Back from 1st Solo cruise

[JoKen1]

I just got back from my first solo cruise. In fact it was the first time I've ever gone on any kind of a vacation alone.

 

I went to Alaska on HAL Noordam and I LOVED it! Every minute of it was wonderful. I don't have one bad thing to say about HAL, The Noordam or going solo.

 

I met some wonderful people on board. In fact I met Kathy, her husband, brother and mother from CC. What a great family and they were so nice to let me hang out with them a few nights. Very very nice people!

 

The staff on the Noordam was to good for words. They made it a point to make me feel very comfortable as they knew I was alone. They called me by name after my first introduction to them. I felt like they were taking care of me and looking out for me. So I felt extra safe.

 

I read everything on this board about what to bring, what to pack and what to expect. I have to say thank you to everyone as I felt like a cruising pro.

 

I did over pack but I made sure to change my clothes two to three times a day just so I could use all most everything I brought.

 

I learned:

Not to pack so many shoes. Don't bring an umbrella, just use a rain coat with a hood. The Noordam has a medicine cabinet so you don't need the over the door shoe holder. Bring more money then you think as you will want to buy stuff at every stop. You will walk way more then you ever dreamed you will. People are way more friendly on a ship then in your day to day life. Go to the shows even if you don't think you will like them. Some will be much better then expected. You can win in the casino! Book shore excursions when you are there rather then on board. You will save a ton of money and most likely go with the same group that booked on board.

 

The biggest thing I learned is to have an open mind, smile and you are going to have fun!

 

There is nothing to be scared about when you cruise as a solo. In fact it's so nice as you get your own room, make your own plans and get lots of attention when people find out you are alone.

[Sansouci]

I just got back from my first solo cruise. In fact it was the first time I've ever gone on any kind of a vacation alone.

 

The biggest thing I learned is to have an open mind, smile and you are going to have fun!

 

There is nothing to be scared about when you cruise as a solo. In fact it's so nice as you get your own room, make your own plans and get lots of attention when people find out you are alone.

 

And this is why we LOVE SOLO CRUISING so much! Welcome to the club. Glad you had a good time:D

[Roz]

Glad you had a great first solo experience. HAL is a wonderful cruise line, especially for singles/solos.

 

Roz

[Tenngal]

I learned:

Not to pack so many shoes...The Noordam has a medicine cabinet so you don't need the over the door shoe holder.

 

My shoes would never fit in the medicine cabinet! What small feet you must have!;) :p

[JoKen1]

LOL I guess I should have made that a little better to understand:o But since everyone here, I'm sure, has read about the shoe holder then people know what I was talking about. :p

 

I did however, keep the over the door shoe holder in my suit case as I've already booked my next solo cruise and since it's on a different ship I don't know if I will need it this time or not. Better safe then sorry.

[kitty9]

I'm thrilled you had a great time. Welcome to the world of solo cruising. Now, like the rest of us, you're hooked for life.:D

[SantaAna,CA]

Congratulations. It sounds like you had a wonderful time and I'm so glad that everything went so well for you. I also pack too many clothes *lol* but I am a clothes horse, and Seabourn is a more "formal" line; I love dressing for this and that and having lots of pretty dresses to wear.

 

I was on Holland America's Amsterdam to Alaska, solo, and had a terrific time as well. I collect beautiful porcelain dolls and one of the jewels of my collection came from a shop in Sitka. A gorgeous, one-of-a-kind turn of the century lady in a fabulous green velvet and taffeta gown. It was expensive and worth every single penny. I never expected to find so exquisite a doll in Alaska of all places!

 

Are you planning your next cruise already? Once I get off a ship, I can't wait to get back on. I wish you the best in all your travels.

 

Jane

[JoKen1]

Yes I am. I already signed up for the next cruise with the Cake Club that I went on this cruise with. It's not until Dec '08 though. It will be on the new Eurodam (not sure how you spell it).

 

However, I've been searching for other cruises as I don't want to wait that long. So I shall be going again in the near future I'm sure!

[Darlipoo]

The medicine cabinet on the Elation held a TON of stuff. Very, very large.

[JoKen1]

That's how the Noordam's was. Held everything I brought and could have held twice as much more. It was nice to have it. Kept everything out of sight.

[cincicruisers]

I love to hear about people who enjoy solo cruising. Glad you enjoyed your vacation!!! BTW.. I always pack too much, i just cant help it, i try not to but things just jump into my suitcase "just in case"

:)

[Sansouci]

The medicine cabinet on the Elation held a TON of stuff. Very, very large.

 

That's how the Noordam's was. Held everything I brought and could have held twice as much more. It was nice to have it. Kept everything out of sight.

 

Errr . . . I'm sure some of your remarks were meant to be tongue in cheek, but for those of us who've never cruised HAL (at least not yet anyway) it's hard to imagine a medicine cabinet which would hold our shoes.:rolleyes: Could one of you (or someone) please post a pic so that we can be in on the joke too?

[Darlipoo]

I did not take pictures of the inside of the Elation medicine cabinet. But if my memory serves me, it was about 4 feet wide with about 4 or 5 shelves. Each shelf was about 3-4 inches deep I think.

[Sansouci]

I did not take pictures of the inside of the Elation medicine cabinet. But if my memory serves me, it was about 4 feet wide with about 4 or 5 shelves. Each shelf was about 3-4 inches deep I think.

 

Omg!!!:eek:

[JoKen1]

It was how I wrote it. I was writting about the things I learned on this trip. One was "I brought to many shoes". Another one was "On the Noordam you don't need to bring the over the door shoe holder that everyone talks about because there is a medicine cabinet to store all the stuff they recommend using the over the door shoe holder for. Like brushes, camera, make up."

 

I guess most ships have a tiny bathroom and no where to put your stuff so if you bring a clear over the door shoe holder you can store all your stuff in there. On the Noordam you have a nice counter in the bathroom as well as the medicine cabinet so you have plenty of room for all your stuff.

 

Really, the remark about bringing to many shoes and the one about the having the medicine cabinet/over the door shoe holder have nothing to do with each other.

 

On the Noordam the cabinet was about what you have at home. Three shelves and about the same size as a home one.

[LoveThisCruisingThing]

I am so glad you enjoyed your first solo cruise. I love that I get all the room in the cabin, can do what I want when I want, and seem to get extra attention! lol

[Sansouci]

JoKen, thanks for clarifying your message. I had never heard of using an over-the-door shoe holder. And yes, if you're going to do a range of different activities (i.e., use the fitness center, the pool, formal nights, and activities which may require special footwear, like hiking) it is difficulty to pare down the shoes!

 

One question I do have for you, though. The trickiest part of solo cruising for me is the dining situation. You don't mention anything about how you handled that in your post. Did you eat with the nice family you met?

[Roz]

I've read all sorts of messages here on CC about how you need to bring bungee cords, over the door shoe holders, and a bunch of other stuff. I've never brought any of this stuff and haven't needed it. Especially when sailing solo, there's been plenty of storage space in the cabin and in the bathroom. I've only sailed Carnival and HAL, and have found their storage to be similar.

 

Roz

[JoKen1]

Oh the dinning part was the big thing I was worried about. Here is what happened to me.

 

When we first got on board they had us go eat lunch. Some were sent to the Lido and some (me) were sent to the main dinning.

 

When I first got there I told them I was going solo but didn't want to sit alone. So I was seated at a table for 8. However, I was the first one there so I got to sit by the window.

 

We were still docked and had not left Seattle yet but the view was still nice. There was ton of Salmon in the water and they were jumping so it was fun to watch.

 

The waiter asked me if I wanted to order or wait until others came and sat down. Since I didn't know when or if anyone was coming I went ahead and ordered.

 

No one did show while I was there but it was fine as I figured people were still getting on the ship and we still had two hours until it was time to leave. Plus I figured my worst fear of eating alone was now over and the rest of the trip would be great.

 

The food was great. I was really to excited to eat. Plus I was so tired as I did not sleep a wink the night before. I was so excited about going and worried I would miss the alarm that I didn't sleep.

 

Then came dinner. I was given early dinner which I really didn't want but the late was full. I was shown to my "assigned" table which was a table for six. Again, I was the first one there and got the window seat.

 

Well guess what? No one ever came and I ate alone AGAIN!!! YIKES. Now I was worried. The whole dinning room was full yet I was at the big table alone. I did feel uncomfortable.

 

The staff all came over and talked to me but that made me feel even worse. Like I had no friends and so they had to talk to me. It was the only bad thing on the trip.

 

I was on this cruise with a group I belong to but out of the group I only knew one girl and she was there with her sister and friend and they got assigned to late dinning.

 

I ran into them later that night and told them about what happened and they said they were at a table for four and had an extra seat so I should eat with them.

 

Thankfully I was able to do that. Otherwise I would not have eaten in the main dinning again. I was not going to see if I was going to be alone again.

 

I did however, skip two nights in the dinning and ate on my own in the Lido which was fine as many people ate alone there and it wasn't strange eating alone there. I did that because I wanted to do some stuff going on that evening that I would have missed if I ate in the Main dinning at the late seating.

 

I also ordered room service for a few lunches. Only because I was tired and wanted to stay in my cabin, watch a movie and take a nap.

 

I have to say though that I NEVER saw anyone else eating alone in the dinning room so I doubt if that happens very often.

 

It would never keep me from going solo again. If that ever happened again I would just skip the main dinning and go to the Lido or somewhere else on the ship to eat.

 

I was offered by the nice family that I met on board to join them too but I had already switched to eat with my friend. So either way I would not have had to eat alone.

[Roz]

I've only had to eat dinner once by myself on HAL. We were late getting into a port, so they suspended assigned seating and you just showed up like you do at breakfast and lunch. I was seated by myself at a table for 8, and the host never seated anyone else with me. I did feel awkward there by myself. If it had been a small table off to the side, I think I wouldn't have felt like I was on display. I would NEVER skip the DR for the Lido or room service. I paid for the DR and the service and I'm going to use it. :D

 

Roz

[Darlipoo]

I've read all sorts of messages here on CC about how you need to bring bungee cords, over the door shoe holders, and a bunch of other stuff. I've never brought any of this stuff and haven't needed it. Roz

 

One thing I didn't bring but wished I had was the bungee cord. But then I saw (Winnefred?) post a picture where he used his bathrobe sash and it worked just great!

[JoKen1]

One thing I didn't bring but wished I had was the bungee cord. But then I saw (Winnefred?) post a picture where he used his bathrobe sash and it worked just great!

 

 

Ok, I must have missed that post. Care to share what it is you are talking about?

 

As far as eating in the Lido, I didn't mind at all. They had the same menu and I got to eat a lot faster as I didn't have to wait for the service like in the Dinning Room.

 

However, the DR is nice if you feel like talking and spending some nice relaxing time. But if I'm alone at the table I just want to eat and get on with more fun things.

 

Or I would rather order room service and watch a movie. I don't like eating in a nice restaurant alone. A fast food place is fine, eat and go. So I felt like that on the ship too. But I can see how some people wouldn't mind it at all.

[bezany]

omg Im leaving tomorrow on my first solo cruise, and now I'm terrified I will have to eat alone. I love the dining room for dinner, but would feel really awkward if I had to sit at a big table by myself. Does this happen often?

[Lois R]

Hi,:) did you book through a Travel Agent? Your TA should have

asked if you prefer a large table.

If you booked through the cruiseline, give them a call and request

a large table. I always request an 8 top. Good size to chat with

tablemates:)

Please don't be terrified. Once you board the ship, usually the

Maitr'd is outside the dining room (early afternoon) and you can

go check on your table at that point too. Confirm your table size.

Usually the staff is very accomodating.

I have sailed solo 9 out of 11 times....8 times were great. Once

I had a problem and after the first evening I changed tables.

Please try and relax...see how the table is on the first evening...

if you are not happy, (like my one case) go talk to the Maitr'd.

Oh, I ALWAYS eat dinner in the dining room.....love being served by

the fabulous waiters:)

 

Enjoy your cruise......sailing solo is the only way for me anymore:D

Doing what I want, when I want:)

[Darlipoo]

Ok, I must have missed that post. Care to share what it is you are talking about?

 

.

 

 

Many people with balcony cabins take a bungee cord to hold the door open on the Carnival ships. I didn't think I'd really need one but found the door would not stay open on its own and putting a chair in the doorway took up 1/2 of the small balcony. So, as I was saying, one of the other posters hee said he used his bathrobe sash in place of the bungee cord. He even posted a picture (and no, I can't remember where he posted it now).