Married People Who Cruise Solo

[jimdee3636]

My wife and I have been on about 25 cruises together---mostly in the 12 to 17 day range---but I've also been on four short (4 to 6 day) cruises as a "solo," all on large NCL and Princess ships. I'm booked on another one (on the Majestic Princess) in October of this year. We don't believe in dragging the other person along on something he or she isn't enthusiastic about, and my wife has no desire to sail on a 3,600+ passenger ship. (I'm not really wild about them, but I find them interesting for a few days). Similarly, I don't enjoy big cities much any more---at least American ones---so she'll go to Chicago or New Orleans or Denver by herself and have a great time. 

 

I'm wondering if I'm the only married person who does solo cruises. I always talk to a lot of people on ships, and I've never met a married person who was not with his or her spouse (other than, say, two or three married women who are traveling together, which isn't the same thing). Maybe no one else is interested in traveling without their spouse, or maybe some are interested but are reluctant to broach the subject with their spouse.

 

Any insights and experiences would be appreciated. Thanks.

[PelicanBill]

There are lots of us!  NCL's ships with solo cabins bring quite a lot of us out.  I did it October 2019 on Breakaway after meeting numerous married people traveling without their spouses. Usually it's because their spouse does not share their cruise enthusiasm.  For me, it's because I need solo travel time and I love the social element.

[JsMom2]

I was an avid cruiser before I met my husband.  I enjoy cruising with him.  But since he is still working, and I’m retired, I cruise without him on a regular basis.  Thank goodness he doesn’t begrudge me my solo cruises!  

[wdw1972]

I also cruise without my husband - in fact I prefer it.  I tend to cruise solo, but have other friends who book their own staterooms so we're a party of 2 or 3 solo women traveling together but not sharing sleeping space.  

 

I have an 11-day December cruise booked with the other 2 solos (3 staterooms).  During that time, my husband will be doing a solo 7-night cruise with friends of ours (it was a promo - book a verandah, get a free interior & they gave the interior to my husband).  Then in February I have a 7-night cruise booked with the same 2 solos (3 staterooms).  Husband has future cruise credit and thanks to friends backing out on the planned cruise, I was in a "use it or lose it" situation - so now he's booked on the same Feb cruise but in his own stateroom (to use the credit).  So, I not only cruise without my husband, soon I'll be able to say I've cruised with him but we had separate staterooms 😉

 

After that one, it'll be back to sharing a verandah stateroom when we cruise together again.

 

Sue/WDW1972

[new_cruiser]

Perhaps more solo cruisers are single, but it isn't unusual for married people to cruise solo. I have gone on solo cruises (and other solo vacation travel). My husband likes to travel but not as often as I do and he isn't interested in going some of the trips that interest me. We have a planned 18-day cruise together this fall in the Mediterranean and I've booked a solo cruise for next spring that includes an ocean crossing. He has zero interest in ocean crossings but I've done one and enjoyed it a great deal. 

[PhD-iva]

I’m booked on my first solo cruise 15 January 2022, a 20-day trip including 16 days cruising on Regent’s Voyager Buenos Aires - Santiago. 
I’m recently retired and itching to travel. My husband will gladly use COVID as his reason to never cruise again. And he hates travel of all flavors. Lucky for me, he’s used to me working in a different city from our home and being gone for periods of time.

My preference would be to find congenial female roommates to reduce the costs. Currently most of my friends are nervous about traveling. I’m hoping all is well, or well enough so that my cruise will sail as scheduled!

[coastcat]

Just celebrated our 20th anniversary a couple months ago! I think one secret to a happy marriage is maintaining separate spaces and separate enthusiasms instead of always needing to do the same thing. I enjoy travel, my husband is more of a homebody, so off I go on my own.

[MaggyCan1]

I met a married woman on a cruise in 2015 who told me that she traveled on her own because the ONLY thing her husband was interested in doing was scuba diving.   Over the years, she had been on a number of trips with her husband, and had to choose either to spend the day(s) on her own while her husband went out scuba diving, or to accompany him and other scuba divers on the boat and sit on the boat while they went diving, and listen to diving stores both there and back to the dive site.  Needless to say, she got quite fed up with either choice.

So, she traveled on her own to the places she wanted to visit, cruising and otherwise.   And he went on his own scuba diving.   Both were happy.

[Mary229]

I haven't gone solo but I have left him home and gone with my sister.  DH and I are in complete agreement that I can travel solo.  I am pretty good self-contained and would not be worried about companionship during the cruise but would not turn down an invitation for a shared excursion, car rental, etc...  When my sis and I travel we don't always do the same excursions, I tend to gravitate to more outdoorsy , active tours. 

[jimdee3636]

On 4/20/2021 at 5:15 PM, wdw1972 said:

I also cruise without my husband - in fact I prefer it.  I tend to cruise solo, but have other friends who book their own staterooms so we're a party of 2 or 3 solo women traveling together but not sharing sleeping space.  

 

I have an 11-day December cruise booked with the other 2 solos (3 staterooms).  During that time, my husband will be doing a solo 7-night cruise with friends of ours (it was a promo - book a verandah, get a free interior & they gave the interior to my husband).  Then in February I have a 7-night cruise booked with the same 2 solos (3 staterooms).  Husband has future cruise credit and thanks to friends backing out on the planned cruise, I was in a "use it or lose it" situation - so now he's booked on the same Feb cruise but in his own stateroom (to use the credit).  So, I not only cruise without my husband, soon I'll be able to say I've cruised with him but we had separate staterooms 😉

 

After that one, it'll be back to sharing a verandah stateroom when we cruise together again.

 

Sue/WDW1972

Sue:

Although your future cruise with you and your husband came about mostly by accident, I'm wondering if such a thing could be done intentionally if a particular cruise was being offered on a "zero single supplement" basis. You would have double the space, you could go to bed and wake up at different times without bothering your spouse, etc. I'm on the mailing list of an agency (google "I cruise solo" and you'll find it) that offers zero supplement deals, although usually on luxury lines like Silversea and Seabourn that are expensive to begin with. But for some couples it might still be worth it if the supplement was modest---say, 25% or less. Of course, maybe the cruise lines have ways of flagging and rejecting those kinds of bookings, but you never know.

Jim

[IRMO12HD]

On 4/20/2021 at 6:21 PM, PhD-iva said:

I’m booked on my first solo cruise 15 January 2022, a 20-day trip including 16 days cruising on Regent’s Voyager Buenos Aires - Santiago. 
I’m recently retired and itching to travel. My husband will gladly use COVID as his reason to never cruise again. And he hates travel of all flavors. Lucky for me, he’s used to me working in a different city from our home and being gone for periods of time.

My preference would be to find congenial female roommates to reduce the costs. Currently most of my friends are nervous about traveling. I’m hoping all is well, or well enough so that my cruise will sail as scheduled!

@PhD-ivaI'm in exactly the same boat!  Well, ship!  Are you interested in an Arctic Crossing in September 2022? 

[Traveling Mike]

I have been cruising as a Single Parent for 15 years and the last 3 years as a Solo cruiser.  I have not been married but I interact with many Solo cruisers.  You will find a lot of married cruisers that are there Solo for many different reasons.  I have 3 good female friends that we met on different cruises that have husbands that do not like to travel so they cruise solo.  We have a social media group were we keep track and find cruises where we can cruise together.   On the Disney Cruises I find many Solo Parents there with their kids where the other parent cannot be on the vacation.  I also see lots of Girls Cruise Out were the husbands do not want to cruise or cannot travel.  Then I have found the last group of Solo Married people that are there away from their spouse to hook up.  Right or wrong they are their for a good time.

Edited April 24, 2021 by Traveling Mike

[farmersfight]

5 hours ago, Traveling Mike said:

Then I have found the last group of Solo Married people that are there away from their spouse to hook up.  Right or wrong they are their for a good time.

 

Seems like it would be a lot easier (and less expensive) to hook up on land.

[Traveling Mike]

3 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

Seems like it would be a lot easier (and less expensive) to hook up on land.

I learned the hard way, you need to ask if they are married.  They are looking for someone to take them to dinner, dancing, shows and everything they do not get at home.

[PhD-iva]

19 hours ago, IRMO12HD said:

@PhD-ivaI'm in exactly the same boat!  Well, ship!  Are you interested in an Arctic Crossing in September 2022? 

Send me a msg. Take a look at the second line in my signature. Let’s chat.

[PhD-iva]

Now it seems like my signature has disappeared. I will try to fix that

[PhD-iva]

As soon as I switched devices I was able to see my signature. Looking forward to discussing “all things cruise!”

[IRMO12HD]

4 hours ago, PhD-iva said:

As soon as I switched devices I was able to see my signature. Looking forward to discussing “all things cruise!”

@PhD-ivaJust emailed you with my CC screen name in the subject line!

Edited April 25, 2021 by IRMO12HD
added screen name

[crdtrnr]

I found that taking a cruise "solo" about every 18 months or so, helped my with my marriage, (I wasn't as likely to Kill him..lol).

Now my husband isn't able to sail, due to health reasons..but says I can still go by myself.

[JsMom2]

On 4/22/2021 at 10:28 AM, jimdee3636 said:

Sue:

Although your future cruise with you and your husband came about mostly by accident, I'm wondering if such a thing could be done intentionally if a particular cruise was being offered on a "zero single supplement" basis. You would have double the space, you could go to bed and wake up at different times without bothering your spouse, etc. I'm on the mailing list of an agency (google "I cruise solo" and you'll find it) that offers zero supplement deals, although usually on luxury lines like Silversea and Seabourn that are expensive to begin with. But for some couples it might still be worth it if the supplement was modest---say, 25% or less. Of course, maybe the cruise lines have ways of flagging and rejecting those kinds of bookings, but you never know.

Jim

Jim,

I used to work for a cruise line.  And when we had the zero supplement for singles, it wasn’t unusual to have a married couple book 2 connecting rooms.  We had no issue with it.  

[jimdee3636]

45 minutes ago, JsMom2 said:

Jim,

I used to work for a cruise line.  And when we had the zero supplement for singles, it wasn’t unusual to have a married couple book 2 connecting rooms.  We had no issue with it.  

That's useful information; thanks for sharing it.

[JsMom2]

On 4/24/2021 at 9:44 AM, Traveling Mike said:

I have been cruising as a Single Parent for 15 years and the last 3 years as a Solo cruiser.  I have not been married but I interact with many Solo cruisers.  You will find a lot of married cruisers that are there Solo for many different reasons.  I have 3 good female friends that we met on different cruises that have husbands that do not like to travel so they cruise solo.  We have a social media group were we keep track and find cruises where we can cruise together.   On the Disney Cruises I find many Solo Parents there with their kids where the other parent cannot be on the vacation.  I also see lots of Girls Cruise Out were the husbands do not want to cruise or cannot travel.  Then I have found the last group of Solo Married people that are there away from their spouse to hook up.  Right or wrong they are their for a good time.

I took many cruises with my daughter, as a single parent.  In June 2007 we were on the Disney Magic in the Med.  we met another Mom who had a daughter the same age as mine.  Well fast forward to June 2015 on the Disney Magic in Norway, and 2 of our table mates are the same Mom and daughter!  

[iwannagocruisin]

You are not the only one! My husband doesn't always want to go, or has no interest in the itinerary so I've gone without him a couple of times. And I have three on the books without him in the next 16 months. Two of them I'll be cabin sharing with a gal I met on a previous cruise and the third is solo. Sometimes time apart is a good thing!

[AdoraBelle]

On 4/25/2021 at 6:42 PM, crdtrnr said:

I found that taking a cruise "solo" about every 18 months or so, helped my with my marriage, (I wasn't as likely to Kill him..lol).

Very late reply, but yes, my solo cruises help reduce the chance that my husband and I end up on an episode of “Dateline”. 🙂

 

Pre-pandemic we had a pretty regular routine … I’d do a cheap solo cruise a couple of times a year, and once a year we’d do a shorter domestic trip, pretty basic touristy stuff (we both really liked Universal Orlando before the world, and Florida, went nuts). Then every other year or so, we’d cruise together in a higher class of room. Haven’t done that since 2018 or so now. 😕

[coastcat]

4 hours ago, AdoraBelle said:

Very late reply, but yes, my solo cruises help reduce the chance that my husband and I end up on an episode of “Dateline”. 🙂

 

Pre-pandemic we had a pretty regular routine … I’d do a cheap solo cruise a couple of times a year, and once a year we’d do a shorter domestic trip, pretty basic touristy stuff (we both really liked Universal Orlando before the world, and Florida, went nuts). Then every other year or so, we’d cruise together in a higher class of room. Haven’t done that since 2018 or so now. 😕

Spending some time apart (with me at sea) will definitely be a welcome change! I adore my husband but man, it's been a looooong year stuck together in a small house.