Is it Dumb to Take a Boat Excursion During Your Cruise? Pros, Cons & Tips

How to Budget and Save for a Cruise in a Year (or Less) with Danielle Corbett

⚓️ Dreaming of a cruise but not sure how to make it happen financially? 💭 That dream cruise doesn't have to stay a dream.  We sit down with Danielle Desir Corbett of The Thought Card to break down a realistic, stress-free system for saving for your dream cruise in a year or less — from building your travel fund to finding money you didn't know you had, and how to stay the course when life gets in the way.  Find & Follow Danielle: • Danielle's website: https://thoughtcard.com/  • The Thought Card podcast: https://thoughtcard.com/podcast/ • Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellecorbett • Threads: https://www.threads.com/@thedaniellecorbett 📖 Get Danielle's Books:  * We Are Financially Savvy Travelers: https://amzn.to/4b0Ob6Y [https://amzn.to/4b0Ob6Y%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B]  * Affording Travel: https://amzn.to/4vMAjp4 [https://amzn.to/4vMAjp4] 💰Helpful money apps and programs to help make your cruise wishes come true, mentioned during the episode: * Monarch: get 50% off using our signup link: https://sometimessailing.com/monarch * Rakuten: sign up with our link, get $50 – https://sometimessailing.com/rakuten [https://sometimessailing.com/rakuten]  * Fetch: https://fetch.com/ [https://fetch.com/]  – use INVITE CODE: TMEK67 (**must be used when you sign up, before you snap your first receipt**) * Travel insurance: https://sometimessailing.com/tr-insure [https://sometimessailing.com/tr-insure]  Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/support] 👉🏻 Press that FOLLOW button so you never miss an episode, released every other Wednesday.  Need help planning your trip? Check out our RESOURCES, whether you're looking to understand what cruise to book, which travel insurance is best, or how to organize your luggage with our packing lists: https://sometimessailing.com/resources/ ▶️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @sometimes-sailing [https://youtube.com/@sometimes-sailing] 📩 Sign up for our newsletter [https://sometimessailing.com/small-ship-cruise-talk-podcast/]. 🌏 SometimesSailing.com [https://sometimessailing.com/] has even more planning tips, firsthand experiences, & advice.   📱 Have questions or topic suggestions? Contact us [http://sometimessailing.com/contact]. ©2026 Small Ship Cruise Talk. All rights reserved. May contain affiliate links. Some trips and experiences have been hosted. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions are our own.

Cruising the Southeast Sea Islands on American Cruise Lines

We're taking you aboard American Cruise Lines' Southeast Sea Islands itinerary — a nine-day, eight-night coastal cruise through the Intracoastal Waterway on a brand-new coastal catamaran, the American Liberty. If you've only thought of ACL as a river cruise line, this one might surprise you. We cover the ship (what makes a coastal catamaran different and how it compares to ACL's river vessels), the ports, when to go, and how to get there — including a practical tip about open-jaw itineraries that fellow passengers clued us in on. The ports — Amelia Island, Jekyll Island, Savannah, Hilton Head, Beaufort, and Charleston — each brought something different, and the scenery sailing through the Low Country marshes was stunning. We also get into the excursions worth booking and wrap up with honest thoughts on who this cruise is really ideal for and whether the price is worth it. Links from this episode:  * 🍽️ See everything we ate during this cruise on our YouTube channel (don’t forget to subscribe!): https://youtu.be/IZKbztkTJOg [https://youtu.be/IZKbztkTJOg]  * 👀 These are the best binoculars for your travels: https://sometimessailing.com/best-binoculars-for-alaska-antarctica-cruise-leupold-bx-2-alpine-hd-review/ [https://sometimessailing.com/best-binoculars-for-alaska-antarctica-cruise-leupold-bx-2-alpine-hd-review/]  For more episodes about American Cruise Lines:  * Listen to our Tennessee River Cruise episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/episodes/18904212 [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/episodes/18904212] * All About USA River Cruises with American Cruise Lines: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/episodes/17477271 [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/episodes/17477271] Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/support] 👉🏻 Press that FOLLOW button so you never miss an episode, released every other Wednesday.  Need help planning your trip? Check out our RESOURCES, whether you're looking to understand what cruise to book, which travel insurance is best, or how to organize your luggage with our packing lists: https://sometimessailing.com/resources/ ▶️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @sometimes-sailing [https://youtube.com/@sometimes-sailing] 📩 Sign up for our newsletter [https://sometimessailing.com/small-ship-cruise-talk-podcast/]. 🌏 SometimesSailing.com [https://sometimessailing.com/] has even more planning tips, firsthand experiences, & advice.   📱 Have questions or topic suggestions? Contact us [http://sometimessailing.com/contact]. ©2026 Small Ship Cruise Talk. All rights reserved. May contain affiliate links. Some trips and experiences have been hosted. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions are our own.

Bonus: NYC Sail4th 250, Once-in-a-Lifetime Flotilla featuring Two Historic Maine Windjammer Cruise Ships

🇺🇸 America turns 250 this July 4th, and New York Harbor is throwing the biggest nautical celebration in a generation. We're breaking down everything you need to know about Sail4th 250 — the historic Parade of Sails for the USA's semiquincentennial, happening on July Fourth in the Hudson River next to Manhattan, including events from July 3rd to 6th, 2026. We sat down with William Armstrong, Communications Director for Sail4th 250, and Captain Tyler of  American Eagle — one of two Maine Windjammer schooners sailing in the Parade alongside Angelique.  We cover what makes this event so rare, how 5 years of international coordination made it happen, and why a ship from India is sailing over 12,000 miles just to be there. Whether you're heading to New York in person or watching on NBC, we've got you covered: where to watch from shore, how to bring your own boat into the harbor, which ships to look for, and how to track every tall ship in real time using the Aqua Map app. We also share what it means to us personally, including why Mikkel has been dreaming about this moment since childhood, as she looks at a 1976 flotilla poster on her parents' wall. 🦅 Find out what it's like to sail on American Eagle: * Part 1: Sailing Cruises on Historic Maine Windjammer Ships: https://sometimessailing.com/gczo [https://sometimessailing.com/gczo]  * Part 2: Maine Island Hopping on a Windjammer Sailing Cruise: https://sometimessailing.com/8xhm [https://sometimessailing.com/8xhm]  * Maine Windjammer firsthand accounts, our website, with photos: https://sometimessailing.com/category/cruise-lines/maine-windjammer/ 🔗 Links mentioned in this episode: * Sail4th 250 event https://sail4th.org/ [https://sail4th.org/] & the Tall Ships "encyclopedia" https://sail4th.org/tall-ships [https://sail4th.org/tall-ships] * Aqua Map app for iPhone - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/aqua-map-boating/id919552329 [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/aqua-map-boating/id919552329]  — or Android — https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gec.MarineApp.WorldViewerLite&hl=en_US [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gec.MarineApp.WorldViewerLite&hl=en_US] 🇺🇸 Subscribe and follow! We'll be back after July 4th with a live recap episode. Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/support] 👉🏻 Press that FOLLOW button so you never miss an episode, released every other Wednesday.  Need help planning your trip? Check out our RESOURCES, whether you're looking to understand what cruise to book, which travel insurance is best, or how to organize your luggage with our packing lists: https://sometimessailing.com/resources/ ▶️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @sometimes-sailing [https://youtube.com/@sometimes-sailing] 📩 Sign up for our newsletter [https://sometimessailing.com/small-ship-cruise-talk-podcast/]. 🌏 SometimesSailing.com [https://sometimessailing.com/] has even more planning tips, firsthand experiences, & advice.   📱 Have questions or topic suggestions? Contact us [http://sometimessailing.com/contact]. ©2026 Small Ship Cruise Talk. All rights reserved. May contain affiliate links. Some trips and experiences have been hosted. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions are our own.

Celebrity River Cruises: Excursion Updates

Celebrity River Cruises is making waves before launching, and we're breaking down the four excursion categories that make up their new Destination Discovery program to see if it lives up to the hype. We cover the: * Storyteller Series - locally-led experiences with cultural insiders * Skillmaster Series - hands-on time with local makers and artisans * Keys to the City - a self-guided digital platform with stationed local hosts. A hotspot and battery pack are likely essential for this type of experience. Our favorite battery pack is this: https://amzn.to/4uiKG2C [https://amzn.to/4uiKG2C] – and our essential hotspot is explained here: https://sometimessailing.com/6nm8 [https://sometimessailing.com/6nm8]   * Celebrity Takeover Series - one private, exclusive event per sailing We share our honest take on whether this is a genuine shift toward immersive river cruising or clever marketing,  and where we think the real operational challenges lie. We also touch on what's included in the base fare, how gratuities work, pre- and post-cruise stay options in Prague, Budapest, and Amsterdam, and what details we're still waiting on before the 2027 debut. If you're watching Celebrity River Cruises — whether you've already booked or you're on the fence — this episode is your update. Helpful links from this episode include: * Celebrity River Cruises: Early Insights & Expectations podcast episode Audio version:  https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/episodes/18599836 [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/episodes/18599836] YouTube version: https://youtu.be/oP_tGXG7ixI [https://youtu.be/oP_tGXG7ixI] * Utilize Mikkel's Travel Planning services: https://sometimessailing.com/au63 [https://sometimessailing.com/au63] * See renderings of the Celebrity River Cruise ships on our website: https://sometimessailing.com/celebrity-cruises-makes-waves-ocean-cruise-line-enters-the-river-cruise-market/ [https://sometimessailing.com/celebrity-cruises-makes-waves-ocean-cruise-line-enters-the-river-cruise-market/]   * Book tickets for a private concert in Vienna: https://sometimessailing.com/dhhs [https://sometimessailing.com/dhhs]  Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/support] 👉🏻 Press that FOLLOW button so you never miss an episode, released every other Wednesday.  Need help planning your trip? Check out our RESOURCES, whether you're looking to understand what cruise to book, which travel insurance is best, or how to organize your luggage with our packing lists: https://sometimessailing.com/resources/ ▶️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @sometimes-sailing [https://youtube.com/@sometimes-sailing] 📩 Sign up for our newsletter [https://sometimessailing.com/small-ship-cruise-talk-podcast/]. 🌏 SometimesSailing.com [https://sometimessailing.com/] has even more planning tips, firsthand experiences, & advice.   📱 Have questions or topic suggestions? Contact us [http://sometimessailing.com/contact]. ©2026 Small Ship Cruise Talk. All rights reserved. May contain affiliate links. Some trips and experiences have been hosted. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions are our own.

All About Road Scholar Afloat: A Unique Cruise Travel Program

Curious about Road Scholar travel programs, but not sure if it's right for you? This episode gives you everything you need to know about the cruise trips (called “Afloat” programs) with Road Scholar, a prestigious non-profit travel company. We hear directly from Zoe Fox-Mailer, Director of Programming at Road Scholar, on exactly how the Adventure Afloat program works — how trips are structured, what a typical day looks like, how the floating campus model creates a real learning experience without feeling like a classroom, and how solo travelers are set up to actually connect with people.  If you've ever wondered what separates a Road Scholar cruise from just booking any small ship sailing, this conversation answers that. Then Wendy Baldwin — a Road Scholar veteran with 22+ programs completed — shares what it's actually like to be on these trips as a solo traveler. She's cruised to Holland, Greenland, Scotland, Antarctica, and Norway with Road Scholar, and she's headed to Patagonia next!  More importantly, she was skeptical of group travel before her first program. If you are too, you'll want to hear what changed her mind. By the end of this episode, you'll know whether Road Scholar is the right fit for the way you want to travel. Check out the Road Scholar Facebook groups: https://sometimessailing.com/RS-FB Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2448059/support] 👉🏻 Press that FOLLOW button so you never miss an episode, released every other Wednesday.  Need help planning your trip? Check out our RESOURCES, whether you're looking to understand what cruise to book, which travel insurance is best, or how to organize your luggage with our packing lists: https://sometimessailing.com/resources/ ▶️ Subscribe to our YouTube channel: @sometimes-sailing [https://youtube.com/@sometimes-sailing] 📩 Sign up for our newsletter [https://sometimessailing.com/small-ship-cruise-talk-podcast/]. 🌏 SometimesSailing.com [https://sometimessailing.com/] has even more planning tips, firsthand experiences, & advice.   📱 Have questions or topic suggestions? Contact us [http://sometimessailing.com/contact]. ©2026 Small Ship Cruise Talk. All rights reserved. May contain affiliate links. Some trips and experiences have been hosted. As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying purchases. All opinions are our own.