It was never my intention for cruising to take over my life, but as I sit here writing this first column, my mind is so inundated with delicious memories of my travels at sea that I barely know where to start.
So maybe I’ll just start at the beginning. Ahoy, I’m Honey.
I’ve shared my story with many and to be honest, it really isn’t unique; a tired mum with young kids who yearned for a holiday where all the cooking, cleaning, entertainment and travel was taken off my chafed hands.
It was 2016 and my daughters were nine, 11 and 12 and self-sufficient enough. A cruise over Christmas sounded perfect, so I picked one that shared the same name as my second-born, Eden. But that was only part of the story.
Over my writing career, I prided myself in being a hard news journo. Give me politics, health, education and international news. I chased police cars and ambos, sat for weeks in murder trials, uncovered terrorist cells, ran into bushfires and even covered a siege.
I didn’t have time for soft news and saw travel writing as quite frivolous. I couldn’t be more wrong.
As I packed the bags for our family cruise, a silly thought gently flittered in my brain. I could have easily dismissed it (and the trajectory of my life would have been so incredibly different) but I allowed this glimmer to roll around for a while.
As I zipped the last suitcase, this thought grew into an idea. Maybe, just maybe, I could scratch that creative writing itch that’s been waiting patiently in the deep folds of my pre-frontal cortex.
I mean, I’m going to be sitting on a ship, surrounded by inspiring views and time, why not start a blog?
I never imagined anyone would read it – my motivation was to document and preserve the memories of our holiday for the girls to read in the future. Who would even want to read a blog, on cruising, from a mum who’d never cruised before?
Apparently, nine years later, nearly half a million people. The mind boggles.
What I discovered is that travel writing is the key to escaping the mundane. The portal to freedom. The ultimate remedy for wanderlust.
The reader is cruising with me, they are part of the journey. It is our adventure to explore together.
During the last decade, social media has undergone a massive transformation. Over the years of building Cruising With Honey, I’ve had to become an expert and a one-woman-show in ‘content creation’, filming, editing, algorithms and trends.
I’ve had to learn to navigate relationships with public relations and marketing people, meet the heads of cruise lines, attend events and give live TV interviews, all while trying to silence the imposter syndrome voice that screams so loudly it’s often paralysing. If you’ve met me in real life, you might be surprised as I mask it well.
But this isn’t a ‘Poor Honey’ post, rather an insight into how I fell into travel writing. Now, I could never imagine a life where I wasn’t cruising the oceans and sharing the joys of every adventure. I will never take for granted my privileged life.
It’s still astounding that I’ve cruised more than 50 times to all seven continents of the world. From Antarctica to Africa, Norway to New Zealand, through famous canals and down mighty rivers, on super yachts and super liners, cruising has literally changed my life.
And while it might seem that fulfilling a life-long dream to stand in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza was beyond exciting, in truth as I stood there in the hot desert wind, I was already ordering the mess of words swirling in my head into a somewhat legible account, nervous I wouldn’t quite be able to perfectly portray this moment.
There are many people who will never visit the places I’ve been, the least I can do is allow them to live through my words.
I’ve been called an ‘influencer’, but the term has never sat well with me. My purpose isn’t to influence people to spend their money on a specific cruise, rather to show my followers every type and style of cruising, from budget to ultra luxury and everything in between.
The only downside of cruising has been the upsizing of Honey herself. Don’t believe anyone that says that cruise calories are cancelled by taking the stairs. Here’s a fun fact: most people gain around two kilos a week while cruising.
2025 Cruise Forecasts
The most exhilarating thing about the cruise industry is that there is always something happening.
Whether it’s a new ship, a new itinerary, a new show (I NEED TO SEE THE NEW PRINCE SHOW ON NCL Aqua!), new technology or advancements in sustainability, the cruising world is dynamic and constantly evolving.
I may not have a crystal ball, but I do have some predictions for the year ahead. So, here’s my 2025 Honey Forecast.
COVID and its devastating effect on cruising is now in the murky past. Financially, the pandemic wreaked havoc on the bottom line for cruise lines – some could not stay afloat – but passengers came back in droves and three years on, it seems the cruise lines are more stable and making money (possibly still in debt but making the bucks).
This is evident in new builds, an emphasis on more luxury vessels and remarkable activities to do on board.
Small ship cruising is rapidly gaining popularity with more people opting for more intimate cruising. Think sailing the Croatian Islands, the Seychelles and even in our own backyard, The Kimberley.
More Australians will choose to cruise overseas due to less ships, less ports and the same tired itineraries here in our country. The dazzle of newer ships to cruise in Europe, Asia, the U.S. and the Middle East is alluring and worth sitting on a plane for 15 hours.
I also predict that the Middle East will increase in popularity with more ships dedicated to showing off the wonders of Dubai, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi. There is some massive investment being injected to build the cruise industry in this region.
Here at home, 2025 will be an interesting year as we see the only home-grown brand, P&O Australia, ‘sunsetted’ and their two remaining ships absorbed into the Carnival brand.
I will be taking more than 100 people on the second-last cruise on Pacific Adventure to say goodbye to a cruise line that will always have a special place in my heart. But more about my last P&O cruise in my next column.
And finally, my last prediction is that there will be an increase in younger cruisers worldwide who are lured by different and more modern styles of cruising.
Wherever your next cruise takes you, I wish you fair winds and gentle seas. I hope you enjoy reading my monthly column in Traveltalk as I share with you all my adventures and opinions as I cruise my way through this thing called life!
