Solo senior cruiser to Alaska?

[runchadrun]

My mother, who is turning 70 this summer, wants to take an Alaska cruise but is unable to find friends or family who can go with her. Her husband is in long-term care and is unable to travel.

 

She has sailed several times before, including to Alaska, and Celebrity is her line of choice. She is looking at the August 21 sailing out of Seattle on the Solstice but she isn't sure if she wants to do it as a solo traveler. I haven't sailed on Celebrity so I don't know what, if any, activities and programs might be available for solo seniors, or seniors in general. She doesn't have an easy time making new friends outside her age cohort so it would really help if she was mingling with people her own age.

 

Can someone shed some light on whether she might have enough things to do?

[Kamloops50]

My mother, who is turning 70 this summer, wants to take an Alaska cruise but is unable to find friends or family who can go with her. Her husband is in long-term care and is unable to travel.

 

She has sailed several times before, including to Alaska, and Celebrity is her line of choice. She is looking at the August 21 sailing out of Seattle on the Solstice but she isn't sure if she wants to do it as a solo traveler. I haven't sailed on Celebrity so I don't know what, if any, activities and programs might be available for solo seniors, or seniors in general. She doesn't have an easy time making new friends outside her age cohort so it would really help if she was mingling with people her own age.

 

Can someone shed some light on whether she might have enough things to do?

 

She maybe should look at Holland America. They tend to be more your mother's age.

[lobster129]

Celebrity will have plenty of cruisers that are in her age range. It will be beneficial for her to join the roll call for her sailing and begin getting to know her cruise mates. AK in particular tends to have some multi-gernerational family groups....helping to fulfill something from the parents/grandparents bucket list.

 

Even though AK offers many action/adventure excursions....there are plenty that include transportation and/or just strolling around.

 

Make sure she gets travel insurance (NOT through cruise line) within 14 days of booking cruise so pre-existing medical condition are covered.

 

IMO, people are generally friendly and open to meeting new friends....much more so that I find on land.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Why don't you join her? It would be a great experience for both of you.

[jelayne]

Agree she should join the roll call for her cruise. There may well be others traveling solo and there may be some folks putting together private excursions she could join. I would also suggest she book traditional dining at a table of 6-8 another way to meet fellow cruisers.

[runchadrun]

I'll suggest HAL to her. It might be more up her demographic alley, though she's quite fond of Celebrity.

[varoo]

My mother, who is turning 70 this summer, wants to take an Alaska cruise but is unable to find friends or family who can go with her. Her husband is in long-term care and is unable to travel.

 

She has sailed several times before, including to Alaska, and Celebrity is her line of choice. She is looking at the August 21 sailing out of Seattle on the Solstice but she isn't sure if she wants to do it as a solo traveler. I haven't sailed on Celebrity so I don't know what, if any, activities and programs might be available for solo seniors, or seniors in general. She doesn't have an easy time making new friends outside her age cohort so it would really help if she was mingling with people her own age.

 

Can someone shed some light on whether she might have enough things to do?

I would suggest that she might want to consider the Infinity or Millennium for Alaska instead of the Solstice. Those are somewhat smaller ships that are easier to get around and both have more scenic itineraries than the Solstice, as well as more convenient and easily accessible storage inside the cabins.

 

Additionally the Millennium and Infinity have nice promenade decks, if your mother enjoys strolling around an uncrowded promenade deck with open views.

 

The Solstice is a newer and more modern ship with more of a "wow" factor, but seems to have been designed for looks rather than comfort.

Most of the views on its promenade deck are blocked by lifeboats.

 

A good way to meet people is to choose traditional dining and ask for a larger table. That should give your mother an opportunity to get to know people by dining with the same ones every night.

Celebrity is generally pretty good about matching up compatible dining companions on the ship, but if she does not care for the table she is assigned, after the first nigh she can ask to be switched to a different table.

 

Most of the activities offered on board have general broad appeal and are not aimed at any specific age group.

In Alaska, all Celebrity ships will have a naturalist onboard who gives interesting presentations that are worth attending.

 

Since your mother has sailed with Celebrity before, she undoubtedly knows that the activities for each day are listed in Celebrity Today and that a copy of the program for the next day is left in the cabin each night. So she can look it over to help plan what she wants to do the next day.

(Extra copies are always available in the Guest Relations area and elsewhere.)

 

They usually hold get-togethers for solo travelers that are listed in the schedule of events, but I don't know if that is the sort of thing that would appeal to your mother, or not.

 

Celebrity uses and sells Apple products, so they typically offer seminars on using iPods, iPads, iPhones, if that would be of interest to her.

 

The staff and crew on Celebrity ships are wonderful and will take very good care of her. If she wants or needs anything, all she has to do is ask.

 

Additionally, they usually have a community bulletin board posted near the Guest Relations area where passengers arrange their own activities, such as bridge games, so she can look there to see what else is being offered on the ship that might interest her.

 

There will probably be a handout in her cabin the first day describing all the shore excursions the ship offers. Down at the shore excursion desk, they usually have books that passengers can browse through giving much more detailed descriptions of each of the excursions.

The personnel there are happy to answer any questions passengers have about any of the excursions.

 

If it is her first time cruising solo, she may feel more secure taking a ship sponsored tour instead of heading out on her own or with strangers met over the internet. There is usually at least one ship employee who goes along on the ship sponsored excursions.

 

As far as having enough things to do, I could happily spend an entire Alaska cruise just enjoying that marvelous non-stop scenery even if I did nothing else, but I happen to prefer scenery and wildlife to shipboard activities.

 

(That is one of the reasons why I advise against the Solstice for Alaska, which wastes two days just cruising out in open ocean, while the other two Celebrity ships spend that time cruising through the protected waters of the scenic lower inside passage instead.)

 

 

There is a very experienced solo traveler on here called LoisR, who although a woman quite a bit younger than your mother, should have some good tips to offer for a woman traveling solo, so I am hoping she will see this thread and chime in.

 

Edited April 3, 2015 by varoo

[Lois R]

Hi...yes, I saw this thread.....

 

I am sailing to Alaska next month and yes, I always sail solo. I am 57

so 13 years younger than your Mom. But if your Mom has sailed with

Celebrity before and is happy with the product? Unless she feels

other lines will offer her a better cruise? I think there are plenty of

folks her age on board and if she is a "young 70", there are folks who

are "old 40s"......

I have met people of all ages over the years. From 20s--30s up......

 

I would say have your Mom sign up for the roll call for

her cruise. That can be a nice way of meeting other people.

I can't help with the "Senior Question" as it doesn't matter to me

if someone is 70 or 20.....if people are friendly and courteous, that

is more important to me.

 

Alaska cruises are ususally geared more toward outdoor activities...

Not all of course, but normally during the day most folks are on

some type of excursion, whether it be a private tour or through

the ship.

 

And, I echo Mary Lou's question......if she doesn't want to sail

alone, is there a way you can join her?

[runchadrun]

Thanks for all the feedback. For a variety of reasons I won't be able to join her. I've looked at the HAL itineraries and they include Sitka and Victoria, which I know she hasn't been to so those might interest her.

 

I'll also talk to her about sailing on the Infinity out of Vancouver instead of the Solstice out of Seattle. I sailed the Inside Passage on RCL's Rhapsody 2 years ago and loved being able to watch the scenery go by.

[VioletHorse]

We've cruised on Celebrity, HAL, Princess and Carnival.

 

Our 3 Alaska cruises have all been on HAL, and by far have had the youngest demographic of any cruiseline on any itinerary that we've sailed. My casual observation on those 3 HAL Alaska cruises is that those cruises are very popular for multi-generational families, so, yes, there are 70-somethings on board, but they aren't particularly interested in mixing with other passengers since they're cruising with their kids and grandkids. We don't cruise during school vacation times, yet the largest number of kids that we've seen on any cruiseline, anytime, have been on those HAL cruises to Alaska in May.

 

We've done the HAL itinerary with Sitka and Victoria. Sitka is a tender port and is a nice, compact, walkable town. Our stop in Victoria was short, and used to fulfill PVSA requirements so you may want to look at in-port times on that itinerary.

 

We've met a few solo cruisers on all our cruises, and they have all been extremely outgoing and willing to strike up a conversation. Cruising solo if you're somewhat shy will be difficult no matter what cruise line you choose.

[cruiseacecat]

I hope you will not talk your Mom out of Celebrity. A first solo cruise can be unnerving and at least she will feel she is in familiar surroundings on a cruise line she already likes.

 

I am your Mom's age and I travel solo most of the time. Celebrity is a great fit for me even though I am not a chatty, outgoing person. It always surprises me how many couples practically adopt me out of fear that I may be lonely. She will only be as alone as she wants to be.

 

Joining the roll call is important. She will have an opportunity to meet some of her shipmates before she cruises and can hopefully find some compatible people. Also, when she first boards, she should visit the Matre'd and check that she is seated at a large people with people of a like age if that is important to her.

 

I have been cruising, mostly solo, for 20 years now and love it. I hope your Mom will also.