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Casino & comps

The part of cruising nobody explains properly. This is where we are going deepest.

• Casino Offer DecoderIs your free cruise really free? A free calculator.
• Comp WalletTrack every casino offer, deadline and tier on your phone.
• How the free cruise offers actually workTwo systems nobody separates, the host desk question to ask on day one, and what happened when I gambled less money
• What a "free" cruise actually costsThe cabin is the free part. Everything else, and the five things to check before you accept an offer.
• Casino programmes, tier by tierClub Royale, Blue Chip, Players Advantage: published thresholds and the fine print
• Which bets eat your money fastest27 casino bets ranked by what they cost you per $100.
• Set your budget at home, and keep itMy rules, the traps that blow budgets, and a wallet card.
• Slots, video poker and pointsWhat each point really costs you, line by line.
• Table games: best and worst betsBlackjack, craps, baccarat, roulette and the side bets to skip.
• How casino offers are worked outTheoretical loss, explained without the jargon.
• Instant certificates and the host deskThe chart, the questions to ask, and my deposit lesson.
• Land casino partnersMGM, Hard Rock, Caesars and Bally's, and what they link to.
• Casino myths and mind trapsWhy “it's due” and “house money” cost people money.
• Taxes on casino wins (2026)The new $2,000 slot threshold and the 90% loss rule.
• Play safe: limits and free helpWarning signs, self-exclusion and 1-800-MY-RESET.

Planning & packing

The practical pages. Built from the cruise lines' own rules and from NOAA, not from somebody's opinion.

• Sailing-Day TimelineWhat time to leave and where to park on embarkation day, free.
• Packing List MakerYour own packing list for your line and your trip, free.
• Cruise CountdownDays to go, your checklist and reminders, free.
• First cruise? Fourteen things I wish somebody had told meThe power strip that gets confiscated, the curling iron that does not, and the day-one casino question
• What to wear on a cruise when you are over 50The published dress codes, two formal nights, and the shoe question nobody writes about
• Cruise outfits for women over 50: what I would buyPicked for a ship, not a photo shoot — fabric that survives a suitcase, pockets, and flat shoes
• The Packing & Prep ListFree printable checklist: eight weeks out to the morning you board, in the order you need it
• What to pack, and what they will take off youEvery line's prohibited items side by side, plus the TSA rules for the flight down
• Luggage limits, and the number in the contract nobody readsMost lines publish no bag limit. They do publish how little they owe you if it is lost.
• The best time to cruise Alaska, in actual numbersNOAA rainfall and temperature month by month, daylight hours, and when the bears actually show up
• What to pack for an Alaska cruiseReal temperatures instead of "bring layers," and the thing I most wish I had packed

Alaska

New in September 2026, and built from a July round trip out of Seattle on the Emerald Princess.

• My first Alaska cruise, and what I would tell youEight things I got right and wrong, including the alarm I am very glad I set
• The best time to cruise AlaskaMonth by month from NOAA: rain, temperature, daylight and wildlife timing
• What to pack for AlaskaBuilt on real temperature normals, not guesswork
• Tracy Arm FjordThe morning that made the trip, and the 2025 landslide nobody mentions
• Skagway and the White Pass railwayThe one great excursion you can do sitting down, and the passport rule people get wrong
• All five Alaska port guidesKetchikan, Tracy Arm, Juneau, Skagway, Victoria BC

Port guides

Twenty-seven guides and counting. They live on their own index, grouped by US state for departure ports and by region for destination ports.

• Departure portsFlorida, Texas and Louisiana: terminals, parking on and off the port, airport distances, arrival rules
• Alaska and the Inside PassageKetchikan, Tracy Arm, Juneau, Skagway, Victoria BC
• Bahamas and private islandsNassau, CocoCay, Princess Cays
• Eastern CaribbeanSt. Thomas, St. Maarten, Grand Turk, Amber Cove
• Western CaribbeanCozumel, Costa Maya, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios, Key West
• Southern CaribbeanAruba, Curaçao
• Booking excursionsCruise line vs. independent, and the return-to-ship question

Making a port day work

Written from my own port days, not from a press release.

• Port Day PlannerPlan every port around how far you can walk, free.
• You are allowed to stay on the shipNobody says this out loud. When staying aboard is the better day, and how to do it well.
• A whole day at CocoCay without paying for anythingMy favourite beach day in cruising, and I have never bought the waterpark
• Ten visits to Cozumel, and what I do nowChankanaab with small children, the inland tour that surprised me, and checking your pier first
• Skip the trolley. Rent the little car.$40.80 and $50.30 for the organised tours, or make your own for less
• Tender ports, honestlyWhy the captain can cancel, what happens to your money, and how to plan around it

What it really costs

Every number here comes from the cruise line's own published page, with the link.

• From $3,277 to $609: how we cruise for lessThe real receipts, five money traps and what those prices leave out.
• Real Cost CalculatorWhat your cruise really costs, per person and per day, free.
• Daily gratuities, line by lineThe published daily amount on Royal, Celebrity and Princess
• Is a drink package worth it?The break-even for ten lines, five cheaper ways, and where the free drinks are (Season 5, Episode 1)
• Drink packages and Wi-FiWhat each package covers, and which prices are actually published
• What you have already paid forThe free drinks list line by line, and what the bundles really cost
• Specialty dining, and who will tell you the priceThree lines publish their cover charges. Two will not until you have booked.
• Room service is not free any moreEvery published fee, the breakfast exemptions, and who still gets it included

Cruising with accessibility needs

Tired knees, a bad back, a chair, a cane on bad days. You are allowed to have a wonderful cruise anyway, and that subject is too big to be a footnote here.

It has its own site. SailsAnyway is where I put all of it: which tender ports are genuinely a problem and why, what each pier asks of you before you even reach the terminal, the special-needs forms and the deadlines that catch people out, choosing a cabin you can actually move around in, and what the cruise lines publish about mobility devices, in their own words.

Same voice you are reading now. Same rule about sourcing every figure. All of it in one place instead of scattered across twenty pages.

Health at sea

The part of cruising nobody wants to think about until they have to. Every figure here comes from the CDC, the FDA, Medicare or the cruise lines' own contracts.

• What the ship's doctor actually costsNot one line publishes a price. What they do publish, and why the doctor works for you, not the ship.
• Seasickness: what the CDC actually saysThe best countermeasure is not a drug — plus the patch warning that matters if you are over 60
• Norovirus: the real numbersThe 3% threshold behind the headlines, and the hand sanitiser mistake nearly everyone makes
• If something goes wrong at sea95% is handled onboard. What the contracts say about the other 5%, and who pays.
• The six-hour rule nobody told you aboutWhere Medicare stops, and what to compare in a policy
• Before you sailDocuments, deadlines, health guidance, airport rules

Grandkids and family

Sailing with the grandchildren, from the paperwork to the kids club door.

• Junior Cruiser Fun PackFree printable cruise activities for grandkids, made with their names.
• Taking a grandchild without their parentsThe notarised consent form, the birth certificate rule, and the proof-of-relationship problem when surnames differ
• Kids clubs, age by agePublished ages, hours and fees — plus the potty-training rule that catches families out
• A whole day at CocoCay without paying for anythingMy favourite beach day in cruising, done free

Booking, fares and loyalty

Where the money actually hides. All of it from the lines' own published terms.

• Discounts nobody offers youMilitary, first responders, teachers, nurses, airline families — four lines compared, quoted from their own pages
• Senior cruise discounts start at 55, not 65Which lines publish one, which publishes none, and why these rates never stack
• Military and veteran rates, line by lineWho qualifies, the exact ID colour they ask for, and what happens if you cannot prove it
• The refund nobody tells you about48 hours to final payment, cash or onboard credit — and you have to ask
• Final payment: the date that decides everythingEvery line's deadline, and the Princess change that moved it by a month
• The perk almost nobody claims100 shares gets you onboard credit on all three major groups. All live, all published.
• Sailing alone, and the 200% problemWho publishes the single supplement, and which line actually built cabins for one
• The six-hour rule nobody told you aboutMedicare stops six hours from a US port, and what to compare in a policy
• Loyalty programmes comparedCrown & Anchor, Captain's Club, Captain's Circle, and where the perks start

First time out

• Embarkation day, hour by hourArrival windows, the all-aboard deadline that is earlier than you think, and how the muster drill works now
• What you have already paid forEach line's published free drinks list, and the extras that surprise people
• Before you sailDocuments, deadlines, health guidance, airport rules
• The podcastWeekly episodes, coming soon

Your cruise, sorted

Ready to plan the fun part?

Book a cruiseFind your next sailingEvery major cruise line in one big, easy-to-read search. Tick 55 or older and the senior rates show up.Search cruises → Travel insuranceSail with peace of mindWhat a policy really needs to cover at sea, and when to buy it so you're not left out.Compare cover → Shore excursionsMake port day the best dayBeach days, snorkel trips and island tours, booked so the ship never leaves without you.Find a tour → Port hotelsArrive the night beforeHand-picked hotels near the cruise port, so the only thing you rush for is the buffet.Pick a hotel →

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