Cruising After Wife's Death

Hello,

My wife and I loved to cruise and had taken 8 cruises with Royal Caribbean. My wife passed away at the age of 50, this July after a long (17 Year) battle with Metastatic Breast Cancer.

I love to cruise, and am considering on trying a solo cruise. I think my wife would be happy if I continue doing the things we/I love to do.

I am just 49, and am somewhat social but also like quiet times.

Has anyone done something similar or been in the same situation? I am looking for any input with suggestions, experiences, planning, etc., I am curious and a bit nervous.

Thanks

Hi, sending you my heartfelt condolences.....

I have not been in your situation before but it sounds like you know she

would be happy if you cruised again.....and hopefully that will bring you

some peace.

Sorry for your loss.

By the sounds of it she would probably want you to cruise again.

I'm so sorry for your loss.

In all my solo cruises, I've met so many newly widowed cruisers who loved cruising with their loved ones and decided to continue. There's nothing wrong with continuing to do things you did with your wife. Those activities will probably bring up a lot of old memories that you shared.

I am so sorry for your loss. I cannot say I've have had the same experience that you have but I have cruised solo and had concerns about it. My husband has limited vacation time. Last year I had an opportunity to cruise solo. It was such a great deal it was hard to pass up. My main concern was that I would feel strange being surrounded my families and couples cruising together. Our son is in college and I wondered if I would be sad thinking about the days when we would cruise together as a family. I chose a ship and a port that we had not previously sailed from in the past. After I thought about it, I realized even when my husband and I do cruise together we do things separately at times. I'll be in the casino and he'll be somewhere reading a book. People are always wondering around by themselves.

So I went and met some great people during our roll call meet and greet. I met a few couples and two other solo female travelers. They invited me to join them for dinner. I did that on a few nights and their company was an added bonus. Had I not met anyone on the ship I would have done it all over again. I don't have a problem eating on the Lido deck by myself or ordering room service. I took a lot of busy work, books, etc. and really didn't need to. My smiling cabin steward greeted me several times a day so I never really felt alone. He even decorated my cabin one night for no reason at all, lol! There is something liberating about doing something like this and stepping outside of your comfort zone.

I'm thinking about taking another solo cruise in the next few weeks. I'll still take some busy work but having done it previously I won't have any concerns about my time alone on the ship.

If I were to die tomorrow I most certainly would want my husband to continue enjoying life and that includes doing the things that we enjoyed together. I hope you go and have a wonderful time.

I am so very sorry for your loss.

My dear husband passed away last January. We loved cruising together and I knew he would want me to continue.

I just returned from a 2 week solo cruise and it was awesome. You can never be lonely on a cruise ship! I am looking forward to many future solo cruises. Go for it!!!

I am sorry for your loss, I encourage you to continue to travel. I have not solo traveled but I'd like to also. I have read about people who travel with Overseas Adventure Travel and they go as solos but it is a group of like 12-15-30 people depending on the travel destination. So you have company when you want but you can also go back to your room alone or pass on certain events.

Well, please stay positive. Also if you do a cruise alone, as others have posted go on the roll call and try and go to the meet and greet.

Hi,So sorry for your loss. Please do consider going on a cruise as a solo! I am sure you will have some good times! Kendra

I join the others in saying how sorry I am for your loss. I am single and solo cruise as often as I can. You can be with people as much as you want and you can have quiet time when you wish.

May I suggest you plan a time on a cruise to celebrate the time you had with your wife. Did you enjoy looking at the night sky? Watching the waves? Spend some peaceful positive time with your memories. I bet she would smile.

6boysnana

I just thought of something else. I know ships help families scatter ashes at sea I and seem to remember with the ship involved you could place a special wreath in a loved ones honor.

If you would like I would be glad to find out for you. Just post your feelings.

6boysnana

So sorry for your loss. I lost my wife to lung cancer. I had a choice to sit in a corner and feel sorry for myself, or get on with my life, which is what i did.

Sometimes I would get blindsided by something that reminded me of her, but I kept moving forward.

I know exactly how u feel. My husband died at the young age of 49 from heart problems. After his death I did cruise - but with my daughters. Hope u are doing well. My prayers r with u. Good luck and happy cruising.

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Hello,

 

My wife and I loved to cruise and had taken 8 cruises with Royal Caribbean. My wife passed away at the age of 50, this July after a long (17 Year) battle with Metastatic Breast Cancer.

 

I love to cruise, and am considering on trying a solo cruise. I think my wife would be happy if I continue doing the things we/I love to do.

 

I am just 49, and am somewhat social but also like quiet times.

 

Has anyone done something similar or been in the same situation? I am looking for any input with suggestions, experiences, planning, etc., I am curious and a bit nervous.

 

Thanks

I'm so sorry for your loss. I understand exactly. I lost my DH last year to cancer. He passed 9 weeks to the day from the day he was diagnosed. He was only 51.

He was a Navy veteran and we loved to cruise. We had a cruise booked last year and he passed before we were able to go. He made me promise that I would still go without him. So last year my daughter was able to go with me and we cruised, doing all the things Mike loved in his memory.

This year I have decided that I would try cruising solo, so I have jumped in with both feet! I booked a Haven suite on NCL Breakaway going to Bermuda. We had cruised there several times and it's very "comfortable" for me. I know how to get around in Bermuda. About 3 weeks after I booked I decided that a week wasn't enough and booked the next week also! :eek: So now I'm doing a b2b! :D

I've been active on both roll calls and there are several other solos. So I'm going solo and I'm GOING to have a Great time!:D Failure is not an option!

Linda

I am sorry for your loss. Have you considered sailing on NCL's Escape? The ship has activities for solo travelers as well as a solo lounge. From my understanding, there is also a host/hostess available to arrange dinner and show reservations for solo travelers interested in being with a group. I would suggest that you consider sailing on this ship.

I am sorry for your loss. Have you considered sailing on NCL's Escape? The ship has activities for solo travelers as well as a solo lounge. From my understanding, there is also a host/hostess available to arrange dinner and show reservations for solo travelers interested in being with a group. I would suggest that you consider sailing on this ship.

The -away class ships also has the solo coordinator, so BA will be my 1st solo experience. [emoji1]

Linda

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I am so so sorry for your loss. My husband and I love cruising--even more so since he has been diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. We have talked about this very issue. He has been downright insistent that I continue cruising, including taking some of his ashes back to the beach where we were married while on a cruise.

I can't predict my own response when I find myself alone. But I'd like to think that itineraries we shared will be bittersweet opportunities to grieve and keep his memory alive. And new itineraries will be an opportunity to imagine what he would have thought.

Grief is so unpredictable. And it is, in the end, a solo journey. You will know when you go. I hope you find the ocean soothing. I always do.

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After my husband passes at age 48, I cruised with my HS/college sons. As schedules became crossed, I began cruising solo in the Epic studios.

This experience helped me learn how to deal with/live the solo life, which is quite different from the couple life.

Fifteen years later, Ive taken many solo cruises, rarely in a studio. Im now more comfortable cruising solo than with a friend!

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I am considerably older than most of you but my husband died a little over a year ago after a lengthy illness and I booked a 39 day cruise around Australia traveling solo in February. With all the friends I made on Cruise critic before the cruise who made the voyage wonderful, it could not have been a better choice for me. I hope you decide to go and I'm confidant that it will be a good choice for you as well. I would suggest a cruise line that you are familiar with and perhaps a ship that is not really oversized.

Your post touched me. My husband had metastatic colon cancer. Two years into remission, on the news that his 6mthly CT scan was clear, he said he wanted to cruise to Alaska. I sure wasn't going to argue!!. We knew our time together was running out and we were trying to have the best time together that we could in his last years. That first cruise was very, very special - life-changing really. We went on to cruise the Med, the Baltic, Norways west coast and some of Asia.

When his remission ended we talked about my future alone and he was adamant I should continue to cruise, especially to places we hadn't been together so I could explore new places on his behalf. He loved the idea of me travelling in a small community with all the travel hassles from one stop to the next taken care of.

I was always an obedient wife:D and have done three ocean cruises and two European cruises alone since my husband died 3 1/2 years ago - all to new places. I still grieve too deeply for my soulmate to revisit places we loved to visit as a couple.

I dropped a red rose into the Danube at daybreak on my husband's 65th birthday in June in memory of him and a lovely Frenchwoman who was out on deck at the time held me as I sobbed. It was a lovely reminder of how nice your fellow cruisers can be.

I have never for a moment regretted continuing to travel alone. There are so many places my husband didn't get to see and I feel very privileged to see them on his behalf.

All my very best wishes for your journey through your grief and the future travels you may take.

Lorraine

I'm so sorry for yous loss. I lost my wife to metastatic breast cancer in Nov. 2014. Since she's been gone I've cruised once with my brother and once solo. I'm up in Carroll County, so it's not far to the port of Baltimore.In fact I'm cruising on the Grandeur in Oct. You will meet so many wonderful people. I found it comforting to talk to other people about my wife. Talk of the great times the two of you had. My only stipulation now is that I will not fly alone for a cruise.Try to have fun. She would want you to.And try to remember there will be times that you will cry thinking of the memories of your past cruises. I know I did, but that's ok. I also took two photos with me to set up in the cabin. One of my wife and I on formal night and one of us and our three daughters on formal night. Try it. I think you will enjoy yourself and if you don't at least you tried. I'm sorry this kind of ran on, but I'm just telling you how I feel. Once again I'm so sorry for your loss.

I too, am very sorry for your loss as well. And, my wife too left me in July of this year. Although we didn't have any cruises planned we did have about 18 under our belt before she went to bluer seas. Part of our discussions over the decades, we were married 1 day short of 41 years. were about what we wanted come this time. Long story short part of the plans were to be buried at sea. Royal Caribbean, our line of choice, has a fantastic program for internment of ashes at sea. You can call them for more information.

BUT, back on subject, we have a "Farewell Cruise" planned for Sept when my Son and I will take her with us but not bring her home.

Again, my deepest sympathies to all that have lost those close to us.

I lost my wife 15 months ago after a battle with cancer also. I am going on the Oasis in two weeks. Like you I have concerns about going solo but our 14 cruises were the best time of our lives and there is no reason I should stop enjoying my life. I plan to go to the Greek Islands next year o a cruise also. Live for today and tomorrow.