While cruising solo may seem scary at first I'm here to give you five tips to quell your fears and ensure you have a blast on your first solo cruise.
I recently took my first solo cruise and while I’ve traveled on my own numerous times, I’m not going to lie, I was a bit nervous about taking a cruise by myself. Something about being on a boat by myself not knowing how I would pass the time seemed scarier to me than dropping into a brand new country on my own.
Well I’m here to tell you that my fear was completely unfounded and if you’re considering a solo cruise, I’m here to quell your fears as well. Let me start off by saying that I had an absolute BLAST cruising alone and will definitely consider these types of vacations in the future.
Below find everything I found useful in venturing on my first solo cruise.
1. Not all cruises are created equal
I took my solo cruise on the Norwegian Viva because when I was researching cruise lines I found that Norwegian was really good about catering to solo travelers. Several of Norwegian’s ships have solo studios which are inside cabins designed for a single person and more recently on some of their ships they’ve designated balcony rooms for solo travelers. On my cruise I opted for a solo balcony and it was by far the best decision I made on my cruise. The solo balconies are no different that the ship’s regular balcony rooms, the only difference is that it was priced for a single person occupying the room instead of two people which means as a single person in the room the room was huge.
One reason I decided to pick Norwegian as the line I solo cruised on was because they have the designated solo rooms which means there was no single supplement. Some cruise lines which don’t have designated single cabins can charge upward of 200% more for a solo cruiser. This means that on some lines, even when you’re traveling alone you still have to pay the price of two people. Honestly, that’s a little ridiculous because you would think a 50% profit on the room would be better than a 0% profit if the room goes unsold, but I digress.
While the majority of other cruise lines have a single supplement of some sort I recently discovered a website that can let you know where the best deals are for solo cruisers if you have a cruise line that you are completely loyal to. The website is Cruise Plum and it lists cruise deals for solo travelers and even tells you what percentage the solo supplement is. My suggestion if you decide to use it is to find the cruise you want on the website and then book that trip directly through the cruise website.
2. Solo cruising and single cruising are not the same thing
This was one thing I discovered in my research on things I should know before solo cruising and while solo cruising and single cruising seem like they would be the same thing they are two completely different types of cruisers. A solo cruiser is someone who happens to be traveling by themselves. A single cruiser is someone who is not in a romantic relationship and is looking for someone romantically while on their cruise. So just be careful if your thinking of cruising solo that you know your terminology and know which one applies to you.
3. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there
One thing I was unsure about at the start of the cruise was what I would be doing with my free time. I’m used to cruising with my family, so any free time generally is spent chatting or hanging out with them. But I had no reason to fear. So many people on the cruise reached out to me and struck up a conversation when they realized I was traveling alone. I chatted with people who were from my city, I chatted with retirees who thought traveling young was a good idea, I befriended folks who became my trivia buddies, I met someone who was traveling with their friends' families. Overall, I got to talk to so many diverse and interest people.
Additionally, the very first night there was a solo cruisers meet up where we were all introduced to one another and told of activities planned for us throughout the week. This included doing things like the racetrack on the boat and the escape room as a group. I was definitely nervous about going to this meet-up at first, but wound up meeting a lot of really interesting and diverse people. We even wound up having dinner together that night so we could all continue chatting.
4. There are so many dining options available to you
I’ve traveled alone enough that the thought of sitting at a dinner table by myself no longer instills me with a sense of fear, but I know that dining alone can be very intimidating for lots of people. I’ve only cruised solo on Norwegian Cruise Line, so can only speak to my experience with them, but on our first night there was a solo traveler meet up and our cruise guide established a table for us throughout the whole cruise. While I didn’t dine with the group the whole cruise, I did the first night and immediate had a table of 12 new friends who passed the time sharing travel experiences and life stories and because no one knew each other there was no feeling left out of inside jokes or awkwardly trying to insert yourself into an established relationship.
If sit down dining isn’t your thing, most cruise ships also have a buffet available at dinner time. While I didn’t go to the buffet on the Norwegian Viva I did do dinner one night at the Indulge Food Hall which had a much more casual atmosphere than the dining room did.
Most cruises also offer room service with a small fee attached, so if you really just want to enjoy some me-time you can dine in your room and feel super fancy getting dinner brought to your door.
People also may take you in. This happened to me on my second night of the cruise. I decided to go to one of the main dining rooms on my own and was seated next to two elderly couples. As soon as they realized I was cruising alone they pulled my table up to theirs and insisted we dine together. I spent the night learning about their lives and having a lively conversation with them.
Or if you’re up for it you can dine alone and enjoy the solitude of enjoying a nice meal with nice views without any interruptions. But I was surprised just how many dining options were available to me on the cruise that didn’t leave me feeling like my only option was to sit in the main dining room by myself every evening.
5. People will commend you
I personally don’t think there is anything inherently brave about traveling alone especially as a solo traveler on a boat with a few thousand people, but that could be my years of traveling alone talking. Anyway, the number of people who shared with me how brave they thought I was with slight awe in their voice when they heard I was traveling alone really took me back.
So I’m here to tell you, even if traveling alone doesn’t feel brave to you, you are extremely brave for putting yourself out there and relying on yourself to make your own happiness. Not only are people who travel alone brave, but it shows that they are independent and the makers of their own destiny. So go ahead, pat yourself on the back for taking a courageous step that not many people have the guts to do.
Apart from that I didn’t find solo cruising to be too different from cruising with my family. The main difference is the people I talked to on the ship were strangers instead of relatives. So what are you waiting for? Whether it’s your first or fiftieth solo cruise, go out there and get exploring!
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