Questions for solo cruisers

[shootingstar07]

On 3/4/2023 at 9:03 PM, Red Haired Lady said:

If you book an inside or OV cabin on HAL it is usually 79% supplement on ships that are NOT Pinnacle Class.  It is 100% for balcony or suites on all ships and all cabins on Pinnacle Class (Rotterdam, Koningsdam, Nieuw Statendam)

 

On the Grand Voyages it is 60% for an inside or OV. This includes segments of Grand Voyages.

I am a single booked on Rotterdam for a July cruise to Norway. I have a balcony cabin. I am saving a whopping 12% less than full price. I do get the full OBC ($300) that is offered for a cabin with dbl occupancy. 
 

it was explained to me, by a HAL booking agent, that the cruise lines charge such a hefty single supplement because they are losing out on the sales from 2 passengers. They have to make it up somewhere! 
 

I find it is such a shame that with all these new ships being built, the cruise industry can’t figure a way to build more single cabins that aren’t jammed in the inside front of the ship. There is a market. 

[shootingstar07]

On 3/1/2023 at 7:22 PM, vswan said:

On 3/1/2023 at 7:22 PM, vswan said:

My husband passed away last week after bypass surgery. He was home one week and gone. I had booked a cruise for 8 weeks after the surgery and was wise enough to by the cancel for any reason insurance. I know the kind hearted people on CC will offer sympathy and prayers, so thank you in advance.

 

We had traveled together on more than 30 cruises and this is my favorite type of vacation and know that I will want to continue. I have a number of questions for those who have needed to make the switch from sailing as a couple to sailing as a solo.

 

I understand that most of the time you will be charged for two people in the cabin, even if there is only one. There are occasionally sales which only charge solo, but sounds like those are far and few...

 

How long did you wait to take your first solo cruise. Did you go alone or take a family member or friend with you? Would you go sooner or wait longer?

 

 

 

First off, my heartfelt sympathy for your loss.  
 

my husband passed away nearly 4 years ago. We were married 55 years. I had a really difficult time wanting to cruise again. We traveled the world. We had planned to go to Norway, but his illness precluded that. Then, last fall I decided I wanted to to complete this bucket list item. 
 

I planned to travel alone. Then my daughter got wind of it and she and her hubby wanted to come along.  Then 2 other couples in my family joined in. So we are 7. 
 

I think I could have gone sooner had COVID not hit. 
 

good luck, whatever you choose.  I wish you fair winds and following seas. 

Edited March 7, 2023 by shootingstar07

[3rdGenCunarder]

8 hours ago, shootingstar07 said:

First off, my heartfelt sympathy for your loss.  
 

my husband passed away nearly 4 years ago. We were married 55 years. I had a really difficult time wanting to cruise again. We traveled the world. We had planned to go to Norway, but his illness precluded that. Then, last fall I decided I wanted to to complete this bucket list item. 
 

I planned to travel alone. Then my daughter got wind of it and she and her hubby wanted to come along.  Then 2 other couples in my family joined in. So we are 7. 
 

I think I could have gone sooner had COVID not hit. 
 

good luck, whatever you choose.  I wish you fair winds and following seas. 

 

How lovely that your return to travel grew to be a group event. 

 

I'm grateful that I had a chance to develop my solo travel skills before Covid hit. Staying home all the time might have become a comfortable habit. 

[shootingstar07]

5 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

I'm grateful that I had a chance to develop my solo travel skills before Covid hit. Staying home all the time might have become a comfortable habit. 

That did happen to me. I didn’t see my kids and grandkids for over a year. Solitude became my friend. 

[Pickalily, Wilts]

3rdGenCunarder, shootingstar07 and others:

 

You took a liberating leap of faith and now there's no looking back.  All good wishes for your future travels.

[3rdGenCunarder]

4 minutes ago, Pickalily, Wilts said:

3rdGenCunarder, shootingstar07 and others:

 

You took a liberating leap of faith and now there's no looking back.  All good wishes for your future travels.

 

Thank you. I'll keep going for as long as I can.

 

I keep a journal when I travel, and I've got a whole shelf in my bookcase full of them. Since I got a digital camera, I also make a photo book when I get home. I do take them out and read/look at them. It reminds me I'm very lucky to have traveled as much as i did with my husband. And also lucky that I can continue to travel. 

 

If there are any lurkers out there reading this, take heart from those of us who did that leap and go for it!

[vswan]

Am enjoying all of your responses so thought I'd bump this back up.

[3rdGenCunarder]

39 minutes ago, vswan said:

Am enjoying all of your responses so thought I'd bump this back up.

 

Thank you for starting it. It has been good to learn how others are managing "the new normal."

[Sendez1]

I am going to send u a story, if this forum allows a long response. It is a story I wrote as an adult about a true event that happened to me as a young teenager…the event shaped my life in so many ways…Whether one ends up solo unexpectedly or planned, your eyes & your mind will see things in a whole new way, if u are open, and willing to see….I hope you all enjoy!   I will copy the story into the following post… 

[Sendez1]

Road To Santa Fe

 

“MY MIRACLE OF THE MIRACULOUS STAIRCASE”

 

Do you believe in miracles?

Does travel hold the key to opening and relieving our weary eyes from the dull numbing effect our routine everyday lives have on them?  When the noise of our normal lives is shut out, do we then gain the ability to truly see the real meaning and beauty of life; the miracles right in front of us, waiting to be discovered?

 

What are the times that were very eye-opening and unexpected during these moments?  One of the most intense ones for me, was in my early years on a road trip with my Mom, Grandma and little brother, driving cross country from Michigan to New Mexico.  

 

On the open plains, looking at the untouched land, thinking how it looks the same as it did probably 100 years ago, I stared out the window of that old blue Cadillac for hours, envisioning cowboys and outlaws riding horses across the land, wondering how the rest of the world changed, yet this place was the same as it looked on those TV Westerns.  How had the world changed in some places and not others?  How had it come about between that existence and the current state of growth in cities and the accompanying modern lifestyle? Where did the cities come from, what was the evolution?  How did it come about that cities were built and who built them anyway, and why, while this land was still in a natural old condition?  At that time, it was a mystery to me. There were so many blanks to be filled in the timeline of that last 100 years or so from the mid 19th century to the mid  to late 20th century.  My mind was working up an appetite for knowledge, adventure and the wonders that life would hold as I ventured out to discover the answers to those questions. 

 

The next  thing on the trip that took me by surprise was seeing an Indian , dressed in blue jeans, wearing a cowboy hat, standing by his pick-up truck. Being that he was the first real Indian that I and my little brother had ever seen, we talked to him and were mesmerized in his presence.  I felt it was an exciting and wonderfully mysterious experience, as up to that point I had only thought of Indians riding horses and shooting bows and arrows while wearing feathers. Everything I had seen on tv and the movies!  Wow, were Indians actual real people just like us?  I hope I mentioned I was only a young teenager at the time.  As can be imagined by my impressions of these events, I had very little experience outside my own little world, little family, little neighborhoods, towns and cities in the Midwest where i had grown up and never wandered far away from.  

 

Needless to say, the internet was years away from being invented, so unless a person had personal knowledge or something was taught in school, or had been seen on TV, or read about in a book, it was virtually an unknown, especially to a child. My mind was a blank slate, immature, undeveloped, small, sheltered, and limited in its experience, outlook, and understanding of life, while at the same time I stood at the precipice of adulthood, ready and eager to fill my head and heart with everything there was to know about the world. 

 

My innocent naïveté wasn’t to last for long as the next and most outstanding memorable event came to fruition on that trip.  After arriving in Albuquerque and staying a few days with family we had come to see, we all set out on a road trip through the mountains to Santa Fe.  We had been told there was a church there with a staircase that was said to be miraculous, since it had no visible means of a structure supporting the stairs. Hmmm, a staircase.....something that transported you from one place to another in a miraculous way......the stage was set for my hungry mind....my imagination ran wild, not knowing what to expect.  The adults were discussing it in a wonderous and serious fashion that I had never seen them do before.  All I knew about miracles was the movie I had seen of the Lady of Lourdes appearing to the children in....was it in Fatima, in France?   I didn’t know but I was a believer, and my mind was open and waiting for such an event. We were hitting the road to Santa Fe, but I was to experience my own miracle before ever reaching it. 

 

The journey took us on a small two-lane road winding through narrow passages in the mountain ranges of New Mexico. We had packed a picnic basket and by afternoon we saw a picnic table on the side of the road and stopped to eat.  When the picnic was over, as I was bored and wanted to move on, and everyone was not done,  I told them I was going to start walking and they could pick me up when they finished eating. 

 

They had their little “discussion” as to the wisdom of a teenager wandering off alone in the middle of nowhere, but as I started walking away, they finally said “be careful” as they waved goodbye.   I started thoughtlessly ambling along the road, and when I had gone maybe a mile or so, suddenly, completely unexpectedly, like a bolt of lightening out of the blue, a strange feeling enveloped me. I suddenly had a heightened sense of awareness in all five senses in my body and I felt like everything was in slow motion, as if time was slowing down, then standing still, as though it was on pause. My body had stopped moving; my eyes slowly took in my surroundings, and I saw an endless vast array of mountains and hills, dark and light,  near and far, tall and small, clouds, sky, trees, distant misty fog, like I was looking at a vision of God, with not a soul or city or person in sight for tens if not hundreds of miles.  

 

Accompanied by utter stillness and silence, I felt like I was the only person on earth, and I was never so aware of everything at once and to such an intense degree.  I was unable to move. 

 

I had never to that point, nor ever since, seen such a vast expanse of land with no people. I turned around and the scenery behind me was much the same. I had gone around several curves, and I could no longer see where I had come from, where the other people were, and I was overcome with a feeling of complete and utter terror gripping me, while overwhelmingly fascinating me, and tranquilizing me with peace, as I felt as one with God.  I felt as though I had been swallowed up by the earth.  Growing up in a large family, this was the first time in my life that I was ever completely alone in the world with not even another human being anywhere that I could see, or that I could perceive to be near.  It was a completely unknown  experience that I had never had in my life; at once, terrifying, yet simultaneously presenting me with heretofore unasked questions about the meaning of life, self, nature and the universe, and the sense of aloneness, yet oneness spiritually, that is the true essence of the human experience. We come into the world alone and leave the world alone. It was as if I had left the earth and instantly landed on another planet, in another world, and had left everything I knew behind me.  Surely it was a glimpse of what life would be like when I left my family and entered adult life, and what finally heaven is like when we do actually leave the earth. 

 

Completely overwhelmed, frozen, unable to think, speak or to take another step, my mind swirled with strangely mysterious thoughts, that seemed to come from a spiritual entity much larger, stronger, and intelligent than I was.  Questions with no answers for what seemed like eternity, prodding me to search throughout life  and time for understanding of the vision and thoughts set before me. Time stood still.  For better or worse, I was never to be the same again. 

 

Finally, a dot appeared on the horizon & I saw my family’s car approaching in the distance,  I watched incredulously as I had fully expected (probably from growing up watching the twilight zone), that I might never see them again.  When they picked me up, I was very silent and never breathed a word of my experience, but was lost in my thoughts of what life is all about, the meaning of it and the world and the universe, God, the earth, nature, people, family, self, connections, loneliness, togetherness, relationships, happiness, sadness, fear, joy, all the while my family cackling about what seemed liked mindless nonsense around me. 

 

No one said anything to me as they were lost in their own conversations. Little did they realize that I had just experienced an out-of-body life and mind altering event, that no drug, not even LSD could compare to.  It instantly formed my young blank canvas of a mind, with the unforgettable impression that I was alone, yet one with nature and God,  that I had just been shown a miraculous vision of life, in all it’s unexplainable glory, that the true nature of life is a personal and lonely experience, an enigma, changeable at any moment, to be given or taken away at nature’s will, and that it is necessary to develop coping mechanisms, an inner unshakeable strength, independence and sense of oneness with God, and to never give up, always having faith that the right outcome will occur with time, patience, perseverance and strength. It was undoubtedly a four-year higher education in the space of one hour, mountain time.  A true miracle!

 

As frightening as it had been, and the idea that it posed more questions than answers, I developed a lust for travel, for seeing and experiencing new and varied ways of living, for trying to know and understand the unknown, for desiring to analyze what perhaps can’t or shouldn’t be analyzed. In my adult years, that lust sent me to many corners of the earth, each one never disappointing in it’s mind-opening ability. In my youth, for many years, whenever I dined out with family, I always started walking home till they picked me up.  Much to their annoyance, I was always searching for a small adventure that perhaps might this time hold the answers to those unforgettable enigmatic questions posed by the universe on that long-ago lonely mountain road on the way to Santa Fe. 

[wesport]

I lost my partner of 30 years one year ago. Up until his death, we had taken 41 cruises. I will continue our journey by myself, but it takes a lot of legwork to not just pay double the rate. We were 5 stars on HAL, but I now am branching out. Cunard has certain promos where they have a solo cruising sale. Celebrity awhile back had no single supplement on certain cruises. Also Virgin has had promos for single sailors. Seabourn has a page for solo cruisers. Seabourn’ s single supplement is 1.5 on select sailings. Although its more expensive to begin with , when you add gratuities, drinks, etc on a HAL cruise at 200% sometimes is just slightly more that a HAL cruise. Again, it takes a lot of work, but I will continue the journey . I also on every cruise i have taken, put some money in the slots. What the heck ,  you never know. Not a lot. Never know when you might get a casino rate. Just go off a Princess cruise where I actually won a small amount instead of donating. 

 

And yes, the first ones were more difficult than you can imagine, but it’s what we loved to do. I just put his passport next to mine and say let’s go. 

[bellebaby]

11 hours ago, wesport said:

I lost my partner of 30 years one year ago. Up until his death, we had taken 41 cruises. I will continue our journey by myself, but it takes a lot of legwork to not just pay double the rate. We were 5 stars on HAL, but I now am branching out. Cunard has certain promos where they have a solo cruising sale. Celebrity awhile back had no single supplement on certain cruises. Also Virgin has had promos for single sailors. Seabourn has a page for solo cruisers. Seabourn’ s single supplement is 1.5 on select sailings. Although its more expensive to begin with , when you add gratuities, drinks, etc on a HAL cruise at 200% sometimes is just slightly more that a HAL cruise. Again, it takes a lot of work, but I will continue the journey . I also on every cruise i have taken, put some money in the slots. What the heck ,  you never know. Not a lot. Never know when you might get a casino rate. Just go off a Princess cruise where I actually won a small amount instead of donating. 

 

And yes, the first ones were more difficult than you can imagine, but it’s what we loved to do. I just put his passport next to mine and say let’s go. 

What a wonderful attitude and tribute to your partner.  I'm still struggling but have that first cruise booked for May.

 

Will take the information you provided and do some research.  I see #2 on the horizon.

 

B

 

 

[vswan]

Well, I'm hopping back in. One thing my husband's death has taught me is life is short and I have to do things I want to do now and not wait for the right time. I've asked my oldest grandson, who will be 14 at the time, if he is interested in going with grandma on a vacation this summer. By the time of the cruise it will have been almost a year since I've been on a ship.

 

Since most of our recent cruises were on HAL, I decided to go to our other standby line NCL. Figured it might be easier for me to be on a different line for the first reentry. Also, figured there would be a lot more for a 14 year old to do, and there are a lot of options for dining so won't be sitting in the MDR for every meal, which would have been hard for me - since that was one of the highlights for any cruise with my DH. Have already told him he will be going to the kids club the first night to meet other kids onboard so he make meet people his own age to do things with. He is thrilled to be going to Alaska. I also feel that he is close enough to me that if I fall apart from time to time it will be okay.

[Destiny0315]

Sounds like a wonderful plan vswan, and to do it with a close family member is a bonus.

[3rdGenCunarder]

That sounds like a good choice for re-entry. And what a lovely memory it will make for you and your grandson.

[RuthC]

Excellent, vswan! I wish you well taking this big step, and know having your grandson with you will be a comfort. 
Congratulations. Please let us know how it all went after you get back. 

[CaroleSP]

My situation mirrors so many that I have read here. Very helpful of all you to share, for sure.

DH and I cruised for most of 50+ married years; we had 4 booked in 2020, that needless to say were cancelled. I lost my husband last year, without taking another cruise.

One of his final wishes was that I continue to cruise. This issue was forced when he decided on a burial at sea. That being said, 5 friends are joining me soon (final payment already made) for a friends cruise. I know it will be a difficult time to start solo cruising, but it's a start in honoring his wishes.

Also, to comply with the burial at sea request, I am taking our children and grands on a cruise this summer for DH's final cruise. We are sailing on Royal, as that is how we did family cruises before, and I understand they have a very nice program to accommodate this plan. By the way, DH and I planned this together (not the date) by purchasing the appropriate container and making sure that we have all the documentation required to do this.  

Sorry for the long post, once I start typing, it just keeps going on and on. Also sorry if I have offered TMI for this group. It's therapeutic for me. Hope it may be helpful to someone else, as well.

[Pickalily, Wilts]

Carole,  Sincere condolences and good wishes for the future.  "Therapy" is what this thread is all about and your story will help others to overcome their doubts about being able to cope with their loss and finding inner strength, which they may not have believed they possess.

 

Having arranged for my Father's ashes to be buried at sea - albeit from a Royal Navy vessel - I can attest that it was a very dignified ceremony and I'm sure the committal of your dear husband's ashes will be the same.

[lcand1923]

How wonderful to read of VSAN’s NCL cruise with Grandson and CaroleSP’s cruise with children and grands!  I know both will be difficult, but both will be major steps made easier because they are accompanied by folks who love them and will understand if alone time is needed.  PLEASE let us know how things went when you return.

 

Love and Prayers to both of you!

[shippmates]

My husband's final wish was to be buried at sea and also for me to continue cruising.  His final wish was fulfilled in August from the Queen Mary 2.  This was to have been our 50th wedding anniversary celebration but that was not to be.  The Captain did a beautiful and moving service.  I had to get approval from the Captain which was very easy to do.  Just had to show it was an acceptable urn and I had the correct paperwork from the funeral home .  I will be back on the Queen next month to visit his burial site.

My heart goes out to you and anyone that is making the big step to sail solo.  Let us know how it goes.

[kaykayozzie]

Thanks to Rob for helping me onto this site. I did a tour of Sri Lanka last year and was delighted with the kindness and assistance from everyone - locals, fellow tourists and all. Gave me the courage to try an 8 week trip to US and Canada from Australia next month. Try and remember everything you might possibly get wrong with you. We all caught a nasty dose of bronchitis on a South America/ Pacific cruise and the ship's hospital cost a fortune. I could have dosed myself up if only I had some ginger etc. That was on Oceania. It was still an incredible trip. The penguins at Falklands were gorgeous. My husband was still alive for that trip.Kay

[cruising sister]

I am glad my Roll Call for my first solo cruise in May is very active. I feel like I will know people right away. I find lately roll class are hit or miss. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

17 minutes ago, cruising sister said:

I am glad my Roll Call for my first solo cruise in May is very active. I feel like I will know people right away. I find lately roll class are hit or miss. 

 

A good roll call really makes a difference. My recent HAL cruise had no activity beyond people wanting someone to book a private tour and not posting again. No chat, no sharing information. By contrast, the roll call for my September Cunard cruise was very active. We really got to know each other, and the get-together was fun. Despite the size of QM2, we often ran into each other around the ship. 

[BikiniBlonde]

I didn’t read every reply, so someone may have mentioned this already.  I wanted to recommend the CruisePlum website for finding solo cruising deals. There’s a search function where you can narrow down deals, for example, based on room type or region.  Someone recommended the website on the Solo Cruisers category here on CC.

For the past couple of years, I have cruised mostly solo on MSC and have yet to pay a single supplement. I cruised solo on a 10-day S. Caribbean on Celebrity in September and my single supplement fare was about 10% . MSC was just starting in the US market when I first started solo cruising and then COVID happened, so both of those things may have caused me to have good fortune in booking solo deals. For instance, I booked a 25-night cruise TA to the Caribbean AND Europe for May. I used a 30% off coupon which I got from playing poker games on an iPhone app (no money, just playing for fun), so I DID have some help, but the total for a solo, balcony room, was around $1700, with $500 OBC. 
 

I hope you will continue to cruise, as a solo. I cruise for the same reasons you do: the solitude of a balcony room is wonderful, but if I feel sociable, I have several choices just outside my door. I gain a sense of pride for doing things in port that I never thought I would do without a partner. I mean group excursions, not exploring on my own. I’m adventurous, not foolish. 😉
 

[AnnieBelle]

As a single woman, I’ve been lucky to have a single friend who loves cruising as much as I do. This past Christmas I wanted to cruise during my winter break but she wanted to stay back with her 101 y/o mother - totally understandable but my mom passed away in February 2021. I took a 7-day Mexican Riviera cruise out of San Diego and did it solo. I interacted on our roll call and went to the single/solo meet up on the first night. Long story short I had a great time. Did some things on my own and other things with people I had met. One of the women I got to know is going to be stopping by and staying with me for a few days this summer. I was hesitant to go by myself but it turned out great. I ate a few meals by myself early on in the trip but that was okay. Do what you feel comfortable with and enjoy the adventures!