231. Small Ship Cruises: Everything You You Didn’t Know with Mikkel Woodruff

Again, things for us to know, things that newbies have no idea.

[laughs] But we don't wanna get caught unexpectedly, right? We wanna know what we're signing up for and enjoy the experience, right? We wanna be able to en- fully enjoy the experience.

I know that airlines and also the train industry in the US have loyalty programs where a lot of people can really benefit from that.

So the more, for example, in sailing, is it, like, the more you sail, you earn rewards and points? Does that exist in sailing? I'm sure every cruise line's different, but generally speaking, can we expect loyalty? Do we get perks for being loyal?

You ask such great questions-

[laughs]

... for everybody to be aware of.

I love it.

The answer is yes.

It varies cruise line to cruise line, but there are loyalty programs.

A really fantastic example is Celebrity Cruises is joining the river sector this next year, but they are booking currently for the future, and their loyalty points are gonna transfer over for their Captain's Club.

I love that on American Cruise Lines, after the second time you sail, you're automatically in their Eagle Society.

That's what they call their loyalty program.

And you get perks here and there, like you can have the small, but there is a fee waived for some optional excursions, so that's kind of a really nice perk.

So things like that.

Another amazing thing to be [laughs] aware of, and you should ask if you don't already see it in front of your face while you're cruising.

A lot of cruise lines, big and small, if you book your next cruise while on the current cruise, they give you a discount, and you can only take advantage of that discount on the cruise.

And you can just v- be very upfront and ask the salesperson on board, "Once I leave this ship, is there a way for me to get the same percentage discount as I can get right now, or do I need to make a decision right now?" And a lot of the time, it's very low risk.

You can book it on the ship, so you lock that in.

And if for some reason you wanna cancel it when you get off, a lot of the time it's 100% refundable.

I love that.

That is, you know.

I know we both love Disney.

That's my Disney, that bounce-back offer.

That is how we continuously are able to do the thing.