About - Emma Cruises

Hey! I’m Emma.
I’m a Cruise Blogger and
YouTuber from the UK.

If you’re looking to explore the world by ship, you’ve come to the right place. I’m all about showing you how to get the most out of cruising without breaking the bank.

But, before we get into all the cruisey things, let me tell you a bit about myself.

I’m 29 years old and I’ve been cruising since I was 11. My first cruise was to Alaska on the Norwegian Spirit, and I had so much fun in the kids clubs with my brother and cousins.

In the words of my parents I “nagged them” to take me on another cruise as soon as I finished the first so I guess you could say I was addicted to cruising from a young age!

Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to sail all over the world on ships of all sizes.

My favourite trip to date was a cruise from Singapore to Tokyo with Princess Cruises, everything about the trip was so intersting and having the cruise ship to come back to at the end of the day, really reminded me why I love cruising so much, it makes travel so easy!

But it’s not all about cruising.

You’ll probably have seen my cat Hudson mentioned if you’ve ever seen any of my videos. He often makes appearances on my live streams and has become an accidental mascot of the channel. We even made toy versions of him for charity!

If you ever need to bribe me, just offer me some cookies or a Pepsi Max, they are my favourite things.

I’m really excited to share my love of cruising with you and to help you plan your own trip. So take a look around my site and if you’re ready to book your own adventure, we’re here for you.

As Seen On:

The Cruise That Started it All

I took my first cruise when I was 11. It was onboard the Norwegian Spirit and we visited Alaska. I had so much fun in the kids clubs with my brother and cousins. I also loved being able to decide what and where I wanted to eat. My parents might decide to have dinner in the main dining room and I could have pizza from the buffet, it was great!

(On the right) Is me with my first cruise ship.

Norwegian Spirit Emma Cruises Le Teace — Me (right) and my cousin libby in front of the Norwegian Spirit, my first ever cruise ship!

How My Cruise Career Started

When I decided to take my first cruise by myself, I was surprised to find that none of my friends would even consider it. They had outdated ideas about cruise ships being formal and boring, which I knew was not the case.

I started this website in 2016 and a YouTube channel a year later. The aim of both is to dispel common cruising misconceptions and to show potential cruisers that there is a cruise line to suit everybody.

I worked on my website and channel in my weekends and before and after work for many years. I’m not sure what motivated me at the start, but I’m glad something did!

I never imagined that my spare time hobby would turn into a ‘proper’ business, but it did.

When Things Changed – A Pandemic Life Change!

In March 2021 I made the decision to leave my job in Data Development to throw myself full time into the cruise world. I’ve never looked back.

I’d worked in that job for 6 years and it definitely was a scary decision but being my own boss means I don’t have to ask anybody else to approve my leave, it’s fabulous!

To learn more about how I managed to turn a hobby into a business, check out this post: 9 Ways I Make Money as a Full-Time Travel Content Creator (Tools & Resources)

Things That I’m Proud of:

In 2018 I was voted ‘Favourite cruise blogger’ at the Wave awards. It was crazy to be nominated and even crazier to win! This was the first time I told my work colleagues about my cruise hobby.

In 2018 we ‘Braved the Shave’ for Macmillan and let the captian of the Marella Discovery shave my head on the theatre stage. We raised a little over £5000 for cancer support charities! You can watch the video here.

Emma Le Teace Brave the Shave Marella Discovery Cruise Director Adam Captain Hugh

Emma Le Teace Brave The Shave Macamillan Marella Discovery

In 2020 we held a 12 hour YouTube live stream to fundraise for my friend Sean who was diagnosed stage 4 with Pancreatic cancer. Sean passed away in early 2021, a year after this live stream happened. The stream meant so much to Sean (and me). If you watched and/or donated, we are forever grateful!

In 2021 I won the Ultimate Content Warrior challenge by IncomeSchool.

IncomeSchool are a blogging community and contest took place over multiple month, it was a LOT of work but I knew I had to give it a go.

In 2022 we ‘Braved the Shave’ again but this time live on my YouTube channel. When I hit 100k subscribers I thought to myself, this is incredible but theres far more potential here than just sharing cruise tips. This time we rasied over £36,000. I still haven’t got over that!

In 2023 we raised a little over £9000 for Mercy Ships by selling toy cat mascots of my cat Hudson. This was just the first version and we plan to make more going forward! Join the waitlist here.

In The Media

CNN Travel

Following the launch of Virgin Voyages’ first cruise ship Scarlet Lady, I was asked to be part of an article on CNN Travel talking about my experiences and how this differed from my initial impressions of Virgin.

This was based on my initial review and follow-up review.

When Virgin Voyages launched a second ship, Valiant Lady, I was also asked to be part of another article.
You can read the full articles here:

Virgin Voyages’ First Cruise Ship Sets Sail
Virgin Voyages Launches New Adults-only Cruise Ship

Newspapers, TV and Radio

I’ve been interviewed for national TV as a ‘cruise expert’ (more information coming soon), consulted live on BBC radio and have been featured in a number of large newspapers and on travel websites.

I’m usually asked to speak about the rise in young people cruising and to talk about how the cruise industry is changing and adapting to the demands of consumers. I usually focus on the budget end of the cruise market and aim to encourage others to try their first cruise.

The Guardian – Why Cruises Float The Boat of The Instagram Generation

World of Cruising – Emma Le Teace’s Guide to Cruising For Millenials

The Telegraph – The cruise for people who don’t consider themselves to be ‘cruise ship people’
Why your first holiday after this is all over should be a cruise

New York Times – The newest tech on cruise ships

Insider – A TikToker who has been on 40 cruises shares 3 ways to save money on board

Where to Find Me:

Instagram

I use Instagram to document my cruises and day-to-day life as things happen. Want to see what there is to eat, see and do on a cruise? This is the fastest way: Emma Cruises.

Facebook

Got a question to ask or a photo you’d like to share? Join us in our free Facebook group! Emma Cruises and Captain Hudsons Adventures.

YouTube

Every week I share cruise reviews and tips on my YouTube channel. This is by far where I am most active and where most people seem to know me from!

If you’ve watched my videos before, please click here and check that you are subscribed. You’d be surprised how many people think they are but aren’t!

Patreon

Patreon is a platform for those who want a little extra. In Patreon you’ll find a weekly podcast where you can ask me anything, monthly members-only live streams, behind-the-scenes photos, a discord chat where you can share any photos or stories, zoom calls with me, and other exclusive content like handwritten postcards from my cruises.

Join us here.

Want Some Inspiration or a Quote? We Can Help!

I’m very happy to announce that we are now able to provide quotes for guests from the US and Canada as well as the UK! Fill in our form here and we will be in touch.

This is by far my favourite part of what I do, hearing happy stories from people who have just returned from a great cruise is AMAZING.