold

1067
00:53:51,440 --> 00:53:53,880
Speaker 1: that you're lacking right now. I wasn't sure. It certainly

1068
00:53:53,880 --> 00:53:55,520
Speaker 1: didn't pick a nuance, but I was like, we were

1069
00:53:55,560 --> 00:53:57,279
Speaker 1: specifically looking for one that was gonna hit you over

1070
00:53:57,280 --> 00:54:00,799
Speaker 1: the head when it came to the flavor. But well,

1071
00:54:00,840 --> 00:54:02,960
Speaker 1: I think it's the remedy personally. Yeah, I think I'll

1072
00:54:02,960 --> 00:54:04,920
Speaker 1: be better in no time now. Yeah, it's all the

1073
00:54:04,960 --> 00:54:07,200
Speaker 1: health professionals out there are just shaking their heads. Right. No,

1074
00:54:07,640 --> 00:54:10,719
Speaker 1: but this is a bourbon barrel aged English old ale

1075
00:54:10,760 --> 00:54:12,920
Speaker 1: and it totally has some of those It almost has

1076
00:54:12,920 --> 00:54:15,719
Speaker 1: like Belgian quad like flavors going on with it. It

1077
00:54:15,760 --> 00:54:18,520
Speaker 1: tastes like an old world kind of beer, certainly the

1078
00:54:18,640 --> 00:54:20,239
Speaker 1: kind of beer you want to enjoy here in the

1079
00:54:20,680 --> 00:54:23,320
Speaker 1: like the dead middle of winter. I'm glad you and

1080
00:54:23,400 --> 00:54:25,040
Speaker 1: I got to enjoy this one by one of our

1081
00:54:25,080 --> 00:54:28,040
Speaker 1: favorite local breweries. I don't honestly know. I don't think

1082
00:54:28,040 --> 00:54:30,480
Speaker 1: there's any other brewery out there where we've had more

1083
00:54:30,480 --> 00:54:33,240
Speaker 1: other beers on the show not only because they're local,

1084
00:54:33,480 --> 00:54:35,680
Speaker 1: but because of the fact that they're so dang good.

1085
00:54:35,800 --> 00:54:39,520
Speaker 1: So make sure that you're not sleeping on Monday nights beers.

1086
00:54:40,040 --> 00:54:42,560
Speaker 1: But buddy, that's gonna be it for this episode. We'll

1087
00:54:42,560 --> 00:54:45,959
Speaker 1: link to Alana's YouTube channel up in our show notes

1088
00:54:46,040 --> 00:54:49,720
Speaker 1: up on the website at how themoney dot com. Okay,

1089
00:54:50,280 --> 00:54:53,040
Speaker 1: I just just a lot of this one final little takeaway.

1090
00:54:53,040 --> 00:54:54,480
Speaker 1: And we didn't even get to this, but in one

1091
00:54:54,520 --> 00:54:57,000
Speaker 1: of her videos, this is like a little maybe we

1092
00:54:57,040 --> 00:54:58,920
Speaker 1: should stick this in after the fact, after we end

1093
00:54:58,960 --> 00:55:02,439
Speaker 1: the you know, like the little like a little easter egg.

1094
00:55:02,960 --> 00:55:05,040
Speaker 1: She in whatever video, she shared the fact that the

1095
00:55:05,080 --> 00:55:08,000
Speaker 1: walls of cabins on a cruise ship they're all made

1096
00:55:08,040 --> 00:55:11,240
Speaker 1: of metal, which I guess makes sense because it's a boat. Yeah,

1097
00:55:11,360 --> 00:55:13,200
Speaker 1: and that didn't occur to me. So here's a little

1098
00:55:13,200 --> 00:55:15,560
Speaker 1: tip if you are a cruiser, she says, always show

1099
00:55:15,600 --> 00:55:20,080
Speaker 1: up with magnetic hooks, and so you hooked those up

1100
00:55:20,160 --> 00:55:22,080
Speaker 1: on the wall and you hang up all your stuff,

1101
00:55:22,280 --> 00:55:26,759
Speaker 1: keeps it from slipping around. I guess. Really, that's the thing. Yeah,

1102
00:55:26,800 --> 00:55:28,480
Speaker 1: when you thought those are the kind of tips that

1103
00:55:28,960 --> 00:55:31,480
Speaker 1: a lot of sharing, yeah exactly on her YouTube channel exactly.

1104
00:55:31,480 --> 00:55:33,239
Speaker 1: Some of it's money saving and some of it's just

1105
00:55:33,280 --> 00:55:36,800
Speaker 1: how to cruise like the right way, Yeah exactly. So

1106
00:55:36,840 --> 00:55:38,440
Speaker 1: she's got a bunch of great stuff on there. We'll

1107
00:55:38,440 --> 00:55:41,040
Speaker 1: link to everything in the show notes up on our

1108
00:55:41,040 --> 00:55:42,799
Speaker 1: site how to money dot com. But Matt, that's going

1109
00:55:42,880 --> 00:55:44,879
Speaker 1: to do it for this episode until next time. Best

1110
00:55:44,880 --> 00:55:47,400
Speaker 1: Friends Out, Best Friends Out,