{"id":1726,"date":"2025-05-03T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-03T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/?p=1726"},"modified":"2025-05-06T13:06:03","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T13:06:03","slug":"the-common-cruise-ship-passenger-mistake-that-drives-crew-mad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/03\/the-common-cruise-ship-passenger-mistake-that-drives-crew-mad\/","title":{"rendered":"The common cruise ship passenger mistake that drives crew mad"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lucy shares tips on her YouTube channel (Picture: YouTube\/Cruising As Crew)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cruise ships<\/a> have their own set of rules<\/a>, and a holiday at sea isn\u2019t like your average getaway.<\/p>\n

Lucy Southerton, 28, from\u00a0Birmingham<\/a>,\u00a0has been working on cruise liners for the past decade, meaning she knows all the tips and tricks<\/a> to get the most from your time aboard.<\/p>\n

On her YouTube<\/a> channel, Cruising as Crew<\/a>, she shares her knowledge to ensure first-time passengers avoid common pitfalls \u2013 and the mistake cruise newbies make most can leave them sorely disappointed.<\/p>\n

According to Lucy, \u2018treating a cruise like an all-inclusive holiday<\/a>\u2019 is the main faux pas she notices at work.<\/p>\n

\u2018If some people have solely done all-inclusive holidays, they make the mistake of thinking a cruise vacation is very similar to that,\u2019 she says in one video.<\/p>\n

\u2018So a lot of people do not budget for extra expenses while they are on board because they have the misconception that most things will be free.\u2019<\/p>\n

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She\u2019s worked on cruises for the last nine years (Picture: cruisingascrew.com\/Lucy Southerton)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The crew member shares that although things like buffet meals will be included in the price of your trip, dining at certain restaurants on board<\/a> or going on excursions often costs extra.<\/p>\n

Not only does this frustrate crew, Lucy says forgetting to factor this into a budget can \u2018really ruin people\u2019s vacation\u2019, as they have to miss out on things they perhaps looked forward to.<\/p>\n

Gratuities are a big deal on a cruise too, so it\u2019s recommended to set aside some cash to tip staff at the end of your holiday.<\/p>\n

\u2018With a lot of cruises, you get hit with the gratuity bill at the end, which I have also seen a lot of people not budget for,\u2019 she adds.<\/p>\n

\n
Comment now<\/title><span class=\"metro-comment-cta__text\">What advice would you give to first-time cruise passengers?<\/span><\/span><a class=\"metro-comment-cta__button\" href=\"#metro-comments-container\">Comment Now<\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Alongside this, Lucy claims first-time \u2018cruisers\u2019 can struggle with the tight timings ships have to adhere to and miss their departure after a stop, explaining: \u2018They get off at the port, go off and explore by themselves, which is part of the fun \u2013 but what they don\u2019t allow for is time to get back. It obviously makes things very difficult for the cruise line and it is just an all-around mess.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018So, when you\u2019re on a cruise, it is very different from a hotel that is going to stay stationary. You absolutely have to make it a priority to get back to the ship on time and ask crew members what the traffic is like at each port if you\u2019re getting a taxi to a certain destination.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Her next warning is around <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2025\/01\/02\/travel-insurance-guide-2025-best-deals-barclays-gocompare-22266818\/\">travel insurance<\/a>, which is particularly vital to get at the time of booking because cruises can get cancelled or <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/flying\/\">flights<\/a> to your starting destination can be delayed.<\/p>\n<p>Lucy says: \u2018Unlike a land holiday, where if your flight is eight hours late and the hotel stays where it is, the cruise ship moves so if your flight is eight hours delayed that\u2019s going to mean you\u2019ll miss it.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018You absolutely have to get travel insurance as soon as you book the cruise.\u2019<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"646\" height=\"646\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"article-image wp-image-20745116 lazyload\" alt=\"Pictured is Lucy Southerton Cruise ship worker Permission to use given by Lucy Image: cruisingascrew.com\/Lucy Southerton\" loading=\"lazy\" data-src=\"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/SEI_194923390-610f-e1714471040844.jpg\">\t<\/div><figcaption>The location of your cabin is important to avoid seasickness (Picture: YouTube\/Cruising As Crew)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Overbooking excursions is another no-no, so try to balance \u2018some exciting days but some relaxing days\u2019 when planning out your itinerary to avoid ending up exhausted.<\/p>\n<p>Lucy advises pre-booking activities or excursions rather than leaving it to the last minute, ensuring you pack essentials (including medication), researching ports ahead of time, and listening carefully to safety briefings so you\u2019re prepared for emergencies.<\/p>\n<p>And, last but not least, she urges first-timers to always consider where their cabin is \u2013 particularly if they might be prone to seasickness.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018You want to be in the centre of the ship,\u2019 she explains. \u2018You don\u2019t want to be in the back, you definitely don\u2019t want to be in the front, because that\u2019s where you\u2019re going to feel the movement the most. So when you book a cabin, make sure it is in the centre of the ship, and make sure the one you book is surrounded by other cabins.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Lucy adds that \u2018cheaper cabins\u2019 will likely have a restaurant or a gym above them, so if you\u2019re sensitive to noise, factor this in.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>This article was first published on April 30, 2024.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Do you have a story to share?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\"><strong>Get in touch by emailing <a href=\"mailto:MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk\">MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lucy shares tips on her YouTube channel (Picture: YouTube\/Cruising As Crew) Cruise ships have their own set of rules, and a holiday at sea isn\u2019t like your average getaway. Lucy Southerton, 28, from\u00a0Birmingham,\u00a0has been working on cruise liners for the past decade, meaning she knows all the tips and tricks to get the most from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1726","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1726","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1726"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1726\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1732,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1726\/revisions\/1732"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1726"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1726"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.mugfoundry.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1726"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}