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Hosted singles cruises?


dwing18
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Carol is correct . . . however . . . the amenities you're paying for include group activities on the ship -- games, cocktail parties, etc., the "single-mingle" dining (where you do not have to sit at your assigned table every night, you are free to sit anywhere within the group's designated tables) and a large group of fellow single people (which you would be hard-pressed to find if you sailed solo). The singles cruise agencies also organize their own shore excursions (at an additional cost) for the singles group only so you don't have to go on excursions with the couples and families from the ship. In my mind, it's worth the extra money.

 

Christine

 

Christine you are correct. I am getting ready for my sixth singles cruise. I will be boarding the Splendour of the Seas in Venice, Italy on Sept. 19.

The fun and interesting people that I have met on these singles cruises far outweigh the additional cost.

If you have never experienced a singles cruise you really cannot understand the value of cruising with a lot of fun loving singles.

Terry from Kansas

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  • 2 months later...

I am traveling with a buddy on Carnival Miracle at New Year. After booking while browsing these forums I found out that it has a "hosted singles group" on board. Although we are 40 something single males, we didn't book the trip with the group and it seems that someone posted here that it would cost about $250 more if we had booked it that way. Can you join the group after paying for your cruise by paying the group organizers the difference or would it cost more that way? In addition, I have a couple of questions regarding the value for money in joining the group.

 

I took the liberty of browsing the internet and found out what the hosts offer and it does sound like fun but is it worth it? It mentions private cocktail parties with complimentary drinks etc. I'm certainly open to joining if it makes sense but would the money be better spent that way or just using it for other things? As an example, having a nice romantic meal with a new found friend at Nick and Nora's might be a better option. Do the cocktail parties etc. last all night or are they just for an hour or two and then the single people go out into the ship in general and continue to have fun with the rest of the people on the cruise? How many parties are there and is the majority of later evening hours spent participating in group activities or is the majority of time spent at the bars and lounges outside of group activities?

 

We are from the Toronto area and although we've gone to some of the local "singles events" we've found them to be hit and miss so it kind of makes me wonder about this initiative. Having said that, I guess if all of the single women were locked up at one end of the boat and I was at the other end I can't imagine there would be any price that would be too high to join but both my friend and I are pretty social so if the singles group were only gone for an hour or two at a time and the cost worked out to an average of $20 or $30 a drink I'd probably think twice about it. I will admit that I'm leaning towards just doing my own thing with my buddy and taking my chances that I'll have a good time later on with the same people but if I'm going to be missing out on something special I'm open to hearing about it. I'm not trying to be cheap it's just that I've never relied on anyone to help me meet women in the past so I'm kinda skeptical that I would find it worth it. I am curious though ... I know I'm asking a lot of questions but this is my first carnival cruise and one of the main reasons we picked a cruise was because we had heard that there are often a lot of single women on them. Is that true? Sounds like we might have hit the jackpot with this one turning out to have a singles "group" on it. On this type of cruise is it typical that the "singles hosted group" will contain the majority of the single women or will there be more in the rest of the 2000+ passenger list?

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Can you join the group after paying for your cruise by paying the group organizers the difference or would it cost more that way?

 

I read about a guy whose travel agent told him that he could do that and save the cost of the group. He tried and failed and was REALLY ANGRY at the group host. "I was TOLD I could join."

 

"Not by us. Get mad at your travel agent ..."

 

 

ALA

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  • 2 weeks later...

ALA is correct -- some companies will let you join the hosted group (for a fee of course) and some won't. It's best to ask the company that is hosting the singles group.

 

While I have never been on a cruise solo (meaning by myself and not part of a hosted group), I have been on 6 hosted singles cruises. What I've heard from other solos is that it is very difficult on most cruises to find other singles. Carnival does a pretty good job of trying to put all the single travelers at the same table, but I've heard stories about singles ending up as the only person at a table with an entire family. The ships also usually have a "singles" meeting on the ship but the people in the singles group typically do not attend that, and if you read through some of the other threads on here, you'll find that those are generally NOT well attended.

 

The cocktail parties generally last a couple of hours and then the singles go off and mingle on the rest of the ship, but they tend to stay together or break up into smaller groups. The singles cruise agencies also have their own shore excursions not open to the others on the ship so that the singles can be with each other and not with the families (although some choose to do the ship's excursions or go off on their own). The hosted singles cruise groups also offer the "single-mingle" dining -- which means the group has a section of tables reserved for the group and you can sit at any table with anyone you like within the reserved area. To me, that's one of the biggest benefits of going with the agencies rather than by myself.

 

Sorry to be long-winded -- the bottom line is you won't know if it's worth it until you try it! The hundreds of us who go on singles cruises regularly obviously think it's worth it -- we can't all be wrong, right? :p

 

Christine

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I looked at one of the singles cruises for the end of January, even did a tentative booking, since it's a ship I like. But the more I looked, it seemed most of the group is into heavy drinking and smoking- not my thing. I canceled- not without hassle- and they offered a buy-in on the ship of $200. (I was able to get a single cabin on my own, cheaper than their cabin-share price, staying on B2B from the previous week.)

I expect those who share my interest (dancing), I'll meet in the lounge; the rest are welcome to their pub crawls. If not- well, like hoshk_1 said, in the Toronto area, singles events are pretty doubtful. At least the weather will be better here than home.

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I will be taking my 8th hosted singles cruise on May 22, 2010. Yes there are a some people that like to drink, but there are also plenty of people who do not care to drink. I have met a lot of fun and interesting people on these singles cruises. If you are single I would recommend that you give a hosted singles cruise a try. You might be surprised at how well you will fit in.

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I looked at one of the singles cruises for the end of January, even did a tentative booking, since it's a ship I like. But the more I looked, it seemed most of the group is into heavy drinking and smoking- not my thing. I canceled- not without hassle- and they offered a buy-in on the ship of $200. (I was able to get a single cabin on my own, cheaper than their cabin-share price, staying on B2B from the previous week.)

I expect those who share my interest (dancing), I'll meet in the lounge; the rest are welcome to their pub crawls. If not- well, like hoshk_1 said, in the Toronto area, singles events are pretty doubtful. At least the weather will be better here than home.

 

I jiust came back from a cruise with a large singles group onboard - the 11/8 Carnival Valor - in fact, my table included some of those folks the first night (then they moved to their mingling).

 

I met about a dozen single travelers who were not with "the group" and I'm sure there were more aboard that I just didn't come across in my wanderings. We all had a great time on the ship.

 

It's really just a matter of style, I think. If you want to be part of group parties and group activities....then a singles cruise fits well. If you are more into just relaxing on your own schedule and are comfortable meeting people on your own - then it probably isn't worth spending all the extra money to go with a group.

 

But in any case, after more than half a dozen Carnival cruises, I assure you that men traveling alone will always find plenty of dance partners and dinner companions.

 

There tends to be a lot more single women than men on cruise ships - even in the organized singles groups.

 

Em

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I will be taking my 8th hosted singles cruise on May 22, 2010. Yes there are a some people that like to drink, but there are also plenty of people who do not care to drink. I have met a lot of fun and interesting people on these singles cruises. If you are single I would recommend that you give a hosted singles cruise a try. You might be surprised at how well you will fit in.

I have also become a fan of the hosted singles cruises. I am booked on my 4th one New Year's Eve. They are fantastic. There are all types of people, those who like to drink non-stop, those who casually drink, those who don't drink at all, those who are big into scuba, those who are big into dance, those who are big into sightseeing, etc. etc. One thing we all have in common is we are single and looking to travel and have a good time. I now have friends from all over the country, the Caribbean, and Canada. I gave my daughter one as a gift and she loved it too. If you're interested, try it. I guarantee you'll have the time of your life.

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  • 7 years later...

I have no idea who the hosted single cruise companies are, but want to go and get out of the heat in Florida.

I miss having a man around to go with and am in my sixties. What kind of company do you recommend for me.

I am also an avid female golfer.

I can't figure all this out and have all of September to goof off.

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  • 3 months later...

I went on my first hosted singles cruise in February 2017. From a price-perspective, I would say it is comparable with booking directly, maybe a bit more. But if you need a room-mate matching service, it's included, and that substantially brings the price down compared with booking with a single supplement.

Also, totally worth the money. You have an instant group of friends to hang out with, dine with, dance with, go on excursions with, etc. My Valentine's week cruise had about 150 people in our group of all ages, and we tended to group up by age. So the seniors tended to stick together, the 20-30's stuck together, and the 35-50's tended to be the core group, with sub-groups therein.

Whether you "hook up" or not is up to you. There is plenty of opportunity to do so, but people also respect your intent. It is also a community, and people look out for each other. We had a few "poachers" try to pretend to be part of our group and were aggressive to one lady. Let me tell you, the group was all over them and ran them off. Just not tolerated.

I would also like to say how surprised and heartened i was at all the people who said they really grew and learned about themselves on this trip. "I left so much emotional garbage back at the beach" is something i heard more than once. So, while awesome for adults of all ages, backgrounds and intents, I would highly(!!!) recommend for people either divorced or widowed more than 2 years. You owe it to yourself to have a vacation that's more than sun and souvenir shopping.

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I would like to know which ships have single cruises. I have read that there are cruises that have mingle rooms where singles go. I just would like to know where to look, cause I have been all over the internet. Thank you!!

I know that celebrity equinox has it through a singles hosted group but I’m surprised they keep using the same **** over and over again with so many ships and Celebrity’s plate why does it always have to be the equinox each time? I’m looking forward to my Halloween cruise

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