Deck Tales: Secrets From The Sea. Behind the Scenes Stories from Cruise Ships and Crew Members from Maritime and Sea Life

#40 We round out the end of season 2 with another star from the world of cruise content creation, Mr Gary Bembridge.

At the time of recording Gary has been on 124 cruises around the globe, and he has documented pretty much all of them.

His mission is to help make it easier for others to book their cruises, by shining an impartial light on what the different lines offer, and objectively weighing up all the pros and cons.

I learned all about his upbringing, his early career, how it set him up to succeed, and more!

Hopefully you're enjoying DeckTales so far. If so, please do smash that like button, share your favourite episodes with your friends, and subscribe of course!

I'm gonna take a break from posting for a while as I need to record and edit with a batch of new guests for the next series, and if you or someone you know would like to be a guest on the show, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

I hope it's nothing but smooth sailing for you all out there.

Ciao for now

Sam -x-

Recorded 19th June 2025

My guest today is the wonderful Emma La Teace, or as she is perhaps better known across social media, Emma Cruises.

She started her own ship vlogging and blogging journey nearly a decade ago, and a post of hers regarding the charity Mercy Ships caught my attention, so I got in touch to learn more.

Alongside raising money for them with the help of a certain Captain Hudson, she has also been busy producing children's books, and recently just launched and co founded the company 'The Cruise Globe'

A little something different today, as my guest Peter Knego is the first person on DeckTales who has NOT worked on ships.

His enthusiasm for them however, has basically meant he's spent more time on ships over the years than some of my previous guests.

Peter fell in love with the old ocean liners when he was young, and his obsession for them only grew over time.

Steve and I worked on a Carnival ship together back in the day, albeit different departments.

He wished to remain anonymous for his own reasons, and so used a pseudonym and an on screen avatar for the duration of the call.

This is a choice afforded to any guest who comes on the podcast, and if there are people still in the industry who would like to share some stories, then I strongly recommend you copy Steve's example.

We caught up with one another over the things we remembered, the things we'd forgotten, and the things better left forgotten.

Steve initially worked in the teens club onboard as a host, before he transitioned into a completely different role, where he drilled company policy into new and returning crew, by becoming a corporate trainer.

Have a listen to hear some of his highs and lows from a period spanning about three years in total.

Enjoy!

Recorded 28th February 2025

Allegra and I worked on the same ship over 15 years ago, and not having seen or spoken with her since like so many of my former colleagues, it was amazing to see and speak with her after so much time.

She worked as a solo singer and musician, onboard a ship that many crew members have dubbed as being one of the rowdiest contracts on the seven seas. The Carnival Paradise which at that time ran a 3 day booze cruise from Long Beach C.A to Catalina, and Ensenada, Mexico.

She informed me that was her one and only ship contract, how she found herself on board in the first place, why she never did another, what she's up to now and loads more.

You can support her incredible talent at some of the following links.

Enjoy!