I Get Millions Of Views On Cruise Videos – But I Don’t Use A Traditional Camera

I’m sure you have seen cruise content creators wandering around ships with big cameras and using lots of different equipment. People, think I use big cameras and have big setups too. I don’t.

After 10 years of making cruise content, I still film almost everything on my phone.

The simplest setup has always worked best for me.

I never go anywhere without my phone anyway, so I won’t miss anything if something exciting or spontaneous happens.

People Expect “Proper” Cameras, But That’s Not My Reality

People’s assumption that to be a successful creator, you must have all the expensive gear.

About 98% of all filming I do is on my phone. The rest are occasional Insta360 clips.

Spontaneous Moments Matter More Than Perfect Quality

For me, cruise content isn’t staged, it all happens in the moment.

With a big camera, by the time you’re ready to film, the moment might be gone.

My phone lets me film spontaneously.

Below is a shot taken on Marella Voyager. My mum was filming with my phone, and I thought it would be a simple, “walking out onto a sunny promenade deck” shot.

Actually, it was far windier than I had predicted. I could barely open the door – and when I did, my sunglasses went flying off my head, and ended up by a lady at the doors right on the other side of the ship!

We wouldn’t have managed to film that if I had had to get a big camera out. I think people like to see things as they really are, not showing everything as perfect and idyllic. Life isn’t like that!

Skip to 14:25 in the video below to see that happen…

Big Cameras Make Me Miss Things

I have never used a camera to make YouTube videos.

It would be extra stuff for me to pack when I cruise. I don’t want to worry about expensive items getting lost or damaged in transit.

My phone is insured, so I can easily replace it if the worst happens.

Messing about with big cameras would change the way I experience the cruise – and not in a good way.

My Phone Is Good Enough (Actually, Better Than Before)

Modern phones have strong stabilisation and zoom.

The quality is better than what you could film on dedicated cameras years ago.

Most viewers are watching on phones anyway — they don’t need cinema quality.

Filming Discreetly Changes Everything

Big cameras attract attention. People look, react, or move out of the way.

Some passengers get quite irritated when people start filming – understandably – when they are just trying to enjoy a relaxing cruise holiday.

With a phone, you blend in, which makes filming feel more natural and relaxed. Everyone is using their phone to film or take photos, I am no different.

I only film clips that are 3 or 4 seconds long.

I always make a conscious effort not to film people enjoying their cruise. I think it is an invasion of their privacy. No one has ever had a problem with me filming onboard, most people don’t realise that I am.

My family, or the people I am travelling with, don’t realise what I have filmed until the video comes out – it is always a surprise to them!

Don’t Let Perfect Be The Enemy of Good

Some people produce film-quality footage and spend a long time setting up the perfect shots.

I don’t want to do that. I don’t film in 4K, even though I probably could.

If I were worried about perfect quality, I’d end up filming less and might miss some interesting content.

The Results Speak For Themselves

My videos on YouTube average about 2 million views a month with a further 5-10 million on Facebook and other accounts.

For me, that’s proof this setup works well. Well enough anyway!

When Do I Use Other Equipment?

If I need unusual angles, a wider view of the ship, or, for example, when I went on the Norwegian Aqua Coaster, my Insta360 works well.

An Insta360 camera captures fully spherical, 360-degree video or photos. It uses dual fisheye lenses to record everything in every direction simultaneously.

Have a look at an example of this in the video below. If you look closely, you can see that I am actually holding the Insta360’s pole in my right hand. The camera cleverly edits that out of the shot.

An Insta360 is useful for certain, specific shots, but I only use it occasionally.

What Actually Matters Instead

I hate the idea that people might be put of creating content because they think they need all the tech. Hopefully I am evidence enough that you don’t, anybody can create content!

My audience is more interested in hearing the story of my cruise, my timing and my pace (they don’t want too many superfluous shots and chit-chat), and they aren’t really interested in how I filmed the video.

My advice would be that if you want to make content for YouTube, don’t think you need lots of expensive equipment to do so. Just get out your phone – and get going!

Have a look at my most popular video, which has had over three million views. It was filmed on my phone and an Insta360.

Before You Go

Find out more about what I use to run my business here:

Blogging Resources, Tools and Products I use as a Full Time Content Creator

I often use shots from the Cruise Globe free App to show our ship’s route. I am a co-founder of this company, and we are happy for any cruise bloggers to use it in their videos. Find out all about the App here.

The Cruise Globe Has Attracted Over 131,000 Users! (Free App)