Beating The Stereotype – Views From A Young Cruiser

Our young cruiser is back! This time, Victoria from Lost Ashore, tries to beat the stereotypes of what young people think about cruising.

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Everyone who knows me knows that I am the world’s biggest goody two shoes, long story short I like to follow the rules, even the unwritten ones. But not when it comes to my holiday habits! In that respect, I am far outside of the norm because I am a 22-year-old cruise addict. The average age of a cruiser is 55, so I am breaking the rules by a stunning 33 years! As a young cruiser, Ocean World Travel have asked me to break a few stereotypes – In introducing myself I have already shown you that the stereotype that only old people cruise is false. Keep reading to understand cruising for what it is, not what societies stereotypes are.

“But I would feel stuck” – I must admit it makes me laugh when people say this; cruise ships are not some sort of steel maritime prison. There is plenty of space to move around and oodles of outside space. Not to mention on a lot of itineraries you stop every day! That is usually a 12-hour port day, 12 hours on land to adventure.

No first-time cruiser is wholly convinced by the notion of a ship, but it does not take them long to call it home. Think of it this way, even if you were going to a resort on land, it is likely that you would find a few restaurants and bars you like and visit them multiple times. So why are you trapped by doing that on a ship? Plus, your resort does not move and people’s idea of a grand trip out is a waterpark or dolphin show. Well guess what? On an increasing amount of ships, there is a free waterpark on the top deck and dolphins can often be seen playing in the wake.

“I don’t want to have to dress up” – We have all seen the Titanic and the Poseidon Adventure and watched people swanning around in their penguin suits and ballgowns as if the Queen herself is about to arrive. Even I was guilty of thinking oh my God I do NOT want to dress fancy! Thankfully, the cruise lines honestly do not care. I frequently leave the cabin with soaking wet hair and run riot in a pair of shorts. Of course, every cruise line has different dress codes. But there is really no need to worry about everything being snobby since there is only one entirely formal line left at sea.

“The entertainment will be cheesy” – Why do people think this? When you visit a resort on land the chances are you will hear the entertainment repeated in multiple different languages. Yet you deem that better than anything else…The entertainment on ships is a million miles from cheesy! I won’t deny that on some lines it’s old fashioned. Some ships idea of entertainment is a string quartet playing the Titanic… Yes, you read that correctly the Titanic!

But that aside I have seen breath taking things on ships, things that I would never have been able to experience on land. I’ve watched West End shows, seen acrobats worthy of Cirque Du Soleil, laughed at gameshows, been captivated by watching a movie under the stars and the deck parties, my word, the deck parties they are out of this world. They are what holiday dreams are made of! Picture yourself, gliding through the ocean, a cocktail in hand, the velvet night sky providing a far-off roof for the vibrant party below. Dreamy, right?

“Cruise ships are full of old people” – Guilty as charged I thought this too! Sadly, this is the one thing I cannot label as a complete myth. After all, I was sat at breakfast on a ship once and someone at the next table was discussing what they were doing in 1942…They were quite literally a walking, talking history degree! But I wasn’t exactly on a ship aimed at my generation. So, if you don’t want to grab yourself a granny then just check out the lines with a younger demographic.
Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and Carnival Cruise Line are your best bet. They don’t build waterslides, climbing walls, ropes courses, sky diving simulators, go kart tracks and bumper cars for old age pensioners who have gone wild. They build them because cruise lines recognise that the next generation is running the show.

“You miss out on local culture” – I work with someone who thinks that cruises are vile for this exact reason. But it all depends on how you cruise! Sure, those organised excursions will leave you a little sheltered but they are not mandatory. In fact, I actively discourage them! Make your own way, catch public transport, ask locals to point you in the right direction and embrace that someday you will laugh at how hopelessly lost you were. It’s those kinds of situations that make for an excellent story later – For example, I once got guided to a beach by a Spanish police officer who had a very large gun, unconventional tour guide, right?

The notion that you miss out on local culture is a myth! Cruising has taken me to multiple UNESCO World Heritage sites and nobody can deny that those are full of culture. It is important to think of cruising as try before you buy. You may not get to stay somewhere for a long period but you get to sample a lot of different cultures, that you can revisit later. Cruising is like flirting with life, it’s like saying I would stay and love you but I must go.

Cruising is for everyone – gone are the days of old people ballroom dancing and dropping their dentures in their soup! Cruise ships are now the key to a luxurious multi-city trip that you will never forget! And they’re not anywhere near as expensive as you think. If you haven’t booked this year’s holiday yet, then book a cruise. Believe me, once you cruise you’ll never go back.