A cruise ship worker has revealed the biggest mistake ‘too many’ first-time cruisers are making when booking their trips.
Lucy Southerton, 28, from Birmingham, has been working on cruise ships for ten years and regularly shares advice on how passengers and fellow crew members can get the most out of their experience.
In one of her most recent videos uploaded to her YouTube channel, Cruising as Crew, where she has amassed close to 80k subscribers, she revealed a series of mistakes, ‘some obvious, some not’, that newbie ‘cruisers’ are still making.
And there was one big one that made top of the list.
First-time cruisers are booking trips with ‘too many sea days’, she said.
Speaking in her video titled ‘Too many first-time cruisers still get this wrong’, she explained that when going on your first cruise, you should avoid booking a trip with too many days spent off-shore.
She told her viewers: ‘Having worked on cruise ships for the last ten years I have seen first-time cruisers make every mistake in the book.
‘Some are obvious, but some are only things you would know to do if you’ve been cruising before.
Lucy Southerton, 28, from Birmingham, runs a YouTube channel where she shares her cruising tips and tricks with viewers
She has been working on cruise ships for ten years and regularly shares advice on how passengers and fellow crew members can get the most out of their experience. Pictured: Lucy cruising on Virgin Voyages
‘When you go to book your first cruise, you’re going to want to make sure you’re booking one with lots of port dates. Ideally you want two sea days max, and ideally not consecutive.
‘The reason is this is your first cruise, you don’t know if you like it yet.’
She warned that overdoing the number of consecutive days you’re at sea on your first cruise could put you off the experience altogether.
Instead, she advised that all newbies should book cruises where they would only be at sea for no more than a day at a time, and for no more than two days altogether.
Opting for a shorter cruise with many port stops could ease you into the cruising experience so you’re able to find out whether you enjoy being at sea for long periods or not, she suggested.
While she said that some people may find that they are fine with being out at sea for several days at a time without the use of phones, she said many may find that there is ‘nothing worse’.
The expert crew member said: ‘I can almost guarantee that if you go on a ship and you spend two to three to four days at sea, you’re probably not going to like it.
‘You want to be able to get off the ship and explore the ports.
One of the top mistakes she says first-time cruisers make is booking cruises which consist of lots of days at sea
She insists that newbies should begin by booking cruises that only have a maximum of two days at sea, and preferably not consecutively
‘There are those people who want to spend 15 days at sea, reading their book, having no internet access, and there are some people who are like “I can’t think of anything worse than that”.
‘So please, for your first cruise, make sure you book a cruise that is in port most of the time.’
Thinking back to one of her experiences as a crew member working for Royal Caribbean, she told viewers of a cruise that crossed from Alaska to Australia, stopping at Hawaii and Tahiti on the way.
It was a long cruise that lasted 21 days, 15 of which were spent at sea.
And she told viewers of how she had met a couple onboard the cruise ship who vowed to ‘never’ go on cruising again.
She reacted in the video: ‘Of course you’re not going to like it. This is a cruise for seasoned cruisers. People who know they enjoy sea days.’
Along with urging people not to book long cruises, Ms Southerton also pointed out other common pitfalls first-timers often make.
They included travel insurance, picking the right locations to cruise and the right cruise line.
In a recent video uploaded to her YouTube channel, Cruising as Crew, where she has amassed nearly 80,000 subscribers, Lucy (pictured) shared some key advice that could come in very handy in an emergency
The experienced cruiser also discussed other common pitfalls including not getting the right travel insurance and picking the wrong cruise line
While she acknowledged that travel insurance is an important purchase to make for any trip, she stressed that they are a ‘non-negotiable’ when it comes to cruises.
She said that while a delay to your flight for a ‘land holiday’ would mean you might only be able to check-in a day or two late at your hotel, the ‘hotel will still be there’. Whereas if you’re going on a cruise and your flight to get to the departure location is delayed, you risk missing the cruise entirely.
The 28-year-old also urged people to check to make sure the travel insurance you opt for has cruise cover, otherwise the insurance will not be valid aboard the cruise.
Among her other tips were to stick to either the Mediterranean, Caribbean or Alaska. The three are the most well-trodden cruise routes, meaning these areas are catered towards cruise passengers and are the most comfortable visits when cruising for the first time.
Another pitfall, in her experience, is that people go on their first cruise and end up spending all their time ‘clock-watching’ and worrying about getting back on time when exploring ports.
She suggested booking excursions through the cruise line, even if more expensive, so as to ensure the cruise will not set off if the excursion runs late.
Another common mistake was that first-time cruisers fail to read the terms and conditions and are often not aware of common conditions including that the cruise ship can change the destination without prior notice with no compensation, usually due to adverse weather.
‘Know your rights when booking’, she urged.
She said that picking the wrong cruise could put first-timers off the experience altogether
While many may think choosing the right cruise line is not one of the more important choices, Ms Southerton disagrees.
She told of how her first-ever cruise with her parents and brother was a carnival cruise. While her and brother loved the experience, it put her parents off ever wanting to cruise again.
She said: ‘Get it right and you will only want to cruise in the future, get it wrong and you will never want to cruise again.’
The experienced crew member also stressed the importance of picking the right cabin. While choosing the exact cabin you stay in can be more expensive, she said that sometimes it is the better choice, as she advised against staying directly below the nightclub deck or gym.
She also highlighted the need to budget properly.
Many first-time cruisers incorrectly expect that they will not have many expenses once they have booked the cruise. However, Ms Southerton says that cruisers generally spend about 50-100 per cent of the initial ticket price once onboard.
And she added: ‘A general rule of thumb, the cheaper the initial cruise fare, the more you are going to pay onboard’.
