For over 25 years, Gary Bembridge has travelled every month, visiting destinations all over the world. He has also been on over 100 cruises, and is now using all of his personal experiences to share useful advice for travellers on his various social media platforms. In a YouTube video on his channel Tips for Travellers, Gary shared with his 467,000 subscribers a major hack for all cruisers who would like to save a bit of cash. Cruise holidays can set you back a lot, but with this hack, you won’t have to worry about your next trip.
It was while the cruiser was joined with others that he came up with the idea of putting together the selection of tips, asking passengers on the Norwegian Viva cruise what “tip, hack or trip had most changed their cruising experience for the better.” Out of the five top tips the cruisers agreed on, there was one that offered advice on how to gain a better fare or deal on future cruise trips.
He said: “The next one [piece of advice] people suggested I include was about saving money, which of course everyone loves, but they felt too many people miss out on this one.”
The expert then revealed that “booking a future cruise, or buying a future cruise deposit certificate, while you’re actually on your cruise if you want to sail the line again in the next couple of years,” is the way forward.
He continued to share that the passengers he met on the cruise were doing exactly that as the line had a deal going on for those who purchased a future cruise deposit and it was “only available on the cruise.”
“Booking on board always has discounts or added extra onboard credit that you cannot get anywhere else”, the expert cruiser highlighted.
Another thing Gary noted is that bookings made on board can still be linked to travel agents with many of them allowing “no-penalty changes” which is a huge advantage for Brits especially as he explained that countries like the UK do not get refundable booking options.
If you want to save money but don’t plan to cruise on the same line, well this trick that’s “not known enough” is for you. Some cruise lines will “status match” others meaning, if you can prove your loyalty to another line or tour operator, it can unlock a number of perks including “free specialty dining, on-board discounts, and priority embarkation and disembarkation.”
He added: “Some cruise lines also share status within the same broad group, for example I had no status with Royal Caribbean having only cruised on them once before. But I did have high Dioamond status equivalent on their sister line Celebritiy Cruises, and so they matched that, giving me perks like access to the Royal Lounge with snackes, coffees, and happy hour.
“So, we all felt cruisers need to know to check whether any new cruise line that you’re looking at will status match any loyalty program and statutes that you have.”
This story originally appeared on Express.co.uk
