Ship tips & more

Ed Scragg worked as a casino dealer on a cruise. He offered some advice to

Siobhan Downes.

People go on cruises for different reasons. It’s not like The Love Boat, where everyone gets on and meets a lot of new people. For many, it’s about having a good time with the people you’re with.

That said, it was also quite common to have widows or divorced people who were less keen to go on a holiday on their own. The cruise ship puts them in a comfortable environment to give that a go.

When you buy your ticket, you can elect to have fixed seating at dinner time, with the same group. If you’re a single person, that gives you the opportunity to meet other people.

If you want a private place to yourself on the ship, you definitely need an outside cabin with a balcony. The internal rooms – even the ones with the windows – aren’t that nice.

But if you’re going to spend all of your time on the deck and in the public areas, you should just go for the cheapest option.

Everybody gets seasick. It took me about a month of living on the ship to be immune from it. Eat ginger, basically, and you’ll be OK.

Many people go on a cruise for the ship, they don’t go for the destination.