Solo Cruiser's Roll Call

[farmersfight]

3 hours ago, GTVCRUISER said:

I am ready to Cruise 

 

But how are you going to get your DoD (drink of the day) through that thing?

[Midwestern Cruiser]

On 9/22/2020 at 12:19 AM, wetcoast said:

I love cruising, but looks like my next trip will be at an all inclusive resort. I booked 2 weeks in Cuba March '21

 

Was hoping to port in Cuba on a cruise.  Would really enjoy seeing the cars :-}
Never thought about an AI there, but I guess that will be the way to go there in the foreseeable future.

Used to do AIs pretty often, but it's been a while.  Found the last few were spent entirely within the property's boundaries.
Hopefully, by March, you'll visit safely and enjoy it!

[GTVCRUISER]

18 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

But how are you going to get your DoD (drink of the day) through that thing?

 

[farmersfight]

3 hours ago, GTVCRUISER said:

 

 

LOL. But what if it's past happy hour and you still have your drink on? Do you have to keep the mask on? (I know, too many questions. Just teasing you).

[GTVCRUISER]

🙂 

[coastcat]

Glad I scrolled back in this thread and saw the lovely photo on NCL Sun... because I just swapped out December 2021 NCL Spirit (Singapore to Sydney) for December 2022 on NCL Sun (Tokyo to Hong Kong).

 

So now I have solos booked for:

• April 2021 on NCL Bliss (Pacific Coastal)
• June 2021 on RCL Quantum OTS (Alaska)
• September 2021 on Celebrity Solstice (transpacific)
• Christmas 2021 back on Bliss (Mexican Riviera)
• January 2022 on RCL Mariner OTS (Western Caribbean)
• December 2022 on NCL Sun (Asia repositioning). 

 

The big question is... which will be the first on the list to actually sail?

 

Thankfully it's not quite as expensive a schedule as it appears. My NCL FCC covers both Bliss cruises and a chunk of the Sun one. If April is a no-go, well, that'll cover the rest of the Sun fare. I snagged a very good deal on the Celebrity cruise, too.

 

Eager to get onboard again... I have some very cute nautical-themed masks all ready to go and finally found an effective anti-fog spray for my glasses...

 

Edited September 27, 2020 by coastcat

[hallux]

LOL @coastcat your Bliss cruises mirror my sailings last year!  I noted earlier that I did the Pacific Coastal in April 2019, but I also did the Mexican Riviera in October (rather than December as you are).

[farmersfight]

2 hours ago, GTVCRUISER said:

🙂 

 

LOL @GTVCRUISER. I need one of those that says: "Will remove for beer". (But, I like wine also).

Edited September 27, 2020 by farmersfight

[farmersfight]

56 minutes ago, coastcat said:

So now I have solos booked for:

• April 2021 on NCL Bliss (Pacific Coastal)
• June 2021 on RCL Quantum OTS (Alaska)
• September 2021 on Celebrity Solstice (transpacific)
• Christmas 2021 back on Bliss (Mexican Riviera)
• January 2022 on RCL Mariner OTS (Western Caribbean)
• December 2022 on NCL Sun (Asia repositioning). 

 

The big question is... which will be the first on the list to actually sail?

 

Wow, now that's the kind of scheduled solo cruising I want to eventually have! Right now however, I'm leaning towards doing last minute bookings (and hopefully get a deal). With the current covid-19 situation, I haven't booked anything and I'm waiting to see how this thing plays out and waiting for cruising to resume again.

 

I'm guessing a vaccine will be available to us all by April 2021, so your first cruise (Bliss - Pacific Coastal) is a close call on whether it will go, imho. I think all your subsequent cruises will go.

 

1 hour ago, coastcat said:

I have some very cute nautical-themed masks all ready to go

 

It looks like @GTVCRUISER has some adult beverage of choice-themed masks all ready to go, lol.

[coastcat]

4 hours ago, hallux said:

LOL @coastcat your Bliss cruises mirror my sailings last year!  I noted earlier that I did the Pacific Coastal in April 2019, but I also did the Mexican Riviera in October (rather than December as you are).

I did Mexican Riviera in January 2020 and was booked for a Pacific Coast cruise in April 2020, both on NCL Joy! At least I got to sail on the first one, sigh. Hoping that both happen in 2021.

 

Hmm, maybe a mask that says "Will remove for mojitos"...

Edited September 28, 2020 by coastcat

[GTVCRUISER]

10 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

LOL @GTVCRUISER. I need one of those that says: "Will remove for beer". (But, I like wine also).

 

[farmersfight]

3 hours ago, GTVCRUISER said:

 

 

Hilarious! Why am I not surprised?, lol. Are you selling those masks or something? (if not, you should for cruising during these covid times). Seems like you have one for any occasion or contingency.

 

Thanks for the laugh...much needed these days.

[GTVCRUISER]

45 minutes ago, farmersfight said:

 

Hilarious! Why am I not surprised?, lol. Are you selling those masks or something? (if not, you should for cruising during these covid times). Seems like you have one for any occasion or contingency.

 

Thanks for the laugh...much needed these days.

Just having fun with them , we need some fun  🙂 I call this mask .....The Year 2020 so far 

[farmersfight]

17 minutes ago, GTVCRUISER said:

Just having fun with them , we need some fun  🙂 I call this mask .....The Year 2020 so far 

 

Totally agree. 2021 can't come fast enough...

[All-ready2cruise]

43 minutes ago, GTVCRUISER said:

Just having fun with them , we need some fun  🙂 I call this mask .....The Year 2020 so far 

Love it!! 🤩🍾

[nesila]

19 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

Wow, now that's the kind of scheduled solo cruising I want to eventually have! Right now however, I'm leaning towards doing last minute bookings (and hopefully get a deal). With the current covid-19 situation, I haven't booked anything and I'm waiting to see how this thing plays out and waiting for cruising to resume again.

 

I'm guessing a vaccine will be available to us all by April 2021, so your first cruise (Bliss - Pacific Coastal) is a close call on whether it will go, imho. I think all your subsequent cruises will go.

 

 

It looks like @GTVCRUISER has some adult beverage of choice-themed masks all ready to go, lol.

My next is May 2021 and I'm wondering what I'll do on Dec 26th when the final payment is due. The pain of waiting for the two cancellations this past year was tough, and waiting for the refunds even more. While I'm trying to stay positive... I wonder if 8 months away is enough. Maybe to build confidence they'll shorten the final payment time again, I believe for trips prior to May 1 it's 60 days.

[farmersfight]

3 minutes ago, nesila said:

My next is May 2021 and I'm wondering what I'll do on Dec 26th when the final payment is due. The pain of waiting for the two cancellations this past year was tough, and waiting for the refunds even more. While I'm trying to stay positive... I wonder if 8 months away is enough. Maybe to build confidence they'll shorten the final payment time again, I believe for trips prior to May 1 it's 60 days.

 

I think by Dec 26th (your final payment due date) we'll all have a lot more information about hopefully, a Covid-19 vaccine. We're just about to enter October so you have almost 3 months to decide. I'd recommend to sit tight for the time being and see how things play out (especially with vaccine development). Who knows, by December a safe & effective vaccine may already be out and being distributed to health care and front line workers. (I'm trying to stay optimistic).

 

I don't think I want to cruise without a vaccine and just with special requirements in place, i.e. masks, social distancing, cruise line shore excursions only, etc. Not to mention the possibility of being quarantined if a Covid-19 outbreak occurs aboard ship.

[farmersfight]

On 9/27/2020 at 5:40 PM, coastcat said:

So now I have solos booked for:

• April 2021 on NCL Bliss (Pacific Coastal)
• June 2021 on RCL Quantum OTS (Alaska)
• September 2021 on Celebrity Solstice (transpacific)
• Christmas 2021 back on Bliss (Mexican Riviera)
• January 2022 on RCL Mariner OTS (Western Caribbean)
• December 2022 on NCL Sun (Asia repositioning). 

 

@debenson0723, @HowardK & @GTVCRUISER

 

Well @coastcat, I think I may be catching you on booked cruises. Just booked (well, kind of...I have it on courtesy hold and have until Dec 2, 2020 11:59 pm to put the deposit down) my 4th cruise for late 2021 & early 2022.

 

This one is the Pride of America (NCL), 7-day Hawaii Inter-island (w/2 over-nighters), sailing Oct 23 -30, 2021. This particular cruise has always been somewhat "pricey", especially for us solos if we have to pay the 100% solo supplement.

 

I though about this particular cruise (I have had PoA on my "radar" anyway) because I thought it would be a safe bet to sail because it is not until Oct 2021 (cruises hopefully will be up and running by then) and it stays entirely in the U.S. (no foreign port calls) which imo, also gives this cruise a better chance for the "green light".

 

I was looking at the Sept, Oct 2021 time frame, so I priced out each cruise carefully (NCL's website is very good for doing this). I looked for the Sept or Oct dates with the lowest fare and I compared the fare for a studio vs a regular inside stateroom.

 

You may know that even as a solo, I "gotta have me a balcony". But thinking about the details of this particular cruise, the PoA actually functions as a floating/moving hotel since she does her underway time at night so as to be at the next Hawaiian island (port) the next morning. The PoA does an afternoon of cruising along the Napali Coast towards the end of the cruise. With this in mind, I asked myself, "why do I need a balcony (or even an OV) when you won't see anything sailing only at night?". That's why I decided that all I would need is an inside or solo stateroom.

 

So, after doing my search(es) on the NCL web site, I found an Oct 2021 cruise in an inside stateroom for $148 less than a studio! Needless to say, I went with the inside stateroom. The cruise is Oct 23-30, 2021. It is still pricey (as I mentioned above) and yes, I have to pay the 100% solo supplement. I'm making an exception to not ever paying a 100% solo supplement because when cruising resumes (probably with the vaccines), I highly doubt NCL will discount the solo supplement. Also, the deposit for this cruise is only $125 which is very reasonable. As I mentioned above, I have until 11:59 pm on Wed, Dec 2nd to pay this deposit.

 

Well, if I do book this one (which I'm sure I will), I'll be up to 4 booked cruises. I think I'll stop at 4. Sometime in 2022, I'll look for a last-minute deal (incl discounted solo supplement) on a cruise.

 

Anyway, cheers 🍻 and dare I say, aloha!🍍

 

P.S. - Hawaii is a long way away and long flight(s) for just a 7-day cruise, so I plan on staying at a hotel in Honolulu for 4 nights pre-cruise and then again for 3 nights post-cruise. This will give me 7 more days for a total of 14 days (2 weeks) in Hawaii.

Edited November 29, 2020 by farmersfight

[debenson0723]

34 minutes ago, farmersfight said:

 

@debenson0723, @HowardK & @GTVCRUISER

 

Well @coastcat, I think I may be catching you on booked cruises. Just booked (well, kind of...I have it on courtesy hold and have until Dec 2, 2020 11:59 pm to put the deposit down) my 4th cruise for late 2021 & early 2022.

 

This one is the Pride of America (NCL), 7-day Hawaii Inter-island (w/2 over-nighters), sailing Oct 23 -30, 2021. This particular cruise has always been somewhat "pricey", especially for us solos if we have to pay the 100% solo supplement.

 

I though about this particular cruise (I have had PoA on my "radar" anyway) because I thought it would be a safe bet to sail because it is not until Oct 2021 (cruises hopefully will be up and running by then) and it stays entirely in the U.S. (no foreign port calls) which imo, also gives this cruise a better chance for the "green light".

 

I was looking at the Sept, Oct 2021 time frame, so I priced out each cruise carefully (NCL's website is very good for doing this). I looked for the Sept or Oct dates with the lowest fare and I compared the fare for a studio vs a regular inside stateroom.

 

You may know that even as a solo, I "gotta have me a balcony". But thinking about the details of this particular cruise, the PoA actually functions as a floating/moving hotel since she does her underway time at night so as to be at the next Hawaiian island (port) the next morning. The PoA does an afternoon of cruising along the Napali Coast towards the end of the cruise. With this in mind, I asked myself, "why do I need a balcony (or even an OV) when you won't see anything sailing only at night?". That's why I decided that all I would need is an inside or solo stateroom.

 

So, after doing my search(es) on the NCL web site, I found an Oct 2021 cruise in an inside stateroom for $148 less than a studio! Needless to say, I went with the inside stateroom. The cruise is Oct 23-30, 2021. It is still pricey (as I mentioned above) and yes, I have to pay the 100% solo supplement. I'm making an exception to not ever paying a 100% solo supplement because when cruising resumes (probably with the vaccines), I highly doubt NCL will discount the solo supplement. Also, the deposit for this cruise is only $125 which is very reasonable. As I mentioned above, I have until 11:59 pm on Wed, Dec 2nd to pay this deposit.

 

Well, if I do book this one (which I'm sure I will), I'll be up to 4 booked cruises. I think I'll stop at 4. Sometime in 2022, I'll look for a last-minute deal (incl discounted solo supplement) on a cruise.

 

Anyway, cheers 🍻 and dare I say, aloha!🍍

 

P.S. - Hawaii is a long way away and long flight(s) for just a 7-day cruise, so I plan on staying at a hotel in Honolulu for 4 nights pre-cruise and then again for 3 nights post-cruise. This will give me 7 more days for a total of 14 days (2 weeks) in Hawaii.

I know this cruise you are looking at is a long way away but Kauai just opted out today to allow non-essential travel to that island. I was supposed to go to Hawaii last month, leaving October 3rd for a week, but the state did not open up until the 15th and the restrictions are pretty tight (doable but easier at some airports than others).

But October is a great month to go there and the people I know that have done the POA really enjoyed it.

 

7 days in Honolulu seems like a lot...you might consider doing your post cruise stay on another island (Maui). Inter-island flights are plentiful and cheap plus they have regular flights to the mainland. It would give you some variety (though hotels on both are very expensive, as is food, rental cars, etc.).

[coastcat]

42 minutes ago, farmersfight said:

 

@debenson0723, @HowardK & @GTVCRUISER

 

Well @coastcat, I think I may be catching you on booked cruises. Just booked (well, kind of...I have it on courtesy hold and have until Dec 2, 2020 11:59 pm to put the deposit down) my 4th cruise for late 2021 & early 2022.

 

This one is the Pride of America (NCL), 7-day Hawaii Inter-island (w/2 over-nighters), sailing Oct 23 -30, 2021. This particular cruise has always been somewhat "pricey", especially for us solos if we have to pay the 100% solo supplement.scount the solo supplement. Also, the deposit for this cruise is only $125 which is very reasonable. As I mentioned above, I have until 11:59 pm on Wed, Dec 2nd to pay this deposit.

That'll be a fantastic cruise. POA pricing is hefty (understandable) but when you think of it as a floating all-inclusive resort where the location magically changes daily, it's reasonable! See if you can take a peek in the Studio Lounge on our behalf. 😄

[farmersfight]

1 hour ago, debenson0723 said:

I know this cruise you are looking at is a long way away but Kauai just opted out today to allow non-essential travel to that island. I was supposed to go to Hawaii last month, leaving October 3rd for a week, but the state did not open up until the 15th and the restrictions are pretty tight (doable but easier at some airports than others).

But October is a great month to go there and the people I know that have done the POA really enjoyed it.

 

7 days in Honolulu seems like a lot...you might consider doing your post cruise stay on another island (Maui). Inter-island flights are plentiful and cheap plus they have regular flights to the mainland. It would give you some variety (though hotels on both are very expensive, as is food, rental cars, etc.).

 

Thanks. I didn't know that about any of the Hawaiian islands not allowing non-essential travel. But with the current spike in covid cases we've got going on currently in the U.S., it doesn't surprise me. Like you said, Oct 2021 is a long way off and hopefully, we'll all be back to some form of "normalcy" again with traveling (flying, cruising, etc) the way we used to. Worst case scenario, Hawaii or any one of the Hawaiian islands are closed to non-essential travel, that would mean PoA would cancel my cruise and I would get a full refund back.

 

I can see your point about 7 days in Honolulu. However, pre-cruise, 4 nights actually gives me just 3 full days and post-cruise, 3 nights actually gives me just 2 full days. Pre-cruise, I plan on renting a car to tour Oahu, especially the North Shore (observe surfing only with those monster waves; and I used to be an avid surfer). Post-cruise, I plan on sticking close to the hotel and just hitting the beach for a couple of days in a row. Then, it'll be an easy ride to Honolulu airport.

 

I will keep your astute recommendation in mind though (keeping an open mind) because I have heard that inter-island flights are cheap & plentiful (Southwest Airlines?). I'm not to worried about going to Maui since the PoA does an over-nighter there. There's also a 2nd over-nighter the PoA does at another island. Hence, the description of the PoA as a floating/moving hotel. It'll be great to only have to unpack/pack once and yet transit to all those different Hawaiian islands/ports.

Edited November 29, 2020 by farmersfight

[farmersfight]

1 hour ago, coastcat said:

That'll be a fantastic cruise. POA pricing is hefty (understandable) but when you think of it as a floating all-inclusive resort where the location magically changes daily, it's reasonable! See if you can take a peek in the Studio Lounge on our behalf. 😄

 

Thanks! Yeah, I was really surprised when I found some cruises where the interior staterooms (even with the 100% solo supplement) was less than the studio staterooms (all 4 of them, lol).

 

From what I've read here on CC, the term "Lounge" in Studio Lounge on the PoA should be taken with a big old grain of salt. Here's what it probably looks like;

 

 

 

 

Edited November 29, 2020 by farmersfight

[hallux]

5 minutes ago, farmersfight said:

From what I've read here on CC, the term "Lounge" in Studio Lounge on the PoA should be taken with a big old grain of salt. Here's what it probably looks like;

LOL.  Looking at the deck plan, the lounge appears as big as one of the Studio cabins.  It looks like some college dorms where you have 4 people in their own rooms and a common "living room" type of area connecting them.

[debenson0723]

44 minutes ago, farmersfight said:

 

Thanks. I didn't know that about any of the Hawaiian islands not allowing non-essential travel. But with the current spike in covid cases we've got going on currently in the U.S., it doesn't surprise me. Like you said, Oct 2021 is a long way off and hopefully, we'll all be back to some form of "normalcy" again with traveling (flying, cruising, etc) the way we used to. Worst case scenario, Hawaii or any one of the Hawaiian islands are closed to non-essential travel, that would mean PoA would cancel my cruise and I would get a full refund back.

 

I can see your point about 7 days in Honolulu. However, pre-cruise, 4 nights actually gives me just 3 full days and post-cruise, 3 nights actually gives me just 2 full days. Pre-cruise, I plan on renting a car to tour Oahu, especially the North Shore (observe surfing only with those monster waves; and I used to be an avid surfer). Post-cruise, I plan on sticking close to the hotel and just hitting the beach for a couple of days in a row. Then, it'll be an easy ride to Honolulu airport.

 

I will keep your astute recommendation in mind though (keeping an open mind) because I have heard that inter-island flights are cheap & plentiful (Southwest Airlines?). I'm not to worried about going to Maui since the PoA does an over-nighter there. There's also a 2nd over-nighter the PoA does at another island. Hence, the description of the PoA as a floating/moving hotel. It'll be great to only have to unpack/pack once and yet transit to all those different Hawaiian islands/ports.

Hawaiian Airlines does the inter-island flights.  Southwest does fly to Hawaii from the mainland...I think my flight from Phoenix was $179 each way when I booked in April. I thought for sure booking a flight in April for October would be one I wouldn't have to cancel but apparently 6 months was being too optimistic in 2020.

I am sort of mad at Southwest right now.  Between not keeping the middle seat open anymore and limiting capacity, to starting to use the 737 Max planes again, it makes me wary to fly them (and I am not a nervous flyer). 

[farmersfight]

3 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

Hawaiian Airlines does the inter-island flights.  Southwest does fly to Hawaii from the mainland...

 

Thanks. I knew Southwest was involved with Hawaii somehow, lol. That's pretty good then, you can fly to Hawaii from the mainland pretty cheap on Southwest then, fly to the other Hawaiian island(s) on Hawaiian Airlines also pretty cheaply. Then, back to the mainland on Southwest.

 

6 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

I am sort of mad at Southwest right now.  Between not keeping the middle seat open anymore and limiting capacity, to starting to use the 737 Max planes again, it makes me wary to fly them (and I am not a nervous flyer). 

 

Those are legit concerns. You would think that they would keep the middle seats open since they are limiting capacity. Regarding the 737 Max, I can fully understand your trepidation. But, they've had that plane out of service for so long now, I'm sure they have more than found & corrected the problem. Being able to see another track record of the 737 Max since it has been flying again would be reassuring though.