Veteran Solo Traveler but New to Cruises

[Bels]

Hello. I just joined and I'm sure most of my questions will be answered in existing threads once I have a chance to look through them. But I would be open to any advice.

 

I am a veteran solo traveler. I've been around the world several times on business plus frequent adventures in Europe, Asia, Oceania, and South Africa, both personal and business. My last adventure was taking two of my kids to Europe for a couple of weeks last May, to Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Germany. Before that it was two weeks in Cape Town with one of my daughters.

 

But now I am early-retired and about to book my first cruise. My only previous "ship" experience was a trans-Atlantic voyage when my family emigrated. I was 9. RMS Franconia from Southampton to Le Havre, Halifax, and then New York. Wonderful experience and it took three weeks. But that was a long time ago and I'm sure modern cruises are quite different.

 

I'm thinking for my first cruise the Mediterranean. I'd really like to include Malta and add a few new countries to my list. But I am single, non-drinker, vegetarian, and youthful-but-retired. I'm thinking a room with a balcony and I'm guessing I'll have to pay double as I'm solo? I'm not worried about what to do in the various ports, but more concerned about the actual on-board social experience. Not sure I would be comfortable with senior or singles or vegetarian cruises, so I will look for something less specialized. But it is awkward being single surrounded by couples ( I own a home in a very nice community but I'm the only single adult ).

 

Normally I would take one ( or two ( or three )) of my kids with me, but they are all young adults with all kinds of commitments and time contraints ( two are still in graduate school ).

 

Anyway, will see what's available here. Looking forward to learning and maybe even sharing some experiences.

[Essiesmom]

Mediterranean cruises tend to be pretty port intensive, not many sea days, so you social situations would mostly be dining and evening entertainment. I have traveled single all my life, not a retired senior, and I always request fixed seating dining, at a large table. That way, you make friends with your table mates and have interesting conversations every night. If you do open seating dining, and request to be seated with others, you have to go through the intro process every meal.

Also, once you have decided on a cruise, see if there is a roll call for it here on Cruise Critis. that way, through long pre-cruise discussions, you feel like you know some people even before you board the ship.

As far as which ship/line, I would suggest visiting a brick and mortar travel agency, preferably one with some expertise in cruising, and talk with an agent about your wants. They will know what other questions to ask, and which lines to suggest. They will also send you home with an armload of brochures to read and digest. You may feel very comfortable booking your own vacations, but with a new type of travel, I think it is best to visit an agent first, even if you don't mean to book with them. EM

[kitty9]

I suggest coming over to the Solo Cruisers board, a part of Cruise Critic. We're a friendly bunch with a wealth of information on solo cruising.

 

But to start, there are a lot of questions I'd like to ask you with regards to what you want from your cruise. BTW, I've done more than 25 solo cruises, on just about every line out there, including the luxury lines.

 

1. What time of year do you want to cruise?

2. Do you have a specific budget?

3. Is great food and service a top priority?

4. Do you mind having lots of kids on board?

5. Is the ship's size something important for you?

6. Do you want a lot of shipboard activities?

 

To answer some of your questions, YES, in most instances on the mass market lines, you will pay double the fare. That's the unfortunate part of solo cruising. On the luxury lines, you have a higher per diem, but they include a lot more than the mass market lines, and their single supplement is much lower. For instance, I just completed a solo cruise on Crystal, and I paid 125% for my cabin, and received a $500 on board credit, to use however I wished. With that OBC, it made my cruise all inclusive because I used it for my alcohol, spa appointments and shore excursions.

 

As a solo, I've not felt out of place among the couples. But I am one who doesn't really prefer to cruise with lots of families. Loads of kids can impact a cruise, and sometimes not for the better. I also tend to avoid the behemoth ships because as a solo, you are really nothing more than a tiny face in a huge crowd. I like smaller ships, for their ambience and comfort zone.

 

But like I said, come on over to the Solo Cruisers board and pick our brains for any information you might like.

[Bels]

Thank you EM and Darcie for some great advice. I'll be visiting a travel agent next week and will be thinking about what you have said. And visiting the Solo Cruisers board.

 

1. What time of year do you want to cruise?

2. Do you have a specific budget?

3. Is great food and service a top priority?

4. Do you mind having lots of kids on board?

5. Is the ship's size something important for you?

6. Do you want a lot of shipboard activities?

 

1. Time of year? Doesn't really matter. I suppose I would pick a time of year depending on the location, such as Mediterrean in the cooler months. I am a serious-amateur photographer so would prefer sunshine to dark and cloudy days.

 

2. Specific budget? No. I just need to feel that the investment has sufficient value. I would want a balcony room but not a luxury suite. I think I would want to spend more time exploring ports than actually cruising, unless of course I really like the on-board experience. Right now I'm thinking a cruise would be a comfortable and convenient way to visit multiple ports, rather than my usual flying here and there and changing hotels every few days, but if I get hooked I might do several a year.

 

3. Great food and service is probably not important to me. I tend to prefer buffets and breakfast would be my primary meal. I have no trouble keeping my weight under control, but that also means avoiding large meals.

 

4. Lots of kids? Probably not. Which is why I was thinking to avoid summers and holiday periods.

 

5. Ship size? Probably not important, though I would lean to smaller rather than larger. My only real ship experience was crossing the Atlantic on the 20,000 ton RMS Franconia ( 1956 ). Which I gather is rather small by today's standards. That crossing was a bit rough ( heavy seas, small ship, ( cold ) North Atlantic in February ) but not a bother. I like the idea of getting to know fellow travelers and not simply being anonymous.

 

6. Shipboard activities? Probably not a priority for me. I like the early mornings to walk about. I am more the contemplative type. But who knows, maybe I'll find something interesting on board that will rival the port visits.

[Essiesmom]

Cruising has the advantage of only unpacking once, but you might find yourself dissatisfied with the time in port...not long enough to see everything...If you are comfortable with independent travel, you might consider traveling by cruiseferry. The Med. (and the Baltic) is awash with ferries. There are some that are 'superfast', and others that sail overnight, and are a big as cruise ships (and some have been converted to cruise ships) and have all the amenities, including multiple restaurants and small but adequate cabins. Spend a day or two - or more- in one city or island, then hop on another ferry to another destination. No reservations needed. Not a luxury vacation, but a travel adventure. EM

Check out AIS for any port and see where the dotted lines lead...that's a ferry route. They are particularly thick in the Greek islands.

 

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/default.aspx?centerx=30&centery=25&zoom=2&level1=140

[checkers123]

Hi Darcie,

I'm a solo traveller as well. My 1st posting on C.C. Hopefully I didn't "bomb it." I've tried to get onto the forums previously, however I was not successful- hopefully this one worked.

I will be on Crystal for the Jan.23 cruise from Miami to Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica. Since , in the past, I've been only on expedition cruises to the Galapagos, Norwegian Arctic & Antarctica- I'm not au courant with a luxury cruise. Would appreciate any advice as to seating, dress code etc.

[CanWeGoYet?]

Welcome to Bels and Checkers123!

 

Bels, on the vegetarian issue - don't think you'll have a problem finding vegetarian meals in the main dining room. On my celebrity cruise (the only line I've cruised recently) there were even some vegan choices, although for this category the selection seemed to be quite limited. Depending on how strict a diet you need, you can always contact the special needs department of the cruise line - the maitre d' can help ensure your food order meets your requirements.

[Bels]

Thank you EM. I rather like the idea of unpacking only once. I get tired of changing hotels and relocating every few days. You may be right about times in port, but my plan is to visit primarily places I haven't been to before to see if it's worth coming back for a longer visit. Last May I spent a few days in Bruges. On my next trip to Belgium I plan to stay in Bruges for at least a week.

 

So I'm thinking that taking a cruise might actually be quite nice. Especially after reading some of the posts here, I'm growing more and more comfortable. I think the key is learning what I can so I will have realistic expectations, and in that regard the information and advice here is great.

 

And thank you Tink360. I'm sure I'll explore the MDR as well as other options. I'm actually lacto-ovo vegetarian, which means I eat eggs and cheese and drink milk. I'm not really into health foods per se, I just don't ( and can't ) eat any flesh foods. That's probably why breakfast is more important to me. On my last cruise ( and only cruise so far ) ( 1956 ) I had shredded wheat three meals a day for 21 days. And I was the only person in my family not sick for the entire crossing. Then I was just a kid and not willing to try anything I couldn't recognize. Now I'm a bit more adventurous with food, but I'm still strict in the lacto-ovo vegetarian sense.

[CanWeGoYet?]

I don't think you'll have any problem finding a good variety of food that you could eat. Still might be worthwhile though to make contact with the cruiseline or maitre d', some foods having hidden meat type ingredients. French onion soup & beef broth for example - but at least you won't need to dine on shredded wheat 3x a day!

[Essiesmom]

Another consideration in choosing your cruise line: Don't go on MSC or Costa. The reason is that they structure their cruises for Europeans, and many are more interested in the ship and relaxing, and don't go ashore in port. Thus, port times may be shorter. EM

[kitty9]

Checkers, Crystal is the most formal line out there. Most men will be in tuxes or white dinner jackets on formal nights and the women will be in long gowns, short/fancy/beaded cocktail dresses or very dressy evening slacks with sparkly tops. On informal nights, men will wear jackets, dress slacks and dress shirts (most men will also wear ties) and the women are in Sunday best dresses, dinner suits or pant suits. Casual means collared shirts and slacks for men, slacks and nice tops or sundresses for the women. There are no casual options for dinner if you don't want to dress for the evening, other than room service, and if you are going to be in any public areas of the ship, other than the computer room, Crystal does expect you to be in the code of the evening. And on Crystal, one does not go back to the cabin and change into casual clothes after dinner---you remain in the code of the evening for the entire evening.

 

Crystal has assigned seating for dinner, but open seating for breakfast and lunch. You're assigned either 6:15 or 8:30 for dinner. Crystal also has two alternate restaurants, Silk Road or Prego, for dinner, each requiring reservations, but no extra charge other than an optional gratuity. The specialty restaurants follow the dress code of the main dining room. One nice thing is that on Crystal, they have what they call "solo tables" where they seat solos together in the specialty restaurants so you can still enjoy those restaurants, but not have to dine alone. Ask the head waiter in Prego what night they'll have the solo tables.

 

Solos are treated very well on Crystal. I just completed my 18th solo on Crystal last week and had a wonderful cruise. I dined with the ship's Chief Officer, who's in charge of security, and he was wonderful to talk to. While you probably won't be assigned a hosted table, I've found the passengers on Crystal to be very welcoming to solo cruisers. I've made so many long lasting friendships on my Crystal cruises.

 

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask.

[Bels]

1. What time of year do you want to cruise?

2. Do you have a specific budget?

3. Is great food and service a top priority?

4. Do you mind having lots of kids on board?

5. Is the ship's size something important for you?

6. Do you want a lot of shipboard activities?

Thought I would just provide an update. I did indeed cruise the Mediterranean and Black Sea in April on MSC Melody. Although there were minor issues, overall I felt it was an excellent experience and well worth the modest investment for a solo suite and business airfare. I took all my meals in the buffet restaurant ( excellent selection but often barely warm ) and not even one meal in the formal dining room. Kids were not a problem, although there were a surprisingly large number of kids for April, most were teens or near-teens. I loved the ship itself ( clean, well-maintained ) and had no real problems. Almost all the advice I found here prior to the cruise proved both true and useful.

 

The "crowd" was mainly European and not very friendly, but not unfriendly. Most did not speak English and most were elderly, or at least looked and felt much older than me. I made a few friends here and there, but none that survived the journey ( seemed like I was the only solo on board ). I spent most of my time taking high-resolution pictures from the ship between ports, as almost the entire route was quite scenic ( Genoa to Rome to Athens, Istanbul, and the Ukraine ). But the real value to me was in the port calls. Now there are places I need to go back to to spend more time.

 

The crew was mixed, some quite helpful, but most almost useless ( saying things and making promises that almost never proved true, and therefore were wholly unreliable ). I would cruise with MSC again, but I am more inclined to try another cruise line for my next cruise. So I am now looking for another adventure, preferably a suite-with-balcony, well-maintained ship and "responsive" crew, and comfortable without luxury or a luxury price.

 

r, peter

[kitty9]

Congratulations on completing your first cruise. It's too bad you didn't have the greatest experience. Unfortunately, MSC is what it is, and that's a line that caters to Europeans and very few North Americans. I think your experience would have been much different had you sailed with lines such as Holland America, Celebrity or Princess. But at least you got your feet wet and may have acquired a taste for cruising.

[Bels]

I don't doubt you are right about all of that. I chose MSC based on the itinerary and had fairly realistic expectations thanks to advice here. Now to try another line and maybe either the Pacific or through the Panama Canal. I don't really want to spend a lot of time "at sea" ...

[seafun]

I'm also a confirmed solo cruiser, and love it! Although I must admit, I let out a big "Oh no," when I read that you only ate in the buffet. I'm not real familiar with MSC, but many of my best times cruising were sharing stories and experiences with people over dinner in the main dining room.

I've cruised on Carnival, HAL, Celebrity and Princess, and whether you're eating at a set time for the whole cruise, or free style/any time dining, just ask the Maitr'd to put you at a large table. Meeting new folks and chatting is a real joy that you should not miss.

I did the Panama Canal on Celebrity last year and loved it. I still email the folks that I sailed with.

Once again, welcome, and I'm glad you're still with us! :)

[Bels]

I'm also a confirmed solo cruiser, and love it! Although I must admit, I let out a big "Oh no," when I read that you only ate in the buffet. I'm not real familiar with MSC, but many of my best times cruising were sharing stories and experiences with people over dinner in the main dining room.

 

I've cruised on Carnival, HAL, Celebrity and Princess, and whether you're eating at a set time for the whole cruise, or free style/any time dining, just ask the Maitr'd to put you at a large table. Meeting new folks and chatting is a real joy that you should not miss.

 

I did the Panama Canal on Celebrity last year and loved it. I still email the folks that I sailed with.

 

Once again, welcome, and I'm glad you're still with us! :)

 

Thank you. I'll certainly look into these other lines. But please understand that not everyone shares your values. I would much rather dine at the buffet than any main dining room. That's my choice. That's my preference. If I don't want something, then I haven't missed anything.

 

Moreover, had I "dined" in the main dining room I would not have eaten even one meal in 11 nights, because I have very strict dietary requirements and the main dining room had NO options for me whatsoever, while the buffet restaurant always had something I could eat and enjoy. And I met all the people at the main dining room table I was assigned to but did not use, because there was only that one handful of primary-English-speaking folks on board. But that doesn't matter, because I did not WANT to eat in the main dining room.

 

One of the things I have learned here on CC is that people take cruises for widely different reasons and have different preferences, for all manner of things.

[Carolin]

Thank you for coming back and giving an update. :)

 

I'm so glad you enjoyed the ports. It is unfortunate that you were not able to enjoy everything on the ship.

 

Please do check out other lines. You will find a different onboard experience if you cruised with an American line. That being said, each line has its own unique style.

 

You might even enjoy an extended transatlantic cruise. Fly to Europe... hop through ports then sail back to the US. I've been keeping an eye out for those. NCL Epic and RCL lines are more to my taste when it comes to transatlantic and the on ship experience. But thats just me. Read up and see what else appeals to you. :D

[Bels]

Thank you. At this point I am exploring quite a few options, thanks to information gleaned here.

 

Perhaps my "wording" was misleading. I did enjoy this cruise, and would gladly do the same MSC cruise again, although I'd like to try something different. I don't expect things to be perfect, but this cruise was indeed pretty good.

 

The only bad part was simply being stuck in Munich ( briefly ) waiting for a flight home ( my flight was canceled due to the volcano ) ( and Munich was great, it was just unsettling to be told by the airline ( United ) it might be weeks before they could rebook me ( I switched to another airline ( Lufthansa ) and they were much more helpful and got me home much faster than United would have ).

I would also say there is really only one "mental" adjustment I still need to make, namely not wishing I didn't have to pay twice the price for a solo cabin ( like involuntarily having to pay for a second airplane seat because the seat next to me is empty ). I understand why it should be so, and I don't fault the cruise line, I just wish it was somewhat less than 100% extra. Perhaps this time I can shop around and find something financially more attractive. It's not that I don't have the money to pay the "single supplement" because I do. But if one of my kids had been able to go with me this would not be an issue. So now I just need to make this mental adjustment before I book my next cruise.

[Carolin]

The single suppliment is definitely a huge pill to swallow. When I traveled solo and had to pay the suppliment, I chose an inside cabin so the suppliment did not seem so aweful.

 

This is one of the reasons I'm attracted to the Epic. They specifically have cabins for the solo cruiser and you do not pay a suppliment. Voila! A cruise line that actually gets a clue. I hope more follow suit.