Wow! Can you believe it’s been a whole year since DIYCruisePorts.com was launched? It’s been an incredible journey, and I’m so grateful to all 150,000+ of you who’ve come aboard to explore the world of DIY shore excursions with me.
I’ve been blown away by your support – with many of you becoming dedicated readers and 100+ of you who contacted me to have chats about your DIY shore excursion plans!
To celebrate this first anniversary, I’m taking a look back at the highlights, the lowlights and giving you a sneak peak at what’s on the horizon for DIYCruisePorts in 2025. And if you’re a travel blogger (or an aspiring one!), keep reading as I’ll also be sharing the lessons I’ve learnt in the past year.
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A Year on Deck: DIYCruisePorts’s Biggest Waves
DIYCruisePorts.com has come a long way since its maiden voyage! I pressed the go-live button on February 5, 2024 with only three posts. I thought that no one would find my blog, let alone read it! I’m SO glad that I was wrong 🥹!
So it’s time to share the highlights of my first year as a (part-time / spare time) travel blogger. (I’m NOT one of the YouTubers who practically live on a cruise ship – more about me here.)
Here’s a few highlights:
- 100+ Cruise Ports Guides: I’ve managed to write over 100 cruise ports guides for Europe and the Caribbean. There’s lots more to come, so keep reading for my 2025 plans below…
- 156,000+ Readers have visited DIYCruisePorts in the past year! From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
- Most Popular Posts: Marseille Cruise Port – the first post I wrote was my most popular blog post, followed by Haugesund cruise port in Norway and Valencia cruise port in Spain.
While it took me a while to launch the social media channels for DIYCruisePorts, the Facebook page and Pinterest channel are both now live! Please join me there if you’re active on those socials!
I’m personally most proud of learning the technical aspects of running a WordPress site – from learning about WordPress themes, plug-ins (and how they can conflict with each other!), to SEO to ensure my posts can be found on on search engines like Google! It’s been an incredibly steep learning curve!
2025 Plans: What’s Next for DIYCruisePorts
1. Expanding Our Horizons: DIY Cruise Guides for Asia, Australasia & North America
So far, I’ve written mostly about Mediterranean and Northern European ports, with a smattering of Caribbean ports in between. But DIYCruisePorts will be going global in 2025:
- Asia: I’ll be starting with Hong Kong and Japan, as I’ve come back from these trips recently. But Vietnam, Taiwan and South Korea ports are also on the way!
- Canada & New England: Planning a cruise this fall with Canada & New England ports? I’ll be writing up my trip from last fall, so stay tuned for these DIY guides!
- Australasia: Yup, I wasn’t speedy enough and will miss helping those on the 2024-2025 cruise season down under. But I promise that at least some of the Australasian DIY cruise port guides will be done for those planning a cruise in the 2025-2026 season!
2. Diving Deeper: Expanded Guides for Europe’s Top Cruise Ports
Get ready for more detailed DIY shore excursion guides to the most popular European hubs: Rome, Athens, Barcelona. (And I mean Rome and Athens, not just Civitavecchia and Piraeus.) These enhanced guides will provide comprehensive itineraries, insider tips, and all the resources you need to maximise your pre- and post-cruise adventures, including recommendations for hotels 🏨 and places to eat 🥘.
P.S. Want to see London added to this list? Let me know in the comments below👇! I’m curious how many of you are interested in a pre-cruise stopover in London before heading to Southampton. I’ve lived in London, on and off, for 20 years, so I’ve got plenty of tips.
3. Coming Soon: New Ways to Connect & Explore Together
I’m always looking for ways to make DIYCruisePorts.com even better, and that includes making it easier for you to connect with me and with fellow DIY cruisers. Here are a few things I’m cooking up:
Community Forum (Maybe Reddit? Maybe Facebook? You Decide!): I’m considering creating a dedicated space where you can share your DIY shore excursion experiences, ask questions, and connect with other like-minded travellers. But I need your input! Would you prefer a Reddit community or a Facebook group? Let me know in the comments or watch out for a reader survey coming soon!
Interactive Port Maps: Where to Eat When You’re Ashore: You loved the interactive maps with pins for must-see attractions and itineraries, and now I’m taking them to the next level! By popular demand, I’ll be gradually adding my favorite restaurants, cafes, and local food spots to the maps. So not only can you plan your sightseeing adventures, but you can also discover the best places to fuel up and savor the local flavors. Stay tuned for delicious updates!
Keep the DIY Cruise Dream Alive: How You Can Support DIYCruisePorts
As many of you know, the world of travel blogging has been facing some choppy waters lately, with Google’s algorithm changes and AI overviews impacting how easily people can find smaller blogs like mine. It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster ride, with traffic ebbing and flowing like the tide, as my site gets hit. Honestly, it’s been pretty disheartening to pour my heart into creating helpful content, only to see it getting lost in AI overviews at the top of search results (and no one clicking through to my site!)
But here’s the thing: I’m passionate about DIYCruisePorts.com and the value it brings to fellow cruisers. I believe in empowering travellers to explore independently and discover unique experiences. And I know that many of you feel the same way!
So, I’m reaching out to you, my amazing community, to ask for your help in navigating these challenges and ensuring DIYCruisePorts.com continues to grow and thrive. Here’s how you can make a difference:
- Spread the word: Share your favourite DIYCruisePorts.com posts with your friends, family, and fellow cruisers. Post them on social media, mention them in online forums, or simply tell someone about the helpful tips you’ve found here. I felt SO motivated when a fellow cruiser shared my posts in my upcoming Canary Islands cruise in our roll call group and said they were helpful!
- Engage with the blog: Leave comments, share your own DIY shore excursion experiences, and participate in discussions. The more interaction, the better!
- Connect: Follow DIYCruisePorts on social media to stay updated on the latest posts and tips. Here’s my Facebook and Pinterest pages.
- Provide feedback: Let me know what you love about the blog, what you’d like to see more of, and any suggestions you have for improvement. Drop me a comment below or spend 2 minutes on my reader survey dropping next week.
Every share, comment, and like makes a difference. Help me continue to make DIYCruisePorts.com a valuable resource for cruisers around the world. Thank you for being part of this journey!
Lessons Learned from a Year of DIY Cruise Blogging
This first year of DIYCruisePorts.com has been a whirlwind of learning and growth. If you’re a budding travel blogger or aspiring to start your own blog, here are a few key lessons I’ve learned along the way:
Tech Savvy is a Must: I’ll admit it, I underestimated the technical side of blogging. From choosing a fast-loading WordPress theme and optimizing plugins to keeping a close eye on Google’s Core Web Vitals, there’s a lot more to it than just writing great content. If you’re serious about blogging, be prepared to get your hands dirty with the tech stuff – it makes a huge difference in reader experience and whether they’ll stick around.
Practical Advice is King: As a traveler myself, I know how frustrating it is to find travel blogs that only scratch the surface. That’s why I’ve focused on providing practical, actionable advice, like detailed itineraries, transportation tips, and local insights. And guess what? It’s resonated! Readers love the nitty-gritty details that help them plan their own adventures.
Photos, Photos, and More Photos: You can never have too many photos! I’ve learned this the hard way. Even though I take tons of pictures on my trips, I often find myself wishing I had captured a specific scene or detail when I’m writing a blog post. So, my advice is to snap away and document everything – you’ll thank yourself later.
These are just a few of the lessons I’ve learned in the past year. Blogging is a continuous journey of learning and evolving, and I’m excited to keep growing and improving DIYCruisePorts.com with your help!
Featured Image: Me getting blown away on a windy day in Olden, Norway.
If you have any suggestions for what I should write about, I would really appreciate it if you can drop me a comment below and start a conversation with me. Thank you for all your kind words and for reading my humble travel blog!
I look forward to hearing from you!
This is the first I’ve visited your site, and I’m blown away by all the material you’ve provided in less than two years! Impressive!
Hi Mary, thanks for your encouraging words! And thanks for stopping by – I appreciate it! 😊