— Free cruise offers and big spenders

SPEAKER_04 0:00

People think that only the big spenders get offered the free cruises.

unknown 0:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 0:05

Not true. Like Anne said, she has only spent like a hundred dollars one time in there. And uh we have gotten more than one free cruise offer that all you have to do is pay the taxes for the room itself. Wow and everything else is free. Yes. So and case in point, we just did a cruise um in June,

— The Iceland, Ireland, and Scotland cruise

SPEAKER_04 0:29

and we went out of Dover and went to Ireland, Scotland, and Iceland. It was 12 nights, and we only spent $250 each for that 12-night cruise. And that included all of our food, everything for 12 nights.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

Welcome to the Truly Expat Travel Podcast. I'm your host, Paula, and this is season two. On season one, I talk to expats about their favorite holiday destination.

— Welcome to season two

SPEAKER_01 0:59

On season two, I'll be doing things very differently. I'll be chatting to expats about where they currently live, why they chose that destination, all those secret hidden gems that only locals know, you know, like favorite restaurants, best neighborhoods, things that tourists don't. Welcome to the Truly Expat Travel Podcast. I'm your host, Paula, and today I have two really exciting guests. So

— Introducing Shannon and Anne

SPEAKER_01 1:25

I only just met them, but I feel like I've known them all my life. Shannon and Anne are two fantastic women that are going to talk to you about and and well, something I don't know anything about. So it's about cruising and cruisers. So let's get started. Welcome, Shannon and Anne. Let's hear all about you two and how you became what you are and why you like to cruise.

SPEAKER_04 1:48

Thank you so much, Paula, for having us.

SPEAKER_05 1:50

Yes, this is so exciting.

SPEAKER_04 1:52

Exactly. So I guess I'll go first.

— Shannon and Anne’s podcast

SPEAKER_04 1:55

Yes. So Stu, you get it started. I'm Shannon, and I am actually the host of a podcast called Travel Time Stories with Shannon. And on our podcast, we talk about anything and everything. We have people guests on to share their personal life stories in the hopes that other people can connect with those and get some type of healing in their own lives from hearing those stories. And we also discuss travel as well.

SPEAKER_05 2:22

And I'm Ann. I am out of Missouri.

— Real people, real stories

SPEAKER_05 2:25

I am the co-host on on Shannon's podcast. And like she said, we have a lot of really amazing guests that we interview, and we just hope to help or change one life or you know, for somebody to hear a story and say, that's me. And gosh, this person made it through by doing this. Maybe, maybe I could too.

SPEAKER_01 2:47

So I love that. I actually really love that. I think it's a unique way of of listening to stories rather than you interview one person about the amazing there's a there's a place for everything, but you know, there's mo many podcasts about stories, about amazing things that people do, but your podcast is so it's real. You know, like you you took talking to real people about real stories, which I really love, by the way. Thank you. So you're welcome. It's so yeah, so go and have a listen. I'll put all those information in the pot in the show notes anyway. So if anyone wants to have a listen, they can hop on over there. So how

— How they got into cruising

SPEAKER_01 3:24

did you two get together and start going on cruises? Because I'd like to know I'm so interested in cruising, obviously, because I've never done it, but also I'd like to know how you got started in this whole journey of cruising.

SPEAKER_05 3:36

Well, I had never been on a cruise before. But the year or so before, Shannon and her husband went on a cruise to Alaska. And when she came back and told me everything about the cruise, she was like, I'm gonna book us one. Yeah, this next year we're we're gonna go.

— Falling in love with cruising

SPEAKER_05 3:53

And that's how it started. We I went on my first cruise and was like, oh my god, I love this. I love being able to get on that ship and to relax, not have to worry about driving anywhere. They take me everywhere, they feed me, they pamper me. I love it. I'm I'm addicted. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:11

And what took you to Shannon, you went on the first one. So what made you decide to go on a cruise? And how was it? Alaska's gotta be one of those up there with the best cruises in the world, right?

SPEAKER_04 4:21

It's one

— Alaska as the first cruise

SPEAKER_04 4:22

of the one of the top cruises and and one of my favorites of the ones that we have been on. My husband and I wanted to do a cruise for our anniversary, and neither one of us had ever been on a cruise, and his dream has always been to go to Alaska. And so I thought, well, the cheapest and best way is to hop on a cruise ship. And I love the fact that I only had to put a small deposit down, and I did this a year ahead of when we wanted to cruise. And then I just made small payments

— Why cruising feels so easy

SPEAKER_04 4:51

every month until it was paid off months before we actually even left for the cruise. So it was basically by the time we left and got on the ship, everything was paid for. We didn't have any other out-of-pocket expenses. We had already paid for everything. And yeah, you get on the ship, and the first thing is for me that I love the most and and never gets old is walking up the gangway to actually get on the ship for the first time. It's a

— Walking onto the ship for the first time

SPEAKER_04 5:20

whole experience in and of itself. Yes. And then when you step from the gangway onto that deck of the ship, and you see the beautiful with chandeliers everywhere, and music is playing, and there's a line of people to greet you and welcome you aboard. And yeah, you just it makes you feel like a celebrity.

unknown 5:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 5:41

And I love that.

SPEAKER_01 5:43

Yeah. I'm feeling like love boat. You're giving me those love boats for those who know remember the love boat, those vibes.

— The budget-friendly appeal of cruising

SPEAKER_04 5:50

Plus, it's exactly 100% like you saw on the love boat when you get on the cruise ship. It is, it is.

SPEAKER_05 5:57

Plus, it's a really good way to see so many destinations and stay within your budget. If you want to fly to six different ports and stay the night or whatever, go to the next port. It's just it's a really budget-friendly, family-friendly way to travel.

SPEAKER_01 6:15

And I I like how Shannon, when you were saying

— “Girl math” on cruise costs

SPEAKER_01 6:18

that you, you know, you paid off before you go there. To me, that's girl math, right? The trip is actually free because when you get on there, you don't remember that what you've paid, right? Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 6:28

That's what I say. Exactly. And then the other thing is once you're on the ship, you don't pay like when you buy stuff on the ship, you're not paying handing money over to somebody. You have

— Paying onboard with ship cards

SPEAKER_04 6:41

your little ship card and you scan your little ship card, and you know, that's how it goes. And you can either put a cash deposit down to cover any charges that you're gonna make, like you would at a hotel when you put your card on file or whatever for expenditures, kind of the same way. You can either put a credit card on file to cover your expenses, or they'll let you put a cash deposit. And

— Using gift cards for cruise expenses

SPEAKER_04 7:05

for me, I get gift cards from time to time as a travel agent. And the last cruise that we went on, I used all of my gift cards to cover all of my expense. I I gave them my gift cards ahead of time and they put that into my account. And so, really, uh again, it was free. Everything I bought on board because it was covered by my gift card. I love that. I love that. Jump be. No, don't worry. So, somebody that has never cruised before,

— Will you get bored on a cruise?

SPEAKER_04 7:35

that may be nervous about it or not unsure whether they would like it or not. The things that we hear most most often and people ask us about one is, am I gonna get bored on a cruise ship? Because I'm in the middle of the ocean, there's nothing around me, you know, what is there to do? How am I not gonna get bored? And I my response to them is if you can get bored on a cruise ship, then there's another problem happening because there is so much that

— Activities, spa, trivia, and dining

SPEAKER_04 8:04

they offer in the way of activities, shows that you can go to, and that you can have, like cooking classes and things like that, photography classes, you name it.

SPEAKER_05 8:16

Games on on the deck, games on the deck, I mean, for everyone to participate in.

SPEAKER_04 8:22

Yeah, you and then you have the spa. So if you're not into doing activities, there's the spa and the spa is amazing. Yeah, they have the trivia. They have a lot of trivia, and there's so many different restaurants and places to eat on the ship, not just the main dining room. They have other little restaurants beside that that you can go and have a meal at. So variety of choices. They have hibachi, Mexican food, street food, all kinds of stuff, burgers, anything you can think of, pretty much.

SPEAKER_05 8:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 8:58

Ice cream 24-7. So if you're an ice cream person, that's

— Bars, bingo, and casino tips

SPEAKER_04 9:04

me. Yeah, exactly. And then there's so many different bars that you can go to with different music types and vibes. And also, if you like bingo, they have bingo on board. And there's the casino. So even if you're not a casino person, it's fun. Ann and I like to go in there and just put like five dollars in the machine and just sit and push the buttons and watch everything light up. I mean, for a few minutes.

SPEAKER_05 9:32

So and here's the tip for you if you you do not have to be a big player in the casino. We're not.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 9:41

I think the most I spent in the casino in one day out of all of our cruises was $100 one night on this stupid machine that I really hate. Still hate to this day. Anyway, so yeah, just going in there daily and dropping in a little bit of money when you get home, you will get emails and they will offer you players. Yeah, players

— Free cruise offers from casino play

SPEAKER_05 10:04

club tips. So you'll get discounts, you know, free drinks. We'll give you $250 onboard credit. Yes, you'll get offers that way.

SPEAKER_01 10:13

Yes.

SPEAKER_04 10:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

That's a great tip. That's a really nice tip.

SPEAKER_04 10:17

And a lot of people think that only the big spenders get offered the free cruises.

SPEAKER_01 10:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 10:23

Not true. Like Anna said, she has only spent like $100 one time in there, and we have gotten more than one free cruise offer that all you have

— Cheap twelve-night cruise example

SPEAKER_04 10:34

to do is pay the taxes for the room itself. And everything else is free. Yes. So and case in point, we just did a cruise in June, and we went out of Dover and went to Ireland, Scotland, and Iceland. It was 12 nights, and we only spent $250 each for that 12-night cruise. And that included all of our food, everything for 12 nights.

SPEAKER_01 11:03

Wow. I could see why I can see the why people go for that. Allure.

SPEAKER_05 11:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 11:10

Because could you get a hotel for that price for 12 nights?

SPEAKER_01 11:14

No. Well, no, for one night maybe. That's about it. Right.

unknown 11:17

Exactly.

SPEAKER_04 11:18

And you couldn't even get food for 12 nights for $250. No.

SPEAKER_01 11:22

No. Correct. Wow. That's that's very interesting. And is it just one so do you belong do you kind of just connect with one cruise line and you get all these

— Loyalty programs and cruise lines

SPEAKER_01 11:32

offers, or you try out different cruise kind of brands and lines that doesn't matter?

SPEAKER_04 11:39

There are some people that are loyal to one certain brand and that's all they cruise with, and they have moved way up in status for, you know, because each each brand has their loyalty program just like the airlines do, you know. So if you use that brand, you move up in the loyalty program and get, you know, benefits and whatnot, you know, little perks for doing that. Ann and I have one cruise line that we have cruised on more than others. However, that's not the cruise line that is our favorite by any means.

SPEAKER_01 12:11

Excuse me.

SPEAKER_04 12:12

And so So, yes, we we bounce around different cruise lines. We pick based on their itineraries and the dates that match, you know, when we're available

— Try different cruise lines first

SPEAKER_04 12:25

to go and the pricing, you know, what kind of offers we have, that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01 12:29

And if someone wanted to go down this path and they wanted to do, say, one cruise a year, would you suggest that they be loyal to one cruise line? Or do you think the way you do it is probably the best way so you get a taste of all different or give it all different options?

SPEAKER_04 12:43

I would suggest that you try different cruise lines, especially because with cruising, it's all about what each cruise line has a different vibe and a different different demographics and and that kind of thing that cruise on specific cruise lines. And so in order to kind of figure out which which one matches your vibe and what you're looking for, you know, I suggest trying out different ones. Or if you want to know specifically which cruise line, you know, like you know what you're looking for, and you want to know which cruise line matches that vibe, then by all means reach out to us, we'll let you know

— Different ship sizes and adults-only cruises

SPEAKER_04 13:22

because I can tell you every cruise line and what yeah what the vibe is, what the demographics are, and whether that would match what you're looking for or not. Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_01 13:31

That's awesome. Okay, that's actually a great tip because you don't know when you especially it's your first time, you have no idea. Exactly. And do you think it's somewhere?

SPEAKER_04 13:42

Sorry, go. I was just gonna say, and they have the different size cruise ships as well. And depending the different sizes offer different things on board. And in addition to that, they have the adults-only cruises too, where if you want to go on a cruise and you don't want a bunch of kiddos on board on your cruise, then I would suggest, you know, trying out Virgin Voyages. They're an adults-only cruise, so you have to be 18 and older to sail on their ships. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Okay. That's a good nice. Yeah, because sometimes I mean when I had kids, all I did

— Older demographic and quiet nights

SPEAKER_01 14:19

was fun family stuff, but now that I'm an empty nestar, you don't always want someone else's little kids jumping around or uh next to you. It's not that I don't like little kids. I do.

SPEAKER_05 14:29

I like No, I'm I'm the same. I'm the same. I love kids. But yeah, sometimes on vacation I No, I just want adults, you know, calm time.

SPEAKER_01 14:39

Yeah, yeah, calm. Uh more of a calm, calm ship.

SPEAKER_05 14:43

That's probably so we went on this one cruise line, right? It was my first time. I think I don't know if it was Shanna's first time or not, but the vibe was a much older demographic, okay? It's more more my age and up. And uh by nine o'clock, the entire cruise ship was shut down. Everybody was in bed. But us. We were up, we went to the casino. We actually could play any machine we wanted. We got drinks, we chatted with the staff, we had the best time. Yeah. So that was a really fun and interesting cruise. Also, very good food on that one. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:22

That's funny. That is funny. Because I think for most people my age, we want to get up early. We don't want to have lot lots of late nights, but the whole cruise ship, that's that's interesting.

SPEAKER_05 16:00

Yeah, it was very interesting. We'd never encountered that before because the other line that we had sailed lines were not that way. So yeah, this this was it's kind of awesome.

SPEAKER_04 16:12

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 16:14

Have you ever done the smaller?

SPEAKER_04 16:17

Oh, the smaller ships?

SPEAKER_01 16:18

Yeah, have you done small, small ships?

SPEAKER_04 16:20

Yes, we've done small ships and we've done the

— Small ships vs big ships

SPEAKER_04 16:23

really big ships. The major ships. I will yeah, and I will have to say that for me personally, I prefer the middle class ship, like not the super small. It is and definitely not the huge large ones, but those that are right mid-size. They give you everything that you're looking for without being too much, where like the larger ships, you spend so much time walking to try to get to somewhere that you're wanting to go

— Huge ships and all the walking

SPEAKER_04 16:50

to that by the time you get there, you're wore out just from walking on the cruise.

SPEAKER_05 16:55

Yeah, agree. We're talking 30,000 steps a day minimum, just to get from breakfast to lunch to dinner to go to a show. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 17:06

Wow. Wow, that's it was a lot.

SPEAKER_05 17:09

It was a lot.

SPEAKER_04 17:10

It was a lot. I mean, we enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun. They had so many options, but for us, you know, we're we're wanting to chill and rest, and I don't want to have to walk, you know, two or three miles to get to some food or whatever.

SPEAKER_02 17:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 17:27

Yeah, the 55,000 step day did us in. We were like, we're done. Oh wow. No more. Wow.

SPEAKER_01 17:33

That's huge. That's like walking the camino. Oh yeah, right. So do you do you know what to pack before you go? Like do they give you a packing list or do you have anything?

SPEAKER_04 17:46

Well, they don't they don't supply you with the packing list. You know pretty much like

— What to pack for cruises

SPEAKER_04 17:51

clothes-wise what you're gonna need based on you know what destinations you're going to. Like when I went to Alaska, we packed, you know, like winter clothes, even though we were going in summertime. Everybody had told us, you know, it's still, you know, temperatures get still cold there, even in summertime.

SPEAKER_02 18:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:09

Well, we must have gone at a rare time or something because all I had was winter clothes. And I was literally dying because it was hot and I wanted some shorts and a t-shirt. But normally that's not the case. Like you know what, you know, what the weather's gonna be, so you kind of know what to pack. And that's the fun thing about cruising. You can wear whatever, you don't have to dress up formally if you don't want to. Some people do to go to dinner, but you don't have to, it's not a requirement. They usually on a cruise will have one to two formal nights, depending on the length of cruise you go on. And again, it's still optional. Not everybody dresses up even on the quote

— Formal nights are optional

SPEAKER_04 18:49

unquote formal night. But they're not. Yeah, you just take a regular dress. Yeah, we just yeah, we just wear like regular dresses that we would wear if we were just going out to dinner somewhere, you know, at a night's restaurant or whatever. We don't there are some people on there that deck all out in, you know, evening gowns and tuxedos and things like that. We don't go that far.

unknown 19:13

No.

SPEAKER_05 19:14

And we for the most normally Yeah, we normally pack a backpack and a carry-on. We don't even take a large suitcase anymore. You can do laundry on the ship, people. You don't have to take it free. Yeah. Two dresses. Well, no, it we it cost us last time $350 a load. Yeah, $350, yeah. So But still, that's nothing. We take laundry soap and dryer sheets. But I usually pack two dresses, pair of black pants, pair of navy plants, a couple tops to go with those.

SPEAKER_04 19:44

And

— Packing light and laundry on board

SPEAKER_04 19:44

if we're going somewhere warm, then I just take shorts and swimsuits and t-shirts and yeah, because if you're if you're going to the warm destinations, like in the Caribbean and stuff, Mexico, all anybody wears on the ship during the daytime is they're either in their swimsuit or they're in shorts and flip-flops, and that's it.

SPEAKER_02 20:04

Because it's hot, miserably hot.

SPEAKER_04 20:07

Yeah, exactly. But as far as things that you should bring with you if you're going

— Cruise packing hacks

SPEAKER_04 20:12

on a cruise, yeah. Ann and I always pack magnetic hooks because on the cruise ship your walls are metal. Steel. Yeah. Steel. So you put the little magnetic hooks up on the wall, and then you can hang your jackets, your overnight toiletry bag or whatever up on the wall because you know, bathrooms are small, so you don't have a lot of space in there. So, you know, you gotta you gotta utilize little tricks to make maximize there, and that's one thing that we do is that right there. We take a yes.

SPEAKER_05 20:47

I have a we've got a charger thing that we plug into their plug, and it's got all of the the adapters for plugs, for phones, for laptop, for everything. So we can plug in multiple items at once. That is super handy. And another important thing, take a small fan because the air is very still in those rooms. You could get on a ship with air conditioning issues that happened to us once.

SPEAKER_01 21:13

Oh, that'd be a nightmare.

SPEAKER_05 21:14

Yeah, yeah. Small fan just makes it really comfortable at night.

SPEAKER_04 21:19

Especially if you're like us and you're in menopause and you have hot windows from time to time. That fan's gonna come in handy, let me tell you.

SPEAKER_05 21:28

You're gonna be going, thank you, girls, for suggesting the fan.

SPEAKER_04 21:34

Exactly. And the other thing that we always do is

— Door signs and decoration tips

SPEAKER_04 21:37

I always get order us from like Etsy or one of the other stores a little door hanger for our door to go on the outside of our cabin door that has like our names on it or a cute little picture or whatever to kind of decorate our door. And also when you're going down that long hallway and all the doors look the same. Yeah, it's easy to spot your door.

SPEAKER_01 22:01

That's clear.

SPEAKER_05 22:02

Especially late at night. And you will you will remember people's different door signs as you make your way like to the laundry or to go to dinner. You'll be like, Am I going the right way? Oh, yeah, there's someone says door sign. I love that one. You know, it's a really good landmark thing for people too, which is crazy, but it works.

SPEAKER_01 22:25

And so so a lot. People do it. I didn't know that. Oh, yes. It's a big thing for decorating your door.

SPEAKER_04 22:32

It's a big thing. The other big thing on cruise ships is rubber ducks. People

— Rubber duck hunting on cruises

SPEAKER_04 22:37

hide ducks and you find go around and find ducks. The ducks have little labels on them with like the person's name, where they're from, and it tells you to either keep the duck yourself or rehide it for someone else and add your own tag on there. So that's a fun thing too.

SPEAKER_05 22:55

Yeah, one line really promotes the duck hunting more than the other lines. So yeah. And it's also the least expensive line.

SPEAKER_01 23:03

Okay. And where do you get the ducks from?

SPEAKER_05 23:06

I we order them from like Amazon. You can order like a pack of a hundred or whatever. Or just tag ours. Yeah, the dollar store. And then we'll just put little tags on ours. Hey, it's Shannon and Ann. We're from Texas. I'm from Missouri.

SPEAKER_04 23:20

This is like the little tags that we put on our that promotes our little podcast.

SPEAKER_01 23:24

That's so clever. So for those who are just listening and not not watching this, they've got the little logo and little tag with their little

— Using door signs as landmarks

SPEAKER_01 23:33

podcasting. That's such a clever idea. Love that.

SPEAKER_05 23:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:36

Love that.

SPEAKER_05 23:37

That's fun.

SPEAKER_01 23:38

So when you arrive at a new port, do you go on excursions? Do you pre-book them? Do you always go to all the the different ports, or can you explain a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_04 23:50

Well, Shannon go. We do not always get off in every single port, especially if it's a port that we have already been to before and there's not anything new that we would want to see or do

— What to do in ports

SPEAKER_04 24:02

there. You know, we've already seen it and done it. We will stay on the ship. And here's another good tip. If you do that, most everybody else is getting off in port. So you can pretty much have the ship to yourself. And that includes the swimming pools, the whirlpools, all of that that are normally packed on board days. If you stay on board, then yeah, it's like your own little island paradise there. You have the pool pretty much to yourself, the eating, all of that. So it's really nice. Yeah, but if it's a port that we haven't been to before, then yes, we always get off and check it out and see what what's happening or what's available there in the port. Sometimes ahead of time, we will book an excursion. We do not always book excursions through the cruise line. Now, the cruise lines tell you that you need to book through them because if you don't and you don't make it back in time, they will leave you. But if you're on one

— Booking excursions privately

SPEAKER_04 24:59

of their excursions, then they won't leave you. And it's a scare tactic, okay? It really is a scare tactic. As long as you do your due diligence with the company that you book with privately, and it's a reputable company, then you're fine because that's how they make their business too. They're not gonna get you back late to the port.

SPEAKER_00 25:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 25:22

Because if they do, then they're not gonna get customers again, you know? And that's what they live off of. So, and we have never knocked on wood had an experience where we booked on our own and did not make it back to the ship on time.

SPEAKER_01 25:35

Okay. And it's nice to book with the the countries or the the the locals. Yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_04 25:43

We like to support the locals. Yes. Yeah, yeah. We like to support the locals, they will give you the best experience. And they'll take you to places that you're

— Supporting local tour companies

SPEAKER_04 25:52

not gonna go to with the cruise line companies because you know they're not the locals are gonna take you to the non-tourist areas. Right. And you're gonna really get to immersed in that culture and the local food and that kind of thing. And Ann and I have had so many wonderful experiences doing that.

SPEAKER_01 26:10

That's nice. I like that. I like that. Is there been a favorite port that you've ever been on or or too many?

SPEAKER_05 26:17

Well. We've been on so many. Honestly, we went on a this wasn't a cruise though. But we are I love Scotland. It's probably one of my favorite places. And you can this last cruise that we went on, it did go to Scotland, to two ports in Scotland. So yeah, just Scotland's my spot for me.

SPEAKER_01 26:38

Yeah. And so when you go on a cruise that's that's not a tropical place, I guess, and it's cooler on board. Do you what do I mean, there's still plenty of things to do, right? If you're not hanging out by the pool because it's too cold,

— Favorite destinations

SPEAKER_01 26:52

there's still you mentioned there's still lots of things to do on those type of cruises, right?

SPEAKER_05 26:56

We just got back from Iceland. I am freezing. I'm in my long pants, my shirt, two jackets, and guess what? The kids are over in the pool and adults playing. And I all I can do, yeah, is think when you get out, you are going to freeze.

SPEAKER_02 27:14

Freeze, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 27:15

Yes. Windy and cold, but they still get in the pool, the hot tub, it it doesn't matter. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 27:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 27:22

Yeah, not as crafted, but they were in there.

SPEAKER_04 27:25

And there are some cruise lines, and Ann and I have been on one of on those celebrity, it's it's one of them specifically, that they have an indoor pool as well as an outdoor pool. And the indoor pool is so super nice because it is. Most people don't go in there except for the older people. The kids don't go in the indoor pool. They want to be out in the outdoor pool with the water slides.

— Indoor pools on colder cruises

SPEAKER_04 27:47

So yeah, you can go in the indoor pool and they have really nice lounge chairs, and you can just sit in there and read a book and relax by the pool. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:57

And has there been one cruise that's blown you away that's been your favorite?

SPEAKER_04 28:02

Go ahead, Anne.

SPEAKER_01 28:02

What was your favorite one?

SPEAKER_05 28:04

There have been so many, but honestly, this this last cruise that we were on pretty well blew me away. To get to see Iceland was a just a lifelong dream.

SPEAKER_00 28:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 28:14

And to throw in the other destinations and see the falls.

— Favorite cruises and Iceland

SPEAKER_05 28:18

We went to Waterfall of the Gods, and it was just something to see in person. Yeah, I'd have to say, it's really hard for me to say this, but I'd have to say this is right up there for me.

SPEAKER_01 28:30

And where else did you go? Just to Iceland, or you also went to Ireland as well on that?

SPEAKER_05 28:35

I went to Ireland, Scotland, and Iceland. And we went to four ports in Iceland. So Oh wow.

SPEAKER_04 28:41

Okay. So we just literally sailed. All the way around. Yeah. And and that was the first time ever that we crossed the Arctic on a cruise ship. And yeah, that was amazing to see the transition from one sea and going across the Arctic was Yes. Yeah, it just blew me away. It was so totally different night and day from one side to the other. And yeah, and we also got a certificate for joining, they call it the Blue Nose group when you cross into the Arctic.

SPEAKER_01 29:14

And so we got a certificate for

— Crossing into the Arctic

SPEAKER_01 29:17

being part of that group. That is very cool. And Shannon, what about you? Is that your favorite or have you got another one?

SPEAKER_04 29:25

I have two favorites. I think number one would be Alaska. Alaska blew me away. Just sailing through the icy waters and yeah, the big icebergs in the water as you're sailing right through them. That was amazing. And icebergs do not look like how at least how I imagined that they would look.

SPEAKER_01 29:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 29:45

They

— Shannon’s favorite cruises

SPEAKER_04 29:45

are actually blue, not white.

SPEAKER_01 29:48

Wow.

SPEAKER_04 29:49

And yeah, it's really beautiful. And when you're sailing through Alaska, both sides, the scenery, it's nothing but beautiful waterfalls coming down the mountains. And yeah, it's absolutely gorgeous. And all the towns that we went to along the way were wonderful. The people are wonderful. We we did went zip lining in Alaska.

SPEAKER_01 30:10

Oh wow. And I know that you're afraid of height. So that's that's interesting.

SPEAKER_04 30:15

Oh, yes, yes. So yeah, that was that was very interesting. And I think my second my second favorite would be we did a 14-day cruise through the Southern Caribbean. And so we went to the bird all the Burgeon Islands and That was fabulous. All through that area, and that was absolutely amazing. For the first time, we went snorkeling. We've never done that on any on any trip yet. And we went snorkeling and I wanted to see a turtle, and I got to see a turtle in the wild for the first time.

SPEAKER_01 30:48

Wow, how beautiful! How beautiful.

SPEAKER_04 30:52

Yeah, it was amazing.

— Best first cruise recommendation

SPEAKER_04 30:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:53

If so for someone who's just starting out, where would you recommend their first cruise be? Anyone have a suggestion?

SPEAKER_04 31:00

I would I would probably say I would do the Caribbean first. Somewhere in the Caribbean.

SPEAKER_05 31:05

It's a nice cruise. Any of them. Yeah. Or nice.

SPEAKER_04 31:08

It's a nice cruise, any of them. And I know a lot of people think I don't want to do seven days just trying out. I want to do like three or four days, you know, like a short little weekend trip. Do not do it. Do not do it. You will regret it. Yep.

SPEAKER_02 31:22

Okay.

— Why a cruise should be at least a week

SPEAKER_02 31:23

It is not long enough.

SPEAKER_04 31:25

It is not long enough. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 31:27

And and let me explain. It takes you two days to get oriented on the ship. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 31:33

Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 31:34

Forward after where am I? Am I in the middle? I mean, but after about a day and a half to two days, you know every part of that ship. You've explored. That's when you get comfortable. That's when you start having a really great time.

SPEAKER_02 31:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 31:49

Because you can relax. You know your way around. You know all the good bartenders. That sort of thing. You know, places to eat that you like. And so yeah, you need to do at least a week, really.

SPEAKER_01 32:00

Do you have any tips for someone that gets seasick? Yes.

SPEAKER_04 32:04

We use well, we we've never really had to use it because thankfully Ann and I, neither one have gotten ever gotten seasick on the ship, even in rough waters, and we have been in some really rough waters and we still didn't get sick, thank goodness. But for other people who do get sick,

— Seasickness tips

SPEAKER_04 32:22

my husband being one of them, yeah, I recommend for he takes a phonine and he takes one prior to us getting on the ship, and then he takes one at least the second day of the cruise as well. And then by day three, he's fine and doesn't have any issues. Right.

SPEAKER_00 32:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 32:43

So yeah. And I know some people use the patches behind the ear as well. Those are good too. So either one of those, either bonine or the C patch behind the ear, worked well.

SPEAKER_01 32:55

Do you get I know this is a really random question, but I know that I've just done that sailing like with the tall ships or schooners in Maine. And when I left for about three days, I kept feeling like I was swaying. Is that something that happens on a cruise as well? Or is it because it's so big and it's stabilized, you don't feel it?

SPEAKER_04 33:12

I have never had that feeling. I know some other people have said that they have, but I've never gotten that being on the bigger cruise ships. Now I have on smaller boats and ships. Smaller ones. I have but not when it when you get off, you still feel it.

SPEAKER_05 33:27

Yeah, you still put like about an hour, you're like moving.

SPEAKER_01 33:30

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 33:30

But I've never had that with with the cruise ships, no.

SPEAKER_01 33:33

Yeah. Do you have any last tips or hacks that you'd like to share before we finish?

SPEAKER_05 33:40

I've got one.

SPEAKER_01 33:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 33:42

And this is one that comes up a lot, and that is the drink package on cruise ships.

SPEAKER_01 33:47

Okay, yes.

SPEAKER_05 33:49

They charge an enormous amount for the drink package. And we used to get it. We did. Until we realized you have to drink 15 drinks a day to pay for that drink package.

SPEAKER_00 33:59

Wow, okay. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 34:00

And we are lucky to drink one or two a day. Okay. We're not neither of us are big drinkers. So then we would make ourselves

— Drink package advice

SPEAKER_05 34:08

drink, right? To try to fulfill the drink package, and that didn't work either. So really, your drinks are about $13 a piece.

unknown 34:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 34:18

Think about how much you're going to drink and and divide it out. Is it worth what was it? Sis, a thousand dollars each last time.

SPEAKER_01 34:26

Okay. Yeah. Was that for a week or two?

SPEAKER_05 34:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:30

Yeah. Yeah.

unknown 34:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 34:32

So are you really gonna drink that much? If you're not a drinker, you can get like a scaled down package without the alcohol, but that covers your coffee, your soda, your water, your lemonade, that sort of thing.

SPEAKER_02 34:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 34:45

That's my tip.

SPEAKER_01 34:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 34:47

Yeah, that's what we always get. Since we're not big drinkers, we buy well, it's called different on different cruise lines. Exactly. Carnival calls it the zero-proof package. Other other cruise lines call it different things, but it's the one, the non-alcohol package. And that includes all your specialty coffees, because that's where I do drink a lot. I love my specialty coffee. So that includes that. It includes all your juices. It includes your sodas because we're also soda drinkers, so that that covers that for us, and all your waters. And that's what that's what we predominantly drink. And then we just pay for our alcohol drinks as we go. And really we come out way cheaper doing a cheaper. Yeah. Every time.

SPEAKER_05 35:38

Now I will say you don't have to buy any drink package. Yeah. Because all day long you have access to coffee in the dining room in the morning. All day long you will have access to lemonade. They

— Why you may not need a drink package

SPEAKER_05 35:49

have water, uh, sometimes different juices, tea in the dining room area. And you can go in there at any time and fill up your cup, your water bottle, whatever. So you don't have to buy any type of drink package if you, you know, don't drink alcohol, don't drink soda, you don't need a drink package.

SPEAKER_01 36:07

That's actually a good tip because I think when you first start something or go on something for the first time, you just buy all of it. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. I've done that.

SPEAKER_05 36:17

We did. Yes, we have to.

SPEAKER_04 36:20

And one thing that we do also do that I recommend is we bring our own tumbler cup with us on our cruises. And so that way we have our own cup to drink out of. We don't have to use their their cups, and we can keep it filled up with ice and water or whatever we're drinking at the time.

SPEAKER_01 36:41

Oh, that's a good tip. That's a good thing.

SPEAKER_05 36:43

You know, it's an insulated cup, so it keeps your drink cold. They are gonna give you a plastic cup.

SPEAKER_01 36:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 36:50

And last

— Bringing your own tumbler

SPEAKER_05 36:50

yeah, it's gonna melt quickly. Yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 36:53

So Yeah, that's a good that's a good one. They're good tips. So if anyone wants to get in touch with you, how do they how do they do that?

SPEAKER_04 37:01

Our email address, it's a long one, I know, but it's Travel Time Stories with Shannon, all together at gmail.com. And they can also visit our website, travel time stories.com. All of our contact information is on the website

— How to contact Shannon and Anne

SPEAKER_04 37:16

as well.

SPEAKER_01 37:17

And is your podcast on there as well?

SPEAKER_04 37:19

Yes, yes, our podcast is there as well. All episodes and every guest that we've ever interviewed has their episodes there and a dedicated page for them so you can get their social contacts or whatever information you'd like.

SPEAKER_01 37:33

Perfect. Excellent. I will put it all in the show notes anyway. So if anyone wants to contact you about anything or just listen to any of your stories. This has been an amazing episode. Thank you so much, girls. I loved chatting about cruises. And I honestly, I think there's something special you also want to explain to the people listening today about a cruise that's coming up. Can you tell me a bit about that?

SPEAKER_04 38:00

Yes, exactly. We are actually doing our very first group cruise. So if you've ever been cruise curious and don't want to go alone, you want to go with someone who's experienced and can show you the ropes. And so you have a built-in person with you. So, you know, even

— Announcing the group cruise

SPEAKER_04 38:16

if you're going solo, solo cruising is amazing because you're gonna make so many friends on the cruise that you're never alone. And they also have little meetups on board for those who are on board solo to make other friends and meet new friends.

SPEAKER_05 38:32

Yes, but it's really awesome.

SPEAKER_04 38:34

Yeah, they really support the solo traveler. And but we're doing our very first group cruise for our podcast listeners or anybody else who would like to join us on that group cruise. It is March the 14th through the 21st of 2027. We are going on Princess Cruise Lines, which is the love boat. And I have Anna and I have never been on Princess before, so this will be our first Princess experience.

SPEAKER_05 39:02

Super excited.

SPEAKER_04 39:04

We are super excited. We are leaving from San Juan, Puerto Rico, and we have

— Group cruise details

SPEAKER_04 39:09

it's a seven-day cruise, and our stops are Tortola, St. Kitts, Dominica, Granada, and Barbados. And those are all places that Ann and I have not been to yet. So we are excited to explore those.

SPEAKER_02 39:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 39:24

And we have, we will be having, since it's a group, we're gonna have some group activities or tours that we're gonna be taking together. So you don't have to worry about setting something up on your own if you don't want to. And we do have cabins still available. We need to we have six cabins available, and we need to get those sold in order to make this group happen. So if you're interested, please reach out to us. We have balcony cabins and inside cabins. Balcony cabin, and that's based on double occupancy. So that's for two people together in a cabin.

— Cabins and pricing

SPEAKER_04 40:01

Yeah, and then the inside cabin is $14.74.

SPEAKER_01 40:06

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 40:07

So, and and again, that's for seven days. So if you split that cost over seven days, that's really really cheap. It's affordable. Room and board and all your food, entertainment. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 40:19

And already have friends started, like before you even have to hold your hand.

SPEAKER_04 40:25

Exactly. And you only have to pay your deposit right now to secure your cabin. And so that goes back to what we mentioned before about making payments. Yeah. The deposit is $250 per person. Yep. And then you have until December the 15th to pay off the rest the remaining balance.

SPEAKER_01 40:44

Yeah, okay, perfect. I will make sure I put that information in the show notes for those who are interested. I wish I was going now. If I didn't have my own trip planned, I would be going as well because I want someone to hold my hand because I've never

— Deposit and payment deadline

SPEAKER_01 40:58

been on one. But yeah, definitely have a have a look at that and see whether or not, you know, if you've got no plans in March, then you should definitely look into it. That's been an amazing episode. Thank you so much. I really, really will do a cruise in the near future. You know, for whatever reason, I haven't done one in the past. I've done a tiny, tiny one in Howlong Bay, but you it's not really even it was one night, so you can't really call it a cruise. But it was uh Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 41:25

Just reach out when you're ready to go because we we want to hear all about this. Where you're going, when you're going, everything.

SPEAKER_04 41:33

And we might join you on whatever cruise you're going on. Yeah, whether it's never Paula.

SPEAKER_01 41:39

You never know. You never know. I'm hoping that we get to travel again one day soon. So thank you again, ladies. That was amazing. For those listening, thanks again for listening to the Truly Expat Travel Podcast. And don't forget to like and subscribe because you know how important that is for us as

— Closing remarks

SPEAKER_01 41:55

podcast hosts. So, yeah, safe travels and see you then. Bye. Bye. Thank you for joining me on the Truly Expat Travel podcast. If you liked this episode and you found it valuable, then why don't you go ahead and like and subscribe so that you don't miss an episode moving forward. I've got some amazing guests and some fantastic destinations coming up. But if this is the episode and this is the destination that you really want to go to, then I suggest you head over to truly expatravel.com where you'll find travel guides and deep dive into this sort of destination. If that's not what you want and you can't find an episode that is a destination you want to travel to, then head over and follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok because I'm pretty sure you'll find something there. In the meantime, save travels and I'll see you next week.