Solo suggestions for East Med Cruise

[Angelite]

Hi there

I've have been a very happy solo land traveller for many years and would now like to try my hand at the cruising world.

 

I'm looking for some suggestions as to what would be a good choice of Liner Company / Ship / Cruise for a 34 year old single lady. I'm particularly interested in the Mediteranian (esp. Greece and Turkey) but I've just spent my last holiday in Italy to I don't really want to repeat Rome too soon.

 

I'm not to keen to be surrounded by a bunch of retirees or screaming kids or to have to get formally dressed up every night although a couple of formal events would be nice. I can happily talk to strangers but I like some fellow solo travellers that I can join up with for activities and excursions.

 

Any advice or recommendations would be appreciated.

Thanks

[DKNYC]

Angelite,

I am thinking you might want to try NCL , RCCL or Carnival. The freestyle dining on NCL may be difficult for a solo unless you know some other people first( Cruise Critic Roll Calls could help with this). RCCL and Carnival are sort of known for having younger passengers. If you want to avoid children then travel when they are in school. Usually that means avoid July and August. The retirees are a little more difficult to avoid, but they may be trying to avoid you too .:D

You will have to check the cruiselines individually to find the combination of ports that are to your liking. There should be quite a bit to choose from. Hope this helps

[Roz]

Angelite,

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic and the Solos forum.

 

I have a little different take on things than DKNYC.

 

European cruises are longer and more expensive. Therefore, you'll find few children (even during school breaks) and you will find a lot of retirees.

 

Even on Carnival, you don't find their typical clientele on longer cruises.

 

As a solo, I would stay away from NCL, because as DKNYC already pointed out, their freestyle dining isn't solo or single friendly.

 

Roz

[Sansouci]

 

I'm not to keen to be surrounded by a bunch of retirees [snip, snip]

 

Ouch! :eek:

[Roz]

As a general rule, the retirees I've met on cruises are sophisticated, well-traveled individuals, and many of them like to kick up their heels at night.

 

Roz

[kitty9]

I've done 5 cruises in the Med as a solo, and you will love it. I would have to disagree with the comment on kids in the Med. I did a 10 day Med cruise on RCCI and there were over 550 kids on board---families are taking the Med by storm in summer. I also did a Med cruise on Crystal, not known to be child friendly, and there were over 100 kids, on a ship that only carries 980. So if you cruise in June though the end of August, expect kids on lines such as NCL, RCCI and Carnival. Princess limits the number of kids and I've found that Celebrity doesn't attract as many kids. You could also go with a line like Oceania where they don't have a kid's program and their dress code is country club casual---no formal nights. I would also stay away from NCL as a single because it's one of the most unaccommodating lines for singles.

[Sansouci]

Hi Darcie,

 

I'm still looking for a Med cruise for my birthday trip in May (will already be in Barcelona for the land portion, but would like to extend it with a cruise) and find your comments about Oceania intriguing and their dress code, as well as the lack of formal nights, sounds as if they mesh with my style! I've also been studying Crystal's offerings, but if there are that many kids on board, I'm sure I'd find it unappealing. Have you cruised with Oceania and if so, how would you compare it to the other lines?

 

Thanks! Deb

[cruisinryan]

Hi Angelite,

 

Since you are new to cruising, you may not know about "singles cruises". I suggest you look for a cruise with a singles group. The majority of passengers will not be part of the group, the whole ship is not singles, just the group that was put together by someone (usually a travel agency). The singles group might be 20-40 people, for instance. Also, singles groups are not about looking for romance, it's about having a group of people to dine with and go on excursions with, etc. Just what you seem to be looking for.

 

Do some Google searches (or your favorite search engine) for "singles cruise", or "singles cruise" plus "Mediterranean", or other combos of words.

 

I would agree to stay away from NCL. With a freestyle dining situation, most people are not looking for strangers to dine with. I just got back from an NCL cruise, and the ship and the cruise were GREAT, but it would have been hard to find dining companions, if I had not already "met" people via the cruise critic roll call for the sailing.

 

Which comes to my second suggestion: if you find a cruise you like, whether or not it has a singles group, be sure to join the Cruise Critic roll call for the sailing, and then attend any onboard party they set-up, and hopefully you will find comrades to share the fun with.

 

Finally, if you find a good Med. cruise, let me know! 'cause I want to do one too. I'm planning on Spring '09 or '10.

 

Good Luck !!

[Sansouci]

Hi Angelite,

 

Since you are new to cruising, you may not know about "singles cruises". I suggest you look for a cruise with a singles group. The majority of passengers will not be part of the group, the whole ship is not singles, just the group that was put together by someone (usually a travel agency). The singles group might be 20-40 people, for instance. Also, singles groups are not about looking for romance, it's about having a group of people to dine with and go on excursions with, etc. Just what you seem to be looking for.

 

Do some Google searches (or your favorite search engine) for "singles cruise", or "singles cruise" plus "Mediterranean", or other combos of words.

 

Great advice for the OP. And, I might add, probably best to seek singles cruises geared to those under age 40!

[boatboat]

If you are interested in a more European experience .... look at the MSC offerings, particularly if you also speak a major European language. This is an Italian owned ship line that is fairly new.

[Roz]

Darcie,

 

Thanks for the correction regarding kids on Med cruises. I'll keep that in mind as I plan future cruises. Wow, where do these families get the money to take all these elaborate vacations?

 

I come from a working class background, and our vacations consisted of visiting my grandmother in the mountains. :(

 

Roz

[kitty9]

Roz, I am also surprised by the number of families on more exotic cruises. Would you believe that when I was on part of Crystal's world cruise, there was a family on board that took the entire cruise? And at a cost of over $76,000 per person !!!!! The economy can't be so bad or else you wouldn't see that many families on these not-so-cheap cruises.

 

Sansouci, BTW I love your screen name, if you cruise Crystal in May or early June, there won't be that many, if any, kids on Crystal. I was on in August, and the ship was filled with Europeans and their kids (August is the big time for Europeans to take their vacations and that's why there were so many kids on Crystal). Oceania is the former Renaissance line. Their ships are very small and their cabins are even smaller, if that makes a difference. They are a step up from your mass market lines but are a far cry from a luxury line. Their food is comparable to Princess or Celebrity, but not on par with Crystal or Seabourn. They have a strict smoking policy with no smoking in cabins or balconies. I point that out if anyone here is a smoker---no judgements. And, here's my biggest problem with Oceania, they have open seating in their main restaurant. As a solo, I'm not a fan of open seating (similar to the freestyle of NCL, another line I don't like), unless it's on Seabourn, where solo ladies get an invitation to dinner each night from an officer or the cruise director---that way the solo woman doesn't feel spotted out or uncomfortable when arriving at the dining room. Oceania's itineraries tend to be very port intensive, so if you prefer a cruise with an equal number of sea/port days, you might want to check out other lines.