Cruises - For everyone in the family!

Where to Next? with Neil and Sunila Patil

This episode of Where to Next? provides a comprehensive guide to navigating the complex world of cruising, from room selection to budgeting.

Key takeaways

• Disney Cruise offers tiered accommodations ranging from inside staterooms to concierge suites with dedicated butler services.
• MSC Cruises features 'kids go free' promotions for children up to 17 years old on specific sailings.

Main topics

• Cruise stateroom types
• Budgeting for port charges and gratuities

Notable quotes

Cruises are super confusing.

Conclusion

The episode serves as a valuable toolkit for anyone looking to transit

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:00) Hi everyone, welcome to another episode of our travel podcast, Where to Next. Now, today we are going to talk about something that everyone's been talking about. There is the new Disney cruise that is sailing from Singapore. And if you really check your Instagram and if there's anything travel related on your Instagram, I'm sure you've seen one reel at least about people talking about what you can do on a Disney cruise, what you shouldn't do, tips, tricks and everything. So, with... Cruises being the flavour of the season, we thought this episode should be dedicated to cruises. And let me tell you, cruises are super confusing and that's why you can see us sitting here with two laptops because There are more than a thousand activities you can do on a cruise. There are probably more than 50 types of rooms that exist on a cruise. And as you go deeper into finding out something about the cruise that you want to go on, you start getting confused. So we thought, let's pick Sunila's brain and find out some tips, find out some tricks and everything that you need to know before you go on your cruise holiday. So Sunila. Let me start by asking which was the first ever cruise you went on? Speaker 1 (1:13) You know, Neil, I started with cruising. I think I started with one of the best places to go cruising. It was a Caribbean cruise, the West Caribbean cruise. It was a seven nights cruise and it was just amazing. Like seven nights on the cruise, the first ever cruise that I did. What made it even better that this was during the New Year's. Okay. So I really enjoyed that. And this Speaker 2 (1:35) was from Miami in the US? Fort Speaker 1 (1:38) Lauderdale. and then you do a round trip and you come back. Speaker 2 (1:41) So for the longest time, cruising has been thought of as a type of holiday that you can do in the Americas or Europe. Of course, from Singapore, we had Star Cruises, we had the Genting Cruises. In India, we had many of the Cordelia Cruises. But I was just researching about the Disney Cruise this morning and you know, if you want to book a Disney Cruise, you... One, you decide that okay I want to go on a cruise and then you start researching about the room that you want to stay in. And if you just browse the website, you will find that there is an inside stateroom, there is an ocean view stateroom, there is an outer stateroom, there is something called a concierge stateroom, there is something called a veranda stateroom. Now, on the face of it, these are just five types of rooms. But as I dug deeper, the website tells you that in the inside state room which means that there is no balcony there is no window there's just one hole that you know you can look out from you have something that is a standard and a deluxe then if you like look at the ocean view room you have an ocean view room with a veranda yeah without a veranda you have rooms on the upper deck which face inward which means you're looking inside the atrium of the ship right then you have something called the suite but the sweet comes with a concierge. Speaker 1 (3:03) And Speaker 2 (3:03) as you dig deeper, it starts getting confusing. So... Instead of talking about the cruise liners or the major cruise liners of the world, which would have been an apt start to the podcast, I would say let's talk about how accommodation or how do the rooms work on a cruise. So if someone is looking at the Disney cruise liner, what are some of the things that you would want them to be mindful of? Because here, it's not only about the price. Your holiday depends on the room that you pick, right? And we have heard of disasters in the past. Tell me a little bit about this. Speaker 1 (3:39) Sure, Neil. I think I'm so glad you started with this because I've heard this statement a lot of times from everyone that I don't care about the room. Even whether it's cruise or even when they're selecting hotels, it doesn't matter because we're going to be out all day. This sounds good in theory, but when you actually are on your holiday and you enter the room and then you see maybe it has no view, maybe it's small, it's smaller than what you expected. There are a lot of things that are important when selecting a room to make sure your holiday goes well, right? So we think we're going to be out all day, but that you need a good night's sleep to enjoy the next day. So it's really important to choose a room well, and there are lots of options when it comes to rooms. So I would say, of course, at the start, you know, when you just look at it, the inside stateroom looks cheaper. And it is definitely cheaper than the other rooms. But you have to decide what you're going to be doing. You have to decide what is it that you want. Now one of the things a lot of people say when they go cruising is that I might feel like I'm locked in on the cruise and I don't have somewhere else to go. And for me, I feel it's really important when I go, I want to see where I am. So when I want to see where I am, for me the inside stateroom is just out. Yeah, it's not a point of consideration. It's Speaker 2 (4:57) not Speaker 1 (4:57) a point of consideration. But for many people, if there are, say, you know, many couples traveling together or friends traveling together who don't care about where they are and they just want to save money so they can spend on something else, then the inside state room makes sense. Then you take that and you really then are spending your time outside the room all the time. But for me, I want to see where I am. So, I don't even start at the inside state room. Ocean view. I would start with that. And I remember when I was in Antarctica, I had a porthole and I could keep looking out, which was the best part. Of course, now when we book Antarctica, we are starting at the balcony level because you want to enjoy that, right? Correct. So I think when you want to save money, but you also want to be able to see out. then the porthole or the ocean view makes sense because then you're not spending that much but you also know where you're going and it's fun to see the cruise leaving the port, coming into the port, all of that is also fun. Plus, maybe you see some, you know, sea life when you're traveling or you see other things when you're on the cruise. And it just brings in more light into the room. So, definitely, ocean view is good. If you want some more space, you want to be out on the deck or you enjoy a morning cup without having to go to the restaurant, you want to have your tea or something like that, then the balcony room is the best because it gives you that space to go out. Also, like anywhere else, the... cruise cabins are going to be smaller than a hotel room right for Speaker 2 (6:25) the larger for the larger cruise liners so Speaker 1 (6:28) having that balcony and being able to keep that window open will always give you that sense that the room is larger and it just gives you more space now if you're a multi-generational family you can also uh request for uh cabins which are interconnecting some of the cruise liners do have that option as well right or you can choose a suite room Or you can like there are many cruise liners with bigger rooms, suite rooms. So all of that you can just go on adding up to what you want. The concierge level is another level altogether. You will have a dedicated butler. And this is true of many other cruise liners as well. They will have different names for it. But it basically means there's a person at your back end call. You just have to press a... you know, a bell and they will bring you whatever you want. You don't have to go looking. They will plan your excursions. It's like your concierge just for you to plan your entire holiday on that ship. So, say there are certain things to be booked and done, the concierge will do all of that. I Speaker 2 (7:27) think people often mistake, like if you look at the Disney cruises, right, the price bump from a deluxe ocean view stateroom with veranda or balcony to a regular or a room with a concierge is massive. Speaker 1 (7:43) And Speaker 2 (7:44) people often say that, you know, concierge rooms are only bigger rooms. But that's a misconception. Like you mentioned, they plan everything. And on a cruise when there are 4,000, 5,000 people, I don't know whether you've come across it, but I'm sure anyone watching this would have come across different videos or write-ups where they say that these crews can be crowded. Speaker 1 (8:05) People Speaker 2 (8:05) can be queuing up for the kids' play area to get into. just lunch places. So the concierge, the butler service plans your entire itinerary, ensures that you don't have to queue up anywhere. And on these cruises, there are some exclusive areas, right? You want to have access to those areas. Otherwise, it can feel crowded. And that is where that one myth comes in, right? People say cruises are often crowded. Cruises may be crowded, but at the same time, if you plan it well, and if you spend, I would not say a little extra, if you spend extra, get this concierge and you'll probably have a better holiday. Speaker 1 (8:41) I would say if you can, you have the means to spend, then please have a look at that and then decide. You should always weigh in that, yes, I can do this because even for a lot of activities or other shows that are included on the cruise, there's going to be limited capacity. It's free, but it still needs to be booked. Especially the days that you are at high sea, when you're not landing somewhere, you have like the whole day free to enjoy the cruise because you want to enjoy the cruise. You're on the cruise with so much entertainment and other things. But like even if you want to have a massage, it needs to be booked. So when you have a concierge, they will plan this whole thing. They will book it for you. It does make a lot of sense. Another point to consider, Neel, is especially families with younger kids. Speaker 2 (9:26) Right? Speaker 1 (9:26) So a lot of cruises... They give you kids go free. Speaker 2 (9:31) Okay. Speaker 1 (9:31) So on certain sailings, like say even MSC Cruises, kids go free up to 17 years. Oh, Speaker 2 (9:36) nice. Speaker 1 (9:36) But third and fourth person sharing in the room. So you can have two kids free, but you have to be sharing the same room. Speaker 2 (9:43) But that can be very, the room is small. So if you Speaker 1 (9:46) opt for a bigger room, it just makes it so much better. So it'll ultimately be cheaper than taking two inside state rooms to go up a category. But, you know, get a bigger category and still the kids go free. They have to pay port charges but it's a lot of discounts. So when you're going as a family and you have younger kids even, take a little higher room category and you'll be so much happier. Speaker 2 (10:09) So that port charges you mentioned, I'm going to put a pin in it and keep it on the side because that's going to be the next point. But, okay, one thing is selecting the room, right? I've also heard that you should be mindful of which floor you are on. Speaker 1 (10:22) Yes. Speaker 2 (10:23) and whether you are at the front of the ship, the rear of the ship or in the middle of the ship, right? How do you decide? Because when I go to a hotel, I know that I'm getting a deluxe room, Speaker 1 (10:34) but Speaker 2 (10:35) they don't tell me what it is. I've heard that cruises give you a room number. Is that true for all ships? Speaker 1 (10:41) Almost pretty much true for almost every ship and I think that is a huge advantage of a cruise holiday because very often you have people like say you know parents and children but the children are adult children and even when we've traveled together we've tried to get rooms next to each other or interconnecting and every hotel tells you I can't give this to you now I will only be able to confirm this when you check in Speaker 2 (11:03) which Speaker 1 (11:03) is like you're in this for a surprise you get it you don't get it. One of the advantages of cruises is that think of it as limited room inventory, right? There are only so many rooms on the cruise. So they have to sell all of those. So when you're booking and when you're confirming, you can have a confirmed cabin number. So you actually know I'm going to be on this deck at this level ahead. behind wherever it is so you can always give your preferences and then the cruise liner will come back to you and say that this is what is available and choose which one you want so i would say the best way to choose um is kind of in the middle avoid the lower decks but then the lower decks are going to be cheaper so if you want to save some money get that because some people who don't like to be close to the engine Speaker 2 (11:50) Yeah. You Speaker 1 (11:51) know, that is usually on the lower decks. So, those rooms are cheaper definitely. But if you don't want that, then take in the mid-level. Some people enjoy the view from the top. So, they want the higher decks. So, it's up to you. And then usually, I mean, honestly, the cruises are so big that you don't really feel the bumps. They are just moving Speaker 2 (12:10) cities. Speaker 1 (12:11) But sometimes people do find that in the front, it can get a little bumpier. Now, I would say it depends on who's travelling. And again, multi-generational families or senior citizens try and position close to the elevators so that you don't have to keep walking down the aisles in the cruises all the time. So, the closer you are to the central area or the elevator, you walk less, right? So, that happens. And then it again depends where you want to be, but you can definitely request. And once you confirm, you get a confirmed cabin number, you know exactly where you're staying. So, that really works well for cruises. So, Sreena, Speaker 2 (12:46) like, A few years ago, one of my friends kind of experienced this where, you know, we spoke