Hi Iliana - please always include what you are wearing- I think I would like to buy some of those outfits- they look better when a person wears it than just online 👍
@@archerhunter8691 I’ll remember this from now on :). This dress is from Amazon (a new favorite) it’s in this list lifewellcruised.com/cruise-dresses-amazon-resort-wear/
Hi Iliana - love all your videos- believe me I tried looking at others - I have bought most of your recommendations. My hubby n I went on our cruise 9/2-9/7 we had a blast- thanks for your very useful video 💕
Do you remember the name of the excursions you booked for Halifax & St John with the Shore Excursions Group? I am cruising to those ports August of 2025
For a family cruise we booked three balcony cabins side by side- important! We booked early so we could choose the location. Then we had the panels folded back. We spent multiple afternoons just sitting on the balcony and talking or playing games.
I just cashed in my rewards points from my Carnival mastercard I’ve had for several years and never used the points. I had enough for a 5 night cruise!
For a few years, I worked as an outside agent for a small independent agency. The owner was a great mentor and she advised me to always avoid the cruise line excursions. In fact, she recommended the very company you mentioned.
Yes and had some amazing tours via Viator. The one time I had an issue (photographer failed to show), I was processed for a refund within that week. No hassle. Purchased tours in multiple countries and have been using them for about a decade now.
Thank you Ilana. As always good information and presented well. We repriced our Japanese cruise and the new price is $1222 less which has gone towards excursions. 😊
Park and cruise is a really great option that most people don't know about. We did this in Baltimore and it was about $130 for the hotel, parking, and shuttle to and from port. I think the drunk package can save a lot of money if you drink 4 +drinks a day and drink coffees, soda, and bottled water. I'm a 1-2 glasses of wine at dinner and a few cocktails at the pool/ shows/ club girl. Ive gone without it too, but it's nice to not have to be restrictive.
I’m going on a cruise December 20 24 and using my Visa card from Royal Caribbean. They took off $600 off the cruise fair with my points so it really is awesome to have a credit card with your favorite cruise line.
Liquid laundry detergent, small jar full. Plus small to medium plastic tub easily packed full of clothes in case. In a back to back cruise we used it in shower recesses every day
Note about non-cruise ship excursions. Our friends lost money on a Hawaiian cruise excursion not booked through the ship when the weather was so bad that the ship had to skip the port. They eventually got back some of the money but not all or the time it took to deal with it.
Check if there are cheaper ports of embarkation. I am cruising with MSC, because they do multiple port embarkation i have saved 700 EUROS by embarking at a less popular port. You still getting the same cruise, just a different start and finish point
We're big fans and watch almost every video with great expectations. We rarely post comments as we generally watch the videos on our TV. Even before watching this latest video, we wanted to request you use all or part of an upcoming video to comment on the most recent additions to Royal Caribbean's "banned" items that includes various chargers for electronic devices including cell phones, tablets, etc. You have often talked about these items on your videos as well as promoted purchasing some of these items in your Amazon store (which we've done!). There's quite a buzz online about this latest move by Royal Caribbean and so, it would be helpful to get your understanding and guidance as to preparing for upcoming cruises. Thank you!
I hear you. Just got back from Venice at 9 pm last night & did film a video this morning. It’s important info & I’ll share tomorrow (Frank is editing right now). Thanks for watching & taking time to comment ☺️
You are lucky! They have few offerings in my upcoming ports and where they do, they are MUCH more expensive than the NCL excursions. We decided a mix of NCL (i.e., in Morocco) and independent touring.
Thank you so much for this video. My husband loves cruising. We're going to Bermuda in April - it's our favorite Caribbean destination - and planning a later cruise with friends. What a great idea to book side by side balcony cabins! Thank you!!
Used Viator and Shore excursions in Iceland both were great. No problem getting to the ship on time. We had a port change to drop off passenger for medical care. Able to get refund for one tour and reschedule the other tour. As always do the research to find what works for you.
We just returned from a New England/Canada cruise also. We have had really good luck with Viator for shore excursions. With a little research, you can also contact the actual tour operator instead of going through an excursion middle man and you’ll pay a lower price.
We researrch our cruisesd ahead of time, and select the cabin and cabin location we want. Winning a cabin upgrade bid means you get a better cabin, but you have no control over WHERE the cabin is located. We'll pass :-)
Hi Illana, i do use shore excursions group too! I have been pleased with them. Actually I have been on the website currently looking at the excursions for my March cruise. Thx🚢🙂
I love the park and cruise hotel package. I sailed out of Port Everglades in March and May this year and we used this package at what I believe is the same hotel you are shown in the video here. It was a great convenience and saved money!
Just a tip. When I have used the infirmary on a ship, I always have travel insurance that covers medical. I just get paperwork from the infirmary and mail to my travel insurance and get a refund pretty quickly.
Just returned from a Canadian cruise from Quebec City to Boston on the Emerald Princess. We opened a Princess credit card about 6 months before the cruise and earned $450 in onboard credit before we sailed. Made the drink package unnecessary! Loved the itinerary - wonderful trip! We used Tours by Locals in two ports and had great experiences with them. There were 6 of us so we had a big van and a driver and could customize our stops. Highly recommend them. We also used Shore Excursion Group for one excursion in Quebec City that was very good. The one Viator excursion was OK too, but it was on a small bus so still a lot of people and no say in our stops. We felt comfortable using non-Princess companies in these ports but are not always sure about other companies in countries where we don't speak the language. The one Princess excursion we took on this cruise was by far the least enjoyable.
Yes, cruise line credit cards! I have the Carnival CC and my upcoming 11 night cruise on the Venezia was completely FREE. I redeemed 110,000 points for $1650 cost of cruise plus gratuities. Caveat: be sure to make sure your total cruiseline cost is at least $1500 total to redeem 100k points as that is the best way to redeem points.
We always use shore excursions group and have never had a problem. Also if you are on a tour with them and it is a very small group you can sometimes forego a stop and add another depending on time constraints. I would recommend them 100%
I DO NOT AGREE that you should "skip the cruise line excursions." The reason is, if your excursion has 'problems' and doesn't get back to the ship on time, THE SHIP WILL LEAVE WITHOUT YOU. If you have a cruise line excursion and you do not get back on time, THE SHIP WILL WAIT FOR YOU. My daughter and family were on an excursion once and their tour bus had a flat tire quite a distance from the ship. Because their excursion was through the ship, the ship waited for them. They got back an hour and a half late!! That was a huge blessing. Bottom line is, it's your choice.
Question, I've seen other content creators talk about upgrade bids. Some say, cruise line does not provide location and guests have no choice but to accept. Once bid is accepted, your card is charged. This is why I would never do the bid. I need to be happy where and what cabin I booked.
Hi Illana, Thanks for the Shore Excursions info. I use AMEX with Delta airlines. Get 2 pts on special stores (it changes), gas, grocery, one point on everything else.. Our trip to Lisbon is paid for (round trip and it's comfort plus) from KC for both of us. Have a good weekend.
We have used Tours by Locals in various ports and on different cruises. We have found them to be really good. Friendly, knowledgable guides with comfortable vehicles and an itinerary that gets you back to the ship in plenty of time.
Hello Iliana, I have been watching your videos and just now subscribed. I have a few concerns I hope you can help me with. I use a cane to walk with and will need to use a wheelchair in the ports. Do you know if Carnival cruise lines have ways of hauling the chair if I go on excursions.
I have the NCL Mastercard and have used my points for a ship credit which then allowed us to pay for the unlimited go cart package for my son who used it almost every day multiple times while on a cruise through the Panama Canal. I am planning on doing that again with our next cruise.
When we go on cruises with a group of people ( usually family, but sometimes friends too) we always book balconies next to each other and remove the partitions. It was great for our Alaskan cruise. We had a 5 cabin long balcony. We are doing the same thing for a Caribbean cruise in January. Unfortunately, someone we don’t know managed to get a cabin right in the middle of our group, so we will have two groups of two cabins with the partition open between them and one cabin closed off because of the strangers that snagged the cabin in the middle of our group.
I have Carnival Mastercard and just got the Virgin Red Mastercard......the Virgin Red MC gives me perks on the ship that I might not otherwise have in addition to the rewards points for Virgin Voyages cruises, Virgin hotels and Virgin flights!!
We started doing adjoining cabins years ago because our kids were just getting big enough that it was getting too cramped with 4 in a cabin. Initially we started booking 2 interior cabins instead of a single balcony and that was usually the same price for much more space and the extra bathroom was awesome to have. Some cruise lines let you bring soda and/or wine on board with you which tends to be plenty enough for us to offset the paid drinks so we don’t do much above and beyond the drinks included in the base fare.
I have a major airline credit card that I use for everything. It gives me access to the airport lounge, priority status and the with the points free flights. This works great with any type of travel - cruise or land based.
We have done several shore excursions that were not run by the cruise line. The best was in Kusadasi Turkey when we did an NCL cruise in 2015. WE enjoyed it so much, that when we did a Greek Island cruise in 2022 that had a stop at Kusadasi, we booked them again. However, unless the excursion company is extremely reliable (the one in Turkey would fly you to your next port) at getting you back on time, it can be a real risk. There have been several horror stories lately about this. Use caution and common sense.
Hi. I am enjoying watching your cruise play list. My trip is next February but already listening your show:) You travelled so many cruises, can you please give me some tips on now eating too much in the cruise? I have weight problem and try eating sensible. Buffet is so tempting!
Some other ways to save on cruises is by owning stock in the cruise lines. I believe Carnival and Royal Caribbean give on board credits if you hold like 100 shares.
@ladybgood4248 Yes, it's plenty of time. You need to show proof at least 3 days prior to sailing. I'm not sure how much each share of Carnival Corporation is, but Princess and Holland America are all in the same parent company. I'm cruising Celebrity which is part of Royal Caribbean Group. I thought we had over 100 shares, but when I checked, we had much less. So I was going to buy more until I realized they were high at around $171 each, which would be $17,100 for 100! Happy cruising 😊🛳
@@ladybgood4248 I believe as long as the account can be verified, you could buy them the day before. Check with the cruise line website for details. You can Google the cruise line info for details as well.
For Canadians, Scotiabank Passport and American Express premium cards. Each have multipliers for gas, restaurants, etc. and NO foreign exchange fees. Can be redeemed for any form of travel, hotels, flights, rental cars with no restriction on brand.
Cruise line shareholder reward programs can save some money. We get $100 on board credit by showing we have 100 shares of stock when we cruise with Norwegian. Have used this several times so eventually it will cover the stock cost
I have been flying virually free on SWA domesticly for years with their SWA VISA. I opened a CITI Costco Anywhere VISA for this year and have earned $500 cash back after 6 months.
We’ve always had good experiences with 3rd party excursions, but have only booked with those who have guaranteed return to ship, like you do. Thanks for sharing these other hacks.
We're in Southern California, about 2 hrs North of LA. Flying, which is most of the time. We drive to Vegas, distance is further. But time wise not much difference. We've found a few hotels in Vegas if we spend one-night, it includes free parking up to Ten Days and free shuttle to and from the Vegas airport. And most of the times the flights are cheaper to our port for the cruise. And yes, we fly the day before the ship sails.
We cruise primarily with Royal Caribbean, so we have the Royal Caribbean Visa card that we use and get points we can redeem for discounts on cruises and onboard credit.
My spouse and I have separate Celebrity Visa credit cards. It simply converts dollars charged to cruise credit about a month before you cruise. I've never paid outright for specialty dining or spa services. We also have a Hilton points credit card.
Llana, I have enjoyed all of your tips, I have cruised several times with family on different lines BUT, I have adventured out and booked myself on a 28 day HAL trip by myself! Yikes, Excited and Nervous at the same time. Of course, I am trying to save where I can and cannot go on an excursion in every port. Do you find most cities in the Mediterranean you can explore by walking? Also, on HAL it says you cannot bring any bottles of wine in your luggage, which we did on other cruise lines, so I almost am forced to purchase a drink package unless I drink water for 28 days??!!
Very exciting! It depends on the port, some are easy & walkable. Others you’ll miss out on the best if you don’t do an excursion. I’d check port by port & choose 2-5 to do an excursion. On the Shore Excursions Group website you’ll see your cruise & itinerary with lots of ideas so you can browse. Here’s the link for more info (disclaimer please note I earn a commission) www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/?id=1422218
If you sail out of Galveston, there is at least one hotel that we've used twice that allows you to leave your car on their property for free. Then we just get an Uber and it was super easy.
If you are an AARP member, you can get discounts or credits with some cruise and tour companies. You can get up to a $200 onboard credit with Holland America Line with new bookings, depending on the length of the cruise. I’m not retirement age, but I am old enough to join AARP. I joined and got a $100 onboard credit for my 7-day cruise!
Ha, I'm a 44yo AARP member, nowhere near retirement (unless I win the lottery, but that would involve buying tickets). I don't think there is a minimum age limit except for a few select benefits, but it's super cheap to join, and the discounts are great!
Got another Viking cruise booked for next January. Drink package was only $25 a day. Beer and wine is included with lunch and dinner, but for only $25 a day, I'll enjoy a few cocktails too!
I got the RC card because they were offering 300 in on board credit if you put 3000.00 on card. We charged that for part of our cruise and paid it off and got the cruise credit. Worked great! Thank you for your video's!
The royal Caribbean credit card, if you charge $1000, gives you points equal to $300 obc. Get a card only in your name and then have your spouse get one only in their name to double the bonus (must be used on separate cruises).
More details are on their website, but they have a back to ship guarantee that states (paraphrasing), that if they don’t get you back on time, they’ll get you to the next port plus compensate you. I can’t recall the amount but it’s a big number. This is likely very rare
@@LifeWellCruised Got it. You made the company very enticing in the video so we'll look into them on our next cruise. Thank you for the reply and excuse my grammar above. I was multi-tasking.
@@LifeWellCruised If your next port of call is a private island they can't get you there. Actually, there might not be any feasible transpiration options between ports of call. We're going on a cruise that has consecutive stops at Roatan and Belize. I highly doubt there are any flights between them.
@@peter_bazinet lol glad that was helpful. Here’s the link for whenever you want to check to see options Find excursions for your cruise at Shore Excursions Group: www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/?id=1422218
we have had one good experience with shore excursions group in Scotland, very organized on time etc. and one bad experience with them in Reykjavik Iceland, all of the independent tours come to one location no signage, unorganized, we missed the shore excursions bus, called them and they said they were there an left. They would not provide a refund either. Ended up taking the cruise line tour at the last min. at least we got to see the sights but it was a very expensive day.
I believe you said not to buy the packages, like Premier or Plus on Princess for example, and cited as the reason that the ship knows the people who buy them won't use the full value. I don't think this is necessarily true. I have added up what I plan to make reservations for plus the gratuities and so on, and I have determined that I at least break even. But, even if this weren't the case, and I would use more things (like more than one device on Wifi, or go to fine dining more often) than I would choose to purchase separately, the value proposition is a gray area. The packages can be a win for the cruise line AND a win for the passenger all at the same time. It isn't always either/or.
@@MatthewLedes I don’t think this was me who said that. I don’t think beverage packages are always a good deal, but think many perks bundle packages are. Princess Plus & Premiere are some of my favorites
The problem with booking with outside tour excursions, is if anything goes wrong, you're screwed. I watched that happen in Nassau. They had a breakdown and never made it back until the ship was on its way and we saw them at the pier.
@@LifeWellCruised Yes, reputable or not, if it's not a cruise excursion, you ARE left behind. One of the ones I saw was either the #1 rated of at least the top 3 for Nassau. The bridge was out and they couldn't get back from Atlantis. Fortunately for us we had already booked the boat taxi. And at that time it would've been another 1.5 - 2 hours for the next one made the next cycle. We had planned so that we were back an hour before departure. Only booked people were on our trip and it was full. No standby's were allowed. A "reputable" company isn't then going to pay the expense of either getting you to the next port or if it's the last port, getting you back to the home port to get your stuff. That all goes away with cruise line excursions. Unless you do as I've done and when I do self excursions I book DOUBLE transportation. As I did for Atlantis. I had BOTH taxi and water craft booked. so when this happened we were covered.
There is no reason NOT to have various travel credit cards that do not have annual fee. For me it is the NCL and Wyndham hotel cards. The signup bonuses are the best feature as well as the multiple points for certain purchases. Cards with an annual fee need to be looked at to see how much benefit you get after the signup bonus. Of course you need to pay off the card so as to not incur interest charges.
I have had a Royal Caribbean VISA for many years and gotten probably thousands of dollars in onboard credit from the rewards. I hear OBC is better to get than the free cruises because of all the rules and regulations with those. OBC is easy to do with the program.
Another way to get a cabin upgrade--if the ship is not full, they may be selling upgrades at the terminal. The agent will have a chart where she can look up what level you are booked in and quote you the upgrade price for the cabin you want to move to. When you bid for an upgrade, you can be placed in any cabin in your bid class anywhere on the ship. When you buy the upgrade at the terminal, you know the cabin you will be in.This can let you avoid a cabin right above a nightclub or other feature you wish to avoid. Prices vary, but I've seen it at about 1/3 - 1/2 of what the difference between the cabins would have been had I booked the nicer cabin to begin with. A vote for shore excursion group--love them.
We have the RCI credit card. It's the best. We book the cruise on it and earn points that pay for excursions, spa treatments, specialty meals and drinks on board!
I have being using credit card points / miles for the last 30 years . - About hotel parking , so far I find parking on site still cheaper , convenient and faster .
Hi Ilana! I do have a Royal Caribbean credit card and I was able to get $400 onboard credit before a cruise from what I spent. I’m hoping to have even more for the next cruise, but we probably will take a year off since we were both in Alaska and Hawaii in 2024. $$
Was shocked to be told when booking a 21-night HAL cruise that they had no credit card! I have used my Royal Caribbean many times when booking and also on board; I always received points toward my next cruise.
We paid our final payment for our cruise on Norwegian and the price dropped! I contacted the Norwegian and was able to receive Future Cruise Credit for the difference which turned out to be $800 each!! Especially since they require final payment 3-4 months in advance of cruise, this is a huge savings. The answer is ALWAYS no if you dont ask.
Also for Canadians, Bank of Montreal has Air Miles - so many ways to get extra points, best payback is on flights. It gets us to our cruises so much cheaper.
Shore excursions with the cruise lines are always a safe bet. They will wait if the excursions were booked through them. Booking separately has price advantage but!!! Safety - Outside excursion companies aren’t under specific regulations to maintain their vehicles. Example: Just one of many. Cruise line canceled cave tubing in Cozumel. The outside company didn’t which resulted in the death of a passenger. Cruise line canceled because the water-tide was high. The outside company was interested in the money.
Having been on 35+ cruises, I felt like we’ve never found price drops…until recently. We were able to save $800 on our upcoming Odyssey sailing. A Huge savings was this summer-we have an Alaska sailing booked for 2025. Both my husband and I received a promotional email to book a sailing to Alaska. I called about the promotion and the cruise repriced our booking for us, saving $2,000! Shore excursions group: Did you use them in Alaska?. Since this will be our first time in Alaska, I’m a bit nervous about using an outside company and still returning g to the ship on time.
@doreenburger4523 - My last trip to Alaska, my sister was with me. It was my 5th trip there (all on Celebrity), but her first. She is in her 60's, has multiple sclerosis, and travels with her rollator and a folding cane. Because we never knew how her health was going to be day to day, I never booked any excursions ahead of time. We'd get off the ship in port and book our tours with one of the local companies who had booths on the dock. We had an amazing trip, and never had a problem getting back to the ship on time. We had excursions in Skagway, Ketchikan, Juneau, and Icy Straight Point (always do my whale watches here). Sometimes, we'd take more than one excursion per day but wé were always mindful of our return times. Our Seward to Anchorage tour on disembarkation day was the only pre-arranged tour we booked through Celebrity. Have a fabulous trip!! We're more than ready to return to Alaska🦅🐏🫎🦌🐻🐳
Ilana....we just got off Celebrity Beyond cruise a few days ago. We had a specialty dining booked for night one on the cruise. I told my travelling companion you said we would get a free bottle of wine. We got absolutely nothing and no mention of it from the staff. And no discount at all as some people had suggested.
If an excursion "appears" to be at or close to a cruise lines departure date I would book through the cruise; they'll hold the ship for those and not for a private one.
How do you monitor price drops on your cruise? Is there a website that can do this? Does it also work for Princess Alaska Cruise Tours ( both cruise and land portion) ?
Just check the Princess website for price drops or check with your cruise consultant from time to time. Should be able to get reduction if not after final payment date.
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Find excursions for your cruise at Shore Excursions Group:
www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/?id=1422218
Amtrak cc - travel free in sleeper cars.
Recently, saved over $2,000 in price reductions by routinely checking current pricing for 2 cruises. 2:51
Hi Iliana - please always include what you are wearing- I think I would like to buy some of those outfits- they look better when a person wears it than just online 👍
@@archerhunter8691 I’ll remember this from now on :). This dress is from Amazon (a new favorite) it’s in this list lifewellcruised.com/cruise-dresses-amazon-resort-wear/
Hi Iliana - love all your videos- believe me I tried looking at others - I have bought most of your recommendations. My hubby n I went on our cruise 9/2-9/7 we had a blast- thanks for your very useful video 💕
Do you remember the name of the excursions you booked for Halifax & St John with the Shore Excursions Group? I am cruising to those ports August of 2025
Reversing the tour itinerary to avoid the crowd's was absolutely ingenious!
Totally agree I think it was a really smart way to avoid the crowds
For a family cruise we booked three balcony cabins side by side- important! We booked early so we could choose the location. Then we had the panels folded back. We spent multiple afternoons just sitting on the balcony and talking or playing games.
That’s fabulous
Nice idea, but you could do that at home for free. Just saying.😊
I just cashed in my rewards points from my Carnival mastercard I’ve had for several years and never used the points. I had enough for a 5 night cruise!
Fabulous 👏
For a few years, I worked as an outside agent for a small independent agency. The owner was a great mentor and she advised me to always avoid the cruise line excursions. In fact, she recommended the very company you mentioned.
@@elisaastorino2881 you’re right, travel agents know it, but it’s still a best kept secret among cruisers :)
We were lucky to be the only ship in all four of our ports on last weeks Canadian maritimes cruise. It makes such a difference.
Wow!! Lucky
I have being using credit card points / miles for the last 30 years . Totally worth it
Viator has been AMAZING!!!
I use Viator too but I will definitely check that other website out
Yes! We use them everywhere we go! Been using them for yeeeears
Yes and had some amazing tours via Viator. The one time I had an issue (photographer failed to show), I was processed for a refund within that week. No hassle. Purchased tours in multiple countries and have been using them for about a decade now.
Thank you Ilana. As always good information and presented well. We repriced our Japanese cruise and the new price is $1222 less which has gone towards excursions. 😊
Amazing!!
Park and cruise is a really great option that most people don't know about. We did this in Baltimore and it was about $130 for the hotel, parking, and shuttle to and from port.
I think the drunk package can save a lot of money if you drink 4 +drinks a day and drink coffees, soda, and bottled water. I'm a 1-2 glasses of wine at dinner and a few cocktails at the pool/ shows/ club girl. Ive gone without it too, but it's nice to not have to be restrictive.
I’m going on a cruise December 20 24 and using my Visa card from Royal Caribbean. They took off $600 off the cruise fair with my points so it really is awesome to have a credit card with your favorite cruise line.
Liquid laundry detergent, small jar full. Plus small to medium plastic tub easily packed full of clothes in case. In a back to back cruise we used it in shower recesses every day
We purchased laundry detergent sheets just for travelling. They lay flat and no spillage.
Note about non-cruise ship excursions. Our friends lost money on a Hawaiian cruise excursion not booked through the ship when the weather was so bad that the ship had to skip the port. They eventually got back some of the money but not all or the time it took to deal with it.
Very good point.
Through the ship, you get an immediate refund. It's happened to us.
Check if there are cheaper ports of embarkation. I am cruising with MSC, because they do multiple port embarkation i have saved 700 EUROS by embarking at a less popular port. You still getting the same cruise, just a different start and finish point
We're big fans and watch almost every video with great expectations. We rarely post comments as we generally watch the videos on our TV. Even before watching this latest video, we wanted to request you use all or part of an upcoming video to comment on the most recent additions to Royal Caribbean's "banned" items that includes various chargers for electronic devices including cell phones, tablets, etc. You have often talked about these items on your videos as well as promoted purchasing some of these items in your Amazon store (which we've done!). There's quite a buzz online about this latest move by Royal Caribbean and so, it would be helpful to get your understanding and guidance as to preparing for upcoming cruises. Thank you!
I hear you. Just got back from Venice at 9 pm last night & did film a video this morning. It’s important info & I’ll share tomorrow (Frank is editing right now). Thanks for watching & taking time to comment ☺️
You're so right, we use Shore Excursions Group in May 2024 for our Barcelona and Spain cruise and save a bit of money. Great updates😀
@@stormbringeram that’s awesome! Thanks for sharing your experience
You are lucky! They have few offerings in my upcoming ports and where they do, they are MUCH more expensive than the NCL excursions. We decided a mix of NCL (i.e., in Morocco) and independent touring.
Thank you so much for this video. My husband loves cruising. We're going to Bermuda in April - it's our favorite Caribbean destination - and planning a later cruise with friends. What a great idea to book side by side balcony cabins! Thank you!!
Used Viator and Shore excursions in Iceland both were great. No problem getting to the ship on time. We had a port change to drop off passenger for medical care. Able to get refund for one tour and reschedule the other tour. As always do the research to find what works for you.
@@Eugenia-1982 thanks for sharing
How you had a marvelous time in my home town of Halifax! Reverse order is a fantastic call!
We just returned from a New England/Canada cruise also. We have had really good luck with Viator for shore excursions. With a little research, you can also contact the actual tour operator instead of going through an excursion middle man and you’ll pay a lower price.
LOVED our Shore Excursion excursion! Easy, small group, excellent tour guide, fantastic price, guaranteed to get you back to the ship on time.
Another gr8 video. Thanks so much! ⚓
We researrch our cruisesd ahead of time, and select the cabin and cabin location we want. Winning a cabin upgrade bid means you get a better cabin, but you have no control over WHERE the cabin is located. We'll pass :-)
Hi Illana, i do use shore excursions group too! I have been pleased with them. Actually I have been on the website currently looking at the excursions for my March cruise. Thx🚢🙂
@@eminiarvii that’s awesome! We love them too
I love the park and cruise hotel package. I sailed out of Port Everglades in March and May this year and we used this package at what I believe is the same hotel you are shown in the video here. It was a great convenience and saved money!
Just a tip. When I have used the infirmary on a ship, I always have travel insurance that covers medical. I just get paperwork from the infirmary and mail to my travel insurance and get a refund pretty quickly.
Thanks for sharing this
I used my Capital One points for before and after hotel rooms. ❤
Great to hear!
Just returned from a Canadian cruise from Quebec City to Boston on the Emerald Princess. We opened a Princess credit card about 6 months before the cruise and earned $450 in onboard credit before we sailed. Made the drink package unnecessary! Loved the itinerary - wonderful trip! We used Tours by Locals in two ports and had great experiences with them. There were 6 of us so we had a big van and a driver and could customize our stops. Highly recommend them. We also used Shore Excursion Group for one excursion in Quebec City that was very good. The one Viator excursion was OK too, but it was on a small bus so still a lot of people and no say in our stops. We felt comfortable using non-Princess companies in these ports but are not always sure about other companies in countries where we don't speak the language. The one Princess excursion we took on this cruise was by far the least enjoyable.
@@melodeekistner2936 thanks for sharing this
Yes, cruise line credit cards! I have the Carnival CC and my upcoming 11 night cruise on the Venezia was completely FREE. I redeemed 110,000 points for $1650 cost of cruise plus gratuities. Caveat: be sure to make sure your total cruiseline cost is at least $1500 total to redeem 100k points as that is the best way to redeem points.
Hi Ilana, great info-- love your dress--can you tell us where you bought it? Thank you!
We opened a Celebrity BOA card about 7 months ago and have earned $550 on board credit so far. Now it's the main credit card I use...love it❤
We always use shore excursions group and have never had a problem. Also if you are on a tour with them and it is a very small group you can sometimes forego a stop and add another depending on time constraints. I would recommend them 100%
@@cathydesjardins7435 love that flexibility that comes with a small group too
I DO NOT AGREE that you should "skip the cruise line excursions."
The reason is, if your excursion has 'problems' and doesn't get back to the ship on time, THE SHIP WILL LEAVE WITHOUT YOU.
If you have a cruise line excursion and you do not get back on time, THE SHIP WILL WAIT FOR YOU.
My daughter and family were on an excursion once and their tour bus had a flat tire quite a distance from the ship. Because their excursion was through the ship, the ship waited for them. They got back an hour and a half late!! That was a huge blessing.
Bottom line is, it's your choice.
We are sailing out of Charleston Saturday. We just upgraded from an inside room to a spa balcony stateroom for $289.00.
Question, I've seen other content creators talk about upgrade bids. Some say, cruise line does not provide location and guests have no choice but to accept. Once bid is accepted, your card is charged. This is why I would never do the bid. I need to be happy where and what cabin I booked.
Hi Illana, Thanks for the Shore Excursions info. I use AMEX with Delta airlines. Get 2 pts on special stores (it changes), gas, grocery, one point on everything else.. Our trip to Lisbon is paid for (round trip and it's comfort plus) from KC for both of us. Have a good weekend.
@@coffofcuppee my pleasure, & thanks for sharing 👏
Thanks for the excursion information. 👍
Hi! I love your new really chic hairdo as much as I love all your videos!!
Watch you everyday alongside my CBC News!!
@@katherinegan9196 awe I’m so happy you watch & enjoy the videos :)
We have used Tours by Locals in various ports and on different cruises. We have found them to be really good. Friendly, knowledgable guides with comfortable vehicles and an itinerary that gets you back to the ship in plenty of time.
Hello Iliana, I have been watching your videos and just now subscribed. I have a few concerns I hope you can help me with. I use a cane to walk with and will need to use a wheelchair in the ports. Do you know if Carnival cruise lines have ways of hauling the chair if I go on excursions.
I have the NCL Mastercard and have used my points for a ship credit which then allowed us to pay for the unlimited go cart package for my son who used it almost every day multiple times while on a cruise through the Panama Canal. I am planning on doing that again with our next cruise.
When we go on cruises with a group of people ( usually family, but sometimes friends too) we always book balconies next to each other and remove the partitions. It was great for our Alaskan cruise. We had a 5 cabin long balcony. We are doing the same thing for a Caribbean cruise in January. Unfortunately, someone we don’t know managed to get a cabin right in the middle of our group, so we will have two groups of two cabins with the partition open between them and one cabin closed off because of the strangers that snagged the cabin in the middle of our group.
@@BanditNLouiesMom thanks for sharing this
We have the Marriot card. Love the free rooms we have been getting.
We have first aid kits but the medical centers are AWESOME. Firsthand knowledge and it's so much cheaper than on land.
I have Carnival Mastercard and just got the Virgin Red Mastercard......the Virgin Red MC gives me perks on the ship that I might not otherwise have in addition to the rewards points for Virgin Voyages cruises, Virgin hotels and Virgin flights!!
We started doing adjoining cabins years ago because our kids were just getting big enough that it was getting too cramped with 4 in a cabin. Initially we started booking 2 interior cabins instead of a single balcony and that was usually the same price for much more space and the extra bathroom was awesome to have.
Some cruise lines let you bring soda and/or wine on board with you which tends to be plenty enough for us to offset the paid drinks so we don’t do much above and beyond the drinks included in the base fare.
I have a major airline credit card that I use for everything. It gives me access to the airport lounge, priority status and the with the points free flights. This works great with any type of travel - cruise or land based.
We have done several shore excursions that were not run by the cruise line. The best was in Kusadasi Turkey when we did an NCL cruise in 2015. WE enjoyed it so much, that when we did a Greek Island cruise in 2022 that had a stop at Kusadasi, we booked them again. However, unless the excursion company is extremely reliable (the one in Turkey would fly you to your next port) at getting you back on time, it can be a real risk. There have been several horror stories lately about this. Use caution and common sense.
Hi. I am enjoying watching your cruise play list. My trip is next February but already listening your show:)
You travelled so many cruises, can you please give me some tips on now eating too much in the cruise?
I have weight problem and try eating sensible. Buffet is so tempting!
Some other ways to save on cruises is by owning stock in the cruise lines. I believe Carnival and Royal Caribbean give on board credits if you hold like 100 shares.
Yes, if you have at least 100 shares of their stock, you can get $100 on board credit - every cruise.
Ive always wanted to do this and Im cruising this november, do you think thats enough time to buy shares and get on board ctedit?
@ladybgood4248 Yes, it's plenty of time. You need to show proof at least 3 days prior to sailing. I'm not sure how much each share of Carnival Corporation is, but Princess and Holland America are all in the same parent company. I'm cruising Celebrity which is part of Royal Caribbean Group. I thought we had over 100 shares, but when I checked, we had much less. So I was going to buy more until I realized they were high at around $171 each, which would be $17,100 for 100! Happy cruising 😊🛳
@@ladybgood4248 I believe as long as the account can be verified, you could buy them the day before. Check with the cruise line website for details. You can Google the cruise line info for details as well.
For Canadians, Scotiabank Passport and American Express premium cards. Each have multipliers for gas, restaurants, etc. and NO foreign exchange fees. Can be redeemed for any form of travel, hotels, flights, rental cars with no restriction on brand.
Great - very good tip for Canadians 👏
Cruise line shareholder reward programs can save some money. We get $100 on board credit by showing we have 100 shares of stock when we cruise with Norwegian. Have used this several times so eventually it will cover the stock cost
It’s been good for me too 😊
I have been flying virually free on SWA domesticly for years with their SWA VISA. I opened a CITI Costco Anywhere VISA for this year and have earned $500 cash back after 6 months.
Hey Illana, could you help us to decide between open dining and early dining for the Thanksgiving week with Celebrity Beyond? Appreciate it
We’ve always had good experiences with 3rd party excursions, but have only booked with those who have guaranteed return to ship, like you do. Thanks for sharing these other hacks.
We're in Southern California, about 2 hrs North of LA. Flying, which is most of the time. We drive to Vegas, distance is further. But time wise not much difference. We've found a few hotels in Vegas if we spend one-night, it includes free parking up to Ten Days and free shuttle to and from the Vegas airport. And most of the times the flights are cheaper to our port for the cruise. And yes, we fly the day before the ship sails.
Excellent video as always!
We cruise primarily with Royal Caribbean, so we have the Royal Caribbean Visa card that we use and get points we can redeem for discounts on cruises and onboard credit.
We went on a shore excursions group tour in Canada. It was easy to book and great.
So glad to hear about your experience! Thanks for sharing
We had a private tour in St John’s, it was the best tour we had in our entire cruise.
@@larrybrown2470 awesome
Relatively new to cruises...headed to med in 2025 on viking vesta. Does anyone know if viking offers bid upgrades? Thanks
HAPPY WEEKEND llana! Have a lovely weekend ur the best and so sweetest person ever 🛳️🎃🍂🍂🛳️💛🤎💛🎃🖤🖤🖤🍁🍂🤎🖤🍂🍂🎃👻👻🍃🤎💛🍁🍁🎃🛳️💛🍁🍁🍁🛳️🎃🍃🍃🍂🖤🖤🖤🎃🎃🛳️💛💛🛳️🎃🎃
My spouse and I have separate Celebrity Visa credit cards. It simply converts dollars charged to cruise credit about a month before you cruise. I've never paid outright for specialty dining or spa services. We also have a Hilton points credit card.
Great tips! Thank you!!
Llana, I have enjoyed all of your tips, I have cruised several times with family on different lines BUT, I have adventured out and booked myself on a 28 day HAL trip by myself! Yikes, Excited and Nervous at the same time. Of course, I am trying to save where I can and cannot go on an excursion in every port. Do you find most cities in the Mediterranean you can explore by walking? Also, on HAL it says you cannot bring any bottles of wine in your luggage, which we did on other cruise lines, so I almost am forced to purchase a drink package unless I drink water for 28 days??!!
Very exciting! It depends on the port, some are easy & walkable. Others you’ll miss out on the best if you don’t do an excursion. I’d check port by port & choose 2-5 to do an excursion. On the Shore Excursions Group website you’ll see your cruise & itinerary with lots of ideas so you can browse. Here’s the link for more info (disclaimer please note I earn a commission) www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/?id=1422218
Best tip is to not throw money away in the Casino or playing "Bingo".
@@andoru lol good point
If you sail out of Galveston, there is at least one hotel that we've used twice that allows you to leave your car on their property for free. Then we just get an Uber and it was super easy.
If you are an AARP member, you can get discounts or credits with some cruise and tour companies. You can get up to a $200 onboard credit with Holland America Line with new bookings, depending on the length of the cruise. I’m not retirement age, but I am old enough to join AARP. I joined and got a $100 onboard credit for my 7-day cruise!
Ha, I'm a 44yo AARP member, nowhere near retirement (unless I win the lottery, but that would involve buying tickets). I don't think there is a minimum age limit except for a few select benefits, but it's super cheap to join, and the discounts are great!
Good to know about the shore excursion. I have the app but wasn’t sure about the experience. Some of the reviews are over a year old
@@stephanieglenn187 glad this was helpful
Got another Viking cruise booked for next January. Drink package was only $25 a day. Beer and wine is included with lunch and dinner, but for only $25 a day, I'll enjoy a few cocktails too!
How does the “upgrade” works? I checked the “auto upgrade” on carnival celebration cruise… they can upgrade it without asking? Is there a charge?
I am new to cruising. do start with 3 to 4 days cruise for beginners
What is your first cruise? I’ll definitely be making more videos that can be helpful for first cruises
I got the RC card because they were offering 300 in on board credit if you put 3000.00 on card. We charged that for part of our cruise and paid it off and got the cruise credit. Worked great! Thank you for your video's!
I use my save on foods reward points to book pre and post cruise hotels. Can you cancel the drinks package before the cruise?
Are you sure about taking wine onboard. I don’t think that’s universal is it?
Most cruise lines allow it, MSC is an exception but it's good to check
The royal Caribbean credit card, if you charge $1000, gives you points equal to $300 obc. Get a card only in your name and then have your spouse get one only in their name to double the bonus (must be used on separate cruises).
When it comes to Shore Excursions, are you saying that the ship wait for them should they be late? I'm confused about the "guarantee".
More details are on their website, but they have a back to ship guarantee that states (paraphrasing), that if they don’t get you back on time, they’ll get you to the next port plus compensate you. I can’t recall the amount but it’s a big number. This is likely very rare
@@LifeWellCruised Got it. You made the company very enticing in the video so we'll look into them on our next cruise. Thank you for the reply and excuse my grammar above. I was multi-tasking.
@@LifeWellCruised If your next port of call is a private island they can't get you there. Actually, there might not be any feasible transpiration options between ports of call. We're going on a cruise that has consecutive stops at Roatan and Belize. I highly doubt there are any flights between them.
@@peter_bazinet lol glad that was helpful. Here’s the link for whenever you want to check to see options Find excursions for your cruise at Shore Excursions Group:
www.shoreexcursionsgroup.com/?id=1422218
Do you have to wait for a bid text to upgrade?
They’ll usually send you an email. However you can also look for a link on the cruise line website
@@LifeWellCruised thank you.
we have had one good experience with shore excursions group in Scotland, very organized on time etc. and one bad experience with them in Reykjavik Iceland, all of the independent tours come to one location no signage, unorganized, we missed the shore excursions bus, called them and they said they were there an left. They would not provide a refund either. Ended up taking the cruise line tour at the last min. at least we got to see the sights but it was a very expensive day.
I believe you said not to buy the packages, like Premier or Plus on Princess for example, and cited as the reason that the ship knows the people who buy them won't use the full value. I don't think this is necessarily true. I have added up what I plan to make reservations for plus the gratuities and so on, and I have determined that I at least break even. But, even if this weren't the case, and I would use more things (like more than one device on Wifi, or go to fine dining more often) than I would choose to purchase separately, the value proposition is a gray area. The packages can be a win for the cruise line AND a win for the passenger all at the same time. It isn't always either/or.
@@MatthewLedes I don’t think this was me who said that. I don’t think beverage packages are always a good deal, but think many perks bundle packages are. Princess Plus & Premiere are some of my favorites
@@LifeWellCruised I probably misheard what you said in the video :) Apologies for putting words in your mouth in this way.
The problem with booking with outside tour excursions, is if anything goes wrong, you're screwed. I watched that happen in Nassau. They had a breakdown and never made it back until the ship was on its way and we saw them at the pier.
@@ddc163264 I hear you! Thats why a reputable company is very important
@@LifeWellCruised Yes, reputable or not, if it's not a cruise excursion, you ARE left behind. One of the ones I saw was either the #1 rated of at least the top 3 for Nassau. The bridge was out and they couldn't get back from Atlantis. Fortunately for us we had already booked the boat taxi. And at that time it would've been another 1.5 - 2 hours for the next one made the next cycle. We had planned so that we were back an hour before departure. Only booked people were on our trip and it was full. No standby's were allowed. A "reputable" company isn't then going to pay the expense of either getting you to the next port or if it's the last port, getting you back to the home port to get your stuff. That all goes away with cruise line excursions. Unless you do as I've done and when I do self excursions I book DOUBLE transportation. As I did for Atlantis. I had BOTH taxi and water craft booked. so when this happened we were covered.
There is no reason NOT to have various travel credit cards that do not have annual fee. For me it is the NCL and Wyndham hotel cards. The signup bonuses are the best feature as well as the multiple points for certain purchases. Cards with an annual fee need to be looked at to see how much benefit you get after the signup bonus. Of course you need to pay off the card so as to not incur interest charges.
Thank you, Ilana!
I have had a Royal Caribbean VISA for many years and gotten probably thousands of dollars in onboard credit from the rewards. I hear OBC is better to get than the free cruises because of all the rules and regulations with those. OBC is easy to do with the program.
Another way to get a cabin upgrade--if the ship is not full, they may be selling upgrades at the terminal. The agent will have a chart where she can look up what level you are booked in and quote you the upgrade price for the cabin you want to move to. When you bid for an upgrade, you can be placed in any cabin in your bid class anywhere on the ship. When you buy the upgrade at the terminal, you know the cabin you will be in.This can let you avoid a cabin right above a nightclub or other feature you wish to avoid. Prices vary, but I've seen it at about 1/3 - 1/2 of what the difference between the cabins would have been had I booked the nicer cabin to begin with. A vote for shore excursion group--love them.
@@kathryncashner3294 that’s awesome! Thanks for sharing
Need to know. Update on RC banning multi-port power plugs/adapters?
We have the RCI credit card. It's the best. We book the cruise on it and earn points that pay for excursions, spa treatments, specialty meals and drinks on board!
@@laurenravit-franceskin8238 great to hear!
I have being using credit card points / miles for the last 30 years . - About hotel parking , so far I find parking on site still cheaper , convenient and faster .
Hi Ilana! I do have a Royal Caribbean credit card and I was able to get $400 onboard credit before a cruise from what I spent. I’m hoping to have even more for the next cruise, but we probably will take a year off since we were both in Alaska and Hawaii in 2024. $$
@@harborspringsgirl awesome!
Was shocked to be told when booking a 21-night HAL cruise that they had no credit card! I have used my Royal Caribbean many times when booking and also on board; I always received points toward my next cruise.
We paid our final payment for our cruise on Norwegian and the price dropped! I contacted the Norwegian and was able to receive Future Cruise Credit for the difference which turned out to be $800 each!! Especially since they require final payment 3-4 months in advance of cruise, this is a huge savings. The answer is ALWAYS no if you dont ask.
Wow!! Also love your motto 😂👏
Also for Canadians, Bank of Montreal has Air Miles - so many ways to get extra points, best payback is on flights. It gets us to our cruises so much cheaper.
@@JillSmith-le1lm awesome 👏
Very helpful thank you
I have a Capitol One Visa and saved up the miles and paid for my wife and I’s tickets to Ft Lauderdale for our next cruise .. score!
Shore excursions with the cruise lines are always a safe bet.
They will wait if the excursions were booked through them.
Booking separately has price advantage but!!!
Safety - Outside excursion companies aren’t under specific regulations to maintain their vehicles.
Example: Just one of many.
Cruise line canceled cave tubing in Cozumel. The outside company didn’t which resulted in the death of a passenger.
Cruise line canceled because the water-tide was high.
The outside company was interested in the money.
Having been on 35+ cruises, I felt like we’ve never found price drops…until recently. We were able to save $800 on our upcoming Odyssey sailing. A Huge savings was this summer-we have an Alaska sailing booked for 2025. Both my husband and I received a promotional email to book a sailing to Alaska. I called about the promotion and the cruise repriced our booking for us, saving $2,000!
Shore excursions group: Did you use them in Alaska?. Since this will be our first time in Alaska, I’m a bit nervous about using an outside company and still returning g to the ship on time.
@doreenburger4523 - My last trip to Alaska, my sister was with me. It was my 5th trip there (all on Celebrity), but her first. She is in her 60's, has multiple sclerosis, and travels with her rollator and a folding cane. Because we never knew how her health was going to be day to day, I never booked any excursions ahead of time. We'd get off the ship in port and book our tours with one of the local companies who had booths on the dock. We had an amazing trip, and never had a problem getting back to the ship on time. We had excursions in Skagway, Ketchikan, Juneau, and Icy Straight Point (always do my whale watches here). Sometimes, we'd take more than one excursion per day but wé were always mindful of our return times. Our Seward to Anchorage tour on disembarkation day was the only pre-arranged tour we booked through Celebrity.
Have a fabulous trip!! We're more than ready to return to Alaska🦅🐏🫎🦌🐻🐳
Ilana....we just got off Celebrity Beyond cruise a few days ago. We had a specialty dining booked for night one on the cruise. I told my travelling companion you said we would get a free bottle of wine. We got absolutely nothing and no mention of it from the staff. And no discount at all as some people had suggested.
Celebrity used to have a night 1 discount, but maybe they don’t have it anymore. If they did, you would see it right away :(
@LifeWellCruised Thanks. We went to Raw on Five and spent just over $140 USD. I looked right away plus later. No discount at at.
If an excursion "appears" to be at or close to a cruise lines departure date I would book through the cruise; they'll hold the ship for those and not for a private one.
I use my Chase Southwest Air card and earn miles. Our trip to port in no cost.
How do you monitor price drops on your cruise? Is there a website that can do this? Does it also work for Princess Alaska Cruise Tours ( both cruise and land portion) ?
There are some, unfortunately many won’t calculate what perks you have but it can be good
Just check the Princess website for price drops or check with your cruise consultant from time to time. Should be able to get reduction if not after final payment date.