What do you find hardest about cruising solo?

[paulco]

Trying to get a table to share on Crown Princess was a pain last year.  On Royal it was much better. 

Edited March 30, 2023 by paulco

[bluetardis]

I really don’t find it hard.

[patrice1]

On 8/27/2022 at 7:53 PM, rkacruiser said:

 

I find this is now nearly impossible to do unless it is a very small carry-on.  On my most recent Delta One flight, I had seat 2A with a Flight Attendant standing in the Galley, watching me.  I was having much difficulty and ended up with a minor injury to a little finger.  A passenger in 3A provided help to push the bag into the bin.  The Flight Attendant did nothing; I was miffed.  Since then, I have learned why he didn't help.  

My husband and I retired to Lisbon, Portugal  and, sadly, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two months later and passed within the year.I flew back to Florida with his cremains for a memorial service with friends and family. The container was quite heavy and was in my carry on. I could not lift it into the overhead bin and asked a Flight Attendant to help. She said sure and after she got it in the bin she asked, laughing, "What have you got in there? A dead body?". I told her not to be upset but it was my husband's cremains. She was mortified, However, it struck me as a bit funny and I know my husband would have, too. Poor woman. I know she will never say that again!

 

As for the topic, we were avid cruisers and this cruise in May will be my first solo. I chose a 4 day Med cruise on MSC to see if I still enjoy cruising without him. I suspect I will. 

Edited April 1, 2023 by patrice1

[oakridger]

@patrice1 I suspect you will enjoy your May cruise too!  

 

This was an amusing story also to me because something similar happened to my daughter when she flew to Maui last year with her husband's ashes in a metal urn. (They spread them in the sea)  She had it in her carryon and the TSA pulled her aside at security when they saw it on the x-ray.  The agent asked her what it was and my daughter said, "My husband".  The agent stepped back quickly and called her supervisor.  First thing the supervisor told the agent was "DON'T open it!!!"  They all got a chuckle out of that and did let her on the plane with "Robert".

 

Best wishes for your cruise,

~Nancy

[sambamama]

The dining for dinner. I almost always sail with HAL and ask for fixed dining at a table of 6 or 8. I've been put at a table of two, and many times at a table of six where only one other couple comes. But when they don't come, I dine alone. I live alone, and one of my main cruise pleasures is meeting people and hearing their stories for two weeks. So sitting alone is not what I wanted. I just sailed on Princess, and to get a fixed table, I had to agree to eat alone. I prefer having the same waiters, so that was the choice I made. The waiters were excellent, but I missed dinner conversation. And I miss being at tables of six and eight.

[shorne]

4 hours ago, sambamama said:

I live alone, and one of my main cruise pleasures is meeting people and hearing their stories for two weeks. So sitting alone is not what I wanted. I just sailed on Princess, and to get a fixed table, I had to agree to eat alone.

 

You may need to compromise, either by accepting a fixed table by yourself or by accepting any space at a table for multiple people that happens to be available. Perhaps it is too much to ask that several people whom you don't know commit to dining with you at the same time and at the same table every evening for two weeks straight.

 

I'd sooner eat by myself than with a lot of strangers. They might not like my company and I might not like theirs. But since meeting other people and hearing their stories at dinner is important to you, you may wish to be more flexible about the arrangements.

 

[Snowysmom]

I appreciate all the advice for solo travel.  I lost my DH suddenly, 19 months ago.  We did alot of traveling including cruises.  I recently did a Disney cruise with a friend.  We do travel well together but I know she does not want to leave her husband for longer than a 4 night cruise.  I want to look into 7 night cruises.  Reading these posts give me hope that I can do it myself and enjoy the trip. I would find the dining to be the hardest part.  I have to try solo dining out in my town to get used to it.  I have a solo Disney park trip in the Fall.  We loved going to Disney together so now I will see how I do on my own.  Next up after that, a solo cruise. 

[SeaBurd]

I too lost my husband and best friend 1 year ago this month.  He wanted me to continue crusing and go to the places we had hoped to see together.  So, that is what I am doing... one journey at a time.

I am not a very outgoing person but I have found that by using the roll calls for an upcoming voyage and signing up for some of the pre-planned activities I meet some people with shared interests.  That makes it much easier to start a conversation and find someone with whom I can share a table at meal time if I don't want to dine alone.

[shadow 123]

On 8/30/2022 at 8:16 AM, Cruise Kay said:

The number one thing I find hardest about cruising solo is the before and after. I really really don’t like staying in hotel rooms by myself. I mean it’s not that big of a deal, I just really would rather not. I also don’t like getting into taxicabs by myself. Or Uber. So before the cruise I fly out the day before, get in a taxi to go to the hotel, and then spend the night in a hotel by myself. I hate that part. I don’t love taking a taxi from port to the airport on the last day either. 

 

but really that’s the biggest hurdle for me. There are time times on the cruise I feel a bit lonely but for the most part, 99% of the time, I just love being able to do what I want when I want without having to discuss it with anyone else. Want to skip lunch? No problem. Choose a different location for dinner? No problem. Skip a port, sleep late, get up in the middle of the night and watch a movie, see a show multiple times because I enjoy it so much, laying in a pool chair all afternoon, I can do all of those things without inconveniencing anyone else or having to compromise or ask someone else to accommodate me. I really enjoy cruising in all that it offers, and for me the few twinges of feeling lonely here and there are well worth the trade off of several days on a gorgeous ship. 

 

I will add that I generally skip eating in the main dining room and I certainly don’t do specialty dining by myself. I don’t like those things even when I’m with someone, and eating in a long drawn out way by myself is not enjoyable. I love doing the buffet and eating when I want as quickly or as leisurely as I’d like.

 

I know this sounds corny, but I wonder if it would be helpful for you to make a list of things that you might not enjoy as a solo cruiser and a list of things you are pretty sure you would enjoy very much. You might see that one outweighs the other.

I agree wholeheartedly with everything you've said in the second paragraph. However, as I get older I do find I get a little more lonely. I'm not so self contained as I once was.

 

On my last cruise, this May,I did go into a specialty  restaurant alone and I was very uncomfortable. I never felt that way before.

[UnbridledEnthusiasm]

4 hours ago, shadow 123 said:

I agree wholeheartedly with everything you've said in the second paragraph. However, as I get older I do find I get a little more lonely. I'm not so self contained as I once was.

 

On my last cruise, this May,I did go into a specialty  restaurant alone and I was very uncomfortable. I never felt that way before.

I've gotten this way too which I didn't expect. I've always traveled with or without company but now I'm at the point where I don't think I want to do it at all. I canceled the last big trip I had planned hours before I was going to leave. I was just too stressed to want to travel and the idea of being lonely again just was the tip of the iceberg. 

[shadow 123]

8 hours ago, UnbridledEnthusiasm said:

I've gotten this way too which I didn't expect. I've always traveled with or without company but now I'm at the point where I don't think I want to do it at all. I canceled the last big trip I had planned hours before I was going to leave. I was just too stressed to want to travel and the idea of being lonely again just was the tip of the iceberg. 

Yes I understand. It is the idea of being lonely. it's just that I never felt this way before and I've been traveling solo since 2017. I'm now 74 years old and something is changed. I don't feel the same way.

[Etta1213]

On 6/18/2023 at 10:00 AM, shadow 123 said:

Yes I understand. It is the idea of being lonely. it's just that I never felt this way before and I've been traveling solo since 2017. I'm now 74 years old and something is changed. I don't feel the same way.

I have never cruised solo. Husband has limited mobility and hasn't really blessed my going without him. If women like us could cruise together, we could maybe ease that loneliness. I did try to joing a church group cruise but was too late to be included for their Fall 2024 trip. 

Edited June 24, 2023 by Etta1213

[Bender68105]

It seems I am not alone when it comes to dining. So now I just go to the buffet and that takes care of that.

Other than that, I really don't mind cruising solo at all being a 51 year old. It does wonders for my depression, and I think it's cheaper than a therapist! LOL. I genuinely like people and really enjoy meeting new people on cruise ships. I find cruisers are much easier to "break the ice" with.

I just got off the Ruby last week on a 10 day Alaska and already looking forward to a 15 day Panama Canal cruise on the Emerald next February.

[ghjcmo]

I didn't read this whole thread and I apologize for what it is probably a repeated comment, but honestly the hardest thing for me is paying for two people when it's just me.  I truly understand the economics of it from the cruise line's standpoint, but I still don't like it.  

My very first solo cruise was on the Carnival Legend and I don't know how in the hell it happened, but they actually sold me a balcony cabin for the price of one person.  That was a number of years ago, I've sailed MANY times since, and it's NEVER happened again.  

[ghjcmo]

On 5/18/2023 at 3:07 AM, shorne said:

 

. Perhaps it is too much to ask that several people whom you don't know commit to dining with you at the same time and at the same table every evening for two weeks straight.

 

Don't misunderstand me, as I'm not being argumentative, but I think that's an odd comment.  Isn't that kind of the norm for cruising?  Are people really not dining with other people?  Maybe I'm out of touch but in 23 years of cruising, and most of it being solo cruising, I've ALWAYS had dining in the MDR with "several strangers" over a period of 7 days to 2 weeks or whatever. (I don't do "My Time" style dining)   I mean, yeah there may always be someone you don't mesh with well, but as a solo cruiser, I've found it to be a great way to meet people.  

[SeaBurd]

11 hours ago, Etta1213 said:

I have never cruised solo. Husband has limited mobility and hasn't really blessed my going without him. If women like us could cruise together, we could maybe ease that loneliness. I did try to joing a church group cruise but was too late to be included for their Fall 2024 trip. 

You didn't say if your husband is open to cruising with you or not. I am currently cruising solo since I lost my best friend and husband in May, 2022.  He lost his right leg above the knee in 2018 at the age of 79.  It did take a little more effort to find accessible cabins and arranging (affordable) shore excursions that he could enjoy from his wheelchair but it was worth it all.  I now have incredible memories.  At his request, I am now taking those cruises we had planned to take together.  I just returned from an Alaska cruise and, by choice, dined solo in 2 specialty restaurants for the first time. 

[Supershot]

15 hours ago, Bender68105 said:

It seems I am not alone when it comes to dining. So now I just go to the buffet and that takes care of that.

Other than that, I really don't mind cruising solo at all being a 51 year old. It does wonders for my depression, and I think it's cheaper than a therapist! LOL. I genuinely like people and really enjoy meeting new people on cruise ships. I find cruisers are much easier to "break the ice" with.

I just got off the Ruby last week on a 10 day Alaska and already looking forward to a 15 day Panama Canal cruise on the Emerald next February.

I was on the Emerald to Hawaii in May and I have to tell you that the food was terrible. It was so bad that I actually lost weight and how many times does that happen on a cruise? Lots of passengers, not just me, were complaining so maybe they will have remedied the situation before you go next Feb.

[shadow 123]

On 6/23/2023 at 10:19 PM, Etta1213 said:

I have never cruised solo. Husband has limited mobility and hasn't really blessed my going without him. If women like us could cruise together, we could maybe ease that loneliness. I did try to joing a church group cruise but was too late to be included for their Fall 2024 trip. 

Keep trying

[shadow 123]

13 hours ago, ghjcmo said:

I didn't read this whole thread and I apologize for what it is probably a repeated comment, but honestly the hardest thing for me is paying for two people when it's just me.  I truly understand the economics of it from the cruise line's standpoint, but I still don't like it.  

My very first solo cruise was on the Carnival Legend and I don't know how in the hell it happened, but they actually sold me a balcony cabin for the price of one person.  That was a number of years ago, I've sailed MANY times since, and it's NEVER happened again.  

The double occupancy is a problem. It's very expensive. And I like to go on long cruises at least 3 weeks

Edited June 25, 2023 by shadow 123
Correction

[shadow 123]

13 hours ago, ghjcmo said:

Don't misunderstand me, as I'm not being argumentative, but I think that's an odd comment.  Isn't that kind of the norm for cruising?  Are people really not dining with other people?  Maybe I'm out of touch but in 23 years of cruising, and most of it being solo cruising, I've ALWAYS had dining in the MDR with "several strangers" over a period of 7 days to 2 weeks or whatever. (I don't do "My Time" style dining)   I mean, yeah there may always be someone you don't mesh with well, but as a solo cruiser, I've found it to be a great way to meet people.  

I missed something here

[shadow 123]

2 minutes ago, shadow 123 said:

I missed something here

 

2 minutes ago, shadow 123 said:

I missed something here

In the dining room is where I meant most of the nicest people on the ship. I've had wonderful luck with my companions. Some of them I even talk to today

[ghjcmo]

1 minute ago, shadow 123 said:

I missed something here

I was responding to this statement:

"Perhaps it is too much to ask that several people whom you don't know commit to dining with you at the same time and at the same table every evening for two weeks straight."

I guess it's evolving because of the "My Time Dining" concept, but I don't think it's too much to ask as that's basically how it's done when you do fixed seating in the MDR.  

[shadow 123]

1 minute ago, ghjcmo said:

I was responding to this statement:

"Perhaps it is too much to ask that several people whom you don't know commit to dining with you at the same time and at the same table every evening for two weeks straight."

I guess it's evolving because of the "My Time Dining" concept, but I don't think it's too much to ask as that's basically how it's done when you do fixed seating in the MDR.  

As I mentioned earlier I think in the dining room is where you meet most of the people you'll enjoy on the ship. It's sitting together at that table kind of brings you closer together. Everyone I've spent most of my time with on the ship I've met at the dining room table.

[RedgeToo]

On 6/24/2023 at 4:41 AM, Bender68105 said:

So now I just go to the buffet and that takes care of that.

I often find the best part of cruising solo is walking into the MDR, asking for a shared table and meeting new people.

 

It helps that I'm naturally gregarious and am easily fascinated by people with a story to tell.

 

Try it, you may like it and even get a chance to be bored silly by me! 🤣🤣🤣

[RedgeToo]

On 6/24/2023 at 2:02 PM, ghjcmo said:

but honestly the hardest thing for me is paying for two people when it's just me.

There are websites that cater for solos offering big discounts for solo travellers. I don't think I'm allowed to name them but sometimes Google is your friend.