Solo Cruiser's Roll Call

[GTVCRUISER]

😞 

[farmersfight]

2 hours ago, GTVCRUISER said:

I cruised on the Tropicale , Jubilee, Sensation , Elation , Fantasy , Ecstasy , Inspiration , Imagination, Spirit, Splendor , most of them out of San Diego , my hometown 

 

Wow, another CCL veteran! For me, I've cruised on Carnival Ecstasy (twice), Carnival Sensation and Carnival Dream. Carnival Ecstasy and Sensation were out of Galveston, TX and the Carnival Dream was out of Civitavecchia, Italy.

 

Q: did you sail as a solo on those Carnival cruises? I've gotten the impression that Carnival is not too solo friendly (i.e. no studio cabins for solos, no solo lounges or programs, no staff assigned to solos, etc).

[GTVCRUISER]

Solo on some of them , I cruised on the Elation about 10 times 

[GTVCRUISER]

Elation

[GTVCRUISER]

Carnival is not my favorite cruise line , I have cruised with others 

[skipperanne]

9 minutes ago, GTVCRUISER said:

Carnival is not my favorite cruise line , I have cruised with others 

 

 

wow,  that is an older Norwegian Card!    You certainly have cruised often,  top level in many cruise lines.    I'm sure you work hard to be able to do those cruises.   I have only been on a few of those lines.

[skipperanne]

14 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

Wow, another CCL veteran! For me, I've cruised on Carnival Ecstasy (twice), Carnival Sensation and Carnival Dream. Carnival Ecstasy and Sensation were out of Galveston, TX and the Carnival Dream was out of Civitavecchia, Italy.

 

Q: did you sail as a solo on those Carnival cruises? I've gotten the impression that Carnival is not too solo friendly (i.e. no studio cabins for solos, no solo lounges or programs, no staff assigned to solos, etc).

my solo experience on Carnival was not so great.   I'm thinking I will give them another chance,  but MSC,  and NCL do a much better job of including solo cruisers.

 

[GTVCRUISER]

I have cruised 136 times , more than half of them solo , I would say NCL is best for solo cruisers

[farmersfight]

3 hours ago, skipperanne said:

my solo experience on Carnival was not so great.   I'm thinking I will give them another chance,  but MSC,  and NCL do a much better job of including solo cruisers.

 

 

Thanks, that's what I suspected. All my Carnival cruises were with more than just me, so I've never done a solo cruise with Carnival.

 

I agree, NCL does accommodate solo cruises much better. Although I've never cruised solo with NCL, I'm sure I will some day. I also would like to cruise solo on RC in one of their solo balcony cabins.

[farmersfight]

3 hours ago, GTVCRUISER said:

Carnival is not my favorite cruise line , I have cruised with others 

 

Again, WOW! Will you be my cruise mentor? LOL. I'm recently retired so once cruising starts back up, that's how I want to spend my retirement time & money.

[GTVCRUISER]

My first cruise was in 1981 , I retired in 2002 , did a lot of cruises after retirement , can not wait to get back onboard 

 

[farmersfight]

7 hours ago, GTVCRUISER said:

I have cruised 136 times , more than half of them solo , I would say NCL is best for solo cruisers

 

When you cruised solo with NCL, did you ever stay in one of their studio cabins?

[nesila]

12 minutes ago, farmersfight said:

 

When you cruised solo with NCL, did you ever stay in one of their studio cabins?

I've stayed in a studio, small but enough for one. I'm in a studio in both of my NCL upcoming cruises in 2021.

[farmersfight]

4 minutes ago, nesila said:

I've stayed in a studio, small but enough for one. I'm in a studio in both of my NCL upcoming cruises in 2021.

 

As a future (hopefully sooner rather than later; come on covid vaccine!) solo cruiser, I really give credit to NCL for their studio cabins, studio lounge, dedicated ship staffer for solo's, the daily solo m&g in the solo lounge, etc).

 

I'm just not sure about those tiny, interior studio cabins (although I do like the fact that they are in an exclusive area, on multiple decks and up high, forward). I'm probably spoiled, but I think "I gotta have me a balcony", lol.

 

My game plan will be to look for no/discounted solo supplements on balcony cabins on the ship, itinerary and length of cruise I want. NCL will still be in the mix and as I understand it, if I'm a solo in a regular balcony cabin (not in a studio), I will not have 24 hr access to the studio lounge but will be invited to the daily solo m&g's in the studio lounge. I'm o.k. with that.

[skipperanne]

1 minute ago, farmersfight said:

 

As a future (hopefully sooner rather than later; come on covid vaccine!) solo cruiser, I really give credit to NCL for their studio cabins, studio lounge, dedicated ship staffer for solo's, the daily solo m&g in the solo lounge, etc).

 

I'm just not sure about those tiny, interior studio cabins (although I do like the fact that they are in an exclusive area, on multiple decks and up high, forward). I'm probably spoiled, but I think "I gotta have me a balcony", lol.

 

My game plan will be to look for no/discounted solo supplements on balcony cabins on the ship, itinerary and length of cruise I want. NCL will still be in the mix and as I understand it, if I'm a solo in a regular balcony cabin (not in a studio), I will not have 24 hr access to the studio lounge but will be invited to the daily solo m&g's in the studio lounge. I'm o.k. with that.

you have that right.   The solo lounge on the Bliss was lovely,  i was less impressed with the one on the epic,   and if i can afford to,  i always prefer a balcony.

 

 

[farmersfight]

12 minutes ago, skipperanne said:

 i always prefer a balcony.

 

Me 2. I'm very curious and intend to look in to booking one of RC's solo balcony cabins (on either Quantum, Anthem, Ovation, Spectrum or Odyssey OTS).

[nesila]

1 hour ago, skipperanne said:

you have that right.   The solo lounge on the Bliss was lovely,  i was less impressed with the one on the epic,   and if i can afford to,  i always prefer a balcony.

 

 

Ditto I'll take a balcony any day and Haven even better. On one of my cruises my name is on my friends Haven room so I'm just using the studio to sleep. On my New York to San I will try to upgrade or I'll watch the prices and all switch to the prices drop. And yes you don't have direct access to the studio without the key card but on the Epic there's a glass door and your friends will let you in.

[skipperanne]

1 hour ago, farmersfight said:

 

Me 2. I'm very curious and intend to look in to booking one of RC's solo balcony cabins (on either Quantum, Anthem, Ovation, Spectrum or Odyssey OTS).

I am sure the solo balcony rooms are lovely.   I really like Royal Caribbean as a cruise line,  and to their credit;  they have a few solo rooms,  but they don't really know how to deal with solo travelers if you show up at a dining room for a meal other than dinner,  they are very confused.   They expect you to eat elsewhere if you are alone.   I found this very off putting.   I would sail with a "solo group"  on RC again,  or with friends and / or family,  but strictly solo,  it was a bit tough.    Though as alone time it was wonderful   (I had a double balcony to my self).

[hallux]

1 hour ago, farmersfight said:

I'm just not sure about those tiny, interior studio cabins (although I do like the fact that they are in an exclusive area, on multiple decks and up high, forward). I'm probably spoiled, but I think "I gotta have me a balcony", lol.

Having sailed balcony and studio on the same ship, here's my take.  I won't argue that the balcony was nice, and very roomy for one.  The studio was comfortable, especially when you consider all of the open public areas on the ship.  No, you can't easily sit in your room and read like you can with a balcony, so on that trip I did spend some time in the Observation Lounge and on the Waterfront, in addition to the studio lounge, reading.

 

Warm weather itinerary  - I'd DEFINITELY consider sailing in a balcony as I'm not sure I'd spend a ton of time out there on a cooler trip.  For example, my trip in the Spring last year it was quite chilly so time outside was not comfortable while at sea, though with the windbreaks on the Waterfront it was more comfortable than you might think so a studio cabin might be suitable if you're not going to sit on the balcony much.

[farmersfight]

10 hours ago, nesila said:

Ditto I'll take a balcony any day and Haven even better. On one of my cruises my name is on my friends Haven room so I'm just using the studio to sleep. On my New York to San I will try to upgrade or I'll watch the prices and all switch to the prices drop. And yes you don't have direct access to the studio without the key card but on the Epic there's a glass door and your friends will let you in.

 

Thank you. Your feedback is much appreciated. Hmmm, now that you mention the Haven (NCL), I should celebrate my newly commenced retirement by booking a Haven! Have you cruised solo in a Haven before & if yes, did you get a solo supplement discount or a late booking price drop? I'm afraid that on your cruise with your friend, once you're in your friend's Haven space you won't want to leave at night to go sleep in your studio. Guess your friend will have to have the Haven's luxurious couch made up for you for sleeping each night, lol.

 

Above you stated, "on my New York to San...", I'm guessing you are referring to a cruise from New York to San Juan on the Epic? Yeah, watching for late booking price drops on regular balcony (or even Haven) cabins is another strategy I can use (besides finding regular cabins with no/reduced solo supplements).

Edited September 12, 2020 by farmersfight

[farmersfight]

10 hours ago, skipperanne said:

I am sure the solo balcony rooms are lovely.   I really like Royal Caribbean as a cruise line,  and to their credit;  they have a few solo rooms,  but they don't really know how to deal with solo travelers if you show up at a dining room for a meal other than dinner,  they are very confused.   They expect you to eat elsewhere if you are alone.   I found this very off putting.   I would sail with a "solo group"  on RC again,  or with friends and / or family,  but strictly solo,  it was a bit tough.    Though as alone time it was wonderful   (I had a double balcony to my self).

 

Thanks for your great feedback, especially your past experience cruising solo with RC. In addition to those solo balcony cabins on the RC ships I mentioned above, I understand that some other RC ships (i.e. Oasis class) also have solo OV's and interiors.

 

I kind of suspected that about the way RC handles solos when you show up at a dining room for a meal other than dinner. You would think that if they didn't get confused when solos show up for dinner, they also wouldn't get confused for breakfast or lunch. I can understand why that would be very off putting. Sounds like NCL has RCL has beat hands down wrt how to deal with solo cruisers. But, I have to give RCL major credit for designing/fitting those solo balcony cabins on some of their ships (even though as I understand it, they are hard to book because they are so popular). I guess RCL is kind of "dipping their toes in the water" with solo cruisers but could take a few lessons from NCL. By designing/fitting solo balcony cabins on some of their ships, RCL must have realized that some of us solo cruisers really love balconies (like me!).

 

Yeah, booking a regular balcony (especially a double balcony) cabin as a solo and having all that room to yourself would be great. Can you imagine being in a Haven (NCL ) as a solo? Talk about having a lot of room (and luxurious room to boot) to yourself! Throw me in that briar patch, lol.

Edited September 12, 2020 by farmersfight

[farmersfight]

10 hours ago, hallux said:

Having sailed balcony and studio on the same ship, here's my take.  I won't argue that the balcony was nice, and very roomy for one.  The studio was comfortable, especially when you consider all of the open public areas on the ship.  No, you can't easily sit in your room and read like you can with a balcony, so on that trip I did spend some time in the Observation Lounge and on the Waterfront, in addition to the studio lounge, reading.

 

Warm weather itinerary  - I'd DEFINITELY consider sailing in a balcony as I'm not sure I'd spend a ton of time out there on a cooler trip.  For example, my trip in the Spring last year it was quite chilly so time outside was not comfortable while at sea, though with the windbreaks on the Waterfront it was more comfortable than you might think so a studio cabin might be suitable if you're not going to sit on the balcony much.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience, especially the experience of having sailed in a studio and balcony on the same ship. May I ask which NCL ship? I assume since you mention the Observation Lounge and the Waterfront (both great ideas by the way), you are referring to one of NCL's BA or BA+ class ships?

 

I totally agree with you, it's really hard (and definitely not desirable) to sit out on your balcony when the ship is sailing in cooler weather (I guess caribbean itineraries would solve that issue). I guess a prime example would be a spring or fall (or perhaps even summer depending on how north a course is taken) would be a TA cruise. I would love all the sea days but not being able to sit out on my balcony due to the cool/cold weather would be frustrating.

 

I actually experienced warm and cool weather with a balcony on the same cruise. When I was married, my wife & I did a 12 day Med cruise RT from Civitavecchia, Italy on the then brand new Carnival Dream. We sailed south (stopping in Naples, Italy) and went around "the boot" and then sailed north on the Adriatic Sea up to Venice, Italy (the ship also called at Dubrovnik, Croatia on the southbound leg out of Venice). When the ship was sailing in the northern parts of Italy, it was definitely cool outside (I think it was October as I remember) so we didn't use our balcony much at all. As a matter of fact, I have a picture of my wife & I sitting on our balcony in our jackets because it was so cool. When the ship was sailing in the southern parts of Italy (i.e. Naples, Sicily), it was much warmer and we were out on our balcony a lot more. Additionally, I remember when we were sailing in the northern regions, I went swimming and used the Dream's water slides - I remember freezing my a## off, lol. I think I have a picture (and video) of me standing out on deck by the water slide shivering!

 

So yeah, I agree, give me a balcony but give me one in warm weather so I can use it! Thanks again.

Edited September 12, 2020 by farmersfight

[hallux]

30 minutes ago, farmersfight said:

other RC ships (i.e. Oasis class) also have solo OV's and interiors

I believe Oasis class has the OV and inside, yes.  Quantum class (excluding the Odyssey still under construction) has the balcony and inside.  Odyssey is dropping the Studio interior, the Junior Suite with which it shared a "vestibule" entrance has also been dropped in favor of 2 balcony rooms taking up the space of the JS and Studio.

[hallux]

2 minutes ago, farmersfight said:

May I ask which NCL ship? I assume since you mention the Observation Lounge and the Waterfront (both great ideas by thre way), you are referring to one of NCL's BA or BA+ class ships?

Bliss.  My 2 cruises embarked 6 months apart, almost to the day.

[farmersfight]

15 minutes ago, hallux said:

I believe Oasis class has the OV and inside, yes.  Quantum class (excluding the Odyssey still under construction) has the balcony and inside.  Odyssey is dropping the Studio interior, the Junior Suite with which it shared a "vestibule" entrance has also been dropped in favor of 2 balcony rooms taking up the space of the JS and Studio.

 

Thanks for the detailed information. From what you said, the Odyssey will still have the studio balcony cabins? Yeah, I'm not not too upset that RC is dropping the studio interiors on the Odyssey because again, "I gotta have me a balcony", lol. I wonder, do you know if the studio interiors on RC's Quantum class ships are larger than NCL's studios? Just curious...