calliopecruiser

You left out several lines that belong in one or the other of those categories, like Regent Seven Seas, Crystal, Europa, WindStar, Paul Gauguin, and Ritz-Carleton

Yes I know........and it still says negative things about the status of Azamara if it's still the case. Saying "only 3/4 of our product is luxurious, so be warned before you book" is poor marketing.

That really sucks, frankly - those that work out shouldn't have to go back to their cabin and wake their spouse/cabin made in order to have a shower before breakfast. Another mischaracterization of the cruiseline - small size and included alcohol does not make for a "premium", let alone "luxury" cruise line. That said, it's cheaper than a luxury cruise line, so it's probably good value if what you want is a smaller passenger load and included alcohol.

Not rallying against it as much as rallying against their promotion of luxury, and the industry's acceptance of the "premium" label. I don't care if they do nothing about it; I do care that they continue to claim a "luxury" label and cruisers are told Azamara is considered a "premium" line - while they have a deficiency so widely spread across their line - a deficiency not defined just by me, but by their competitors in the upper tiers of cruise lines. I expect to be comfortable on board a premium or luxury line, whether I'm in the shower, in the library, in the dining room, or in a lounger on deck.

I find it hard to believe that there are thousands of people so seemingly accepting of the pathetically tiny showers in non-suite cabins. Does everyone think they're acceptable for what purports to be a "premium" cruise line? Especially on longer cruises, where you can't just say "I can put up with it for a few days". The showers are about 20" deep x 30" long, but if you discount room for the shower hardware, it's realistically about 20" x 20" of space to stand in. Forget about bending over to wash your knees - you can't even raise your hands to your head to scrub in shampoo without displacing the shower curtain into the small bathroom. For all I've read about Azamara and talked to past passengers, I can't figure out why this is apparently so acceptable that it's rarely mentioned. In my opinion, a cruise line that thinks showers that tiny for most of their passengers is acceptable is not at a premium level, let alone the luxury level they claim to be. Rant over. Now I'm off to the spa/fitness area for a shower where I can wash my hair without getting water all over the rest of the bathroom.

Needs this specific are probably best answered by a travel agent. Some luxury lines do have no-supplement specials,but probably not in December.

Be careful with river cruises, as the increased heat and decreased rain in some places make some river travel a no-go. Ships are occasionally getting land-locked or run aground because of low river levels over the last couple of seasons.

The Acropolis was touristic hell. I know I had to go, but I didn't enjoy it or feel wowed by it. There are ancient places and artifacts that I found much more profoundly affecting. Appreciating history requires time and thought, and neither were possible there with people whistling for tour groups and shouting for their family members. And that was in October. It's much better viewed from a distance, in my opinion. On the other hand, the monasteries in Meteora were worth the travel and the climb.....I didn't know they existed until I started planning for a few days in Greece (before a cruise), but I now recommend them to everyone.

I'll also be on the Panama Canal cruise next year......I'm always a little wary about booking a new ship, but it will have 8 months or so under her belt by then. It will be my first SilverSea cruise.

I live alone, so travelling alone isn't much more of a stretch - I find it less stressful when such things happen, because I'm the only one whose needs and desires have to be considered when I'm trying to find a solution. When I'm with other people, I find it more stressful because different people's needs and wants limit the available options that will satisfy anyone. As for commiserating about the uncertainties and frustrations, I'm happy to chat/vent/complain to other passengers caught in the same situation, and we share ideas and information about resolutions. Fortunately, I haven't been on board when the ship's been waylaid by mechanical problems, but I have been onboard when we have skipped ports (health restrictions, or weather), and once when we were unable to dock at our final port and had to disembark at a port a few hours away.

Not at all what I want, and I would partake in none of that. I find cruising solo very easy, and I don't lack for enjoyable things to do, even without an activity staff member or daily meetups. I'm just pointing out that those things aren't necessary for someone to have a great cruise when they're solo - they may be of help to some solos who aren't comfortable or familiar with travelling solo. I think cruising is the easiest way to travel solo even without special measures by the cruise director, and I also think that solo people shouldn't focus their efforts on just meeting other solo travellers.

In Europe, many hotels offer solo occupancy rooms, or solo prices. Still, not the same because on a cruise you are paying for more than a room. Moving on: I always cruise solo, though sometimes I am fortunate enough to have friends also cruising on the same voyage. I am single, so no spouse or partner, but on my cruises, I quite often meet married solo cruisers.....Some are married to spouses that don't want to cruise, others are married to spouses who can't take long cruise voyages. Some planned to meet their spouses at the cruise's embarkation port for a vacation, others would be flying home alone after the cruise. There are some low solo supplements to be had, especially if you look at the premium and luxury lines. I have cruises booked over the next 18 months with supplements of 35%-50% or so.

If you make advertisements your decision about whom to cruise with, you'll never go anywhere. All of them understand solo cruisers, but none of them really want solo cruisers.....Still, the best of them will treat them well, because they treat everyone well. That's what I want as a solo passenger - to be treated like any other passenger.

Then learn how to not be afraid or feel weird about being alone. It can be a paradigm shift, but I think it's important to learn to be comfortable enough with yourself so that you're not always looking for other people to talk/walk/eat with. You'll probably find that easiest if you engage in something that will make you look busy, so you won't feel as if people will see you as "wandering alone" or "sitting alone".....When I started, I used photography. I thought that no one would question why a woman was out photographing things by herself, and that made me feel less obvious about being alone. Eventually, I realized that they probably didn't care that I was alone, and so using my photography as a blind was unnecessary (though I still take a lot of photographs). I came to realize that people didn't look at me askance if I was doing something alone, and in some cases, they even envied it. I was on a cruise once when a woman came up to me and asked if I was on the cruise by myself: "Are you on this cruise alone? I wish I was!".....I realized that not everyone around with other people are happy being with those other people.

Sure, but dining alone in a restaurant is better than the alternative of not going out at all, and it's better than being ignored by everyone else at a shared table (IMO).

What you mean, I think, is that you won't benefit financially, but you still may consider there to be other benefits that make it worthwhile.

I too found the service on my first (and probably only) Seabourn cruise to be somewhere between "meh" and "bad", in spite of its great reputation. I admit my expectations were high after sailing with Crystal for 5 years, but at a luxury cruise price, I should be able to expect that they won't forget to deliver the tea I ordered, or forget to put some cans of gingerale in my cabin fridge. I don't know why our experiences were so unlike their reputation, but there are lots of other cruise lines on the oceans. In the next 2 years, I have cruises planned on Azamara, Silversea, and Crystal (new owners), so I'll see if I can find something more to my taste.

Not always - it depends on the line, and the individual voyage. Occasionally, on highly booked cruises, they might charge more. On the other hand, I've paid as low as 35% supplement on a luxury line for a cruise with lots of sea days.

LOL.....there were other places to eat on board that had much better food than the dining room - the sushi restaurant and the poolside dinner venue (I forget what they called it at night) were both particularly good. Poolside at night was a lovely place to dine; the sushi restaurant had good food, but visually the decor was lacking. I did not go hungry!

I realize that I mistyped.....I was not disappointed in my Seabourn cruise and did enjoy myself, but I was very disappointed in the service on the cruise. I can't say I was disappointed in the ship or the route, but the service was, frankly, bad. They did have invitations most nights for solo passengers to dine with cruise staff in the main dining room, but the service and quality of food in the main dining room was not very good, so I only took them up on that offer once. In fact, after the second or third day, I never chose to eat there again (though I did eat with a some new friends once or twice at their request). Dining and bar staff generally provided pretty bad service in most of the venues (TK's lounge being the only exception); sometimes I didn't get an ordered beverage with breakfast or lunch until I'd asked 3 times and I'd finished eating. Maybe it was an aberration that voyage, but the food and beverage service was quite bad, and food in the main dining room ranged from marginal to not good.

It's hard to trust a company that is refunding, charging, and then charging something again to my credit card, with no explanation. I find that kind of scary. My travel agent was kicked off of hold after 3 hours (which is their max wait time) while she's trying to find out why I have several mystery charges of a few hundred dollars to my Visa. I've not sailed Azamara yet (my first voyage is in August), but I'm already looking askance at the company......even if my on-board experience is good, how comfortable will I be if this is the way their shore-side business is run?

I've always been treated very well as a solo cruiser on Crystal in the before-times; my only experience with another luxury line has been Seabourn, and their service was nowhere near as good, for a higher price. I was very disappointed in my Seabourn cruise. I have not and suspect will not sail the small ships of < 500 people, so I haven't looked at their options or prices for solo travel. In the next 18 months, I'll be on Azamara, Crystal, and Silversea, so I'll have a wider range of experiences sailing solo.

My agent notified me of an itinerary change a month ago, but I can't remember what the change was, and I wouldn't have remembered Sharm El Sheik because it wouldn't have ever been a port I cared about.

Immaterial. My first Crystal 2.0 trip will be a month-long cruise in 2024 in a solo cabin at the front of deck 7 - on the Symphony, but the issues, if any, will be the same. I'm more worried about the forward location than any noise from the theatre below. However, given the savings, and my unwillingness to pay for a suite - I'm willing to try it out.

I think cruises are not a great way to see any city, or country, and I never consider that I've seen any place where we are in port for 8 or 10 hours. You can see some particular sites (or sights) with a bus from the port, but not really visit a place....for that, you need to stay at least a couple of days, in my opinion. I love cruising, but the only places I really see when I cruise are the embarkation and debarkation ports, where I usually spend a few days at either end (unless it's a place I've been frequently).