I’ve never been on a cruise but absolutely love the idea of them
There’s something quite special about waking up in a new place each day, and really enjoying the journey to see different towns and countries. One of the highlights of a Mediterranean cruise would be seeing the beautiful coast lines as you sail around.
I’ve been doing a bit of reading into cruise holidays and they sound like no other type of holiday.
Here are some surprising facts about cruise ships that you might not know:
There is no deck 13
I’m not superstitious at all about the number 13 (I was born on Friday the 13th) but a lot of people still are. And this means that on quite a few cruise ships the numbers of the decks go from 12 to 14, missing out number 13.
What is quite interesting is that on some Italian cruise lines it’s deck 17 that’s missing, because it’s thought to be an unlucky number in Italy.
You can’t take your iron on board with you
I don’t think I’ve ever thought about taking an iron on holiday with me, but for anyone who was considering it you’d have to think again.
You’re not allowed to take an iron on board with you because of the fire risk.
So try to pack clothes that you can get away without ironing, and take anything that does really need doing to the ship’s laundry service.
The walls of the cabins are metal
The main reason for this is fire safety, and safety in general.
What’s fun though is that you can use magnetic clips and hooks to hang your things from the walls and ceiling in your cabin. It’s a great way to save some space if your cabin is on the small side.
The carpets are designed to stop you getting lost
Cruise ships are big. Really big. And it can be really easy to lose your bearings as you wander round the ship.
To help make things a bit easier some cruise ships will have different coloured or patterned carpets on the different sides of the ship.
Cruise ships have godmothers
I think most people know that boats are christened, but did you know that they’re also given godmothers?
The Disney Dream has Jennifer Hudson as its godmother, while the Nieuw Statendam has Oprah Winfrey.
The anchors are incredibly heavy
Of course anchors are heavy, that’s the whole point.
The anchor on a cruise ship though can be as heavy as four African forest elephants, which is about 20, 500 pounds. Generally though the ships try to avoid dropping the anchor unless they absolutely have to. The anchors can be harmful to the delicate ecosystems in the water, and most cruise ships are able to stay in place without dropping their anchors.
Some of them are floating art galleries
If you’re after a little bit more from your cruise ship in the way of culture then you might want to take a trip on the P&O cruise ship Britannia.
This particular ship has an art collection on board of around 8000 pieces, worth about a million pounds.
Did you know these facts about cruise ships? Which one was most surprising to you?
Disclaimer: this is a collaborative post