Furious passengers are slamming Princess Cruises after they paid thousands of pounds to travel on the company’s newest ship – only to have their trip taken over by ‘profiteering’ influencers

A row broke out after paying guests on a cruise ship said the vessel was being “inundated” with “profiteering” influencers who were ruining their trip.

Passengers claimed the group of vloggers were given extra entertainment and priority areas, which other passengers did not receive during the boat’s first port of call in the UK.

TikTokers and Instagrammers were treated to events from BBC Radio’s Scott Mills and a performance from singer-songwriter and 2022 Eurovision Song Contest entrant Sam Ryder.

But those who paid thousands of pounds for tickets to the cruise said they felt like “second class citizens” and were “submerged in noisy ‘bloggers’ who made the whole experience ‘cheap'”.

Princess Cruises’ newest ship, Sun Princess, docked in Southampton this past weekend for her UK debut, completing her first season in the Mediterranean.

She was nicknamed the ‘Next Level Love Boat’ and was officially welcomed at an inauguration celebration hosted by Sun Princess Captain Craig Street.

Some TikTokers had been on the ship for almost a week, flying to Barcelona to pick up the cruise ship in Spain and then sailing back to Southampton for an all-expenses-paid trip to purchase the ship.

And on Sunday, September 22, special events took place, where dozens more influencers and bloggers were allowed on board the 177-ton boat to view the facilities.

Radio 2 presenter Scott Mills provided the entertainment and singer-songwriter Sam Ryder was in attendance.

But it did cause a lot of grumbling among paying customers, as many people complained that the boat was being ‘flooded’ by social media-obsessed travellers.

Complaints have included TikTokkers cutting in line for food, eating “obscene” amounts of food and constantly filming their antics. One said she saw a TikTokker take over a nightclub for 20 minutes while recording herself dancing to Britney Spears hits.

The bloggers included plus-size travel expert Kirstyleannetravels and TikTok queen Becki Jones, who mainly documented her meals.

She posted photos of herself enjoying breakfast on her balcony in her pajamas, as well as luxurious meals in one of the ship’s many restaurants.

In a breakfast post on Instagram she said: ‘Did someone say champagne breakfast on the balcony? I’m living the life of a queen!’

An angry relative of a couple affected by the number of bloggers on board wrote on Facebook: ‘I don’t normally use social media but this time I felt I had to express how awful this is for my parents.

‘They flew to Seville and docked in Southampton. The whole time they were there it was like a circus. Everywhere they looked there were young groups of ‘bloggers’ or ‘vloggers’ filming themselves eating obscene amounts of food, being loud and over the top and generally being annoying.

‘On the last day they were so fed up that they sat in their hut all the time.

‘Certain parts of the ship were closed off for special events, they paid and were treated as non-priority. The world has gone mad.

‘My parents want to warn anyone traveling with Princess Cruises and insisted that there are better companies out there.

“What a disgrace, ‘Sun’ Princess, that she takes people’s money and uses it as a platform to advertise all the time, when it should be relaxing. That’s outrageous.

‘My parents go one step further.’

They added: ‘There was also a larger lady, in a group who jumped in front of them to get her food with a camera in her face smiling the whole time and unaware that there were other guests on board. Not recommended.’

One of them replied: ‘I agree that we left a day earlier because they changed the itinerary for two nights in Southampton to prepare everything for all those bloggers and travel agents, and that at our expense. They have not received a single word of apology or refund.’

Another said: ‘What a shame for your parents. We are on the Sun Princess now and have been since Barcelona. We have seen much the same. I hope the next part of the journey will be better for them.’

Another responded: ‘Oddly enough, I actually find this complaint VERY justified.

‘So many ”vloggers”, ”influencers” and travel agents traveling for free… you know ”someone” is paying for them… the passengers who aren’t traveling for free!

“Why bother people who only travel at other people’s expense?”

Another said: ‘It really isn’t fair to all the passengers who paid their hard earned money for a lovely cruise. It’s completely wrong to do this.’

Another said they were in one of the ship’s discos when an influencer struck.

“A Britney Spears influencer took over the entire nightclub one night!” they said.

‘The DJ played about seven Britney songs in a row while her friend filmed her dancing and lip-syncing the songs!

‘We all had to sit there and watch because we hate Britney Spears’ music! It just went on and on and on! So selfish and embarrassing!’

One of them replied, “We’ve been suffering from this for days!”

Another said they were gutted not to be able to see Sam Ryder, posting: ‘Yay so Sam Rider (sic) is on Sun tonight. Oh no he’s not for us full fare paying passengers!!!!

‘It’s only for the profiteers among the bloggers and vloggers.

“It’s absolutely disgusting, Princess, that you put free passengers above paying passengers.”

Another complained: ‘The ship is full of travel agents and bloggers. They have been invited to enjoy the ship for a day.

Deck 8 American Diner has been transformed into a special dining room especially for these guests.

‘There are roses on all the tables and the waiters are formally dressed.’

One of them responded: ‘This is disgusting and totally wrong. Why do vloggers get priority and guests have to go through all this and not be allowed into certain areas?’

Another said: ‘There’s also a party in the dome tonight with Scot Mills, the Radio 2 DJ. It’s just awful to treat paying guests like second class guests.’

One of them replied, “If you saved up and paid for the experience out of your own pocket, let me know that it is okay to be treated among noisy ‘bloggers’ who get it for free and cheapen the whole experience.”

Another added: ‘I was in a lift with four girls from Newcastle, having a glass of champagne, and they said they were going to get their money’s worth today.

‘Princess Cruises does not care about their paying passengers and would rather anger them by allowing all the profiteers on board.’

Another responded angrily: ‘It was a party for bloggers and travel agents only, not for paying passengers. We were not invited and were only allowed to go to other places with less entertainment, less food options and no staff available!’

One added: ‘These last two days in Southampton have been awful. It’s like we, the paying guests, have become second-class citizens.

‘The dome was closed for a private event, the only place we could shelter and relax from the rain and still use a pool. The square was full of press, business people, bloggers and influencers having a private red carpet party.

“You can’t walk or relax anywhere without a group of people invading your privacy. People are constantly on camera.”

However, one of them explained that the content creators did their best not to bother other people – and that they were paid for it.

He said, ‘I was on that cruise. To be honest, it was only on the last day, when a lot of the creators were invited on board, that there were a lot of people walking around with cameras.

‘As a creator I can confirm that the situation described here is a minority situation.

‘Most makers go to great lengths to ensure that other passengers are not in the photo, for example by filming at 6am.

‘We also ask to eat very late and sit in a corner if we plan to film.

If you’ve ever watched a YouTube video to make an informed decision about a cruise or to experience a trip, you’ll notice that the ships generally look pretty empty (here’s why).

“And just in case there’s an assumption. We weren’t invited to the PR event and paid for a nine-night cruise as a vacation.”

Sun Princess is operated by Princess Cruises and is known for its sleek, innovative design, featuring a huge new glass dome visible from the outside.

The ship can accommodate 4,300 guests and a crew of 1,600. The ship then sails to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

MailOnline has reached out to Princess Cruises for comment.