Great video. I (RN) always travel with an allergen-proof/dust mite proof zippered pillow cover and my own pillow case. I put the cover over the ship's (or hotel's) pillow and case, then zip it shut and add my own pillow case. When the trip is over, I take them off, put them in a large zip lock bag then into the outer pocket of my carry-on. I've been doing that for over 30 years. My allergist told me many years ago, NEVER take your own pillow on trips because you carry those germs allergens home with you to your own bed.
My RN wife will also stuff TV remotes into ziplocks for entire trip and must check all beds for bed bugs before we can even enter room. Additionally, she refuses to place cases under beds for same reason.
About allergens- are they not in the mattress as well? I saw a sort of sleeping bag sheet. Is that necessary ? I bought a special travel pillow and so glad I saw this post
Regarding more balcony cabins than regular cabins, is that I think more people want a private balcony. I certainly prefer a private balcony where I can enjoy morning coffee in my robe, or a quiet afternoon where I can truly relax with a favorite book. In the public areas, I get distracted with people watching.
That was pretty well going to be my comment. The cruise lines are simply catering to the demand, which is, more people prefer cabins with a balcony. I would not want an inside cabin and don't particularly enjoy simply having a window. I like walking out on the balcony and enjoying the sea air.
@@DianeLanglois7744 I like balconies in warm climates. But found the balcony a waste of money in the North. I would have no problem with an ocean view. Of course my wife thinks otherwise.
We love the balcony cabins. We just got back from Alaska and the weather was beautiful. It was nice to go up Glacier Bay and watch from our private balcony.
I've traveled for 40 years and have NEVER been bitten by any bed bugs or brought them home. I stay in Marriott hotels or Ritz carlton and have never had any issues. We sail RC & princess cruise lines and no issues there either. I guess we've just been lucky....now if i could only transfer some of that luck to the ship casinos that would also be great.
I stay at budget hotels under the Wyndham brands and we have never seen bedbugs. The only person in my family who carried them from home was my elderly father who brought them back from a hospital or nursing facility as he had not been in a hotel for over five years.
I remember finding cabin grades SO difficult to understand when I first started cruising. If I'm booking a hotel break, I either book a standard or superior room, but on some ships there can be 7 different types of Inside cabin - insane! Great video as always, Gary!
I love watching interviews with cabin designers and naval architects about how ships are designed and the little tricks that they have included in them.😊
you should watch the documentary about how they built the biggest cruiseship in the world (I can't remember if it was the Symphony of the Seas at the time or not).
The pre-fab cabins are a byproduct of modern maritime safety regulations (SOLAS). Back in the land of long-ago cabins and staterooms were often very fancy with elaborate woodwork, carpets and handmade furnishings. The decks, walls, doors and almost all of the furniture were made of wood or other materials that were flammable. A number of serious shipboard fires resulted in very strict rules about what ships can be made of and the materials used for furnishings. Almost nothing flammable is allowed onboard. The QM2 got special permission for the use of some real wood onboard as part of its retro-ambiance. But that is a rare exception, and Cunard has some unusual fire suppression systems on board. Most cruise ships have little or no flammable materials in cabins. The old SS United States famously had only two pieces of wood onboard, the grand piano in the first-class lounge and the butcher's chopping block in the galley.
On top of this, by having the rooms be separate sections, it is much easier to contain a fire, which makes the fires suppression systems more effective.
I work for one of the premium cruise lines. I want to make a few comments. Gary does a great service to cruisers and the cruise lines. Regarding cabin categories and pricing. Balconies are roughly 60% bigger than insides. Balcony cabins are more expensive to build, too. They require furniture, lighting, and sprinklers etc. It's true that proportionally, balconies are a higher percentage of cabin numbers than insides. Balconies have become more popular as well as mini suites and suites. It's really oceanviews as a percentage that has had a steep drop because as you add more decks, you don't add more ocean views.
I have been traveling for the past 20 years either on ships or just motels,/hotels. I have stayed in 5 stars and no stars. I have yet to have a problem. I guess people just like to have something to worry about.
The only way to avoid having to sleep in a bed where someone else has slept is to never travel anywhere. That way you can guarantee you avoid this issue.
A cruise is a special event for most people. As a result I personally don't want to live in a phone booth size room. Obviously a lot of people feel the same way I do, or they wouldn't build ships with more suites on them.
Great video Gary ❤ the only cruise line that I know of in Australia that has Australian electricity sockets is p&o Australia. All of the other ships had US and EUR power points. So when we cruise we usually have to take an international adapter with us. Im not sure now that after Feb 2025, that p&o will no longer be in existence and two of there ships will be branded with carnival (the 3rd ship will be no more), if they will take out the Australian sockets when it goes into dry dock. Im hoping that they keep them as is ❤
A tip for those traveling on an extended cruise with a lot of sea days, bring an HDMI cable with you so you can hook your computer to the tv in the room and watch movies saved!! We were on a transatlantic cruise in April with a lot of sea days and thankfully I planned ahead so we had plenty to watch while in the cabin! Even had a May the Forth party with lots of Star Wars!!! Anyway Thanks Gary for the great videos!! They are most appreciated!
@@mea3665 if you have ever been on a transatlantic cruise that had very little activities available and the average age of the passengers is over 70 you bring additional entertainment. But if you want to hang out in crowded common areas with little ventilation then Good For You!! For me it was the Best Thing I brought with me!!
But doesn't the market drive this too? For example, in the post-Covid world, I won't NOT have a balcony. Not only for the fresh air, but JUST IN CASE we get stuck for weeks in our cabin, I want to have a balcony. But aren't balconies the more popular option? Personally, I love that forward cabins are less money. We LIKE those. We like the rocking of the ship! They also have less traffic outside the door. We have to remind our TA every time....no...we want forward, REALLY.
Cruise lines are businesses and there is nothing wrong with them trying to make a profit. Choose the cabin that you are comfortable with its price. There are many cruise lines, ships, and itineraries to chose from.
While I agree, I hate that they advertise rates as per person and not per room. As a solo traveler, it costs me way more to book a room because I can't get anyone to go with me.
Thanks for the info. Interested… We’ve been on 13 Princess Cruises on 9 different Princess ships; and they all had a safe. Which ship did you sail that did not have one? And what kind of room?
over the last 50 years I have travelled inside, outside and balcony. Now that most cabins have live camera views of the exterior I now travel inside and use the savings for drinks etc..
It's a good idea. On the golden age transatlantic liners such as the Normandie and the Queen Mary the most expensive First Class cabins were midships, in the hull of the ship.
There is a 5th and 6th type of cabin on a lot of cruises, they're the interior "view" and balcony ones that several have where it opens to the interior while also having the closed off interior ones.
Can you review all cruise booking options: the cruise website, the aggregators, etc? And if it's worth being member and sticking to a particular cruise line for their member benefits.
In the run down you gave for a great deal of the cruise lines, you missed out our first, Fred Olsen. It’s a smaller, traditional line popular with Brits.
For some cruise ship, more than 52 sets of guests per bed/cabin, with so many now doing 3-4 day excursions, effectively doubling the amounts heads on beds. Yikes!
So if you ask for a bed topper in your cabin over the top of your bed is that going to minimize the 52 that slept on your bed before you at least you could cover it and maybe have half
Just think about all other surfaces on these ships? Just how many people have walked over the same carpet? Or touched the same railing, or whatever? Quite a lot... Very many people have touch anything you touch or interact with...
The same is true of every environment on the planet....trains, shopping malls, theatres, everywhere....but most medical people will tell you we actually need those interactions because thats how we build resistance ....apart from the more severe ones that cruise ships are famous for. !
I fell, on my first ocean liner transatlantic, in the MDR in rough seas. I lost my balance and hit my cheekbone on a metal reinforced corner of a table, in heavy waters. Even at 8 yo I wonder why have such corners😇
FYI Gary, in North America we don’t say “double bed” unless we mean a 4ft 6” wide bed. Cruise ships usually have queen size at 5 ft or King at 6 ft wide. As most of us do at home. I get angry when I am trying to book an hotel room in the UK and they call them all double, but I would never have 2 people in a double bed, we all want queen or king. But I can hardly find that out unless I email the hotels and then of course I never get a response from half of them. The types of cabins with a group are called categories. If you have a deck plan you can see different colours with a type, each one has a colour denoting the category listed in the key on the side. Yes differences are in location up or down and lengthwise also if near something undesirable, early bird gets the worm. I do wish deck plans showed the direction of the bed as I hate sleeping under the window. We have done over 20 Princess cruises and never not had a safe. Do you remember the ships that did not have a safe. I would hate not having one and having to carry around my valuables all day. Thx for this video. Good info.
One major feature (not mentioned) is cabin space. Some lines offer a sea view double starting at just over 100 square feet. How they get a bed into it, I can't think. I've heard critics suggest a minimum of 180 sq. ft. is just about comfortable.
My very first cruise was when I was in college. My parents decided they wanted to take the whole family on a cruise, so they booked four cabins. They had a cabin, then there were cabins for my siblings and their spouses. As the lone single person, I got a cabin to myself. My dad grumbled about having to pay more to get me my own cabin, but my mother knew that I’d be miserable sleeping on a foldout sofa or pull-down bed in someone else’s cabin. What my parents didn’t understand was about cabin positions. This was 30 years ago when balconies weren’t common on cruise ships, so balcony cabins were very expensive. They got themselves a sea-view cabin on an upper floor on the back of the ship, thinking they’d like the view from there the best. Their room had a very large window. My brothers and their spouses each got sea-view cabins near the back of the ship, but they were on the sides of the ship and several decks lower than my parents’ level. I was given an inside cabin that was on the very lowest passenger level. It was exactly in the middle of the ship, though. Well, guess who had the best cabin? It was me! My parents and siblings hated their cabins. The engine noise, vibrations, and motion were terrible at the back of the ship. We had a couple of nights of rough seas, although I barely noticed. My dad had no idea that being mid-ship and on a low deck made for a much better cruise experience. After the first rough night, they were all looking tired and pale. They hadn’t slept much and they were seasick. I commented on how I didn’t feel much motion at all. The next rough night, one brother and his wife knocked on my door and told me they were sleeping in my cabin with me. The windowless cabin was half the size of a standard cabin, with only a twin bed plus a second twin bed that pulled down above it like a bunk bed. My brother slept on the floor and my sister-in-law slept on the top bunk. I wasn’t very happy about it, but they weren’t asking when they knocked in my door… To be honest, I liked my little windowless cabin. It was DARK, especially in the mornings after sunrise. There was no fake window like they do now; it was just a small cabin with no window. It was also really quiet. There were only a handful of passenger cabins on that deck; further back from the corridor I was on was all crew cabins. There were maybe ten or twelve passenger cabins on each side of the corridor (with an identical corridor on the opposite side of the ship), so there weren’t many passengers walking in the corridors at any given time. I had easy access to elevators at either end, being located exactly between the two main elevator lobbies. I thought I was going to hate it, but I ended up really liking my cabin. I didn’t care that I couldn’t see anything; when I was in my cabin, I was either reading or sleeping. Or decompressing, since I’m an extreme introvert who needs lots of alone time. I’ve stayed in sea-view cabins, balcony cabins, and small suites with balconies. For me, a sea-view cabin is a waste of money. If I’m not going to be able to sit outside, I don’t care about having a window. And, to be perfectly honest, having a balcony isn’t that important to me, either. It’s nice, but I rarely use them. I can go hang out on an upper deck if I want to be outside. I’m a night-owl, so I love being up on the big open decks after midnight when all the activity has ended and it’s dark and quiet. Ideally, I’d love an interior suite, but I don’t think they have those on cruise ships. I’ve never stayed in an interior cabin since that first cruise; my husband always wants a view or preferably a balcony, so that’s what we get. No more cruising for me, though - too many health issues to allow me to be away from emergency medical services or hospitals, even just overnight - so I won’t have to worry about cruise cabins anymore…
I just returned from a cruise and my balcony cabin was at the tail-end of boat. Didnt pay, so I wasnt given an option. The engine drone didnt bother me at all.
I guess one of the points here is to start looking early for deals/sales...we r currently looking at a cruise on Virgin- they have a sale on now which makes a balcony do-able................
I wish there were a way to identify which ships have a traditional bed. You mentioned a couple with Disney Magic and one of NCL’s, which I have noted for the future. There is no reasons why suites shouldn’t have a traditional bed. I can’t stand the gap that forms in the middle of the bed with movement throughout the night. 😬
When the Contemporary was built at Disney World, it used the prefabricated room build, which was billed as the way of the future. It didn't work on land, but seems to work at sea. New ship designs have convinced me the four basic types aren't what they used to be. Balcony and "outside" almost need to be separated into ocean view and interior view. Suites also are a bit fuzzy, with junior suites and grand suites lumped into one, while realistically they are separate.
Goodness! You have presented so much information here. Thank you. And. Thank you for not going into too much detail regarding, well, GERMS. I have more than a little OCD. I travel with my own “sleep sack”, I ask that my bath linens are laundered frequently. (I tip my stewards well). Anyway, this is already too long. Sorry. Last point: I always have to have a balcony as I love being outside.
Extracting more money from same square meters. Studio is not that much smaller than regular cabin. And with regular cabin you get double the fare, double the drinks, double the specialty dining, double the overpriced excursions. Double everything really...
You ever go to the movie theater ...Wanna guess how many "thousands" of oily heads/butts are in those comfy seats per year. Same for airline seats. Lol.
On the question of how cruise companies improve their operating revenue I wonder how they estimate future demand before building new mega ships? Obviously they can move ships to new markets such as NE Asia but if there is an economic downturn how will they fill all these cabins. Cruising is a discretionary expense.
Currently cruise lines only want one thing....families...thats where the money is and the ships are 100% being designed for that market. There are no cruise ships from more than 20 years ago with go cart tracks and full size water parks on them....most cruise trips in the 70's, 80's and 90's were couples....now its 2 adults with children....its the Disney effect !
I have a tiny media player the size of small phone that I link to the HDMI TVs on all cruises....on it I have about 1000 movies...we never are short of something to watch.
If you don't want to think about how many have slept in the bed, you definitely don't want to think how many have died in the cabin or on the ship, surprisingly larger number than one might think especially if the ship is say 20 years old.
Many lines no longer supply body lotion in cabins other than suites. Question--you mentioned that the Disney Magic is one of the only ships you are aware of that cannot separate beds. Does this apply to the entire Disney line or only to the Magic? The beds used to separate, but there were lots of complaints because the hosts didn't know how to put them together properly. We stopped cruising DCL when they changed to beds that would not separate...so at that time they had no cabins short of suites that would fit our needs. (I won't sleep on the couch).
I'm not sure I agree with you re pricing. With air travel you pay a huge premium for better accommodation: I just priced a Aus-UK return flight, economy A$2806; Premium $6100; Business $9881. With cruises the cabin price differences are all over the place; dynamic pricing at work? For Princess E515 round Britain I'm seeing Internal A$3905; Oceanview $4905 (+25%); Balcony A$5285 (+35%); Suite $11485 (+194%)
4500 to 6000 passengers represents an increase over the design capacity of one third! Apart from increasing the day to day pressure on dining and other onboard activities to say nothing of pressure on staff, does this not present very real safety concerns and possible breaches of SOLAS regulations? The airlines meanwhile, could never get away with such overloading.
The issue I have is that you never know how firm the beds are. I *HATE* firm beds and I cannot find any lines that offer softer beds. I read comments on forums, but people have conflicting views, so I never know what the truth is.
More balcony cabins are a response to people like me who want them. Yes, they cost more, but I am willing to pay a 2X premium over an inside cabin where I cannot even tell what the time of day is. Cruise lines obviously make more, but I think the shift is driven by demand, not greed. I would argue that they are just giving us what we want.
I think you are correct, when we first started cruising it was a community thing, you looked forward to being out of the cabin sharing time with others and eating and drinking with people you had never met, now there seems to be a drift towards having balconies and being away from the crowds, and how many couples jump at the chance of dining at a table for 2 rather than meeting others at a table for 10. It might be covid that changed things but cruising is 100% changing...we are still doing it but that 'special' feeling has dulled somewhat.
Just because the bed is on a cruise ship and not in a hospital, there is nothing that automatically says that a prior passenger didn't die in that bed. People die on both cruises and in hospitals.
true but many more die in hospital beds vs cruise ship beds. Personally, I could just bring my own sheets and then whether they died or just laid there, it wouldn’t matter
Please do come down under and make an opinion on our pitiful cruises. No 1 the prices, after watching the northern hemisphere for years l would say we pay double that. The few ships we do have don’t go to the places we all want to see, it’s just the same places all the time. Ok, so we don’t have Europe but we do have Queensland. The temperatures are from 22 to 36 in our winter…..yet we have no cruises ( except Princess) during this time. We could easily have a twelve months season but no, off they float back up north for six months 😢. Fare enough we have to put up with older ships no longer viable for floating up north ( how they get back up there each year beats me). What we want are more cruise from Brisbane to Melbourne, Melbourne to Perth, Perth to the Kimberley’s, kimberlite’s to Darwin. That’s right, they don’t do that it’s just the pacific islands or Tasmania year in year out, it’s getting boring. HELP us poor Aussies and for goodness sake give us some home port ships, and l don’t mean Princess Cruises, we don’t need any more cult ships.
@@JBM425 Not the size! His comment that 52 other people have slept in the beds! Oh, you obviously haven’t been in a hotel in Copenhagen! My 26 boat had a bigger bathroom. You could shit, shower and shave and never move your feet. You had to remove the toilet paper before a shower to avoid soaking it.
Something to think about, even if the cabin has a "safe", it's not particularly safe. All commercial "safes" for hotel rooms or cruise cabins have an override code to open the safe if a passenger forgets the code they set, and or they will have a mechanical backup lock behind the little brass name plate that the ship has a key for, which is usually ridiculously easy to pick anyway. Long story short, if someone can get into your cabin, and they have bad intentions, they can get into your "safe".
He mentioned Princess but I've been on many Princess ships and have always had a safe so I'd love to know which ship he was on that didn't include one!
using an Insta360 Camera, with what they call an "invisible selfie stick" which disappears where the images merge from the upper and lower camera lenses. It is very clever!! This is what I have: amzn.to/3qa2BgO
Cruise ships are becoming like airlines. It was once a pleasant and civilized experience to travel by plane. But now it is a Greyhound Bus with wings. The cruise lines destroy the civility of a cruise by appealing to miscreants.
@3:04 how is that exterior cabin shot done? You appear to be using a selfie stick of some description, but we don't see it in the image. And I presume drones aren't allowed? Cheers.
I must say I have watched your videos and many others for some very informative information. I have always enjoyed yours. In fact my wonderful trip on QM2 this passed April was due to much of your information. Thank you for that. Unfortunately lately I have noticed that the initial frame for the newest video on a great deal of sights have what I call "A panic picture" as the latest call to watch. The click bait syndrome. I have finally started to unsubscribe to these channels after 3 of these. I have chatted with some who feel the same. I understand the amount of views is pertinent for income but I am at a point that I want to watch positive content. We have enough negative and dramatic issues already. Thx for putting up with my diatribe.
Shame Celebrity didn’t have sharp edges on the bedside tables on beyond. I fell out of bed caught my feet in tucked in sheets and badly damaged my ribs
They are probably dry cleaned, I mean you sit on seats where other people's bums have been and you sit on a toilet seat which has had bare bums on, or you use the cutlery that's literally been in someone's mouth so what's the difference??
Way less people in that bed than a hotel. For shame that a For Profit company is trying to increase its profit....o...m....g what has the world come too?
Why not talk about bunker fuel the main fuel that all cruise lines like to use that kills the environment 40 times more than diesel, they should be using natural gas
We have taken 7 cruises, on 4 different cruise lines. On each cruise at least one ships crew told me a sob story about family separation and poor pay. I feel bad for many of the ships crew because they come from very poor countries and they do work very hard. But…when they return home with their wages, they are wealthy compared to their neighbors. What do you think?
Thats no different to people who work for Amazon and many other big brands around the planet...ships just happen to be moving. Every Amazon warehouse will have the same people working in them.
I understand all of your emotions on this issue. We « won the lottery » being born Canadian, well educated, good health care and career prospects. When our children were babies my husband and I had executive jobs with crazy hours and chose to hire a live- in nanny. We sponsored our first nanny from the Philippines, who stayed with us for three years and was then able to get landed status, sponsor her boyfriend who’d been a sommelier on a cruise ship, marry, have kids and all are now Canadian citizens. She asked us to sponsor her future sister-in-law after her. I was very sad and torn because that woman would be leaving behind three children and a husband. They explained that the nanny job, though not high paying by our standards, went home to pay for those children to go to school (where school above a low grade was not universally free) and was more money than her accountant husband made. Jump ahead three years and she too was « landed » in Canada and sponsored her husband ( now an accountant in Canada) and three kids to become Canadians. So the families worked very hard for those « separated » years and continued to work hard in Canada - but at a much higher standard of living. They valued that opportunity in a way that is hard for us to understand deeply when we were born into a different life. It took me a while to go from pity and worry judging their choice to leave children behind to admiration. I now am so very proud of them and happy for them. The sacrifices people make can turn out to be fulfilling and enjoyable, whether short-term or long-term for a future generation.
I used to manage a call center located in the Philippines. One of the fun things that I do on cruise ships is to practice my Tagalog with the Philippine staff. Most of the staff that I have talked to make in the ball park of US$18-25k per year as waiters and bus staff.including their tips. The average licensed teacher in the Philippines makes US$4-6k per year. (I know that as I hired many teachers to work at call centers servicing American customers. I do NOT disagree with you at all about family separation and I wish that the cruise lines would spring for unlimited internet access to ALL employees so they can stay in touch with their families. It would also be good if they had a few days off on each contract so that they could see some of the ports that they visit.
@@jlawrence0181 One of the things that makes me smile a lot on cruises is when you have someone from the Philippines onboard as a passenger....the interaction between them and the crew is always interesting.
@@malcolmstockbridge2569 In most cases, you will think that the two are long lost friends. Instant friends. I always ask the Filipino crew member where they are from and they are generally shocked when I can tell them where the town is located. I was on the Regal Princess last year and a couple people joined me for lunch. One of the ladies was Thai. In the next 90 minutes, four crew members who were also Thai dropped in and talked to her. A couple of the comments made were not comments that would have been made of the rest of the staff and management sooke Thai.
The bit about others having slept in your bed is also true of every hotel on planet earth.
That's so much worse I just try not to think about it.😊❤
And every bar stool or casino chair in the world
Also... my wife has slept in the same bed as mine for the last 30+ years...
Travel with a UV flashlight. You'll bring your own bedding after that.
@@westhavenor9513 Eek. No thanks. Ignorance is bliss.
Great video. I (RN) always travel with an allergen-proof/dust mite proof zippered pillow cover and my own pillow case. I put the cover over the ship's (or hotel's) pillow and case, then zip it shut and add my own pillow case. When the trip is over, I take them off, put them in a large zip lock bag then into the outer pocket of my carry-on. I've been doing that for over 30 years. My allergist told me many years ago, NEVER take your own pillow on trips because you carry those germs allergens home with you to your own bed.
What a great suggestion, thank you. I will pack 2 old pillowcases that I was able to toss and allergy cases as well.
You could possibly do that with bed sheets if you had some extra room. They are a bit more bulky though.
Fantastic idea! 👏👏👏
My RN wife will also stuff TV remotes into ziplocks for entire trip and must check all beds for bed bugs before we can even enter room. Additionally, she refuses to place cases under beds for same reason.
About allergens- are they not in the mattress as well? I saw a sort of sleeping bag sheet. Is that necessary ? I bought a special travel pillow and so glad I saw this post
Another comment. I like my balcony. On nice days at sea, I like to sit out there and read a book or watch the ocean.
Regarding more balcony cabins than regular cabins, is that I think more people want a private balcony. I certainly prefer a private balcony where I can enjoy morning coffee in my robe, or a quiet afternoon where I can truly relax with a favorite book. In the public areas, I get distracted with people watching.
That was pretty well going to be my comment. The cruise lines are simply catering to the demand, which is, more people prefer cabins with a balcony. I would not want an inside cabin and don't particularly enjoy simply having a window. I like walking out on the balcony and enjoying the sea air.
@@DianeLanglois7744 I like balconies in warm climates. But found the balcony a waste of money in the North. I would have no problem with an ocean view. Of course my wife thinks otherwise.
And it makes more money… but yes, the cruise lines added more balcony because they saw the demand for it.
Agreed …
I would imagine since Covid began , more folks are requesting balconies as well?
We love the balcony cabins. We just got back from Alaska and the weather was beautiful. It was nice to go up Glacier Bay and watch from our private balcony.
Great video Gary. You always have such insightful content. Thank you ❤
I've traveled for 40 years and have NEVER been bitten by any bed bugs or brought them home. I stay in Marriott hotels or Ritz carlton and have never had any issues. We sail RC & princess cruise lines and no issues there either. I guess we've just been lucky....now if i could only transfer some of that luck to the ship casinos that would also be great.
I stay at budget hotels under the Wyndham brands and we have never seen bedbugs. The only person in my family who carried them from home was my elderly father who brought them back from a hospital or nursing facility as he had not been in a hotel for over five years.
Same. Even when New York had the bed bug plague! But good luck to those who take their own pillow slips and pillows.
I remember finding cabin grades SO difficult to understand when I first started cruising. If I'm booking a hotel break, I either book a standard or superior room, but on some ships there can be 7 different types of Inside cabin - insane!
Great video as always, Gary!
Thanks for watching. yes the grades do feel a bit wild and rather complex ... I guess to squeeze out every bit of $$$$
I love watching interviews with cabin designers and naval architects about how ships are designed and the little tricks that they have included in them.😊
you should watch the documentary about how they built the biggest cruiseship in the world (I can't remember if it was the Symphony of the Seas at the time or not).
The pre-fab cabins are a byproduct of modern maritime safety regulations (SOLAS). Back in the land of long-ago cabins and staterooms were often very fancy with elaborate woodwork, carpets and handmade furnishings. The decks, walls, doors and almost all of the furniture were made of wood or other materials that were flammable. A number of serious shipboard fires resulted in very strict rules about what ships can be made of and the materials used for furnishings. Almost nothing flammable is allowed onboard. The QM2 got special permission for the use of some real wood onboard as part of its retro-ambiance. But that is a rare exception, and Cunard has some unusual fire suppression systems on board. Most cruise ships have little or no flammable materials in cabins. The old SS United States famously had only two pieces of wood onboard, the grand piano in the first-class lounge and the butcher's chopping block in the galley.
On top of this, by having the rooms be separate sections, it is much easier to contain a fire, which makes the fires suppression systems more effective.
After the MGM fire in Las Vegas (now the Horseshoe), the next hotel built - the Excalibur - was built in the same manor.
I work for one of the premium cruise lines. I want to make a few comments. Gary does a great service to cruisers and the cruise lines. Regarding cabin categories and pricing. Balconies are roughly 60% bigger than insides. Balcony cabins are more expensive to build, too. They require furniture, lighting, and sprinklers etc. It's true that proportionally, balconies are a higher percentage of cabin numbers than insides. Balconies have become more popular as well as mini suites and suites. It's really oceanviews as a percentage that has had a steep drop because as you add more decks, you don't add more ocean views.
I travel everywhere with my own bed sheet.
It’s a sleeping bag-style thin sheet that you use on top of the hotel/cruise bed.
That 1mm thick sheet will protect you
@@rushchairmanhhi
It’s not about protecting, more about peace of mind.
Been doing it for over 20 years and there are different kind of sheets.
I love the windows suites on the older Princess ships. They are in a perfect location and usually sell for far less than a regular suite.
Good to know!!!
I didn't think about the rounded edges. What a sensible touch.
I have been traveling for the past 20 years either on ships or just motels,/hotels. I have stayed in 5 stars and no stars. I have yet to have a problem. I guess people just like to have something to worry about.
Made me think about my grandmother. She used to tape cotton balls on the corners of her glass coffee table when my brother and I would visit.
Odd, my last 3 cruises with Princess there were Safes.
Good video!
The only way to avoid having to sleep in a bed where someone else has slept is to never travel anywhere. That way you can guarantee you avoid this issue.
But you still won't avoid door handles, tables and seats at cafe's, etc! How about public toilets. Those seats always have me wondering. LOL
A cruise is a special event for most people. As a result I personally don't want to live in a phone booth size room. Obviously a lot of people feel the same way I do, or they wouldn't build ships with more suites on them.
Great video Gary ❤ the only cruise line that I know of in Australia that has Australian electricity sockets is p&o Australia. All of the other ships had US and EUR power points. So when we cruise we usually have to take an international adapter with us. Im not sure now that after Feb 2025, that p&o will no longer be in existence and two of there ships will be branded with carnival (the 3rd ship will be no more), if they will take out the Australian sockets when it goes into dry dock. Im hoping that they keep them as is ❤
A tip for those traveling on an extended cruise with a lot of sea days, bring an HDMI cable with you so you can hook your computer to the tv in the room and watch movies saved!! We were on a transatlantic cruise in April with a lot of sea days and thankfully I planned ahead so we had plenty to watch while in the cabin! Even had a May the Forth party with lots of Star Wars!!! Anyway Thanks Gary for the great videos!! They are most appreciated!
Why ?
I can watch moves at home all day everyday.
@@mea3665 if you have ever been on a transatlantic cruise that had very little activities available and the average age of the passengers is over 70 you bring additional entertainment. But if you want to hang out in crowded common areas with little ventilation then Good For You!! For me it was the Best Thing I brought with me!!
Very informative, thanks for sharing 😊
I'm loving the 6000 cloud and the :O face above 4500
"Ship within a ship" is just going back to having three class fares like in the golden age of ocean liners, lol.
I wonder if Ship-within-a-ship-within-a-ship is final step. Where regular "suite" passengers are too pedestrian for those in actual suites...
I hate this
Love MSC Yacht Club. It’s all inclusive, no lines or crowds and quiet with less kids. You can enjoy the whole ship but “come home” to yacht club.
But doesn't the market drive this too? For example, in the post-Covid world, I won't NOT have a balcony. Not only for the fresh air, but JUST IN CASE we get stuck for weeks in our cabin, I want to have a balcony. But aren't balconies the more popular option?
Personally, I love that forward cabins are less money. We LIKE those. We like the rocking of the ship! They also have less traffic outside the door. We have to remind our TA every time....no...we want forward, REALLY.
Thank you for the information
My pleasure
Good vlog. Various things I've vaguely wondered about 😊
Cruise lines are businesses and there is nothing wrong with them trying to make a profit. Choose the cabin that you are comfortable with its price. There are many cruise lines, ships, and itineraries to chose from.
While I agree, I hate that they advertise rates as per person and not per room. As a solo traveler, it costs me way more to book a room because I can't get anyone to go with me.
@@Robynhoodlum NCL has Solo cabins
Always enjoy your videos, they are all very informative
Thanks for the info. Interested… We’ve been on 13 Princess Cruises on 9 different Princess ships; and they all had a safe. Which ship did you sail that did not have one? And what kind of room?
over the last 50 years I have travelled inside, outside and balcony. Now that most cabins have live camera views of the exterior I now travel inside and use the savings for drinks etc..
I always go for the lowest level at midship, to minimize the risk of seasickness
Only time I did that I was on deck 2. That's the only time I've been seasick.
@@MamaBe1963 On most ships thats where the crew sleep.
It's a good idea. On the golden age transatlantic liners such as the Normandie and the Queen Mary the most expensive First Class cabins were midships, in the hull of the ship.
There is a 5th and 6th type of cabin on a lot of cruises, they're the interior "view" and balcony ones that several have where it opens to the interior while also having the closed off interior ones.
Great information Surprised that Princess didn’t have safes minutes 10:28
Sailed on Princess for years and always had a safe in our cabins!
@@patm5336 Gary said latest ones he didn’t have one
I've sailed on dozens of Princess in every category, including the new Sun Princess and had a safe in every cabin.
@@LeslieB-ln2cruising on minute 10:28 Gary states that he didn’t have a safe in last couple Princess cruises that he was on
Can you review all cruise booking options: the cruise website, the aggregators, etc? And if it's worth being member and sticking to a particular cruise line for their member benefits.
Thank you for the video!
In the run down you gave for a great deal of the cruise lines, you missed out our first, Fred Olsen. It’s a smaller, traditional line popular with Brits.
I love Fred Olson ships. Traditional cruising, high standards.
For some cruise ship, more than 52 sets of guests per bed/cabin, with so many now doing 3-4 day excursions, effectively doubling the amounts heads on beds. Yikes!
So if you ask for a bed topper in your cabin over the top of your bed is that going to minimize the 52 that slept on your bed before you at least you could cover it and maybe have half
Just think about all other surfaces on these ships? Just how many people have walked over the same carpet? Or touched the same railing, or whatever? Quite a lot... Very many people have touch anything you touch or interact with...
The same is true of every environment on the planet....trains, shopping malls, theatres, everywhere....but most medical people will tell you we actually need those interactions because thats how we build resistance ....apart from the more severe ones that cruise ships are famous for. !
I fell, on my first ocean liner transatlantic, in the MDR in rough seas. I lost my balance and hit my cheekbone on a metal reinforced corner of a table, in heavy waters. Even at 8 yo I wonder why have such corners😇
Regarding Princess not having safes on some ships - which ships? I have only sailed on 7 different Princess ships, but they all had safes.
Clever editing and acting. Love the beginning. ❤
Thank you so much 😁
FYI Gary, in North America we don’t say “double bed” unless we mean a 4ft 6” wide bed. Cruise ships usually have queen size at 5 ft or King at 6 ft wide. As most of us do at home. I get angry when I am trying to book an hotel room in the UK and they call them all double, but I would never have 2 people in a double bed, we all want queen or king. But I can hardly find that out unless I email the hotels and then of course I never get a response from half of them. The types of cabins with a group are called categories. If you have a deck plan you can see different colours with a type, each one has a colour denoting the category listed in the key on the side. Yes differences are in location up or down and lengthwise also if near something undesirable, early bird gets the worm. I do wish deck plans showed the direction of the bed as I hate sleeping under the window. We have done over 20 Princess cruises and never not had a safe. Do you remember the ships that did not have a safe. I would hate not having one and having to carry around my valuables all day. Thx for this video. Good info.
One major feature (not mentioned) is cabin space. Some lines offer a sea view double starting at just over 100 square feet. How they get a bed into it, I can't think. I've heard critics suggest a minimum of 180 sq. ft. is just about comfortable.
How in this world can a room not have a safe??? I stayed in a cheap holiday inn and they charged $1 a day for a safe. That’s just crazy!!!
Very interesting Gary!
Thanks for watching. Loving following your current trip. Looks amazing
It's interesting that cruise lines ask architects to design more balconies on new ships. Suites are in the worst locations on the ship. Fascinating.
This is why I make sure i utilize the room to its maximum potential before I leave 😉 other guests after me have no idea what took place in that room 😁
I need a balcony on my cruise.. and not one of those "infinite verands"
I like the infinity cabins in cold climates like the Baltic. Real balconies in the Caribbean and Mediterranean
I’ve had a safe on every princess cabin that I’ve been in…
I’m surprised that you haven’t…
My very first cruise was when I was in college. My parents decided they wanted to take the whole family on a cruise, so they booked four cabins. They had a cabin, then there were cabins for my siblings and their spouses. As the lone single person, I got a cabin to myself. My dad grumbled about having to pay more to get me my own cabin, but my mother knew that I’d be miserable sleeping on a foldout sofa or pull-down bed in someone else’s cabin.
What my parents didn’t understand was about cabin positions. This was 30 years ago when balconies weren’t common on cruise ships, so balcony cabins were very expensive. They got themselves a sea-view cabin on an upper floor on the back of the ship, thinking they’d like the view from there the best. Their room had a very large window. My brothers and their spouses each got sea-view cabins near the back of the ship, but they were on the sides of the ship and several decks lower than my parents’ level. I was given an inside cabin that was on the very lowest passenger level. It was exactly in the middle of the ship, though.
Well, guess who had the best cabin? It was me! My parents and siblings hated their cabins. The engine noise, vibrations, and motion were terrible at the back of the ship. We had a couple of nights of rough seas, although I barely noticed. My dad had no idea that being mid-ship and on a low deck made for a much better cruise experience. After the first rough night, they were all looking tired and pale. They hadn’t slept much and they were seasick. I commented on how I didn’t feel much motion at all. The next rough night, one brother and his wife knocked on my door and told me they were sleeping in my cabin with me. The windowless cabin was half the size of a standard cabin, with only a twin bed plus a second twin bed that pulled down above it like a bunk bed. My brother slept on the floor and my sister-in-law slept on the top bunk. I wasn’t very happy about it, but they weren’t asking when they knocked in my door…
To be honest, I liked my little windowless cabin. It was DARK, especially in the mornings after sunrise. There was no fake window like they do now; it was just a small cabin with no window. It was also really quiet. There were only a handful of passenger cabins on that deck; further back from the corridor I was on was all crew cabins. There were maybe ten or twelve passenger cabins on each side of the corridor (with an identical corridor on the opposite side of the ship), so there weren’t many passengers walking in the corridors at any given time. I had easy access to elevators at either end, being located exactly between the two main elevator lobbies. I thought I was going to hate it, but I ended up really liking my cabin. I didn’t care that I couldn’t see anything; when I was in my cabin, I was either reading or sleeping. Or decompressing, since I’m an extreme introvert who needs lots of alone time.
I’ve stayed in sea-view cabins, balcony cabins, and small suites with balconies. For me, a sea-view cabin is a waste of money. If I’m not going to be able to sit outside, I don’t care about having a window. And, to be perfectly honest, having a balcony isn’t that important to me, either. It’s nice, but I rarely use them. I can go hang out on an upper deck if I want to be outside. I’m a night-owl, so I love being up on the big open decks after midnight when all the activity has ended and it’s dark and quiet.
Ideally, I’d love an interior suite, but I don’t think they have those on cruise ships. I’ve never stayed in an interior cabin since that first cruise; my husband always wants a view or preferably a balcony, so that’s what we get. No more cruising for me, though - too many health issues to allow me to be away from emergency medical services or hospitals, even just overnight - so I won’t have to worry about cruise cabins anymore…
I just returned from a cruise and my balcony cabin was at the tail-end of boat. Didnt pay, so I wasnt given an option. The engine drone didnt bother me at all.
I guess one of the points here is to start looking early for deals/sales...we r currently looking at a cruise on Virgin- they have a sale on now which makes a balcony do-able................
Enjpyed. Good to see some ships i had not been on, i know which i will never select. Thank you
I wish there were a way to identify which ships have a traditional bed. You mentioned a couple with Disney Magic and one of NCL’s, which I have noted for the future. There is no reasons why suites shouldn’t have a traditional bed. I can’t stand the gap that forms in the middle of the bed with movement throughout the night. 😬
When the Contemporary was built at Disney World, it used the prefabricated room build, which was billed as the way of the future. It didn't work on land, but seems to work at sea.
New ship designs have convinced me the four basic types aren't what they used to be. Balcony and "outside" almost need to be separated into ocean view and interior view. Suites also are a bit fuzzy, with junior suites and grand suites lumped into one, while realistically they are separate.
And there also "balcony" cabins where the balcony faces the interior of the ship rather than the water.
@@mikebarnes2294 That's what I meant by interior view for outside and balcony, with the traditional ones being ocean view.
What a good video!
I noticed on RC ships, the suites are usually right below the pool and restaurants. It's BS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If you pay more, you should have better!
Goodness! You have presented so much information here. Thank you. And. Thank you for not going into too much detail regarding, well, GERMS. I have more than a little OCD. I travel with my own “sleep sack”, I ask that my bath linens are laundered frequently. (I tip my stewards well). Anyway, this is already too long. Sorry. Last point: I always have to have a balcony as I love being outside.
Don't worry friend, they have industrial-grade laundry machines at the bottom of the ship that nuke everyone's sheets.
I think I know the answee to the question, but I will ask it any way: Why are there to few studio cabins for solo travelers? Just wonderin'
Because the entire cruise industry is heading towards 'families'....its their target group now.
Extracting more money from same square meters. Studio is not that much smaller than regular cabin. And with regular cabin you get double the fare, double the drinks, double the specialty dining, double the overpriced excursions. Double everything really...
You ever go to the movie theater ...Wanna guess how many "thousands" of oily heads/butts are in those comfy seats per year. Same for airline seats. Lol.
On the question of how cruise companies improve their operating revenue I wonder how they estimate future demand before building new mega ships?
Obviously they can move ships to new markets such as NE Asia but if there is an economic downturn how will they fill all these cabins. Cruising is a discretionary expense.
Currently cruise lines only want one thing....families...thats where the money is and the ships are 100% being designed for that market. There are no cruise ships from more than 20 years ago with go cart tracks and full size water parks on them....most cruise trips in the 70's, 80's and 90's were couples....now its 2 adults with children....its the Disney effect !
Generally incorrect. If you unplug the media box HDMI cable you can use that port on your personal device. Most hotels do the same thing
I have a tiny media player the size of small phone that I link to the HDMI TVs on all cruises....on it I have about 1000 movies...we never are short of something to watch.
If you don't want to think about how many have slept in the bed, you definitely don't want to think how many have died in the cabin or on the ship, surprisingly larger number than one might think especially if the ship is say 20 years old.
Love the inside, i take black tape, its totally dark. Bliss.
7 days cruise, couple gratuity for cabin steward is 300 usd Another 300 for waiter.
Hi Garry, may seem a silly question, when you take your dinner suit on board do you pack it our have a suit bag.🤔
I pack it in my case !
@@tipsfortravellers thanks
Many lines no longer supply body lotion in cabins other than suites. Question--you mentioned that the Disney Magic is one of the only ships you are aware of that cannot separate beds. Does this apply to the entire Disney line or only to the Magic? The beds used to separate, but there were lots of complaints because the hosts didn't know how to put them together properly. We stopped cruising DCL when they changed to beds that would not separate...so at that time they had no cabins short of suites that would fit our needs. (I won't sleep on the couch).
I'm not sure I agree with you re pricing. With air travel you pay a huge premium for better accommodation: I just priced a Aus-UK return flight, economy A$2806; Premium $6100; Business $9881. With cruises the cabin price differences are all over the place; dynamic pricing at work? For Princess E515 round Britain I'm seeing Internal A$3905; Oceanview $4905 (+25%); Balcony A$5285 (+35%); Suite $11485 (+194%)
4500 to 6000 passengers represents an increase over the design capacity of one third! Apart from increasing the day to day pressure on dining and other onboard activities to say nothing of pressure on staff, does this not present very real safety concerns and possible breaches of SOLAS regulations? The airlines meanwhile, could never get away with such overloading.
I was able to join a Zoom meeting from my cabin on Viking Octantis in Antarctica this past January!!
NCL my perception was that their wifi was useless
The issue I have is that you never know how firm the beds are. I *HATE* firm beds and I cannot find any lines that offer softer beds. I read comments on forums, but people have conflicting views, so I never know what the truth is.
I’ve heard some youtubers say that your cabin steward may be able to get you a topper or duvet to help soften the bed
@@Kittycats26 Yes, but it doesn't help. You really need a new mattress, but cruise lines operate on a 'one size fits all' mentality.
MSC Yacht Club mattresses are much softer than regular cabins
@@josephthornton4206 I don't like MSC - full of noisy, theatrical Italians.
If I am a parent, I would rather have a connecting room with children. What kind of vacation would it be to have to share with your kids ?
Do the cruise line off mattress covers or should I bring my own?
I bring my own pillow cases when I travel
More balcony cabins are a response to people like me who want them. Yes, they cost more, but I am willing to pay a 2X premium over an inside cabin where I cannot even tell what the time of day is. Cruise lines obviously make more, but I think the shift is driven by demand, not greed. I would argue that they are just giving us what we want.
I think you are correct, when we first started cruising it was a community thing, you looked forward to being out of the cabin sharing time with others and eating and drinking with people you had never met, now there seems to be a drift towards having balconies and being away from the crowds, and how many couples jump at the chance of dining at a table for 2 rather than meeting others at a table for 10. It might be covid that changed things but cruising is 100% changing...we are still doing it but that 'special' feeling has dulled somewhat.
Also they allow the interior space to be used for other things. Like dining, shops, casino, venues and so on.
At least you're not lying in a hospital wondering how many people have died in this bed. 😮
Just because the bed is on a cruise ship and not in a hospital, there is nothing that automatically says that a prior passenger didn't die in that bed. People die on both cruises and in hospitals.
true but many more die in hospital beds vs cruise ship beds. Personally, I could just bring my own sheets and then whether they died or just laid there, it wouldn’t matter
Do you have any insights about Explora 1? Is it like MSC since it is under their umbrella.
Went on an Alaskan cruise. It was 115% capacity, it was terrible onboard ship...
Which line? How many in a room?
Gary what was the web site for shore excursions you mention alot
Before today, I had never thought ablout the number of folks had slept in it.
Please do come down under and make an opinion on our pitiful cruises. No 1 the prices, after watching the northern hemisphere for years l would say we pay double that. The few ships we do have don’t go to the places we all want to see, it’s just the same places all the time. Ok, so we don’t have Europe but we do have Queensland. The temperatures are from 22 to 36 in our winter…..yet we have no cruises ( except Princess) during this time. We could easily have a twelve months season but no, off they float back up north for six months 😢. Fare enough we have to put up with older ships no longer viable for floating up north ( how they get back up there each year beats me). What we want are more cruise from Brisbane to Melbourne, Melbourne to Perth, Perth to the Kimberley’s, kimberlite’s to Darwin. That’s right, they don’t do that it’s just the pacific islands or Tasmania year in year out, it’s getting boring. HELP us poor Aussies and for goodness sake give us some home port ships, and l don’t mean Princess Cruises, we don’t need any more cult ships.
Don’t people get tired of cruising. 2-3 times a year is plenty for me.
Cutting down are we :)
Not sure i can see the point of booking a balcony cabin for a transatlantic cruise. Just 6 days of looking at the sea I guess.
Hmm.. thinking about taking a blacklight? Brrrr...
how much benefit do I have right now?
My wife brings her own sheets for hotel stays! She’d bring her own bed if she could
How are the cabins any different than an hotel room?
A more compact bathroom, for one.
@@JBM425 Not the size! His comment that 52 other people have slept in the beds!
Oh, you obviously haven’t been in a hotel in Copenhagen! My 26 boat had a bigger bathroom. You could shit, shower and shave and never move your feet. You had to remove the toilet paper before a shower to avoid soaking it.
Some cabins don't have a safe ?!
Something to think about, even if the cabin has a "safe", it's not particularly safe. All commercial "safes" for hotel rooms or cruise cabins have an override code to open the safe if a passenger forgets the code they set, and or they will have a mechanical backup lock behind the little brass name plate that the ship has a key for, which is usually ridiculously easy to pick anyway. Long story short, if someone can get into your cabin, and they have bad intentions, they can get into your "safe".
He mentioned Princess but I've been on many Princess ships and have always had a safe so I'd love to know which ship he was on that didn't include one!
Years in military makes this a non- issue. Cleanliness is the issue
How did you film yourself walking out onto the balcony?
A selfie stick!
And a 360 camera
360 camera, when recording there's a blind spot and this hides the selfie stick.
using an Insta360 Camera, with what they call an "invisible selfie stick" which disappears where the images merge from the upper and lower camera lenses. It is very clever!! This is what I have: amzn.to/3qa2BgO
Cruise ships are becoming like airlines. It was once a pleasant and civilized experience to travel by plane. But now it is a Greyhound Bus with wings. The cruise lines destroy the civility of a cruise by appealing to miscreants.
No Disney ship has convertable beds.
@3:04 how is that exterior cabin shot done? You appear to be using a selfie stick of some description, but we don't see it in the image.
And I presume drones aren't allowed?
Cheers.
360 camera I would say. When recording there's a blind spot and this hides the selfie stick.
@@roberttilton7927 Ah, thanks.
51 set's of people, Your number 52
I must say I have watched your videos and many others for some very informative information. I have always enjoyed yours. In fact my wonderful trip on QM2 this passed
April was due to much of your information. Thank you for that. Unfortunately lately I have noticed that the initial frame for the newest video on a great deal of sights have what I call "A panic picture" as the latest call to watch. The click bait syndrome. I have finally started to unsubscribe to these channels after 3 of these. I have chatted with some who feel the same. I understand the amount of views is pertinent for income but I am at a point that I want to watch positive content. We have enough negative and dramatic issues already. Thx for putting up with my diatribe.
Shame Celebrity didn’t have sharp edges on the bedside tables on beyond. I fell out of bed caught my feet in tucked in sheets and badly damaged my ribs
I always take my own pillow when I go away, I can't stand the thought of my face being where someone else's drool is 😂....sorry
They are probably dry cleaned, I mean you sit on seats where other people's bums have been and you sit on a toilet seat which has had bare bums on, or you use the cutlery that's literally been in someone's mouth so what's the difference??
I like to double- put 2 pillows cases on my pillow.
Seriously? Only 52? Do you use hotels at all? What a bizarre thought about who has been there before. Usually you have some kind of content.
@@antifugaziyes,you're quite right but I just don't like the thought of my face being right on top of where someone else's face has been 🤢
@@lisbethbullington6682that's probably a better idea 😂
After listening to this chap for few of his comments, I'm never ever going on a cruise, it's just too much hassle!
Way less people in that bed than a hotel. For shame that a For Profit company is trying to increase its profit....o...m....g what has the world come too?
So classism is still alive and well in the cruise industry ....
Why not talk about bunker fuel the main fuel that all cruise lines like to use that kills the environment 40 times more than diesel, they should be using natural gas
We have taken 7 cruises, on 4 different cruise lines.
On each cruise at least one ships crew told me a sob story about family separation and poor pay. I feel bad for many of the ships crew because they come from very poor countries and they do work very hard. But…when they return home with their wages, they are wealthy compared to their neighbors.
What do you think?
Thats no different to people who work for Amazon and many other big brands around the planet...ships just happen to be moving. Every Amazon warehouse will have the same people working in them.
I understand all of your emotions on this issue. We « won the lottery » being born Canadian, well educated, good health care and career prospects. When our children were babies my husband and I had executive jobs with crazy hours and chose to hire a live- in nanny. We sponsored our first nanny from the Philippines, who stayed with us for three years and was then able to get landed status, sponsor her boyfriend who’d been a sommelier on a cruise ship, marry, have kids and all are now Canadian citizens. She asked us to sponsor her future sister-in-law after her. I was very sad and torn because that woman would be leaving behind three children and a husband. They explained that the nanny job, though not high paying by our standards, went home to pay for those children to go to school (where school above a low grade was not universally free) and was more money than her accountant husband made. Jump ahead three years and she too was « landed » in Canada and sponsored her husband ( now an accountant in Canada) and three kids to become Canadians. So the families worked very hard for those « separated » years and continued to work hard in Canada - but at a much higher standard of living. They valued that opportunity in a way that is hard for us to understand deeply when we were born into a different life. It took me a while to go from pity and worry judging their choice to leave children behind to admiration. I now am so very proud of them and happy for them. The sacrifices people make can turn out to be fulfilling and enjoyable, whether short-term or long-term for a future generation.
I used to manage a call center located in the Philippines. One of the fun things that I do on cruise ships is to practice my Tagalog with the Philippine staff. Most of the staff that I have talked to make in the ball park of US$18-25k per year as waiters and bus staff.including their tips. The average licensed teacher in the Philippines makes US$4-6k per year. (I know that as I hired many teachers to work at call centers servicing American customers.
I do NOT disagree with you at all about family separation and I wish that the cruise lines would spring for unlimited internet access to ALL employees so they can stay in touch with their families. It would also be good if they had a few days off on each contract so that they could see some of the ports that they visit.
@@jlawrence0181 One of the things that makes me smile a lot on cruises is when you have someone from the Philippines onboard as a passenger....the interaction between them and the crew is always interesting.
@@malcolmstockbridge2569 In most cases, you will think that the two are long lost friends. Instant friends.
I always ask the Filipino crew member where they are from and they are generally shocked when I can tell them where the town is located.
I was on the Regal Princess last year and a couple people joined me for lunch. One of the ladies was Thai. In the next 90 minutes, four crew members who were also Thai dropped in and talked to her. A couple of the comments made were not comments that would have been made of the rest of the staff and management sooke Thai.