Accidental Solo Cruise

First, I have a disclaimer: this post is just my own personal opinion and experience. I realize that many of the posters/viewers here love to travel solo and that's great; but I have a different feeling after having a very unexpected solo cruise.

It all started when my friend and I were taking a shuttle bus to the ship. She started to feel nauseous and thought she was car sick. As we were standing in the line to check in, she got very bad abdominal pains and needed a wheelchair! We were quickly taken to our cabin where she laid down, but the pain continued to increase. I called the ship's doctor and our cabin steward helped me take her down to the medical center.

The doctor was fantastic and did xrays, blood work, an IV, and pain meds. They diagnosed her with pancreatitis and called the local emergency squad! They transferred her to a local hospital where she ended up spending nearly a week. (BTW, she's better now).

So . . . . I ended up going on the cruise alone. I was in shock for a day as I've never traveled solo, but then realized that I just needed to make the best of it.

I found that mealtimes were the most uncomfortable time. Sometimes I would go to the dining room, but about 2/3 of the time I just ate in the buffet where I could read my book. I had nice tablemates when in the dining room, but occasionally I would be seated alone and found it very strange.

The ship didn't have many activities so on the 3 sea days I just stayed on my balcony most of the days either reading or watching TV. Very boring!!

I did go on shore at the 3 ports, but am not comfortable as a woman alone taking a taxi on a Caribbean island. So I did one excursion and just walked around in the 2 other towns. Again, very boring especially compared to what we had planned to do - but they all involved taking taxis.

I am trying to look on the bright side: I was on a cruise in beautiful warm weather where I didn't have to cook, clean or go to work and I certainly had a better time than my poor friend who spent the week in a hospital in pain. But I learned that I won't ever take a solo cruise on purpose because I was very lonely and bored. No one to share good times with. It's just not my cup of tea. Again, this is just my personal opinion and experience. :)

First, I have a disclaimer: this post is just my own personal opinion and experience. I realize that many of the posters/viewers here love to travel solo and that's great; but I have a different feeling after having a very unexpected solo cruise.

 

It all started when my friend and I were taking a shuttle bus to the ship. She started to feel nauseous and thought she was car sick. As we were standing in the line to check in, she got very bad abdominal pains and needed a wheelchair! We were quickly taken to our cabin where she laid down, but the pain continued to increase. I called the ship's doctor and our cabin steward helped me take her down to the medical center.

 

The doctor was fantastic and did xrays, blood work, an IV, and pain meds. They diagnosed her with pancreatitis and called the local emergency squad! They transferred her to a local hospital where she ended up spending nearly a week. (BTW, she's better now).

 

So . . . . I ended up going on the cruise alone. I was in shock for a day as I've never traveled solo, but then realized that I just needed to make the best of it.

 

I found that mealtimes were the most uncomfortable time. Sometimes I would go to the dining room, but about 2/3 of the time I just ate in the buffet where I could read my book. I had nice tablemates when in the dining room, but occasionally I would be seated alone and found it very strange.

 

The ship didn't have many activities so on the 3 sea days I just stayed on my balcony most of the days either reading or watching TV. Very boring!!

 

I did go on shore at the 3 ports, but am not comfortable as a woman alone taking a taxi on a Caribbean island. So I did one excursion and just walked around in the 2 other towns. Again, very boring especially compared to what we had planned to do - but they all involved taking taxis.

 

I am trying to look on the bright side: I was on a cruise in beautiful warm weather where I didn't have to cook, clean or go to work and I certainly had a better time than my poor friend who spent the week in a hospital in pain. But I learned that I won't ever take a solo cruise on purpose because I was very lonely and bored. No one to share good times with. It's just not my cup of tea. Again, this is just my personal opinion and experience. :)

Sorry for both you and your friend that your planned cruise ended up the way it did.

I will say that an "accidental" solo cruise while worrying about a close friend probably wouldn't be fun for me either. But when I plan a solo cruise, I plan shore excursions either with folks on my rollcall or through the cruise line, so I'm not stuck worrying about taking a taxi on my own (which would make me nervous just like it did you.) And I choose cruises that I know have a reasonable number of activities that I enjoy for the sea days.

I'm certainly not trying to convince you that you should try a solo cruise if you don't want to, but I think you should recognize that a solo cruise you have planned for is a very different experience from the accidental one you had! :)

Glad your friend has recovered.

Solo travel isn't for everyone. It seems to me it's more likely to work for people who live alone and/or have often traveled alone on business. But even that is probably too much of a generalization. For example, there are lots of happily married people who like to occasionally take a trip by themselves.

Before taking a solo cruise, I would recommend dining alone at a couple of "sit down" dinner restaurants (not fast food or Denny's). If you don't enjoy the experience, then solo cruising might not be for you. On the other hand, you might find that this is a whole lot more workable than you thought. Just sayin' :-)

Hi,:) sorry your friend got ill and glad she is doing better and really sorry

you were so bored and lonely.:eek:

I only cruise on my own and never find myself in those 2 categories.

I am always able to find activities if I feel like participating but many

times I just love "doing nothing".;)......

I live on my own and have for many years so sharing a cabin a cruise

is never something I want to do.:D

Hope you are able to find someone to cruise with and will have a

better experience next time.

Different strokes for different folks:)

Before taking a solo cruise, I would recommend dining alone at a couple of "sit down" dinner restaurants (not fast food or Denny's). If you don't enjoy the experience, then solo cruising might not be for you. On the other hand, you might find that this is a whole lot more workable than you thought. Just sayin' :-)

I disagree with this one. On land, there seems to be an unwritten rule against eating alone in a fine dining restaurant, more strongly "enforced" during dinner than lunch. Usually very subtly, like the seemingly innocuous questions like "just one?" or "by yourself?". That's enough to make anyone feel self-conscious. There is no equivalent rule on a cruise; even non-solos eat alone in the MDR sometimes. Plus, assigned seating eliminates the need to eat dinner alone in the first place. So perhaps another self-test is in order. (This still leaves me wondering why such a "rule" exists on land but not on a cruise?)

It seems to me it's more likely to work for people who live alone and/or have often traveled alone on business.

 

Before taking a solo cruise, I would recommend dining alone at a couple of "sit down" dinner restaurants (not fast food or Denny's). If you don't enjoy the experience, then solo cruising might not be for you.

This post gave me a good chuckle! I've lived alone for the past 8 years and eat at nice sit-down restaurants alone several times/week!! I also work from home, so I'm alone at home M-F. It's not a matter of not being used to being alone, but that I enjoy the companionship and pleasure of having someone to enjoy my vacations with. I'm alone so much of the time that it's really fun to be with a friend or family member on my trips. At least I found out how much I disliked solo cruising before I actually booked one on purpose.

Glad most of you enjoy solo cruising, but as someone said, it's not necessarily meant for everyone. I think it's good to let newbies know that cruising solo isn't always a good fit. ;)

Hope you are able to find someone to cruise with and will have a better experience next time.

My same friend and I have 3 more cruises currently booked. :D

Before taking a solo cruise, I would recommend dining alone at a couple of "sit down" dinner restaurants (not fast food or Denny's). If you don't enjoy the experience, then solo cruising might not be for you. On the other hand, you might find that this is a whole lot more workable than you thought. Just sayin' :-)

I disagree - you make it sound like dining alone in a restaurant is a make-or-break issue fof solo cruising (or any other type of solo travel), but that's just not the case (IMO).

I don't like dining alone in a "sit down" restaurant, and I don't enjoy it on a cruise ship either, but there are so many other benefits - for me - of traveling solo that I still enjoy the trip. Honestly, I don't "enjoy the experience" of dining alone at home either, but it has to be done ;)

Certainly traveling alone (on a cruise or on land) isn't for everyone -- I do believe it's something people should not be afraid of trying should the opportunity arise (because you never know until you try), but nothing will appeal to everyone.

In this case the unexpected circumstances certainly put a damper on things, and one couldn't help but be affected by not only thoughts of one's ill friend, but also by the lack of planning for being solo (for instance, a solo traveler might have chosen a different ship or destination, etc).

quote by calliopecruiser

"you make it sound like dining alone in a restaurant is a make-or-break issue fof solo cruising (or any other type of solo travel), but that's just not the case (IMO). "

I so agree with you on this one:).....there are some restaurants I

go to on my own and some I don't but that has ~0~ effect on whether

I book a cruise:)....zero, zilp, zilch, nada......I don't even think about

eating out and cruising in the same genre.....maybe that is just me

though.

And there are so many restaurants that now have really nice bars

to eat at (not defined as a "drinking bar")...they may serve drinks

but the entire menu is offered.....and I enjoy that very much. You

meet all kinds of folks....plenty of people prefer that set up to the

dining room in restaurants nowadays.

Regarding the 'bored and lonely' comment I have to say that I think this again may have been down to your circumstance. Solos often fit into two categories - those who want to spend time alone and choose to have 'me' time and those who want to meet new people to hang out with. (I personally do a bit of both depending on my mood!) Those people who choose to travel solo and want to meet people tend to actively seek others, ie. start random conversations with strangers and participate in or arrange group events. Perhaps because you were unexpectedly travelling by yourself, you weren't in this mind set or had never thought about having to do that. Even on my cruise with MSC where I didn't speak the same language as the vast majority of the other passengers I still found people to do things with, because I purposefully made an effort to do so.

Plus, assigned seating eliminates the need to eat dinner alone in the first place.

But not all cruise lines offer assigned seat dining. NCL is the classic example, but many others now appear to be drifting in that direction.

I choose NCL because I WANT to dine alone and I don't want to be hassled about it. Meanwhile, I avoid lines that are stuck in the "traditional" dining mode.

Not all solos are looking for the same thing and therefore I don't think any cruise line can be branded as "solo friendly" or not. I simply recommend that people be knowledgeable about their own comfort level and what is offered by the cruise lines they are considering.

I found that mealtimes were the most uncomfortable time. Sometimes I would go to the dining room, but about 2/3 of the time I just ate in the buffet where I could read my book. I had nice tablemates when in the dining room, but occasionally I would be seated alone and found it very strange.

What cruiseline were you on? If not NCL, were you signed up for first sitting, second sitting, or AnyTime?

The ship didn't have many activities so on the 3 sea days I just stayed on my balcony most of the days either reading or watching TV. Very boring!!

Again, I'm wondering what ship you were on, because I've been on lots of cruises with sea days, and I've never been on a ship that didn't have many activities on sea days. My problem was that there was never enough time to do everything I wanted to do!

I did go on shore at the 3 ports, but am not comfortable as a woman alone taking a taxi on a Caribbean island. So I did one excursion and just walked around in the 2 other towns. Again, very boring especially compared to what we had planned to do - but they all involved taking taxis.

Why didn't you take the ship's excursions to the other two ports? Even if you couldn't do exactly what you had planned to do with your friend, you could have found something appealing.

I agree completely with mtwingcpa, you need to know your own comfort level and book accordingly. Do we even agree on what "solo-friendly" means? Does it refer to cruise line amenities, or to the kind of other passengers you're likely to meet?

What cruiseline were you on? If not NCL, were you signed up for first sitting, second sitting, or AnyTime?

 

 

I was on Celebrity. Had Anytime dining, which is what I prefer.

 

 

I've never been on a ship that didn't have many activities on sea days. My problem was that there was never enough time to do everything I wanted to do!

 

 

I usually sail on Princess and they have tons of activities that I enjoy participating in, but this ship did not. And that's the key - activities that I enjoy. Didn't find them on this cruise.

 

Why didn't you take the ship's excursions to the other two ports? Even if you couldn't do exactly what you had planned to do with your friend, you could have found something appealing.

Not that it's your business, but it was a financial issue. Wasn't in my budget to add more excursions. My pockets must not be as deep as yours. :rolleyes:

Like you, Bucks, I would call myself an accidental solo. It's nothing I would have chosen, but my husband passed at age 48 and I was 45. I took my three teenage sons on a cruise three months later to "redefine" our family, and we had a blast! As they started going to college and having different schedules, I had to ask myself, "cruise solo or not at all." Needless to say, I cruise solo. I'd rather share it with a friend, just as I'd rather share a movie, dinner, almost anything. But, if I let myself get bored or lonely, I'd be suicidal. Now, twelve years later, planning cruises helps me get over the cruel twist of fate and not only survive, but enjoy living! If you depend on others to bring you happiness, you'd better hope you're never alone. I don't ever feel fear in the Caribbean, but perhaps that's cuz I'm a NYer. Good luck!

I agree solo cruising is not for everyone. Eating alone does not bother some. Others find it uncomfortable. My planned solo cruise ended up as an accidental family trip-I have a true solo coming up that I am very much looking forward to...and Disney! Harder to make the best of the situation when you are worried for your friend and it was not what you were expecting. Those of us on the boards know planning is part of the fun and I am sure that part of the issue was not having the cruise goes as planned. Hope your next cruise goes swimmingly! (see what I did there :D)

Not that it's your business, but it was a financial issue. Wasn't in my budget to add more excursions. My pockets must not be as deep as yours[

Well, pardon me! Maybe I should change my name from "vacation luvver" to "Miss Deep Pockets."

So I guess that if your friend hadn't gotten sick at the last second, the two of you would have found something to do in those two ports that wouldn't have cost you even one penny. So why couldn't you do those things by yourself?

I've had a version of this conversation with a friend and agree that it's all about personal preference. Personally I don't mind vacationing (including cruising) alone but I really don't like eating alone at restaurants and will avoid it if at all possible. I have a friend who is the opposite basically and regularly eats out alone but thinks vacations are only worth taking if you have someone to go with. I agree that it is generally more fun to share experiences with someone, but I'd rather have the experience alone than not go at all. And also, having just spent a fun but extremely exhausting weekend in Vegas for a bachelorette, I have to say being solo can be a lot more relaxing and restful. Especially if you're a control freak like me and have to spend an entire trip biting your tongue about doing things differently than you'd prefer.

Well, pardon me! Maybe I should change my name from "vacation luvver" to "Miss Deep Pockets."

 

So I guess that if your friend hadn't gotten sick at the last second, the two of you would have found something to do in those two ports that wouldn't have cost you even one penny. So why couldn't you do those things by yourself?

Not to get in the middle of this, but you are being rude! The traveller stated that she and her friend had planned things but involved taking a taxi. She also stated that she was not comfortable taking a taxi alone. Before you jump down someone's throat take a moment to read an entire post.

Not to get in the middle of this, but you are being rude! The traveller stated that she and her friend had planned things but involved taking a taxi. She also stated that she was not comfortable taking a taxi alone. Before you jump down someone's throat take a moment to read an entire post.

Thank you - you were able to read my post correctly. Maybe the other poster only read part of it or read too quickly before coming to her own conclusion.

If you depend on others to bring you happiness, you'd better hope you're never alone.

 

I think you missed reading one of my previous posts; I've lived alone for 8 years, eat out at restaurants alone several times/week, and work from home so I'm alone all day M-F! I've never depended on others to "bring me happiness" - the original post was describing how I ACCIDENTALLY became a solo cruiser and didn't enjoy it. I never said I needed someone to make me happy. I just realized that I enjoy sharing my vacations with someone else; definitely not an unusual feeling. ;)

 

I don't ever feel fear in the Caribbean, but perhaps that's cuz I'm a NYer. Good luck!

To each his own. I'm not going to apologize for being cautious in a foreign land.

I'll pick and choose where to take a taxi on my own, but I don't have a blanket ban on it. If I hail a taxi, and for whatever reason don't fancy the driver, I'll just say I changed my mind, and wait for another.

I'm a sociable introvert. Spending time on my own is what please and relaxes me, but I'll happily make small talk and introduce myself to others. Obviously you didn't enjoy your cruise, which is a shame, but at least you've answered that question for yourself!

I had one cruise where few people spoke to me at all, and that was OK, but in general I have more fun if I run into people. Like you I live and work alone, so it's nice to find a modicum of company on holidays. The main thing is that if you actively want people to talk to, you won't find them on your balcony. (If you do find people on your balcony, you may want to run away and call security).

I retreat back to my cabin/balcony when I want some alone time, but if I'm in the mood for company, I head to a public area with my book, try to remember that my "relaxed face" looks grumpy and counteract that, and smile at people who approach me.

Me think you should not ride or use that cruise line again because if it can't provide activities, seat by a pool, or bar to relax at for a couple / two people; it damn well not do anything for person traveling solo!!! Solo traveler is the most easiest person to entertain ever no matter what trip is.

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