Suite Natured Cruise Cast | Cruise Chat & News
Linzi and Mark aka Suite Natured host a light hearted podcast where they share their cruise experiences and give their thoughts on recent cruise news and stories.
Each episode is recorded and published in real time & unscripted, no edits, which can lead to some "interesting" conversations. Every other Cruise Cast we are joined by special guest co-hosts who bring they own experiences and style to the show.
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Suite Natured Cruise Cast | Cruise Chat & News
Things That Annoy Us About Cruising - Audio Only Version 🎧 | Cruise Cast Ep.8
Ever felt like your peaceful cruise was actually a covert operation to empty your wallet? Join us, Linzi and Mark, as we air out the cruise industry's dirty laundry, tackling everything from those aggressive spa sales pitches to the omnipresent upsell lurking behind every corner on deck. We're not holding back as we share our gripes and laughs, revealing the less-than-relaxing aspects of life at sea on both MSC and Royal Caribbean ships. It's a candid conversation that'll have you nodding in agreement or, at the very least, prepping you for your next cruise adventure.
Prepare to cringe and chuckle as we discuss our pet peeves and don't get us started on 'special offers' – we unpack how these sneaky extra costs can deflate the joy of what should be a tranquil experience faster than a punctured baloon.
To round off our sea-faring saga, we explore the good, the bad, and the downright rude of cruise ship disembarkations. From the universal dread of finding your disembarkation documents piled on your bed, signaling the end of your holiday, to the varied farewells of cruise lines—the goodbyes can be as diverse as the ships themselves. Plus, we're dishing out the latest scoop on airline and cruise partnerships, including P&O's TUI tie-up and why Oceania's Allura is making waves with its early launch. For all this and more, make sure you catch this episode—you might just disembark with a few insider tips to make your next cruise a smoother sail.
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Cheers, and have a lovely day
Linzi & Mark
Welcome to episode 8 of the Suite Natured Cruise Cast. Hi, I'm Linz. As always, I'm joined by Marky.
Speaker 2:Hello.
Speaker 1:Hello, and today we're talking about things that annoy us while we're on a cruise. But first a little mood music.
Speaker 2:I'm guessing, looking at your face, you weren't impressed with this week's intro music.
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:I shall keep working on that. Yes, please do. Please keep checking back in at Debsoners. Eventually we will find something that we like. We're only on episode eight, so why would we have figured it out by now? Anyway, topic of the show, yes, is things that annoy us about cruising, or mark up the things that annoy us when we're on a cruise.
Speaker 1:Yes, and I feel this is going to be quite cathartic.
Speaker 2:Is it going to be where you can just vent an awful lot?
Speaker 1:Well, I'm also. I'm going to. My first thing is that you've given me orange juice.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but we're recording this at half past 11.
Speaker 1:But we're talking about something very important.
Speaker 2:And would that have been better? With vodka in it, probably Okay. Well, I will treat you after the podcast to something a little bit more alcoholic. Thank you, okay, you're welcome. So, and of course, once we've finished doing the topic of the show, we'll then go through the news stories. If you don't know what they're going to be, no, and we topic of the show. We'll then go through the news stories. If you don't know what they're going to be, no, and we'll talk about them. We've got three towards the end of the episode, but let's start off with the topic. Then. What is it that you really dislike or that gets you go, or that annoys you when we go on a cruise?
Speaker 2:that, that me yeah, well with me. Yeah, I know there's lots of things, but I'll I'll let you start off I'm going to start off with running the gauntlet. What do you mean?
Speaker 1:So when you're on a cruise and then suddenly somebody pops up and says, would you like to book a spa treatment, would you like to book this? I can't even say it.
Speaker 2:I'm not annoyed. What kind of specialty do you mean?
Speaker 1:And then, and it just I don't like it.
Speaker 2:I don't like it I don't like it. I always feel where you're being sold to. You mean yes, yeah, I mean in terms of running the gauntlet. The only ship, the only cruise line I can think of that that really works in that way is msc. Oh yeah, you know, to get from one end of their promenade to the other, you're probably going to be attempted to be sold, yeah, like five, six times, at least on boarding day.
Speaker 1:So you've got the drinks package, you've got the dining package, you've got the spa treatments, you've got the the show.
Speaker 2:So four times yeah, but then as you go through the cruise, special msc in that one particular area, don't get me wrong. It's not bad around the rest of the ship, no, but on that particular area it's not just on boarding days. I've come to expect it a little bit, and I guess you have too, that on embarkation day they try to sell drinks packages or dining packages or get you on a spot, or we've just come to expect that. On most mainstream cruise lines. Yes, don't know if it's exactly the same on the ultra luxury ones, but given that we've not been on them yet, we can't really comment. But on the ultra-luxury ones, but given that we've not been on them yet, we can't really comment. But on the mainstream, we've just kind of come to expect it. But on MSC, when you talk about winning that gauntlet, I think one, because they don't just have a single port of embarkation. Each port you can get on and get off at.
Speaker 2:But I think that it's just part of that ship. It's there all the time, yeah, and whether it's just part of that ship. It's there all the time, yeah, yeah, and it's whether it's the spa, the drinks, the dining. But then another time they might be trying to sell a facial treatment.
Speaker 1:Soap €120 soap yeah With a bulb For me it's.
Speaker 2:I mean, we're talking about MSA there, but other ones do it as well.
Speaker 1:Royal Caribbean do it they do P&R do it.
Speaker 2:And I think different ones to different degrees. And whilst we're talking about things that annoy us, obviously we love cruising. Yes, these are bits that if we could do away with it, we would do. I get that a lot of the money that the cruise lines make is after you've already paid your fare.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:You know, paying your fare for them is like they break even a bit, probably not even that in some cases. But then the bit where they're making profit on you is when you're at the ship and spending money. Yes, and to a degree I don't have a problem with that, you don't have to say yes, it's just when it's ongoing it's more an annoying for me.
Speaker 1:Well, celebrity, they had somebody from the spa in the solarium. So every time, if you're in there, every time you pass, to go to the bathroom or something you're. Oh, would you like no?
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I think once you've said no to them, once they do recognise that you're there.
Speaker 1:No, but then I might be in there longer than what? What the person?
Speaker 2:so they get you on the way back out so this this.
Speaker 2:That's bad timing if that yeah, I just I don't like it have a little pop-up so that people can go to it, because there are genuinely people that want to purchase and you know all of the cruise lines that I can think of certainly mainstream ones all have sort of sale-type stuff and we'll come back to that later on because that's one of the bits I want to talk about. So there are things that's in there, but it's that running a door like getting accosted sounds like a really strong word, but you're getting sort of proposed a lot.
Speaker 1:Well, psychologically, you're on holiday, You're in a good frame of mood, you know you're going to be spending some money. I just don't want it forced upon me.
Speaker 2:No, it feels a little bit sometimes like when you go to a souk, a marketplace, or you're on a beach at certain resorts where there's just people around constantly trying to sell to you.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and we don't want that. You don't necessarily want that. No, that, that's one thing.
Speaker 2:I'd like to see them do a lot less of that. Yeah, um, for me, one of the my, my real pet hates and and this has happened for as long as we've done it and, to be fair, this is doesn't just apply to cruising that I'm talking about. Yeah, I've seen it in um land-based holidays as well, but it's when people talk down to other passengers or vacation people or, in particular, when they talk to our staff to the crew yeah, they talk at them, not to them yeah there's no, please, no, thank you, no, nothing no, there's just an expectation of an of entitlement oh, I hate it.
Speaker 1:That's so annoying.
Speaker 2:It is because manners don't cost anything.
Speaker 1:Manners maketh the man.
Speaker 2:They do, according to Colin Firth in Kingsman and also according to our parents from Woodrow.
Speaker 1:It's quite an old saying, darling, no it's Colin Firth.
Speaker 2:He's King's son. I'm sure Matthew Vaughan wrote that one. But it doesn't, as you say, take any effort to say please and thank you, or to smile and ask if they're having a good day anything like that.
Speaker 1:It's classier. It's much classier to be that way.
Speaker 2:I've never understood whether they think they're going to get better service. No, because if I'm that member of the crew and I'm not saying they do, if someone were talking to me like that, I would be deliberately. I mean, it's probably why I'm not working on it, but it's like I'd deliberately be getting the drinks wrong. The food would be cold when they came in. I just would go out of my way to make it worse.
Speaker 1:Why would you be such a?
Speaker 2:I was going to say ass. But okay, Either of those things are fine. I've just never understood the logic. I mean, like I said, we've seen this not just on cruise holidays.
Speaker 1:No, I don't like it. We've seen it on various occasions and I don't like it.
Speaker 2:And I just don't think there's any intro. No, you do. I think I've probably seen it more on a cruise holiday, but I think that's because you're in sort of closer quarters with people.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:And that's why maybe you notice it more. You sit at a table and you can hear sort of the table next to you.
Speaker 1:I want to go hit them with my menu. I just said that. Just go have a slap down your neck. No, it's not big and it's not clever and it doesn't make you look like you're wealthy and it just makes you look tacky, makes you look really tacky. Just stop it. And tacky's not classy.
Speaker 2:No, you've been told by Lindsay. That's an official warning. If you do it again, you'll be on the notice step.
Speaker 1:And I'm going to. If you do it and I can see you, I'm going to start staring people. I'm going to start staring people. I'm going to start staring them down because it's awful, it's awful.
Speaker 2:I think part of it is just how people brought up and it's human nature to a degree, but it doesn't mean that I like it. So that was the second thing that annoys me.
Speaker 1:And I can't believe you've given me orange juice to continue this conversation.
Speaker 2:No, but it's therapeutic, it's like a detox, okay, so that's why you've got orange juice, okay, and because I forgot to put vodka in it. Okay, mainly because it's still pre-lunch time at the time.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but it's a very, very touchy subject.
Speaker 2:It'll be really interesting to see what people put in the comments, and please do put in the comments of sort of your pet peeves, the things that you really dislike, uh, that you know annoy you on the cruise. They're gonna say influencers and bloggers, people with big cameras filming.
Speaker 1:We have a big camera no, we do it very stealthy, we do it very stealthy, we're not talking at the table.
Speaker 2:No, no, no. So I'm going to say vloggers and influencers.
Speaker 1:But I bet it's on the list.
Speaker 2:I'm sure it is for some people. Yeah, because it's not just cruise vloggers and cruise vloggers and cruise influencers you get them from all avenues, sectors, yeah, all fields. And I think people who do more cruise focused content are probably more aware and be a bit discreet, yeah, and I think people who don't.
Speaker 2:Yeah, maybe not. Okay, I don't. Anyway, we've gone on a tangent. We certainly, because that doesn't annoy me but, like I said, might annoy the people. And what's another of your pet peeves, things that annoy you? Spa prices. Spa prices that came out without any thought. Does my head him, have you been putting a list together while you've been thinking of it? Does my head him why?
Speaker 1:Because they're stupid, they're stupid prices, and then what they do then is you get your planner and then they've got our offer on and they'll bring them down and bundle them together, so it'll be more sort of land-based.
Speaker 2:More reasonable. So when you're saying the price is cheaper, are you comparing it to what they are on land? To some fancy-ass hotel spa. Joby, Get you with the fruity language again.
Speaker 1:I just you know like, come on Just.
Speaker 2:No, I do get it. There are one or two cruise lines when the pricing is more reasonable, but generally speaking, you are paying a premium for.
Speaker 1:And then if you do it, you go on and you think you know what I'll treat myself. We'll do it, we'll have a spanking.
Speaker 2:You're going to go on to one of my things that I ate.
Speaker 1:Then you get the hard sell, Damn it.
Speaker 2:That's one of mine. It gets me that of my things that I ate. Then you get the hard sell damn it. That's one of mine. I it gets that.
Speaker 1:That's that was probably one of my bits. It gets me so at the anxiety. The anxiety it's just so much yeah, you're gonna start flogging me that, selling me that, that hundred. And do you remember when we've spent 120 dollars on bath salt sachet? I remember when you spent 120 dollars on bath salt sachets.
Speaker 2:I remember when you spent $120 on bath salt sachets. I don't remember me ever spending.
Speaker 1:I think they stay in the bath and it was not that was the Elemis ones as well.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. No, I'm not saying that they're bad products, I'm not saying they're not worth it, but if I want to buy that, I'll buy that. When I'm at home, drunk, normally when I've had a few drinks, and it pops up on some shopping channel, oh, that's a great idea. Yeah, yeah that. I mean it follows on nicely from the spa one there but that was in one of my ones which is that, getting to the end of you, if you've had a spa trip, you've had a massage, you're all really relaxed, and then you start to tense up. They're going to come in any second now and try and do a hard sell on me Now. To come in any second now and try and do a hard sell on me Now. I am aware that if you tell them beforehand that you don't want to be pushed anything at the end of it, they won't try and sell you it. No, but you've got to do that and they're in a Brit in me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I can't do it.
Speaker 2:No, I'm sure a lot of people don't have a problem saying look just don't sellepaper in the stateroom.
Speaker 1:Maybe we just write them a little note. Before we start, before we start and say please don't try and sell me any stuff I've had to, I've had. This is a treat for me anyway.
Speaker 2:I don't want to spend more.
Speaker 1:I don't want to spend save again on treats.
Speaker 2:Well, that's it, Because I mean, when you talk about the treatments being expensive, they're expensive compared to online, for sure, yes, definitely. And they do alter from cruise ship to cruise ship. Some are really expensive, some are expensive, they're casel and they're not too bad price, but then you have the gratuity put on top, anywhere between 15% and 20% on top of that.
Speaker 2:And then you feel, well, I'm going to have to put a little bit on as well. Yeah, so you feel kind of obligated to give them something direct. And then you try and sell it and all of a sudden you say it doesn't cost you double what your treatment costs. It might have cost you multiple times that. And for me, if I am going to spend the money and go to the spa which we have done we have had the massages, we've had couples massages and they've all been lovely, apart from that end part. So, going back to your part of it, if they're going to be doing these constant bonuses and pretty much every day there's a different spa model oh, there's a different author on. Yeah, just set the pricing like that.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Don't have special ones. No, because if it was, for instance, £100 for a couple's massage, it's never going to be £100. Under no, let's say it was for a 45 minute well, just he's on the holistic now, see yeah, but if it was, I would. But yeah, that that seems good well that would really 350 dollars?
Speaker 2:I'm probably not no, well, I think virgin, it wasn't that 475 dollars, yeah expensive I know 50 minutes or something come on guys no yeah, no, let's just have some prices that you don't have to constantly drop down all the time no um, we you know you're going to be quiet on port days have a separate port day price list. Encourage people to book in advance. Yeah, uh, on there, yeah and encourage the technology.
Speaker 2:We have the technology and also now most cruise lines do. Let you do this, but there are a couple of dawn. If you've got onboard credit, let us use it in the spa. Don't limit us as to where we can use that onboard credit, because I get that some of the cruise lines well, all of the cruise lines have third parties that run the spa facilities I think, they do um, like canyon mansion and organizations like that, but not all of them.
Speaker 2:Even where it's the third parties run, it will let you spend your cruise credit on it no and for a lot of people, they've already bought drinks packages, they're not bothered about speciality down or they've already booked it, then spend it in there. It's a good way to spend it yeah and what next? What's your next pet peeve?
Speaker 1:well, it's. It's interesting. You talked about um cruise credit and that is not being able to spend my cruise credit before I get on the ship and you don't mean going down to your local shop, spending it in advance on what you want using the system to book things like speciality dining or spam treatments. Not that I would, because it's stupid and it's that kind of thing. What? Why? So roll carabiner later. It's celebrity later. If you get some cruise credit, it will apply it yeah, and it encourages you to spend it yeah, no.
Speaker 1:Princess Puna, no, no. Princess no Piano, no, no, it's just like come on, it's 2024, people.
Speaker 2:For me, I mean, we've talked about this a lot before yeah, because there's that element of frustration for it. Because if, let's say, you've got $1,000 on board, oh, that's a lot of cruise credit. That's what we've got when we're going on one of our ships later this year. We can't spend that in advance. But we're thinking about getting the drinks package. Yeah, but if we wait till we get on the ship for the drinks package, it's more expensive than if we buy it in advance. Yeah, so you're getting penalized for doing that, but then it's such a big amount of cruise credit that we're going to be a big chunk of the drinks package. Yeah, so let me spend it. Because guess what, when I'm on board, if I don't have any cruise credit, I'm still going to spend more than exactly that's the thing.
Speaker 1:You start from zero again. Yeah whereas if you've got a cruise credit, when you go on your oh, that's 900 left 800 so yeah, whatever that figure is, yeah um, and I think you'll probably spend.
Speaker 2:You would probably spend, spend more. We definitely spent more on Celebrity Apex because by the time we'd got on, we'd spent all of our cruise credit On things We'd booked speciality dining, excursions, etc. And then we went and spent more. Yeah, and I don't get why, apart from maybe technical reasons, it could be that. No, it could be that the systems are not geared up. If you look, you mentioned royal caribbean and celebrity same company, part of royal caribbean international, and they may have different systems internally. Let them do it if it's within the same cruise company and they're not allowing the sharing of technology. Yeah, that's different.
Speaker 2:You mentioned princess there, the functionality you have on princess via their app and then medallion one, compared to, for instance, pno and q, now there's completely different. Yeah, but yeah, it's the same parent company that just don't know what the technology between it. No, so, yeah, I'm with you there, absolutely. For me, there's no justification why you shouldn't be allowed to spend that. And even if they've not got the technology to let the app do it or they don't have an app, which not all of them have a proper app Often they'll have a web page that doubles as that. Then let us ring up and book it.
Speaker 1:If.
Speaker 2:I'm going on P&O. Let me ring P&O up and book the drinks package and you say I don't get it. They're giving you the money, Let us spend. I don't get it. They're giving you the money, let's spend it and we'll spend more on the ground board. Yeah, next one for me is around disembarkation and it's two-fold okay so I think you'll be with me on one of them.
Speaker 2:I think you'll be with me on both. It's where, let's say, you're on a seven night cruise and they start giving you the disembarkation information and your luggage takes to get off with like three or four nights to go.
Speaker 1:Hey, I just could this psychologically?
Speaker 2:you then go and end a melody.
Speaker 1:Like I said, I'm not even halfway through yet no, it's normally when you're on a shorter cruise that I notice it more, but it's just we've had it where we've got on the cruise and had the disembarkation labels and information there. When.
Speaker 2:When we were on Princess recently. Yeah, but we were on halfway through For five ways, but it was on the other day we got on.
Speaker 1:No, that's a different thing. No, I'm with you. It's upsetting when you walk in and find them on your bed. Why place them on your bed in in the zone, they put them on.
Speaker 2:They'll put everything on the bed so that it's there and you don't lose it because a bed isn't really safe space.
Speaker 1:Don't put them on the bed don't tint it with the darkness yeah, put them on the side, we can see them. Just don't put them on the bed, because that's it might as well be a dear John letter, dear Mark and Lindsay yeah your time is with us is up thank you um. We enjoyed the journey together, but we've got to be realistic in this day we're both going different ways.
Speaker 2:We're both.
Speaker 1:Now we're going separate ways. We hope we can. You know you think about us in a good way, but now here's your stuff and sod off.
Speaker 2:Bluntly, I mean. That brings me on to the second part, on the disembarkage. Okay, and again, this doesn't apply to every ship, all right. So I'm going to clarify a little bit on that. A good example of what a noise I'm going to clarify a little bit on that. A good example of what a noise. I'm going to say how someone does it good compared to bad.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So when you are coming up to getting off on the day of disembarkation, it's when cruise lines clearly you're not their highest priority anymore.
Speaker 1:Nope you're done. That's been nice, you're done.
Speaker 2:It's like right, we want you out of your room by seven o'clock or eight o'clock um the the breakfast that you get in that morning is reduced down, or you've just got to go to this point here yeah then you go sit in this room, because we don't want you wandering around the ship no, and you stay there until we tell you you can get off yeah now, don't get me wrong.
Speaker 2:I understand that they've got to have orders for people to get off, the luggage needs to be ready, et cetera. I don't have a problem with that. It's the like we're done with you as a paying customer now.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:There are some where if you've got, for instance, like a drinks package that includes specialty coffees, they'll let you still use it in the morning that you get enough, because as far as I'm concerned, I'm still on the ship at that point. As far as I'm concerned, I'm still on the ship. At that point there are others who say, no, you can't use it after midnight On the night before. It's like well, hang on, I bought it for the days that I'm on there. So it's that piece. When we got off of Celebrity Apex in the States, it was very much a we kept waiting in a particular area for about an hour and a half with just no information, even though we were sort of on just regular transfer back, and then when we got off, there were no one from Celebrity to point you to where the coach is and it was Celebrity Transfer that we'd got. There were no signage. It was just very poorly done for such a need.
Speaker 1:That was a bad breakup.
Speaker 2:That was the bad breakup, Especially when we've been on there. What 14 nights, 16 nights, 16, I can't remember, yeah, so I don't think they're doing well. Now I'm going to flip it, even though we're talking about things that annoy us, as to ones that are doing well. Virgin are doing incredibly well.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's more like a hotel though, isn't it?
Speaker 2:Well, I mean, you get on a little bit later with virgin as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, um, when you get enough of virgin, it's like, yeah, there's no rush to leave your cabin quite about half past 10, that's fine which means then you can go have your breakfast, leave your things in there, come back and clean your teeth, because if you've got quite a long journey home, yeah, having cleaning it's been a professional. Yeah, after your breakfast is a nice thing. Get yourself yourself all organised.
Speaker 2:It is. They really encourage you to have a proper breakfast with them. Yes, it's just not a rushed situation at all. No, and it's like, yeah, we want you to come back. Yeah, it's really wanting you to feel like a prized customer.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:All the way through. Yeah, it's a happy ending. I'm a comprised customer. Yeah, all the way through. Yeah, I was going to say it's a happy ending. I'm not going to say that's good and extra.
Speaker 1:No, but you know what I mean, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:You know what I mean. I do know what you mean. It's getting off a cruise at the end of it. It's never nice because it's the end of a holiday Usually you, but for most people it's the end of your vacation, A happy ending. It's as nice of a You're doubling down with that one, aren't?
Speaker 2:you, that's what it is. It's as nice an end to a vacation as you can get. So if they can do it, the other cruise lines can do it. Oh, the cruise lines. There's disease as well. That's a cruise line that's only been going four years. There's no excuse for cruise signs that have been going much, much longer.
Speaker 1:Can't get that right is there yeah.
Speaker 2:Do you have any other annoyed bits? If not, I've got one more.
Speaker 1:You've got one more.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I'm giving you the chance first.
Speaker 1:I feel that I've got so wound up I can't remember what I'm going to say.
Speaker 2:You're holding you up. I'm kicking myself. For anyone that's watching I'm about to say Anyone that's watching the back of the TV Linda's there giving herself little hugs. Yeah, it's like I say, it's kind of therapy.
Speaker 1:It is kind of therapy. Oh, I do have one.
Speaker 2:Go for it.
Speaker 1:Maybe it was the one you were thinking of as well.
Speaker 2:It might be.
Speaker 1:When you're on the drinks package. It's not the one I was thinking of. Okay, and you then decide to order a drink that's over the drinks package, which can happen. I didn't think of this either. Of course I wouldn't think of this one.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you would.
Speaker 1:When you order the cocktail that you want and it's not on the drinks package, and then they go oh well, we're not going to charge you the difference, we'll pay you the full price, but you get a 30% discount.
Speaker 2:Usually 20% almost.
Speaker 1:Oh, thanks, cheers for that. I hate that, that's so annoying I do.
Speaker 2:There's quite a few that do that. Yes, I think there's now more that don't do that.
Speaker 1:Don't do it. It's tacky, just don't do it.
Speaker 2:The big lines. Some of them do it, some don't do it, so P&O does do that QNAD does that. Do QNAD do it? Yeah, QNAD does it.
Speaker 1:I thought you paid the difference.
Speaker 2:No, qnad charges QNAD, but what you've got within your limit is much better on there compared to, say, p&o, from how we use the drinks packages, so we've not really ever noticed it as much. It's incredibly frustrating because a lot of the cruise lines now have some really fancy cocktails that you might want to get that are not included, or you might want to have a really fancy spurt If you've got a, let's say, a $10 allowance.
Speaker 2:It's not no, no, but I'm just doing it because it's in the past. And you see, there's a really nice whiskey that you want to have. Okay, and that's $25. Well, why not encourage someone to spend an extra $15 with you when they're on board, instead of getting them to pay $20.
Speaker 1:Which they won't do, which would be the $25 less? No, they won't do.
Speaker 2:They might do it once if it was their birthday, but if when you're in, for instance, on Celebrity Airpacks, when we went into Eden, they have some fantastic cocktails on there and when we went on it, which was sort of November 23, the vast majority of the cocktails on the ship, or the martini, were all included within the premium. I think most of them were still included in the premium. Yeah, yeah, there's a lot. It's the sort of basic one, not classic, I think is what we call it. But when we went into Eden, they have a couple of ones in there that are like between 18 and 25 dollars and we upgraded for them yeah, we did yeah and we paid the extra two, three dollars because we're like, yeah, it's worth it, we want to try it and it just encouraged us and it's not.
Speaker 2:It's not annoying no, and I'm with you. I don't get why cruise drinks packages have to be so different on every ship.
Speaker 1:No, they're going to say that they've looked at the audience, they've looked at the data and this is what the guests want.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I don't believe there's any guest that doesn't want to pay the difference between a more expensive drink and the drinks package allowance. No, if you are one of those people who does just want a discount and don't want to pay it cheaper, please put it in the comments and let us know why, because I honestly can't think of any reason why anyone would want that. So I don't believe that. There's an audience thing Again. It goes back to that earlier one of nickel and diming, and we've already got your money as a drinks package. If you want to have it fancier, we're going to get even more money as well. Yeah, just let us pay the difference between it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, let's do that for those that don't want to spend any more money they don't have to, no and for those of us that might want to have, a fancy cocktail or a fancy spirit, yeah, uh, occasionally. Yeah, let's spend more money again.
Speaker 1:We'll try to spend more money in, in, in a way that we both like yes and that's a win-win.
Speaker 2:Uh, my final one before we go on to the new sketches, because I said I touched on it earlier so I'll come back to it pretend sales. These annoy me on land just as much, where you have a closing down sale 20% off this day and you know they've put the prices up to bring them down. Cruise ships seem to do it a lot. On this one day there's a Tanzanite sale. On this next day there's a merchandise sale. It's like with the spa element to it. If you wanted to sell them at that price, do it at that price. We have been on. I'm going to mention Subway Apex again, because that were a genuine sale, because it was the repositioning one and they were signed off the merch that had been signed in the Mediterranean in the summer.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:And it was different to what they were signing in the cabin. So it was genuinely like 60%, 70% off, yeah, and people were grabbing it in droves.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:We even tried to, but there were none of the sizes we wanted at that point. No, no. So there are real, genuine sales on there. Yes, but it's one way. It's like today's sales.
Speaker 1:End of cruise sale. Yeah, and you're like you had an end of cruise last week love.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's just, I'm so annoyed.
Speaker 2:Yeah, lindsay, getting extra no than with this one. But yeah, it's just one of those bits that I find them frustrating. I don't like them on sale land. I don't like them on the ship. Have genuine sales, have genuine offers on Just yeah. Just, don't insult my intelligence by me thinking that it's the best sale and the only time you're ever going to do it. We all know it's not. No, do you feel better for getting all those things out of your system?
Speaker 1:No.
Speaker 2:Will it make you feel better when there's some vodka in your drink later on? Yes, okay, well, we'll sort that out shortly. Thank you, let's get on to the news stories. Okay, okay. So we've got three news stories, as usual, so we're gonna start off with piano again. Oh, now piano have made a couple of new stories over sort of the last couple of months. Yeah, we've been doing these. They've just announced who their new air travel partners are from November 24th so in a few months' time through to March 25th. Most people listening to this will know of the Maleth Maleth disaster. From both a PR point of view and people's experience, it's just not been good and it will come as no surprise to anyone that they've not renewed that contract.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that they've decided not to renew it and that Maleth are busy with some other types of flights.
Speaker 2:Well, all that their press release is is that they have officially said that they have learned lessons over the last year.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Which the only bit where everyone's talking about for now is Maleth, and they didn't say we're really grateful to Maleth for the last year. So going back to not break, it's just the pretending that they didn't exist. So what they've now done, they've doubled down on the contract with TUI, who they've been using for a long time, yeah, and no one seems to have any issues with that no, no, no, no no.
Speaker 2:They've brought on North Atlantic Airways. Oh, nice, they're going to do weekly flights from Manchester to Barbados, nice. And then they're doing one flight a fortnight from Heathrow for Virgin Wonderful. So that's for if you're going on to P&O on Britannia or Harvey while they're in their winter season in the Caribbean. Yeah, that's definitely going to be of interest to you?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I hope it doesn't mess with the pricing too much, but that's nice.
Speaker 2:I don't think it will. As I said, they had two before. The Virgin one was the one that surprised me because they're chartering a flight from them every two weeks, okay, which I can't imagine was the cheapest thing, but you know, well done to them. And what they have said is that all of the ones now all of in-flight entertainment which Maleth didn't? They all offer sort of premium options and they also have multiple classes that you can choose if you want to be in economy, premium, business.
Speaker 1:Can I just say something about?
Speaker 2:this you can say anything.
Speaker 1:I would just like to put this out there to any cruise lines who's looking to partner with an airline. I wouldn't use the airline where you book the plane using an Infolat email address. That's not.
Speaker 2:That's on Malath's website, isn't it? The only way to get in touch with him is via Infolat.
Speaker 1:An Infolat email address, so I would say that out to anyone looking.
Speaker 2:Who's looking at their future partners. Yes, as to who to use. Now, we never experienced Malath ourselves. No, we didn't. We genuinely can't come in, but we watched an awful lot. Oh, poor Jamie, we had Jamie on here, yeah, yeah, yeah, on the previous episode. Yeah, and he's talked an awful lot about it. Yeah, it wasn't just a one-off incident with Malath. There were a lot of them.
Speaker 1:So they have realised that it was always going to happen P&R and that's annoying, that's annoying for people. People could see it, yeah right from the start.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but I think at that point these are not ones where you can suddenly go right. We're going to change the airline tomorrow no there'll have been contracts in place, yes, also logistics of getting another part. Yeah, yeah, I'm sure, yeah, I'm absolutely positive that P&O would have wanted rid of Maleth pretty much as soon as they got on. As soon as these are negative PR stats.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because.
Speaker 2:It's taking time to get to that.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but well done at least. I will be quite. I mean, that's more of my drink.
Speaker 2:Yeah, alcohol-free drink.
Speaker 1:My alcohols.
Speaker 2:News story number two Celebrity has announced it's improving its retreat offering. Okay, their retreat is their suite neighborhood, yes, yeah, with lots of bits in. I'm really interested to see what you think about these. They are offering a new butler chat via WhatsApp. Okay, so you can get in touch with your butler 24-7 via WhatsApp.
Speaker 1:I never know what to do with my butler, though.
Speaker 2:Well, it's not a thing that we've had a regular issue with.
Speaker 1:We've had it once.
Speaker 2:We've had one butler and he were brilliant. We figured out what to do.
Speaker 1:Oh, that time he delivered that meringue pie. Yeah, that was very good that lemon meringue oh.
Speaker 2:They've also changed the in-suite dining menu with options for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Okay, lovely, which is nice Apparently improve the foods in Luminaire.
Speaker 1:Nice because you do get a different choice. It's not like NCL, where you do get a different menu every day.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and they are changing what premium wines they've got, introducing more of them, as well as improving the priority luggage drop-off and the embarkation. Okay, so not only the drop-off but the delivery to your room Lovely, which I think that's a really nice bit. When you're on the ship, you want your luggage to be safe and you've paid all that money yeah. So any thoughts on any of their sort of tweaks?
Speaker 1:No no.
Speaker 2:Does it make you want to go on retreat more? I?
Speaker 1:didn't know we were going on retreat?
Speaker 2:Well, not at the moment, but does it make you want to go on it more? Or do you think it's just if you booked it you would be like, oh, that's a nice extra.
Speaker 1:I think that's it.
Speaker 2:It won't make you want to sign up for it more. No, no, I don't think it's. It's a value add. Yeah, I think if you're in there, you're going to be like this is great. They'll be interested to see how things like the WhatsApp works with that. Yeah, and it'll be just interesting to see the feedback on it.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Well done.
Speaker 1:As long as they don't respond in GIFs.
Speaker 2:Send your thumbs up.
Speaker 1:I bet you do, I bet, you do, I bet you do.
Speaker 2:I bet you do. Final news story Okay, oceania, which is not one that we feature on here a lot Because we've not been on them.
Speaker 1:No, we've got friends who have been on there. We have.
Speaker 2:Yeah, everyone who's been on it. So we will get on with Venture, but they've got a new ship coming, I believe it's called Allura.
Speaker 1:Oh nice, I like that.
Speaker 2:And Can you guess what's coming next in this story? What? What normally comes next when I talk about a new ship coming out?
Speaker 1:Has it been delayed?
Speaker 2:No, it's coming out early. What, yeah? And the more impressive thing, it's being built at Fincantieri and it's coming out early. The last batch of ships Sun, princess, queen, etc. Etc. Resilient, brilliant lady. They've come out of there more than substantially late. Wow, allura is coming out a week earlier, so they're now doing a new inaugural A new inaugural. Yeah, which is going directly out of? Is it Trieste, Trieste?
Speaker 1:Trieste.
Speaker 2:Where the shipyard is. Is it Northern Italy? Yeah, so going out of there, sailing down to Athens.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:On July 18th. It was originally coming out of Athens on the 24th, and one of the bits that I really liked about that and why it's on the news that I want to talk about was that, before they made it public to anyone, they got in touch with all the passengers on the original inaugural and gave them the option to move to the new one.
Speaker 1:That's how you do it If they wanted to do it. That's how you do it Now it's only a six-night sailing.
Speaker 2:I don't know if the one on the 24th was longer.
Speaker 1:That's how you do it.
Speaker 2:I thought that was a really good way. So one it's a ship being delivered early from Fincantieri. That in itself minor miracle, but just really well handled.
Speaker 1:Wow, yeah, what a lovely thing to end on. We've only been talking about annoying things.
Speaker 2:Annoying things, and you were genuinely expecting that to be a delay there.
Speaker 1:That's nice. That makes me feel better.
Speaker 2:Good, I'm glad that's, I'm happy to feel that. Well, we're virtually at the end of the episode. So the next episode we have another special guest joining us. We do. So that'll be two weeks today that that one's out. So we hope you enjoy that we will. And that brings us up to the end of the episode. So it just remains for me to say cheers Linz, cheers darling.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening and have a lovely day.