Thinking of solo cruising..

[Izzybeff]

while my husband goes to visit his brother in TX in January. He could drop me off in Galveston to get on a ship and then drive down to his brothers and pick me up on his way back.

 

I'm a little afraid though. Not of being on the ship, but of being by myself on the excursions. I would most likely book through the ship even though I normally book private. That way I figured I wouldn't get stuck by myself.

 

My husband doesn't like cruising that much so he will only go when we have a group of friends going. He also hates to fly and I'd like to try a 7 night cruise before I decide to take a European cruise without him.

 

I'm a married female, no children, 38. Anyone have any words of advice to soothe my nerves?

[MovingForward]

I'm a 29 year old male. I've only been on two cruises so far. One solo, and another one with family. While I enjoyed the cruise I took with family, I still enjoyed the solo cruise more than any vacation I've ever taken. I could do what I want, when I want, or I could do absolutely nothing.

 

You meet a lot of wonderful people on the ship. As a solo cruiser, I really enjoyed talking to some of the older cruisers during dinner. They had the most interesting stories. Also, there are more solo cruisers than one would think. And some of the cruisers who are with someone wish they came solo instead. LOL!!!!!!

 

Enjoy your cruise, have fun, read, eat, relax, play, etc. Do whatever makes YOU happy. As a solo cruiser, it's finally all about YOU! :)

[travelnap]

while my husband goes to visit his brother in TX in January. He could drop me off in Galveston to get on a ship and then drive down to his brothers and pick me up on his way back.

 

I'm a little afraid though. Not of being on the ship, but of being by myself on the excursions. I would most likely book through the ship even though I normally book private. That way I figured I wouldn't get stuck by myself.

 

My husband doesn't like cruising that much so he will only go when we have a group of friends going. He also hates to fly and I'd like to try a 7 night cruise before I decide to take a European cruise without him.

 

I'm a married female, no children, 38. Anyone have any words of advice to soothe my nerves?

 

Izzybeff, I have done over 15 cruises all solo, and I also use the ships excursions for touring. I have found them to be safe and not much more expensive than the private tours when you are only paying for one person. One plus is that solo's can usually have a seat by themselves unless the tour is fully booked so you can always have a window seat or an aisle seat if that is what you prefer. If you do decide to take the trip, join the roll call and you will meet quite a few people and not surprisingly, many of them will end up on some of the same excursions that you are picking so you have someone along you know. I just got back from a western Carib. cruise last week, and one couple at our M&G was on the same bus with me on every excursion I took. If I were you I would go for it and give it a try, otherwise you won't know if you would enjoy it or not, unless you give it a chance. Happy sailing.

[Izzybeff]

Thank you for the encouragement, I very much appreciate it! I'm looking at 3 possible cruises, just waiting to hear when DH's class will be next month and then I will book one. Starting to really look forward to having a week by myself with no work and no obligations.

 

I was president of a large volunteer organization this year so having a week with no demands on my time seems heavenly to me right now.

 

I'm a 29 year old male. I've only been on two cruises so far. One solo, and another one with family. While I enjoyed the cruise I took with family, I still enjoyed the solo cruise more than any vacation I've ever taken. I could do what I want, when I want, or I could do absolutely nothing.

 

You meet a lot of wonderful people on the ship. As a solo cruiser, I really enjoyed talking to some of the older cruisers during dinner. They had the most interesting stories. Also, there are more solo cruisers than one would think. And some of the cruisers who are with someone wish they came solo instead. LOL!!!!!!

 

Enjoy your cruise, have fun, read, eat, relax, play, etc. Do whatever makes YOU happy. As a solo cruiser, it's finally all about YOU! :)

 

Izzybeff, I have done over 15 cruises all solo, and I also use the ships excursions for touring. I have found them to be safe and not much more expensive than the private tours when you are only paying for one person. One plus is that solo's can usually have a seat by themselves unless the tour is fully booked so you can always have a window seat or an aisle seat if that is what you prefer. If you do decide to take the trip, join the roll call and you will meet quite a few people and not surprisingly, many of them will end up on some of the same excursions that you are picking so you have someone along you know. I just got back from a western Carib. cruise last week, and one couple at our M&G was on the same bus with me on every excursion I took. If I were you I would go for it and give it a try, otherwise you won't know if you would enjoy it or not, unless you give it a chance. Happy sailing.

[jjfromsd]

All six of my past cruises were done solo. Echoing MovingForward, it's hard to beat the freedom of being able to do what you want, when you want, or nothing at all without the concerns and stress of what others want. In other words, what a vacation should be. I look forward to dinners at a large table with lots of other cruisers because many of them have interesting stories to tell, from their past cruises to their most recent excursions. Speaking of excursions, I also prefer to book the ones sponsored by the ship, if anything, for the peace of mind of being able to return to the ship if the excursion is running late. My experiences with excursions were exactly as travelnap posted; unless the excursion is full, I always had a seat for myself. Have fun and enjoy your cruise(s).

 

Edited to add: Doing the single digit dance for my upcoming solo cruise on the Splendor!

[Izzybeff]

Do you recommend doing any time dining or doing a set dining time? I've always done anytime since it was available, but then again I've always been with a group of people.

 

Cancelled our Vegas reservations today and told DH's brother he is coming to visit. Now just waiting for DH's class dates so I can book one of the three cruises I've been stalking. Hard to research ports when there is 8 different ones I could be going to! Grrr!

 

I should be able to book a room up to a few weeks before right? We were supposed to know today, but still haven't heard. I'm praying they don't sell out before I can book.

[blueangel74]

Do you recommend doing any time dining or doing a set dining time? I've always done anytime since it was available, but then again I've always been with a group of people.

 

Cancelled our Vegas reservations today and told DH's brother he is coming to visit. Now just waiting for DH's class dates so I can book one of the three cruises I've been stalking. Hard to research ports when there is 8 different ones I could be going to! Grrr!

 

I should be able to book a room up to a few weeks before right? We were supposed to know today, but still haven't heard. I'm praying they don't sell out before I can book.

 

 

I have always done late dining. The reason I do this is due to me not wanting to have down time after my excursions to relax. Sometimes I will be seated with other solo cruisers & sometimes will be seated with other groups of people.

 

You will enjoy solo cruising. Once you go on your 1st one, you will want to do it again.

[jjfromsd]

Late dining here. If I'm in port, I don't want to rush to get ready for dinner as soon as I get back on the ship. I sat on tables with couples, grandmothers with adult daughters/granddaughters, friends traveling together, and other solos. All were pleasant company and on many occasions, we've done ship activities and excursions together.

[Izzybeff]

I've decided to go with NCL out of NO, so no reason to fret about whether I should do anytime or a set time.

 

Do all NCL ships have a single's gathering on the daily or is that just the Epic that has the solo rooms?

[Twinkstarr]

I've decided to go with NCL out of NO, so no reason to fret about whether I should do anytime or a set time.

 

Do all NCL ships have a single's gathering on the daily or is that just the Epic that has the solo rooms?

 

I was booked on the NCL Jewel Vancouver-LAX(had to cancel as I had an illness) and I looked at the dailies(from Alaska season) and they had a solo gathering every night b4 dinner.

 

Just got off the Epic last Saturday, I'm a 49 yr old with 2 kids and it was so great to just do what I want.

[MrFunInTheSun]

Go for it!! You'll have a blast! Solo cruising you meet so many great people and excursions through the ship are no issues, its actually a great way to meet people for the remainder of your cruise. I've only sailed three solo cruises but just today returned from a non solo cruise and really missed the solo cruising. Solo cruising is now my preferred method of cruising.