Do guys ever cruise as a single?

[Expat_Canuck]

Like Dave above (dmfriedman), I too am a single male cruiser! I went on my first cruise in June (Caribbean Princess) and have already booked two more cruises for this year - RCI's Navigator of the Seas in September and NCL's Norwegian Dawn in December.

 

I'm also the quiet and reserved type, and I like being able to do as much or as little as I want to on the cruise. I chose the "Anytime Dining" option on Princess and met different people every night. The only night I ate by myself was the night I decided to eat at the Steakhouse specialty restaurant.

 

As for meeting single women, I'm not sure if on my cruise there was a shortage? I went to a couple of the "singles mingle" events at the beginning of the cruise and attendance was sparse, so there were no more of such events after the second full day.

 

Jeff

[kath0366]

Jeff....wish you had been on the QM2 over the 4th of July weekend. I don't think there was one single male.....and believe me, I was looking :rolleyes:

[Gregkal]

I have booked single on Dec 10th 2005 on the carnival triumph. I booked a 1A for $649. It is my very first cruise and I will be on the prowl for single women to party with.

[Flip2cruise]

I have booked single on Dec 10th 2005 on the carnival triumph. I booked a 1A for $649. It is my very first cruise and I will be on the prowl for single women to party with.

 

Have a great cruise! Make sure to check out southbeach if you are spending anytime pre or post cruise in Miami.

[Kathy Q]

Over the past 10 years I've taken many solo trips as well as traveling often with friends. It's a fact that I meet many more people when I travel alone!

 

I've done two cruises with friends so far and have booked solo on the NCL Dream Pacific Coastal repositioning cruise this September. There's a roll call going and several other CC'ers will be on board but none have identified themselves as single.

 

Talk about a good deal... Five nights for $179pp! I bought the lowest ocean view GTY (H/portholes/deck 4) and have been upgraded several catagories to a picture window cabin (EE) on deck 7. Total cost? $502 plus insurance and transfers and I get the whole 152 square feet to myself! I generally couldn't afford to book a cabin solo but this time I couldn't afford not to. :D

 

Anyone else going to be on this cruise? I'm glad I booked when I did. Although a cabin or two occasionally becomes available, this sailing is pretty much sold out. All of the prices on this cruise seemed to be pretty darn cheap. I think the repositioning cruises tend to be.

 

I've discovered I love cruising and will be cruising more often in the future. Hope to meet some of you posting on this board, on board!

 

Kathy Q

[cbfl32953]

I am on the Glory on Sept 10th. This is my first cruise solo and this board and advice was helpful. I have taken 4 cruises with a girlfriend and I remember thinking how nice it would be to be single on one of these.

[cfs2000]

I have been travelling solo since a divorce almost 20 years ago, despite the single supplements of sometimes 100% extra (never understood that when clearly I do not eat twice as much) I usually take back to back cruises so at least I can cut down on the air travel. I find that even on the same ship (e,g, Paradise in Nov 03, when the first week was W. Carib and the second week was E. Cairib) the experience varies a lot depending on the other passengers that one happens to meet. Clearly the best place places to meet, chat, and make friendships is at the dining table and on excursions, when there are just a few people gathered together for an extended period of time. I've always considered cruising as the friendliest form of vacation and that it is very easy to start up conversations with hitherto complete strangers, whether it be leaning on a rail watching the ship docking or making a comment to a neighbor at a port orientation meeting. Some cruiselines tend to put singles at the same table - I know from experience Carnival and RCCL do, but then again I've also been on smaller cruises where I may have been the only single (non-child) on board. Still most enjoyable though.

[bermkitty]

Hello, I'm 46 year old female and prefer to cruise as a solo. (At least 10 cruises or land trips.) I've met many people that have enriched my cruising experience. I mainly travel in Europe and Asia. I like history and visiting war sites. Just came back from a river boat cruise in China. I don't normally see a lot of guys traveling solo however unless they are with their partners. I think the key to meeting people is to be friendly and have a smile on your face. Go on the excursions and you meet new people every day. I always choose a ship with open seating and sit with a larger table. I've also invited people up for drinks during sail away. Sometimes I join them for dinner, sometimes I don't. Look for opportunities to say hi to people. The price to cruise as a single in Europe or Asia is high with the supplements but it is definitely worth it. Next trip.....Turkey, Greece or Egypt. Can anyone make recommendations to the cruise ship?

[James42]

I am 42, male and single and this will be my third cruise going solo. I enjoy traveling and find the cruise is a great way to experiance other places and try many activities I would not be able to do on a regular vacation being stuck in one place. If I find a place I like I can go back and visit it later and spend more time. I enjoy meeting people on the boat and many seemed suprised that I am cruising by myself. It is both relaxing and enjoyable and I hope to meet some of you on my next cruise which will be on the Carnival Miracle May 7, 2006. James

[pcruz4ever]

I've been on 11 cruises so far, and there have been single men on all of them, of all ages. Some single, some divorced, some traveling alone, some with family or friends, some looking to hook up, some just out for the fun and food. Nobody ever gets stuck with his or her own company on a cruise unless they make a real effort to be solitary. If you're worried about there being too many "family groups" on board, just avoid popular vacation periods like Christmas, winter and spring break.

 

That's the greatest thing about cruising in general, Carnival in particular: you meet all kinds of people from every age group who are generally just out to have fun.

[mapell81]

Im single 36 now.. cruised 4 by myself. I havent gone any "single only" cruises yet.

[njp70]

Hi Everyone,

 

Cruising Solo next month............

[concal]

If single men only realized what the ratio of single men to women is on a cruise, they'd be flocking to book!! For you men, you'll never have a problem meeting single women on a cruise! ;) :D

 

 

That is SO TRUE!! When I cruised last October I could not believe how many single women there were in the clubs and the small number of men (who by the way were LOVING it). Not such good news for us single gals though so you single men get your butts on the ships!!!!!!:D

[snowbird1]

That is SO TRUE!! When I cruised last October I could not believe how many single women there were in the clubs and the small number of men (who by the way were LOVING it). Not such good news for us single gals though so you single men get your butts on the ships!!!!!!:D

 

 

Must be on the ships that I haven't been on. Actually on shorter cruises there are more but on longer ones I think the numbers drop quickly and really that goes for all singles. I do remember groups of women on a 4 day Carnival cruise but honestly most of them were married and doing one of those Ladies trips. I guess their husbands were going on Golf trips.

[fortify1]

Hi all:

 

I too have cruised by myself. I have been on seven cruises by myself starting when I was 24 and the most recent one last year at 35. I have to say that it has its ups and downs. The ups being that I was able to do the things I wanted to do when I wanted to do them. I was always able to make a lot of friends as well, who I would hang out with every night or even during the day in port. The down side was that there weren't many singles on board to do things with, let alone single women. The next cruise I take will more than likely be a singles cruise for 20's and 30's.

 

Which leads to my next question .... does anyone know of any good singles cruises or groups that do singles cruises that you can recommend?

 

Seth

[Host Kat]

Howdy Seth and welcome to the Singles Forum!

 

Try going to www.google.com and typing in "single cruises". You will find many of the agencies that your fellow Cruise Critic members would recommend if they could. Per our Guidelines, the names, web sites, etc. of travel agents/agencies or other cruise-related sites or message boards --- even if "masked" --- are not allowed in Cruise Critic message board posts or signatures. Posts asking for the name, site or further information via e-mail, or posts offering same, will be removed as well as any replies to the deleted posts.

 

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Wishing you lots of with your google search!

 

Happy trails to you...

 

Kat

[MSfisherman]

I am a straight male solo cruiser,looking at my 12th cruise in November.In the previous 11 cruises I have taken 3 girlfriends along 1x each,2 of them could have stayed on the dock,they were just about as much fun.But I have always met very nice people whom I fondly remember.Oddly enough I've never been sat at a dinner seating with single females.Usually couples or single guys.Should I have slipped the Maitre'de 10 bucks or something?I'll probably stop eating at main dining anyway,I dislike wearing a suit and tie intensely.In my experience singles rarely exceed 15% of the passengers,half of those would be female.of course I might be cruising at the wrong time of year too.The port cities are a better place to find romance.Although there is nothing quite like cruising I just don't expect as much as I used to.I also have an issue with paying 200% for a cabin to be by myself,most cruise lines have stopped the practice of the single supplement.Except for a few of the 6 star lines,which I can't afford.I've done the single share arrangement also,and it's worked out okay.They were'nt gay or obnoxious alcoholics.But would rather be by myself.On a few of these 11 cruises they always had a singles get together on the first night,strangely they were empty,another cruise line had it's singles functions in the smallest bars on the ship,again attendence non-existent,this led me to believe that singles were'nt really in favor on the ship,but that it was a token gesture to appease some new cruisers.Cruise lines are after money,which is normal for business.I would like to see a cruise for only singles,but this would never happen.I'm tempted to take a quote "Singles Cruise" someday.No ship would ever be filled only with singles ,purely from a profit standpoint.Call me a skeptic cruiser.Aloha:cool:

[airlink diva]

On my last cruise in April, I was at a table with all solo cruisers. There were three single guys. One was in his mid 70's, the other in his 60's and the last in his 40's. None of these guys were gay. They were just people who wanted to go on a fun vacation.

As for the dressing up for dinner. The 40 year old rented a tux for the formal night (due to the tablemates wanted him to join us) because he really did'nt bring any formal dressing.

[Annefran]

Wow I guess I didn't realize how many singles do cruise alone. I have been cruising with my teenaged daughter the past couple of years. She runs off, leaves Mom alone and she makes her friends for the week. :rolleyes: It takes me a couple days to find some friends to hang out with and go to shows etc. Anyone have any suggestions for meeting other people on board that may be traveling single or just making some new friends? I can be a little shy at first but love meeting new people.

 

We are on the AOS sailing April 8, 2007. Help!!!

[AAAAmerican]

Is it Wayside there too? Yes the ole stage coach shore route...

 

Meeting people is probably best prior in some ways here at cruisecritic the Roll Call BBs are nice to start a dialogue.

 

Or establishing a group to travel is a great start as well that way you have a base to begin and go foward seeing others with similar interests.

 

You have left from the ole MOTBY before too..:D

[LizaMM]

Wow I guess I didn't realize how many singles do cruise alone. I have been cruising with my teenaged daughter the past couple of years. She runs off, leaves Mom alone and she makes her friends for the week. :rolleyes: It takes me a couple days to find some friends to hang out with and go to shows etc. Anyone have any suggestions for meeting other people on board that may be traveling single or just making some new friends? I can be a little shy at first but love meeting new people.

 

We are on the AOS sailing April 8, 2007. Help!!!

 

 

I am a single mom. I have cruised solo and as solo adult with my kids - which as you said - has a lot of single/solo aspects!

 

I love meeting people on a cruise!

 

Some tips that I can thnk of -

 

- Request a large dinner table. I have been seated with "like" Pax and this is a good way to meet people. For example, On my last cruise with my 14 y.o. DD we were seated with a single dad and his teens.

 

- Find (or start) the Cruise Critic Roll Call Thread for your sailing. It is nice to get to know some people before you sail and often times these roll calls wind up with people meeting on the ship. Since you mention that you are shy at first this might be the biggest plus because you will at least feel like you "know" some people on board which may help you open up a bit more easily.

 

- Ship sponsored excursions are good for the solo cruiser. People always chat on these excursions and you will be meeting people on your ship.

 

- Try to face your fear!! Go ahead and try to start up a conversation with people around you....while on your lounge chair, have a cup of coffee in a public area, take a seat in a bar/lounge....it should be easier to do this on a cruise than almost anywhere else!! I have found that in general cruisers are more friendly and open to meeting "strangers" and love to talk about the cruise they are currently on or past cruises!! On my last cruise I met a wonderful couple while waiting on line to embark.... Had drinks with them several times throughout the cruise both on the ship and in port.

 

- Don't be afraid to go to a show or lounge alone. I have noticed that aside from solo travellers many couples even split up and go to different venues alone.

 

Most of all....REALX AND ENJOY!!! :D

[MsAbs]

I'm single, no kids, and I'm going on my second cruise solo. The first time I did Carnival Celebration on a 5 day cruise just to see how it would be. This time I'm going on Elation for 7 days.

[Seattlerunner]

I'm single 37 years old and cruising on the Inspiration on Oct 23rd. A good friend of mine is meeting me in Tampa since we live in different cities. We both have our own cabins and my friend is a single, straight male too. I guess we're not cruising solo but I certainly would. I think a cruise would be a great place to meet people. :)

[mjt2890]

For some reason I haven't got the nerve to solo cruise (yet). Though I did a 30 day land trip solo w/ 47 strangers (contiki trip). I was kinda burnt out after that long trip and canceled a solo cruise that was 2 weeks afterwards. It was booked with a friend, she canceled on me and I decided just to stay home. Maybe one day ...

[Waryman]

Hi:

 

My name is Chris. I'm single male of 66 year vintage. I'm going on my first cruise ever (not counting the Nile cruise). Any other singles on this cruise?