Welcome to Deb & Matt Chat. We hope to have it up and running soon and completed soon.

A PASSION FOR LIFE, CRUISE & TRAVEL

We love to adventure and share our thoughts on Life, Cruise & Travel.

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Deb & Matt Chat on YT: Our First Video

Deb & Matt Chat on YT: Our First Video

by | Aug 18, 2021 | | 0 |

Hi there and welcome to our first video. We are Deb & Matt. This video footage was intended to be just for some testing, but as a raw first take we loved it when we watched it and is keeping with taking you on the journey from the beginning. The video quality isn't perfect, but neither is a rose until it blooms. The audio isn’t the greatest. But for a first run that’s ok. We know where we went wrong. It is all learning! We are starting a journey setting up a new business together. We have chosen the #kajabi platform to help us launch. Flashy “expert” videos are great (trust us we have been watching plenty) but this is your chance to learn as we learn. If you haven’t heard about Kajabi as an online platform follow this link to check it out at https://app.kajabi.com/r/GzeU6QUq Be sure to subscribe! **Affiliate links disclaimer** As we go on our journey we may post the occasional affiliate link, which means we may earn a small commission. It helps us and we appreciate if you do click through, but you can always just use your favourite search engine and find the product or service that way too.

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Deb & Matt Chat on YT: Back-to-Back Cruise Turnaround Day in Sydney | Anthem of the Seas

Deb & Matt Chat on YT: Back-to-Back Cruise Turnaround Day in Sydney | Anthem of the Seas

by | Oct 13, 2026 | | 0 |

Staying on Anthem of the Seas for a back-to-back cruise? Here is exactly what happens during the Sydney turnaround process. It is changeover day aboard Anthem of the Seas! We just finished a seven-night sailing and are staying onboard for another two nights. It is a unique experience to see how the ship manages a back-to-back cruise while docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney. We are taking you through the entire transition process so you know exactly what to expect. Since this involves domestic cruising, the steps might differ from international turnarounds. We are showing you how we move from one booking to the next while staying on Anthem of the Seas. It is a rare look at the Sydney turnaround day operations from a passenger perspective. We have reached the end of the first segment of our back-to-back Royal Caribbean cruise, but instead of getting off in Sydney, we are staying onboard for the next sailing. In this episode we show what a back-to-back cruise turnaround day looks like in Sydney, including the consecutive cruiser process, boarding again without properly leaving the ship, and a very important mistake to avoid. We also find a quiet secret workplace at sea, enjoy the consecutive cruisers lunch, visit Vintages Wine Bar, watch boarding day get busy all over again, and check out some Valentine’s Day specials that left us wondering whether they were romantic… or a bit of a rip-off. Then it is time for one of the best cruise moments in Sydney — sailing under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, watching the ship leave Circular Quay, spotting a few almost-pier-runners, and enjoying a stunning Sydney Harbour sailaway. The night continues with Jamie’s Italian on Anthem of the Seas, a party in Two70, virtual fireworks, and the crew preparing another balloon drop. 🛳️ Ship: Anthem of the Seas 🚢 Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean 📍 Port: Sydney, Australia 🌏 Cruise: Back-to-back turnaround day CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 00:20 Sydney Back-to-Back Cruise Tips 01:58 Boarding Again Without Leaving The Ship 05:43 Don’t Make This Back-to-Back Cruise Mistake 06:40 Secret Workplace At Sea 07:29 Consecutive Cruisers Lunch 11:48 Vintages Wine Bar 12:33 Boarding Day Gets Busy Again 14:56 Valentine’s Day Specials Or Rip-Offs? 16:59 Sailing Under Sydney Harbour Bridge 17:45 Pier Runners… Sort Of 18:54 Sydney Harbour Cruise Ship Sailaway 21:19 Jamie’s Italian On Anthem Of The Seas 25:56 Party In Two70 26:08 Virtual Fireworks On A Cruise Ship 26:36 Hanging A Balloon Drop 27:00 Turnaround Day Wrap Up If you enjoy cruise vlogs, Royal Caribbean tips, back-to-back cruise advice, cruise food and real travel adventures, make sure you subscribe and join us for the next segment of our Anthem of the Seas series. #AnthemoftheSeas #RoyalCaribbean #BackToBackCruise #SydneyCruise #CruiseAustralia

Deb & Matt Chat on YT: Back-to-Back Cruise Turnaround Day in Sydney | Anthem of the Seas

Deb & Matt Chat on YT: Back-to-Back Cruise Turnaround Day in Sydney | Anthem of the Seas

by | Oct 13, 2026 | | 0 |

Staying on Anthem of the Seas for a back-to-back cruise? Here is exactly what happens during the Sydney turnaround process.

It is changeover day aboard Anthem of the Seas!

We just finished a seven-night sailing and are staying onboard for another two nights. It is a unique experience to see how the ship manages a back-to-back cruise while docked at the Overseas Passenger Terminal in Sydney. We are taking you through the entire transition process so you know exactly what to expect.

Since this involves domestic cruising, the steps might differ from international turnarounds. We are showing you how we move from one booking to the next while staying on Anthem of the Seas. It is a rare look at the Sydney turnaround day operations from a passenger perspective.

We have reached the end of the first segment of our back-to-back Royal Caribbean cruise, but instead of getting off in Sydney, we are staying onboard for the next sailing.

In this episode we show what a back-to-back cruise turnaround day looks like in Sydney, including the consecutive cruiser process, boarding again without properly leaving the ship, and a very important mistake to avoid.

We also find a quiet secret workplace at sea, enjoy the consecutive cruisers lunch, visit Vintages Wine Bar, watch boarding day get busy all over again, and check out some Valentine’s Day specials that left us wondering whether they were romantic… or a bit of a rip-off.

Then it is time for one of the best cruise moments in Sydney — sailing under the Sydney Harbour Bridge, watching the ship leave Circular Quay, spotting a few almost-pier-runners, and enjoying a stunning Sydney Harbour sailaway.

The night continues with Jamie’s Italian on Anthem of the Seas, a party in Two70, virtual fireworks, and the crew preparing another balloon drop.

🛳️ Ship: Anthem of the Seas
🚢 Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
📍 Port: Sydney, Australia
🌏 Cruise: Back-to-back turnaround day

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro
00:20 Sydney Back-to-Back Cruise Tips
01:58 Boarding Again Without Leaving The Ship
05:43 Don’t Make This Back-to-Back Cruise Mistake
06:40 Secret Workplace At Sea
07:29 Consecutive Cruisers Lunch
11:48 Vintages Wine Bar
12:33 Boarding Day Gets Busy Again
14:56 Valentine’s Day Specials Or Rip-Offs?
16:59 Sailing Under Sydney Harbour Bridge
17:45 Pier Runners… Sort Of
18:54 Sydney Harbour Cruise Ship Sailaway
21:19 Jamie’s Italian On Anthem Of The Seas
25:56 Party In Two70
26:08 Virtual Fireworks On A Cruise Ship
26:36 Hanging A Balloon Drop
27:00 Turnaround Day Wrap Up

If you enjoy cruise vlogs, Royal Caribbean tips, back-to-back cruise advice, cruise food and real travel adventures, make sure you subscribe and join us for the next segment of our Anthem of the Seas series.

#AnthemoftheSeas #RoyalCaribbean #BackToBackCruise #SydneyCruise #CruiseAustralia

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Deb & Matt Chat on YT: They Tried to SEIZE Scarlet Lady?! Australian Cruising SAVED… For Now?!😳🚢 BIG Cruise News LIVE

Deb & Matt Chat on YT: They Tried to SEIZE Scarlet Lady?! Australian Cruising SAVED… For Now?!😳🚢 BIG Cruise News LIVE

by | Oct 7, 2026 | | 0 |

Join us for this weeks Cruise News live stream.

🇦🇺🚢 AUSTRALIAN CRUISING HAS ITS COASTAL SHIPPING EXEMPTION — BUT ONLY FOR TWO MORE YEARS!
The Federal Government has extended the cruise industry’s exemption from Australia’s coastal trading laws until 31 December 2028
That’s a major relief for an industry that says cruising contributes billions of dollars to Australia’s economy
But there’s a catch
This is intended to be the FINAL temporary exemption, new worker-protection conditions are attached — and cruise lines are already making deployment decisions years beyond 2028
So tonight we’re asking:
Has Australian cruising been saved… or has the problem simply been pushed two years down the road?

And that’s only the beginning!

🇦🇺 AUSTRALIAN CRUISING GETS ITS EXEMPTION
Foreign-flagged cruise ships will continue receiving an exemption from Australia’s Coastal Trading Act until the end of 2028
But from 2027, operators benefiting from the exemption face additional conditions around crew collective bargaining rights and reporting of Maritime Labour Convention complaints
So
⚓ Did the cruise industry get what it needed?
👷 Did the unions also get part of what they wanted?
📅 And is TWO YEARS enough certainty when cruise deployments are planned years ahead?

🇯🇵 ROYAL CARIBBEAN + MSC TEAM UP!
Two of cruising’s biggest rivals are becoming partners — at least when it comes to cruise infrastructure
Royal Caribbean Group and MSC Cruises are jointly investing in a new cruise terminal at Naha, Okinawa, with operations targeted to begin in 2028
It raises a fascinating question for us Down Under:
What is Japan doing to attract cruise investment that Australia could learn from?

⚓ THEY TRIED TO SEIZE SCARLET LADY?!
After Virgin Voyages’ Scarlet Lady broke mooring lines in rough conditions at Rhodes and collided with a tourist catamaran and smaller vessels, the catamaran’s owner filed a claim for at least €400,000
Then came the extraordinary part
An application was made to have Scarlet Lady seized and prevented from leaving Rhodes while the claim was dealt with
The ship was ultimately permitted to leave after a marine insurer provided a guarantee securing the claim
The legal process continues — but we’ll unpack exactly what happened and why someone can attempt to have a CRUISE SHIP seized

🧽 SPONGEBOB IS COMING TO HERO OF THE SEAS!
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
Apparently someone who is also going to sea. 😂
Royal Caribbean has revealed The SpongeBob Musical as the headline theatre production aboard Hero of the Seas
The Broadway-inspired production makes its at-sea debut when Hero launches from Miami in 2027
Brilliant family entertainment
Or has Royal gone TOO far into theme-park territory?

🤖 PRINCESS AI EXPANDS AGAIN
Last week we talked about Princess Cruises launching its AI cruise-planning experience with ChatGPT
Now it’s also launching on Claude
And THAT makes the strategy much more interesting
Princess isn’t simply building one AI chatbot — it’s putting its cruise-planning capability inside the AI assistants travellers already use
Could conversational AI eventually replace endlessly clicking through cruise-search filters?

🏰 WHAT IS DISNEY HIDING ABOARD DISNEY BELIEVE?
Disney is teasing the upcoming Disney Believe through an elaborate scavenger hunt aboard Disney Wish
🔍 Hidden clues
🔢 Puzzles revealing hull number 723
🍸 Mysterious new drinks
🍨 New treats
🧚 Tinker Bell on the ship’s lucky keel coin
And the clues are leading towards Disney’s big reveal!
We’ll look at what we’ve learned so far — and what might be coming aboard Disney Believe

PLUS
💬 Your questions LIVE
😂 Deb & Matt banter
🚢 Cruise news, tips, opinions and conversation

💬 TONIGHT’S BIG QUESTIONS
🇦🇺 Is a two-year exemption enough to give cruise lines confidence in Australia?

👷 Did the Government find the right compromise between the cruise industry and worker protections?

🇯🇵 Why are Royal Caribbean and MSC investing together in Japan?

⚓ Should Scarlet Lady have been prevented from leaving Rhodes until the collision claim was resolved?

🧽 And the REALLY important question
Are you ready for SpongeBob on a Royal Caribbean mega-ship?! 😂

👍 LIKE the stream
🔔 SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications
💬 Tell us where you’re watching from!
Deb & Matt Chat — Life, Cruise & Travel

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Deb & Matt Chat on YT: CRUISE NEWS LIVE Royal Buys Into SANDALS! 🤯 Carnival Responds + MSC on the River?

Deb & Matt Chat on YT: CRUISE NEWS LIVE Royal Buys Into SANDALS! 🤯 Carnival Responds + MSC on the River?

by | Sep 30, 2026 | | 0 |

🚨🚢 ROYAL CARIBBEAN GROUP IS BUYING 50% OF SANDALS & BEACHES RESORTS — FOR AROUND US$3 BILLION!
Yep… that’s a BIG one
Royal Caribbean Group is expanding beyond cruise ships with a huge investment in Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts
And the really interesting part?
While Royal talks about building a broader vacation platform, Carnival’s response is basically:
“We’re very proudly a cruise company.”
Two of the world’s biggest cruise groups. Two VERY different strategies
We’re unpacking all of that LIVE tonight on Deb & Matt Chat — plus Princess is bringing ChatGPT into cruise planning, MSC is building another private island, Explora Journeys is heading onto Europe’s rivers and Celebrity’s new Australian cruises are on sale!
🏝️ ROYAL CARIBBEAN + SANDALS — A US$3 BILLION DEAL
Royal Caribbean Group has agreed to acquire a 50% interest in Sandals Resorts and Beaches Resorts for approximately US$3 billion
That adds all-inclusive Caribbean resorts to a group that already includes:
🚢 Royal Caribbean
✨ Celebrity Cruises
🥂 Silversea
🌊 Celebrity River Cruises
🏝️ Private destinations and Royal Beach Clubs
Is Royal Caribbean transforming from a cruise company into a complete holiday company?
🚢 CARNIVAL SAYS: WE’RE A CRUISE COMPANY
Carnival CEO Josh Weinstein has been asked whether Carnival might follow Royal into major land-based resort acquisitions
His response?
Carnival is “very proudly a cruise company.”
Carnival continues investing in destinations such as Celebration Key and RelaxAway at Half Moon Cay — but sees those as extensions of the cruise holiday
So which strategy makes more sense?
💰 CARNIVAL IS ALREADY HALF BOOKED FOR 2027!
Carnival says around 50% of its 2027 capacity is already booked — with both occupancy AND pricing at record levels
Even 2028 bookings are running ahead
Are the days of waiting until the last minute for a bargain cruise disappearing?
🤖 PRINCESS CRUISES + CHATGPT
Princess Cruises is launching an AI-powered cruise planning experience with ChatGPT
Instead of endlessly searching dates, destinations and itineraries, travellers will be able to have a conversation about the cruise they want
Would YOU trust AI to help choose your next holiday?
And perhaps more importantly
Could ChatGPT find Deb & Matt a better cruise than Deb can? 😂
🇦🇺 PRINCESS PACKAGE CHANGES FOR AUSTRALIANS
Princess has also changed how Plus and Premier packages work for Australians cruising overseas
For package buyers, crew appreciation/gratuities will now be included, potentially removing one of those annoying extra costs Aussies encounter when cruising internationally
We’ll explain what’s changing and whether it’s actually a better deal
🌊 EXPLORA JOURNEYS IS GOING RIVER CRUISING
First Celebrity
Now Explora Journeys
MSC Group’s luxury cruise brand is planning its own move onto Europe’s rivers
Is river cruising about to become the next major battleground between the big ocean-cruise companies?
🏝️ MSC IS BUILDING ANOTHER PRIVATE ISLAND
MSC has officially broken ground on Sandy Cay, a new private destination in The Bahamas opening in 2028
And it’s right beside Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve
MSC and Explora guests will effectively have access to TWO complementary private destinations
🇦🇺 CELEBRITY’S 2028–29 AUSTRALIAN CRUISES
Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Solstice are returning Down Under with 23 Australia and New Zealand sailings
Cruises range from four to 14 nights from Sydney and Auckland
So
EDGE or SOLSTICE?
Which one are YOU booking?
PLUS
⚡ 30 Second Quick Questions
💬 Your questions LIVE
😂 Deb & Matt banter
🚢 Cruise news, tips, opinions and conversation
💬 TONIGHT’S BIG QUESTIONS
🏝️ Is Royal right to expand beyond cruising?
🚢 Or do you prefer Carnival’s “we’re a cruise company” strategy?
🤖 Would you use AI to choose and plan a cruise?
💰 And are you prepared to book cruises TWO YEARS ahead to get the price you want?
👍 LIKE the stream
🔔 SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications
💬 Tell us where you’re watching from!
Deb & Matt Chat — Life, Cruise & Travel

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