Thanks so much for watching my video! If you enjoyed, please support my channel by clicking both the LIKE and SUBSCRIBE buttons! Want to check out episode 1 of this series? ua-cam.com/video/N8mbNtUYahU/v-deo.html
I can’t imagine sailing on one of those huge ships. I love the smaller ships. I hope the industry will build small ships to replace some of these older ships that are my favorites.
Hi Linda, I totally agree. While I do enjoy the big ships, there’s a real place for the smaller ship model too, in my opinion. I’d love to see the likes of Royal Caribbean replace one of their older ships with a brand new smaller ship, but I’m just not sure they will 😔 Thanks for watching!!
Thanks for another great video , Fraser. I agree with so much of your overview. It’s wonderful to meet crew members again on another ship, it’s like meeting old friends and you get better service. One of my friends is on NCL Escape at the moment and I’ve told her that you’ve listed it as your second favourite ship, she’ll be thrilled. I enjoy the small ship experience a lot more than larger ships for example Queen Victoria to Queen Anne. Never saw a queue anywhere on QV. unfortunately the newer ships are getting bigger and are like theme parks on sea while the smaller ships are getting more expensive to travel with. I’m looking forward to your next instalment.
Ahh, how great that she’s on Escape currently - hope she’s having a great cruise! Thanks so much for following along - I really appreciate your support! 😊
I have been watching your videos since your cruise on Costa Diadema. It was perfect, since I had booked this ship for my 2024 cruise here in BR. I am mother to a crew member, so to see you point out how they are the nicest, is so touching. Yes, be the light in the life if these people who spend 7 to 10 months per year, working 7/7 a week, 11 hours a day, away from family and loved ones. Be polite and kind, if not nothing else.❤❤❤❤ We asked if the people we were in contact the most, had been able to visit the ports, if they needed anything from shore. Bought a souvenir and small tokens of appreciation for them. The smile we received back... WOW.
Ahh, thanks so much for supporting my channel - I appreciate that so much! It’s true - the crew really are wonderful. Thanks again for watching my videos!!
Hey Fraser, just sailed in Japan, add to your bucket list, it’s my new favorite destination, in fact many Asian cruises are incredible, consider for you future cruises
I absolutely agree with you regarding NCL Escape. That was my first cruise ship too, July 4th week 2016. 😊 After 16 cruises on NCL and 3 times on Escape, it still remains my favorite cruise ship too. I love the changing lights in the solo cabins. I'm a Solo traveler who has many friends on NCL. It's the best cruise line for solo cruisers. Agree too that Choir of Man was one of the best shows I ever saw on NCL. Great video, so informative! Thank you!!
Ahh, amazing that you also love Escape! Who knows - maybe I’ll bump into you in the Studio Lounge one day! Thanks so much for watching and therefore supporting my channel!!
Thanks for sharing your ongoing experiences, good or not so good adding your positive spin! I’ve always believed that we get what we pay for and cruises are no exception! I agree that we need to treat everyone with decency. We’ve only been on a handful of cruises and have seen a few displays of bad behaviour dealt with swiftly by security!
Thanks for a great video, Fraser. Like you, we save hard for our holidays. We are flying out of Perth tomorrow to join Queen Elizabeth in Sydney. With Cunard pulling out of Australia for the foreseeable future, it will be our last cruise, sadly. Queen Elizabeth is a beautiful ship. I'm looking forward to a week of no household chores.
The Panama Canal is an engineering marvel and the fact that two guys in a rowboat hook the giant ships up to the guide trans is just mind blowing. The old locks are a must do, but need the smaller ships for that (which I prefer anyway)
Saw Choir of Men in London, was well worth it, love these shows that feel more like a concert, has a total different vibe! (much like Once!) Highly amused your top 3 was Marella Discovery 😀 But for real those Visions are meant to be amazing. Also yout number 1, so spooky, as tonight im nosing on Cunard and spotted what Elizabeth is doing for next Decemeber and, im sold 🙂 Also totally not surprised about Meraviglia that was stressful just to watch.
Ahh, Choir of Man is such a brilliant show - such good vibes! Also, delighted you’re now sold on Queen Elizabeth - you won’t be disappointed booking a cruise on her! Thanks again for your support!!
I’m so happy to hear that QE is one of your favorite ships. I’m sailing on the QE in May from Tokyo to Seattle, 20 days. My 13th cruise! First on Cunard. ❤️
Hi Robin! Ahh, the whole experience on there was lovely - I’m thrilled you’re giving it a go! Also, what a great itinerary you’ve chosen - that’s going to be brilliant!
I ❤ this series, Fraser. I am contemplating spending 6 months at sea and it is so timely. Can’t wait to hear how you planned and what your criteria was for choosing the various legs of your adventure. I struggle with cruiseplum and other tools when looking at months of cruise travel with little land time in between. My big, hairy, audacious question for you is Would you do it again?
Thanks for your lovely video! I’m always I’ve made the Canal transit but haven’t yet to sail Cunard. Going to have to remedy that 😊 I know how feel about Escape. I’ve been on her twice and she always was delightful to me.
The Queen E is certainly the most beautiful ship I've ever been on. It's a pity that people think Cunard is so formal. They are missing something great. One nit, it isn't enormous. At a capacity of just over 2000, it is smaller than average today.
Great part 2 video, Fraser, I really enjoyed it. One thing I am wondering, do you think that maybe you have found that you enjoy a cruise more, when travelling solo, when you have found friends? Has that influenced your rankings at all?
Hi Brenda, it’s a good question! To be honest, that aspect doesn’t matter too much in my mind. Yes, it’s good to meet company on the ships, but still do most of the onboard activities solo, and explore the ports on my own, so I don’t think it massively changes the experience. That said, it is lovely to make friends onboard who then become my friendly and familiar faces around the ship!
I'm so sorry about the experience you had on the MSC Meraviglia ... I've sailed it 4 (maybe 5?) times and had a great time every time. Granted, I only cruise MSC in the Yacht Club and I'm Blue Diamond in their loyalty scheme, Voyagers Club, but the ship itself is pretty gorgeous and, being a US citizen, I didn't run into the same $hit $how you did for passport control (besides, they usually escort us in the YC down for passport control ahead of most everyone else and it took about 10 minutes tops) .... we also get a pretty great list of included amenities such as the private escorts and easy, quick embarkation/disembarkation and tender service. We OFTEN cruise on NCL and never in Haven, and sometimes (usually) in an inside cabin ... we just don't like it in Haven and the cost is ridiculous for what you get compared to MSC YC... but we feel like MSC "general population" probably wouldn't be our thing. In April we did a 3-week cruise from Rio to Rome on the MSC Seaview (in the YC) ... it was great ... the ship catered to Brazilian passengers mostly, so we missed things like daily trivia in English (it's pretty hard to do trivia several times a day in 4 or 5 languages...) and some other "US-centered activities," but we really enjoyed it and loved being on a ship with very few Americans. It really makes you feel like you're doing something more interesting and cosmopolitan. We loved hanging out with people from other countries - it was so fascinating.
Sounds like you’ve had some great experiences on there - I’m happy to read that the nightmare I had isn’t a ship wide problem, and seems to have been a series of isolated incidents (hopefully). Long may that continue! Also, totally agree that the experience is very different on the ‘other side of the door’… Maybe one day!
My first two cruises were on the Rhapsody in the Mediterranean with 3 other ladies in an inside cabin! It’s the perfect size ship and the cruise director and staff made things soooooo fun! I’m kind of skeptical of Norwegian, but I won’t rule them out like some others (👁️👁️ MSC). A Panama canal cruise is definitely on my bucket list, but I’ll probably go on HAL (my favorite line for now anyway). My inner pettiness is overjoyed at seeing you rank the Meraviglia in the toilet. 😈🥳😂
PS Yes, I get so mad when passengers treat staff like crap. I usually bring a wad of $1 bills and give out every time I get a drink or some other act of service. Maybe it’s classist or something of me, but those people work for peanuts, live in semi prison like accommodations, and are often trapped on board for 8-12 months at a time. I’ve noticed that some cruise ships have the staff decks enclosed by chain link fence. Ugh the underside of vacationing.
Ahh, I’m so happy you’ve also sailed on Rhapsody - I loved that ship! I love that you also treat the staff well - it costs nothing to be kind and lovely 😊 Thanks for your continued support!!
We had the exact same experience last October with Meraviglia with the tenders. We were not able to get off at Rhode island at all. We got our ticket at 8 am and were still on the ship at 1pm. The organisation was dreadful.
Nice video, btw i really liked my cruise on costa smeralda, i would love to go on a oasis class ship, have you noticed a huge gap between what each ship has to offer?
Hi Marie, thanks for watching, and thanks for taking the time to comment! Oasis are amazing - just so so so big! Each ship is so different, but I think that’s a great thing - means there’s something for everyone!
Hello! These videos are brand new, and episode 3 isn’t released yet. It’ll go live on Thursday evening this week 😊 Thanks a lot for watching and following along!
Thanks so much for watching my video! If you enjoyed, please support my channel by clicking both the LIKE and SUBSCRIBE buttons!
Want to check out episode 1 of this series? ua-cam.com/video/N8mbNtUYahU/v-deo.html
I can’t imagine sailing on one of those huge ships. I love the smaller ships. I hope the industry will build small ships to replace some of these older ships that are my favorites.
Hi Linda, I totally agree. While I do enjoy the big ships, there’s a real place for the smaller ship model too, in my opinion. I’d love to see the likes of Royal Caribbean replace one of their older ships with a brand new smaller ship, but I’m just not sure they will 😔
Thanks for watching!!
Thanks for another great video , Fraser. I agree with so much of your overview.
It’s wonderful to meet crew members again on another ship, it’s like meeting old friends and you get better service. One of my friends is on NCL Escape at the moment and I’ve told her that you’ve listed it as your second favourite ship, she’ll be thrilled.
I enjoy the small ship experience a lot more than larger ships for example Queen Victoria to Queen Anne. Never saw a queue anywhere on QV. unfortunately the newer ships are getting bigger and are like theme parks on sea while the smaller ships are getting more expensive to travel with.
I’m looking forward to your next instalment.
Ahh, how great that she’s on Escape currently - hope she’s having a great cruise! Thanks so much for following along - I really appreciate your support! 😊
I have been watching your videos since your cruise on Costa Diadema. It was perfect, since I had booked this ship for my 2024 cruise here in BR. I am mother to a crew member, so to see you point out how they are the nicest, is so touching. Yes, be the light in the life if these people who spend 7 to 10 months per year, working 7/7 a week, 11 hours a day, away from family and loved ones. Be polite and kind, if not nothing else.❤❤❤❤ We asked if the people we were in contact the most, had been able to visit the ports, if they needed anything from shore. Bought a souvenir and small tokens of appreciation for them. The smile we received back... WOW.
Ahh, thanks so much for supporting my channel - I appreciate that so much! It’s true - the crew really are wonderful.
Thanks again for watching my videos!!
We’ve seen Choir of Man on the Norwegian Encore, it was such a fun show! The cast gave out beers to audience members before the show!
Ahh, that was the same on Escape! It was SO funny to watch, and mega uplifting - I’d love to go again some time!
Great video Fraser - very informative for someone considering a first cruise next year! Love you attitude…and your accent! Thank you!
Ahh, thanks for watching! Keep me posted on the first cruise - how exciting!!
Really great overview! Covered a lot with this one, thanks Fraser! 😊
Thanks a lot, Tammy!
Hey Fraser, just sailed in Japan, add to your bucket list, it’s my new favorite destination, in fact many Asian cruises are incredible, consider for you future cruises
Oh wow - Japan is on my list for sure. Great to hear you enjoyed it!!
I absolutely agree with you regarding NCL Escape. That was my first cruise ship too, July 4th week 2016. 😊 After 16 cruises on NCL and 3 times on Escape, it still remains my favorite cruise ship too. I love the changing lights in the solo cabins. I'm a Solo traveler who has many friends on NCL. It's the best cruise line for solo cruisers. Agree too that Choir of Man was one of the best shows I ever saw on NCL. Great video, so informative! Thank you!!
Ahh, amazing that you also love Escape! Who knows - maybe I’ll bump into you in the Studio Lounge one day!
Thanks so much for watching and therefore supporting my channel!!
@@FraserAtSea Yes, that would be awesome! 😎 You're welcome!
Thanks for sharing your ongoing experiences, good or not so good adding your positive spin! I’ve always believed that we get what we pay for and cruises are no exception! I agree that we need to treat everyone with decency. We’ve only been on a handful of cruises and have seen a few displays of bad behaviour dealt with swiftly by security!
Thanks a lot for watching, Paul - glad to read you’re enjoying my videos!
Great job! Such an important point about thinking positively. Mindset and attitude make all the difference.
Thanks a lot, Abraham!
Thanks for a great video, Fraser. Like you, we save hard for our holidays. We are flying out of Perth tomorrow to join Queen Elizabeth in Sydney. With Cunard pulling out of Australia for the foreseeable future, it will be our last cruise, sadly. Queen Elizabeth is a beautiful ship. I'm looking forward to a week of no household chores.
Oh, have the best trip - Queen Elizabeth is a gorgeous experience, and what a port to be leaving from - enjoy!!
Apparently the water from the taps is drinkable, so you could refill your water bottle in the bathroom.
I think this is the case on some ships, but not all. I always prefer to get my water from a water station, just to be on the safe side!
The Panama Canal is an engineering marvel and the fact that two guys in a rowboat hook the giant ships up to the guide trans is just mind blowing. The old locks are a must do, but need the smaller ships for that (which I prefer anyway)
I completely agree - I was absolutely AMAZED watching the two men in the tow boat - I couldn’t believe that! Thanks for watching, Judy!!
Awesome videos you’re definitely living the dream
Thanks a lot, Kelly!
Saw Choir of Men in London, was well worth it, love these shows that feel more like a concert, has a total different vibe! (much like Once!) Highly amused your top 3 was Marella Discovery 😀 But for real those Visions are meant to be amazing. Also yout number 1, so spooky, as tonight im nosing on Cunard and spotted what Elizabeth is doing for next Decemeber and, im sold 🙂
Also totally not surprised about Meraviglia that was stressful just to watch.
Ahh, Choir of Man is such a brilliant show - such good vibes! Also, delighted you’re now sold on Queen Elizabeth - you won’t be disappointed booking a cruise on her! Thanks again for your support!!
Really great information! 🙏
Thanks so much!
Excellent video!
Thank you! 😊
I’m so happy to hear that QE is one of your favorite ships. I’m sailing on the QE in May from Tokyo to Seattle, 20 days. My 13th cruise! First on Cunard. ❤️
Hi Robin! Ahh, the whole experience on there was lovely - I’m thrilled you’re giving it a go! Also, what a great itinerary you’ve chosen - that’s going to be brilliant!
Congrats you could do this !! I would love the total money per cruise spent breakdown. Love your positive attitude
Thanks a lot! I’m so happy everyone seems to be enjoying this series so far! 😊
I ❤ this series, Fraser. I am contemplating spending 6 months at sea and it is so timely. Can’t wait to hear how you planned and what your criteria was for choosing the various legs of your adventure. I struggle with cruiseplum and other tools when looking at months of cruise travel with little land time in between.
My big, hairy, audacious question for you is Would you do it again?
Ahh, great to hear you’re enjoying it - lots more still to come 😊 I’ll bank your question for episode 7 - thanks for this!!
Totally agree that Queen Elizabeth is a lovely experience, for me it epitomises what cruising should be !
I’d tend to agree - everything about it just felt perfect!
Loved it. Looking forward to the next installment.
Thanks for following - the next episode is now live!
I loved this voltage!
Thanks for watching!!
I had an amazing time on MSC Meraviglia and last week i was on the world europa and it was perfect
So glad to hear you enjoyed and my experience sounds like a one off!
Looking forward to #3 :)
Thanks, Johnny!
I love this
Thank you!!
You are terrific! Thank you!!!
Thanks so much 🥹🥹
Thanks for your lovely video! I’m always I’ve made the Canal transit but haven’t yet to sail Cunard. Going to have to remedy that 😊 I know how feel about Escape. I’ve been on her twice and she always was delightful to me.
Thanks so much for watching, Tina. Glad you enjoyed, and yes - please do try Cunard!!
Hurricane season goes through the month of November. People need to understand that itineraries will change/delayed if the weather is bad.
Great point!!
The Queen E is certainly the most beautiful ship I've ever been on. It's a pity that people think Cunard is so formal. They are missing something great. One nit, it isn't enormous. At a capacity of just over 2000, it is smaller than average today.
I totally agree that it’s a shame people have those thoughts! Thanks a lot for watching!!
Thanks for sharing your perspective. Our planet is 3/4 water--how better to learn that majority view than on a trusty ship
Oh, I couldn’t agree more! Thanks so much for watching and therefore supporting my channel!!
Great part 2 video, Fraser, I really enjoyed it. One thing I am wondering, do you think that maybe you have found that you enjoy a cruise more, when travelling solo, when you have found friends? Has that influenced your rankings at all?
Hi Brenda, it’s a good question! To be honest, that aspect doesn’t matter too much in my mind. Yes, it’s good to meet company on the ships, but still do most of the onboard activities solo, and explore the ports on my own, so I don’t think it massively changes the experience.
That said, it is lovely to make friends onboard who then become my friendly and familiar faces around the ship!
I'm so sorry about the experience you had on the MSC Meraviglia ... I've sailed it 4 (maybe 5?) times and had a great time every time. Granted, I only cruise MSC in the Yacht Club and I'm Blue Diamond in their loyalty scheme, Voyagers Club, but the ship itself is pretty gorgeous and, being a US citizen, I didn't run into the same $hit $how you did for passport control (besides, they usually escort us in the YC down for passport control ahead of most everyone else and it took about 10 minutes tops) .... we also get a pretty great list of included amenities such as the private escorts and easy, quick embarkation/disembarkation and tender service.
We OFTEN cruise on NCL and never in Haven, and sometimes (usually) in an inside cabin ... we just don't like it in Haven and the cost is ridiculous for what you get compared to MSC YC... but we feel like MSC "general population" probably wouldn't be our thing.
In April we did a 3-week cruise from Rio to Rome on the MSC Seaview (in the YC) ... it was great ... the ship catered to Brazilian passengers mostly, so we missed things like daily trivia in English (it's pretty hard to do trivia several times a day in 4 or 5 languages...) and some other "US-centered activities," but we really enjoyed it and loved being on a ship with very few Americans. It really makes you feel like you're doing something more interesting and cosmopolitan. We loved hanging out with people from other countries - it was so fascinating.
Sounds like you’ve had some great experiences on there - I’m happy to read that the nightmare I had isn’t a ship wide problem, and seems to have been a series of isolated incidents (hopefully).
Long may that continue! Also, totally agree that the experience is very different on the ‘other side of the door’… Maybe one day!
My first two cruises were on the Rhapsody in the Mediterranean with 3 other ladies in an inside cabin! It’s the perfect size ship and the cruise director and staff made things soooooo fun!
I’m kind of skeptical of Norwegian, but I won’t rule them out like some others (👁️👁️ MSC).
A Panama canal cruise is definitely on my bucket list, but I’ll probably go on HAL (my favorite line for now anyway).
My inner pettiness is overjoyed at seeing you rank the Meraviglia in the toilet. 😈🥳😂
PS Yes, I get so mad when passengers treat staff like crap. I usually bring a wad of $1 bills and give out every time I get a drink or some other act of service. Maybe it’s classist or something of me, but those people work for peanuts, live in semi prison like accommodations, and are often trapped on board for 8-12 months at a time. I’ve noticed that some cruise ships have the staff decks enclosed by chain link fence. Ugh the underside of vacationing.
Ahh, I’m so happy you’ve also sailed on Rhapsody - I loved that ship! I love that you also treat the staff well - it costs nothing to be kind and lovely 😊
Thanks for your continued support!!
"Why take a flight when you can take a 14 night cruise" 👏👏👏 Cabin 10004 😵💫😵💫😵💫
Ha, I had to laugh saying that 😝
@FraserAtSea In that context/situation, who wouldn't ! 👍
as I work in a school I can only cruise in the school holidays and they are more expensive than going at another time 😻
Yeah, I hear you on that one - peak pricing is a nightmare to get around in this example! 😭
We had the exact same experience last October with Meraviglia with the tenders. We were not able to get off at Rhode island at all. We got our ticket at 8 am and were still on the ship at 1pm. The organisation was dreadful.
Ahh, that’s so annoying you had the same issue - so much of that cruise was a total nightmare as far as I’m concerned…
We’re there older people travelling Solo on Norwegian Escape!
Yes! There really were all ages on there! 😊
I wish I didn’t have two dogs to worry about. I’d be sailing 3 or 4 times a year!!!
I’m six years away from freedom!!
Ahh, yeah they’re a real commitment and limit you travelling, huh? It’s one of the reasons I don’t have a dog at the moment…
Nice video, btw i really liked my cruise on costa smeralda, i would love to go on a oasis class ship, have you noticed a huge gap between what each ship has to offer?
Hi Marie, thanks for watching, and thanks for taking the time to comment! Oasis are amazing - just so so so big! Each ship is so different, but I think that’s a great thing - means there’s something for everyone!
Ok Thanks you!😊@@FraserAtSea
Weird, thought I’d commented, in a complimentary way!
😊
Which one(s) of your videos would best cover the Europe vs Caribbean? (Maybe I’ve already seen it 😂)
Hello! This one should be what you’re looking for 😊
ua-cam.com/video/6WFgClpUgOg/v-deo.html
enjoyed watching your videos (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧
Thank you!!
Please put the episode number in the title. We're waiting for episode 3, and the link at the end of episode 2 takes you back to one, not onto three.
Hello! These videos are brand new, and episode 3 isn’t released yet. It’ll go live on Thursday evening this week 😊 Thanks a lot for watching and following along!
Where does your money come from to be able to afford to live on a cruise ship for 10 months out of the year??????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don’t worry - I’ll cover money in more detail as we go through 😝
Maybe the leprechauns?
Or maybe those rash of bank robberies within walking distance of the ports.
He's Scottish @@ibrachaka8727
@@johnnyfive1412😂😅😂