single man cruising lol not a joke

[Trellaine]

Hihi

 

I have always been curious about going on a cruise. I see a cruise leaving Vancouver to Alaska and returning to Vancouver via Holland America/Zaandam. One week.

 

I have lots of questions but the main questions are:

 

I realize solo travel is expensive, paying double unfortunately. No way around that for me at this point.

 

Is the Holland America/Zaandam a ship for me? Mid 40s male, young at heart but like quiet times and mature crowds.

 

And secondly how in the world do I choose a room? I definitely don't want to be inside with no windows! and how to choose the deck etc?

 

Thanks for reading and your patience as well for a newbie.

[lakelorain]

It may be to your advantage to consult a Travel Agent. It costs nothing and you may get some benefit from booking with the agent, like an on-board credit. A good agent will find out what you like and dislike and suggest a cruise line and cabin that fits your personality and concerns.

[dadroy]

I've never sailed solo, but I've paid double. What? I have taken about 10 cruises where I take other people with me just because I am going to be paying anyway. I took my Brother in Law to Alaska, my Sister in Law through the Panama Canal, a secretary at work to the Caribbean, a neighbor to Mexico and my kids on all the others.

 

First of all, this keeps me from being "solo" and I am not throwing away money, someone is cruising.

 

As to your questions, if you want a room with a window get an ocean view. On most ships, these are small windows, not full size picture windows. They also are not exactly built for you to sit in your room and "see" the ocean.

 

Want to spend more, get a Balcony. Look at the ship deckplans and try to get a room on a deck with rooms above and below. Makes for less noise like below the kitchen where you hear banging all night. Avoid the extreme front and back of the ship if you like to sleep in. When pulling into ports these rooms can get noisy.

 

I have done many Holland America cruises and I just turned 55. I and those who have traveled with me, young, 16 to older, 65 have all found the line to be interesting and fun.

Edited March 10, 2014 by dadroy
add info

[Trellaine]

Thanks for your quick responses and great information. Your right re: if I am paying full double occupancy lol I might as well have some tag along. Since I am paying for it anyways. Not sure if I can find anyone on 1.5 months notice. :) And great tips for where to be situated on the ship. And I will go talk with an agent today. Its probably best I do face to face. Then they can hopefully guide me in the right direction. Ultimately I have to make the final decision.

 

Thanks again.

 

How much can I expect to spend onboard for 7 days? what type of budget? just for basic stuff. general guess?

[calliopecruiser]

First of all, this keeps me from being "solo" and I am not throwing away money, someone is cruising.

 

You make it sound like being solo is a bad thing that one should avoid! There's nothing wrong with traveling solo (there are some advantages, I think), and I'd certainly rather travel solo that be sharing a cabin with a "tag along" (as Tellaine put it) or someone who might get under my skin -- those are tight quarters to share unless you're a good live-together match.

 

To the OP: You may want to check out the "Solo Cruisers" forum on CC, and don't worry about getting a balcony or window cabin - there's nothing about traveling solo that means you have to accept the smallest or darkest space available. Get the cabin you want, not the cabin the cruise lines think you should have.

[Trellaine]

Thank u for the support :) I just got back from the agent. Trips out of Vancouver to Alaska return. Or what was suggested by the agent is Celebrity Solstice ( newer ship) which goes Vancouver to Alaska then Seattle. Which I can do. I live in Vancouver.

 

Reviews on the Holland America Zuiderdam etc don't seem so favorable.

 

And with this being my first time I would prefer to do this right.

 

Although there was a decent deal on a balcony room with Holland America it seems.

 

Hmmm i do like space lol.

 

And the more I thought about bringing someone along the more I thought what if I don't know that person well etc. so many things can go wrong. And I do a lot of traveling alone.

 

Thanks again everyone. I will continue my research for the next day. Maybe I will take the balcony deal with Holland America.

[kitty9]

Take a look at Celebrity. They have a special promotion where you choose one of three things, a drinks package (it covers most beverages, including alcohol, up to $9 a glass), paid gratuities or an on board credit. Plus, Celebrity will have a bit of a younger demographic. HAL has the rep of being for the walker set. And, if you're a non smoker, Celebrity has the most restrictive no smoking policy.

 

If you go with Celebrity, I highly recommend an aft cabin because its great for sitting out on the balcony watching the water and the sea life. Lots of fish like to play in the wake of the ship

Edited March 11, 2014 by kitty9

[cb at sea]

I would have no desire to vacation solo....it's nice to have someone to share the experience with, even if it's just a platonic friend!

 

Realize that the room costs what it costs.....it's DOUBLE occupancy....so it's one price, whether there's 1 or 2 in the cabin. So don't feel like they're singling you out.

[FoghornLeghorn]

If you don't find someone to take with you, then solo is a great option. You go and do what you want, WHEN you want. No sharing the bathroom, etc :D

 

Cruse Critic has Roll Call threads.

Once you decide, I would suggest you join yours and get involved. You'll find other "solos" and people who enjoy the same things. They will have a Meet and Greet and you can go to that, and meet the people that are on the cruise and posting here.

 

Here's a link about Celebrity cruises roll calls that might be helpful

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=547106

 

You get to see beautiful sights, your meals prepared, no washing dishes :D and your stateroom cleaned daily.

Go! try cruising and see if it's for you.

Edited March 11, 2014 by FoghornLeghorn

[calliopecruiser]

I would have no desire to vacation solo....it's nice to have someone to share the experience with, even if it's just a platonic friend!

 

Yes, that's true -- but vacationing solo is better than not vacationing at all, or not getting to go where you want or when you want because your friends are unable or willing to do the same. I don't prefer vacationing solo, but I'd rather go to Portugal alone than not go to Portugal (for instance).

[kitty9]

Yes, that's true -- but vacationing solo is better than not vacationing at all, or not getting to go where you want or when you want because your friends are unable or willing to do the same. I don't prefer vacationing solo, but I'd rather go to Portugal alone than not go to Portugal (for instance).

 

CB has always been anti solo cruisers, despite what every other persons says. Like you, I'd rather travel the world solo than sit at home.

[Trellaine]

If you don't find someone to take with you, then solo is a great option. You go and do what you want, WHEN you want. No sharing the bathroom, etc :D

 

Cruse Critic has Roll Call threads.

Once you decide, I would suggest you join yours and get involved. You'll find other "solos" and people who enjoy the same things. They will have a Meet and Greet and you can go to that, and meet the people that are on the cruise and posting here.

 

Here's a link about Celebrity cruises roll calls that might be helpful

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=547106

 

You get to see beautiful sights, your meals prepared, no washing dishes :D and your stateroom cleaned daily.

Go! try cruising and see if it's for you.

 

Thanks for the support! much appreciated. I think thats why I enjoy travel by myself. Cant always find someone to travel with. And thus I would be sitting around, can't wait for anyone and schedules as well.

 

This is pretty much last minute, Booking for late April early May.

[BeagleOne]

Better to travel solo than not to go at all, or to travel with people with whom you're not compatible, or to travel with someone you don't know well just to save money and end up not getting along well with...and then you're stuck not only travelling with them, but sharing a cabin with them! :eek:

[Lerin]

There's a board here for solo cruisers. You may find someone looking at the same cruise. You'll like any ship you choose as Alaska is more about being in Alaska and less about being on a ship.

 

Good luck, have fun

[Perigee123]

Better to travel solo than not to go at all, or to travel with people with whom you're not compatible, or to travel with someone you don't know well just to save money and end up not getting along well with...and then you're stuck not only travelling with them, but sharing a cabin with them! :eek:

 

Hmm. That BeagleOne wouldn't happen to be based on Moonbase Alpo, would it..? ~Grin~

[Cruisin' Chick]

Before he met me, hubby went on his first cruise solo. But at that time, Carnival did have a match up program so he was paired with another guy. Fortunately they got along, but I'm guessing that and other similar cruiseline programs had a lot of problems with mismatched passengers so they no longer exist.

 

On our first Hawaiian cruise, two of our tablemates were brother and sister, who didn't live together, and on the cruise didn't share a cabin (so they both were paying the solo supplement), and didn't even hang out in the ports as far as I know (the sister was on two of our excursions). I remember being in a lounge for a trivia match and the brother was at the bar enjoying a drink. I guess the big thing for them was to have dinner together on most of the days (he missed a dinner or two to go watch a football game).

[dadroy]

You asked about spending. I have spent 5 weeks cruising in Alaska. It is a great place to cruise, but be aware many of the shore excursion get very expensive. For example, the helicopter flight to the top of a glacier is in the $300 per person range. Float plane to Misty fjord is around $265 per person.

 

Great trips! Will remember them for the rest of my life! But they add up. Yes you can do cheaper excursions, but the once in a lifetime ones are costly.

 

Onboard, you control the cost. If you don't drink much, other than tips, you can keep your spending to less than $20 a day. A beer is around $5.50, wine is about $8-9, cocktails about the same. So if you drink a little, it adds up quickly. Your tips will add about $12 per person per day regardless of the cruise line you go on.

[SA71]

I, an early 40s female, also live in Vancouver and I am taking my mother on the july 27 sailing to alaska on the Celebrity Century. I have booked a verandah room on deck 8. My brother is joining us but is paying double for his own room, a cat 10 inside on deck 8. I decided against HAL mostly because Celebrity seemed to target my age group more, the non smoking policy on Celebrity, and the free alcoholic beverage package booking promo that was offered. This is our first cruise. I figure that vacationing solo or with a family member (instead of the more traditional spouse) is better than not going at all.

 

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[Hlitner]

The OP does not say much about himself (as far as age, likes, dislikes, etc) but we will post about our friend (named Pat) who is a single guy (of a senior age) who regularly cruises on HAL and loved every moment. In fact, Pat, is somewhat of a well known cruiser on HAL where he has many friends among the crew and regular cruises.

 

But we have seen two kinds of single male cruisers (I have befriended some) on our many cruises. One type is very quiet, tends to hang by himself, often spends a lot of time sitting at the bar (less lonely then at a table), etc. And then there are guys like by friend Pat, who our outgoing, love to socialize, can be the life of the party or an entire room, etc. So we say to the OP that you only have one life and you are not going to know until you try. As a single guy you will probably not spend a lot of waking time in your cabin (unless you are a hermit) so you might not want to overthink the cabin issue.

 

Hank

[uncleg]

OP if you are 40 active and young HA is probably not the cruise for you. My parents 68 and 69 both young at heart and active. They were board silly on HA it caters to an older crowd and mindset.

[G'Day M8]

Not only are there many Singles Cruises, such as VTG, NCL has four ships with solo cabins, while RCI will have them on the Quantum as well. I have gone on RCI for both 100 and 110% prices for a cabin all to myself, even being upgraded to a balcony on the Oasis last year. Carnival offers dozens of cruises with no single supplement. Just do your research!

[DISNEY1975]

Norwegian Cruise line has a few ships with "Singles" rooms. They are more than one person rate, but less than double. These rooms come with a private lounge area for solo travelers and concierge to help with any show/dining/excursion you may desire.

 

Maybe your agent can research those as well.

 

At any rate, enjoy your trip!:)

[Winston Wolf]

Norwegian Cruise line has a few ships with "Singles" rooms. They are more than one person rate, but less than double. These rooms come with a private lounge area for solo travelers and concierge to help with any show/dining/excursion you may desire.

 

Maybe your agent can research those as well.

 

At any rate, enjoy your trip!:)

 

"Studio" rooms. I was just about to post this as well. I beleive they are on Epic, Breakaway, and Getaway.

[GORDONCHICK]

I would focus more on the ports than the line/ship. As far as spending goes, each line has a form of daily service charge - in the range of $12 per person per day. Be sure to include this in your budget. This can also be prepaid when you book and pay for your cruise. Excursions can be expensive in Alaska, but they are usually worth it. Know that if you book a helicopter ride to a glacier, it can be canceled for weather.

 

As far as age & line goes, I'm staring 50 in the face and I thought HAL beyond dead. The ship was lovely and the service was fine, but the passenger demo was primarily walker/scooter, wheelchair bunch. Personally, I prefer Norwegian and Celebrity (Norwegian has no mandatory formal nights, which is nice).

[GoGoJules]

Fair warning to you that it's still going to be on the chilly/snowy end of things during the time of your cruise. Just want to make sure you keep that in mind when looking at tours esp. if you're considering doing any hiking.

 

That being said, Alaska is gorgeous and you're going to have such an amazing time!!! DH and I had our first cruise last year (to Mexico) with an inside cabin and honestly it was much nicer than I expected it to be. There are so many neat little places on board that we didn't really miss the window.

 

Do you know your itinerary yet? The towns in southeast are sooo much fun and there's so many cool things to do and see!!!

 

Given the time of year I'd probably skip the tramway in Juneau, as most likely the trails up top won't be open yet (should be able to check that online though). It's a pricy ride just don't want you to waste money on it if you won't get much from it. Fwiw though you can actually do a hike up to the top of Mt. Roberts (lots of switchbacks, pretty - just watch for black bear!), and then take the tram back down ($10 iirc).

 

Make sure to visit the Red Dog Saloon while you're downtown too!

 

Mendenhall glacier is easy to get to and has a perfect spot to sit at with a coffee (make sure to get it on your way!) and watch it calving. :-)

 

Anyhow, hope some of that is useful to you, and make sure to take lots of pictures to share with us back here on the boards!!

 

 

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