Top 6 Ocean Cruise Myths
“I’ve worked in the cruise industry for ten years, combined with my three years at sea with Princess Cruises, and I’m still amazed at people’s misconceptions about cruising. In fact, my own parents put off joining a cruise for a long time because, “they didn’t think they were fancy enough.”
Recently, I spoke with a group of new cruise passengers and I was puzzled and frustrated with the reasons behind not deciding to take a cruise. Often their reasons are based on misconceptions of cruise ships based on mental images of scenes played through TV media like “Titanic” (classy wealthy lords and ladies playing shuffleboard on deck and dining every night with tiaras, tuxedos and ball gowns) or “The Love Boat” (lots of shameless adventures between guests and guests, guests and crew and crew and crew).
Well, if you’ll excuse the pun, I hope I’m about to blow a lot of these out of the water.
Cruise Myth 1: Cruises are only for seniors!
This was true maybe twenty years ago, but now people of all ages are surfing. 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: Cruises are expensive!
According to a recent PSA report, although average prices have increased by 7%, they are still lower than in 2006, with one in seven cruises costing less than £500 per person.
Cruise Myth 3: Will I get seasick?
The true answer to this is possibly, but the reality is that today’s modern boats are all stabilized to reduce roll (side-to-side motion) and designed by sophisticated computer-aided design teams to minimize pitch (side-to-side motion). up and down). If you feel dizzy, you can always try “Julie McIntyre’s Dizziness Remedy” of drinking more gin.
Cruise Myth 4: Is it safe to travel on a cruise?
Ships now have to follow an extraordinary number of rules and regulations that protect both passengers and crew members. The biggest risk to a cruise ship is not Titanic-style sinking, but fire, and when it comes to fire safety, ships operate under international standards known as Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS).
Cruise Myth 5: Cruise ships are crowded!
I recently traveled on a ship that had just over 500 guests and crew and I can honestly say that I never felt claustrophobic at any time. 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 full a ship is, you need to calculate 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 roomy; 20-30 is reasonably roomy; 10-20 is high density; and 10 or less is extremely narrow.
Cruise Myth 6: I’ll get bored!
The cruise is what you do; you control the pace, you can do as much or as much as you want. Each cruise prints its own diary 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 conferences while on some ships you will find golf simulators, climbing walls and on some of the Royal Caribbean 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 it lasts long enough, there’s also the obligatory late-night disco.”