Any solo cruisers have been on a cruise since the restart?

[Ombud]

I went to Alaska on August 15th with Princess. I joined up with 4 others for most dinners but was willing to share a table for lunch with strangers. Also ate a few times with my PVP who was on board. No difference really

[Honolulu Blue]

On 7/13/2021 at 1:02 PM, GateGuardian said:

Just wondering if any solo cruisers who have been on a cruise since the restart and want to share their experience?

 

Was it harder meeting people than before?

 

I've cruised solo before and none of my friends are ready to go back on a cruise ship yet. 

 

After a few false starts, I was on the Celebrity Summit two weeks ago.  It was a wonderful experience, if a little surreal at times.  I'll note some of the highlights:

 

• Our cruise director noted the passenger count at about 320.  That would be 15% of capacity, which I'm still having difficulty comprehending.
• I had an ocean view.  I was offered an upgrade to a balcony.  Twice.  I declined both times.  My guess is there were very few people NOT in balconies.
• At the ports of call/excursion lecture, where on other ships I've been on had 100+ people, had 12.  Yes, Cozumel and Costa Maya aren't the most exciting ports in the world, and probably most of the cruisers on the ship had visited those ports before, but still... 
• There was social distancing signs in the main theater, but there was little sign there was a pandemic going on.  I didn't notice that much more cleaning than normal, and the passengers weren't required to wear masks and almost universally did not (the crew was, of course, and almost universally did).
• The buffet area was almost devoid of passengers every time I went.  I often had a whole section of 40+ seats to myself.  And no, my B.O. and breath weren't THAT bad. 😁

On meeting people, I'm sure I could have gotten to know the crew a lot better than I did.  I found them to be competent, attentive, and not too busy (by pre-pandemic standards).  I barely interacted with any of the other passengers, which was fine with me.  Your mileage may vary.

 

I will be sailing on the Regal Princess at the end of November on their 80s themed cruise.  More passenger interaction is almost guaranteed, because of the theme.  I also expect closer to 50% occupancy than 15% (which is just silly, IMHO).

[Lois R]

I am on my 3rd cruise since July and having a fantastic time😀. Portugal is a beautiful country😀 and sailing with less than 400 pax.

I have my 4th cruise booked for Decemeber so yes, I am sailing again.

[SaltwaterDaffy]

On 7/13/2021 at 10:02 AM, GateGuardian said:

Just wondering if any solo cruisers who have been on a cruise since the restart and want to share their experience?

 

Was it harder meeting people than before?

 

I've cruised solo before and none of my friends are ready to go back on a cruise ship yet. 

I've done a 3 day and 4 day Princess Cruise in the last month. The first one had a solo get together and only me and another man showed up. He wasn't even interested in talking. 

The next cruise there was no meet ups. 

So I dined alone about 21 times. It was still great being on a ship.

[GateGuardian]

Just an update. Went on the NCL Breakaway last week. Tons of solo cruisers as there were no single supplement. Tons of fun. Debating on switching to NCL for the remaining cruise this year.

[Ombud]

I take off again in a month and we're already setting up group dining (roll call members). My only issue is that 2 wants to eat at 5pm, I want to eat at 6, and 1 wants to eat at 7. We will figure it out (lunch anyone?). 

 

Ship should only be 55% capacity so no chair shortage 

Edited November 10, 2021 by Ombud

[vms]

Just back from Celebrity Summit 4 day to the Bahamas.

 

No solo events, although there were a few LGBTQ meetups, if you're a part of that community.

 

Met people mostly through sitting at nearby tables at meals, by the pools, and hanging out at the martini bar, so not too much differently than pre-covid. Ship was less than 1/2 full of passengers, so fewer people in any one place at a time.

 

I would highly recommend cruising while the occupancy is so low. The cruise director and captain kept joking about having our own private  yacht, since the crew outnumbered the passengers, and there were moments where it really felt like it.

 

[Silent Penguin]

On 7/13/2021 at 1:02 PM, GateGuardian said:

Just wondering if any solo cruisers who have been on a cruise since the restart and want to share their experience?

 

Was it harder meeting people than before?

I just got back from a cruise on the Carnival Legend.  It was my first solo cruise, so I don't have anything to compare it to.  To my knowledge, there were no Covid-related policies or practices that made meeting people any harder than it would have been before.  There were still solo mixer activities listed in the Fun Times.  As for dining,  I was one of four solo diners at a table of six. (I don't know if there were supposed to be 6 diners, but only 4 of us showed up.)   We were never required to socially distance ourselves in any venue, shop or public space.  Unlike restaurants on land, tables were not removed in order to force distance between people. Same for the loungers and couches on pool and sun decks.   The class size for yoga and other studio-based classes was no smaller than before Covid.  For the most part, as you can see, it was business as usual.   

The only way I would say it was harder to meet people, in general, was that with the exteme reduction in passenger capacity,  there were few lines in which to wait.  

 

 

 

 

 

[Ombud]

Well ~~~~~ got on Majestic Princess during Delta outbreak & getting on Emerald Princess next week during Omicron's arrival in USA. My timing sucks LOL 😅🤣😂

[Traveling Mike]

I was just on the Norwegian Bliss.  Once on the ship it was like their was no Covid.  Everything was normal except the ship was 40% full.  The other issues is the staff was new or have not done their job in a while.  The Solo Cruise Group was non-existent.  A major part of that was the person leading the solo group on the ship.  I am guessing she came out of a kids area and ran the solo group the same way.  

[coastcat]

On 12/3/2021 at 12:09 PM, Traveling Mike said:

I was just on the Norwegian Bliss.  Once on the ship it was like their was no Covid.  Everything was normal except the ship was 40% full.  The other issues is the staff was new or have not done their job in a while.  The Solo Cruise Group was non-existent.  A major part of that was the person leading the solo group on the ship.  I am guessing she came out of a kids area and ran the solo group the same way.  

Ouch, I'm glad I decided not to participate in the solo program on my Bliss cruise. I was on the first sailing and while the crew seemed a little rusty (understandably), I didn't experience any service issues. 

 

Our solo host on Encore's return-to-service cruise was awesome, but she was only running the program for that first week before handing it over to someone else. 

 

So now I've cruised with business-as-usual NCL, all vaxxed but still masked Princess, and mixed-protocol Royal Caribbean. Next up is Celebrity and I've lost track of their protocol regarding unvaccinated kids, although late January means few if any young'uns over school age would be onboard anyway.

 

Royal was the toughest in theory - protocols in "everyone" areas called for no mixed parties at tables, in hot tubs, etc. No solo gatherings. Many seats/tables were blocked off and it was really challenging to find a table in the buffet! However, My Time Dining and many of the lounges were limited to vaccinated guests, and there was no social distancing required.

 

Honestly, despite the slight confusion created by the mixed protocols, I'd much rather go back on RCI than Princess right now. I am DETERMINED to win a Name That Tune contest next time!

Edited December 11, 2021 by coastcat

[Lois R]

Just returned home from a 2 week Caribbean cruise😃loved it!   Once cruising re-started, so did I! 

This was my 4th sailing since July👍

[Stuart Suss]

I just returned from two weeks, back to back, on Royal Caribbean.  Their policies were irrational.

 

Nobody was allowed to sit at a table with me.  For the first dinner, I was alone, and nobody was seated at the table next to me.  I refused to accept that situation.  I saw which tables were covered by the same team of waiters, and on future nights, I sat at whatever table was empty.  That way, I was able to speak with passengers seated at tables on either side of me.

 

I could reach out my left arm and touch the shoulder of the passenger one table to the left of me.  I could reach out my right arm and touch the shoulder of the passenger one table to the right of me.  None of that was considered unsafe.  However, had someone sat at my table, facing me, that would have been considered unsafe, even though I could not reach across the length of the table and touch the person facing me.  Perhaps one of you can explain the logic of that policy.

 

For my second week, once I saw that I was again seated at an isolated table, I insisted that I be reassigned to a table which would have couples to the left of me and to the right of me.  They honored that request, and I had pleasant dinner companions for the rest of the week.

[dahirsh]

2 hours ago, Stuart Suss said:

I just returned from two weeks, back to back, on Royal Caribbean.  Their policies were irrational.

 

Nobody was allowed to sit at a table with me.  For the first dinner, I was alone, and nobody was seated at the table next to me.  I refused to accept that situation.  I saw which tables were covered by the same team of waiters, and on future nights, I sat at whatever table was empty.  That way, I was able to speak with passengers seated at tables on either side of me.

 

I could reach out my left arm and touch the shoulder of the passenger one table to the left of me.  I could reach out my right arm and touch the shoulder of the passenger one table to the right of me.  None of that was considered unsafe.  However, had someone sat at my table, facing me, that would have been considered unsafe, even though I could not reach across the length of the table and touch the person facing me.  Perhaps one of you can explain the logic of that policy.

 

For my second week, once I saw that I was again seated at an isolated table, I insisted that I be reassigned to a table which would have couples to the left of me and to the right of me.  They honored that request, and I had pleasant dinner companions for the rest of the week.

So, the first week you re-sat yourself at tables the cruiseline specifically left vacant?  Ever think you made the cruisers you were now inches away from uncomfortable?  Just because no one asked you to return to your assigned table does not mean no one cared.

[Stuart Suss]

To assuage you sense of injustice . . .

 

The "vacant" tables at which I sat were not tables intended to be vacant for social distance purposes.

 

By "vacant" table, I was referring to the table at which "Helen" and "Mark" sat one night, but which was empty the next night because "Helen" and "Mark" were dining elsewhere.

[coastcat]

On 12/24/2021 at 11:16 AM, Stuart Suss said:

I just returned from two weeks, back to back, on Royal Caribbean.  Their policies were irrational.

 

Nobody was allowed to sit at a table with me.  For the first dinner, I was alone, and nobody was seated at the table next to me.  I refused to accept that situation.  I saw which tables were covered by the same team of waiters, and on future nights, I sat at whatever table was empty.  That way, I was able to speak with passengers seated at tables on either side of me.

 

I could reach out my left arm and touch the shoulder of the passenger one table to the left of me.  I could reach out my right arm and touch the shoulder of the passenger one table to the right of me.  None of that was considered unsafe.  However, had someone sat at my table, facing me, that would have been considered unsafe, even though I could not reach across the length of the table and touch the person facing me.  Perhaps one of you can explain the logic of that policy.

 

For my second week, once I saw that I was again seated at an isolated table, I insisted that I be reassigned to a table which would have couples to the left of me and to the right of me.  They honored that request, and I had pleasant dinner companions for the rest of the week.

RCI was a confusing experience, agreed. I did a b2b on Navigator (3 day + 4 day) with My Time Dining, which meant I was assigned to the deck 3 entrance of the MDR (only vaccinated guests allowed there). I skipped it for the 3-day but ate there every night for the 4-day sailing. No tables were blocked off on our deck since it was vax-only. Heck, on the first night I got to chatting with the people at the 2-top next to me and we wound up dining at the same time at adjacent tables for the rest of the cruise. We were still technically at separate tables but there was so little distance between them that it was a moot point. I don't know what would have happened if I had assigned seating, but social distancing was certainly relaxed in MTD. 

 

In the mixed-status areas, though, it felt somewhat isolating to be a solo due to the social distancing requirements. But hey, it's a weird time and we just have to roll with it.

[trbarton]

I’ve been on 2 cruises on the Ruby Princess, solo on both, & met many people. Since I eat at the MDR I sit with other people I’ve met many interesting people. 
 

On my last cruise on the Ruby I was assigned the same table each night & my table was labeled as Papa’s table & people were turned away as the table was full. Our server was Mama & she loved it. 
 

On my next cruise on the Majestic next month, 14 days, I’m hopeful to have the same results as I prefer to have the same waitstaff each night. 
 

Tom😀

[GateGuardian]

I ended going on 3 cruises in December, MSC Seashore, Odyssey of the Seas, and Oasis of the Seas.

 

I sat by myself on the MSC cruise, but the tables are like half a feet a part, so you're pretty much sitting next to someone. Met a nice couple from Ontario as well. Capacity was like 40% which made Ocean Cay nice and peaceful.

 

The two Royal Caribbean cruises had higher capacity, ~70%. I ended up avoiding the MDR by the 2nd cruise as omicron was really heating the fan when my stateroom attendant "disappeared. The MDR was super crowded, so just did specialty dining or buffet. Also, it was a Christmas cruise so every group seem to make their own covid rules in terms of mask and social distancing. 

 

 

Just booked a Transatlantic in March on the Regal Princess. Hope it doesn't get cancelled.

 

Also, if anyone is looking for solo deals and don't like searching it themselves, there's a facebook group called "Solo Cruisers USA" and they post deals they find all the time.

[charliesdad63]

On 12/24/2021 at 4:41 PM, dahirsh said:

So, the first week you re-sat yourself at tables the cruiseline specifically left vacant?  Ever think you made the cruisers you were now inches away from uncomfortable?  Just because no one asked you to return to your assigned table does not mean no one cared.

Exactly what I was thinking too.