Significantly more women solo traveling?

[puggo63]

It's interesting, I noticed that there is a significant higher ratio of solo women travelors than men on cruises - I mean even some cruises even provider "gentlemen" hosts for God's sake! As a guy myself, I have no problems solo traveling - I thing its my very independent spirit (lol) but I asked some male friends of mine and their answer was " I wouldn't be caught dead solo on a cruise" they had no reason other than they "don't want to.":confused::D

[kitty9]

Men don't usually cruise solo until they're well within retirement age. I have no idea why guys don't cruise solo, perhaps it's a perception that they won't have fun. But geeze, you get fed, can drink to your heart's content without having to worry about driving home, you have all your entertainment in one place, you don't have to clean or cook or anything like that and you're pampered. What's not to like? Plus, you can meet all kinds of women, so I have no idea why guys don't cruise, even as a group.

[afcj1]

IMO...Women are much more independent then men and if we find something that we want to do, WE DO IT;) We don't need to wait for a friend or a group, since sometimes that never happens.

[janetlm]

Also, I feel that cruising offers a safe experience for women traveling alone. It offers the opportunity to socialize as much or as little as a person wants to. Personally, I would not feel comfortable on all land vacations as a solo, but I feel that I would be able to cruise almost anywhere in the world. If there are other women out there that feel the same way that I do, then that might account for the larger number of women to men.

 

Perhaps there are simply more options for younger men that they can envision themselves doing more easily.

 

Janet

[Solo Cruiser]

My last cruise (much too long ago) was the first where I was seated at a table for solos which included males. One of the gentlemen was a widower and he had cruised with his wife many times. He was surprised he was having such a wonderful, though bittersweet cruise. The other 2 fellas cruised alone as a matter of course and said they didn't know why more men didn't cruise solo.

[cutecat]

Hear Hear! That's the spirit!

[Texaswinediva]

IMO...Women are much more independent then men and if we find something that we want to do, WE DO IT;) We don't need to wait for a friend or a group, since sometimes that never happens.

 

 

I think you are right about that. When women want something, they

do it! Men can find all kinds of reasons to not commit.

[DizzyDallasDi]

As much as men don't want to admit it, women are just simply more gutsy and independent. :)

[dancehall_doctor]

Hmm...is that a word....Gutsy?....are you trying to say women are braver,,,lol....Im going solo,,,I aint scared....good post:)

[Annieeee]

I have cruised alone several times and had a great time. I don't have to have someone cruising with me. Sadly there are too many ladies and gentlemen that need to have someone at their side constantly. That would get on my nerves. I do believe that women have the self confidence to cruise alone, more so than men anyway.

 

Now why some cruiselines provide gentlemen host I will never understand.

But I guess that is a subject for a totally different thread. :)

 

Annieeee

[kitty9]

Gentlemen hosts provide a very lovely experience. I've cruised many times where the hosts were there and they are really wonderful men. When a solo lady cruises, and likes to dance, what's she supposed to do? Dance alone? That's the primary function of the hosts, to dance with the solo ladies. Can you imagine if a solo woman went up to a married couple and asked the husband to dance? I bet you'd find more than a few wives who would punch you out.

[Starrgazer50]

Gentlemen hosts provide a very lovely experience. I've cruised many times where the hosts were there and they are really wonderful men. When a solo lady cruises, and likes to dance, what's she supposed to do? Dance alone? That's the primary function of the hosts, to dance with the solo ladies. Can you imagine if a solo woman went up to a married couple and asked the husband to dance? I bet you'd find more than a few wives who would punch you out.

LOL...That's for sure!! :D Keep a frozen bag of beans handy..lol

Are you speaking about having gentlemen host for Ballroom Dancing?

[DizzyDallasDi]

Hmm...is that a word....Gutsy?....are you trying to say women are braver,,,lol....Im going solo,,,I aint scared....good post:)

 

Yes, gutsy is a word....

 

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gutsy

[NHBob]

This thread, including some gratuitous male bashing, overlooks one basic fact: there are more solo ladies cruising than men because statistically you normally outlive us men by several years!

 

Bob

[kitty9]

LOL...That's for sure!! :D Keep a frozen bag of beans handy..lol

Are you speaking about having gentlemen host for Ballroom Dancing?

 

Yes, they have what they call Ambassador Hosts on Crystal, and they are really wonderful gentlemen. I know a few personally and they are very gracious men and wonderful dancers. On Crystal the Hosts dance with the solo ladies, are available to be partners during the dance lessons that Crystal has nearly every day, accompany solo ladies on the ship's shore excursions and host tables in the dining room.

[Starrgazer50]

Yes, they have what they call Ambassador Hosts on Crystal, and they are really wonderful gentlemen. I know a few personally and they are very gracious men and wonderful dancers. On Crystal the Hosts dance with the solo ladies, are available to be partners during the dance lessons that Crystal has nearly every day, accompany solo ladies on the ship's shore excursions and host tables in the dining room.

Wow! That really nice and very unique:).

I would love to take dance lesson. What do they teach?

I have a 50 B-Day coming up in 2yrs and haven't decided which cruiseline to use. I usually do NCL..This January 2011 will be my first time solo on NCL's 10 days r/t NY to Carib. then I'll get to see if I want to use them for my cruise to Europe.

I will be definitely give the Crystal site a serious look.

[NHBob]

Wow! That really nice and very unique:).

I would love to take dance lesson. What do they teach?

I have a 50 B-Day coming up in 2yrs and haven't decided which cruise line to use. I usually do NCL..This January 2011 will be my first time solo on NCL's 10 days r/t NY to Carib. then I'll get to see if I want to use them for my cruise to Europe.

I will be definitely give the Crystal site a serious look.

 

About a year ago I started a thread on the Crystal boards, http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1061757, Dancing at Sea on Crystal, and you'll find a lot of information posted there by Crystal's dance fans.

 

Insofar as dance classes are concerned, Crystal has a male/female dance team on every cruise. The team performs some evenings and teaches a complimentary dance class each sea day. The dances they teach are limited by the number of sea days, but may include all the standard ballroom steps - waltz, foxtrot, rumba, cha-cha, swing and perhaps salsa and/or tango. As mentioned by Kitty, Crystal has Ambassador Hosts on every cruise - they are one of the few lines still doing this.

 

Private lessons are offered by the dance team, pretty much any step you want to learn. Current rate is $100 for a 45-minute lesson (solo or couple), which includes Crystal's cut. Most of us Crystal regulars have our favorite instructors - I know of several ladies who schedule cruises in order to take lessons from a particular instructor.

 

One thing that you may already be aware of is that you are buying a luxury cruise from Crystal on a ship with no more than 1000 passengers, vs. NCL's mass market product. I'd say if NCL is a Holiday Inn, Crystal is the Four Seasons or Ritz, and you most definitely pay for the difference! Personally I think it's worth it.

 

One other thing Crystal does is schedule an annual big band/ballroom dance cruise, normally a late fall Lisbon-Miami transatlantic, with lots of special events. This year, as in past years, it is a 10-day crossing, but in 2011 it will be extended to 13 days, thus adding sea days. More information on the November 2009 transatlantic ballroom cruise, including my notes, can be found on the aforementioned Dancing at Sea thread.

 

And finally, if you have questions about dancing on Crystal I suggest you post them on the Dancing at Sea thread - you'll definitely receive answers.

 

Bob

[puggo63]

It's funny how the world is - imagine they had "lady hosts" for men traveling solo - everyone will be up in arms calling it prostitution! LOL :p

[kitty9]

It's funny how the world is - imagine they had "lady hosts" for men traveling solo - everyone will be up in arms calling it prostitution! LOL :p

 

I don't think that would be the case. The hosts are strictly controlled and are fired if they do so much as dance with the same lady for two consecutive songs. I know one host that was fired during a world cruise because he went off the ship in Hong Kong to have lunch with a solo lady who was 90 years old, and he didn't make it back in time for an assignment. He was gone at the next port.

 

Karaokelady, Crystal is wonderful for solos, but it is a luxury line and not cheap. BUT, Crystal has the lowest single supplement of any line out there, at 25%. It would be a wonderful treat for a big birthday.

[airlink diva]

It's interesting, I noticed that there is a significant higher ratio of solo women travelors than men on cruises - I mean even some cruises even provider "gentlemen" hosts for God's sake! As a guy myself, I have no problems solo traveling - I thing its my very independent spirit (lol) but I asked some male friends of mine and their answer was " I wouldn't be caught dead solo on a cruise" they had no reason other than they "don't want to.":confused::D

 

On all of my solo cruises, I will say that the majority of the solo cruisers that I've met on board were females.

The one exception was on my 2006 Miracle cruise out of Tampa.

I met several solo male cruisers while waiting to board the ship.

My table at dinner was a six seater and their was only two women at this table and the others were men solo cruising. They ranged in age from mid 30's to late 80's. We all had a great time and end up going to the shows afterwards or having a late cocktail in the piano bar.

It was a great group on board that ship!

[Lard Greystoke]

It's funny how the world is - imagine they had "lady hosts" for men traveling solo - everyone will be up in arms calling it prostitution! LOL :p

 

Depends on whether the dancing is vertical.

[quiet11957]

I don't think that would be the case. The hosts are strictly controlled and are fired if they do so much as dance with the same lady for two consecutive songs. I know one host that was fired during a world cruise because he went off the ship in Hong Kong to have lunch with a solo lady who was 90 years old, and he didn't make it back in time for an assignment. He was gone at the next port.

 

Karaokelady, Crystal is wonderful for solos, but it is a luxury line and not cheap. BUT, Crystal has the lowest single supplement of any line out there, at 25%. It would be a wonderful treat for a big birthday.

 

Personally, I would have no desire to spend time with a "strictly controlled host." I have seen people dancing alone plenty of times and enjoying themselves - or dancing w/other women who's husbands don't like to dance.

[NHBob]

I have seen people dancing alone plenty of times and enjoying themselves -

 

If you call that dancing! I call it performing or exhibitionism, or at worst, flailing about with total disregard for dance floor etiquette and ballroom dancers. OK in the disco, but certainly not on a dance floor!

 

Flame on!

 

Bob

[kitty9]

Yeah, Bob !!!!!

 

quiet, you'd do ballroom dancing all alone??? How can one do that? I've not seen anyone doing a foxtrot, waltz or other "couple" dances as a solo. Sorry, but in all my many cruises, I've not seen two women doing ballroom dancing. Disco type dancing, sure. But not ballroom, which is the kind of dancing the Hosts do.

 

And why wouldn't you want to dance with a "strictly controlled" host? Would someone prefer a host who has no rules and can behave in any inappropriate manner? I appreciate that hosts have rules by which to adhere on a cruise. It makes everything on the up and up.

[NHBob]

Thanks, Darcie. We traditionalists need to stick together, as I fear we are an endangered species!

 

Bob