I have been blogging for years! But some of you may have noticed, that recently I have also started to vlog on YouTube. You can subscribe here if you would like to see this quirky personality jump off the page. But I am going to explain why I decided to start vlogging because it was a decision made with very specific intent (and no that intent was not to get more clicks/views because I don’t get many of those in the first place).

Historically, cruising has had a reputation that it is for the newlywed and the nearly dead. Whilst, the average age of a cruise passenger is still 40+ the cruise industry is working hard to encourage diversity. Adverts show families enjoying life at sea, they show people of different ethnicities, various creeds, people who are disabled, and people of all ages. Alongside this, the ships themselves have changed greatly as time has marched on and they now represent the diverse market they serve. There really is a cruise ship out there for everyone; if you make sure you do the research.

However, there is very little variation when it comes to the people representing the cruise industry online. Overwhelmingly British cruise vloggers are Southern and many of them are the average age of a cruise passenger (or close to). Now when I decided to start pointing a camera at my face I did not factor age into it – age is just a number after all. My decision was driven by the need for diversification when it comes to colloquial dialect.

It is absolutely pointless for the cruise industry to put all this effort into showing a mixed market; if it is only represented by a very narrow group of people. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is bursting with people who have a variety of accents. Yet, it seems that Cruise YouTube has become an extension of mainstream media in that most people speak the Kings English. As a proud northern lass, I decided that I would represent colloquial dialect by taking to YouTube and speaking in my northern/Yorkshire accent.

I believe that this is important for two reasons! Firstly, if we want people to see cruising as something that anyone can do – then they need to see people who are like them. Nobody wants to be in an environment where they feel like they are the odd one out. Representation is incredibly important in developing the mixed market that the cruise industry is striving for. Secondly, having a colloquial accent is still largely frowned upon by society, I cannot tell you how many times people have told me that they cannot understand my accent or have associated my accent with a lack of intelligence. This needs to change for the media to be truly representative of the people of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

My choice to take to YouTube is not going to change the world but each small step helps in creating media that is relatable to a wider audience.