Bloggers & Influencers Laid Bare: Introducing Lost Ashore
- Helen
- Jun 24, 2019
- 7 min read
Are you somebody who believes that taking a cruise is just not for you?
Do you consider cruises to be purely meant for the older generation?
Would the thought of being on an inescapable vessel for days on end make you shudder?
Many people have stereotypical views about cruises and might have disregarded the notion of taking a cruise style holiday without finding out if the stereotypes are true. This is particularly the case for younger people under the illusion that cruises are for their parents or grandparents but not for them.
Think again....
In this Q&A post from the series of 'Bloggers & Influencers Laid Bare' I would like to introduce you to Victoria, who writes a blog entitled, Lost Ashore.
As a young woman, in her early twenties, Victoria is using her passion for cruising to show the world that cruises are for the young and is sharing her fun experiences of the types of adventures you might be hastily overlooking the chance to experience yourself!
I will profess never having to taken a cruise myself but having read Victoria's blog and through getting to know her better, I will certainly be investigating my cruising options! Perhaps she will inspire you too...
Read on and find out much more about Victoria, Lost Ashore and the cruising lifestyle!
An Interview With Victoria From 'Lost Ashore'
Thank you so much Victoria for agreeing to this interview...
In your own words can you introduce yourself and your blog?
Most people in their twenties feel the itch of wanderlust but the difference with me is that I don’t do backpacking and I don’t do budgets!
Hi, my name is Victoria and I am a self confessed cruise addict.
Over on my blog, www.lostashore.co.uk, I document my adventures at sea and show the world that young people do cruise too.
As you say, you blog predominantly about your travels by cruise ship… what triggered your interest in cruises and what is it you like about this means of travel over alternatives?
Ironically, to start with, I actually had no interest.
When I was 19, my parents decided they wanted to go on a cruise; now I was only interested because this cruise left from New York, visited Florida where I would get to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and it sailed on to the Bahamas. Naturally, no 19 year turns down a free trip to the Bahamas but I was convinced that I would HATE the ship.
I believed all the stereotypes: that cruises were just full of old people and I was convinced it would be awful. Two days in I had to admit that I was wrong!
I was hooked.
What I like most about the cruise life is: firstly, that I am in love with the sea.
Secondly, as someone who has terrible wanderlust I find cruising is the best way to scratch that itch. You only have to unpack once but you get to visit multiple locations.
Most people my age go backpacking but I like to think that cruising is a bit like the luxury version of backpacking. You still get the thrill of setting foot in multiple cultures, multiple countries but without any of the less comfortable parts.
Do you prefer to travel alone or with others?
With others!
I must profess that I have never tried solo travel but ultimately I don’t think it's for me.
I’m a social creature and I like someone to talk to at ALL hours of the day.
What led you to start a blog about your adventures at sea?
My blog actually came about entirely by accident!
When I was watching ITV’s The Cruise, I wrote a sassy tweet that I should get a prize for being pretty high up the loyalty tier with my favourite cruise line despite being a young cruiser.
In response to that tweet a company called Ocean World Travel contacted me and asked if I would blog for them about my experiences as a young cruiser. The blog that I wrote for them inspired the birth of my own blog; a place where I could talk endlessly about ship life without making my friends and families' ears bleed.
People often think of cruising as a ‘luxury’ or ‘expensive’ means of travelling - would you say this is the case?
Luxury yes! Expensive no!
Cruising is undeniably a luxury item.
When you sign up to go on a cruise you sign up to live in the lap of luxury: to dance across marble floors, drink cocktails under glittering chandeliers, dine in silver service dining rooms and be entertained in opulent venues.
But it is not as expensive as everyone thinks it is - I have been on cruises that cost as little as £600 a person for two weeks. That is £42 a day!
You couldn't even stay in a budget hotel for £42... Not to mention that £42 includes all your entertainment and as much food as you can eat.
If you book years in advance and pay brochure price it is definitely going to be pricey but if you are patient and wait it out there are some great deals to be had.
What is your best cruise experience to date?
Best experience has to be boarding my first ever ship...
The feeling you get as you explore your first ship is comparable only to the sense of wonder you felt as a child.
Every little thing seems amazing and for days it is impossible to fathom how all of that is inside a ship that floats on the sea.
The sense of wonder slips away a little bit the more you cruise - not because ships get any less amazing but because you become accustomed to how gigantic cruise ships truly are.
…. And worst?
The worst has to be a few years back I tried a new cruise line...
Only to find that I absolutely despised them. The crew were rude, the passengers were ruder, the ship was dirty, the food was vile and to top it all off, the weather was gloomy and the sea’s wild.
Needless to say I said NEVER again to that particular line.
But that just goes to show there is a line for everyone!
Did I hate that experience? Absolutely.
Do I still love to cruise? Of course I do.
Who inspires you?
My parents!
They definitely gave me the travel bug.
My parents taught me how to look for a bargain adventure before I even hit double digits. They shared their wanderlust with me and showed me the world.
What motivates you to blog and travel?
This is an odd one because nothing motivates me to travel...
My need to travel is intrinsic: I need to travel the same way that I need oxygen to breathe. I am one of those people who were born with wanderlust in their soul.
What motivates me to blog is: firstly, to make other people happy. If sharing my adventures makes you smile or coaxes a laugh out of you then in my opinion I have done a good job.
But secondly I am also motivated by the idea that I am teaching people it's okay to be real. The world is full of influencers who make travel look like some perfect glamorous affair, when the reality is that travel is messy!
It is glorious and wonderful and amazing but there are so many moving parts and so many unknowns that things will go wrong.
On my blog we embrace those things because whilst in the moment they may not be fun they make for really good stories.
What three things do you take on every cruise, no matter where it is going?
I won’t say the obvious essentials like my passport!
So....
- My Phone - You won’t really catch me using it as a phone when I’m travelling. But I travel fairly light so my phone becomes my camera during my adventures.
- My travel journal - I like to write down all the things that have made me chuckle, so that I can look back on them and laugh.
- Sun tan lotion - Anyone familiar with me as a person or my blog will know that I get the most hilarious sunburn. It is never ever even and I often resemble some kind of bright red zebra. So anything to keep the zebra stripes to a minimum is an essential in my eyes!
How do people react when you tell them what you do?
They are really surprised!
I think a lot of the world still has this idea that cruising is for old people; the average age of cruisers in the UK is steadily going down. But the average age is still a million miles from me.
I’m in my twenties, I have a terrible baby face so I look like I’m in my teens and then I start explaining my cruise addiction. Safe to say it definitely makes the jaws drop.
Do you have advice for other young people interested in taking up a cruising lifestyle?
Just try it!
Every cruise addict I have ever met fully admits that they had negative preconceived notions of what ship life is like.
But the thing is, until you experience it, ship life is impossible to imagine - It is wholly otherworldly and once you have experienced that world the real world doesn’t seem shiny or appealing.
Book that first adventure and embrace the cruising bug!
Any tips for people considering writing a blog?
Go for it!
The internet is a big place and there is room for everyone; if you have something you want to share with the world then go ahead.
My biggest tip is definitely: To be unapologetically you!
There is nothing worse than reading a dry bland blog post. You have to infuse your personality into everything you write.
Also it is really important to just be honest!
I think a lot of bloggers have a habit of painting a rosy picture of the world. It's important to talk about the negatives as well, to give a rounded picture, especially because in the digital age an increasing amount of people look to bloggers for advice.
What are your future plans?
Future cruise plans:
In September I am flying to New York (which happens to be my favourite place in the world)... I will be spending a couple of days there before I board my 11th ship!
This will be the Regal Princess and will sail to Canada and New England.
If anyone has any tips about visiting this particular part of the world then feel free to leave them for me!
So, anyone else ready now to start trawling the internet for some of the best cruise deals and feeling inspired to discover first hand if the cruising lifestyle is for you?
A huge shout out to Victoria for agreeing to be grilled in this post - her personality really shone through and her passion as a young cruiser is evident!
Please make sure you do hop over to Victoria's website and check out some of her blogs and stories that relay her experiences - as she says she writes honestly and lays bare the good and the bad in a style that is entertaining and engaging to read.
Also make sure you are following Victoria on social media...
Twitter: @lost_ashore
Instagram: @lost_ashore
Website: www.lostashore.co.uk
If you enjoyed this post, why not also read some of the other Q & A posts in the series of Bloggers and Influencers Laid Bare to discover other great and inspirational people to follow...
*All images supplied by Victoria and taken on her cruising travels!
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