Organise Your Own Cruise

Top 8 Cruise Organising Tips

No cruises in your area? Bored of having to drive miles for your cruise fix? Want something local? Well get off your arse and organise one in your own manor then. Just follow guide to doing it yourself like.

1. CRUISE NAME
Think of a name for your cruise. Come up with something cool or just go with something simple like the town or city it’s in… unless you live somewhere with a batty name. Would you wanna say you’re going to the Gaydon Cruise? No, we thought not.

2. AREA/LOCATION
It’s never good to let people know the actual location as the police will be there before you are, but its okay to give an indication of the area – just don’t give too much away. Just arrange various convoys for different areas, each with a convoy leader who knows the location. Try and have an easy to find location with minimal traffic lights en route as it will split convoys from their leaders. Also, do your best to use an area that is non-residential and will cause minimum upset to locals. The less people you annoy the fewer reasons the police have to move you on.

3. CRUISE CONVOY
Convoys are crucial to any cruise. Ensure the convoy meets are easy to find and easy to leave, as you don’t want people getting broken up. When co-ordinating multiple convoys you want to ensure they all hit the location at the same time to surprise the cops. If convoy locations are different distances away simply stagger the leave times. Obviously the further away you are the longer you need to get there. Most convoys will not leave until the convoy leader makes themselves known, which is usually signalled by a few horn toots before the car park ups as close to the meet exit as possible. Remember, never overtake the convoy leader as others may follow – it’ll cause confusion and the chances are the following cruisers will lay the blame on you. Bad times.

4. DATE
Check local cruise forums for pre-arranged cruises – there’s nowt worse than two local cruises competing on the same night. This can effect numbers, and if you’re on the losing side you’ll always be known as the ‘not so good cruise of the night’ which will affect your rep for doing another one.

5. TIME
You’d think this would be obvious, but many people overlook start times. Winter is fecking cold, so earlier start times are good. But for most cruises the unwritten rule is start at 8pm. Also, if you are using a retail park ensure the shops are closed before your start time. A retail park rammed with cruisers can be very intimidating to shoppers and old biddies. Plus there’s less parking, as it’s all taken up by Mondeo estates and mums in 4x4s.

6. CRUISE FLYERS
If you want to be taken serious, a good designed flyer is proper important, as is the information included on it. You need to make sure it includes the date, time, location and contact details or a web address for additional info.

7. SPREAD THE WORD
If nobody knows about it nobody is gonna come, and that’d be proper crap. Get round to as many forums and clubs as possible, and spread the word. If you’ve got a flyer you can post up then that’s great, and it’s always good to have a web link for updates. Plans can often change at the last minute, so it’s good to have a place to notify cruisers of any last minute switches. Obviously a website or forum is best, but you could so do something as simple as setting a group page on Facebook and inviting all your mates. Facebook also has the advantage that it’s easy to update and view via mobile phone, so you can announce changes to the night and the word is easily spread.

8. ENJOY
Step back, look about and be proud. You’ve just organised your first cruise. The chances are you’ve brought a load of like-minded people together and you’re gonna get to see some awesome rides as well. Finish off by raising your right hand, moving it towards your left shoulder and patting yourself on the back. Job’s a good ‘un.

SECTION 59
If you are attending or organising a cruise, you need to know about Section 59 a kind of anti-cruising law brought in by the police. See our What is a Section 59 article for more information.