which cruise line offers the best dinning options for solo

[traveled]

For a solo female which cruise lines take the best care of female solo passengers?

[Honolulu Blue]

For a solo female which cruise lines take the best care of female solo passengers?

 

This is a tougher question than you might think. You need to ask yourself what do YOU want from your on-ship dining. I'll start, since no one is paying attention anyway. I'm a guy, but what I want is 1) options on where to eat, 2) my own table (most of the time), and 3) to be left alone (most of the time). I find most of the options on the mainstream ships adequate, though some are better than others.

 

Broadly, there are four types of dining found on the ship, though not all of them will have all of these:

 

1) Main Dining traditional - You'll be seated with several others at a table at a set time. Some lines tend match up singles at their own table(s), some don't.

 

2) Main Dining flexible - You choose who you go with, when to go, and whether you want to eat with others or not. It sounds good in theory, but the practice can vary from line to line, ship to ship, even week to week.

 

3) Casual - This includes the buffet, small restaurants around the buffet, and coffee/snack shops scattered around the ship. Seating, where available, is first-come, first-served.

 

4) Fancy - These are the specialty restaurants that you (usually) have to dress up and make reservations for. They act mostly the same way they do on land - if you want a table for one, they'll give you one. I don't think you'll have much luck joining others at a table, but then again, I've never asked.

 

There may be other options for you that depend on the ship and line, but you'll have to search those out.

 

As usual, I'll refer you to the Solo sub-board for discussion of dining and other issues solo cruisers have: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=373

[navybankerteacher]

For a solo female which cruise lines take the best care of female solo passengers?

 

It depends - are you talking about a solo traveler wanting the best options - which might be seen including being placed at a table with (hopefully) compatible others, and would involve traditional assigned dining; and which has activities which would facilitate solo travelers interacting with others - in which case Cunard, Celebrity or HAL might be "best".

 

If by solo you mean you want to be left alone and not interact with others, you might find NCL's approach to dining preferable - also, they seem to have the largest selection of solo accommodations.

[ducklite]

Look at Windstar. We had two solos on our ship and because of the small passenger load you quickly meet new people and will be invited to dine with them. If you prefer to dine alone, a request for a table for one will ALWAYS be granted.

[LHT28]

I would ask in the Solo forum

There you will get answers from people who have gone solo & experienced the service for solo's

[spookwife]

For a solo female which cruise lines take the best care of female solo passengers?

 

define 'best care'

 

 

no line will pander to or cater to single pax of either gender. I believe NCL, which has a plethora of single occupancy cabins, offers a singles only Lounge

 

passengers are expected to entertain themselves through a variety of diversions the ship offers throughout the day.

 

as for dining.. again that is your responsibility to make your wishes known. do you want to eat with others? or do you want to eat by yourself? every line offers several different dining options that are included in the base far plus for fee venues.

 

cruises by and large are sold based on the assumption that you are traveling with at least one other person.

[DRS/NC]

"define 'best care'

 

no line will pander to or cater to single pax of either gender. I believe NCL, which has a plethora of single occupancy cabins, offers a singles only Lounge

 

passengers are expected to entertain themselves through a variety of diversions the ship offers throughout the day.

 

as for dining.. again that is your responsibility to make your wishes known. do you want to eat with others? or do you want to eat by yourself? every line offers several different dining options that are included in the base far plus for fee venues.

 

cruises by and large are sold based on the assumption that you are traveling with at least one other person."

 

Agree! I'm a female who cruises solo most of the time.

Edited July 11, 2016 by DRS/NC

[kitty9]

What do you expect from a cruise? The term "best" means different things to different people. For some, best is the cheapest cruise you can find or maybe best is a line with few kids.

 

I've taken more than 30 solo cruises, and the one common thread in my experience is that the luxury lines cater to solo women cruisers the best. On some, you'll receive an invitation to dinner every night with a ship's officer or a member of the staff. On others, they have ambassador hosts who will be available for dancing and to accompany solos on ship sponsored group tours. I've found that on the smaller, luxury ships, solo women are treated very nicely and aren't just another tiny face on a behemoth cruise ship.

[boltnut55]

Assuming you want main dining room environment, my only suggestion is to check on who your table mates might be. Our large family of 8 had 1 solo female seated with us, so that made it awkward. We also had some language and cultural barriers (the older folks are very private, so even a question about which are your children or where are you from may cause concern), so it was very difficult to communicate. We did cut ties after the first night, more for her comfort, and we later saw her with a table that looked like 3 couples around her age.

[GUT2407]

As others say, it may depend on your definition of best.

[calliopecruiser]

For a solo female which cruise lines take the best care of female solo passengers?

 

As everyone has said, it depends on what you think is "best care".......I cruise solo, and prefer a mixed table for 8 in a traditional seating (i.e. same dining time, same table mates), but other solo passengers prefer an open seating situation so they can dine with whomever they choose based on who they meet on board, or so they can dine alone.

[OzKiwiJJ]

On our first cruise, on Sun Princess so no anytime dining, a solo female joined our table part way through the cruise. Initially she had been seated with a group of solo males, whose conversation was not the most pleasant to be around. Eventually she couldn't take it any more and asked to be re-assigned.

[boltnut55]

The person who put her at your table to begin with should be ashamed of themselves. What an awkward situation for all. Large parties should never have others seated with them, particularly a solo. If I were a maitre de I would always try to book solos with two same gender passengers (i.e. A pairs of friends or mother/daughter, etc.) or several couples. Or other solos where possible.

 

Thanks. We were surprised/confused that it happened too