elkay1955

I forgot to add one NCL ship:

 

NCL Epic has 120 Studios.

 

Also, Pride of America has no dedicated Studio Lounge, but like her NCL fleetmates with Studios, POA still has activities and stuff for solo travellers.

Many thanks for your research SmithAlien.....my print of this info will go straight into my Future Cruises Information folder. Well done.

:)

Your post touched me. My husband had metastatic colon cancer. Two years into remission, on the news that his 6mthly CT scan was clear, he said he wanted to cruise to Alaska. I sure wasn't going to argue!!. We knew our time together was running out and we were trying to have the best time together that we could in his last years. That first cruise was very, very special - life-changing really. We went on to cruise the Med, the Baltic, Norways west coast and some of Asia.

When his remission ended we talked about my future alone and he was adamant I should continue to cruise, especially to places we hadn't been together so I could explore new places on his behalf. He loved the idea of me travelling in a small community with all the travel hassles from one stop to the next taken care of.

I was always an obedient wife:D and have done three ocean cruises and two European cruises alone since my husband died 3 1/2 years ago - all to new places. I still grieve too deeply for my soulmate to revisit places we loved to visit as a couple.

I dropped a red rose into the Danube at daybreak on my husband's 65th birthday in June in memory of him and a lovely Frenchwoman who was out on deck at the time held me as I sobbed. It was a lovely reminder of how nice your fellow cruisers can be.

I have never for a moment regretted continuing to travel alone. There are so many places my husband didn't get to see and I feel very privileged to see them on his behalf.

All my very best wishes for your journey through your grief and the future travels you may take.

Lorraine

Elkay1955, you sound like a kindred sprit. I'm just a little older than you (62).

 

I always have to laugh at the people who say we must join the roll call, sign up for the group excursions, take a large table at dinner. I wonder how many of them have actually traveled solo.

I had the ugly experience on my first few cruises of having to sit in the MDR with others. Always got the "pity" play - "why are you by yourself", "you are so brave", etc. Some tried to "adopt" me as if I were some orphan who needed guiding on the cruise. I don't cruise to be pestered by a bunch of strangers, I cruise for the destinations and the SOLITUDE I can find on a ship. I actually do not enjoy the cruise environment for the most part, but I have do do what I have to do to do an itinerary I want to visit.

Hahaha, I've had the "you are so brave" message too, multiple times. Who me? David Livingstone I am not! Perhaps the comments were made in awe - they felt instead to be patronising. I'm a "Destination Cruiser" too. I stretch my budget to breaking point to buy a balcony cabin so I can get away from the crowd - channel a sunny sea-day and I'm sure you will know what I mean ;)

I envy Lorraine her very first cruise experience - mine was just magic and a very precious memory, though as half of a couple it was a different experience. Second, third, etc cruises are lovely but your first is really, really special isn't it? Sort of like your first love :D

Another Lorraine

Navybankerteacher - WOW to you too - your aggressive reply will be offensive to Slidergirl I suspect and it is to me too. We have a different "take" on cruising alone. Lorraine has asked about solo cruising - we are simply giving her a different perspective. If she finds the large table dining experience unpleasant, she'll know it's not just her and that its OK to look for an alternative, whether it's the buffet with a kindle for company or plate of goodies in a quiet spot by the pool or whatever. Not everyone enjoys being "grilled" by fellow diners - I certainly didn't.

As Jocap says ship's are definitely friendlier than hotels - it's a whole different vibe - people just seem to be more open to chatting.

I agree with Jocap too that your very first sailaway is a magic never-to-be-forgotten moment - if there's a sailaway party up on e.g. the pool deck with live music, it's a great spot to be as the inches between the boat and the dock becomes feet then yards. Don't feel obliged to buy the "cocktails with souvenir (plastic) glasses though! You can have just as much fun just watching and listening to the music without a drink in your hand. I still love each sailaway but I will always remember with goosebumps that magic moment when we set sail on our first cruise (in fact I'm getting them now as I type this ;) )

I had a thought or two after I posted yesterday. You asked, Lorraine, about the formal nights. I love the vibe of formal nights, even as a solo cruiser. When my husband was alive I took a long sleeveless gown with a little frilly, gauze net jackety thing and we would go dancing after dinner and the show. Now I am solo, I still dress up but not quite in the same way. I take a pair of dressy, wide-leg black pants and a black camisole and team them with a floaty cerise shirt on formal nights. I dress that up with one or two different silk scarves and on my Greek cruise bought a long chain & velvet necklace for a bling alternative. You don't need to feel you have to take multiple formal outfits for each of the formal nights. No-one will give you a second glance if, by some miracle, you run into people who saw you in the same outfit several days ago!! I eat by choice in the buffet every night (even formal nights), with my tablet handy for reading if the people-watching isn't great. Then on formal night I mingle with the other cruisers as I while away some time before or after a show in the theatre just watching the couples having their formal photos taken. I will just lean on the rail in the atrium, often a deck or two higher up, looking down. I find the bars fill up quickly on formal nights and all the groups laughing and drinking together are intimidating for me. But just leaning on the balustrade, maybe chatting to people-watchers beside me, is really enjoyable for me. The people-watching on formal nights is great - some people go to huge expense but most just dress nicely and look lovely.

I very rarely miss a show in the theatre and love that I can go to a show or movie on holiday without worrying about walking unknown streets in a strange city the way it would be if I was holidaying "on land." It's usually a great way to spend an hour or two in the evening. Occasionally the acts are dire but more often that not they are a very good standard.

One other thing I would give a new solo female cruiser a "heads up" on is getting served in a bar - on Princess and Royal Caribbean. On both I found that if I went into a bar and sat down and waited for a waiter to come to take my order, it just didn't happen. I never interrogated the waiters to find out what their problem is with a solo lady drinker - I wondered if they assumed I was waiting for someone, or just looking for a seat to sit down for a few minutes, or perhaps solo lady drinkers have over-indulged and got raucous in the past??? :D :D :D In the worst instance I sat for 20min or so more trying to catch the waiter's eye and being ignored but two waiters bustled up within seconds to take the order of a couple who walked in and sat near me. I found this disrespectful of me as a solo woman traveller. I have never seen a solo male cruiser ignored in this way. So if you do fancy a glass of something, it might pay to approach the bartender as you enter the bar and order your drink from him/her.

All-in-all it seems we are all agreed our cruises are what we make them - if we are content in our own skin (like me and Slidergirl) we chat to fellow cruisers from time to time but treasure our time alone. Other cruisers are very social people, needing to interact constantly, they will find many on board of the same ilk.

As HonoluluBlue says it's your vacation - you will do what is right for you. You must never feel you have to do anything that you are uncomfortable with. You set the rules on a cruise. You've paid your fare - the rest is up to you.

On each port day you are going to wake up in a new, exciting, exotic destination. You are going to see wonderful sights, smell amazing smells, taste amazing foods. Your travel from place to place will be stress-free - the guy up front with the "steering wheel" always gets me to the next exciting place on my itinerary with no effort from me as I sleep in my comfy bed. Sea days are lazy days spent by the pool or people-watching or gazing across miles of beautiful ocean or contemplating the ship's wake or watching cooking demonstrations or laughing at belly-flop competitions etc. Whatever you fancy, you can do it (or even nothing at all) because it's your wonderful holiday and you can craft each day into your own special magic day because IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU ;)

Have a wonderful time. I wish my next cruise was as soon as yours...sadly I have 16 months to wait!

Bon voyage.

(Another) Lorraine

Hi there Lorraine1756.

I am older than you (60). I had cruised with my husband for several years prior to his death. When he was diagnosed with terminal cancer he told me he'd love me to keep cruising because he felt like I would be travelling with a small, safe, friendly community (or large one in the case of the really big ships :D )

Since his death three years ago I have done three ocean cruises and two river cruises alone by choice. My husband was a very easy-going travel companion - he left all the planning and booking to me and enjoyed everything I had planned for each day. I have very limited finances now and from months of research for each trip I know what I need to see. I literally cannot afford to compromise because I don't have the money to return to see something I missed because I did something my companion preferred. I guess that sounds pretty selfish but needs must.

I am lucky that I am content with my own company most of the time. I find people are very open to chatting at the ship's rail, in buffet queues, sitting waiting for shows, lying by the pool etc. These short chats are often enough for me - there are many hundreds of people around you onboard which makes for great people-watching but can get a bit much. I have only eaten in the Main Dining Room twice - neither time was pleasant with loud, self-opiniated, bullying men dominating the conversation. I was put off for life!!!

The hint of taking a paperback, sunlotion, room key etc in a small tote when going to the pool is a good one. I wouldn't tempt fate by taking a tablet or kindle poolside, even if it was out-of-sight in a bag. I have never ever had anything stolen on board but there's always a first time.

The hint to use your cellphone for directions, maps etc on-shore is a good one (provided you have off-line maps or global roaming). Unfolding a huge map is a red-flag to a pickpocket! As the "slidergirl" says, everyone's burying their noses in their devices so you will look very much like a local.

On my Greek Islands cruise last year I started with a week of rail travel (Milan-Florence-Portovenere-Civitavecchia) and after my 9 night cruise I stayed on in Rome for 4 days. Like the other poster said, act confident and keep your cross-over bag against your body and you won't look like a potential victim. I had read posts with dire warnings of pickpocketing at Milan Centrale railway station. I spend hours google street-mapping places I intend to visit, to the point they seem very familiar when I get there. I got off my train, walked straight to the staircase I had seen on the internet and waited for my next train drinking coffee on a mezzanine high above the crowds. That relaxed coffee set me up with confidence for the whole of my month's trip!!

I do a mixture of ship's tours and DIY (do-it-yourself) tours. Again lots of Google street-mapping, researching public transport, etc. If it looks time-consuming, tricky or unsafe to do as a DIY shore excursion, I opt for a ship's excursion. My husband said to me "It's only money, keep safe!" I have never joined a shore excursion via the Roll Call on Cruisecritic but that could be a good option for you. Read the Roll Call for your sailing to get a sense of the personalities of the people travelling on your cruise - if they sound like your kind of people, I'm sure they will welcome you. From what I have read on Roll Calls, their private excursions aren't massively cheaper than the ship's offerings and they are often in mini-buses. They are, however, crafted to the cruisers exact requirements. People criticise the big buses the cruiselines use - I don't know about you, but being squeezed into a little mini-van to save $20 or so isn't my idea of good value.

But it's all "horses for courses." I love being in charge of my own holiday - ticking my must-see boxes, eating a light meal from the buffet back on my balcony in the peace and quiet after a day surrounded by people, watching a show or movie just a short stroll from my cabin.....just winging what I do, when I want to do it, not trying to second guess if a companion is hungry, happy, bored, tired etc.

Cruising is such a lovely safe way of travelling for all kinds of people, but especially for solo travellers. You can have company if you want it or solitude if you'd prefer.

I hope you have a wonderful time and get "bitten by the cruise bug!"

:)

Getting back on topic. My first "proper" river cruise was on CroiseEurope. Being a solo river cruiser the cabin size suited me as did not having to pay out for excursions I didn't want to go on. Also the mix of many different nationalities is a plus for me.

Thanks for steering the topic back where it belongs squarevanman. I am newly-widowed and have budget limitations. I have decided I am cruising the rivers of Europe to see the scenery and explore the towns, not to have a plunge pool, personal butler, multiple dining venues etc that the "flash" companies provide.

I have paid deposits on two back-to-back cruises totalling 21 days in May-June this year. For approx one-quarter of an expensive line's fare I will see the scenery and towns of the Saar, Moselle, Main, Rhine and Danube (from Saarbrucken in the west to Budapest in the east) in a sole occupancy, upper-deck cabin with large picture window.

From reading the few reviews available, I understand breakfast is buffet-style while lunch and dinner are a set menu (with options possible with enough notice). Again, I'm not cruising on the rivership as a dining experience - all my life I have wanted to see the sights of the Rhine and Danube and Croiseurope seems to be an affordable way to do that!!

I appreciate your brief post and endorsement of the Croiseurope experience squarevanman.

Would you mind posting a little more detail. Some reviewers have been scathing about the comfort of the beds, the size of the shower, the tastiness of the food, language problems with crew, the quality of the excursions etc. With so few reviews, it's hard to work out whether the reviewers are just snobs and "picky" or had genuine grievances.

Many thanks. :)