Format: cruise tips

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: We Booked TWO More Cruises! | Anthem of the Seas Sea Day

Deb & Matt Chat on YT: We Booked TWO More Cruises! | Anthem of the Seas Sea Day

Posted by | Sep 3, 2026 | |

Day 6 aboard Anthem of the Seas is another sea day, but it turns into a big one!

We start with brunch in the Main Dining Room before heading to Captain’s Corner in Two70, where Matt asks about the possibility of year-round Royal Caribbean cruising in Australia — and the answer gives us a little bit of hope for the future.

What the Captain said https://youtu.be/W1jq8DREnBc

Then Dorothy the Dinosaur arrives for a dance party, Matt gets very distracted while trying to work, and there may be a little Wiggles boogie involved.

After that, we make the dangerous decision to visit the NextCruise desk… and you know what that means. Not one, but TWO more cruises booked!

We also enjoy dinner in the Main Dining Room, more dinner-side magic and science from our waiter Iqbal, and share a handy Royal Caribbean room service breakfast tip, including how to order, what is included, and when extra charges apply.

Check out our live stream from onboard here https://youtube.com/live/kv_7DKxJlDo?feature=share

Finally, the dreaded departure letter arrives — but this time it is not so bad, because we are doing the back-to-back cruise process and staying onboard for the next sailing.

🛳️ Ship: Anthem of the Seas
🚢 Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
🌏 Cruise: Sydney to Airlie Beach
📅 Day 6: Sea Day

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro
00:19 Sea Day Brunch & Coming Up
01:44 Captain’s Corner: Year-Round Australia Cruising?
03:12 Dorothy The Dinosaur Dance Party
03:52 NextCruise Tips & Reduced Deposits
05:18 We Booked TWO More Cruises!
05:58 Dinner & Captain’s Corner Recap
07:19 Iqbal’s Dinner Table Magic & Science
08:38 How To Order Royal Caribbean Room Service Breakfast
12:32 Back-To-Back Cruise Departure Letter

If you enjoy cruise vlogs, Royal Caribbean tips, cruise news, ship life and real travel adventures, make sure you subscribe and come along for the rest of our Anthem of the Seas series.

#AnthemoftheSeas #RoyalCaribbean #CruiseVlog #CruiseAustralia #NextCruise

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Deb & Matt Chat on YT: How to Do Laundry on a Cruise Ship and Save money | Scrubba Wash Bag Review & Tips

Deb & Matt Chat on YT: How to Do Laundry on a Cruise Ship and Save money | Scrubba Wash Bag Review & Tips

Posted by | Aug 29, 2026 | |

How do you do laundry on a cruise ship — especially when there’s no self-service laundry? 🧺🚢

In this video, Deb shows you exactly how we wash AND dry our clothes in a cruise cabin using our Scrubba Wash Bag, travel clothesline, towels and those cruise essentials we seem to carry everywhere… magnetic hooks!

Cruise laundry services can get expensive, particularly on long cruises, back-to-back cruises, Transpacific and Transatlantic crossings or relocation cruises. Being able to wash a few shirts, shorts, underwear and other everyday clothes in your cabin can save money, help you pack lighter and keep you going between proper laundry days.

We’ve been travelling with our Scrubba Wash Bag for around two years, and Deb has now used it across multiple trips. So does she still recommend it? Has it lasted? And, perhaps more importantly, how do you actually DRY everything afterwards?

In this video we cover:

🧺 How to wash clothes on a cruise ship
💰 How DIY cruise laundry can save money
🫧 How the Scrubba Wash Bag works
🚿 Washing and rinsing clothes in your cruise cabin
💦 How we remove as much water as possible before drying
🛏️ Deb’s extra-towel drying trick
👕 How long clothes take to dry inside a cruise cabin
🧲 Using magnetic hooks for hanging clothes
🪢 Our portable cruise clothesline setup
⚠️ A few mistakes we’ve learned to avoid!

The Scrubba featured in this video was purchased by us. This video is NOT sponsored — we simply use it when we travel and thought we’d show you our complete process.

This setup is particularly useful for longer cruises, repositioning cruises, Transpacific or Transatlantic crossings, back-to-back cruises and extended holidays where paying to have every item professionally laundered can quickly add up.

Learn how to do laundry on a cruise ship to avoid expensive onboard service fees. This simple method keeps your clothes clean using minimal cabin space.

Packing for a vacation often means bringing limited outfits, but you do not need to rely on the ship’s costly cleaning services. This guide shows you exactly how to wash garments effectively while traveling at sea. By using a scrubber bag, you can handle smaller items right in your bathroom sink without making a mess or taking up valuable room in your stateroom.

We also demonstrate how to set up a portable clothesline to dry your items overnight. This approach is perfect for cruisers looking to pack lighter and save money during their trip. You will see how to navigate the tight quarters of a ship cabin while managing your laundry needs efficiently. Whether you are on a short getaway or a long voyage, these techniques ensure you always have fresh clothes available without the extra expense.

Subscribe for weekly cruise travel tips and hacks to improve your next vacation. Let us know in the comments if you prefer packing light or bringing a suitcase for every possible outfit.

CHAPTERS

00:00 DIY Laundry on a Cruise Ship
00:10 How to Save Money on Cruise Laundry
00:40 Scrubba Wash Bag Features & How It Works
01:55 The Extra Towel Drying Trick
02:40 How to Seal the Scrubba Bag Properly
03:35 How to Wash Clothes in a Scrubba Bag
04:39 Empty, Rinse & Repeat
05:43 How We Rinse Clothes by Hand
05:53 Scrubba Bag Review – Does It Last?
06:45 Removing Water Before Drying Clothes
08:51 How Long Clothes Take to Dry in a Cruise Cabin
09:26 Hanging Clothes in a Cruise Cabin
10:48 Deb’s Cruise Laundry Song!
11:34 Avoid Making a Mess
12:08 Cruise Cabin Sink Tip
12:39 Our Travel Clothesline Setup
13:51 Magnetic Hooks for Cruise Laundry

💬 Do you do laundry while you’re cruising? Do you use the ship’s laundry service, self-service laundromat, wash things in your cabin… or simply pack enough clothes to avoid laundry altogether?

Let us know in the comments!

👍 If you found this useful, give the video a thumbs up and subscribe for more cruise tips, ship tours, cruise reviews, travel adventures and plenty of Deb & Matt chaos.

We’re Deb & Matt Chat — Life, Cruise & Travel.

#CruiseTips #CruiseLaundry #CruiseHacks

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Deb & Matt Chat on YT: Did We See Turtles in Airlie Beach? | Anthem of the Seas

Deb & Matt Chat on YT: Did We See Turtles in Airlie Beach? | Anthem of the Seas

Posted by | Aug 27, 2026 | |

Day 5 aboard Anthem of the Seas brings us back to Airlie Beach for our second day in the Whitsundays!

Today we head off on foot along the Airlie Beach boardwalk toward Coral Sea Marina for a turtle spotting tour with Whisper Tours. It was hot, humid and very sweaty, but the walk gave us some beautiful views around Airlie Beach before we arrived at the marina

Our turtle spotting tour was aboard a small electric boat, limited to only a small group, and we set off to see if we could spot turtles in the Whitsundays. So… did we actually see any?

After the tour, we tender back to Anthem of the Seas, cool down onboard, enjoy lunch, and then take in a stunning sunset as we sail away from the Whitsundays

The evening includes rum punch cocktails, Taste of the UK in the Main Dining Room, some wonderful viewer meet-ups, Crazy Quest, and a very fun — although slightly confusing — Royal Caribbean Resolution Dance Party

🛳️ Ship: Anthem of the Seas
🚢 Cruise Line: Royal Caribbean
📍 Port: Airlie Beach / Whitsundays
🌏 Cruise: Sydney to Airlie Beach

Useful Links:

Airlie Beach Tourism
https://airliebeachtourism.com.au/

Whisper Cruises
https://whispercruises.com.au/

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro
00:20 Coming Up Today
00:51 Airlie Beach, Queensland
01:41 Walking The Airlie Beach Boardwalk
02:29 Stay Hydrated In The Whitsundays
03:01 Crocs, Stingers & Airlie Beach Warnings
04:37 Coral Sea Marina Airlie Beach
06:12 Whisper Tours Whitsundays
07:12 The Electric Boat
09:58 Whisper Tours Airlie Beach
10:32 Turtle Spotting Tour – Did We See Any?
12:48 Tendering Back To Anthem Of The Seas
14:09 Rum Punch Cocktails
14:26 Main Dining Room White Night
14:37 Subscribe
15:33 Taste Of The UK Dinner
17:33 A Request For Royal Caribbean
17:54 Yummy Food & Viewer Shout Outs
19:06 Crazy Quest 18+
19:20 Royal Caribbean Resolution Dance Party
19:34 Daily Wrap Up

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

#AirlieBeach #AnthemoftheSeas #RoyalCaribbean #Whitsundays #CruiseVlog #CruiseAustralia

Experience the intense humid weather of Airlie Beach firsthand. We show you how to navigate the heat while exploring Queensland today.

This vlog documents our journey returning to Airlie Beach by boat tender. If you are planning a trip to this part of Australia, you know that managing the climate is essential. We share our practical experience dealing with the humidity during our scenic walks and bus rides throughout the area.

Beyond the boat trip, we sit down to discuss the realities of traveling in humidity. It is not always easy to stay comfortable when the air is thick, but we found ways to enjoy our time regardless. Whether you are prepping for your own Queensland boat trip or just curious about the local conditions, this video offers a realistic look at what to expect.

Subscribe for regular travel vlogs, and tell us in the comments if you prefer exploring tropical climates or cooler destinations.

#cruise #cruisevlog #cruisetips #cruiseadvice #cruisehacks #travel #travelcouple #cruiselife #traveladvice #travelhints

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