‘I’m a cruise expert – never leave the ship wearing this’ | Cruise | Travel

A top cruising expert has urged tourists to avoid making three mistakes that when leaving the ship for the day that could put them at a higher risk of their holiday turning into a nightmare.

One of the biggest advantages of taking a cruise holiday is the ability to experience a wide range of different destinations during one trip.

However, in a recent video, travel expert Ilana Schattauer, founder of the YouTube channel Life Well Cruised, urged passengers to hide their lanyards when away from the ship.

She warned: “Don’t wear your lanyard or medallion around your neck when you get off in the cruise’s ports of call. Now, I know this one is going to seem pretty obvious, but it’s just really a bad idea – especially as you go into the streets of the port.

“Let’s face it, it can be pretty obvious that we’re not locals, but nothing screams ‘cruise traveller who doesn’t know anything and is an easy target’ more than wearing your lanyard.”

In a bid to help tourists avoid losing their card, which is needed to unlock their cabin door and quickly board the ship, many cruise lines give passengers lanyards to wear throughout the trip.

Whilst they can be particularly handy when travelling throughout the ship, Ilana warned that wearing it ashore can put tourists at a higher risk of being targetted by scammers.

As a result, it is a good idea for passengers to store their lanyards in a safe location, such as a zipped pocket or bag, when they are travelling away from the ship.

Similarly, Ilana also recommended that cruise passengers also leave valuable items such as jewellery in their cabin’s safe, particularly if they are visiting an area with a bad track record for crime.

She added: “Leave your flashy jewellery on the cruise ship. Now, you do have a safe in all of the cabins and, honestly, these are safe and secure to use.

“So, keep your valuables there, and I would still leave the jewellery on the cruise ship and not bring it into at least some of those more dangerous cruise ports of call.”

Finally, the cruise expert suggested that, before leaving the ship to visit a port, passengers always make sure they know the ship’s contact number, which can be called in emergencies.

She added: “I think this is one that we just don’t often think about, but it could be handy if you really do need it. Make sure that you have your cruise ship contact number.

“How do you get this? Sometimes the cruise ship contact number is actually on the back of the key cards – I love it when cruise lines do this. Otherwise, you can find this on your daily planner, the maps that the cruise ships might give you, and even little screens as your leaving the cruise ships – simply take a photo of that and make sure you have that with you just in case.”