Thoie

First morning of my first solo cruise, I get my breakfast from buffet and find a table, I realize once I sit down that I forgot to get a cup of coffee, so I go get one. When I arrive back at the table to wait staff have bused my table. Had to start all over again. :rolleyes:

I think I'm going to make out a card which says "I'm not finished" to leave on my table. Maybe "I'm coming back" would be politer?

Excellent, thanks! I had searched for "sunscreen applicator" which gave no results, but I'll order one of those, and look for aerosol sprays as well.

Reading this thread is making me feel less nervous about going by myself on the Carnival Magic on 2-10-13.

Hope you have a brilliant time - as you can see, the primary concern about traveling alone is mostly suncream related :D Be sure to let us know how you get on.

I've never had trouble with the aerosol kind not coming out easily, and I never use anything less than 50. It comes out in a wet spray mist and covers just fine for me. Try a different brand and see if you have better results.

Maybe I've been unlucky with the aersols - I've tried Ambre Solaire, Nivea, and Soltan (Boots own brand). I've seen one called Anthelios, but not tried it yet. Do you have any recommendations?

I've been trying out the spray bottles of suncream (not that there's any sun here at the moment to protect myself from!). I think the problem is that factor 50 is just pretty thick, so even though it's in a spray bottle, it still doesn't cover as well as a thinner mix might. I'll keep an eye out for a sponge on a stick though!

It reminds me of the solution if you have someone following you in your car. Don't drive home - drive to a police station.

That's the approach I take - if I thought someone was following me, I'd steer away from my cabin, back to the nearest busy spot.

The other thing to remember is that many of the "lonely" places on a ship are corridors lined with cabins. While it would be an absolute last resort, if I felt I was in immediate danger I'd have no compunction about hammering on every single door until someone stuck their head out. I'd rather a few people be angry with me for disturbing them than to risk my personal safety out of shyness :)

For me, the absolute most awkward thing is not having anyone to put suncream on the part of my back that I can't reach! I'm so pale as to be almost transparent, and while most of the time I can manage by covering up, when swimming, snorkeling etc., that's not so easy.

First cruise I went on I asked an American lady (who was with her husband) if she'd mind helping me with Factor 50 on the spot I missed. You'd swear I asked if she'd mind if I slept with her husband while beating her with a stick. After her reaction I was foolishly too embarrassed to ask anyone else, and ended up burned. Thankfully, later in the week, I met another couple who thought it was a reasonable request.

There's also the slight awkwardness when you're settled in a nice spot with a book, camera, etc, and realise you want to go to the bathroom. Do you leave all your belongings on the chair with your drink, and hope no-one steals them, or do you take everything but the drink with you, and come back to find your chair and drink are gone? That's not unique to cruises though!