Tips and Affordable Travel Adventures Over 40 Learn how to travel on a budget with money saving tips for your next vacation.
I am a cruise addict and travel budget expert helping people looking for affordable adventures. Let's embark on a journey together as I vlog my cruises and other travel adventures insights to help you plan your best vacation.
Let me say that those shampoo and conditioner bars are not created equal…I got one from a very good herbal company that I use, and the shampoo bar dried out my hair so badly that I could not fix it…had to cut it. But…I found some on Amazon that had great reviews. A castor oil shampoo and coconut oil conditioner…they are amazing!!! I have not used regular shampoo/conditioner in about 10 months. It has literally changed my hair for the better. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to regular shampoo and conditioner again.
I have the phone holder and on long flights, its AMAZING to have. You stick your phone on it and can easily watch movies without having to hold your phone. I LOVE mine. I don't think you fly to cruises but I fly a lot and its great.
Hi thanks for your feedback. I can see that it can be very handy. I don't typically fly to cruises especially out of Florida, but west coast we definitely fly. In fact, we are flying today, and I normally have my iPad with me when we fly. All I have is my phone. I may real quick wish I had one of these phone holders. LOL
@@tpstravels ooh you will!! They are great but i haven't tried to put my tablet in it. It is great for my phone though! Love that i can watch movies while flying on southwest. Have a safe flight!!
Yea, I actually have to. I can see that this would be very useful especially avoiding liquids for a plane. I am just curious as to how good the shampoo and conditioner is.
Booked for this cabin type in November. Looks beautiful. Thank you for addressing the ocean sounds. I wasn't sure if we'd be able to hear the ocean inside the cabin. Sounds so peaceful to have the sound of the ocean to help put us to sleep. Thanks for the review!
We did the water park before covid and it is NOT worth it. The ride there was horrible. I don't have anything good to say about that excursion and I'm a positive person. Skip it!
We Cruised 9/16/24🐚 We went to the south side of princess cay. Go left, not right over the little wooden bridge for seclusion. Chairs were abundant, even in the shade. Be mindful, wear water shoes or flip flops, there’s lots of painful tiny needle thingies from the trees. We were first on the Island off the boat. It was absolutely AMAZING! Side Note we grabbed a breakfast burrito before we left and didn’t eat lunch on the Island. We rented snorkel gear no problem, $10 bucks each. Another Note there are sting rays in the wild be mindful lol! We’re still alive obviously 😅 Bring LOTS OF WATER AND SUN BLOCK ❤
At the 2:00 minute mark I explained the difference in a shore excursion to the 7 mile beach versus visiting on your own. Just giving multiple options for people to choose from when visiting the Grand Cayman area.
I took the train from Orlando to Miami. Not Premium seating though. But honestly? Not much difference on the seats. Now, the combo sandwich is quite expensive. But I would ride it again ( I will just eat first🙄🙄🙄
What do I expect. What am I paying for. What is the reality. Personally, I would rather check into the 4 seasons in San Francisco and leave my Dramamine at home.
@@genev7855 yes, there’s nothing better than being in a hotel with a little extra room especially after being at sea for so long. I just came back from a hotel stay and loved my truly private balcony. It’s nice to change up your vacations from time to time.
Oh yea, they have some WiFi cafes you can sit down at in Costa Maya. I believe you have to rent a chair or buy a drink and the you can enjoy the WiFi while there.
Choose your ship wisely! We always cruise mid size Princess ships with a balcony cabin. I spend hours relaxing on the balcony. I would never swim in the pool or go to hot tub - too many germs. Also, choose your excursions wisely. We almost always use smaller private excursions. Just make sure to give yourself two hours to get back before ship leaves. About illness, just wash wash wash your hands - try not to touch the railings and elevator buttons. Relax and have a great time!! 😊
Absolutely! I couldn’t agree with you more. The ship will make or break your cruise definitely. I haven’t tried princess yet, but it’s on my list. Yep, I almost always book through Viator instead of the cruise line. I can find better excursions and cheaper as well. Thanks for your feedback.
I enjoy cruising it’s a nice way to relax and see new places, but I’ve been to almost all of the destinations around North America now after cruising almost monthly for the past year and a half that’s it’s just time for a little break for me to see and do other things. Germany, Finland and Norway are on our list to explore.
We have been on 25 cruses and have 5 more booked. The ships are crowded since the Pandemic, especially in the Summer. We do not purchase EXTRAS on the cruise. We do not get drink packages, WiFi or other additions.
I’ve cruised before the pandemic but I’ve done so many after the pandemic it’s hard for me to really remember what it was like in the 2010s except those awful muster stations. Glad they don’t do that anymore. You can definitely enjoy a cruise without purchasing extras.
I've been cruising since 1993, my first cruise was on majesty of the seas. That experience on that seven night cruise got me hooked on cruising, the ship was perfect. The cruising industry, unfortunately has turned a drastically bad direction with mega ships. Something you should know about is a concept called passenger space ratio. Passenger space ratio is the total gross tonnage of the ship divided by the passenger capacity. If the passenger space ratio number falls below 40, that's a crowded ship. I love cruising, but my last cruise on Caribbean princess was absolutely awful, the passenger space ratio of 35.9. It was a cold weather cruise nobody was out by the pool, and it was jampacked, never again. I should've know better that's my fault, but I'm a whole cruise line industries of building these mega ships is causing more than just problems with crowding on board, it's causing ports like Barcelona and Amsterdam to begin legislation to limit the size and number of cruise ships. I've given up on the mainstream cruise lines and switching to the small ships like those Azamara, Seaborn, and silver Sea. Mainline cruising has made it about being on the ship rather than visiting ports. I have no interest in going vacation with 5000 6000 or 7000 other guests.
right - have to say that the cruises in the Caribbean on the US mega lines is the worst end of cruising as they don't want you to leave the vessel, the create itineraries that just allow the vessel to go to three possibly four places but the rest of the time you are at see - however cruising in the Mediterranean on smaller vessels is a completely different experience and yes you often have to take excursions as the places of interest are not necessarily near the ports but places like Livorno (where most people go off to Florence) are magical in themselves, a lot of Greek cruise ports have wonderful towns near by and less called at places (such as Toulon) are magnificent.
That’s exactly what we want to do. We’ve been looking at Mediterranean cruises but they won’t happen until after the first of the year. Maybe that will be my first cruise when heading back to cruising.
I never said I hated cruising. Did you watch the video? I am just taking a break from cruising at the moment. I enjoy cruising and will be cruising again, but I’m doing other things at the moment.
@@chrisrobertson3189 haha no worries. I feel everyone is money grabbing truly. We’ve been here all afternoon so far and yep some of these costs are crazy here. But, that’s also learning didn’t things when traveling so you don’t get suckered in all those extra ridiculous costs. I’m really hoping our next cruise will be in the Mediterranean. I’ve been all over the Caribbean, Alaska and Greenland. I’m ready for a new destination.
The Caribbean is a losing proposition these days and is simply too dangerous in many ports. The corporations have killed the joy of cruising with constant "nickel and dime" schemes to grab more money from a captive audience. Many cruise ships have been turned into cheap amusement parks at sea and are way too crowded. Bring back smaller ships without the roller coasters that focus on relaxation and not constant chaos.
The bigger ships are more profitable. I don’t think we will see any smaller new ships anymore. I do like the big ships and will cruise on them again, but probably not until after the of the year. Just taking a rest from monthly cruises at the moment.
@@tpstravels Viking has been very successful with their 920 passenger ships. They do not have the amusement parks and casinos and have a loyal following, including myself. The mega ships are disruptive to the industry as a whole and many ports are simply closing their doors to the 8,000 passenger behemoths. A ship of any size can be profitable. Carnival has low prices, attracts a sketchy clientele, and nickel and dimes you to death. It's a corporate model designed to get you on board and squeeze money out of you like a lemon. In the long run the quest for profit is ruining the industry.
@@sarahann530 Your response is cute but snarky. No one is saying corporations cannot make a profit. How they do it and the value-cost equation is the real issue. Mega ships are ruining the cruise industry in many ways. Much like he low cost airlines that cram in too many passengers on a plane makes flying a real pain. Many ports are saying "No more cruise ships" and passengers are pushing back on all the nickel and dime nonsense. If you don't believe this you are simply not following the market.
I've been cruising since 2005, and it's nothing like it used to be now. I'm doing Boston/Canada next month, and it will likely be my last. The reason? The cost now!!! I usually do Bermuda in the Spring and I priced it last week for April 2025.........$2500 on Norwegian!!! And that's for an INSIDE room! It's no longer the value it used to be. And the cruise lines are ripping you off every time you turn around.
Yea I’ve seen the price increase is just the few years we’ve been cruising. We also get casino offers to cruise and those offers don’t seem to be as great lately. Just going to take a little break and see what else I can get into for a bit.
True, prices are crazy. I just haven’t been able to find any great deals lately. I’m still looking for deals, but in the meantime I’m going to explore other things.
@@Jonnyboyyy no I am not. It’s funny you ask. I’ve gotten that question a lot in the past couple of weeks and even been offered to work with different companies as a travel agent, but that’s not something I’m I interested in at the moment.
I used the little stand it sits on to wedge it in on the pull down phone tray holder they have on the seat. I’ve also just used it to stand up on my tray table. My particular fan doesn’t have a clip so I have to wedge it in to anything on the back of the seat to prop it up, but they do have fans with clips that can make that easier.
