Cruising myths blown out of the water!

Having worked in the retail side of the cruise industry for over 12 years, combined with my three years at sea with Princess Cruises, I am still surprised at people’s misconceptions of cruising. In fact my own parents put off joining a cruise for a long time because: ‘They didn’t think they were posh enough. ‘

I recently interviewed a cross-section of non-cruisers and was both bemused and frustrated with the reasons behind not cruising. Often these reasons are based on misconceptions of cruising based on images from films such as ‘Titanic’ (posh, rich lords and ladies playing quoits on deck and dining every night in tiaras, tuxedos and ball gowns) or TV series like ‘Love Boat’ (lots of shameless affairs between guests and guests, guests and crew members and crew members and crew members).Well, excuse the pun, but I hope I am about to blow a lot of these out of the water.

Cruise Myth 1: Cruising is only for old people .

This was true maybe 20 years ago but now people of all ages are cruising. Latest figures from the Passenger Shipping Association (PSA) show that the average age of a UK cruise passenger is now just over 54.

Cruise Myth 2: Cruising is expensive.

According to a recent report from the PSA although average prices have risen by 7 per cent they are still lower than in 2006 with one in every seven cruises costing less than £500 per person.

Cruise Myth 3: Will I get seasick?

The truthful answer to this is possibly but the reality is that today’s modern ships are all stabilised to reduce the rolling(side to side motion) and designed by sophisticated computer aided design equipment to minimise pitching (up and down motion). If you do feel seasick you could always try the ‘Molly McIntyre Sea Sickness Remedy’ of drinking more gin!

Cruise Myth 4: Is cruising safe?

Ships now have to follow an extraordinary number of rules and regulations that safeguard both passengers and crew members. The biggest risk to a cruise ship is not sinking in Titanic-esque style; it is in fact – fire, and when it comes to fire safety, ships operate under international rules known as Safety of Life At Sea(SOLAS).

Cruise Myth 5: Cruise Ships are overcrowded.

I recently travelled on a ship that held just over 5000 guests and crew and can honestly say I never felt claustrophobic at any point. There is always somewhere to escape to, some little corner that no one else has found, for you to relax in peace and solitude. If you want an indication of how crowded a ship is you need to work out the Passenger Space Ratio which can be done by dividing the ship’s tonnage by its total passenger capacity. A space ratio of 50 and above is the ultimate: 30–50 very spacious; 20-30 is reasonably spacious;10-20 is high density; and 10 or below is extremely cramped.

Cruise Myth 6: I will get bored.

Cruising is what you make it; you control the pace, you can do as much or as little as you want. Every cruise ship prints its own daily newspaper and activity schedule and this is how you plan your days. During the days you will find numerous activities such as bingo, trivia, games and lectures whilst on some ships you will find golf simulators, climbing walls and on some of Royal Caribbean’s ships they have surfing on board their Flowriders. In the evenings you can be transported to Broadway Style shows, cabaret acts, comedians, dancing and if you last long enough there is also the obligatory late night disco.

Go on what have you got to lose. Call me now on 0800 408 6178 for all the latest cruise deals.