Don’t Miss Out On New Bonus Tips For Travellers Content!

As some of you may know, I make and share bonus and EXCLUSIVE content for people that are Tips For Travellers Patrons on Patreon, and that’s what I’m here to talk to you about today as I have some exciting news to share.

I have started to post video updates DURING my cruises that are EXCLUSIVELY for Patreon Patrons – where I give on-cruise behind-the-scenes updates, first-hand insights, and early access to what I am experiencing. In each of these updates I also answer questions posted by my Patrons and cover and show aspects of the trip that they specifically want to see or know more about.

I did this recently on my Paul Gauguin cruise, where I posted 4 updates across the 7-day sailing – resulting in around 17-minutes of BONUS content!

To get an idea of what they are like, here is one of them to watch below or at https://youtu.be/8URD-3JMXUg

These bonus videos were well received by my existing Patrons because it gives a deeper insight into the experience in the moment. As I mentioned, it allows me to show aspects of the trip that people WANT to see and not just what I think they want to see.

This is a sneak peek at my time in Bora Bora based on the transcript of one of the updates. Yes, I cover ship and ports!

BONUS Patreon Content – Examples of Questions & Answers From A Recent Patreon Bonus Content Video

So, let’s get into some of the questions. Carol and Linea had asked a little bit about the region, French Polynesia itself, and asked a little bit about Paul Gauguin, the line.

French Polynesia, it consists of 118 islands, and they stretch for 1,200 miles. It’s almost 2,000 kilometres, so it’s massive. There’s only about a population of about 200,000 across all of those, and about 75 or so of them have people living on them.

In 1842, the French kind of took control of French Polynesia and they have controlled it ever since. So still today it’s sort of like an overseas protectorate so justice, military, secondary, sorry, university education, for example, is controlled by the French. Justice, military, the police, that kind of stuff is controlled by the French still to this very day.

In terms of Paul Gauguin, Paul Gauguin has now been operating here for 25 years. It originally was part of the Radisson Seven Seas, which kind of went bust, then became Regent Seven Seas, so it was part of Regent Seven Seas for quite a while. They sold it to Beachcomber. Now Beachcomber, they operate lots of tourist stuff here. So, a lot of the Inter-continentals, for example, are operated by Beachcomber and then Ponant bought it in 2019.

I was then asked what changes have been made by Ponant. In March 2021, this ship went into dry dock in Singapore, and they made a couple of changes, a lot of them behind the scenes. So, they switched the engines so it can run a more eco-suitable fuel. As such, they changed some of the equipment like desalination and so on to make it a little bit more energy-efficient, bit more eco.

They also changed over the senior crew, it’s very clear they’re all Ponant officers like the captain. I think he’s been with Ponant since 2005, something like that.

They then did a whole refresh of all the cabins, all the public spaces working with a provider designer, which was called Philippe Nuel Design Agency, Jean-Philippe Nuel. So, they kind of just refreshed it and it does feel a much more cohesive, fresher kind of space. They did a few other things like added Wi-Fi in to the fare.

One key change they made, and Jeffrey asked this question, was around the casino. They removed the casino and made the Piano Bar much bigger. After this, I’ll do a whole tour of the ship and show you all this stuff. And he asked, “Does all the Paul Gauguin ships not have a casino?” In reality, Paul Gauguin only has one ship, which is this one, the Paul Gauguin. When Ponant took over the line, they originally spoke about introducing two new ships, two hybrid ships, which were supposed to come into service in 2022, but nothing’s been heard about those ever since then. No one really seems to know what’s happening with those, so I’m guessing nothing’s happening with those so far.

Tips for Travellers Patreon

One reason I have the Patron memberships option is because I fund all my travels myself and don’t do press trips, hosted trips or take free or discounted cruises from the lines, as I believe this then means no bias and ultimately balanced content.

So, what else do you get as a Patreon Tips for Travellers Patron?

Patron-only videos peeking behind-the-scenes of how the channel works and my trips
Patron-only livestreams to ensure I have time to answer all your questions
A chance to send questions and engage with me on Patreon
Private Facebook group to interact with me and other patrons as much as you want
Exclusive eBook downloads
Loyalty gifts every quarter at highest tiers

Becoming a patron also gives you more direct access and interaction with me, and I will answer any cruise related questions on a one-to-one basis. This has proven to be another big like for Patrons, as we can connect and get to know each other better – it becomes a more personal cruise-related experience, and it costs less than a monthly Starbucks coffee!

For full information on the membership and tiers, view my dedicated Patreon blog page.

In July, I will be off on my next cruise, this time with Windstar Cruises on a sailing titled “Land of the Midnight Sun’. I will be sailing aboard Star Pride from Edinburgh to the Norwegian Fjords and then on to Iceland. During this cruise I will be posting those bonus videos, so sign up now and don’t miss out!

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