5 Cruises To Stay Far, Far Away From. And Why!

I told my friends not to book the cruise as it was one that I keep warning cruisers to stay well clear of as they almost always disappoint. But they insisted and sadly, three days before they were due to depart, what I feared would happen did. It was cancelled.

I’m Gary Bembridge and I’m here to warn you about this and 5 cruises I suggest you NEVER book, along with tips of what to do instead - or how to reduce your risk if you really do want to do them.

For bonus & exclusive content (including videos, articles, eBooks and more) become a channel member or patron:
---------------------------------------------------

Check out my cruise-themed T-shirts and products:
---------------------------------------------------

My social media:
---------------------------------------------------

ABOUT TIPS FOR TRAVELLERS: If you want to get cruising right, Tips For Travellers makes it easy to plan and have the incredible cruise experiences you dream of every time. All my Tips For Travellers advice, tips and tricks tips draw on everything that I have learnt on the 101 cruises I have done to date.

#cruisetips #CruisingTips #CruiseTipsAndTricks

00:00 Start
01:08 Maiden
03:46 Dry Dock
05:48 Peak
07:50 Taster
09:23 Themed

[prsanfrancisco]

25 years of working on all classes of ships- this video is spot on

[dgw]

A motorcycle themed cruise-ship is funny to me. Like... let's go to the one place we cant do the thing we like to do. 😅

[midwestkatie]

For some reason the major cruise lines think that a cruise is akin to a dinner reservation. For most people it is not. It is an expensive treat that is planned sometimes years in advance. Canceled cruises after passengers book and pay are, except for true emergencies, inexcusable.

[lynnmccurdythehdmmrc]

As we have cruised more and more over the last 15 years. We prefer smaller, older and longer voyages. Days at sea and less ports are more inviting to us. We did a Hawaiian Holiday cruise years ago, that was almost a nightmare. Families with lots of children running loose was not fun. Had a crew member whisper to me "If you trip them, we won't say anything".

[danielintheantipodes]

I only travel off season because I do not like crowds! I will remember these tips if I eventually go on a cruise! Thank you for the video.

[calumshaw]

When browsing potential cruises on their web sites, the lines should make it clear there is a big block booking or a theme on that cruise. It may deter some from booking, but surely paying passengers should know of possible adverse cruising conditions.

[kathywest]

Great tips Gary! I love shoulder season cruises 👍 Most always good weather and way less crowds!

[sjholmesbrown]

My wife and I are booked on a Royal Carribean Voyager of the Seas cruise in the Mediterranean in next years late May shoulder. Our first cruise was our Honeymoon and this time we'll be on board for our 15th Anniversary! Good to know we're in for a less crazy time of year, looking forward to it.

[KK-FL]

The tip about searching for group cruises is great!

[kathryncashner]

Even worse than the maiden voyage of a ship is the maiden voyage of a new cruise line. In addition to all the "growing pains" of a new ship, you'll find the company executives closing off large areas of the ship to throw themselves private parties, etc. At least on a new ship, a good portion of the crew has come from other ships in that line. On a new line, NO ONE knows what they are doing! Great video, as usual.

[DCYote]

Weekend cruises were fun for me when I lived in Southern California, it was a nice and relatively inexpensive weekend getaway since the port was within train/bus distance and all you needed was a carryon sized bag but you're right, it's definitely more of a party vibe, though it did get me interested in taking longer cruises.

I was once on a NCL cruise that had a bunch of "furries" on it, and that was a fun and interesting time. Some real "party animals" there, haha and I had a great time with them. But I can see how that might have been off putting to some people who were looking for a more quiet, relaxed experience.

Love your videos, Gary. keep up the good work!

[crimlarksSteve]

I was surprised to see that only 3 out of 10 cruises on a new ship weren’t cancelled or rescheduled. Not a vey good record. And to add the higher cost, makes those definitely ones to avoid. Good tips Gary!

[quicksilver]

My wife and I are booked on the Sun Princess in May 2025 sailing the Mediterranean. We've never been on a maiden voyage. The titanic cured us of that 😅

[davis]

Good information as always. My wife and I love the weekend cruises. We live close enough to easily drive to most Florida ports and it is easier to fit those trips around our work schedules. We are not booze hounds or wild party people. Having been on 25+ cruises over the years our experience is that there are misbehaving people on cruises of every length and demographic.

[CruizinGal]

Best cruise review EVER. So tired of gurus telling folks what lines they should or shouldn’t sail. There is a cruise line for everyone: party animals, family/kid friendly, older/seasoned cruisers, etc. This review presented situations (new ship, maintenance, hurricane season) that you need to be aware of when booking. He did NOT say cruise line ABC is great but XYZ is terrible. What’s great for the reviewer us not necessarily best for the individual watching the video.

Haven’t run across your channel before but just subscribed. Love your balanced approach vs trying to push your favorite cruise line/ ship on your audience like so many other do. Keep up the good work

[leslie-annepepin]

We did the maiden voyage of the Oosterdam. We had our rooms upgraded and it was excellent!! Always enjoy Holland America. Like the smaller size.

[Mister]

I agree with all of those other than Drydock. My family went on a post-Drydock cruise and yes, some things went wrong but the compensation the cruise line (Carnival in this case) went above and beyond to compensate us. This was a 16-day post-drydock cruise which ended up costing us about $800AUD each when the combinations of compensation elements were added up. Things were inconvenient for boarding (the ship ran 4 hours late) and for the first couple of days of the cruise but overall, paying $3200AUD for my family to cruise from Singapore to Sydney via Indonesia was well worth it

[scottthemagicalguy]

I agree 100%. Unfortunately, we booked onto the 4th trip to avoid the first couple trips but due to the cancellations we were on one of the 2nd cruse. The staff and services were good as those bugs were sorted out. However, as you mentioned the production shows were not ready and they substituted other entertainment to compensate. Our other constraint was that the other folks we were traveling with had a small window to travel in. As I mentioned I do not want an inaugural trip. Personally, I prefer to wait until the ship has miles behind her.

[ianleaver]

I did the maiden voyage on Queen Mary 2 and vowed never again, these days I wait until the ship has been running for about a year. That’s why I’m booked on Queen Anne for June 2025 to give the ship and crew time to settle in.

[Midlander]

Gary, you ought to be on TV discussing these topics with a wide audience. Good, impartial information.