Emma Cruises – Your Frequently Asked Questions (Age, Relationships, Money & More)

Hey hey hey! If you’ve reached this page, it means you’re curious about something, first of all, THANK YOU and secondly, I hope you find your answer here.

If not, just let me know, and I’ll add them to the page!

These questions won’t all be cruise-related and have all been asked of me by viewers of my content in the past.

Who is Hudson?

Hudson is my cat. He’s a ginger and white boy, and if you ever have seen one of my livestream videos, you’ve probably seen him climbing across the sofa to get his favourite snacks (dreamies).

Not to be confused with Captain Hudson who is the mascot of my YouTube channel, based on the real cat of course.

I sometimes get comments asking me if I named my cat ‘Husband’, which makes me laugh.

How Did You Meet Hudson?

I adopted Hudson from Cats Protection when he was 5 years old (ish). I saw a poster with him on it when I saw on my lunch break and knew that I wanted to adopt him then, the rest is history! 🙂

What is Squash?

Squashed is a diluted juice drink that’s very popular in the UK. It’s a liquid that comes in lots of flavours (some of the most common are blackcurrant, berries, orange etc) and it’s usually diluted 1 part squash to 4 parts water.

I’m usually drinking squash on my YouTube live streams and I always bring little versions with me on my cruises.

How Did You Get Started on YouTube?

When I started my channel in 2017, I had no plans at all. I just wanted to share videos I took on holiday. I started making a tips and tricks videos to help other people to enjoy cruising as much as I did but I didn’t ever think much beyond that.

I was working in Data Development (coding all day in the insurance world) so I’d spend all my weekends and evenings on my ‘little cruise project’. I was addicted to it and still am!

It was in 2020 that I decided to put on my business hat on to see if I could ever make a proper go of my crazy idea. I did all the work to build a business while NOBODY was cruising and just hoped that the industry would bounce back.

Spoiler: It did! Phew!!

It seemed like the craziest dream and it was so so scary to leave a more traditional job but I’m very happy to say that I left my regular 9-5 job back in 2021 and I’ve run my business full time ever since.

I’ve not regretted it for even 0.00003 seconds.

This was definitely the scariest video I’ve ever made:

Is Emma Cruises Single?

No. I’ve been with my other half Jono since 2013 and we live together with our cat Hudson (who much prefers Jono may I add)!

I took Jono on his first cruise in 2016 and he’s been cruising with me since, he’s the man behind the camera.

What Did You Do Before YouTube?

I worked in Data Development for a group of car insurers. I did the behind-the-scenes coding that made sure that departments like Finance and Actuarial had the reports that they needed.

Before that I studied Maths at University (yep it’s Maths in the UK not Math).

I graduated with a 1st from the University of Brighton.

It was hard but it taught me how to sit by myself and motivate myself to work, a skill that’s been very useful in building up my business!

The actual course content I don’t use at all, but the motivation side has been helpful.

Would You Like to Work on a Cruise Ship?

Nope. Believe it or not I do get seasick (which is okay when I can just nap, but working with seasickness would be horrific) and I’d miss home and my cat far too much.

I have a huge amount of respect for anybody who works at sea, it’s incredibly hard.

Where are Your Background Maps From?

Details about the big blue map can be found here and the custom cruise maps you’ll find here.

What Is Your Favourite Movie?

Elf, or finding Nemo. They’re my joint-favourites.

Which Cruise Line Has The Best Cookies?

Ooo, that one is tricky. I’ll answer this one in more detail here: Which Cruise Lines Have The Best Cookies? (11 Cruise Lines Compared!)

What is The Best Cruise?

There are 12,734 possible answers to this question and whoever you are 12,000 of them are probably wrong. It’s confusing and I totally understand why people feel overwhelmed. This is where a good travel agent is worth their weight in gold.

Start by downloading my free cruise line comparison guide here and then we can find some ideas for you if you fill in our form here.

Who Do You Cruise With?

I usually cruise with my partner Jono, my family or my friends. Sometimes with a combination of all three groups!

I’m lucky that my family do like cruising and I’ve been slowly working on introducing my friends over the years.

I don’t cruise solo anymore just because of the unfortunate downsides that come with having an online presence but solo cruising is FANTASTIC and I’d recommend it to everybody.

You can do as much, or as little as you want.

How Do You Make Money?

As a travel content creator, I make money through ad revenue, membership services like Patreon, cruise sales, course sales, affiliate sales, sponsorships, and other product sales.

I understand that it’s an interesting industry, there’s certainly no manual on how to build a business like mine! I’m making it up as I go.

If you’d like to learn more about this, check out this page.

Do You Pay For Your Own Cruises?

Yes, unless otherwise stated.

I don’t get any trade discounts (I’m not myself a travel agent), so I pay the full retail price for my cruises, which is why I care so much about getting a good deal!

It’s certainly not cheap to cruise as much as I do, and it’s the main expense of my business.

A couple of times a year I work with companies on press trips where I haven’t paid a cruise fare and you’ll see ‘AD’ on all content created from these trips as well as the ‘Paid Promotion’ button on YouTube. You can check out an example of that here.

The rules in the UK are a bit confusing but I’ve always thought that it’s better to err on the side of too honest, I see no downside there!

I try to keep the line very clear between regular trips and press trips, so I only do press trips when I am working for the cruise line (for example, creating videos for them to use on their YouTube channel) or if it gives me access to something I could never do myself.

Last year, I took a press trip on a YACHT, and it was brilliant. Totally out of my normal budget and something I wouldn’t have ever been able to share without the cruise line inviting me.

The vast majority of my cruises, though, aren’t press trips and that’s a very conscious decision.

Where Are Your Dresses From?

This post includes all my dresses/outfits and where I got them from (if I know). Hope this helps!

How Old Are You?

I was born in 1994 and I’ll let you do the maths on that one, otherwise I’ll forget to update this box and I’ll forever be stuck at the age I currently am!