Cruise ship worker explains why you should never pay for one particular luxury while on board

A cruise ship worker of 10 years has revealed the one luxury purchase you should never pay for while on your cruise ship holiday.

Millions of us head on to the open seas every year for a holiday on a cruise, with many treating it as a once in a lifetime experience, while others will go on no other kind of vacation.

With thousands of people on a ship at any one time, there has to be lots to do to keep people entertained. After all, you're paying customers who have likely spent thousands and thousands for your cabin, drinks packages, and other luxury add-ons.

But according to Lucy Southerton, who has worked for the likes of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Voyages cruise line as well as Royal Caribbean and P&O Cruises, there is one luxury additional purchase you should avoid if you want to avoid some potentially awful side effects. And after spending a decade of her life on the open seas, the Birmingham native knows a thing or two about what you should and should not do.

'Avoid this cruise ship purchase'

Speaking in a recent video to her Cruising as Crew YouTube channel, Lucy explained why you shouldn't spend your hard earned money on this purchase 'at all costs'.

For Lucy, who spent two years working in spas on cruise ships, the big red flag came down to specific treatments in the spa facilities offered across many cruise lines.

In particular, she has said it is a massive no when it comes to getting Botox and filler at sea.

"There's probably going to be a lot of you watching who didn't even know that getting Botox and filler on a cruise ship was even an option," Lucy says.

Lucy has said Botox is a no no (Instagram / @cruisingascrew)

Why you should avoid Botox and filler on a cruise ship?

"There's a few reasons for this," Lucy explains.

"The first reason. Although Botox and filler is actually a routine procedure for some people there is still a lot that can go wrong. And I'm not talking about just a botched lip job or a botched Botox job.

"I'm talking about things like necrosis and you do not want to have something like that when you are at sea."

Necrosis is a very real and rare side effect of having a Botox injection. This is where the cells in your body prematurely die due to a lack of blood flow; it cannot be reversed.

As well as the above terrifying outcome, Lucy highlighted what actually happens after you get a Botox procedure. She said: "When you have a Botox and filler treatment, usually two weeks after you'll go back and have a review where they will make sure that the Botox is sitting the way it's supposed to sit or the filler is sitting the way it's supposed to sit. Because again, if you have these treatments you'll know that it does take a few days for it to get into place.

Lucy Sotherton worked on cruise ships for almost 10 years (Instagram/@cruisingascrew)

"Now this is fine if you're on a month long cruise but if you're going on a four or five-day cruise that means your review isn't going to happen now. The therapist will book you in for a review before you leave the cruise ship but if you're on a four day cruise and you have Botox done or filler done on the second day, you have to have your review a few days later which means that the filler or Botox might not be like in place yet.

"And once you're off the ship it's very difficult to get hold of the person who administered your Botox and filler which means if there is a problem with it sucks to be you."

It's a no for waxing and haircuts too (Instagram / @cruisingascrew)

Others to avoid

As well as Botox and filler, Lucy said you should not get your hair cut on a cruise ship.

"While I have worked with some truly fantastic hairdressers in my time I have also seen people walk out of the salon with orange hair and they didn't want orange hair," she said.

"I have seen bowl cuts, I've seen incredibly awful layering. I've seen some true disasters when it comes to haircuts."

On top of this, waxing is another red flag for Lucy.

She said: "Usually people get this treatment done before they go on their cruise so it isn't a very popular treatment. So although there might be a girl who is qualified to wax that works in the spa that can do your waxing treatment she might not have waxed anyone for six months.

"It's not that I'm saying don't get waxed on board if you really want it or need it, I'm just saying don't have high expectations. She probably hasn't done a waxing treatment in a few months so it might be a little bit more painful than usual, and she might not get every single hair."