About
We cruise. We write. You save.
Real trips, real advice.
SmartCruiseTips started as a personal log of things I wished I’d known before my first cruise.
Everything here comes from personal experience – our own money, our own mistakes, our own discoveries. No guesswork, no press releases. If we write about it, we’ve done it ourselves.
Built on real trips, not press releases.
Everything on this site comes from personal experience – our own sailings, our own money spent, our own mistakes. We don’t write about ships we haven’t been on. When we say something works, it’s because we tested it ourselves. This isn’t a big media operation.
What we cover
Road trips to the port. Parking, traffic, timing. The drive from Sacramento to San Pedro has its own science. Deals and pricing – when cruise prices actually drop and how to catch them before they’re gone. Mexican ports, connectivity, onboard life.
Years of Expertise & Professionalism.
Expertly connecting cruisers with the practical knowledge they actually need on the water. Our commitment to honest, firsthand experience ensures advice you can trust and act on before your next sailing.
Valdemar Kovaliov
I’m based in the Bay Area. I work in a research lab – DNA studies. Analytical by training, curious by nature.
Cruising for me started as a problem to solve: how do you stay connected, manage deadlines, and actually enjoy the trip at the same time? I ran the numbers. I tested the options. I wrote it all down.
I cover the technical and data side of cruising – ship sanitation scores, internet comparisons, remote work logistics. If there’s a spreadsheet involved, that’s probably my article.
I didn’t grow up cruising. I came to it as a researcher. That’s still how I approach it.
MedGenome
Maximo Armero
I live in Sacramento. The LA port is a 6-hour drive. I’ve made that drive more times than I can count – and I’d do it again next week.
I cruise 3-4 times a year, mostly to Mexico. Ensenada, Cabo, Puerto Vallarta. I know those ports well – the good restaurants, the tourist traps, the tricks that save you money and headaches.
I’m not a travel expert by any formal definition. I’m just someone who’s made enough mistakes to have something worth sharing. I learned most of it the hard way.
My bag is packed year-round.
Owner, Imlay Unlimited LLC
