Single senior citizen taking my first cruise

I am a 70 year old senior citizen taking my first cruise. I don't know where or when (in about months). I will be traveling alone. I live in Texas, suggestions for where to go for about 6 or 7 days. This maybe my only cruise. What is the best cruise line for beginners. Help!:cool:

Any cruise line is good for beginners. Decide where you would like to go and where you want to sail from. Galveston would be logical but not the easiest port to get to. Don't focus on being single. I cruised single many times before my sister retired. (I'm 73 now). Focus on what you want to do and where you want to go. I suggest you go to www.cruisetimetables.com and choose some places that interest you from the Ports of Call list. Then select a time that you like. It will tell you who is calling there and their itineraries.

The shorter cruises usually use the older, smaller ships and that might be fine for you. If you don't see yourself using a flowrider, rock climbing wall, ropes course, etc. then these ships will be fine. The shorter the cruise, the more families and children will be on board. The standard cruise is 7 days. If you choose a longer cruise, the average age will be higher. On really long cruises, you might find yourself among the younger crowd. Have fun looking around and planning.

I am going to ask the moderators to move your thread to the Ask a Cruise Question forum or First Time Cruisers forum, as more people will see it there and it is not really about choosing a cabin. EM

I've done many cruises solo - best to find what destinations are of interest to you and go from there based on budget (downside is 200% pricing) and cruise line.

Alaska is a nice first time cruise in my opinion leaving from Seattle or Vancouver. I also like Med cruises because Venice and other cities are favs.

NCL has solo cabins with a solo lounge / usually lots of families and entry level cruisers

Cruise lines to look at that in my opinion have older guests are Princess, Holland America, Oceania, Azamara and then the luxury ship brands

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Most cruise lines charge a supplement to sail solo in a cabin, however there are a number of cruise Ines that offer solo cabins with no supplement. You have to plan far in advance to get these but it will save you lots of money. Here is a lot of information about solo cabins and which ships have them:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1989&taparam=ECCGoogleUS_K405685650_A41849512933_NS&&supai=203233676536&supsn=g&supmbl=&suppos=1t4&supap1=&supap2=&supdev=c&suprnd=3252531124275854912&source=84265&gclid=CMyfm5fw5dQCFUQcaQodo4ADHQ

Don't think of it as a "supplement"...just know that cabin prices are based on DOUBLE occupancy...so whether it's 1 or 2 in the cabin , the price is about the same!

Don't think of it as a "supplement"...just know that cabin prices are based on DOUBLE occupancy...so whether it's 1 or 2 in the cabin , the price is about the same!

Unless you are cruising in a cabin for 1.

I think you could have a great time on any cruise line. I have cruised on Disney, Carnival, RCL, and NCL and have had great times on every single cruise. I recently cruised on RCL's Liberty of the Seas out of Galveston and had a wonderful time.

If I were you, I would first decide what area would be the most enjoyable. There are cruises to the Caribbean, Alaska, Canada, and other areas. Once you decide which area you might enjoy the most, then you can look at the cruise lines that go to those areas and the ports.

After you choose a port and then a cruise line, you can start looking at excursions. For a first time cruiser, I think it's easiest to book excursions provided by the ship. After you put down your deposit, you can view the excursions. To me, it's helpful to read reviews. Some of the cruise lines have reviews when you click on their excursions and others don't. For the ones that don't, I will google reviews or look on Cruise Critic under that particular port to read reviews and suggestions.

I hope you have a wonderful time! It's great to meet new people, visit different places, and have wonderful experiences.