Six Myths About Cruising
The Top 6 Myths of Ocean Cruising
“I’ve worked in the cruise industry for ten years, combined with my three years at sea with Princess Cruises, and 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”.
Recently, I spoke with a group of new to cruise passengers and was both bemused and frustrated with the reasons behind not deciding to take a cruise. Often their reasons are based on misconceptions of cruising based on mental images of scenes played through the media of television such as “Titanic” (posh, rich lords and ladies playing quoits on deck and dining every night in tiaras, tuxedos and ball gowns) or “The Love Boat” (lots of shameless affairs between guests and guests, guests and crewmembers and crewmembers and crewmembers).
Well, if you’ll excuse the pun, I hope that 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 twenty years ago but now people of all ages are cruising. The 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% it is 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 “Julie 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 crewmembers. 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 500 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 ships 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 much 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 onboard 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.”