I’m a cruise ship worker – here is the BIGGEST mistake passengers can make when coming onboard

A cruise ship worker has revealed the biggest mistake passengers make when boarding.

Lucy Sotherton, 28, from Birmingham, has worked on cruise ships for nine years.

She recently opened up about what life is really like at sea – the good, the bad, and how you could get on the crew’s nerves without even realizing it.

The crew member highlighted some of the most frustrating issues brought on board by a small number of guests: having bad manners and being rude.

Lucy told Daily Star: ‘I think the biggest mistake people can make when on a cruise is not being polite to all crew members.

‘You don’t know what you will need and which crew member will be able to solve your problems and it has happened before where a passenger has been incredibly rude to a crew member that they have subsequently needed during their cruise .’

If you’re nice to the staff, they might even give you some free luxuries.

The 28-year-old shared that the best way to get free stuff and upgrades is to ‘make real connections with crew members’.

She added: ‘And this applies to your cabin. Command your servant and any crew member.

‘If you’re a nice person and you have a connection with a crew member, they’re more likely to go above and beyond for you.

‘That’s why it makes me laugh when passengers are rude to crew members because they’re only doing themselves a disservice.

“No crew member wants to step on a passenger who is disrespectful and rude.”

The cruise ship worker claims that the worst type of passengers are those who are ‘determined to be miserable’ no matter what you offer them and that ‘happy passengers are the best.

So if you’re going to the sea this year, make sure you wear a smile and keep your feet in check if you want to make a good impression.

It comes after a guest revealed she was almost sent to “cruise jail” for fighting with a fellow passenger – sparking a fierce fascination with what really happens to those who misbehave while out at sea .

Theresa Rowley of Dallas, Texas, recently went viral after she admitted that she almost came to blows with another woman on a seven-day Carnival cruise she took with her mother.

But when she said the events could have landed her ‘locked in the belly of the ship’, it got people wondering if cruise ships really have a place to detain unruly travelers, what it’s like and what you have to do to be sent there .