I’m a cruise ship worker… too many first-time cruisers make this mistake when they come on board

A cruise ship employee has revealed the biggest mistake ‘too many’ new cruisers make when booking their trips.

Lucy Southerton, 28, from Birmingham, has worked on cruise ships for a decade 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 nearly 80,000 subscribers, she revealed a series of mistakes, “some obvious, some not,” that blight novice “cruisers.” still make.

And there was one big one that topped the list.

New cruisers are booking trips with “too many sea days,” she said.

In her video titled “Too Many Novice Cruisers Still Get This Wrong,” she explained that on your first cruise, you should avoid booking a trip with too many offshore days.

She told her viewers, “Having worked on cruise ships for the past ten years, I’ve seen novice cruisers make every mistake in the book.

“Some are obvious, but some are only things you would know if you’ve cruised before.

‘If you’re going to book your first cruise, make sure you book one with lots of port dates. Ideally, you want a maximum of two days at sea, and ideally not consecutively.

“The reason is because this is your first cruise, you don’t know yet if you like it.”

She warned that exaggerating the number of consecutive days you’ll be at sea on your first cruise could put you off the experience altogether.

Instead, she advised all newbies to book cruises that would spend no more than one day at sea at a time, and no more than two days total.

Opting for a shorter cruise with lots of port stops can make it easier for you to enjoy the cruise experience so you can figure out whether you enjoy being at sea for extended periods of time or not, she suggested.

While she said some people are fine with being at sea for several days at a time without the use of phones, she said many may feel there is “nothing worse.”

The expert crew member said: ‘I can almost guarantee that if you go on a ship and spend two to three to four days at sea, you’re probably not going to enjoy it.

“You want to be able to get off the ship and explore the ports.

“There are people who want to spend 15 days at sea, reading their book, without internet access, and there are people who say, ‘I can’t think of anything worse than that.’

“So for your first cruise, make sure you book one that spends most of the time in port.”

Recalling one of her experiences as a crew member with Royal Caribbean, she told viewers about a cruise that sailed from Alaska to Australia, stopping in Hawaii and Tahiti along the way.

It was a long cruise that lasted 21 days, of which 15 days at sea.

And she told viewers how she met a couple on board the cruise ship who vowed to ‘never’ cruise again.

She responded in the video: ‘Of course you’re not going to like that. This is a cruise for seasoned cruisers. People who know they enjoy days at sea.’

As well as urging people not to book long cruises, Ms Southerton also pointed out other common pitfalls that first-time buyers often make.

They include travel insurance, choosing the right locations to cruise and the right cruise line.

While she acknowledged that travel insurance is an important purchase for any trip, she emphasized that it is non-negotiable when it comes to cruises.

She said that although a delay in your flight due to a ‘country holiday’ would mean you might only be able to check into your hotel a day or two late, the ‘hotel will still be there’. Whereas if you go on a cruise and your flight to the departure location is delayed, you risk missing the cruise completely.

The 28-year-old also urged people to check that the travel insurance you choose has cruise cover, otherwise the insurance will not be valid on board the cruise.

One of her other tips was to stick to the Mediterranean, the Caribbean or Alaska. The three are the most frequented cruise itineraries, meaning these areas are aimed at cruise passengers and are the most comfortable visits if you are cruising for the first time.

Another pitfall, in her experience, is that people on their first cruise spend all their time ‘watching the time’ and worrying about making it back on time when exploring ports.

She suggested booking excursions through the cruise line, even if they are more expensive, to ensure the cruise doesn’t leave if the excursion is late.

Another common mistake was that new cruisers do not read and are often unaware of the terms and conditions, including that the cruise ship can change the destination without notice and without compensation, usually due to bad weather.

“Know your rights when booking,” she urged.

While many may think that choosing the right cruise line is not one of the most important choices, Ms. Southerton disagrees.

She said her very first cruise with her parents and brother was a Carnival cruise. Although she and her brother enjoyed the experience, it deterred her parents from ever wanting to cruise again.

She said, “If you do it right, all you’ll want to do in the future is cruising. If you do it wrong, you’ll never want to cruise again.”

The experienced crew member also emphasized the importance of choosing the right cabin. While choosing the exact cabin you stay in can be more expensive, she said this is sometimes the better choice, as she advised against staying directly below the deck of the nightclub or gym.

She also emphasized the need to budget properly.

Many novice cruisers wrongly expect that they won’t have much expense once they book the cruise. However, Ms. Southerton says cruisers typically spend about 50 to 100 percent of the initial ticket price on board.

And she added: ‘A general rule of thumb: the cheaper the initial cruise fare, the more you will pay on board.’