1jazzylady

The food was a great deal better than on NCL Sun. I also had the dining package which was a nice alternative.

I will be back on Gem in November after her upgrade/makeover.

Hello all,

 

 

 

I've been cruising solo for a bit but mainly to Caribbean locations.

 

I'm looking at a trip to Alaska next year and it has come down to either the Explorer of the Seas on RC or the Norwegian Jewel..

 

I've been on several of RC's ships, and just the Sky on Norwegian, so I'd like to think I know what I'd be getting from each line.

 

 

 

I'm leaning toward NCL because I have noticed RC doesn't have much in the way of solo activities on their ships.

 

 

 

For those of you who have done an Alaska sailing, would you agree with my choice?

 

I'm also wondering if you found more families/couples on this type of itinerary vs. a Caribbean one?

 

 

 

As far as price, ports of call, etc, they are almost identical so that wouldn't factor in at this point.

 

 

 

Any advice opinions greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

Thanks

I just did 14 nights on NCL Sun cruising Alaska. I was solo. I did not attend any solo events the first week but the second week I did. Everyday in the daily was a meeting in a bar. The solo thing was very active the week I went. We went to dinner and shows together. The member hosting from the cruise directors staff was great. The first day she got us all the drink we wanted, she arranged a Tapas party for us, a happy hour type thing and a final night dinner where we had 17 for dinner. There were a lot of solos on the ship.

just booked it on the ncl uk website. the conversion rate totalled $531.60 for a guarantee and includes a free ubl with no gratuity fee of 18%.

 

 

 

what a deal!!

 

 

 

thanks everyone for your posts

That is a good deal!

Most of the people who say hello are staff, they are trained to say hello, good morning, etc. occasionally you will get a chatty woman trying to get the scoop on you but focus on the scenery, your book or give brief or no answers, it is easy if you really don't want to be bothered. I think you give off a vibe. I just walked through the streets of Nassau and no one bothered me. Enjoy your cruise your way.

I sailed alone on HAL once. 14 nights, not one passenger said hello. Several did not want me at their tables. I have always remembered what to me was a very poor experience.I am a Senior female. I gathered that some of these cruise ladies thought I was after their husbands. So if you want to be left alone give HAL a try, Staff had same attitude.

I agree, these women don't want "single" women joining their tables, especially younger ones.

If I want conversation I go to the solo group meeting.

Is it possible to cruise completely alone? Or will people be constantly trying to make you join their group or their dining table because they feel bad for you?

 

 

 

I'm intrigued by the solo cruising, but I would like to be left alone. Would be wonderful to have a few days to just do my own thing and not have to talk to anyone.

 

 

 

I'm not anti-social, I promise.

Yes, it is certainly possible. I gave my order to waiters for breakfast and lunch today and only talked briefly to saleswoman in store, she said you want to sign up for discount card, also asked if I was on a cruise I said yes, there are 3 ships in port. I read on my kindle for meals and read on the deck this morning. Not a lot of conversation, no one bothers me. I am on NCL Gem.

I am on NCL Gem solo today is our first day we are supposed to sail at 3pm. I am solo. There is freestyle dining. I just had solo lunch in Grand Pacific dining room. There were 2 other solo ladies in my area of dining.

I find that my attitude changes...project confidence and that being alone is okay.

I had a nice conversation with one of the women about her desert and Alaska. We both said we hope to see each other again. I will go to the 6pm solo meet and greet today. These are easy ways to meet others. Also met others in line to get onboard, gives you some familiar faces to say hi to.

I plan on solo and I am happy with it but if I decide to join someone for a meal or tour I am open to that.

But you should be okay being solo. I remember one woman who became depressed and barely came out for meals.

I will be sailing on HAL Volendam 12/22/15 to 2/2/16. I will be solo 12/22/15 to 1/4/16 and then a friend is joining me after that date. If anyone else will be sailing and would like to get together, I'd love to hear from you.

 

 

 

The cruise line is providing complimentary dinners at the specialty restaurants so it would be nice to dine with friends. If you like the piano bar, let's enjoy the sing-alongs. And if you're a Mah Jongg player, we can play on sea days. So many things to do. :)

Now that is a cruise. Sounds awesome, enjoy. You can find fellow sailors vis the roll call.

I have seen that there is a solo meeting once a day on most of the ships I have been on. Even the Queen Mary2. If you attend those meetings it is easy to meet other solo travelers to have a dinner or tour companion. I usually avoid those meetings because I enjoy the solo travel and dining.

Or going to the buffet is nice. If you are outgoing you can always ask a couple of women if you can join them.

When I used to travel on ships with 2 fixed meal times there were usually larger tables where they would put solo travelers. I did not like when they would put me at a table with couples. Uncomfortable.

I've spent over 50 nights on NCL ships and can only recall being asked about sharing maybe 3 times, so this appears to be something that is totally up to the hostess on duty and/or the particular ship in question. In other words, you MIGHT get assistance from the hostess in this regard, but you probably can't count on it.

 

 

 

Speaking for myself, I prefer to dine alone, so NCL works well for me. But I don't understand why they don't maintain a "community" table or two where they could seat people (either singles or couples) who want that type of experience.

As I said I was asked if I wanted to share, especially for breakfast and lunch because it was busier but I always declined. I liked my own table with no forced conversations. The Sun had a couple of big tables but there were large groups from different countries traveling together.

Thanks for your reply. I went ahead and reserved a table for 2 for the Venetian every night. The NCL interface is not very user friendly (had to make the same reservation 7 times) instead of an option to select multiple dates at once.

On the Sun the hostess always asked if I wanted to share a table and I always declined. There was not a large solo traveller table unless arranged by the cruise director's staff for a special occasion.

MSC Divina Transatlantic Barcelona to Miami Oct 25th 2015 17 days.

Solo inside guarantee $1133.69 (includes taxes)

 

I would jump at this but already booked up for October.

Sounds good. It is between this and a wellness spa in October. I found a terrific sounding spa and have a cruises 8/29 & 11/23 but this other cruise is very tempting.[emoji3]

Really enjoying your review I will be on Gem August 29 with the same ports.

Yes, I always had the white spa robe, first time I didn't. I better not forget to bring my robe again. I liked Cunard, RCL and Celebrity but did not like the single supplement. Used to be able to get good rates even being solo.

Yes your cabin category decides a lot.

It is not important in the grand scheme but it used to be nice to have turndown service and chocolate on your pillow. Now I would just like decent food without having to go to a surcharge restaurant. NCL has the worst food I have come across. I think they make cafeteria food so you have to go to a specialty restaurant.

i have 2 cruises before Feb. and work but I will certainly check out the roll call. Have you cruised using a studio before?

Has anyone any experience with long cruises on ships sailing with 5000 passengers? We had 3000 in Hawaii and tendering was a nightmare. Everyone wanted to be last to get on ship. To spend as much time on island. I have read reviews of people on Epic and having to make a reservation for the evening shows, difficulty with breakfast and lunch buffet. No loungers available due to number of passengers. Difficulty getting elevators, etc.

The reviews I have read have given me pause. People say the itinerary is good just the the would sail on a smaller ship that is not NCL. Due to the charges for a lot of things.

Carnival Sunshine December 9,2015 10 day San Juan to Port Canaveral GTY inside $742 total

GTY outside $902 total

It's a part of the 24 hour sale they are running

 

http://www.carnival.com/itinerary/10-day-southern-caribbean-cruise/san-juan/sunshine/10-days/js0/?evsel=J&numGuests=1&destination=all-destinations&dest=any&datFrom=122015&datTo=042017&dur=D3&shipCode=SH

I wish I could cruise carnival but just can not do it.

It sounds very tempting. I checked out the roll call and it seems a lot of people are on it already. I haven't checked all the pages but do you know if it already has many solos?

It would be nice to have roll calls for solos. You can sign up for both, but will hopefully have someone to plan tours with, etc.

Do you mind referring me to reviews in question... Website? There are not many I could find and pretty well all positive. Just curious.

 

 

 

Francois

As I usually I type the company and ship and search for reviews.

Hi Cruiseelady

 

Make sure you are going to the correct website: it is starclippers.com, not starclipperscruises.com... Click on Promotions at top of Home page, then scroll down and click on image for Solo Travelers... Good luck

 

Francois

This was a good find. I found great rates for solos. But, after reading and believing reviews, I will not be sailing the line. I will check out Windstar instead. I think you have to consider where you are in life and what you expect from a vacation. The older I get I appreciate food, courtesy and not to be on an episode of Below Deck.

Happy Sailings!!!!

On all of my cruises I have been accustomed to having chocolate each night by the cruise lines. I have recently finished 2 weeks on NCL Sun in Alaska and no chocolate. I saw on their website you have to receive silver status to get chocolate and a robe. I had a robe for the first week because I had a balcony. The took the robe the second week because no balcony was available. Petty stuff, but little things matter. I also had a coffee maker for the first week which I also lost. I was able to request another robe because mine was at home which I discovered in Anchorage.

Any other things you just want to get off your chest?[emoji1]

I'm on that cruise from 14 feb to 6 March also on a studio. Try and checkout rollcall planning a meet and greet![emoji41]

i have 2 cruises before Feb. and work but I will certainly check out the roll call. Have you cruised using a studio before?

It's great to be retired and able to take advantage of last min offers. There are a few perks to getting old!

Congratulations!!!! That is the type of retirement I am looking forward to. Cruising and enjoying. But, i don't get $38 offers

I just booked a Feb. 2016 NCL Epic, 11 day Mediterranean west cruise. Barcelona RT including Naples, Rome,etc. I will be trying studio for the first time for $789.:D But, I will be keeping eye on balcony rates :).