Best over 50

[farmersfight]

4 minutes ago, paddy Anne said:

I just want to get something on the books. I have 2022 and 2023 booked but think I need something this year

 

I've also got cruises also booked in 2022 & 2023 (see my expanded signature block). I'm hoping cruising is back up and running by summer or even early fall so that my Oct 23-30, 2021 PoA cruise will go, as well as my Dec 18-26, 2021 Mardi Gras cruise. Fingers crossed 🤞.

[paddy Anne]

27 minutes ago, farmersfight said:

 

I've also got cruises also booked in 2022 & 2023 (see my expanded signature block). I'm hoping cruising is back up and running by summer or even early fall so that my Oct 23-30, 2021 PoA cruise will go, as well as my Dec 18-26, 2021 Mardi Gras cruise. Fingers crossed 🤞.

I have my fingers crossed for you.  

[rkacruiser]

23 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

You had me at this point, lol. How does NCL's Haven experience compare to MSC's YC experience, in your opinion?

 

I have no experience with NCL's Haven; can't answer your question.

 

22 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

Agree. And the price for either experience is also WOW. I find it amazing that solos book these suites. Can you imagine paying double (100% solo supplement) for a Haven or YC suite? Ouch...

 

I don't know what percentage I paid for a single supplement.  My MSC cruise was the very first one after their New Year's sailing.  I have found--by experience--that is a "golden time" to book a cruise regardless of whether one is solo or not.  One is sailing during High Season at a fare that is much better than someone will be paying on the next cruise.  This is true with HAL and Carnival as well.  I would expect it would be true for any and all other cruise lines.  

 

What I paid as a solo occupant of a YC suite was a "deal" in my opinion.  The sailing date meshed with my plans for Florida and with my next cruise on the Eurodam.  It was one of thse "win-win" situations.  

[new_cruiser]

My favorite is to take small ship cruises - ships with a capacity of 350 or fewer passengers. Mostly I've been on Windstar, but I've also done one cruise on Star Clippers. 

 

Star Clippers almost always has some cruises with no solo supplement. 

https://www.starclippers.com/us-dom/specials/waived-single-supplements.html

The one I took with them was one of those and there were quite a few traveling solo on the cruise. I love the casual atmosphere, the long port days. 

 

I've been on Windstar solo at times and with my husband other times. In some ways they are similar to Star Clippers - both are fairly casual and I've found my fellow cruisers to be friendly. Even when there were few other solo cruisers, I didn't feel left out as the couples were happy to include me. Staterooms are nicer (and more uniform) than Star Clippers on the Windstar sail assisted ships. The Staterooms on the Windstar motor ships are even nicer and larger as all are suites that include a sitting area with a couch and arm chairs.

 

In the past solo deals have been pretty scarce on Windstar. They have been offering reduced solo supplement more in the last couple of years and currently they have a lot of cruises with supplement. 

 

I love these lines partly because of the itineraries. They can get into interesting ports that don't have the facilities for a large ship. Almost all the ports on my Star Clippers cruise were beaches that they tendered us to. On Windstar, we went up the river to dock right in Seville near the historic part of the city. In Costa Rica and in the Caribbean some ports we tendered to a beach or a small dock. One of my favorite of those stops was Soufriere in St. Lucia where we were anchored in view of the Pitons instead of having a long drive to get to them. 

 

I also like how uncrowded and relaxing these ships are; how easy everything is.

 

 

[All-ready2cruise]

On 3/19/2021 at 5:55 PM, rkacruiser said:

What I paid as a solo occupant of a YC suite was a "deal" in my opinion.  The sailing date meshed with my plans for Florida and with my next cruise on the Eurodam.  It was one of thse "win-win" situations.  

I booked, yes, as a solo, a Haven stateroom on NCL BA. I got, what I consider to be great deal.  It's a special cruise on a special date which is why I booked the cruise in a Haven stateroom.  You can judge me if you want, however, if we all booked the same cabin types for the same reasons, how boring would that be.  Please stop judging other's for doing what they feel works best for them.  

 

Hope you enjoy enjoy cruises regardless of your choice of ship or stateroom choice.  

All the best. 

Cheers

[rkacruiser]

16 hours ago, All-ready2cruise said:

Please stop judging other's for doing what they feel works best for them.  

 

 

????  Unsure what I wrote that caused you to make that statement.  

[All-ready2cruise]

On 3/19/2021 at 5:55 PM, rkacruiser said:

What I paid as a solo occupant of a YC suite was a "deal" in my opinion.  The sailing date meshed with my plans for Florida and with my next cruise on the Eurodam.  It was one of thse "win-win" situations.

My apologies. It wasn't meant as a negative towards you. 

Take care. 

[rkacruiser]

17 hours ago, All-ready2cruise said:

My apologies. It wasn't meant as a negative towards you. 

Take care. 

 

Thank you.  Take care and stay safe yourself!  

[Lois R]

On 3/14/2021 at 9:06 PM, paddy Anne said:

Hello wonderful solo cruisers.  I have done multiple solo cruises with NCL.  I am looking to branch out and if you are over 50 would love to know your experiences.  What is your favourite live and why?

Excited to see your responses.

Cheers

I am way over 50--- 63 actually. My favorite line is Silversea. Why? I LOVE the small ship experience, with food and service that are always amazing.😃

I have sailed with them 3 times and have deposits down on 3 more.

I am hoping all 3 will be able to sail.

 

I sailed Mass Market for many years (Celebrity) and for larger ships they were fine but once

I stepped out of that genre? I love the small ships too much to go back to those big ones.

 

I also love River cruising.......have sailed on both Uniworld and AMA Waterways....totally

different experience than ocean cruising.......even smaller!

[paddy Anne]

14 hours ago, Lois R said:

I am way over 50--- 63 actually. My favorite line is Silversea. Why? I LOVE the small ship experience, with food and service that are always amazing.😃

I have sailed with them 3 times and have deposits down on 3 more.

I am hoping all 3 will be able to sail.

 

I sailed Mass Market for many years (Celebrity) and for larger ships they were fine but once

I stepped out of that genre? I love the small ships too much to go back to those big ones.

 

I also love River cruising.......have sailed on both Uniworld and AMA Waterways....totally

different experience than ocean cruising.......even smaller!

 

That's great to hear.  Are you able to get deals on single sailings or are you always paying for two.

 

Thanks

[farmersfight]

18 hours ago, Lois R said:

I am way over 50--- 63 actually. My favorite line is Silversea. Why? I LOVE the small ship experience, with food and service that are always amazing.😃

I have sailed with them 3 times and have deposits down on 3 more.

I am hoping all 3 will be able to sail.

 

I sailed Mass Market for many years (Celebrity) and for larger ships they were fine but once

I stepped out of that genre? I love the small ships too much to go back to those big ones.

 

I also love River cruising.......have sailed on both Uniworld and AMA Waterways....totally

different experience than ocean cruising.......even smaller!

 

Have you looked at Windstar Cruises? They have the small cruise ships & I think they offer good solo supplement discounts.

[Lois R]

Yes, I have looked at Windstar multiple times but have ended up going back to Silversea.

I might decide to give Windstar a try down the road.

[farmersfight]

5 hours ago, Lois R said:

Yes, I have looked at Windstar multiple times but have ended up going back to Silversea.

I might decide to give Windstar a try down the road.

 

Also, if you would like to try a cruise up here on the Great Lakes, look into Pearl Seas Cruises and the small cruise ship Pearl Mist. This small cruise ship has multiple single balcony staterooms that are very roomy. But, the cruises are very pricey ($$).

 

 

[paddy Anne]

On 4/1/2021 at 1:41 PM, farmersfight said:

 

Have you looked at Windstar Cruises? They have the small cruise ships & I think they offer good solo supplement discounts.

Thanks I will take a look.  Cheers

[rkacruiser]

On 4/1/2021 at 7:43 PM, farmersfight said:

This small cruise ship has multiple single balcony staterooms that are very roomy.

 

The photo that you included in your post as being "roomy" fails to meet my definition as "roomy".

 

That photo is the final nail on any thought that I had on sailing on this ship in one of those solo cabins.  

[Lois R]

I was thinking the same thing.......that cabin looks quite small to me as well.  I guess what

is roomy to one person is not necessarily large to another.

[farmersfight]

5 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

The photo that you included in your post as being "roomy" fails to meet my definition as "roomy".

 

That photo is the final nail on any thought that I had on sailing on this ship in one of those solo cabins.  

 

What's your definition of "roomy" for a solo cabin? It surely can't be NCL's massive 99 sq ft studios. The single staterooms (category SGB) on Pearl Mist are over 200 sq ft. A standard balcony cabin on a large cruise ship is around 185 sq ft. So yes, I would still consider Pearl Mist's single staterooms "roomy".

 

The final nail on any thought that I had on sailing this ship is the price.

Edited April 3, 2021 by farmersfight

[new_cruiser]

14 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

What's your definition of "roomy" for a solo cabin? It surely can't be NCL's massive 99 sq ft studios. The single staterooms (category SGB) on Pearl Mist are over 200 sq ft. A standard balcony cabin on a large cruise ship is around 185 sq ft. So yes, I would still consider Pearl Mist's single staterooms "roomy".

 

The final nail on any thought that I had on sailing this ship is the price.

I think the distortion in that version of the photo makes it look more crowded than it is. The undistorted photo on the website looks better.  

[new_cruiser]

On 4/1/2021 at 10:48 AM, Lois R said:

Yes, I have looked at Windstar multiple times but have ended up going back to Silversea.

I might decide to give Windstar a try down the road.

Silversea wouldn't work for me. I wouldn't want the formal or even the informal nights. I prefer Windstar's smart casual every night. Some people choose to dress up more and some follow the minimum of slacks and a nice shirt/blouse. 

[rkacruiser]

17 hours ago, farmersfight said:

The single staterooms (category SGB) on Pearl Mist are over 200 sq ft. A standard balcony cabin on a large cruise ship is around 185 sq ft. 

 

We are going to have to agree to disagree on this concern.  I have booked several standard balcony cabins on HAL ships and none of those appeared to be the size of the photo of that single cabin on Pearl Mist.  

 

 

[farmersfight]

3 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

We are going to have to agree to disagree on this concern.  I have booked several standard balcony cabins on HAL ships and none of those appeared to be the size of the photo of that single cabin on Pearl Mist.  

 

 

 

I'm not familiar with HAL (never cruised with them). My statement that standard balcony cabins on a large cruise ship are approx 185 sq ft, is based on what I have experienced on Carnival & Princess.

 

In regard to the size that appears in the photo of the Pearl Mist's single stateroom, please see @new_cruiser's post (#43) above. Yeah, we can respectfully agree to disagree. But a stateroom that is over 200 sq ft for a solo is still "roomy", in my book.

[Traveling Mike]

On 3/14/2021 at 6:06 PM, paddy Anne said:

Hello wonderful solo cruisers.  I have done multiple solo cruises with NCL.  I am looking to branch out and if you are over 50 would love to know your experiences.  What is your favourite live and why?

Excited to see your responses.

Cheers

I have cruised single parent with my son for years and now as a Solo over 50 (now 60).  With my son I liked sailing Princess but as a solo cruiser I did not like it at all.  With my son I was spending time with his friends families and some with my son.  As a solo traveler it just was not the same.  I have also did a Celebrity cruise solo and loved it.  The people were my age and was a good mixture of solo people and retired married people that made me comfortable to be around.  For this year I have 4 cruises booked with Royal Caribbean and have faith they will be enjoyable for different reasons.  The Caribbean cruises are on their mega ships and I will enjoy my time alone eating at all the different places  with the unlimited dining and playing on the ships.  I have a room overlooking the aqua theater.  My Alaska and Artic Cruise have CC Boards that are very active and I know many of the people from my Celebrity cruise.  Last but not least is I have 2 NCL cruises booked because of their Solo rooms with the Solo Lounge and Solo Cruise Directors.  I always find people to hang out with on the NCL cruises.

The last recommendation for solo cruising is look at the Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Pacific cruises.

[Traveling Mike]

On 4/3/2021 at 7:40 PM, farmersfight said:

But a stateroom that is over 200 sq ft for a solo is still "roomy", in my book.

 

I have stayed in lots of Cabins and Hotels (over seas) that are 99 sq ft and that is plenty of room for this solo traveler.

[elklemi]

On 3/21/2021 at 7:31 PM, new_cruiser said:

My favorite is to take small ship cruises - ships with a capacity of 350 or fewer passengers. Mostly I've been on Windstar, but I've also done one cruise on Star Clippers. 

 

Star Clippers almost always has some cruises with no solo supplement. 

https://www.starclippers.com/us-dom/specials/waived-single-supplements.html

The one I took with them was one of those and there were quite a few traveling solo on the cruise. I love the casual atmosphere, the long port days. 

 

I've been on Windstar solo at times and with my husband other times. In some ways they are similar to Star Clippers - both are fairly casual and I've found my fellow cruisers to be friendly. Even when there were few other solo cruisers, I didn't feel left out as the couples were happy to include me. Staterooms are nicer (and more uniform) than Star Clippers on the Windstar sail assisted ships. The Staterooms on the Windstar motor ships are even nicer and larger as all are suites that include a sitting area with a couch and arm chairs.

 

In the past solo deals have been pretty scarce on Windstar. They have been offering reduced solo supplement more in the last couple of years and currently they have a lot of cruises with supplement. 

 

I love these lines partly because of the itineraries. They can get into interesting ports that don't have the facilities for a large ship. Almost all the ports on my Star Clippers cruise were beaches that they tendered us to. On Windstar, we went up the river to dock right in Seville near the historic part of the city. In Costa Rica and in the Caribbean some ports we tendered to a beach or a small dock. One of my favorite of those stops was Soufriere in St. Lucia where we were anchored in view of the Pitons instead of having a long drive to get to them. 

 

I also like how uncrowded and relaxing these ships are; how easy everything is.

 

 

I totally agree as I have also used Windstar and Star Clippers and have so much enjoyed as a solo. the joy of visiting small places that larger ships will never see is amazing e.g, Wolf Island, Norman Island, Tobago Cays, Bequia, and I was also on Star Clipper when we stopped at Soufriere and seeing the Pitons so close and to top it off when we sailed away I saw my first green flash, what a great day.

[OctoberLace]

On 3/17/2021 at 7:59 AM, paddy Anne said:

Sure.  I would love to know you experience on Cunard.  Thinking of spoiling myself.  I am not new to solo cruising and am able to find lots of people to socialize with.  I just have never done Cunard and want to try an upscale experience but wondering what that is like for solo's.  thanks

I didn't exactly cruise solo on Cunard, but close to it.  I'd gotten an offer too good to pass up on the QE2 Transatlantic at the end of June 2000.  My husband and daughter couldn't get off work at that time, so I suggested I take my 8 year-old Grandson with me.  We had a wonderful time, and I definitely want to sail Cunard again.  We sailed on an inside guarantee, and the cabin was fine for the two of us.  They had a wonderful children's program, so Brian went there after breakfast, ate lunch with me, then back again until dinner.  We were seated at a table for 4, with our tablemates being another Grandmother traveling with her Granddaughter.  There was plenty for me to do on the ship, and I loved the afternoon teas, where I met many lovely people.  There were four formal nights, so I wore evening gowns, and Brian was complemented on how nice he looked in his blue blazer and ties.  It was simply marvelous!