First Solo - Sunshine 8 Day Cruise Review Sept 8th thru 16th

[Lyncoya]

This is an awesome thread! You are obviously having a blast the whole time!

 

Your food porn is making me hungry, and I just had dinner...hmmm, but good thing is, we're on Sunshine in Dec for a similar/same itnierary, so now I can start checking out those alternate dining options! And yes, I think you are spelling them correctly.

 

We have horseback riding booked in St Maarten, zip-lining in St Kitts. Maybe next we are at St Kitts, we'll book that horseback riding!

 

Thanks! I actually wanted to do Horseback Riding in St Maarten, but they were sold out, but ended up having a great time in St Kitts.

[Lyncoya]

Next day St Maarten. This was my third or fourth time to this port. I've done ATV riding, I've done the nude beach, I've done tours, I've done Maho Beach. This time I wanted to find a bar at the beach, have a few strong drinks, maybe do a little shopping and listen to some music...and that's EXACTLY what I did.

 

I took the water taxi over. $7 Roundtrip. I found a nice little bar with free wifi and $4 STRONG Rum Punches and sat and had a few drinks and had small talk with the folks around me.

 

 

 

I then did a little shopping. They also have a pharmacy where you don't need an RX. (yeah, I know) I have asthma, I bought an inhaler (I left mine at home) for literally $12. I pay $50 out of pocket at home after my GOOD insurance pays their portion. I should have bought 10 of them.

 

Afterwards, I went to the Blue B*tch Bar, again free WiFi...strong drinks. I had some Jerk Chicken and ribs and a Long Island. The Jerk Chicken was Meh.

 

 

 

The View

 

 

 

The food

 

[Lyncoya]

Afterwards, I went back to the ship. I had a 4J cabin, room 6103. The secret deck was steps from my door, so I spent a lot of time out there taking pics of sunsets, sunrises and such. Here is a pic of the Harmony of the Seas while we were leaving St Maarten.

 

 

 

It was raining -- I think these pics may be from when we were pulling in

 

 

Yes, I think we were pulling in. This is one of my favorite Sunrise pics

 

[Lyncoya]

Next port...San Juan.

 

I basically started each port day at the Blue Iguana with the Huevos Rancheros. I love them. Eggs over easy and the sweetest watermelon I've had all summer.

 

 

 

I had no excursion planned for this day. I really wanted to go ATV riding in the rain forest, but that was sold out. I didn't preplan for this cruise like I should have. :(

 

Instead, I took a tour. I was offered a tour for $20. I kept walking. I ended up paying $15 for a 1.5 hour tour. He would either drop you back off at the port or he would drop you off in Old San Juan and you could walk back. The walk was about 10 minutes. I opted to stroll Old San Juan, grab a drink and do some shopping afterwards. I didn't go inside of the forts, as I've done those before.

 

It was HOT on this day, but I love that sort of weather. It was a good tour and a great day. Here are some pics. We left port at 1:30. So early! We docked at around 7:30am though.

 

 

 

Me! <3

 

 

 

[Lyncoya]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love the cobblestone streets

 

[Lyncoya]

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Ecstasy and the Vista were in port with us on this day

 

[bonstersd]

Next day St Maarten. This was my third or fourth time to this port. I've done ATV riding, I've done the nude beach, I've done tours, I've done Maho Beach. This time I wanted to find a bar at the beach, have a few strong drinks, maybe do a little shopping and listen to some music...and that's EXACTLY what I did.

 

 

One of my favorite things to do is to have a few strong drinks and listen to my music.... be in my own little world for a bit!

[Lyncoya]

Next day St Maarten. This was my third or fourth time to this port. I've done ATV riding, I've done the nude beach, I've done tours, I've done Maho Beach. This time I wanted to find a bar at the beach, have a few strong drinks, maybe do a little shopping and listen to some music...and that's EXACTLY what I did.

 

 

One of my favorite things to do is to have a few strong drinks and listen to my music.... be in my own little world for a bit!

 

Amen!!!! You basically summed up my day. :D

[Iggipolka]

Woo! Loving your review! You are so awesome and I'm thrilled for you that you gave yourself the gift of this solo trip.

I'm female and cruising solo soon, so loving all the tips and reading about your experience. My biggest concern is dining alone, but I think I'm just going to bring a book to read.

Loving that you ate, drank and did what you want and only want YOU wanted to do. :)

[dcwalker]

I started reading this because I like to cruise out of Charleston and the Sunshine will be in Charleston starting next year. But then - there's so much more reason to read it! Number one, your style is great and so are your pictures. AND I was on the Ecstasy at the same time you were on Sunshine. AND I was doing my first solo! Not the cruiser you are, this is only my 7th. Past cruises were with spouse or spouse and kids. Yes. I too am hooked on solo, but alas I am not divorced. Do you think wanting to cruise solo is grounds for divorce?

 

Loving your review. Great job. One thing I want to note is that I also just wandered around San Juan and after an excursion, wandered around Phillipsburg in St. Maarten. These two ports are great for solo women - no (unusual) fear of stranger danger. And last - I keep looking at your pictures of San Juan and St. Maarten to see if I can find myself! Thanks for the review.

[MrFunInTheSun]

I started reading this because I like to cruise out of Charleston and the Sunshine will be in Charleston starting next year. But then - there's so much more reason to read it! Number one, your style is great and so are your pictures. AND I was on the Ecstasy at the same time you were on Sunshine. AND I was doing my first solo! Not the cruiser you are, this is only my 7th. Past cruises were with spouse or spouse and kids. Yes. I too am hooked on solo, but alas I am not divorced. Do you think wanting to cruise solo is grounds for divorce?

 

Loving your review. Great job. One thing I want to note is that I also just wandered around San Juan and after an excursion, wandered around Phillipsburg in St. Maarten. These two ports are great for solo women - no (unusual) fear of stranger danger. And last - I keep looking at your pictures of San Juan and St. Maarten to see if I can find myself! Thanks for the review.

 

 

 

Ha. That's funny and I was doing a solo cruise on Harmony of the Seas. Posted pictures of your ship leaving St Maarten on a post close to the top of thread.

 

The three solo cruisers in ST Maarten unite!

 

Carnival Sunshine

Carnival Ecstasy

Harmony of the Seas

 

Solo cruises are the best! And no, not grounds for divorce. Think everyone should go on a solo cruise.

 

My solo cruise report is below.

 

"Live" From Harmony of the Seas. September 8-15, 2018 - Eastern Itinerary

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2676684

 

 

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[MrFunInTheSun]

Hope you have your next solo cruise booked. Your trip is amazing! [emoji3][emoji568][emoji483][emoji267]

 

 

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[Lyncoya]

I started reading this because I like to cruise out of Charleston and the Sunshine will be in Charleston starting next year. But then - there's so much more reason to read it! Number one, your style is great and so are your pictures. AND I was on the Ecstasy at the same time you were on Sunshine. AND I was doing my first solo! Not the cruiser you are, this is only my 7th. Past cruises were with spouse or spouse and kids. Yes. I too am hooked on solo, but alas I am not divorced. Do you think wanting to cruise solo is grounds for divorce?

 

Loving your review. Great job. One thing I want to note is that I also just wandered around San Juan and after an excursion, wandered around Phillipsburg in St. Maarten. These two ports are great for solo women - no (unusual) fear of stranger danger. And last - I keep looking at your pictures of San Juan and St. Maarten to see if I can find myself! Thanks for the review.

 

 

LOL! No, I don't think wanting to cruise solo is grounds for divorce, but I must admit that sentence literally made me LOL!!

 

And what a coincidence, seriously! <3

[Lyncoya]

Hope you have your next solo cruise booked. Your trip is amazing! [emoji3][emoji568][emoji483][emoji267]

 

 

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Not yet, the wheels are turning though! I think I want to go to Alaska next year. I have a land vacation planned for Hawaii first. Still contemplating if I should do that one solo. Decisions, decisions....;p

[Lyncoya]

Thanks for following along everyone. I will be back tomorrow evening to continue. <3

[Lyncoya]

Woo! Loving your review! You are so awesome and I'm thrilled for you that you gave yourself the gift of this solo trip.

I'm female and cruising solo soon, so loving all the tips and reading about your experience. My biggest concern is dining alone, but I think I'm just going to bring a book to read.

Loving that you ate, drank and did what you want and only want YOU wanted to do. :)

 

Thank you!! That was so my goal. I didn't buy any souvenirs for the kids or grandkids....NADA! This trip was literally all about me. I spent so much money on MYSELF and it actually felt really nice.

 

The dining alone thing had me a little freaked out too, but it actually wasn't so bad. I didn't receive any weird stares...or not that I noticed anyway. I wouldn't have cared anyway.

 

I had a ball and you will as well. :)

[Lyncoya]

Lyncoya,

 

I can't wait to hear more about your trip and see the pictures. Women like you are an inspiration to me! I so admire strong women that live life and make it happen. I would love to have a friend like you, go girl!!

 

How did I miss this? Thank you!!!! It took me forever to get this point, but now I'm living life with no apologies...or at least I'm trying to. I'm finally happy.

 

Again, thanks so much. Those words truly mean a lot.

[Lyncoya]

Ha. That's funny and I was doing a solo cruise on Harmony of the Seas. Posted pictures of your ship leaving St Maarten on a post close to the top of thread.

 

The three solo cruisers in ST Maarten unite!

 

Carnival Sunshine

Carnival Ecstasy

Harmony of the Seas

 

Solo cruises are the best! And no, not grounds for divorce. Think everyone should go on a solo cruise.

 

My solo cruise report is below.

 

"Live" From Harmony of the Seas. September 8-15, 2018 - Eastern Itinerary

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2676684

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

What a coincidence, huh??? And I agree...EVERYONE should do at least one solo trip. I know I'm hooked.

[solocruzin]

Welcome to Solo Cruising:cool:

[dcwalker]

Not to hi-jack the thread and make it about solo, but just wanted to respond to iggipolka's concern about dining. I ate alone every meal, either on the lido deck (Ecstasy has really nice outdoor space for that) and dinner in the dining room. Never was awkward. The dining room servers acted like it was quite usual and natural for me to be there alone. That really put me at ease.

[LuckyStar]

My name is Lyn. And this is either my 16th or 17th cruise, 15th or 16th w/ Carnival. I used to cruise with my now ex-husband or I've taken girl trips. I've even taken my youngest daughter on a cruise, just her and I, after the divorce. But this was my first SOLO cruise. I was soooo nervous, but I had an absolute blast.

 

 

Here is my review. This will probably take a while because I have a ton of pics to download (still) and I'm busy so I may not get to post everyday.

 

 

But I'll start with a selfie. This is me! I'm 43. I've recently lost about 110lbs (again). Divorced for about 5 years. Kids are ALL adults and out of the house. I have 3 grandkids. Right now, I'm just enjoying life and wanted to do a solo cruise.

 

 

 

 

Congratulations on the weight loss! Awesome and girl, you look terrific. Are you sure you aren't about 20? I am thinking about a solo cruise. My husband hates cruising, bless his heart, I don't want to drag him along if he doesn't want to be there.

 

Waiting to read the rest.

[Lyncoya]

Congratulations on the weight loss! Awesome and girl, you look terrific. Are you sure you aren't about 20? I am thinking about a solo cruise. My husband hates cruising, bless his heart, I don't want to drag him along if he doesn't want to be there.

 

Waiting to read the rest.

 

 

Thanks...and 20???!!! My youngest is 20..I love you. LOL But yes! definitely go on a solo cruise, I promise you it's the most liberating experience. I feel like a grown woman! lmbo

[Jenny in TX]

I am enjoying your review! Congratulations on the weight loss....that is awesome! I agree with the others that you look don't look anywhere close to 43.

[Lottacruises]

Great stuff!

[watermelonqueen99]

Great review! Looking forward to more! :):)