Looking for Solo travellers tips for muslim female

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Thank you very much for the useful tips. I will definitely call the Cruise line for more information and really interested for Alaska adventurous trip.

 

Qucik questions, Which month is the suitable month to travel in Alaska on Cruise. Pls advise!!!!!!

 

The Alaska cruise season is short: May to September. The best time to go depends on the person and what he or she is looking for. If you want to see bears it's best to go in August, salmon fishing is best in July and August, weather tends to be less rainy earlier in the season (but it's very unpredictable), and the list goes on. Be sure to visit the Alaska Ports of Call board here on Cruise Critic and you'll find there are tons of options for excursions!

[SuiteTraveler]

Salaam to you,

Alaska's season is May through the end of September. Mid summer, Alaska becomes the land of the midnight sun - where the sun doesn't go down at night. Some people prefer an inside cabin for this reason because cruise ships don't have the best black out curtains. Others bring a sleep mask and some binder clips to keep the drapes closed as much as possible.

 

I don't know if anyone has mentioned this to you, but on the mass market cruise ships, if you are traveling alone you pay a supplement if you are alone in a cabin - as much as 50% of what a second traveler in your cabin would pay. However, there are a few ships that do have solo cabins but I can't think of any ships that are sailing Alaska that have the solo cabins. The ones I am aware of are sailing the Caribbean and Mediterranean. Here's an article that would be a good starting place for your research:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=419

[kitty9]

Because the Alaska cruises are so popular, the single supplement is closer to 190% to 200%----I could never find anything lower for my Alaska cruises. But like Suite Traveler said, I don't believe that any cruise line that goes to Alaska has solo cabins.

[Dayenu]

Throwing this out there....DD (living in Europe) is friendly with a son of a Muslim Middle Eastern country diplomat. His father (the diplomat) told him to 'eat where the Jews eat' if he couldn't find Halal.

 

In Israel, Muslims shop at the Kosher stores.

[jfatima]

Hello Everyone

 

I am really thankful for all the wonderful tips and information. Hopefully I will find you in the cruise

 

 

Warm Regards,

 

Fatima

[WeddNcruise]

Not surprised that the OP has not responded to this thread. I know everyone was just trying to be helpful, but suggesting Kosher (Jewish) food as a substitute for Halal (Muslim) food may be taken as an insult.

 

Although Halal-certified food is widely available in predominant Muslim countries, most Muslims in the U.S. (except for big cities or farm owners) do not eat only Halal food just because it's not widely available. Just like many Jews do not not only eat Kosher food, and not all Catholics eat only fish on Friday.

 

This explanation may help -- http://www.halalchoices.com.au/what_is_halal.html

 

As-Salam-u-Alaikum to the majority of Muslims that are peace-loving and kind. I hope to to see you on one of my future cruises.

 

Not at all. Kosher meat is a great substitute for halal meat. As it has most of the same standards when processing the meat.

[cml4958]

From a quick Google search it appears both P&O & RCL offer Halal food. From RCL's site...

 

What about us?

 

We don’t just cover gluten-free, fat-free and lactose-free but a number of dietary restrictions and requirements. Whether you require kosher meals, halal meat or have an allergy, we’ll make sure your choice of meals is not restricted.

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.co.uk/blog/why-your-dietary-restriction-wont-stop-you-eating-well-onboard/

 

And from the US site...

 

Q: What type of special meals does Royal Caribbean offer?

 

A: We make every effort to accommodate our guests' dietary requirements whenever possible. We can accommodate dietary needs such as: Food allergies, Gluten-free, Kosher, Low-fat, and Low-sodium.

 

Vegetarian Meals (including Indian-style vegetarian) are available on all menus in the Dining Room and Windjammer Cafe every day. Guests do not need to make a special request for these meals.

 

Lactose-free/soy milk, Ensure, and kosher meals are available no extra charge. All you have to do is notify us at least 45 days prior to sailing (90 days for European/South American Itineraries).

 

Kosher for Passover meal requests MUST be received 90 days in advance in order to be accommodated.

 

Contact your travel agent or Certified Vacation Planner and request that the remark be noted in your reservation details. If you made your reservation online at royalcaribbean.com you may add your request to the "update personal information." section. You may also send an e-mail request to special_needs@rccl.com; please include in the e-mail the guests' names, booking number, ship name and sail date. E-mails will receive an automated response. We kindly ask that guests do not call Royal Caribbean International suppliers with specific questions.

 

Special meal requests that are received less than 45 days of sailing (90 days for European/South American itineraries) are dependent on the ship's product availability. We will try to accommodate to the best of our ability.

 

Guests may not bring on board any food items other than baby food and/or dry, nonperishable snack items (cookies, crackers, chips, energy bars, etc).

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/faq/details.do?pagename=frequently_asked_questions&faqId=322&faqSubjectId=335

[6boysnana]

I am a solo traveler also. To the OP, I wish you were going to be on my next cruise and we could have dinner together.

I hope it all falls into place and you have a wonderful holiday.

 

6 boysnana

[happy trailer]

Not surprised that the OP has not responded to this thread. I know everyone was just trying to be helpful, but suggesting Kosher (Jewish) food as a substitute for Halal (Muslim) food may be taken as an insult.

 

As-Salam-u-Alaikum to the majority of Muslims that are peace-loving and kind. I hope to to see you on one of my future cruises.

 

Even when I was little (60ish years ago!) I remember Muslim diners when I ate in kosher restaurants; that is still the case today.

 

I'm insulted that you claim that a Muslim might be insulted by suggestions that 'Jewish' food might be a substitute for 'Muslim' food, especially when you then follow that statement with your next sentence: "As-Salam-u-Alaikum to the majority of Muslims that are peace-loving and kind." Kind of contradicts your previous statement...

[donaldsc]

You have gotten some good advice. However, re your question on Halal food - aren't the rules for Kosher food essentially the same as the rules for Halal food. I know that you can get Kosher food on cruises. You do have to contact the cruise company in advance and pre-order the food. It is probably pre-packaged meals but it is available.

 

DON

[happy trailer]

You have gotten some good advice. However, re your question on Halal food - aren't the rules for Kosher food essentially the same as the rules for Halal food. I know that you can get Kosher food on cruises. You do have to contact the cruise company in advance and pre-order the food. It is probably pre-packaged meals but it is available.

 

DON

 

The rules for kosher food are actually stricter than those for halal, which is why kosher restaurants have long been patronized by Muslims who observe halal faithfully.

[happy trailer]

Kosher food and halal food are not alike. They have different rules and restrictions.

 

There are a lot of similarities; kosher is much stricter than halal, which is why you will see Muslims eating in kosher restaurants and buying kosher certified products, but those who keep kosher do not consider halal certified food to be kosher (unless it also is certified kosher, which I frequently see on packaged goods).

 

Halal meat is obtained via prescribed rules for the slaughter of the animals. There is a specific way the animal is slaughtered and the blessing that is said. Food must come from Halal providers, and observant Muslims do not eat anything that might contain non-Halal ingredients and they do not use any items that contain animal byproducts, such as some cosmetics.

 

Sorry, but this is not accurate. My husband has traveled to the US Midwest several times with Muslim co-workers, and they always ask him to point out which supermarket items have kosher certification, so that they can purchase food for dinner.

[Velvetwater]

I wanted to add that the Kosher/Halal meat argument seems to change dependent on country and sect of Islam. Thats what working and teaching in a multicultural area has taught me anyway. I don't think its particularly insulting to lump them together but to some muslims it may upset.

 

I have found that there is a difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims and what they deem as fit to eat as well as Iran/Iraqi families compared to Pakistan/India and Afghanistan. Then theres the debate on the preparation of Halal meat regarding conscious vs unconcious - In the UK 90% is the latter but I have met families that will only eat the 10% kind.

 

Also most parts of the UK (apart from large cities) have little to no Jewish people living nearby so Halal butchers vastly outnumber Kosher ones. That means muslims over here rarely have to worry about meat sourcing.

 

I guess its an individual thing.

[clare_g]

Muslims are not meant to eat kosher food. Google it. The blessing/slaughtering process is slightly different. Halal only!

 

 

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[Traveling Gentleman]

It seems that things went off topic; however I would like to contribute by informing that I am pretty sure that Star Cruises offers halal meals, but they cruise in another part of the world than the thread starter is interested in. Otherwise, vegetarian food might be an option, perhaps even better than kosher food?

[happy trailer]

Muslims are not meant to eat kosher food. Google it. The blessing/slaughtering process is slightly different. Halal only!

 

This is absolutely, unequivocally incorrect, even though there are some differences between halal and kosher slaughter. See posts above. And you could come to Israel where Muslims regularly eat in kosher certified eateries, and purchase kosher certified groceries in supermarkets- in fact, as I posted previously, Muslims just about everywhere seek out processed foods which are marked kosher because they know it also meets halal requirements.

Edited January 7, 2017 by happy trailer