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New to Solo Cruising


justsandy
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I'm not new to cruising at all. My husband and I took quite a few, but he passed six months ago. He was the one who introduced me to cruising, and I've loved it ever since. I'm not quite ready to get out there yet, but I've been thinking about taking a solo cruise in six months to a year. I have questions, and if they've been answered and I haven't explored the threads well enough, please lead me to them.

 

Solo cruising isn't single cruising, right? I have no interest in dating or meeting men interested in widows. I would look forward to joining others at dinner, etc. to socialize, but I'm very okay on my own.

 

So to have a cabin to yourself, you must pay for two? I could invite a friend or my sister and the cost would be about the same? I've sailed Celebrity for the most part, but also Norwegian and Princess a few times.

 

For those of you women who sailed alone for the first time, how was it? Would you have done anything differently? Any insight would be so appreciated. I don't want to quit cruising.

 

Thank you.

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Solo cruising is not (necessarily) singles cruising. It does not mean that it is a swinging singles scene. But with NCL, they have Solo Meet Ups daily. This is to get together, say hi and the NCL cruise staff escorts you to dinner in the dining room and you bypass the line of guests waiting to get in to the dining room. The NCL cruise staff that heads up the meetings hands out gifts .... free gift cards onboard, free bingo card, etc. It was one of the best benefits of cruising solo on NCL on my Sept. B2B cruise.

 

For the most part, yes, it does mean that you pay for 2 people. If the cruise is $600 per person, then you pay $1,200 and only 1 tax/port fees & 1 gratuity. SOME cruises have less than 100% solo supplement and some have zero. I just got off of 2 cruises that I jumped on last minute with NCL because they were priced very well with zero solo supplement.

 

My first trip alone was a London/Paris land trip. I flew alone but met up with a tour group in London. It was liberating. My first solo cruise was NCL Sky May 2017 to Cuba. ALL of my excursions / activities were with private companies. As a solo traveler, I had the BEST time. The guides were so helpful, fun, knowledgeable and trustworthy. I was treated like a princess. My most recent cruises (B2B) solo totalled 20 days from NY to Quebec & Quebec to NY. It was SO much fun. Just got home a week ago and I am still on the ship in my head.

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  • 2 weeks later...

@justsandy I am so sorry for your loss. I am going on my first solo cruise in 3 weeks with NCL, staying in a studio cabin. The rate not totally as 2 people, more like 1 1/2 so check around & look for deals, they're out there. I too was afraid of "singles" cruise, I'm married but husband can't come with me. From the things I've read on here it seems most people traveling solo do so because they enjoy it, not necessarily to meet "someone". I'm looking forward to just going away, relaxing and spending some quality time with myself. I like to meet new people & talk to others, but I like my alone time also. I think you should go for it & see how it goes. You may hate it, or you may love it so much you'll be looking forward to the next one as soon as you get off the ship. I'd be more than happy to let you know how my cruise goes when I come back. Either way, I wish you well & hope you get out there & have some fun!

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Don't confuse Solo with Single. Solo includes divorcees, married individuals, singles, widows and widowers. Solos are young, middle age and old.

Generally, NCL is the best price-wise for Solos especially after the final payment date has passed. Sometimes last minute is the best but then the airfare could be a killer.  If you book early then you should expect to pay for the non-existent second person in the cabin. It is very rare not to pay the single supplement with the other cruise lines.

I believe NCL is the only line that has a Solo Gathering every evening around 5:30 with a crew member as the host. After the first couple of evenings, some people splinter off to eat in smaller groups. Solos also go to shows and sit in a section reserved by the host. Now with the other lines, it is a crap shoot going to dinner and asking to be seated at a table with others. 

It is not necessary to be in a Studio to attend the Solo Gathering. Furthermore, many times regular size cabins with more room are priced cheaper than a Studio. The older ships which carry fewer passengers but don't have Studio cabins also have a daily Solo Gathering.

The Solo gathering is also great for meeting up with others to walk around the port city or to arrange taxi excursions.

Regardless of which cruise line you book with, don't forget to sign up on the Roll Call for your cruise. You will have a chance to socialize with both couples and solos for different planned events like group trivia, LCR, a cabin crawl, slot pull and board games.

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You don't always have to pay a 100% single supplement (i.e. pay about the same fare as two sharing a cabin would). There is a thread in this forum where people post solo bargains. They are often for last minute cruises so harder to take advantage of if you need to plan ahead. 

 

Some small ship, premium and luxury cruise lines have no solo deals farther out. For example Star Clippers has no solo supplement on a lot of cruises. I've booked one for April. Star Clipper's fares are higher than mass market lines (generally a ship with 140 passengers is going to charge more per passenger than a ship with thousands of passengers but I much prefer the small ship experience). Windstar's is more like 75%. Crystal has some sailings with 30% solo supplement. 

 

I'm married, but my husband isn't interested in traveling as much as I'd like to so I do some trips on my own and some with him. Last May I went on my first solo cruise - a trans-Pacific followed by 14-days in Alaska on Windstar Star Legend and I loved all 28-days. I'd been on an Alaska cruise and land trip the year before with my husband and another couple. Both trips were good - I enjoyed the company of my husband and our friends on the first trip, but the second trip gave me time to do things they weren't interested in (e.g. kayaking) and visited additional ports. I ate dinner with others most nights, but a couple of evenings did room service to watch the scenery go by while dining. 

 

If you invited someone to share your cabin, there would be some increase in cost because the solo supplement is normally only on the cruise fare. That doesn't include port taxes and gratuities. 

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I enjoy traveling solo.  I have been on 2 land trips with a women's travel group (once to Italy and once an adventure trip in WV). I didn't know anyone going in and had a great time. On the last trip I drove 8 hours to meet the tour and that was my first solo driving trip. I am taking my second solo cruise in February. I have met people through this site and the F#B one and even found a group to dine with and do the steakhouse.

 

Next September, I am taking a solo cruise out of NY and doing 3 nights in the city by myself. 

 

It is very liberating. I enjoy that I can do the activities I want without worrying about others happiness. If I want to nap and skip something, I do.  If I want to sleep late, I do. I love to travel. In the past, to have someone to cruise with me, I paid for their portion, so this ends up being less expensive. Since I am actually single, I plan to do a lot of solo traveling after I retire.

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