A cruise ship expert has issued a warning to potential passengers about one thing they should be cautious of if it’s on their itinerary.
Gary Bembridge, a travel guru, advised his Tips for Travellers YouTube channel viewers to be wary if there is a stop at a popular destination listed on their ship’s schedule but with the name of another place or city in brackets.
According to Gary, this could indicate that the cruise ship will be docked a considerable distance from the attractive city that passengers really want to visit. He informed his subscribers: “My top tip is if your itinerary has the name of a famous city like say Florence, but in brackets after it has another name like in this case Livorno or say Venice with either Ravenna or Trieste after it.
“That means the ship is docked far away and a costly seven to 10-hour excursion is needed to see these places,” reports the Express.
Gary also highlighted another reason which sometimes convinces passengers to stay on board the ship.
He provided cruisers with another valuable tip, explaining how to check whether a port or destination might be overcrowded with other tourists.
Gary stated: “Even if the sites are close to the ship, there is another time I decide to stay on board.
“And this is if I know the ports are going to be overwhelmed and packed, making getting off way less appealing.
“With the number of ships, especially mega ships, calling on the same ports as only some can handle them, these days many ports are extremely busy and crowded, especially in the Caribbean, and the Mediterranean in places like the Greek islands, Barcelona, La Palma and so on.
“My top tip is I check my itinerary on the website CruiseTimetables.com, because that tells me how many ships and which ships will be in the same port at the same time. “If there’s a port with many large ships, meaning 15,000 or more cruisers will be crowding the town and the sites, I plan to stay on board often.”