Cruising Solo

 Matt is on the blog today talking about cruising solo.

Many people won't even consider a cruise, but cruising alone?  Out of the question.

But, Matt has cruised solo several times and I know many other people who enjoy cruising alone.

I've even tried it and loved it!  (Remind me to tell you about the time I joined a Singles Cruise.

I had the absolute time of my life and would highly recommend it if you are newly single.)

But, that's another story.   Here's Matt...

Before I met Selena, I’d cruised on my own.  Alone.  I know!  Crazy, eh?

After I revealed my plans to my friends, and I’d weathered their gentle questioning as to whether I was completely mad, I signed up with Carnival for a week around the Caribbean.  And I had a blast – so much so that I did another solo cruise the next year!

You’ll always remember your first cruise.

I consider myself to be a traveller, and for the people that knew me well, that compounded their confusion as to why I wanted to cruise.  Unlike most people who think the boat is the point of the cruise, I’d long considered cruising to be a great way of travelling to interesting places.  Unpack once, and every day a new port is presented to you.  So I selected an itinerary which featured a port on every day, in case I found I didn’t enjoy the cruising part.

As another precaution in case I hated the ship experience, I invested in a large room with a balcony, so I’d have a comfortable refuge if I wasn’t interested in deck shuffleboard or ballroom dancing.  And that presented the first major challenge to cruising alone – the cost.

 My refuge

Almost all cabins are designed (and priced) for double occupancy, so by taking a cabin for just yourself, you’ll end up paying twice the headline quoted rate.  You’d expect some discount, as you’d only be eating for one, using half the towels, and so on.  But, no - my experience was that the quoted price was simply doubled when I clicked the “single occupancy” button.

But I was very happy with the price I paid.  Remember, I was thinking like a traveller, so comparing what I paid to the cost of creating an independent itinerary that took in 7 Caribbean countries in 7 days (with airfares, accommodation, food, transfers, etc, not to mention the hassle involved in the planning), it felt like a very good deal.  If I’d taken an internal cabin it would have represented outstanding value for the travel opportunities presented.

Going to Antigua for a day?  Probably costs the same as a week’s cruise.

The second challenge was, well, being alone.  I’ve travelled a lot as a single traveller, so I was not at all daunted by the prospect of being thrown into the midst of 2,000 merry holidaymakers without knowing a single person.  I can understand how that might be a major challenge for some, but don’t worry, there are plenty of opportunities to meet people and make friends.

 There were 2,000 people on this ship.  Honest!

Dinner is the first.  You might be tempted to avoid the awkwardness of being alone by eating at the buffet, but if you ask to be seated at a large table in the dining room, you’ll quickly make friends among your dining companions.  I would recommend a fixed dining time so you get to know your companions over several nights – if you hate them all just ask the maître d’ to move you to a different table!

There will also be mixer events organised for singles.  There will be plenty of other singles on the cruise.  Even if there are relatively few that are travelling alone, plenty of single people will be sharing cabins with friends or relatives.  A formal singles mixer isn’t really my thing, so I didn’t attend, but there’s no downside to dropping by and seeing who’s there.

 Don’t worry - the cabin attendants will also introduce you to new friends

Another way of breaking the ice is to check out the forums on CruiseCritic.com before your cruise.  Every major cruise has a forum, and by joining in the conversation prior to departure you’ll often meet like-minded souls before you even embark.  It’s very common for shore excursions to be organised this way, which can be a great way of maximising the time in port.  Most major cruise lines will host a Meet & Greet event on board for Cruise Critic members, which is a great way of meeting new shipmates.  (Selena and I still do this before each cruise.)

Didn’t catch a thing, but a bad day’s fishing beats a good day in the office, right?

Talking of shore excursions, I’d clung to my independent traveller roots by only pre-booking one shore excursion – a fishing trip in St Lucia – which I knew would be a difficult thing to organise on my own.  In the other ports on the first few days of the cruise, I just got off the ship and wandered around, avoiding the crowds as much as possible.  Bliss!  By the end of the week, I was organising trips with friends I’d made on board.

 Brimstone Hill Fortress in St Kitts

With a port on every day of the cruise, and with dinner and shows taking up most of each evening, this cruise provided relatively little time left to enjoy other on-board activities.  Be assured there is a lot more on offer than shuffleboard and ballroom dancing, although you could have done both if you’d been interested.

I recognise that cruising solo may not be for everyone.  You need to be independently minded and happy with your own company.  But the opportunities to meet people were certainly there – four years later I’m still in touch with many of the people I met on these cruises.  For me at that time in my life, cruising was a perfect holiday for me, although I’d have to say that the experience is even better now I’m able to share the experiences with Selena.

Okay, I made him throw in that last bit.

Cruising is something wonderful that we share but it's something that we both love individually.

Would you ever cruise solo?  Why or why not?

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