Great info Gary, remember, if you don't ask questions, people generally are not going to tell you. (a little sidebar here: you mentioned getting a free comb, hmm)
At one of my cruises with Carnival, I received a free hairdo just by volunteering to be a model and they also did my makeup. It was formal night and I was ready to go and did not pay anything. It was awesome.
On my first cruise on Holland America, many years ago, I got 5lbs of Dutch roasted coffee for free. At the time, I worked for a Dutch company running one of their farms in Canada. Getting extended time off was almost impossible because of it being speciality livestock and skilled workers were hard to come by, but I was given my 3 weeks off. My dutch Operations Manager loved his coffee and when I found out that at the time Holland America imported their coffee from the Netherlands, I figured this was a great way to thank my boss. So I contacted the restaurant manager in hopes to purchase some coffee from them. I explained the reasoning for it and he told me to come back later in the day. I returned a few hours later and was handed a 5 lb bag of their coffee and was told no charge, from one Dutchman to another. My boss was thrilled when I returned home and presented it to him, I also gave him a cigar to sweeten the deal. After that, I was his favorite barn manager.
One thing these videos have taught me is to ask. I was having trouble with a pillow in a hotel and it would never have occurred to me to ask for a firmer pillow before watching all the cruise videos because I was brought up with ‘you get what you get and you don’t get upset’ and ‘put up with it and shut up’. But the brilliance of leaving housekeeping a nice note and a thank you for a firmer pillow got me a much more enjoyable stay. I haven’t quite reached the level of being able to ring and ask housekeeping yet, that’s way too daunting for my anxiety but maybe in the future I’ll be able to.
I’ve always seen the spa raffles on the first day and have never gone. But, after watching this video, I gave it a try. I won a $150 credit. Four names before mine were called, but none of them were there. Thanks for the tip.
You bring up a very good point on the vegetarian/vegan options. A friend of mine was finally having her first cruise and was chatting with one of the Indian chefs who found out she was vegetarian and also loved Indian cuisine and she got something special for every meal that wasn't on the menu and, they didn't dumb down the flavors so she got to enjoy it as they would at home. That happened to me as well when I was talking to one of the chefs and mentioned how much time I spent in India and loved the people there, he smiled, winked at me and voila! A Kerala style prawn kadai that was world class as opposed to an insipid chicken curry he was churning out appeared on my plate. I definitely made sure to become friends with the rest of the chefs and on our last day, they gave me a tray of spices that they used for staff meals which were out of this world!
This is a huge tip! Every cruise ship has a sort of secret Indian/south East Asian menu. It’s the crew food and you can request it in the main dining room each night for the next night. My husband is Indian and this is absolutely one of the reasons we cruise so much vs a land vacation. The chefs do a great job sourcing the spices they use at home because a huge proportion of crew are from south east Asia - so it helps them feel at home. It’s fun to see how the chefs make do with the ingredients they have access to. We’ve had real papadam on occasion, but usually we get tortillas 😂 Whatever works.
Edited to add - Royal just changed their policy on this when they changed their menus. Now they have a set Indian dish on the menu each night. I think our server would have arranged a veggie option, but my husband wasn’t interested. 😂
It's all quite well to try to get as many perks as practical, but for some of them you have to continuously jump through hoops to get them. For example, the free prizes in the ship's jewelry shops. If you can be there for the drawing and deem it worthwhile, fine. But the odds of actually winning anything in a drawing is still usually at best 3 or 4 in 75 or so. Plus you have to usually hang around the shop for at least 15-20 minutes before the last prize is awarded. During this time you may be late for dinner, can't go early to a show and get a good seat, miss a show altogether, or miss out on something else (see the sun set, for example.) In other words, there is usually at least an opportunity cost for the "freebies."
Souvenirs may be interesting keepsakes, but spending any amount of time trying to get maybe $50 worth of free trinkets while having spent thousands of dollars to be on the cruise, seems terribly cheap and wasteful of the passengers' time.
Great advice mate. I did my first cruise for my 50th with Carnival and let the cabin stewardess know about it. I got $50 voucher for a massage, birthday cake for my table, a special cake towel animal and they decorated my cabin on the day. Made my trip go from great to awesome.
So timely…I won a raffle ticket giveaway last week and it was a really nice parka from the Shops of Princess. Wow, I couldn’t believe it-it sells for $35 and I used it on the cruise too! Also received the charm bracelet from Effy with one heart charm…gave that away to a crew member.
On Silversea, I had steak & eggs for breakfast but had to ask for it the day before. Now, this was 3 years ago so I don't know if that can still be done today (and it was on the small ships where staff knows you after the 2nd day...). Steak & eggs might not be a thing for others but it is the one decadent thing I crave on any vacation - lol.
As an American growing up, I knew nothing about afternoon tea or high tea until travel to Hong Kong. I absolutely love it and was spoiled! Holland America looks nice from your video's - it's such a lovely experience. I prefer a proper breakfast and dinner.. lunch can be too much so that tea time is perfect 🥰
Great tips! Hubby and I volunteered for the Love & Marriage game show on the Carnival Pride and we won a bottle of champagne, a set of bamboo towels and a ship on a stick! And we made more memories. ☺️☺️☺️☺️
I discovered a free service on a recent cruise that goes to your point, no matter what happens, ask. The sole on my daily wear shoes had come unglued, with nearly have the sole flopping about. Trying an earlier recommendation I asked my cabin steward if he knew any members of the maintenance crew that might have some glue I could use and he referred me to guest services that had a standard waiver for making repairs. After signing off that I would not hold them accountable for making things worse they took my shoe and it was delivered to my room the next morning looking new for no charge.
Great video, as usual. I do find I get free alcoholic drinks at art shows, the formal night captains champagne celebration, and at the captains cocktail party that I did find myself invited to several times on Princess. The one time that I’m still kicking myself about is when we went to Alaska and there was terrible knocking sound pretty much throughout our cruise. We didn’t sleep very well and I should’ve gone down to the front desk and complained. Instead, Security was sent up to my room and they looked around to see what could’ve been causing that earful banging at night. Even the crew members said it could’ve been the anchor or some door that wasn’t secured. I learned my lesson thanks to you. You’ve gotta ask or you don’t receive.
My mom and I cruised over our collective birthdays (our birthdays are 10 days apart.) When Gary says they make a fuss, they are not kidding. The chef at Prime 7 and all of the waiters came out and sang us happy birthday while holding this giant platter which had Prime 7's specialty - 14 layer chocolate cake. Mind you, we all ready had 3 courses and we kept thinking, "How are we going to fit cake?" Never mind how we fit cake, we did. It is the specialty for a reason. Our suite had a giant towel cake and balloons taped to the ceiling. We had no idea our travel agent made it at the steakhouse. It was so much fun.
Great video Gary. We always order 3-4 appetizers, 2-3 entrees and 2-3 desserts between the two of us and share. Every cruise line has been more than willing to oblige us. In addition, I like to walk through the buffet occasionally to see if there are items that I would like to try. Yes, I am a foodie and a cruise line offers the best opportunity to try dishes that were offered in the past in fine restaurants like escargot, carpaccio, and baked Alaska. On Carnival, all of my waiters were Filipinos. Since I managed a BPO center in Manila, I jokingly said, "when are we going to have adobo (the national dish of the Philippines)? On the last night, they brought us a couple of plates from the crew mess.
This one might be obvious to many of your loyal followers but I'm always amazed to find out how many people don't know about the free room service continental breakfast on major lines like NCL and Royal. They usually charge for room service around $8-10 plus gratuity, which can seem like a frivolous expense when one can just walk up to any included restaurant and get free food. But the continental breakfast is free, and usually includes hot coffee/tea, fresh juices, cereals, pastries, yogurt, fruit, etc. There's also no limit on how much you can order. Since many rooms do not include coffeemakers, and I can't even walk out of my room without already having had coffee, I find that even just ordering coffee and juice is a great way to start the day. It's usually delivered at the exact time I request. A cash tip is really the only cost.
@@kimwayman4 Yes, I heard that, too. I was actually expecting it to be gone on my last cruise on Royal 3 weeks ago but, fortunately, it was still free. My next cruise is on NCL in 19 days so I'm hoping it's still free.
I sometimes order room service for breaks, was free on Princess till last year. But sadly one cannot get real espresso based coffees anywhere but the Cafes onboard.
On Life Well Cruised going to the shopping events was one of the activities most of the Subscribers said they regretted spending their time doing on their cruise!
I think it depends on the Shopping Expert. I’d agree that the HAL one I recently attended was absolutely the worst ever. But I’ve found Disney, NCL, RC & Carnival to be beneficial and they had lots of giveaways. HAL was a huge disappointment.
Sir Gary. Getting free stuff is my middle name. Why not. Love participating in games and shows and lectures and get complimentary items. Some of the items make nice souvenirs. Didn’t know about combs/ razors/stationery. Did know about cards. Raffles. Nice. Lawd knows we don’t need more food. 😂 But love going to the past guests cocktail parties. Drinks and tapas. Or the art auctions. Unlimited champagne. I’ve purchased a couple of pieces over the years. 🥂. Yess. Love afternoon tea. I’ve never come across one with a charge. Ok. You’re talking drinks now. These I know. 🍸🍹😂. Yesss. Love the water refill stations. And usually get 2 liters complimentary in my room with my loyalty level and points. Yess. Know of a pillow menu. Absolutely I check my loyalty benefits. Great tips. My husband and I finally sailing in March. I know what more to look and ask for. Thanks so much and see you next video.
Besides status, interesting that you didn’t mention being a stockholder of Carnival Corp and free wifi for long cruises. Are there other stocks related to cruises, and what are the benefits?
I haven’t seen anything for free wifi, only onboard credits Cruise travelers owning 100 shares in Carnival, Royal Caribbean, or Norwegian can receive up to $250 in onboard credits.
Slightly off topic but best free service I got was on a transatlantic HAL trip. The sole of my walking shoe detached - took it to customer service and got it back well repaired.
On my last cruise I won the free bracelet raffle at the shops 2 or 3 times on a 7 day cruise. They sell the bracelets for over $40 each at the time. This was Carnival in I think 2014 in the Caribbean.
Several years ago I asked why water bottles weren’t given to us. The only hedging I remember was keeping them clean and using them at the dispensers. Since then I’ve learned that stains and other cleaning can be done with denture cleaners! It works quite well!
Coffee in the buffet may be free but it's often like coffee shoreside in a roadside convenience store -- watered down with very little taste, and sometimes an unpleasant added flavour which may be a result of less-than-thorough cleaning of the supersized coffee urns.
A friend of mine had gotten free lapel pins on some cruises...only reason that I know is that I've collected them and have a couple that he'd get and he'd give them to me.
Always enjoyable & informative. We only use room service once in a while. We tip then 2 USD - what are your feelings on this? Give none - tis is sufficient - should give more? Thx.
I’m giving $6 for basic contact servers or services and $10 for bartenders (if I’m at the bar). My room steward will get between $60-$100 by day three, depending on service required or requested. Porters $6
We love the cold soups that HAL used to serve. We have asked for them in the past when they haven't been on the menu, and the chefs made some for us each remaining night of our cruise. It was fantastic!
I've found that most of the time, asking for two entrees in the MDR is fine...but on Royal Caribbean, on more than one occasion, our server has looked at me like I'd grown an extra head. Really odd. As for cabin comfort, on one occasion on Carnival Liberty our oceanview cabin was NOT being air-conditioned. After several trips back and forth to Guest Services they eventually moved us to a balcony that WAS being air-conditioned...at no charge. They said it was the only other available room on the ship, and I believe it; its original tenants were unable to make the cruise. Just last month my cabin on Carnival Sunrise wasn't being A/C'd either, but a quick word to my room steward and a prompt visit from Engineering and the problem -- the damper had been closed -- was solved!
Never had a problem asking for extra at the MDR on Royal. I think the key is to be on a first name basis with your server from the beginning. Ask how their day is going. Ask about their family. Engage them. Thank them for everything they do. We also went to their superior and told him how wonderful our table server was. On our last sailing, I was able to have 4 lobster tails!
@@loryhorn7113 It shouldn't be necessary to "make friends" with your server to get two entrees and not the hairy eyeball on Royal (and I'm unfailingly polite to servers and crew on any cruise). I've never had a similar issue on Carnival and in fact, on one sailing the waiter got my sister a second lobster tail and then cajoled her into a third. (She put up the white flag after #3 and said "No more!") They EXPECT diners to ask for and get more than one lobster tail and they provision the ship accordingly. They also offer each day's pasta entree as an appetizer if desired; while it's supposed to be an appetizer-sized portion it always comes out as the entree size.
@@PaulCashman never did I say you had to "make friends" with your server. These people are away from their families for months on end. Our attitude is always to engage them, and let them know verbally how much we appreciate them. We treat them as we would like to be treated.
Please don't forget the onshore venders! We were visiting Alaska and the jewelry shops suggested to us onboard our Princess cruise. They had a raffle and I won a beautiful Tanzanite necklace. My husband then surprised me with matching earrings!
Gary, can you order lunch menu items during dinner and vice versa? For example, HAL has some daily menu items for dinner, so can you just order those during lunch?
My hubby won me diamond earrings at the end of cruise raffle in the jewelry shop, you did need to buy something to enter. We have won many lovely prizes over the years.
Room service used to be a great option on our cruises, but lately Carnival has severely limited the options, began charging for room service and the wait time to get the items is always 30+ minutes. I can literally pop up to the Lido, grab a coffee and some fruit at breakfast in a few minutes. After the first morning, the breakfast areas become dead unless there is an early port.
8:40 It shows you drinking a beer, though, in a previous video, you stated that Drink Packages were useless for you because you don't drink. I was just wondering if you no longer drink (maybe you are a friend of Bill), or like me, you take a medication where alcohol can interfere with its efficacy. I take between 30 and 45 mg a day of Morphine which does not go well with alcohol.
I would strongly advise bringing cough medicine and diarrhea medicine (loperamide) with you, and NOT report these symptoms to the doctor. Even if you don't have a contagious disease, you may find yourself quarantined for a week, and your cruise vacation ruined. Just self-isolate if your symptoms are really bad and be very conscientious about your handwashing to avoid spreading germs. Only go to the doctor if you have underlying health conditions which put you at risk.
Great to hear about the extra steps to find out about loyalty benefits, Gary. And good to know about points for activities. (I usually sign on as Bill Bernstein, by the way.)
We went out of our way to tell the travel agent, room steward, servers, etc that we were cruising for our anniversary AND daughters birthday AND both daughters college graduation. Nothing. The room stewards made a zoo of towel animals on her bed though. :)
Years ago, my father was cruising just days after major dental work. A word to the Maitre D' in the main dining room, and he got his meats pureed throughout the cruise. A simple fix.
I always cruise Carnival and on embarkation day, they were offering a free bottle of wine (to take to your cabin) if we booked a dinner at their fancy chef's table restaurant. I won $100 store credit twice on the same cruise at the main gift shop so I bought some jewelry. I won it by being present at the raffle. My name was like the 6th or 7th name picked out of the jar, but all the other people never showed up for the drawing. The dining room wait staff brought us a free heart shaped cake for our honeymoon cruise. On all of my Carnival cruises, we eat every night in the main dining room and on nights that I'm feeling hungry, I order 2 appetizers, 2 entrees and 2 desserts. But our waiter was encouraging us to get more than one, especially if I was torn between two menu options. Gary, I love your advice about the spa on embarkation day and the member status freebies. I will see what I can get with my next cruise this summer. Thanks for making great videos for us!
Captain’s free cocktail party has been killed by Covid, at least on Holland and Carnival, instead you get a voucher for a free drink after 5 pm on the last day of the cruise. I also think it’s only for those who have reached a certain level due to number sailing days. Results vary, consult your cruise line.
On more than one ship, we made friends with the Chef (Both times the chef was from India), we commented how much we loved Indian food and they actually made an Indian feast for our table only in the main dining room. Was the best dinner of the entire cruise
I been on cruises with TUI, and the staff have been quite happy to swap potatoes for chips for example (as steak and chips were on the menu but you just paid extra if you wanted steak)
Slight correction. Cruise Critic's Meet and Greets don't always have free food and drinks. I'm hosting my first M&G in October and Princess sent me a price list. There's a charge for the podium, the microphone, etc.
I wish I had found you before our 1st cruise in May. I am an avid fan and we've already booked our 2nd cruise on the same line Celebrity. I'm going to look into the benefits since we have some loyalty status at this point. Pretty sure I get a free scoop of gelato which is something
'Free drinks' is such a good one. I meet so many people who don't realise which cruise lines will offer vouchers at various points of the cruise (like P&O on Celebration night), and also people who don't realise that they can take alcohol to their cabin, then get stung for expensive bottles of wine to the cabin. This was such an interesting video!
Once I was on an NCL cruise, my room had no chair or stool or anything of sort to sit on in front of the make up table. I saw my neighboring rooms have them when I walked past them (during room make up) so I talked to guest service and asked for it (I really wanted one). They looked puzzled and insisted (yes, insisted) my room is not supposed to have such thing. How can my room steward not notice an entire chair missing? well, there was a long strand of red hair (very noticeable because of its color contrast with the carpet) that stayed there and not got vacuumed away for days, even though I saw room stewards lugged vacuums around. I really find that experience strange, I never had a bad cruise stateroom experience, except for that one time.
I really enjoyed the Effy necklace and charms found in my stateroom on my last HAL cruise. We did attend some of the shopping ambassador events to obtain other charms but didn’t feel pressured and I really like the necklace! I usually wouldn’t bother but hmmmm. It was worth a second look this time. Thanks Gary! Hope to see you onboard one of these days! 😊😊😊
I think your advice is great! I got a cruise on a popular American cruise that was kid friendly. Great time, but because I had a stateroom, I kinda looked at it as a motel 6. Motel 6 from 1990, not 2010.😂😂😂😂
Feather pillows are my bug-a-boo. I am seriously allergic to down and can barely breathe with a feather pillow (or dogs had recently stayed in the room). In London a year and a half ago, I woke up at 3:00 a.m., unable to breathe. I called the front desk and asked if all of their pillows were feathered. It turns out they were, as well as the duvet and the mattress topper. I asked if they could send me up a non-down pillow. They sent two people up with new sheets and pillows. They quickly changed the bed so I could sleep.
Mentioned before we cruised with P&O on Iona that it will be our 40th wedding anniversary and also mentioned it whilst on board. What did we get sod all not even a congratulations.
Were looking at our first Alaska cruise and Im watching for the last minute deals the question is how long should I watch a cruise that's discounted before jumping on it and what is the bottom percent I can expect. I understand the prices have gone up because of covid -19 would you suggest getting a travel agent or contact the cruise line agent. I really enjoy your videos lots of good information on cruises and love the tips you provide as well. Thanks again 👍
Gelato is different to ice cream and Princess only charged about $3 last time we were on their ship. Not expensive as it is about CAD$7 anywhere at home. I would check out those refillable water stations as some people put the bottle neck right over the spigot and therefore spread their germs. Water in cabins is safe to drink but it is always warm it seems. Good tips though Gary. Thx.
Another great video! We are planning on traveling in 2025 on a Celebrity Cruise for our honeymoon and we have traveled with the cruise like before. We would obviously love it If we were able to get an upgrade. Do you have any suggestions as to when is the best time mention it is our honeymoon is? We are booking through a travel agent
We were charged £20 per person per tablet for the Sea Sickness Tablets on a TUI Cruise. We learnt after that to pay £6 for them from our Local Pharmacy.
P&O Iona made no effort when I informed them of my mother’s birthday on the ship. They just charged her for a birthday cake and definitely no song or dance. Not impressed and made no effort to make it a special occasion for her and her friends onboard.
Dear Gary - we haven't found your last name in text... we were wondering if we spelled it correctly in our shout out to you: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EuvzJA9VDEk.html
There were a couple of guys who we kept meeting in the lifts and would chat. Last time was at the end if the cruise, asking how the last few days went, they rolled thier eyes and told us that they had been quarantined due to Covid.
Most of this video: the way to get free stuff is to get all the stuff that is going for free. And as for free drinks on Cunard? You have the same chance as an ice cream in hell…
