Format: cruise ship

Deb & Matt Chat on YT: Is it fun or chaos? Balloon drops on a cruise ship!

Deb & Matt Chat on YT: Is it fun or chaos? Balloon drops on a cruise ship!

Posted by | Sep 27, 2026 | |

Day 7 aboard Anthem of the Seas is our final sea day of this first cruise… but luckily for us, it is not really goodbye because we are staying onboard for a back-to-back cruise!

We start the day with Royal Caribbean room service breakfast in our interior cabin with virtual balcony, including a look at the continental breakfast options, how we set up the cabin for breakfast, and the eternal cruise question — what do you do with the room service dishes afterwards?

Then we check out Wonderland before being invited by some wonderful viewers, Carly and Phil, to tour their incredible Owner’s Loft Suite at the back of Anthem of the Seas. This two-level suite has multiple balconies, a huge living area, beautiful bathrooms, a walk-in robe, access to suite benefits and an amazing wake view

Later in the day we enjoy some family-friendly Royal Caribbean fun with the Wiggly Friends dance party, Dorothy the Dinosaur, Captain Feathersword, Henry the Octopus and a massive balloon drop in the Royal Esplanade

Deb also faces one of her fears, we explore the Music Hall, enjoy Bon Voyage night in the Main Dining Room, experience more dinner-side magic from Iqbal, and then face the dreaded packing process

But this time packing is not so bad, because we are not leaving Anthem of the Seas just yet. Tomorrow is Sydney turnaround day and we will be showing the back-to-back cruise process at the Overseas Passenger Terminal

🛳️ Ship: Anthem of the Seas
🚢 Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
🌏 Cruise: Sydney to Airlie Beach
📅 Day 7: Final Sea Day

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro
01:00 Breakfast in the Cruise Cabin
05:04 What To Do With Room Service Dishes?
05:52 Royal Caribbean Room Service Breakfast Tips
07:28 Wonderland Specialty Restaurant
07:57 Owner’s Loft Suite Tour
13:52 Wiggly Friends Dance Party
14:15 Dorothy The Dinosaur
14:41 Family-Friendly Balloon Drop
16:56 Wiggly Friends on Royal Caribbean
17:35 Deb Faces Her Balloon Fear
18:41 Music Hall on Anthem of the Seas
19:33 Bon Voyage Dinner
21:14 Last Night Entertainment Options
24:21 Dinner Magic With Iqbal
25:06 Time To Pack For Our Back-To-Back Cruise
26:20 Coming Up: Sydney Turnaround Day

If you enjoy cruise vlogs, Royal Caribbean tips, cabin tours, cruise food, ship life and real travel adventures, make sure you subscribe and come along for the rest of our Anthem of the Seas back-to-back cruise series

#AnthemoftheSeas #RoyalCaribbean #CruiseVlog #CruiseAustralia #CruiseLife

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Deb & Matt Chat on YT: CRUISE NEWS LIVE Royal Caribbean BANNED Him?! MSC to BUY a Shipyard?! Carnival Encounter Trouble?

Deb & Matt Chat on YT: CRUISE NEWS LIVE Royal Caribbean BANNED Him?! MSC to BUY a Shipyard?! Carnival Encounter Trouble?

Posted by | Sep 23, 2026 | |

🚢 Royal Caribbean banned an Australian high roller from cruising — but what happens to the $22,000 worth of cruises he says he earned in the casino?

That’s just ONE of the stories we’re unpacking tonight on Deb & Matt Chat LIVE, because this has been a massive week in cruise news!

Could MSC end up owning one of the world’s most famous cruise shipyards?

Carnival Encounter has run into ANOTHER problem getting into Cairns

Disney’s newest ship is literally taking shape

Royal Caribbean’s next batch of 2028–29 cruises is about to start going on sale

And Australia is FINALLY getting shore power for cruise ships!

🎰 ROYAL CARIBBEAN’S $22,000 CASINO DISPUTE

Australian gambler Mark Timothy Grant says he earned five Royal Caribbean cruises through onboard casino play — reportedly worth around $22,000

But when he arrived in Brisbane to take the first cruise, he says he was refused boarding

Royal Caribbean says Grant had been placed on a “no sail” list following alleged breaches of its casino rules

The dispute is now heading through QCAT

We’re NOT deciding the ongoing case — but it raises a fascinating question:

If a cruise line bans you after you’ve earned complimentary cruises, does it still owe you those cruises or their value?

🏗️ COULD MSC BUY MEYER WERFT?

MSC is reportedly among the potential buyers for the German government’s controlling stake in legendary shipbuilder Meyer Werft

And this could be HUGE

MSC is already Meyer Werft’s biggest customer, with plans for potentially six next-generation ships

But Meyer Werft also builds ships for MSC’s competitors

So

What happens if a cruise line ends up owning the shipyard?

🏰 DISNEY BELIEVE IS TAKING SHAPE

Speaking of Meyer Werft

The first enormous section of Disney Believe has floated out!

The new Disney ship is being assembled from three giant “gigablocks”, some weighing more than 31,000 tonnes

We’ll look at what we know about Disney Believe ahead of her planned late-2027 debut

⚓ CARNIVAL ENCOUNTER HAS ANOTHER CAIRNS PROBLEM

Carnival Encounter has been forced to change another Great Barrier Reef itinerary because of channel depths and tidal conditions in Cairns

The ship’s planned overnight/two-day Cairns visit has been reduced to one day, with Townsville added instead

And this isn’t the first Cairns disruption for Encounter this month

For a ship based year-round in Brisbane, does Cairns have an access problem that needs addressing?

📅 ROYAL CARIBBEAN’S 2028–29 CRUISES ARE COMING

Royal Caribbean has released the opening schedule for its next wave of deployments

🏔️ Alaska 2028 — opening first
🇪🇺 Europe 2028 — coming next
🌴 Caribbean — following later

But

🇦🇺 Australia & New Zealand are still listed as COMING SOON

So what are we hoping Royal sends Down Under for 2028–29?

🏎️ MSC GOES EVEN BIGGER WITH FORMULA 1

MSC Cruises will become title sponsor of THREE Formula 1 Grands Prix in 2027 — Portugal, Belgium and Türkiye

It’s another enormous piece of global exposure for MSC as its Formula 1 partnership continues to grow

🌏 MSC’S 2027–28 DEPLOYMENT

MSC is moving ships around the world for its 2027–28 winter season

🌴 MSC World Asia → Southern Caribbean
🇺🇸 MSC World Atlantic → Port Canaveral
🌎 MSC Meraviglia → South America
🇯🇵 MSC Bellissima → continuing year-round Asia operations

We’ll look at what MSC’s increasingly global fleet means for cruisers

🔌 AUSTRALIA’S FIRST CRUISE SHORE POWER

Sydney’s White Bay Cruise Terminal is nearing completion of Australia’s first cruise ship shore-power system

That means compatible ships will be able to switch off their onboard engines while docked and plug into electricity from shore

It’s expected to cut thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions annually — and represents a significant Australian cruise-infrastructure investment

🇮🇩 STAR VOYAGER ADDS JAKARTA

StarCruises is adding special Jakarta–Singapore sailings aboard Star Voyager in March 2027

Could Jakarta become another interesting fly-cruise option for Australian travellers?

PLUS

⚡ 30 Second Quick Questions
💬 Your questions LIVE
😂 Deb & Matt banter
🚢 Cruise news, tips, opinions and conversation

💬 TONIGHT’S BIG QUESTIONS

🎰 If Royal bans a passenger, what happens to cruises they’ve already earned?

🏗️ Would MSC owning Meyer Werft be good or bad for the cruise industry?

⚓ Should more be done to ensure larger cruise ships can reliably access Cairns?

🇦🇺 And what ship do YOU want Royal Caribbean to send to Australia in 2028–29?

👍 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: LATEST Cruise News 🚢 Celebrity River Cruises LAUNCH , Royal Princess Trouble + MSC World Asia

Deb & Matt Chat on YT: LATEST Cruise News 🚢 Celebrity River Cruises LAUNCH , Royal Princess Trouble + MSC World Asia

Posted by | Sep 16, 2026 | |

🚢 Celebrity Cruises is heading to the RIVERS, Royal Princess has cancelled TWO Alaska ports, another giant Icon Class ship is officially under construction — and apparently Carnival can take away your BALCONY DOOR HANDLE?! 😳

Yep… there’s plenty to chat about tonight!

Join Deb & Matt LIVE as we unpack this week’s biggest cruise stories, talk about what they actually mean for cruisers and — as always — hear what YOU think

🌊 CELEBRITY CRUISES GOES RIVER!

Celebrity Compass, Celebrity Cruises’ first-ever river ship, has officially floated out ahead of its 2027 debut

And this isn’t just an experiment

Celebrity plans to grow its European river fleet to 20 ships by 2031

Is Celebrity about to shake up the European river-cruise market?

⚙️ ROYAL PRINCESS ENGINE TROUBLE

An engine-related technical issue has forced Royal Princess to cancel Juneau AND Ketchikan from an Alaska cruise

Princess is giving every affected passenger a 50% refund of their cruise fare

Fair compensation?

🚢 ICON CLASS #5 IS OFFICIALLY UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Royal Caribbean has laid the keel for its still-unnamed fifth Icon Class ship, due in 2028

And with Icon #6 and #7 already coming behind it

Are Icon Class ships becoming Royal Caribbean’s new normal?

🌏 MSC WORLD ASIA PASSES HER SEA TRIALS

MSC World Asia has successfully completed sea trials ahead of her December 2026 debut

We’ll look at what’s coming aboard MSC’s newest World Class mega-ship — including that enormous dragon we’ve talked about before!

🍹 AND THEN THERE’S CARNIVAL

A viral video shows what happened after one Carnival passenger apparently had WAY too much to drink

Her drinks package?

Gone

Her room key?

Confiscated

And her balcony?

Well

THEY TOOK THE INSIDE DOOR HANDLE OFF! 😳😂

Was Carnival’s response reasonable safety management — and when should a cruise line stop serving an intoxicated passenger?

PLUS:

⚡ 30 Second Quick Questions
💬 Your questions LIVE
😂 Deb & Matt banter
🚢 Cruise tips, opinions and conversation

💬 TONIGHT’S BIG QUESTIONS

🌊 Would you try a Celebrity river cruise?

⚙️ Would a 50% refund satisfy you after losing two major Alaska ports?

🍹 And… was Carnival right to disable an intoxicated passenger’s balcony door?

👍 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 🚢 Australia Warning, Carnival Rewards + Royal Changes

Deb & Matt Chat on YT: Cruise News LIVE 🚢 Australia Warning, Carnival Rewards + Royal Changes

Posted by | Sep 9, 2026 | |

🚢 Is Australia becoming too difficult and expensive for cruise ships?

That’s the BIG question tonight on Deb & Matt Chat LIVE, after a senior global cruise industry figure warned that Australia is losing ground while cruising continues to boom around the world

Australians still LOVE cruising — but increasingly we’re flying overseas to do it

So what’s going wrong?

Tonight we’re looking at operating costs, cruise infrastructure, regulation, geography and the controversial role industrial action could play in where cruise lines decide to send their ships

And that’s just the beginning

🇦🇺 IS AUSTRALIA DRIVING CRUISE SHIPS AWAY?

Australian cruise tourism reportedly fell 13.2% to $7.3 billion in 2024–25, even as global cruising continues to grow

We’ll discuss:

🚢 Why cruise lines are reducing Australian capacity
💰 Australia’s high operating costs
⚓ Our cruise port and infrastructure limitations
⚠️ The debate around regulation and recent union action
✈️ Why Australians are increasingly flying overseas to cruise
🌏 And what Australia needs to do to compete for future ships

With dozens of new cruise ships already on order globally, the decisions being made NOW could determine what Australian cruising looks like well into the 2030s

🎰 CARNIVAL REWARDS IS NOW LIVE

Carnival’s controversial new loyalty program officially launched on September 1

💳 Points based on eligible spending
⭐ Status Qualifying Stars
💎 New paths to Gold, Platinum and Diamond
📆 Two-year qualifying periods
🛳️ Plus separate recognition for lifetime days sailed

Which raises one BIG question:

Should cruise loyalty reward how often you cruise — or how much money you spend?

🏖️ CARNIVAL’S NEW TANGALOOMA CABANAS

Carnival guests now have access to a new dedicated beachfront cabana experience on beautiful Moreton Island

We’ll look at what’s included, the price — and whether we’d pay for one!

🍹 ROYAL CARIBBEAN BRINGS BACK ITS DRINKS PACKAGE EXEMPTION

Don’t drink alcohol but sharing a cabin with somebody who does?

Royal Caribbean has brought back an exemption from its requirement for both adults to purchase the alcoholic drinks package

BUT there’s a catch

We’ll explain what’s changed

🚢 HERO OF THE SEAS HITS THE WATER!

Royal Caribbean’s fourth Icon Class mega-ship has floated for the first time ahead of its 2027 debut

Plus

🐶 Meet Dolly!

Hero of the Seas also has a new Chief Dog Officer — and yes, she’s adorable

⚙️ SERENADE OF THE SEAS RETURNS

After technical problems forced Royal Caribbean to cancel an entire Alaska cruise, Serenade of the Seas is back in service

We’ll also look at the compensation affected passengers received and ask:

Did Royal handle this one well?

And, as always

⚡ 30 Second Quick Questions
💬 Viewer Q&A
😂 Deb & Matt banter
🚢 Cruise tips, news and conversation

💬 TONIGHT’S BIG QUESTION

🇦🇺 If Australians clearly still want to cruise, why are we losing ships to overseas markets?

And what would YOU change to make Australia more competitive?

👍 LIKE the stream
🔔 SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications
💬 Join the conversation LIVE!

Deb & Matt Chat — Life, Cruise & Travel

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Deb & Matt Chat on YT: Does Australia Need MORE Cruise Ships? 🚢 Princess Selling Out + Cruise News LIVE

Deb & Matt Chat on YT: Does Australia Need MORE Cruise Ships? 🚢 Princess Selling Out + Cruise News LIVE

Posted by | Aug 26, 2026 | |

🚢 Does Australia need MORE cruise ships?

There’s plenty to talk about on Deb & Matt Chat LIVE tonight, with Princess cruises selling out Down Under, MSC specifically targeting Australian travellers and even calls for CRUISE SHIPS to help solve Brisbane’s accommodation shortage during the 2032 Olympic Games!

Plus we’ve got a Disney Cruise Line mystery to solve, Celebrity Equinox heading somewhere new and a serious warning for travellers following the collapse of a luxury Kimberley cruise operator

🇦🇺 TONIGHT’S CRUISE & TRAVEL NEWS

🏅 CRUISE SHIPS FOR THE BRISBANE 2032 OLYMPICS?!

Brisbane could face a major hotel-room shortage during the Olympic and Paralympic Games — and one proposal is to bring in two or three cruise ships to provide thousands of additional rooms

Could this also strengthen the argument for expanding Brisbane’s cruise terminal?

👑 PRINCESS CRUISES ARE SELLING OUT IN AUSTRALIA

A third of Princess’s remaining Australian cruises this year are reportedly already sold out

With fewer Princess ships currently based Down Under, we’ll look at demand, prices and ask:

Does Australia actually need MORE cruise capacity?

🌏 MSC WANTS MORE AUSTRALIAN CRUISERS

MSC has created European back-to-back cruise combinations specifically targeting Australian and New Zealand travellers

Instead of flying halfway around the world for seven nights — how about 14 nights or longer aboard the same ship?

🏔️ CELEBRITY EQUINOX IS HEADING TO ALASKA

Celebrity Equinox will make its Alaska debut in 2028, joining Celebrity Edge and Celebrity Millennium

Which Celebrity ship would YOU choose for Alaska?

💸 LUXURY KIMBERLEY CRUISES THAT NEVER SAILED

Passengers have been left thousands of dollars out of pocket after Kimberley Pearl Tours entered receivership

We’ll look at what happened and the bigger question it raises:

How protected is your money when you pay a large cruise or travel deposit?

🐭 WHAT IS DISNEY CRUISE LINE TEASING?!

Disney has dropped a mysterious series of coordinates ahead of a BIG announcement

Where are they going?

We’re going to put the clues on screen and see whether YOU can solve the mystery!

And, of course

⚡ 30 Second Quick Questions
💬 Your questions LIVE
😂 Deb & Matt banter
🚢 Cruise tips, opinions and conversation

💬 TONIGHT’S BIG QUESTION

Does Australia need MORE cruise ships — and if so, which cruise line would you like to see increase its Australian fleet?

👍 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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