JoePatNYCT

Norwegian Epic Western Mediterranean Dec. 9-19 - Inside Guarantee $984 (inc. taxes).

DD (26) will be cruising with us for the first time. She is very shy. What would be the best way for her to mix and mingle with other singles in her age group?

I'd say it depends on the ship. For those that have physical activities like rock-climbing wall, flowrider, ice skating, etc.-- these might be a good place.

You could check out the ROLL CALL for your cruise and a post a message seeking others in her age group.

Of course, in the evening, most people in that age group will hang out at the martini bars or dance clubs.

My son is 25 and a bit shy, but he had no problem disappearing from me for most of the cruise!

You could book a cruise on a cruise line noted for their "bad" service. That way solo or not, you're likely to be ignored! :rolleyes:

It's the Star from Dover on October 6. Much more expensive on the NCL UK site unfortunately.

You are correct. Thanks for the correction.

1Jazzylady- Enjoy your cruise. Of course, it won't be as much fun as Alaska!!

Joe

Some of the October TAs have some great solo pricing for those that can take the time.

For example:

Norwegian Sky Oct 6 - 13 day Transatlantic- Dover to Tampa- Inside Guarantee $744 (inc. taxes).

Norwegian Jade Oct 29 - 16 day Transatlantic- Barcelona to Houston - Inside Guarantee $951 (inc. taxes).

Celebrity Reflection Oct 23 - 15 day Transatlantic- Rome to Miami- Inside Guarantee $1623 (inc. taxes).

There are a number of threads under "Solo Cruisers" that deal with this topic. Might help to read about others first time solo experience.

You might try this one: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2182460

Good luck to you.

I'm sailing on the Celebrity Reflection from Rome to Miami on Oct23. I love transatlantics, plenty of sea days and a great opportunity to meet some interesting people.

Has anyone ever booked on a ship that a singles cruise is also booking? Obviously, there would not be the ablility to attend their parties, but wouldn't you still meet the singles at the pool, bar, trivia, etc?

 

In other words, is it worth the premium to book with the singles cruises?

 

Thanks for your help!

I have. I didn't plan it, it just sort of happened.

I went solo on a carib cruise and I kept getting asked if I was going to be at a certain event. LOL. I then figured out there was a group of singles on the ship.

Over the course of the cruise I got to meet a number of them (especially dancing) but if I had to give you advice, it would be better to pay the premium and go with the group. There were private parties, dinner seating as a group and the ability to contact people pre-cruise.

 

Thanks JoePatNYCT.

 

I'm definitely leaning towards traveling alone (over cancelling the trip) if my parents cannot accompany me. Does the solo meetup require some kind of notification/registration beforehand or do people just show up?

No registration. The time will be posted in the daily program-- usually around 6 or 7. Show up whatever evenings you want.

i'm not a mod and I don't play one on TV but it would be great if we can limit this thread to Solo Deals. It gets tough reading through the other stuff.

Thanks.

I agree with Southerngirl8.

I never realized how many clothes I can fit into a carry-on until I discovered rolling my clothes and using travel cubes. It also makes unpacking a snap-- each cube contains a certain type of clothing, and goes into a separate drawer.

I also take advantage of the on-ship laundry-- I take far fewer clothes than I used to.

Joe

Good advice from Scrapnana.

I recently sailed solo on the Jade in the Med and had a fabulous time. And Venice is a wonderful city and as safe as any other.

The Jade had a solo meetup each evening run by a member of the cruise director's staff. Great opportunity to meet fellow solos and make Dinner or Excursion plans, if desired.

Assuming Mom is in good hands, I encourage you to go for it!

I think we need to differentiate between the NCL Epic and a couple of their other newer ships (where they do, if fact, have some hosted services for solos), versus the balance of NCL's older ships (where hosted solo services are generally not offered).

I have sailed both the Jade and the Sun in the last six months-- neither had solo cabins/lounge, but both had a nightly solo meet up with a member of the cruise director's staff which offered the opportunity to arrange dining plans with other solos.

Thanks SteelMagnolia9 for the info on US River Cruises. I always seem to forget about that option!

I'm thinking of trying one as well. Which line were you thinking?

$75/day solo in Med is amazing. I did the Med earlier this year on the NCL Jade for $100/day solo.

I'd keep an eye on the rates for the Jade and the Celebrity Constellation.

I'll pretty much take any itinerary if I can get in for $100/day as a solo (except I won't sail Carnival).

I'll spend more for a better cabin, a better ship and a better itinerary. But $150/day (or less) is generally where I start getting interested.

Joe

I've done RCL solo a couple of times. I, too, have had mixed experiences. Looking back it was probably my fault. I took a B2B on the Oasis during holiday time and it was kid central-- my bad.

On the other side, I took a November transatlantic from Southampton to Miami on the Adventure OTS and met lots of age appropriate solos and had a fabulous time.

While I agree that NCL makes more of an effort in the solo department, I'm happy as long as there are enough other solos cruising. One way or another, we'll find each other.

But there's no substitute for planning the right cruise.

Joe

I am doing a 14night solo trip on Norwegian Sun. Had not planned it but the rates were too compelling. The. Cruise starts June 29, 2015 this Monday. I am excited. Go for it.

I agree. Thanks for the heads up. See you onboard!!

Well it IS a big ship so I suppose you could always claim during the day you couldn't find him!!

There's a ton of good Alaska deals right now. So many choices. Is there a preferred itinerary amongst those that have done it?

Earl- thanks for sharing. A good reminder for all.

On the flip side, I'm glad I took my folks on a cruise for their 50th anniversary. My father had issues walking but they really wanted to return to the beach in Bermuda that they visited many years earlier. I had to carry him from the road across the sand down to the water.

His health got much worse after and I always am grateful that I pushed aside work and took them on their last cruise.

Most of my cruises have been solos, a few have been with a female partner. When the female partner has shared a cabin, it often happens that I'm more concerned with them having a good time and do the bulk of planning because I'm the more experienced traveler. As a result, I don't have the freedom I enjoy when I go solo.

However, when they've booked their own cabin, it felt much more like my solo experiences.

My advice-- have them book their own cabin!

I just sailed the NCL Jade solo in the med for 21 days. They had a solo meetup each evening before dinner. Had a great time and met some very nice solos.