Review: Tips For Travelers

No matter what your travel experience may be, it is always helpful to get tips and tricks to save yourself from painful and sometimes costly mistakes. Gary D. Bembridge has "been there and done that" and is offers his experience. Each podcast focuses on a location or in this case a method of travel.

Podcast: Tips for Travelers: The Travel Destination Podcast
Episode Title: First Time Cruising (Tips for Travelers 1)
Length: 19 minutes 35 seconds
Date Recorded: 9/27/05
Podcasters: Gary D. Bembridge
Audio or Video: Audio
Quality: Good
Language: G
Website: www.tipsfortravellers.com

It begins with a brief introduction stating it is "the travel podcast of first hand experience by and for people with a passion for travel." Gary explains that this episode will focus on cruising and specifically tips for people who have never been on a cruise. The reason for this subject comes from an email he received from a reader of his long running travel blog, which has been published in several UK newspapers. The person had read a review Gary had written about a cruise line and wondered if he had any tips for a first time cruiser. The rest of the episode is broken down into the top ten tips that Gary recommends.

His first tip is "Research! Research! Research!" It's important to know what you are getting into. Two examples he gives include one woman who was complaining about how big the ship was and a couple who were disappointed by the lack of entertainment. He recommends not only checking out the website for the particular cruise line, but also exploring his three favorite independent websites.

His next tip is to not worry about getting seasick either before or after getting on the ship. He elaborates on why there is little need to worry with the way the ships are designed these days and what can be done if it does become an issue. Tip number three is get there early and check everything out. There is a boarding order depending on the type of room that has been booked. Instead of settling in and unpacking, take the opportunity to investigate the ship and get an idea of where things are located.

His fourth tip is going to the late seating for meals and sitting at the largest table possible. Gary finds that the people are livelier at that time than at the early seating. You learn how buying individual drinks and rounds for the table works, some of the pitfalls going to this seating and how dinner is slightly different. The fifth tip on this topic is related, which is to talk to people. He gives a few conversation starters and why they work.

Tip number six is to embrace the experience and get dressed up (and what that entails). Some ships are more lax than others about what is appropriate for formal night events. His seventh tip is to watch the extras (such as renting a tux for a formal night or charging a candy bar to the room) as the costs do add up, but can be managed.

His eighth tip is to stay on the ship and pick and choose which ports are worth checking out. This gives you time to relax and not rush off to meet a tour group. Also, he reminds us that this will mean places like the pool area and casino will be less crowded.

His ninth tip is about tipping. Some ships have gratuity included while others do not. There is an etiquette to this which includes when to tip and how much to give.

His final piece of advice is to plan for the following day using the newsletter the cruise line gives you each day. He recommends checking out the evening shows.

He wraps up the "Top 10" section and ends the show with a review of a book on cruising. "Cruise Ship Blues: the Underside of the Cruise Industry" written by Ross A. Klein. After reading the description on the back of the book, he gives it a lukewarm review explaining that it basically just states the obvious and describes it as "fluffy."

This is the first episode that he podcast, but you would never be able to tell. The audio quality is very good, he speaks clearly and concisely without going off topic and the material is both interesting and informative. The rest of the episodes are of this same high quality.

Download this Episode: YES
Subscribe to this podcast: YES
Episode Grade: A "Outstanding!"

If you would like to read more of an overall review of the entire podcast series, please click HERE.

Please come back next week and check out the interview with Mike Ruegel from the "Uncensored History of the Blues" podcast.

Powering off.