00:00If there were bananas on the ship, that that meant that they were using the freezer for
00:03something else.
00:04Oh, this is so bad.
00:06Sometimes that meant that the morgue on the ship was full.
00:09I worked on cruise ships for four years.
00:11For two years.
00:12For about a year.
00:13Eight years.
00:14The fun thing about working on a cruise ship is meeting different people, traveling to
00:19different countries, trying different food, having different experiences.
00:28Sitting out on the balcony in the morning, in the evening, watching the sail aways, it's
00:32really epic.
00:33However, if that's not in your budget, it's totally fine also to get an inside cabin, which
00:37has, I know it's scary, no windows.
00:39But it's fine because you can hop up to the pool deck or there's a lot of different open
00:42decks where you can enjoy the view and they're really good about making sure there's chairs
00:45around the ship so you can sit down, read your book without having to pay for the full balcony
00:49experience.
00:50When you're looking to book a cruise, you should take a couple things into consideration.
00:53One, do you get seasick?
00:55If so, you want to be in the middle of the ship.
00:58Don't be at the forward.
00:59Don't be in the aft.
01:00That's the front and the back.
01:01You want to be right there in the middle because the water doesn't affect you so much.
01:04Also, if you do get claustrophobic, then you want to get a cabin with a balcony.
01:09That way you can get some fresh air.
01:11You can look at, you know, the world around you.
01:13You can look at the open seas and you don't feel so enclosed.
01:16Know what you're paying for.
01:17Know what's included.
01:18Know your package deals.
01:19Know if you're going to drink a lot.
01:21Get the drink package.
01:22I say unlimited drinks package is absolutely worth it.
01:25The drinks are like half the fun of vacation.
01:28And if you drink more than like four drinks a day, then it definitely is worth it in terms
01:32of the cost.
01:33Because specialty drinks like coffee or sodas often are extra as well.
01:37And like those are included in your drinks package.
01:39So I think, I think splurge on the drinks.
01:41If you're a light drinker and you don't really drink that much, you might have one drink
01:45with dinner, don't get the drink package.
01:47Just order your drinks individually.
01:49Now, if it's a bachelorette party or a divorce party, go ham.
01:54Do the shots, buy a bottle, pull it up, pull it up, drink till your heart is content.
01:59The wifi is also complicated.
02:01It's expensive.
02:02Even for the crew, it's expensive.
02:04So, you could, I suppose, work from the pool deck.
02:10But I think that's a blessing or a curse.
02:12Because you have the accessibility to work, but should you really be working?
02:17Probably not.
02:18It is 100% worth it to get wifi on board.
02:20I say that as a Gen Z person addicted to my phone.
02:23And I can say that with confidence, I am addicted to my phone.
02:26But I do think wifi is just important to have.
02:29I personally would not buy the wifi package.
02:31I don't think it's worth it.
02:32And also, depending on the different ports that you go to, there are cafes within the
02:37port in which you can go and buy a drink.
02:40And then you can connect to the wifi and you can contact whoever at home.
02:47Excursions.
02:48Okay.
02:48I want to take you back to maybe a little bit of trauma.
02:51Have you seen the TikToks where these pier runners, you've seen some passengers or some
02:57sailors running towards the pier as a ship slowly docks away.
03:00And the reason why they're late is because they booked a third party bootleg kind of
03:06tour that took them to butt nowhere, right?
03:10Hasta la vista, baby.
03:11If you book it through a third party, it's most likely going to be cheaper, which is great.
03:15But you don't have the added reassurance that if for some reason your tour is delayed or
03:19something, that the ship will cover you and they'll wait for you before sailing away.
03:22I actually have a crazy story about this.
03:24We tried to do our own excursion one day and not do the ship's version of the volcano hike.
03:31So we had a local in the port who volunteered to take us hiking to go see the volcano on
03:37his own accord.
03:38We had a lovely first two hours.
03:40We get to the first peak where we see the other cruise ship guests on their hike looking
03:47at a beautiful lookout point.
03:48And he was like, well, this is as far as they take you on the official cruise one.
03:52However, I'm going to take you to the top so you can see in the volcano.
03:56Well, after that, it was absolutely rogue.
03:59And we were free climbing, like sketchy branches, like coming out of the side of a very steep
04:06mountain.
04:07It was a lot of like boulder climbing.
04:09We finally found ourselves looking inside the volcano.
04:13And on the way back down, I slipped and fell on a rock and got hung up on my shirt.
04:18And I was literally hanging from a tree.
04:21The guy was like, just drop.
04:22I'll catch you.
04:22I'll catch you.
04:23And at that point, I had no other option.
04:25And so I dropped and I sliced my neck.
04:27I like still have a scar to this day.
04:29I think if you stay with the ship, you're more likely to have a more safe experience.
04:37The food on ships can be very good and it can also be very bad.
04:42For me, I never had a problem.
04:43It was delicious.
04:44The main problem was eating too much of it.
04:46It's a lot of buffets.
04:47And if you're someone who likes to eat, you're in big trouble because you can just keep going
04:51and going.
04:51My only advice there would be to wash your hands before eating.
04:55The pizza is 24 hours.
04:57We had 24 hour pizza and 24 hour ice cream on my ship.
05:02And if you're a guest, you get 24 hour room service.
05:06So for nothing else, go for the 24 hour free pizza, free room service and free ice cream.
05:12French fries.
05:13I think French fries are a solid bet.
05:16French fries are important because it's the one thing you can eat any time of day.
05:22And if you're feeling queasy, it's the one thing that'll settle your stomach.
05:26So it's like it's quintessential food when you're on a cruise.
05:28I would definitely recommend getting restaurant reservations on any ship you go on because
05:33generally from what I've heard through the grapevine, that is where you'll get the best
05:37food.
05:38I think if you notice something odd with the food, you know, like there's a lot of bananas
05:43today.
05:44Sometimes mean they're, well, okay, this is, this is like ship gossip, but we were told
05:49if there were bananas on the ship that that meant that they were using the freezer for
05:52something else.
05:53And like, Oh, this is so bad.
05:55Sometimes that meant that the morgue on the ship was full.
05:59So they would put the produce freezer.
06:02They would take everything out and put someone in there.
06:08So when packing for your cruise, this is what you need.
06:10You want to add a medicine kit to your luggage, something with allergy medicine, sinus medicine,
06:16and acids, anything that's going to make you feel better in case you get a little cold
06:21or you get an upset stomach.
06:22I started to pack antibacterial wipes, like Lysol wipes, just to wipe down the surfaces.
06:28Shower shoes.
06:29Do not forget your shower shoes.
06:31Bikinis, your best outfits.
06:33I love to wear a flip flop.
06:34I don't like to walk around a room that people have been in, even though they're thoroughly
06:37cleaned.
06:38It's a carpeted room.
06:39You don't know what's stuck in there.
06:40You can buy a lot of different things on board.
06:41There's usually like some luxury fashion stores and then a store with like snacks and like
06:47things like plugs, chargers, whatever, but you're paying way more money, of course.
06:51Well, I have a hacker tip.
06:52That's not my hacker tip.
06:53I heard it through the grapevine, so I don't want to get in trouble, but most cruise lines
06:58will allow you to bring on a bottle of wine, right?
07:01Or two.
07:01It depends on the line.
07:03I've heard some people put liquor in those wine bottles.
07:07So then you have more alcohol to last you through the ship and through your time.
07:11So if you want to hack and you aren't scared of getting caught, some people say you should
07:17put liquor in a wine bottle.
07:19Some people say that.
07:20Bring a great attitude, bring a smile, bring good energy, and bring some cash to tip your
07:26favorite crew members.
07:30I definitely think when you are booking a cruise, you must get the app.
07:34Whatever app the cruise line has, you should get it.
07:36Because some people don't like to be involved in activities.
07:39Like my mom is very big on her vacation.
07:41She wants to lay down in a lounge chair.
07:44You know, I get that.
07:45But when you're on that ship, there's so many shows.
07:48There's so many like free activities, like where you can get some free booze.
07:52Like on our cruise line, they would have these things you could sign up for.
07:55And it's like, oh, if you did this game, you could maybe get complimentary champagne.
07:59I think people are missing out on the shows.
08:01Oftentimes I hear people don't go to the shows.
08:03I guess I'm biased because I was a cruise ship performer.
08:05We had a Broadway theater where we were doing Broadway caliber production shows.
08:09Olympic ice skaters, like doing full-on beautiful ice dance shows.
08:13A show where like an airplane flies out over the audience.
08:16Go see the shows.
08:17Take advantage of the specialty restaurants.
08:20Take advantage of the spa and attend the shows.
08:23When it comes to sports activities, we deliver everything.
08:27Try to book it in advance.
08:29Like they got booked out.
08:30We still have like as a manager, I try to make sure I got, I still have some slots open
08:35for the people that don't book in advance.
08:36Yeah, a big recommendation is try to book in advance to make sure you can enjoy when I got on
08:40board.
08:40Talk to people, put yourself out there, join a class, go, go to the wine tasting, go do all that
08:46stuff.
08:46There's cooking classes.
08:47You can do all of it.
08:48And it's oftentimes included.
08:50So take advantage of that because you're not getting it for free on land, you know?
08:54Cruises are so unique because you can pick your own vacation.
08:58If you like to chill, you can chill.
09:00Go to the library, check out a book, go to Lido Deck, read, have a cup of coffee and just
09:05sunbathe all day.
09:06If you want to turn up, go to the comedy club, go to the nightclub, go to bingo because I
09:11make it fun.
09:12We have cigar bars.
09:13We have so much live entertainment on board.
09:17You can dance.
09:18There's karaoke.
09:18You can sing, you can drink, you can gamble.
09:22You can really do whatever you want.
09:24You could go to the shows.
09:25You could go to the trivias.
09:27I am a whiz at Michael Jackson trivia, okay?
09:30So do all the things if you want.
09:33But if you don't want to do anything, that's fine too.
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