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This is the Essential Cruise Tips Podcast with cruise expert and author Gary Bembridge. Full of tips, advice and ways to plan and get the most from your cruising vacation.

Feb 5, 2025

If you've got a cruise booked in 2025, or thinking of booking one, there are startling changes being made by cruise lines, governments, and the actions of some local port residents that you need to be ready to deal with. Even if you've been cruising recently and think you know how things work, these changes could catch...


Jan 29, 2025

I've recently been following several cruise-gone-wrong sagas that inspired me to make this. They include outraged passengers raging because the Captain decided to miss iconic ports that most had booked the cruise for, and a distraught family facing a medical bill of $150,000 after their father fell ill on European...


Jan 22, 2025

Knowing that the expedition cruise I wanted to do would cost me the same as buying a new luxury car, I needed to make sure that the line I went with would deliver something special and make every dollar worth it. After much deliberating, I decided to entrust Silversea with this huge sum of money as I've been on...


Jan 15, 2025

On all three Antarctic trips I've been on, I’ve seen so many passengers thrown by the same things each time. All because expedition lines are not totally transparent until passengers get on board. Then the truth comes out. It often comes as a big shock to many. So, here are the six things I see most passengers...


Nov 27, 2024

A drinks package can easily add $1,000 or more to the cost of your seven-night cruise. They've become popular and cruise lines push cruisers hard to buy them, arguing they’re great value, but are they really? And who exactly should, and should not, be buying them and why? I highlight how to avoid falling into traps...