Cruise Holidays - Essential Tips and Advice

Audra and Gabe talk more about Fall travel destinations, pop culture, and more.

Cruise Holidays - Essential Tips and Advice Audra Lowe: Welcome back everybody. It’s time for hot topics and we got Gabe Saglie here. He’s a senior editor over TravelZoo.com and I always joke with Gabe because when you come to this show I feel like we put you in customer service hot seat, any travel related questions, problems they all come straight to you and you're like, I am not making the policies, I just write about these things, right? Gabe Saglie: You have already on top today, we’re going cruising? Audra Lowe: Alright, we’re going cruising and I know you and I, okay I’m not a big fan of cruises necessarily because I am Gabe Saglie: Well, I’m very fond of seasickness. I mean I’m a big fan of cruise industries and great opportunity, great value when it comes to cruising. My wife loves to cruise, you know but I tend to be a little prone to seasickness, so I pick my cruising itinerary’s gift. Audra Lowe: And I know you have some issues. I mean honestly you really just don’t want to see any parts of that water. It’s not good a thinker, right Gabe Saglie: Well, the thing what has scared me off this, I love a whale watching cruises but I get very prone. I mean 15 minutes in and out, so when I see a whale real quick. You're losing me as I speak but you know these are, again when it comes to cruising great values. There were some advent cruises out there and you're getting really some of the best places we’ve seen in many years, so it’s worth considering a cruise. I mean once you're on board, the meals are included, entertainment, and you're visiting ports of call that flying into work probably will be a lot more expensive. Audra Lowe: Possibly it would be even more expensive. Gabe Saglie: Absolutely. Audra Lowe: See it by don’t let my husband hear this because he loves cruise. I just don’t know. I want to go away from him. If I'm going to go on vacation, I don’t want to be stuck up on top of you on a boat and I cant’ get off. Gabe Saglie: Well, on a plane you can leave people you don’t get along with that for five hours. On a cruise you're not doing it for a while. Audra Lowe: Well, I have couple of friends that they were going on some cruise. One family in particular, very expensive cruise they were going on and all of a sudden they got the word that the ship broke down. They can’t go and this is not-- Gabe Saglie: And before they took off. Audra Lowe: Before they took off, yeah. The ship broke down. They’re trying to get their money refunded and they spent a pretty penny on this. There’s a lot thing that cruise lines will not tell you. One of them is engine and weather problems are big and it ramp in, in that industry and a lot of people don’t realize that. Gabe Saglie: Well, you know when you do a cruise you’ve got to be flexible. In other words yes, you're at sea for example you mentioned the storming and there was a big hurricane coming, a ship could be the safest place for you to be because this massiveness was literally just change course you will be in calm waters as a storm moves on by, but you will be visiting other ports of call. You’re not going to be in Jamaica if that’s where the storm is coming. We direct you and you're just going to be willing to be flexible. When it comes to engine problems we define print, different cruise lines have different policies and if a ship breaks down their first ordered business will try to compensate to put you on another ship or on an itinerary that matches what you originally paid for before they really goes to the rigging ball of trying to give you back all your money. Audra Lowe: Interesting so you have to know that ahead of time. Also the weather might mean missed stop so you’re planning on stopping in what you know four or five locations but may only be one or two. Gabe Saglie: And keep in mind that some of best values obviously is in the events of hurricane season, I mean if you travel in summer through November great pricing, but that’s when they get truly active in the Caribbean, so. Audra Lowe: A great episode of debris catch. Gabe Saglie: So be prepared for -- yeah, you're going to be flexible. Audra Lowe: You do have to flexible literally also the viruses, running rampant in -- I’m not trying to scare people but they say because the fact that you are so close to someone, keep on CDC only reports, I guess you know ships that are US Force in terms of the numbers but sickness flew all that kind of deal really, really bad on the cruise. Gabe Saglie: Yes, you're absolutely right, close quarters for seven or 15 nights, somebody gets sick that can spread very quickly, so you just be vigilant and wash your hand, just wash your hands. Audra Lowe: You got to be safe, alright. Gabe Saglie: Yes. Audra Lowe: Last but not least very quickly, you think everything is included you got think again because the food, entertainment certain things might be but the spa services, a lot of extras. Gabe Saglie: Yeah, a lot of extras if you want to internet access, a lot of short excursions, I mean if you pre pay a lot of stuff before you even said so you can save of money on it. But yes, food, entertainment included a lot of the other stuff like drinks but you get the bill at the end of cruise. Audra Lowe: And you’d only want to drink on the ship, alright we’ll be right back, thank you Gabe. Gabe Saglie: You bet.