First Timer - Advices and opinions

[red911s]

Dear Cruisers,

 

I have been flirting the idea of solo travelling on a cruise for quite some time, but once I have almost "0" experience in cruises, I would to love to hear plenty of opinions, so I can properly take my decision. I'll try to be concise in what would be my requirements.

I'm a 36 year-old (straight) good-looking (My belief) man who travels a lot in business (spent around 2 months per year out of my home country). Lately I have developed the desire to travel on a cruise (not on business of course), which is something quite new for me. I would love to meet like-minded people, go into some adventure and widen my already opened horizons. I think I'm on the kind of mood "we only a have one life to live". So far I have visited 36 countries, being most of them Middle-East and Far-East.

The kind of cruise I'm looking after should attend to some (if not all) of the following requirements:

- The cruise duration should be something between 3-12 days (I could eventually consider more then 1 option);

- The idea is to do the cruise when we get rid of the masks, which means, when we have a vaccine for COVID-19. So I would say somewhere in 2021;

- I would like to do the trip in warm weather circumstances (26ºC and above);
- In terms of locations, Central America, Caribbean, or Mediterranean Sea (Baltic if a weekend or so);

- Budget: Up to 3.000 USD;

- My idea is to get into some cruise with open-minded people. Not looking for some a sex cruise, but would like to have the possibility to entail in some activity if it comes up. Would love to meet interesting people, with a relevant life out there, which also go into the cruise to satisfy fantasies, or to be on their own 24/7, or to just relax and take a break from a frenzy life;

- Childs-free cruise;

- I would like to have themed parties, every night (or almost), as they allow people to destress better (this is my personal belief);

- I would like to stay solo in a cabin (can be single or double, as I noticed that most cruises other then NCL don't offer this possibility);

- The capacity of the cruise can vary. I can go into a 6k or 600, depends in what suits better to my requirements (suggestions?)

- The cruise doesn't need to be a solo's only cruise. It can eventually be a "lifestyle" cruise, where singles have their "space" to breath, and feel perfectly comfortable dealing with each other and with couples;

- Nudity/Naturism is no problem, as I practice it often, so the cruise could have an area alike;
- Age interval: Something between 25/30 and 50/55;

- If there are business possibilities that can emerge, that would definitely be a plus, as a good personal relation could easily become a very good business opportunitty;

Based on the above, what would you suggest me? Is there any further information I can add? Please advise.
I shall be waiting for your good advices.

My best regards,
 

Edited August 30, 2020 by red911s
Add missing information

[PelicanBill]

I have found the solo/singles scene to be very variable.  In the roll calls and other online groups, only 10% or fewer  of the people were solo travelers.  Many of them just kept to themselves during sea days, and might be at the bar after dinner.

 

On my last cruise, I went solo.  The other solos were not very social other than the 5pm social before dinner, and then not much for hanging out later.  You better bet is a defined singles cruise if you want to mix it up and have a rich singles social scene.

 

[Jared2]

A gay cruise would satisfy pretty much every one of your criteria, except for you not being gay I guess 😁

[bhsolo]

You are expecting/wanting quite a bit from a cruise. The only type that would meet most of your criteria would be a specific singles cruise. 

[farmersfight]

11 hours ago, red911s said:

Dear Cruisers,

 

I have been flirting the idea of solo travelling on a cruise for quite some time, but once I have almost "0" experience in cruises, I would to love to hear plenty of opinions, so I can properly take my decision. I'll try to be concise in what would be my requirements.

I'm a 36 year-old (straight) good-looking (My belief) man who travels a lot in business (spent around 2 months per year out of my home country). Lately I have developed the desire to travel on a cruise (not on business of course), which is something quite new for me. I would love to meet like-minded people, go into some adventure and widen my already opened horizons. I think I'm on the kind of mood "we only a have one life to live". So far I have visited 36 countries, being most of them Middle-East and Far-East.

The kind of cruise I'm looking after should attend to some (if not all) of the following requirements:

- The cruise duration should be something between 3-12 days (I could eventually consider more then 1 option);

- The idea is to do the cruise when we get rid of the masks, which means, when we have a vaccine for COVID-19. So I would say somewhere in 2021;

- I would like to do the trip in warm weather circumstances (26ºC and above);
- In terms of locations, Central America, Caribbean, or Mediterranean Sea (Baltic if a weekend or so);

- Budget: Up to 3.000 USD;

- My idea is to get into some cruise with open-minded people. Not looking for some a sex cruise, but would like to have the possibility to entail in some activity if it comes up. Would love to meet interesting people, with a relevant life out there, which also go into the cruise to satisfy fantasies, or to be on their own 24/7, or to just relax and take a break from a frenzy life;

- Childs-free cruise;

- I would like to have themed parties, every night (or almost), as they allow people to destress better (this is my personal belief);

- I would like to stay solo in a cabin (can be single or double, as I noticed that most cruises other then NCL don't offer this possibility);

- The capacity of the cruise can vary. I can go into a 6k or 600, depends in what suits better to my requirements (suggestions?)

- The cruise doesn't need to be a solo's only cruise. It can eventually be a "lifestyle" cruise, where singles have their "space" to breath, and feel perfectly comfortable dealing with each other and with couples;

- Nudity/Naturism is no problem, as I practice it often, so the cruise could have an area alike;
- Age interval: Something between 25/30 and 50/55;

- If there are business possibilities that can emerge, that would definitely be a plus, as a good personal relation could easily become a very good business opportunitty;

Based on the above, what would you suggest me? Is there any further information I can add? Please advise.
I shall be waiting for your good advices.

My best regards,
 

 

First of all, welcome to Cruise Critic. I agree with the other posters on this thread - you do have a lot of and wide ranging requirements. So in this regard, you did not make it "concise".

 

Focusing in on solo cruising, you're on the right thread. Also, you can go on the singles cruising thread for that special interest. Not all solo cruisers are single.

 

Once you decide on and book a cruise, go on that cruises roll call here on cc where you can get to know your fellow cruisers in advance. You may find like-minded people that share your interests.

 

Regarding cabins, NCL is a solo friendly cruise line and their larger, newer ships have numerous dedicated solo cabins and also a dedicated solo lounge in an exclusive area on the ship. With that being said, you might also look into Royal Caribbean who also have dedicated solo cabins on some of their ships. They even have solo cabins with balconies on some of their ships. And of course, there is always the option to book a regular cabin and look for a discount on the solo supplement.

 

Regarding nudity, I know Europeans have a different attitude on that than us Americans. In the old days, Carnival used to have a "special deck" where nude sunbathing was allowed but that is no more. I'm not sure about the European based cruise lines. Another suggestion would be to look into nudist/naturalist organizations (i.e. websites) - they will sometimes charter ships for nude cruises (I'm not sure if this is still a thing these days, however).

 

For children free cruises, try Virgin Voyages. Or, book cruises in the fall/winter when children are in school (less children but may not be child free). Regarding your other requirements, they seem to be more a personal decision and I would recommend you narrow them down some. Perhaps some other posters on this thread can help you out with some of your other requirements.

 

Good luck!

Edited August 30, 2020 by farmersfight

[mtwingcpa]

I would suggest that you book a short 3-5 night cruise just to try it. That experience will then give you a basis for determining what likely is or isn't possible in terms of cruising.

 

As others note, I suspect you would need to book a themed singles/solos cruise to find most of the attributes you're looking for.

[CruiseMH]

16 hours ago, red911s said:

- Childs-free cruise;

 

 

that will be the most difficult part.

There are only very few ships that are officially "adult-only": I made a lot of cruises and i always try to sail during a time when all children are in school. But even on the rather child-unfriendly ships and even in the middle of school time i always had a notable amount of children on board.

[red911s]

16 hours ago, PelicanBill said:

On my last cruise, I went solo.  The other solos were not very social other than the 5pm social before dinner, and then not much for hanging out later.  You better bet is a defined singles cruise if you want to mix it up and have a rich singles social scene.

 

 

Thanks for your feedback. This is something that disturbs me. How can some one going solo into a cruise not be social? If the purpose was isolation, there are better alternatives in mountains without people in 20 km range. On a cruise the people's density might be 10x higher than in a busy city.

 

5 hours ago, farmersfight said:

 

First of all, welcome to Cruise Critic. I agree with the other posters on this thread - you do have a lot of and wide ranging requirements. So in this regard, you did not make it "concise".

 

Focusing in on solo cruising, you're on the right thread. Also, you can go on the singles cruising thread for that special interest. Not all solo cruisers are single.

 

Once you decide on and book a cruise, go on that cruises roll call here on cc where you can get to know your fellow cruisers in advance. You may find like-minded people that share your interests.

 

Regarding cabins, NCL is a solo friendly cruise line and their larger, newer ships have numerous dedicated solo cabins and also a dedicated solo lounge in an exclusive area on the ship. With that being said, you might also look into Royal Caribbean who also have dedicated solo cabins on some of their ships. They even have solo cabins with balconies on some of their ships. And of course, there is always the option to book a regular cabin and look for a discount on the solo supplement.

 

Regarding nudity, I know Europeans have a different attitude on that than us Americans. In the old days, Carnival used to have a "special deck" where nude sunbathing was allowed but that is no more. I'm not sure about the European based cruise lines. Another suggestion would be to look into nudist/naturalist organizations (i.e. websites) - they will sometimes charter ships for nude cruises (I'm not sure if this is still a thing these days, however).

 

For children free cruises, try Virgin Voyages. Or, book cruises in the fall/winter when children are in school (less children but may not be child free). Regarding your other requirements, they seem to be more a personal decision and I would recommend you narrow them down some. Perhaps some other posters on this thread can help you out with some of your other requirements.

 

Good luck!

 

Thanks for welcoming!

Regarding my requirements, I could open my hands on a few 🙂 But well, the purpose was exactly to try to provide as much information as possible. Regarding Nudism/Naturism, I could give up on that due the difficulty to find something alike these days.

 

I had the idea that there were plenty of adults-only cruises (Couples cruises?), but eventually for Solo they are not applicable. Regarding Singles cruise, I always have the idea that this as a bachelor party. A lot of young people drunk as hell, cracking things and creating problems. My idea is to go a decade ahead in terms of ageing.

 

2 hours ago, mtwingcpa said:

I would suggest that you book a short 3-5 night cruise just to try it. That experience will then give you a basis for determining what likely is or isn't possible in terms of cruising.

 

As others note, I suspect you would need to book a themed singles/solos cruise to find most of the attributes you're looking for.

 

That is a good idea. Some suggestion within Europe or Caribbean? 

 

52 minutes ago, CruiseMH said:

that will be the most difficult part.

There are only very few ships that are officially "adult-only": I made a lot of cruises and i always try to sail during a time when all children are in school. But even on the rather child-unfriendly ships and even in the middle of school time i always had a notable amount of children on board.

 

I think I will have to dig a little bit more. But that advice is a good shot, and I wasn't aware.

[bhsolo]

8 minutes ago, red911s said:

 

Thanks for your feedback. This is something that disturbs me. How can some one going solo into a cruise not be social? If the purpose was isolation, there are better alternatives in mountains without people in 20 km range. On a cruise the people's density might be 10x higher than in a busy city.

Ok I’m going to stop you right here with this comment. When I travel solo, cruise or otherwise, it is to travel, try new things and food and see what I otherwise would not. I meet people and chat but I am not socializing with other solos, doing group activities or anything, hanging out in the solo club, etc. That is not my purpose of a trip. I can travel without having to be with other people. 

 

Your purpose of going on a cruise solo is to socialize with a lot of other people. That is fine, but do not say that others should be in isolation if they don’t want to socialize how you think they should be solo traveling. 

[farmersfight]

7 minutes ago, red911s said:

I had the idea that there were plenty of adults-only cruises (Couples cruises?), but eventually for Solo they are not applicable. Regarding Singles cruise, I always have the idea that this as a bachelor party. A lot of young people drunk as hell, cracking things and creating problems. My idea is to go a decade ahead in terms of ageing.

 

Adults only cruises - Virgin Voyages (MV Scarlet Lady) is the only cruises that I am aware of that will be adults only.

 

Singles cruises - as mentioned before, I recommend you check out the Singles cruising thread here on CC. Also, a travel agent would probably be able to help you find a singles-themed cruise. I wouldn't categorize singles cruises as "bachelor parties". But if you want to avoid a lot of young people drunk as hell, cracking things and creating problems, you probably want to avoid cruising out of the U.S. during college spring breaks (usually in March).

 

Again, good luck!

[red911s]

7 minutes ago, bhsolo said:

Ok I’m going to stop you right here with this comment. When I travel solo, cruise or otherwise, it is to travel, try new things and food and see what I otherwise would not. I meet people and chat but I am not socializing with other solos, doing group activities or anything, hanging out in the solo club, etc. That is not my purpose of a trip. I can travel without having to be with other people. 

 

Your purpose of going on a cruise solo is to socialize with a lot of other people. That is fine, but do not say that others should be in isolation if they don’t want to socialize how you think they should be solo traveling. 

Easy 😀 My point was not to offend. I'm pretty much aware that there are millions of people out-there just aiming at the same kind of trip as you. My question is, why to do it on a cruise and not by picking independent planes travels between several destinations? This is really a question I'm curious about, and that will help me to clarify regarding the type of people I can find on a solo's cruise.

[CruiseMH]

1 hour ago, red911s said:

 

That is a good idea. Some suggestion within Europe or Caribbean? 

 

 

On such short cruises i personally would stay in Europe. Cause to me it doesn`t make much sense to fly 8-11 hours just for a 4-day cruise.  Regarding no kids i have in mind that P&O cruises has two adult-only ships.(Aurora and arcadia)

 

 

[sail_ORN]

Hosted singles cruises are broken down into age groups or decades, for the most part. IE 20s and 30s, over 50, whatever. One exception being the Halloween cruise, where they have a huge costume party. There are numerous get-togethers, and group excursions. Google singles cruise. I booked my first cruise with a singles group. It was great for getting my feet wet.

 If you book with a group on the larger ships, the entire ship probably won’t just be your group. The hosts contract with the ship for a certain number of cabins. Also, you’re not required to stay with the group.
 

As for a kid-free cruise? My experience has been that most kids are thrilled to be independent, and would rather go to their kids clubs for the day than hang out with their family 😁. So you might see them here and there, but likely not all day long. 

 

I disagree about taking a shorter cruise. At least in the US, they have the reputation of being a booze cruise. Many people sailing because of the free drinks package. Not my idea of fun, watching a bunch of drunks on the pool deck 😎 
 

[Lois R]

Hi, you have a very long list of what you are wanting.  I have been cruising solo for 17 years now and many of your

preferences are nothing that I look for.....from 6000 guests to theme nights.   I would say that would be more of 

the mega size mass market ships.  But those also have a lot of families on them.  I prefer much smaller vessels

and usually they have much less kids. 

 

My suggestion is to find a TA who specializes in cruising and have a 1 to 1 chat with them about all your preferences

and see what information they might provide you.

 

As for meeting other people? I love interacting with other guests and have always been outgoing so it has never been

an issue for me but whoever they are, I don't care if they are solo, married, divorced, etc.....martial status is not something that I look for.

  If folks are friendly and want to interact? That is more important (to me).  And I agree with the above poster,

I also cruise to see new places that I would never just fly to for a week or 2.  Cruising is a wonderful way to see the

world (in my opinion). Unpack once and they take care of you for the entire trip.🙂  

 

Good luck with your search!

 

 

 

[crilski]

Definitely a difference between Solo & Single.  Sometimes I cruise with my husband - sometimes I cruise Solo.  Sometimes I meet people and socialize a lot, sometimes I don't.  Why a cruise & not flying from here to there?  I like to go someplace warm in the winter.  I like to unpack once.  I like someone to tidy up my cabin, cook, and do my dishes.  I like to sight see, read or walk or talk, with a little drinking thrown in.  If you want no children - don't cruise during school holidays.  Last year I spent a month on the Empress.  Oh my goodness - Thanksgiving week was not for me!  The other 3 weeks were GREAT!  I am missing cruising right now.  I had to Lift & Shift my October 2020 to October 2021.  I hope my 2 March cruises are a go!   Good Luck!

 

[farmersfight]

3 hours ago, crilski said:

I like to unpack once.  I like someone to tidy up my cabin, cook, and do my dishes.  I like to sight see, read or walk or talk, with a little drinking thrown in. 

 

Totally agree with everything above except maybe with a little more drinking thrown in 😉.

 

3 hours ago, crilski said:

Last year I spent a month on the Empress.  Oh my goodness - Thanksgiving week was not for me!  The other 3 weeks were GREAT! 

 

I'm assuming this was on Empress OTS? Wow, a whole month on the ship? Now that's a cruise! I agree with you about sailing during school holidays. I'll try to avoid them. I guess you don't have to worry about kids on Scarlet Lady (Virgin Voyages) - adults only.

[farmersfight]

On 9/3/2020 at 10:40 AM, sail_ORN said:

a bunch of drunks on the pool deck

 

I resemble that remark...

 

Just kidding. I'm much older now so I keep my drunkenness in the bar(s).

 

Kidding again. I consider myself a responsible drinker of adult beverages. I've learned that hangovers get worse with age.

[$hip$hape]

5 minutes ago, farmersfight said:

 

 

5 minutes ago, farmersfight said:

 

I resemble that remark...

 

Just kidding. I'm much older now so I keep my drunkenness in the bar(s).

 

Kidding again. I consider myself a responsible drinker of adult beverages. I've learned that hangovers get worse with age.

Funny; I don't get hangovers anymore. Maybe that's not a good thing.

Edited September 5, 2020 by $hip$hape

[farmersfight]

3 minutes ago, $hip$hape said:

 

Funny; I don't get hangovers anymore. Maybe that's not a good thing.

 

In my opinion, that's a great thing. I didn't know that was a thing. At what age do you not get hangovers anymore?

[$hip$hape]

4 minutes ago, farmersfight said:

 

In my opinion, that's a great thing. I didn't know that was a thing. At what age do you not get hangovers anymore?

Around retirement?

Side note... I actually told my doctor, on a recent medical checkup,

that I think I drink too much.

He said, "In these times, most of us are drinking too much.

See you in six months."

 

[farmersfight]

4 minutes ago, $hip$hape said:

Around retirement?

 

I'm recently retired (retired relatively early though) so, green light for me!

[Lois R]

I retired on Dec 31st, 2019 and this was supposed to the year of multiple celebration cruises........we all know what

happened to them.😮  The first one was scheduled for 5 weeks back in April.............

[crilski]

It was the entire month on the Empress.  The prices were so amazing, due to no Cuba.  Double points for a month pushed me to D+ - hubbie can thank me!   I was able to have dinner with the officers.  The VIP beach at Labadee.  The cabins are REALLY small - it was perfect for me!  I had the same cabin the whole time.  My cabin steward took great care of me!  So did a couple of bartenders!  I sat in the same place for the shows - got to know the Cruise Director and Assistant Cruise Director.  I was looking forward to my October 2020 as a first time Diamond +.  Oh well - now 2021. 

 

Not much to do for kids to do on the Empress.  The youngins did OK .  The teenagers ran amok BIG TIME!!!!!!  Security had to get involved.  A couple at my table had to be protected by security due to being threatened by teens.  And I'm a retired teacher that taught 12 - 15 year olds!  So happy I was also on the week after the Thanksgiving week so I could relax and recover!

 

Regardless of that one bad experience, cruising Solo is a treat . . . .

 

 

Edited September 6, 2020 by crilski

[farmersfight]

21 hours ago, Lois R said:

I retired on Dec 31st, 2019 and this was supposed to the year of multiple celebration cruises........we all know what

happened to them.😮  The first one was scheduled for 5 weeks back in April.............

 

First of all, congratulations on your retirement. Yeah, I was also planning on multiple cruises this year since now being retired, I have the time. I'm also a maritime academy graduate, so I love ships (I'm a "ship guy", lol).

 

Wow, a 5 week cruise? Do you mind if I ask, what cruise line & what itinerary? I've set a minimum of 12 days for any cruise that I will do (in the future of course).

[Lois R]

51 minutes ago, farmersfight said:

 

First of all, congratulations on your retirement. Yeah, I was also planning on multiple cruises this year since now being retired, I have the time. I'm also a maritime academy graduate, so I love ships (I'm a "ship guy", lol).

 

Wow, a 5 week cruise? Do you mind if I ask, what cruise line & what itinerary? I've set a minimum of 12 days for any cruise that I will do (in the future of course).

Hi, thanks for the congrats🙂

 

As for the cruise? It was 2 cruises actually with 3 days of land in between.  I was supposed to sail on a 16 day TA

crossing with Silversea.  Starting in Ft. Lauderdale and ending in Barcelona. Then I was going to fly from Barcelona

to Lisbon for a 3 night pre-cruise land trip followed up with River 7 night river cruise on the Douro River, ending in

Porto and then flying to Madrid for an additional 3 nights and then flying home. So I would have been away for 30

days....so it would have been a month, rather than 5 weeks.  I was supposed to fly to South Florida on April 5,

sail on April 6th......and should have been back back home on May 5th.