Traveling solo on Celebrity - what should I know?

[msmusic]

While I have sailed many times on Celebrity, I’ve never sailed solo. In November, I’ll be sailing solo on the Infinity on the 10 day Best of Spain and Portugal cruise. 
 

Do any of you solo cruisers have suggestions for me or things that I should know?  I’ve joined our Roll Call which is not very active yet. 
 

Thanks!

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Just enjoy every moment!

 

I personally don't feel the need to find people so I'm not alone - I relish being alone on trips. Though it doesn't seem like it on here what with all the people evidently crawling around seeing what people have on under the table, the vast majority of people are way too wrapped up in their vacation to worry about who is solo.

 

I think if you want to be seated with others you can ask - even with select - but you may be waiting a while. I'm perfectly happy with my own table - in fact I prefer it as I have zero issues taking a book or my kindle with me to dinner AND being solo lets me set the pace of my dinner rather than waiting for other people to finish their courses.

[RTShaker]

16 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Just enjoy every moment!

 

... being solo lets me set the pace of my dinner rather than waiting for other people to finish their courses.

This^^^^

[basenji56]

15 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Just enjoy every moment!

 

I personally don't feel the need to find people so I'm not alone - I relish being alone on trips. Though it doesn't seem like it on here what with all the people evidently crawling around seeing what people have on under the table, the vast majority of people are way too wrapped up in their vacation to worry about who is solo.

 

I think if you want to be seated with others you can ask - even with select - but you may be waiting a while. I'm perfectly happy with my own table - in fact I prefer it as I have zero issues taking a book or my kindle with me to dinner AND being solo lets me set the pace of my dinner rather than waiting for other people to finish their courses.

Well put. I bring my phone and text/email to people at home. On my current cruise, Celebrity had a hosted solo event on the first night. I met several other solos and we met for dinner. The Celebrity app has a chat feature that you can use to keep in touch with other guests. 

[Crumbled]

There were solo meetups advertised daily in the planner on my recent sailing. I didn't go as I just wanted to potter about by myself, but it's a good option if you would like to meet new people. I mostly chatted to people on excursions and at the nightly quizzes. Like writtenonyourheart, I sat by myself in the MDR and felt perfectly comfortable in so doing but there may well have been a solo table too that I didn't know about. 

 

Above all, enjoy!

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Yeah, I think there might have been solo meet ups on the Edge when I was on her in Feb 2020. I didn't really pay attention to those as personally I'm far more likely to go to the LGBTQIA+ meets - just more my speed. I think I went to one solo meet on a Royal ship once and it just turned into this thing where it felt very high pressure to hang out/eat/etc. together.

[dreamer321]

Take a sweater or hat and a book to leave on your chair/table when you go to the buffet so the bus people and other cruisers know you're not done with your table when you go back to get seconds or refills.

 

Be open to talking to new people if they seem interested in talking. It's only a brief conversation then judge how much further to talk from there. A smile and a positive attitude goes a long way to making for a more enjoyable trip.  I've also found the crew happy to talk especially if it's slow at the time.  I've had some nice conversations with the bus people in the buffet in the late afternoon when they aren't rushing around super busy like are are at peak hours.

 

Get to the popular shows early so you can get a decent seat, if the theater is full there are usually single seats still available that people leave as spacer between them and the next group but if the show is full take it.

[D. B.]

20 minutes ago, Crumbled said:

There were solo meetups advertised daily in the planner on my recent sailing. I didn't go as I just wanted to potter about by myself, but it's a good option if you would like to meet new people. I mostly chatted to people on excursions and at the nightly quizzes. Like writtenonyourheart, I sat by myself in the MDR and felt perfectly comfortable in so doing but there may well have been a solo table too that I didn't know about. 

 

Above all, enjoy!

This is my feeling also.

  I love sailing with my DW but she will only do 2-3 cruises a year because she has a large family on land that she spends a Lot of time with. They do not speak English at home so my time with them is minimal.

 I Love cruising and sometimes cruise Solo and have been very comfortable doing so.

 Some things that are a Plus-sleeping, waking, eating are all on My schedule.  Other than  paying Double for the Cruise cabin everything Else costs 1/2 as much. 

  I sometimes have met people that become friends on the ship and exchanging our life stories can be interesting.

 On my last solo cruise (May 2023) I had a table in the MDR every night next to a nice lady who ate alone every night and had a handicap that made leaving the ship difficult and every night at dinner we had the most delightful conversations!

 Today is my 80th. Birthday and when you manage to survive for 80 years you are bound to have things to talk about?

Or just keep to yourself and watch the flow of life on a Cruise Ship!

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

6 minutes ago, D. B. said:

Some things that are a Plus-sleeping, waking, eating are all on My schedule.  Other than  paying Double for the Cruise cabin everything Else costs 1/2 as much. 

 

This! I will say, having been looking at non-Edge-Class cruises and have determined that if I'm NOT doing an E-Class solo IV, I'll NOT be adding on the AI package because that is NOT adjusted for one person. (Or at least it's not when you get to the payment page - I've only gone that far to get prices to compare so I can make a decision for summer 2024.) I'll just pre-pay my gratuities and decide if I want to buy a bev package or internet package in advance or just buy some OBC to use - that'll depend on which itinerary I end up going with (more port-intensive may not warrant the bev but maybe the internet; more sea days would likely warrant bev and internet - at least for me)

[D. B.]

1 minute ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

This! I will say, having been looking at non-Edge-Class cruises and have determined that if I'm NOT doing an E-Class solo IV, I'll NOT be adding on the AI package because that is NOT adjusted for one person. (Or at least it's not when you get to the payment page - I've only gone that far to get prices to compare so I can make a decision for summer 2024.) I'll just pre-pay my gratuities and decide if I want to buy a bev package or internet package in advance or just buy some OBC to use - that'll depend on which itinerary I end up going with (more port-intensive may not warrant the bev but maybe the internet; more sea days would likely warrant bev and internet - at least for me)

I should have added that when I cruise Solo I always do Cruise Only with Tips pre-paid because I do Not drink alcohol. Adding Premium WiFi with my CC Elite+ discount.

 D. B.

[Honolulu Blue]

2 hours ago, msmusic said:

While I have sailed many times on Celebrity, I’ve never sailed solo. In November, I’ll be sailing solo on the Infinity on the 10 day Best of Spain and Portugal cruise. 
 

Do any of you solo cruisers have suggestions for me or things that I should know?  I’ve joined our Roll Call which is not very active yet. 
 

Thanks!

I've done a few solo cruises on Celebrity. The best thing I can suggest, as mentioned elsewhere, is to have fun doing what you want. Search the Celebrity board for answers to your more specific questions. And also take a look at the Solo Cruisers board.

[msmusic]

Thanks for the replies. Based on these comments, I changed my dining to Select which is my general preference any way. My Kindle can be my companion 🙂

 

I’m not shy so I don’t have any problem striking up a conversation with someone at a bar or on an excursion.  For this trip I’ve tentatively planned a couple of ship excursions, a few that I’m booking on my own, and a few self-guided walking tours. I don’t love eating by myself at restaurants - mostly because my husband and I usually order different things so I get to sample more. I like local bakeries anyway and they are usually easy to eat at alone. 
 

That’s a good idea about taking a hat or something to the buffet. I tend to get small amounts of things to try so I’m always getting up for other things. 
 

I’m not getting a drink package. I will probably purchase a bottle of wine in Barcelona to take on and I’ll get a cocktail or two during the Elite happy hours and that will be plenty. I don’t need the internet for anything, I can use my Elite minutes to check-in for my flight home. I’ll get an eSim for Spain and check in with family through WhatsApp and iMessage. 
 

Thanks for mentioning the solo cruiser meet ups. I might check one out. 
 

Thanks again for your replies. I’m excited about this solo adventure. 

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I sail solo on Celebrity all the time.  Many times other friends are on the cruise also, but I'm still sailing solo with my own cabin.

 

My most recent solo cruise was on the Connie out of Tampa in January.  I knew absolutely no one on the ship prior to the cruise.  There was a solo meetup the first night and I went.  I met three other delightful people and we dined together for the rest of the cruise.  If I had not met them, I would have asked for a table to share--I love meeting new people who like to cruise.  I'm on a cruise this fall with a bunch of people--all of whom I met on various Celebrity cruises.