Anyone back from solo cruise? Would love to hear about your cruise

[Look2Sea]

Anyone back from solo cruises?

 

I would love to hear about your cruise :)

[Lois R]

Anyone back from solo cruises?

 

I would love to hear about your cruise :)

 

Good morning, I sailed last month:D what would you like to know?

[Look2Sea]

Just want to live vicariously by hearing about the cruise experience of other solo travelers.

I love to hear about cabins, food, ship activities, etc.

 

I am going on Radiance of the Seas on Nov 2, and keep imagining that I am on the ship now because I can hardly wait. :)

[Lois R]

Just want to live vicariously by hearing about the cruise experience of other solo travelers.

I love to hear about cabins, food, ship activities, etc.

 

I am going on Radiance of the Seas on Nov 2, and keep imagining that I am on the ship now because I can hardly wait. :)

 

I had a wonderful time but then again, I ALWAYS have a fantastic

time on all of my cruises:D

I flew to Seattle and stayed there 2 nights before taking Amtrak

to Vancouver. I went to Alaska for the 3rd time.

I had a horribly slow roll call but one couple and I became good

friends and linked our bookings so we sat together at dinner.:)

We got along wonderfully and ended up with 2 other couples and

had a very good table!

 

I had a big window cabin:D...all the way forward as you can

go and the cabin was bigger too! Big picture window!

 

Food was really good too and I was invited to sit at the

Captain's Table on the 2nd formal night!

 

My best excursion was in Ketchikan~FABULOUS:D......Island Wings

to the Misty Fjords. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!

 

Sailed my favorite ship and saw many, many familiar faces

of staff and crew I have sailed with before so that makes

everything even more wonderful....it is like coming home again:)

 

Have fun on your cruise too!

[Look2Sea]

Thank you Lois.

All I want to do is to think about cruising.

I enjoyed visualizing the big picture window, dining table, and dining at the Captain's table.

Alaska cruise is on my bucket list, and good to know about Ketchikan excursion.

[kitty9]

I haven't had the opportunity to do much cruising lately with the passing of my mother and my having a triple fracture of my knee, but I've done some pretty wonderful cruises. The last one was in the summer of 2008, to the Arctic Circle. It's a cruise I highly recommend to everyone. The scenery in Norway is the most beautiful I've ever seen, especially the fjords. Huge waterfalls, snow at the top of the mountains, crystal clear water and the bluest skies. It got very cold as we sailed past the tree line and arrived at North Cape, the farthest northern point of Europe. Reindeer were all over the place. We visited a farm where they breed huskies and we spent an hour playing with the puppies. That was so much fun. Then we cruised the area around the polar ice cap. Ice bergs were everywhere, and all you could see were giant ice mountains jutting out of the water. And, it was light all the time. I was out on deck at 1am, and it was still twilight and somewhat an eery feeling. If you ever have a chance to cruise the Arctic, do it. It's a wonderful itinerary.

[TessM]

I had a big window cabin:D...all the way forward as you can go and the cabin was bigger too! Big picture window!

 

You've cruised a lot - have you ever had a cabin that forward? And, how was it? Could you feel a difference? I've looked at forward cabins and although I don't seem to have a motion-sickness problem, I'm a bit wary of forward cabins. -- Am I missing anything?

 

 

 

My best excursion was in Ketchikan~FABULOUS:D......Island Wings

to the Misty Fjords. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!

 

Isn't Michelle incredible!?! Wow! What a great time and my flight with her was in overcast weather. It was still so amazing. I can't wait to fly with her again.

[bqkali]

You've cruised a lot - have you ever had a cabin that forward? And, how was it? Could you feel a difference? I've looked at forward cabins and although I don't seem to have a motion-sickness problem, I'm a bit wary of forward cabins. -- Am I missing anything?

 

I'm not Lois ;) but thought I'd offer some input anyway.

I've cruised only twice, but both times in forward cabins. First time was NCL Spirit to the Western Caribbean in cabin 9025. We had one semi-rocky night, and the motion in our cabin was the same motion I felt anywhere in the ship (in other words, no worse than anywhere else).

 

The other time was Celebrity Millennium to Alaska in cabin 2021, also very far forward. We had one HUGELY rocky night and the motion was HUGELY worse in my forward cabin compared to other areas of the ship. I thought I'd be okay with the low-deck, but for example midship on deck 10 was much more comfortable than my low-deck, forward cabin. I was pretty green that night :o

 

I don't think I'd take my chances with a forward cabin again on a route that's known to have some motion problems...

[jolivia]

Hello all

 

I just returned from my second Solo Cruise, I was on the Carnival Triumph.

My first Solo was to Alaska, on the Holland America. I have to be honest

and say it was a challange on my first venture out , but have to say I did it and tried it again with mixed feelings. Well, the second time was a charm, and I attribute it to my table mates and the people I met on the Roll Call. There was one couple who were the sweetiest people you could ever meet. The experience from the first trip helped also in that I learned who I am.

Carnival arranged the table with all Matured Solo's and I had a ball, I'm not quite sure though if I would do it again solo. I could never ever top the connection I had on the Oct 18 cruise to the Bahamas.

All in All I will have the memories to charish.

[Lois R]

You've cruised a lot - have you ever had a cabin that forward? And, how was it? Could you feel a difference? I've looked at forward cabins and although I don't seem to have a motion-sickness problem, I'm a bit wary of forward cabins. -- Am I missing anything?

 

 

 

 

 

Isn't Michelle incredible!?! Wow! What a great time and my flight with her was in overcast weather. It was still so amazing. I can't wait to fly with her again.

 

Hi Tess,:) sorry I must have missed your questions earlier.

This was the first time I had a cabin this far forward and yes,

I could feel the motion. I had 1 evening of rockiness....I didn't

get sick but I did wake up because of the motion.

I have never gotten sick on any of my cruises but yes, I definitely

felt more motion.

But it was only bad one night...the rest of the time it was very

smooth:D

[Look2Sea]

Hello all

 

I just returned from my second Solo Cruise, I was on the Carnival Triumph.

My first Solo was to Alaska, on the Holland America. I have to be honest

and say it was a challange on my first venture out , but have to say I did it and tried it again with mixed feelings. Well, the second time was a charm, and I attribute it to my table mates and the people I met on the Roll Call. There was one couple who were the sweetiest people you could ever meet. The experience from the first trip helped also in that I learned who I am.

Carnival arranged the table with all Matured Solo's and I had a ball, I'm not quite sure though if I would do it again solo. I could never ever top the connection I had on the Oct 18 cruise to the Bahamas.

All in All I will have the memories to charish.

 

Glad you had a wonderful time on your Oct 18 cruise :)

It is great that Carnival did such a good job of arranging table mates.

I am going on 2nd solo cruise on Monday.

Dining is the one area that I am apprehensive about,

so I will probably choose to dine alone.

[babyboomerbabe]

forward cabins are great, no kids running up and down the corridor, think of the motion of the ocean like being in a hammock you will sleep like a baby

[fpslim]

I enjoy cruising, and of my 7, 3 have been solo. Here are some experiences:

June 07: Carnival Paradise from Long Beach to Catalina.

My first solo cruise, and I had a great time; was on one of

the first tenders to Avalon, and got to see the town sleepy

& quiet before the ensuing rush of fellow cruisers. On board

I met a woman cruising with her college age children and a

bunch of their friends, and they ended up "adopting" me...

Had a great time partying with that group!!

Feb 08: Cruised on CCL Valor, where I was seated at dinner with

3 other solos, all women, two from Canada, one from Iowa. Had

a great time getting to know them and sharing our daily experences

each night over dinner.

Feb 09: CCL Spirit; My first cruise AFTER discovering Cruise Critic. We had a great

group of people on our roll call, and organized successful meet & greet as well as cabin crawl and poker run.

So even if your roll call starts quiet, keep checking it as you get closer to

you sail date, it's a great way for solos make cruise buddies. You can still

have whatever solitude you might enjoy, but also have options for a

buddy system for excursions.

[Lindabs]

Anyone back from solo cruises?

 

I would love to hear about your cruise :)

 

I'm just back from a 21-day Holland America Panama Canal cruise. It was my first time with HAL solo. Great itinerary but it was blister hot and very muggy.:cool:

No solo discount as it was a balcony cruise but the last minute prices were excellent.:D

Very posh buffet (Lido). Ate there a lot. Found if you sat at a big table you were joined by many others. Soon we had our own posse.:)

Lots of shore excursions. Everyone was friendly and never felt alone.

Blew off formal night as packing for 21 days was all I could do in two suitcases. Formal nights solo are not my thing anyway.:rolleyes:

Dining room was okay. I had "as you wish dining". Next time I will do a seated time so I get know table mates.

Liked the craft and cooking classes. Same bunch at all of them. Just kind of hung together for shows and movies that followed. Worked well.

I would have no reservations about doing a Holland America cruise solo again.

I totally loved having a "place for my stuff" and not worrying about "my turn" to take a shower.:)

Linda Bell

[Lois R]

Hi Linda, welcome back and glad you had a good time:)

Wish I could go for 21 days in a row.......maybe one day!

[cruise pup]

I just sailed on Enchantment of the Seas 10/31-11/5/09 as a solo and had a wonderful time. The ship was not so special but the people I met made for a most enjoyable time. Since I'm a Diamond member of the Crown & Anchor Society there was a group which met every evening before dinner and I met quite a few fellow solo cruisers. Also, I was seated a table in the mdr with other singles. Ironically, I missed quite a number of events/shows because I was busy chatting with others. How many salutes to the Beatles can you sit through anyway?

[Barefoot_Pirate]

From what I've read the cabin location (forward vs aft) does matter but it depends on the dirction of the swells vs the direction of the ship. Lower and centerline cabins are also supposed to have less roll...but in modern ships that it may not matter much and that may also depend of the relative direction of waves vs ship.

[Look2Sea]

I just sailed 11/2/09 Radiance of the Seas 5 night cruise (Ensenada / Cabo).

It was wonderful. Lots of nice people, beautiful ship, good weather.

I enjoyed the freedom of traveling solo but never felt alone.

With very little effort, casually struck up conversations with several individuals, and it was fun to have people you recognized and say hi to. Everyone on the ship seemed to be happy and friendly, and I could have had as much company or as little company as I desired.

 

I had MTD which I enjoyed because I was able to choose my dine time

depending on how I felt that day, or the show time schedule.

I also liked the option of choosing to dine alone when I wanted to control the length of the dine time. One night I was seated at a table for 10 and enjoyed the company very much. Another night I was seated at a table for 2, which was right next to the other tables for 2, and enjoyed very nice conversation with the couple next to me. Another night I was seated at a secluded table for 2, and that was also nice.

The MTD coordinator (Maitre D) was wonderful. He greeted me with a charming smile each evening, and made me feel welcome.

I told him which nights I would be dining at specialty restaurants, and he genuinely expressed disappointment.

I wanted to experience the specialty restaurants, and enjoyed the experience, but found tht I prefer the MDR because it has a more festive atmosphere.

 

I had breakfast in MDT on 2 mornings, and 1 lunch in MDR.

I was seated at tables with other people. They fill up the table as people come in, and do not start the service until the table is filled.

This was a convenient and casual way to dine with others.

Breakfast was pretty quick, and people would get up and go if they need to get somewhere. Lunch took a bit longer.

 

I also ate at the Windjammer Cafe (buffet).

I enjoyed the casual atmosphere and the variety of food choices.

Sometimes I sat inside and sometimes outside.

They have a counter like seating that lines the entry to the Windjammer.

It was fun to seat there, and people watch.

My cabin was midship just 2 floors from Windjammer so I was also able to easily take food to my cabin, and dine on my balcony.

 

I ordered room service once for lunch.

I was able to order off the lunch MDR menu for room service, and was told it would be delivered in about 30 minutes but it came in 10 minutes because they were not very busy.

 

Our Cruise Director Kirk Detwiler is fabulous and multi talented.

 

I spent some money and time in the casino (not a lot), and also had a spa treatment.

I am glad that I had these experiences so I wouldn't have to wonder about them later. But on future cruises, instead of putting money in slot machines, I will spend that money on a drink at the bar and enjoy the entertainment.

 

I am ready to go cruise again.

[Lois R]

quote:

" I am ready to go cruise again"

 

ME TOO, ME TOO:D:):D:):D

[Dancer Bob]

Just got back from a Transatlantic on Holland America. Fortunately I was only semi-solo- I was with a group of dancers, we got usually got together for dancing in the evening. Otherwise, this was one of the most incredibly boring experiences I have ever had. I was pretty much the only passenger awake after 11:30 PM. Stay away from Holland America if you are single and want to do anything more than waddle from one feeding station to the next!

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

I just returned from a 7 night Western Caribbean cruise on the Freedom of the Seas. This was my 3rd solo out of 12 cruises ~ my DH didn't want to go nor did my cruising buddy.

I had a great time! There's so much to see & do on this big ship!

Originally scheduled for My Time dining I changed it the 1st day to early seating at a table for 10. I feel more comfortable when I have the same people to dine with in the evening. One night I went to Portofinos for dinner but felt awkward sitting alone. The food & service was great though!

I booked shore excursions at all 4 stops, attended every show & parade, plus met some nice people.

I had a great time & wouldn't hesitate to do it again!

~Jo~ :)

[Lois R]

Hi folks:D...I just got home from another solo cruise. It was only a 4

nighter but a brand new ship and I had a lot of fun:D

I went on Celebrity's EQUINOX and we had a really nice roll call so met quite a few people from there.

I would say its good to be home...but its not;)

[cheffip]

Hi Lois

Glad you had a great cruise!:) I know it was a lot of fun from reading your posts on the Celebrity forum but I'm curious to know how you would rate this size and class of ship against the M-class and your all-time favorite Mercury!;)

-Phil

[Lois R]

Hi Lois

Glad you had a great cruise!:) I know it was a lot of fun from reading your posts on the Celebrity forum but I'm curious to know how you would rate this size and class of ship against the M-class and your all-time favorite Mercury!;)

-Phil

 

Hi Phil:)....rating the ship against the others? This S class is BIG...

Equinox is a beauty and I might sail her again but to be honest, I really like the C and M class.

She is so much bigger than I am used to.....but again, I did have a wonderful time. We had a really nice group of ccrs from the roll call so that made the 4

nights even more fun:) but she is really BIG. (for me anyway)

[cheffip]

She is so much bigger than I am used to.....but again, I did have a wonderful time. We had a really nice group of ccrs from the roll call so that made the 4

nights even more fun:) but she is really BIG. (for me anyway)

 

Guess you won't be booking on Oasis anytime soon!:eek: Me neither!;)

-Phil