Why travel solo?

[Lucid Butterfly]

It is so true that travelling does broaden the mind. I am going solo because my husband is not interested in cruising so if I want to see some of the world then I must take action. I can't wait for the perfect moment, some of us don't have this luxury to wait for the right moment. I have a 7-day trip scheduled for September 2020 and I look forward to it.

 

For the Roll Calls that is a great way to meet others that will be doing your cruise at the same time. I see that there is only one other member that is taking the same cruise and we have already emailed. I am hoping other members will add their names to the roll calls. It is a very good way to meet others.

 

Good evening ladies!

[lobsta1]

My husband and I loved to travel, He passed away in December, I still love to travel and am considering doing my first solo cruise.  Does anyone who does solo cruising  suggest which line is best for that.

[Lucid Butterfly]

Lobsta1 I am very sorry to hear that your husband passed away and the fact that you haven't lost your desire to travel. I do not know which cruise line is best for you; however, a suggestion Seabourn, Silver Sea have no more than 500 people approximately; so if you like huge crowds then there are many cruise liners for you. Seek out the opinions of the lovely members on here and I am sure they will steer you in the right direction.....(pardon my wit).  I know from my past experience on the Norwegian Pearl, I am inclined to take the smaller cruise liners i.e. Seabourn Odyssey.  I had a wonderful time on Seabourn and there were approximately 450 including the crew. Wouldn't it be nice to see you on the Regent Seven Seas Voyager, my trip is scheduled for September 9, 2020.

 

Check out the Roll Call and you will see my interaction with one of the members.

 

Lucid Butterfly

[Lois R]

5 hours ago, lobsta1 said:

My husband and I loved to travel, He passed away in December, I still love to travel and am considering doing my first solo cruise.  Does anyone who does solo cruising  suggest which line is best for that.

 

Hi, so sorry for your loss.

 

There is not a "One Size Fits All" cruiseline out there. Some folks like the BIG ships...….others like ships that are much smaller. It really depends on what your preferences are.  For many years I sailed with Celebrity and enjoyed myself very much. More recently I have sailed with Silversea and Azamara.   Silversea is by far my favorite. Small ships, fabulous food and service and they treat their solo guests very well.  Just a superior experience (in my opinion).   I would say do your research....figure out what is most important to you and hopefully you will find a cruise line that fits what you are looking for.

[teacha50]

I am so ready to book a solo cruise and I will very shortly but do not want to hastily make my decision.  My husband passed away last year and his dad passed 10 months later.  Because my husband was an only child, I have had to handle his estate and now I am in the midst of cleaning out his house and it is not an easy task.  This man saved everything.  Needless to say, the past few years have been without a vacation and I am so looking forward to booking a solo cruise.  Just when I begin to research a cruise, I get sidetracked by something else.  When I get a minute or two free time, I do enjoy reading this board on solo cruising and value opinions and recommendations posted.  I can't wait to put down a deposit and start counting the days.  i finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!  

[oxfordgirl20]

2 hours ago, teacha50 said:

I am so ready to book a solo cruise and I will very shortly but do not want to hastily make my decision.  My husband passed away last year and his dad passed 10 months later.  Because my husband was an only child, I have had to handle his estate and now I am in the midst of cleaning out his house and it is not an easy task.  This man saved everything.  Needless to say, the past few years have been without a vacation and I am so looking forward to booking a solo cruise.  Just when I begin to research a cruise, I get sidetracked by something else.  When I get a minute or two free time, I do enjoy reading this board on solo cruising and value opinions and recommendations posted.  I can't wait to put down a deposit and start counting the days.  i finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!  

I'm so sorry to hear about your husband, and the sadness of losing his dad too and having to do all the clearance.  I can sympathise - my husband and I separated after 15 years of marriage, and a few months later he was found dead at his new house, having suffered an accident at home.  Most of his family are in South Africa, and under the terms of his Will, my father, our best friend and another friend who is a solicitor were the executors.  Dad, Mum and I spent ages clearing his house and disposing of things in the best way we could.  He had been a hoarder in the last couple of years - the garage was crammed full, and all the rooms and cupboards in the house were stuffed with brand new clothes, gadgets etc, many still in packets.  Our daughter was 13 at the time and it was hard trying to work two jobs, look after her, handle the house clearance, close down our family company he had run, and deal with a lot of legalities.  Anyway, time moves on and my daughter is now 19 and in her second year of university, and things are much calmer now.  She and I have taken a few cruises together but this year will be my first as a solo traveller - she will be in Australia for several months, studying.  It's exciting and I'm looking forward to it, although I know I'll miss her company a lot.  I don't want to be with people the whole time but hope I'm not lonely either!  I've booked a cruise with NCL as they give a good discount on their staterooms for solo travellers, and I enjoyed the cruise we took with them last year.  I hope very much that you book a cruise soon - as you know, it's so exciting planning and counting the days!  I'll let you know how I get on, in August, on mine!  That light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter for you every day.

[lobsta1]

Well I did it.  My first solo cruise is to alaska in Sept   Excited to take this first step

[GUT2407]

Great to hear yo have taken the plunge.

[All-ready2cruise]

1 hour ago, lobsta1 said:

Well I did it.  My first solo cruise is to alaska in Sept   Excited to take this first step

Good luck, hope you have a great time and love cruising solo. 

cheers

[Particle_Penguin]

Just booked my first solo cruise today!  Alaska in September.  

 

I enjoy traveling with friends too, but I'm looking forward to being able to do my own thing.  That might mean getting up early and watching the sun rise one day, and staying in bed watching TV until dinner the next.  

[Lois R]

9 minutes ago, Particle_Penguin said:

Just booked my first solo cruise today!  Alaska in September.  

 

I enjoy traveling with friends too, but I'm looking forward to being able to do my own thing.  That might mean getting up early and watching the sun rise one day, and staying in bed watching TV until dinner the next.  

Hope you have a wonderful cruise...Alaska is amazing! 

[Particle_Penguin]

On 5/24/2019 at 6:37 PM, Lois R said:

Hope you have a wonderful cruise...Alaska is amazing! 

Thanks!  I've been several times but its been about 15 years since the last time.  I'm the de facto leader of a group doing the exact same itinerary next year, but I decided to give myself a little preview to do it exactly like I want!

[Lucid Butterfly]

 

On 5/24/2019 at 7:27 PM, Particle_Penguin said:

Just booked my first solo cruise today!  Alaska in September.  

 

I enjoy traveling with friends too, but I'm looking forward to being able to do my own thing.  That might mean getting up early and watching the sun rise one day, and staying in bed watching TV until dinner the next.  

I wish you the best on your first solo. I heard from my daughter's in-laws that the trip to Alaska is great. Enjoy and tell us all about it.

 

 

[relmondcrsise]

Here's a hilarious post by my favorite cruise writer that addresses this question.  Personally I'm planning my first solo cruise because my wife is taking a girls trip and I don't want to be stuck at home.  So I decided to plan a solo! https://profcruise.com/prof-cruises-ultimate-guide-to-solo-cruising/

[geoherb]

I'm going solo next week because DH has to work. Actually, he chooses to work. We both retired over two years ago. He decided to go back to work part time last fall. He loves it, so I don't hold it against him. And his job will end the middle of August and probably start back up October through December. That gives us a couple of months to plan for a cruise together. He'll get another break January through March if he continues with the job. (They only need him during the busy seasons.)

 

 

[nalrudaini]

Hello all.

 

Never cruised solo before, but strongly considering it for this fall.  I usually travel with my wife and 3 daughters, and our vacations are 4 - 5 weeks long.  I do all the planning for those trips and pretty much do everything on the trip.  From time to time, I like to have a vacation of my own.  The best I could do is a weekend away to Dubai (since I'm from Kuwait, and its a 90 flying minutes away).

In my job, I talk a lot and see a lot of people every day.  So when I have my "me time" its really a ME TIME.  I don't socialize or meet people.  Always happy to eat by myself and go to the movies by myself or go sightseeing by myself.  So if I do go on a solo cruise, I'll probably do just that.  The occasional hellos and little talks are fine, but that's about it.

[trummy]

My husband travels for his job. He is usually only home on weekends during the months of January-March. I have mild seasonal affective disorder. I cruise solo to feel good. 

 

My husband and I also cruise together and take land vacations several times a year.

[HowardK]

Its a good way to grow as an individual- i've always enjoyed it and have always found people to be nice and relaxed. 

Its nice not having to deal with traffic, schedules etc . for a week- everything is on the boat you need.  And the water of course

[Lucid Butterfly]

I am looking forward to taking this cruise alone. I don't have much choice as my husband isn't interested in travelling anymore and cruises are out for him. I can't seem to find a friend interested in taking a cruise because a) they don't have the money or b) they don't have the time ....so I say to myself stay home and not experience things or go and enjoy myself. It is right what you say Howard, you do grow as an individual and you meet people that may have more in common than you think.

 

My cruise is scheduled for September 9, 2020 a 7-day cruise with Regent Seven Seas Voyager. Hope when someone is reading this that he/she will send me a note to say "I'm going at the same time." I would be happy to hear!

[califsealion]

On 10/29/2019 at 8:20 AM, Lucid Butterfly said:

My cruise is scheduled for September 9, 2020 a 7-day cruise with Regent Seven Seas Voyager. Hope when someone is reading this that he/she will send me a note to say "I'm going at the same time." I would be happy to hear!

 

I just came off a cruise on the Seven Seas Navigator and they did have a "solo and social traveler" meet up every night before dinner in one of the bars, then the group would go to dinner together.  I think they do this across the fleet, but I can't be sure.  I didn't happen to be traveling solo on that trip, but I talked to one of the solos and she said they had a solid group of seven-ish that got together every night for dinner.

[Lucid Butterfly]

On 11/12/2019 at 1:37 PM, califsealion said:

This sounds great I will be checking it out when I arrive on board. Thank you for the information. I am really looking forward to meeting new people.

 

On 11/12/2019 at 1:37 PM, califsealion said:

I just came off a cruise on the Seven Seas Navigator and they did have a "solo and social traveler" meet up every night before dinner in one of the bars, then the group would go to dinner together.  I think they do this across the fleet, but I can't be sure.  I didn't happen to be traveling solo on that trip, but I talked to one of the solos and she said they had a solid group of seven-ish that got together every night for dinner.

 

[Mountaineer0313]

I'm 37 and happily married to someone who unfortunately, does't like to travel internationally. There are several places in the world that I'm interested in visiting, and I've decided that being married isn't going to stop me from going alone lol. I would love to travel solo, though I really don't have any interest in meeting new people. Just me, myself and I, a balcony, and a book is all I need.

[trummy]

I cruise solo and with others. When I cruise solo, it is because my husband doesn't want to go or has to work.

My friends and family members also have work requirements. 

I do have a birthday cruise booked with my best friend as well as a solo cruise in 23 days.

[Lucid Butterfly]

Mountaineer and Trummy thank you for your responses. I do feel more encouraged to do it again. I was on a cruise in 2017 alone you could say. I did know some ladies that were travelling but I mainly did my own thing. However, this time I will check out the Solo groups and see what they have to offer. I like reading too so I can amuse myself in so many ways. I am beginning to get excited for this 7-day trip. Maybe you will be on it....who knows. 

[MSUjohn]

On 3/2/2019 at 4:28 PM, titansrobin said:

A suggestion to the one a little uneasy going from airport to hotel to cruise port alone. I just downloaded the app on my phone called Noonlight. Once you put your finger on the button it’s tracking you in real time by gps. If you take your finger off you have 10 seconds to enter your code if you don’t need help. If you don’t enter the code the police and your emergency contact is called. Sounds good to me. 

come on, the world is not that scary, or at least places cruises home port in.