The longest you have cruised Solo???

[Thamsey]

I booked a BTB TA and Med for next April it will be a 26 day sailing.I am now questioning if this is abit too long. Any experience????

[NancyChgo]

I would think/hope that you have a few solo cruises under your belt before deciding on this cruise, because it truly has much to do with "you". I'm quite a solo person and truly enjoy my solitude, but I'm not sure if this cruise would be a bit much for even me.

 

If I were able to meet fellow cruisemates online beforehand, that would be different. But going on that long a cruise without 'knowing anyone' beforehand - I'm not sure I'd do it.

 

Nancy

[SantaAna,CA]

Ellie that sounds fantastic. I've only gone on a week cruise solo, although I'm going on a two week cruise in November.

 

I think twenty-six days would be heaven. I love being on vacation. I hope you do go, and have a fantastic time. Nancy has a point though; if you haven't done a solo cruise before, you might want to try a shorter one first.

 

Jane

[Lois R]

Hi, your upcoming cruise sounds fantastic:)

Wish I could go too:D but that 4 letter word "work" gets in the way.:eek:

 

I know Darcie has been on a cruiseship for at least 31 days

in a row (if not longer) so hopefully she will see your thread

and give you an edcuated reply:)

[Thamsey]

I had booked the 26 day last November and at that time had not been on a solo cruise. I then booked a 12 day Hawaiian cruise and well after posting for about 6 weeks it was trip time. A few people on the roll call said they were afraid to meet me as I sounded like a crazed neurotic cat woman.(Lois, Cat woman being...... Ton's Discription) Guess I let all my fears of solo cruising hang out.

I was fine, felt like I was home and people were great. I am on the roll call now and it seems fine but thats only one part of the journey. I realize ship food for 26 days will mane me crazy food a little to bland.

So if anyone has been cruising for a long period what is the good the bad and the ugly of long cruises.

At least I have lots of time to make decisions. Thanks for input all.

Have a great day.

[earl_m]

My longest is 14 days , because of work, that will be my longest,

Thats a long time , 26 days if its your first time

[blazerfan]

I did a 17 day last fall and it was great. However, I had two shorter ones before that to test the waters so to speak. This year I'm booked on a 28 day and can't wait!

[Roz]

Ellie,

 

That sounds great! Maybe when I'm closer to retirement I'll be able to get away from work for that long. I could tell my supervisor I was testing out retirement by taking a 30-day cruise.

 

When I was on the 12-day Hawaiian with you, I could have stayed on the ship another 12 days. As you know a lot of people were really getting antsy and anxious to get off the ship. Not me!

 

I say go for it.

 

Roz

[aprildream]

I just returned from a 19 day Transatlantic cruise followed 2 days later by a 13 night Baltic cruise all by myself. I loved it! It's nice not sharing a bathroom and closets and you get to pick what to do. You can mingle as much or as little as you want. With NCL freestyle dining I would just come up say "one to share" and I would find myself eating at a table full of nice people who never made me feel "alone". I could sit by a window and read if I wanted or play some silly game with others if I wanted. I used ships excursions though because I felt uncomfortable by myself as a lone female in a foreign country. Frankly Iv'e decided that I prefer traveling alone unless my late husband could be available to travel with me. I sometimes felt sad that he wasn't with me.

[Solo Cruiser]

My longest solo cruise (thus far :D ) is a 17 day one. I met a few of my fellow travelers in the roll call before the cruise but mostly I didn't know anyone before sailing. I enjoyed each minute of every one of those 17 days. I met some incredible folks with great stories and we had time to share them on a transatlantic. The food choices were never exactly the same and I took all my meals in the dining room with anytime dining for dinners. My experience was like Aprildream, couldn't have been happier with my table mates. (and by the way April good for you, I'm sure your late husband would be proud of you) One morning at breakfast on of the folks at my table asked if the chef could liven up his scrambled eggs, the "hotter the better". They came with diced hot peppers in the eggs and some sort of melty cheese. He loved them.

 

I think your cruise sounds like a fabulous opportunity and I'm pleased you can take one of such length. Maybe one day I can do that.... think my bosses would buy "I need a month to cruise"??

[songanddance]

Found an interesting web site 2008worldcruise.com about a solo older male who is headed out on the QE2 for 90 days in January. That is a major undertaking.

[franu]

Since my DH passed away I have been on two 30 day cruises with another booked for October. The first one was booked for both of us with another couple and they convinced me to come anyway. Since I had done the "share thing" many decades ago, I knew that it was not for me.

 

Although I was still working out my feelings, I knew that I would never again share. I have enjoyed my cruises which have been complicated by some mobility problems.

 

I met a person on these boards that was going to be on the same cruise and had limited mobility too. We hired taxis and did 2 private tours and it worked well for both of us.

 

Unfortunately, I was at "the table from hell" on my last cruise and sat with them for half of the cruise. It was a table of singles. When I approached the maitre d', he wondered out loud that I had stayed as long as I did. The second table had a mixture of couples and singles. I still correspond with one.

 

Go and enjoy yourself. The only one that you must please is yourself. I am not interested in finding anyone for a relationship. I am enjoying my single status. Yes, it is expensive but being stuck with a horrible roommate for a month makes it worth the single supplement for my sanity.

 

I try to go without expectations except for what I want to do in the various ports. I do not feel uncomfortable asking people to share in taxi tours. Without thinking about other issues I really enjoy myself.

Fran

[NRWPA]

My first and only solo cruise was a 17 day Panama Canal cruise followed by 3 days in San Francisco. I was also in Florida for 5 days pre-cruise (but visiting family-so I probably can't count those as "solo" days). I had a blast! I am married, so not looking for anyone, but I met the nicest people ever. I participated in the Roll Call and met about a dozen other CCers. I also met 2 couples in line waiting to board the ship with whom I still correspond. I participated in the 2 solo cruisers events offered by the ship and met 2 nice women, one from England, the other from Scotland that I bonded with. Two dance hosts were on board and although I'm not a dancer, I had more people I "knew" to talk to. I went on excursions with my new-found friends. Since it was an NCL cruise, I didn't have an assigned table for dinner, but I only ate 2 meals alone, once by choice and once because I just didn't bump into any of my cruising friends. I really loved being able to do things on the spur of the moment, not having to check with anyone else to see what they want to do. In San Francisco, I rented a car and decided what I wanted to do and just did it. I now have planned a 10 day Hawaii cruise, along with one day pre-cruise in Honolulu and 5 days post-cruise when I plan to fly to Kauai for a few days. I don't have any doubt I'll have a great time there, too. Good luck - I hope you have as much fun as I did.

[kitty9]

My longest cruises have been 35 days, Hong Kong to Dubai and then 29 days, Cape Town to NY. I love the longer cruises and even when the cruise ends, I'm not ready to go home. Those long cruises were part of Crystal's world cruise, and believe it or not, none of the menus were repeated, so there was no boring repeats of food items. Plus, they have a number of alternate dining venues that don't charge extra, so it was just a matter of making a reservation if I needed a change. Another great thing is the fact that Crystal brings guest entertainers on board every few days, so that makes the evening entertainment interesting. They bring on classical musicians, actors who perform one act plays, comedians and singers. They also have amazing guest lecturers on every cruise, so that makes the sea days less monotonous. You might find all these things on your cruise, so that's something to look forward to. When doing a back to back, you will probably find some repeat menus, but you can always try something new and different on menus that might repeat. BTW, I'm doing two segments on next year's world cruise, and with pre and post cruise stays, I'll be gone for 34 days total.

[adrenalinjunkie]

Found an interesting web site 2008worldcruise.com about a solo older male who is headed out on the QE2 for 90 days in January. That is a major undertaking.

 

 

I have only cruised once before, last year on Legend of the Seas. It was a 10 day cruise and I was solo. No way would you call me confident or outgoing but I had a great time, met loads of nice people and didn't feel lonely at all.

I am now booked on the QE2 world cruise next year - for the full 103 days :D . I am slightly nervous but I'm sure it will be fine.

[Solo Cruiser]

Veronica:

 

Applause and kudos to you ma'am!! What a fabulous sounding adventure. I have a dream to do a world cruise (of course the other dream is living on the ship LOL) and I'm green with envy :D :D .

 

Please let us know all the goodies about this cruise and keep us with you during the planning. How in the world will you pack enough for 103 days? Oh and a blog about your travels next year.....ok ok I'm pushing it. But have a great time and let us share when you want.

[earl_m]

Congrats on your world cruise, 103 days, wow!! That I can only dream about. I can' t imagine how much it going to cost.and you are going solo, its going to cost you enough more. I would have to win the lotto.

to afford it. all the best!!!!

[Lois R]

Congrats on your world cruise, 103 days, wow!! That I can only dream about. I can' t imagine how much it going to cost.and you are going solo, its going to cost you enough more. I would have to win the lotto.

to afford it. all the best!!!!

 

Earl, you and me both;)

 

And sending my best wishes for a wonderful 103 days too:)

[adrenalinjunkie]

Thank you all for your good wishes!

I will be celebrating my 50th birthday next year (actually while I'm away)and wanted to do something really special. Fairly recently divorced from a husband who hated travelling in any form and I've always loved it so I thought a cruise would be nice, and this one looked pretty interesting!

 

As far as packing goes I haven't the faintest idea. At the moment I'm trying hard, and not very successfully, to lose weight, and am buying new clothes in smaller sizes which is a bit risky. I've bought some new suitcases and have read a lot of very helpful packing tips on other threads.

 

I'm not panicking yet, give me a couple more months and I'm sure that situation will change:D

The roll-call thread is very useful as a lot of people have been on the ship before, and they all seem really nice.

 

I will do my best to keep you informed of progress;)

[CrazyCruiseCanuck]

Hi all . (Nice to 'see' you again, Lois!:) )

 

I am so encouraged to see other widows writing in on this thread, who seem to feel the same way I do....yes, I miss Gary terribly (lost him in February) but I figure I can miss him here at home in my boring living room, or I can miss him on a fabulous cruise....I know he would choose the latter!

 

Adrenalinjunkie....WOW...that's all I have to say. I hope you have a fabulous time and we WILL need a trip report! Someday, maybe....Hey, my severance pay when I retire in 6 years....now you've got me thinking!

 

I have yet to cruise solo....I will be on my first in September, with a bunch of "Roll Call" friends from Cruise Critic (hi, "Pirates of the Mariner"). Then I have a pre-scheduled back-to-back on the Radiance in November (14 days) which Hubby was supposed to be sailing with me. Then in February I will be on the Island Princess for 15 days (not exactly solo, but I have my own cabin and will be travelling with friends). Adventure of the Seas in April 08 with my son and a girlfriend from work, and then another solo on the Mariner in September 08.

 

As my signature line says, "Live your life like it's 'Last Call'

 

Smooth sailing, everybody.

[boatboat]

This spring I did a Carribean for a week, pulled the luggage off the ship and walked two ships down for a TA and b2b Med segment, all in all 5 weeks.

 

I enjoyed all the different venues. For the last month it was free style and it became a little tiring toward the end .... where are you from, what do you do, where have you been.

 

I have done other long cruises and slightly prefer meeting the same people once a day at dinner.

 

This fall I plan two ships ... one in the Med and one for the TA .... this is sure to be interesting.

[yellowbird23]

LUCKY DEVILS! I would love to go, but my heart would be with my grandchildren so I will have to settle for long weekends and 7 day cruises as I can afford them. Best wishes to you on your 103 day ATW...I some day may do the TA...maybe this fall if I can still find a deal.