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00:00is there anything more satisfying and exciting than being on holiday well yes a bargain holiday
00:12of course getting champagne tastes for your beer budget but is that possible when even
00:20the average UK holiday costs more than 1200 quid for just five days from all-inclusive to
00:28long haul or short breaks i want the inside track on the best way to find a bargain to do that i've
00:37persuaded a crack squad of experts to spill their secrets insiders who've worked at the heart of the
00:44holiday industry at some of the biggest companies in the business i've spent more than 20 years
00:50working for different airlines such as British Airways and KLM i work for companies including
00:55Thomas Cook, TUI and EasyJet Holidays and the country's leading brands knock knock will take
01:02me behind closed doors this is where the magic happens from hotels and holiday operators to airlines
01:10travel agencies and even cruise lines they're sharing their travel industry tricks to holidaying better
01:18for less this time we set sail into one of the UK's fastest growing holidays cruises cruising is just
01:29so unique and in my opinion the best way to take a holiday ever we'll show you how to get your slice
01:36of luxury for less from your room it's actually cheaper for hubby and i to go on a cruise than it is
01:43to go and stay in a premier inn or a travel lord to the top-up extras could you find it for cheaper
01:50absolutely will the cruise lines tell you that probably not even when it feels irresistible we spent
01:58thousands already what's an extra hundred quid exactly
02:01the cruise industry the cruise industry is riding a wave of success two decades ago 11 million people
02:14set sail each year now it's more than tripled at 34 million
02:20if you've never been on a cruise ship before it's quite hard to imagine the scale of it it's like
02:31a vast apartment building on the seafront except it's floating actually cruise has changed beyond
02:39recognition andy harmer has spent 20 years managing the cruise industry's biggest trade body
02:45a modern cruise ship is is a big investment to make by the cruise lines they cost around a billion
02:53dollars per ship if you look at the order book for cruise ships over the next 11 years there are 50
02:58billion pounds worth of investment going into new ships that's about 70 new ships coming in the next 11
03:04years to entice us on board cruise companies are adding every conceivable kind of attraction
03:11as former sales director grant van albrecht knows only too well in cruise industry we are very much
03:21about who's the first to deliver the first in class of a vessel and so that has the unique features that
03:27on board because that is the gravitas for people to come on board whether it be bumper cars whether it
03:31be water diving or skydiving all the different things that you'd never even think are possible on board a ship
03:37seeing it up close it's massive
03:47i've been invited aboard the multi-million pound mega ship the celebrity apex cruise director corinne
03:55steel is giving me a tour of the ship's standout feature that they hope will pull in the crowds
04:00welcome to the magic carpet this is the world's first cantilevered floating platform we are currently
04:1013 levels above the sea this is the perfect spot to get those endless ocean views get to be princess
04:17jasmine on the magic carpet it's a whole new world joking aside this is about staying super competitive
04:25why are attractions like this magic carpet important you can come up here and grab a drink at sunset
04:33you can have dinner on the edge i think it is that thing when you are in port you see this gorgeous
04:39orange structure and it's like yeah i want to go on that ship because no one else seems to have
04:43this amazing magic it's called magic for a reason right all these bells whistles and the promise of
04:51luxuries at sea is why these ships have us under their spell in 2024 across the world we spent 54
05:00billion on cruising so the big question is how can you bag the best deal to get on board
05:11the secret to a great cruise deal knowing how the industry works once you understand that
05:17you can play the booking game like a boss people realize what it takes to actually make a cruise ship
05:24function those ships nowadays are in excess of a billion dollars just to build it just to build the
05:31ship and then you've got another multi-billion for the fuel for the satellites for the crew so quickly
05:39you can see a ship being three billion plus just to have it ready to go high running costs and the
05:46impact of covid which sank cruise ship revenues have left the big companies running around 60 billion
05:53in debt so when it comes to selling tickets they want our money early cash is king it's all about
06:00cash flow cruise lines need to have the money in the bank in order to pay their bills with over two
06:06decades of hospitality experience marco chiraulo understands the business model better than anyone
06:12you get a really good um price point on the mass market cruise ships because they do not wanna
06:21sail empty once the ship is out of the harbor you can never sell this cabin again until you know to
06:26the next booking cycle it's a very perishable product so the pressure is on to fill cruise ships
06:35that's why booking early always secures a good price but there's a particular time of year
06:41it really pays to book so if you want a good tip there is a certain time you should book your cruise
06:48and it's called wave season so every year january february march that's called wave season and actually
06:55what we do our strive in wave time is to sell 80 percent of the whole capacity in those first three
07:02months if you've got that forecasted on your books that you have that revenue locked in and they're sold
07:07and booked then you can forecast for the fuel then you can forecast for the ports the births all of
07:13the supplies and replenishments all of the food now cruise lines love early bird bookings but what about
07:20the 20 percent of tickets that might not sell during the wave season it would be weekends and holidays
07:26that's when we give the deepest discounts black friday is now almost world known so we'll do it again
07:31is there and those are very different types of sales we're looking to actually fill those last
07:37few bursts that we need to fill so that the ship sails full every time so book early and especially
07:45in january february or march keep an eye out for discounts but which room to book that can be a minefield
07:52when you book a cruise it can be really confusing there's a huge range of prices and add-ons so how
08:02do you know whether you're getting the best deal if it seems a bit complicated don't panic travel
08:09consultant diane moses wright has cracked the room booking code it's actually cheaper for hubby and i
08:16to go on a cruise than it is to go and stay in a premier inn or a travel lodge uh come again
08:25with 21 cruises under her belt diane's earned her cruising colors
08:30if anyone knows how to nab the best cabin it's her is it really confusing when you're trying to book
08:38a cruise it absolutely can be um because of all the different types of cabins that were available and
08:43the different grades of each of those types of cabin and some of them have a lifeboat in front
08:49of them some of them don't have any windows some of them are at the front of the ship and they have
08:53a metal balcony so you can't see through the balcony and there's a few things that can surprise you
08:59you might think a room with a restricted view is a terrible idea when in fact it could unlock a fabulous
09:06bargain we looked at a cruise for last year it was a celebratory cruise for our anniversary
09:12and we knew where we wanted to go we knew what ship we wanted to be on then a balcony cabin was
09:17going to cost us 2399 pounds per person however i know that on this particular cruise ship so this is
09:26where the balcony was and actually this cabin here on the cruise ship that we went on this section here
09:31is wires rather than solid so the obstructed ocean view had a clear view out to sea so i ended up booking
09:39that one just one cabin down yes we didn't have the balcony space but we did still have a lovely open
09:45window costing us just over 1500 pounds each for the two weeks saving so it was sold as an obstructed
09:52view but actually it just happened to be the one that was right in between the life and there's one
09:57on either side of the ship that's a great hack deanne saved a third of the cost of her cruise
10:04and you can do it too websites like cruise deck plans or cruise mapper have downloadable ship plans
10:11and even show what's above or below your room so you can see just how restricted the view is from the
10:18rooms sold as obstructed just watch out ships get makeovers so double check the cruise line's official
10:25site for the latest layout now not everyone wants a sea view meet party jasmine posh rooms aren't a
10:33priority but having fun is i would recommend if party jasmine was going on holiday she doesn't
10:40care where she ends up so you're going to the cheapest option is just going to be for you to
10:45book an interior cabin lowest grade available which means it's not going to be in a great place on the
10:50ship but it's still going to be a nice cabin but you're not going to be in there much so as you're
10:54going to be the one in the nightclub anyway i think we will pop you in the room directly underneath
11:00the nightclub great but look around you've still got some great things on offer you've still got
11:05the swimming pool you've still got a couple of bars and you're right opposite a laundrette
11:11well that's putting a nice spin on the nearby perks an inside room on a two-week cruise to iberia
11:18and the canary islands costs 1798 pounds that's a thousand pounds less than a cabin with a balcony and
11:26see views but don't forget to pack your earplugs be careful as some cheap cabins don't include extras
11:34that are included in more expensive fares known on some cruise lines as an early saver flexible
11:40or select fare if we were to book a select price cruise fare you also get additional enhancements as
11:47well so you might get free parking which is at the port so if you're traveling from southampton
11:53parking for a two-week cruise can cost you around 245 pounds right so that is quite a lot of money
12:01difference you've also got included in that fair things like your shuttle buses if you're stopping
12:07at seven or eight ports on that 14 day holiday then that could be 10 pounds per day so you're saving
12:14another 70 or 80 pounds which is included in that select price fair do the maths that bargain cabin could
12:23end up making your cruise cost more than you budgeted for and that would be a party pooper there is
12:29another way to snag a good deal and it's a bit of a risky gamble this is probably the real me
12:38last minute jasmine last minute jasmine wants the best deal available and is happy to be flexible so
12:44last minute jasmine can get a cruise there are deals available but 75 to 90 days before a cruise is the
12:52time that you could start looking so at that point anybody that was thinking about cancelling they
12:56would have cancelled right remember cruise lines want every cabin filled a full ship can earn them
13:03180 000 pounds of profit per day so if she can hold her nerve till that magic window last minute jasmine
13:13might just snag the best deal but there's a catch so you could end up anywhere it's likely to be an
13:19inside cabin and it's likely to be lower down on the ship and possibly in an area like under a pool
13:27deck right you might end up right next to a nightclub so last minute jasmine needs to be really open to
13:33the fact that you could end up anywhere on the ship when we checked a two-week cruise to iberia and the
13:40canary islands leaving three months from now would cost last minute jasmine 2798 pounds a whopping 1500
13:49pounds less than if she books the same cruise leaving 15 months from now a risky gamble that could pay off
13:57if saving is your ultimate priority just keep in mind popular itineraries sell out fast and availability
14:04can get tight the closer you get to the sale date will cruise ships discount last minute tickets yes
14:12definitely you can get a really good deal however you don't know which cabin you're gonna get you
14:17maybe don't even know where the ship is cruising to you're literally taking a gamble you go on the
14:22ship and you give give them what you get given so there's a price for that timing really is key when
14:29it comes to getting the best deal and there are huge savings to be had if you're willing to be
14:33flexible with room choices and if you can hold your nerve when it comes to booking your holiday
14:40coming up we reveal the clever marketing tricks cruise lines use to get us to spend more
14:48you think to yourself it's only a little bit more and i'm gonna treat myself i deserve it yeah exactly
14:54i'm on a mission to find you the best tips for a bargain cruise holiday we've discovered the
15:08insider tricks that can get us on board for less hello now what about those cheeky holiday extras we
15:16love to indulge in is it too early for a major no never is so early whether it's topping up on extra
15:25booze on your cruise pampering yourself with a relaxing spa day it's in my contract i've got to do this
15:34i'm working or splurging in the onboard shops turns out there's a lot of temptation at sea all carefully
15:45designed to make us dig into our wallets that's good oh you can feel all my knots
15:50on average we spend almost one thousand pounds on onboard extras that's quite the dent in our holiday
16:01budget the the focus is to get people on board rather than making the profits from the actual
16:09cruise ticket itself so cruise ships very much like the low-cost airlines uh prioritize maximizing the
16:15amount of passengers on board to a hundred percent there is a much higher chance that they will then
16:21spend on on boards extras or ancillary revenue it's a good trick keep fares low and tempt us on board
16:29which is why our spending has gone up 30 percent but ticket prices have only nudged up 17
16:36every cruise line will have their own targets um and the the on-board hotel manager will have a
16:42target and the maker ships looks for an additional revenue of you know 50 per person per day to spend
16:50while they are on the ships it's not unusual that you spend let's say for a cruise let's say two thousand
16:58five hundred dollars and it wouldn't be unusual that you spend per person another fifteen hundred dollars
17:04or more on board the ship why don't all ships just go all inclusive
17:10what do you include in the ticket price even within cruise i remember asking this question of
17:15my leadership so many times can't we just put gratuities in wouldn't that be great everybody
17:20asked the same question and the answer was yeah if you can find half a billion dollars
17:25um it's just a lot of money by the time we're on board the cost of the ticket is a distant memory
17:33now we're on holiday it's hard to stick to a budget when we're surrounded by temptation
17:39that's the cruise industry's business model so how do we outsmart it and still have fun
17:48behavioral psychologist kate nightingale's here with the clever psychology behind those on-board
17:54spending traps so i've got one of a fine dining tasting menu dishes over here for you that it's 98 pounds
18:05wow would you like a glass of wine with that for only 12 pounds yes please of course i'm splashing
18:14out on the tasting menu i'm gonna have some wine with it definitely there's a wine thank you
18:18thank you now we also have a second dish over here right so that dish is only 6.90
18:32would you like a glass of wine with that
18:35as well only 12 pounds i don't think so no no why not because where do you think only 12 pounds for a
18:44glass of wine sort of sounds more reasonable when you compare it to a 98 pound tasting menu than it
18:50does when you compare it to a 6 pounds 90 burger and fries it's literally the same wine same price same
19:01glass so what's the difference with a 6.90 meal it seems excessive but paired with a 98 pound tasting
19:09menu that same wine feels better matched what is really interesting is with our perception of value we
19:17anchor it to the first available information right so the first anchor on this one was a part of the
19:24tasting menu that costs 98 pounds right and the wine seems super cheap doesn't it in comparison you
19:30think only 12 pounds exactly glass of wine when you have already paid quite a lot of money it's it is all
19:40relative isn't it that's anchoring in action your brain's using the meal price as a reference point
19:47we don't judge the wine's value on its own we judge it relative to what's around it you think to yourself
19:54it's only a little bit more and i'm gonna treat myself i deserve it it's a clever marketing strategy
20:01one that if we're not careful could catch us out when booking our cruise packages
20:06so armed with the information that our brains perceive value depending on what the anchor point
20:13is yeah how do we use that to our advantage so you know when you're like booking cruise holidays
20:21and you're spending thousands of pounds for a cruise and then they've asked you do you want a drinks
20:26package for like a hundred quid additionality yes and you think i've already spent thousands already
20:33what's an extra hundred quid exactly i see make sure that it's not just a simple trick and that
20:38the value is there rather than trying to kind of prime you with that relative price at the beginning
20:48price anchoring is just one psychological tactic to watch out for there are plenty more
20:54for a lot of passengers once they're booked the cruise and they paid for it that money is already
21:00gone it's already taken care of also they are in a different mindset in a different atmosphere
21:07it's a little bit easier to open up your wallet and to spend additional money while you're on board
21:12the ship so the mega ships they are very good and in catering to that the ships also have some slick
21:21new tricks to keep us buying if you come onto a cruise it's cashless whether it's a badge or a
21:27wristband for example to open their cabin doors or to pay for things etc or it could be using an app
21:33so on an app for example what you can do is you could be sat by the pool you can order a drink on the
21:37app and the waiter or waitress will then find you wherever you are on the ship and serve you your drink
21:43or food removing cash from the spending equation stops us from feeling the pinch the concept that casinos
21:50pioneered which is now heavily borrowed by these cruise ships is linked to a concept called decoupling
21:56where again your brain is decoupling the act of spending to the feeling of spending money think of
22:05it like casino chips the moment your money becomes plastic or digital you magically stop thinking of
22:11it as money at all you've got to make it as simple as possible wristbands key cards cashless society
22:18because we don't want the cash on board um there be either you would be surprised years ago we would
22:23have one to two to three million dollars in cash on board the ship i used to actually have to had to
22:28count the the safes it's so much easier if the guests just can tap in whatever they do and but
22:34there's there's science behind it if guests feel they can pay over time they don't have this mass bill
22:39but also they're more free to actually spend again it's not that big of a burden to them at that moment
22:44it's a tactic that's proved incredibly lucrative it's so effortless that it doesn't feel like real
22:51money and it's really easy not to track how much you're spending and not find out until the last
22:57day of your cruise when you get the bill and you say oh gosh i've accidentally spent a thousand pounds
23:02on board so to avoid overspending set yourself limits because that oh so convenient cruise card won't
23:10there's one add-on that's particularly tempting to splash out on the drinks package there are a lot
23:16of drinks packages on cruise lines but it's whether it's worth it for you because some of those packages
23:21can be quite expensive um and you need to drink a lot to make them worthwhile so again if you're not a
23:28big drinker then then just stick just stick to paying your way really cruise lines will try to sell
23:35you extras at every point quite often they'll have one price which is before the cruise and then
23:42another price which is once you're on board the ship and it's always cheaper to get it before the
23:48cruise but look out for special offers as well i recently took a cruise and the drinks package was
23:53going to be about a hundred pounds per day but i kept an eye on the app for the cruise line and then
23:58they had a special offer which was 30 off and then a few weeks later they had another special offer which
24:03was 50 off so i booked it at the cheaper price check out those add-on packages but do the maths it's
24:12also worth checking your itinerary too if you're in the caribbean a drinks package might not be worth
24:18it when you can hop off and enjoy an ice cold beer in the port for just a pound once you spot all the
24:24little psychological tricks the clever pricing and the irresistible add-ons it all starts to make sense
24:32so go ahead treat yourself just make sure it's your choice and not the marketing at work
24:41coming up we show you the destinations best seen by sea the hotels cost a fortune eating out is really
24:48expensive whereas if you're on a ship you don't have to pay for any of that and smart ways to save
24:57on sightseeing trips could you find it for cheaper absolutely will the cruise lines tell you that
25:04probably not
25:12there was a time when cruising was strictly for the super rich all champagne caviar and transatlantic luxury
25:20fast forward 70 years and cruises are so mainstream that they can sometimes be cheaper than a package
25:29holiday but with hundreds of itineraries to choose from snapping up a good deal isn't always plain sailing
25:36so which cruise destinations offer us the best value
25:39there are some parts of the world where a cruise just makes sense and it's so much more affordable
25:52than doing it any other way rather than spending hours and hours in a car your ship will sail overnight
25:59while you're asleep each day you wake up and you've got the time to then explore a new place
26:05and it's a no-brainer when it comes to exploring islands where travel and logistics can be costly
26:13and complicated it's no surprise then that the caribbean and bahamas always top the cruise charts
26:21we looked at one six nights diy trip around the caribbean including multiple flights ferry transfers
26:28food and accommodation which would cost five thousand one hundred and forty nine pounds but a cruise to
26:35the same locations would cost four thousand two hundred and thirty almost twenty percent cheaper
26:41but if we want to find the best value cruise destinations beyond the obvious ones we need
26:47to crack the code and the trick think like a cruise ship boss because some trips are much more
26:53profitable for cruise companies than others cruise line companies and itinerary development is a science
27:00in itself it has to do with the size of the ship so where the ship can actually sail into how much it
27:09costs and to go from a to b very important then there's a cost attached to going into specific ports
27:16so harbor fees docking fees can be extraordinary cruise companies make the most money when we stay on
27:23the ship because time on board means money spent on board in the shops restaurants and venues all
27:30flowing into the cruise liners coffers the alaska voyages themselves are going to be much more
27:37profitable why because it's cold outside you're in the middle of glaciers etc so you're not spending a
27:44whole lot of time in port so the events and venues that we have on board are going to be much more
27:48profitable in operating in those regions bigger ships are also very lucrative for cruise companies
27:55as they keep us captive on board for longer when you look at the destination of cruise ships the bigger
28:02ships have less ports it's because fuel is expensive so slower they go less they're spent on fuel
28:08they keep you longer on board the ship while you're on board the ship you go use the restaurants use the
28:13casino those high profit cruises aren't necessarily the ones to avoid they can be good value when
28:20eating and drinking on board costs so much less than on land take norway its stunning fjords drew 6
28:28million visitors in 2023 with 4 000 cruise calls visiting on a ship is a smart decision
28:36norway is really really expensive the hotels cost a fortune eating out is really expensive
28:42whereas if you're on a ship you don't have to pay for any of that you might only pay for your lunch
28:49when you're out for example in the land of the midnight sun and the nearly nine pound pint
28:56it might make more sense to stick to partying on board and that's not the only way you save in
29:01destinations like norway putting together a similar itinerary by land would be tricky and costly
29:08ambassador cruise lines chief experience officer bob mcgowan helps map out the ship's routes one of
29:15the best ways is to to see it is you can hop fjord by fjord um on a cruise ship as where if you go by
29:21car you know you've got to go by ferry um you've got to go over the mountains and sometimes they're
29:26quite difficult to do um so you know you can definitely fjord hop on a cruise it's a real privilege
29:31to be able to just step off the ship and within a few minutes step onto a cable car and get views
29:36like this you don't always get that necessarily with a normal holiday that you might take on the
29:41fjords if you're driving or flying in it's a hassle-free way of seeing these stunning unesco world
29:48heritage sites and works out way cheaper for example an eight-night mse cruise from southampton
29:58to visit the world-famous norwegian fjords costs 1738 pounds for a two-person cabin to visit the same
30:08locations on a diy land trip including flight car hire food and accommodation it would cost
30:153 170 pounds going by land is almost twice the price cruising does offer a fantastic way to get
30:25to some of the most inaccessible areas of the world with the arctic if you were going to try and do that
30:30by being in a hotel and arranging flights it would be so stressful and you wouldn't be able to relax and
30:36just watch all the scenery going past along with picking the right cruise destinations you could bag a
30:44bargain by hitching a ride on a repositioning cruise basically a one-way ticket on a ship being moved
30:49from one part of the world to another say from the caribbean to the med you can get some good savings
30:56probably about up to 50 percent i mean i saw a package the other day and it was for 850 pounds for
31:03two weeks and you think that includes your accommodation your food your gratuities and it also
31:10included the flight home as well which is a really good deal a few things to bear in mind repositioning
31:18cruises have a multitude of sea days often have longer itineraries and some of the regular services
31:25on board might not be available so you've chosen your ship your route and your room what about getting
31:33the best bang for your buck when you're in port just look at this i mean that's one thing a cruise
31:41offers that no other holiday can really waking up in a different city or even in a different country
31:48and after a bit of breakfast just head off and explore we love a shore trip as much as we love
31:55lounging on the sun deck and binging on bottomless pina coladas but the important thing to remember is that
32:01like those on board extras off board excursions are big profit drivers for the cruise liners
32:09excursions are a huge part of the financial model for the mega cruise lines they generate a huge amount
32:17of additional revenue and those tours aren't cheap they will charge a fair amount of money for an experience
32:25one-third of cruise profits come from extras like shore trips so they're definitely cashing in but can we
32:35how to get the best value on excursions
32:40why would we even encourage you to book on board if you book with us you're ours could you find it for
32:48cheaper absolutely will the cruise lines tell you that probably not you could go get the same tour for
32:54probably 20 30 40 dollars cheaper something happens you're on your own though and that is definitely
33:02worth considering but it's not pure profit for the cruise operators we have to pay massive amounts of
33:08insurance massive amounts of teams to go and vet to inspect inspections of buses inspections of ports
33:16inspections of experiences and we are responsible for you if you book on your own as sorry as it is
33:25you're on your own we don't know where you are we don't know if you decided to stay in port some people
33:30do you'd be shocked at how many people fall in love and say i am just gonna stay here
33:36cruise organized excursions offer hassle-free ease vetted operators port pickups and that's all
33:43important reassurance that they will get you back on the ship if there are delays in some parts of the
33:49world they've even bought whole islands just for their cruise guests why do cruise companies um own
33:58for example an island in the caribbean simple reason they can control the destination one they can
34:04control where passengers eat if they eat in the restaurants the cruise line company will generate
34:12revenue and goes back to the company to the business the tours they spend on this island the revenue goes
34:18back to the cruise line company royal caribbean kicked off the private island scramble with a 250
34:27million pound resort island coco kay in the bahamas packed with beaches bars and excursions since opening
34:35in 2019 their ticket revenues are up a massive 48 percent owning your own island is highly profitable
34:44so you're putting millions and millions into making the facility match the brand it has to match the
34:51shipboard experience all the way down to the wi-fi and it takes a long time to recover the revenue that
34:58you put into it to develop that if you want a taste of local culture a cruise line owned island might not
35:07be the answer so make sure you check the itinerary before you book with sky high insurance and island
35:16sized investments it's no wonder cruise excursions cost a packet but there are cheaper options out there
35:23if you were to book one of the cruise lines excursions in every port you could easily double the price of
35:30your holiday so i think it's worth having a look and seeing which ones you really want to do and which
35:37ones you could quite easily do yourself so if your ship docks in the city center you can have a really
35:44good day out just by walking around the city center maybe taking one of those walking tours where you
35:49just tip the tour guide however much you want to and doing the things that you want to do city ports
35:55like lisbon or barcelona lend themselves to diy exploration for the price of a bus fare or a few
36:02blisters you can take in all the top attractions and be back in time for sundown sangrias on the deck
36:10if you fancy exploring further from port going solo can be cheaper and more flexible than the cruise
36:17excursions sometimes if you book a cruise line excursion you're on their schedule you've got to
36:23wait for everyone you're hanging around so yeah there's sometimes where it's cheaper and more
36:29comfortable just to get a taxi and do your own thing one thing to bear in mind if you're making your own
36:34arrangements leave plenty of time to get back to the ship
36:38oh the last thing you want is to be left stranded waving goodbye to your pants passport and your
36:50holiday dreams as they sail off into the sunset if timekeeping isn't your thing don't panic there
36:57are third-party options there is another company that i've found recently that does excursions that feel
37:04just like the cruise lines official excursion they'll pick you up from the ship and they guarantee
37:10to get you back to the ship if for any reason they couldn't get you back to the ship they would fly
37:15you out to the next port and they'd give you a load of money as well many third-party operators are
37:21also used by cruise companies so save money by booking directly with them there are specialist websites
37:28like viator or shore excursions who track your ship's itinerary and offer cheaper trips for example
37:37a personal guided tour picking you up from naples port starts at 63 pounds per person half the price
37:45of a cruise tour and they'll guarantee you get back to your ship so don't let cruise scare tactics sway
37:54you into spending more there are plenty of operators who tailor their trips to get you back to your ship
37:59on time and if the dreaded does happen check your insurance covers you for missed port departures
38:12coming up we go below deck to find out what it takes to feed thousands
38:16and if you should indulge in fine dining at sea and it might be an extra 25 dollars per person
38:25every time you go there so it adds up
38:36one of the biggest attractions of cruising is the floor to ceiling free food oh look
38:42and there's an incredible range on offer i've got italian chinese some sort of vegan chicken palmo
38:52on my plate that i just can't decide what to have
38:58a quick cruise food 101 most cruise deals include around the clock buffet today the special is a
39:06sushi bar and sit down breakfast lunch and dinner in the main dining room spicy chicken pasta sausage
39:15and mash look at that food will always be free on board and there'll be ample space for you and
39:20the buffets are phenomenal but cruises also offer speciality dining at an extra charge so what are the
39:30secrets to getting the best of both worlds
39:37cruise companies have cracked a pretty clever profit model first they get us to pay months in
39:43advance for all our food and drink then once you're on board we're tempted to spend again buying even
39:50more food in the speciality restaurants so you might have teppanyaki you might have asian influence you
39:56might have latin influence you might have um different types of caribbean influences we're
40:01seduced by partnerships with celebrity chefs and speciality dining packages those cruise lines are
40:08very clever in in marketing those things then there might be a package for speciality restaurants that
40:14you can you know pick two or three restaurants and it might be an extra 25 dollars per person every time
40:21you go there so it adds up cruise lines know it's not only the food that tempts us it's that glossy
40:29floating luxury lifestyle it's really it's it's a more intimate space it's not different into going
40:37out into a really luxurious restaurant anywhere in your hometown and it works these restaurants are
40:44some of the most lucrative spots on the ship for driving profit why the specialty restaurants
40:50quick answer is because we can make money that way and so why do we do that you have to look at a ship
40:56kind of like a mall so a shopping mall every square foot has a price to it and we can calculate how much
41:03revenue we can get out of that space so we take some of the retail space again that price per square foot
41:11and we'll put in a specialty restaurant so what determines will we have a specialty restaurant or will we have
41:17a retail center is about the profitability and that is a huge balance if you decide to splash out at the
41:25specialty restaurant don't wait till you're on board when you book your cruise early on you can also choose
41:33what day you're eating in what restaurant so you can pre-book your table in those restaurants in the
41:39specialty restaurants and capacity is limited right but it's still going to be cheaper than
41:44deciding every day to go to a restaurant and pay on the day some cruise lines offer up to 30
41:51discount on pre-booking specialty dining packages but if you want to stick to the buffet
41:57included in your ticket price are you getting what you've paid for
42:03cruise lines spend around seven percent of our ticket price on food costs
42:08that works out at around 11 to 15 pounds per head per day which isn't very much one key way they
42:15manage it is by bulk buying on an enormous scale
42:25we have in total 155 pallets being loaded today for this cruise we have 1250 guests on board 550 crew
42:34members that needs at least three meals per day everything on this 11-day cruise to norway has been
42:42planned with military precision in order to keep costs under control there's no running back to the
42:49shops so hotel operations and procurement manager alien has to get the numbers right
42:54more than 20 000 fresh eggs will be delivered today on board ambition we need about 300 kilo per day
43:03of potatoes and the ship needs a similar weight in flour that's a whopping 3 000 kilos for the journey
43:13all meticulously packed in the limited storage space menus are created months in advance with careful
43:21attention to demographics and itineraries and on this ship the buck and the menus stop with executive chef
43:31kaja yes this is gonna be crumble almond crumble this is for the big jam cookies the banana cake then we
43:45have a pistachio cookies then we have shortbread then we have the dry cakes that's why the ship needed
43:51so much flour one way to save on storage space and costs is to freshly bake everything at sea
43:59that's every baked treat on board including the breakfast bread for the toaster
44:05we have four chef is working here 24 24 7 they are working now this is our chief baker he's preparing for
44:12the dough for the dough for the lunch
44:18can make for 36 roll because we are making more than 700 roll you see now crispy gonna be very nice
44:30from morning croissants and pastries to evening dinner rolls this floating bakery makes it all
44:36every day is monetary it's like they are busy all the time it's like this factory it's not for the
44:41bakery clearly it's going to be like a factory with freezer space reserved for meat and fish baking from
44:48scratch is the cheapest way to give cruisers their daily bread so amazingly even hundreds of miles from shore
44:56these scones will be every bit as fresh as back on land delicious and tremendous value
45:04it's a nice smell
45:08now you know the pastries are baked fresh at sea you'll want to leave a little room on your plate
45:13for a dessert or two you can thank me later the buffets are really really big so there's going to be
45:20pretty much everything that you could want to but there are some hidden options um especially vegetarian
45:27and vegan options it's like a secret menu i would say if if what you want isn't on the buffet just ask
45:34because they've probably got it and they're probably happy to give it to you anyway for even better value
45:39you could target the premium buffet items head to the seafood bars or the carving stations for prime ribs
45:45and roast pork and lamb but watch out for any sneaky surcharges on those big ticket items in the main dining room
45:57so there are ways to get a cruise holiday for less now you know how the industry works you can unlock
46:04amazing deals and see the world in style then sit back sipping a sea breeze on the sun deck
46:12safe in the knowledge that this voyage won't sink your wallet
46:21all episodes of bargain holiday secrets are available before anyone else on channel 4 plus
46:29george clark's here on thursday starting with an inherited wreck made gorgeous it's brand new building home at eight
46:42so
46:49you
46:51you
46:51you
46:51you
46:52you
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