Rule 1
I sailed her
Every ship review on the site is a ship I have actually sailed - in a real cabin, on a real itinerary, with the date stated. Press previews and one-day media events do not count as a review.
About CruiseDirector
I sail every ship I review.
CruiseDirector is my magazine about cruise ships and the ports they call at, written from time spent on board. The reviews are mine. The cabin numbers are real. The dates I sailed are stated so you can judge how current my take is.
My method
Three rules I work to.
The rules below are how I keep reviews useful: I say when I sailed, I name the cabin or port experience, and I separate editorial judgement from commercial links. Affiliates and commercial relationships exist on this site - in hotel guides and shore-excursion picks - but never in a way that bends a review.
Rule 2
Real cabin numbers
I name the cabin and deck I slept in so you can see exactly what I saw. The same applies to dining venues, lounges and shore experiences. Specifics over scenic.
Rule 3
Scores move both ways
Every review carries the date I sailed. Scores move down as well as up. When a line gets worse, I say so and re-date the review. No silent rewrites.
Who's writing
Patrick Hughes, sole operator.
I run CruiseDirector on my own. Reviews are mine, port guides are mine, the newsletter and the rest of the editorial. I am building this as a business - so affiliate-supported guides and partnerships are part of the plan - but commercial links do not decide what I write or how I score a review.
Patrick Hughes
Founder · Writer
Based in Ireland. Sailing mainstream and premium lines since 2023. Particular interest in adults-only product (Virgin Voyages, Viking), the British and Mediterranean cruise scene, and how the European-rooted lines compare to American mass-market.
12+Cruises sailed
2023Site founded
IrelandBased
The numbers
What the site is, by count.
CruiseDirector is small but growing. These numbers tell you what's been published so far. They are not vanity metrics - they are the work, dated, on file.
12+
20+
70+
3+
- Patrick, May 2026
The Sunday port report
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