First solo in three weeks!

Hey everyone!

January 25th I'll be solo on the Navigator of the Seas. I cruised on the Navigator about two months ago with my dad and decided a few days ago I'm ready to be back on the ship and booked it as kind of an early birthday present to myself. I did a lot of reading (mostly on here - guess how I found the place?) about solo cruising and I couldn't find anyone who had done it that had anything bad to say about it. So first of all, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who gave me the courage to make this possible. :D

A little background - I'm (about to be) 24 years old, white male living in Oklahoma City. I obviously love to cruise. I tend to be a bit of a wild one sometimes when I'm on vacation, spending my days at the pool with a drink in my hand and nights in the nightclubs and casinos. Sometimes I use the planner to find scheduled events, sometimes I just wing it. I'm definitely looking forward to getting on the ship and seeing if I can't find some people my age to meet and share some laughter and new experiences with.

I do have a couple questions.

1) To those who've cruised solo on Royal Caribbean, are there any activities that stand out that helped you connect with other cruisers?

2) My itinerary includes Cozumel, Roatan, and Belize City. As a solo traveller, are there any activities you'd recommend in these ports? Cozumel I thought I might stay on the pier at Señor Frog's. I usually go snorkeling at Chankanaab with family but I'm not sure how safe that is alone. I went to Roatan once and seem to remember a cool local cigar shop right near the pier, but that was six years ago. This will be my first time in Belize City. Also I don't think I can afford any expensive guided excursions.

3) I would ideally find a dinner table with a group of maybe 5 other people around my age to at least break the ice with, as opposed to having a table for two to myself - I assume the best way to do this is to make my way to the dining room as soon as I board?

Thanks everyone and I hope to see some of you at sea some day!

I've been on 2 cruises in the past six weeks (Brilliance and Vision) and will be back on Brilliance on Jan. 17th for my first solo cruise. On the Vision I cruised with my 30 year old son and his girlfriend and they met all kinds of people - solo and otherwise - just hanging out by the pool. By the time we got to Roatan, the first port, they already had all kinds of friends to hang out with. Although there will be a few solo gatherings listed in the Cruise Compass, I think you'll do better just discovering your favorite bar.

If you don't have money for a guided excursion in Belize, you might want to hang out at the Wet Lizard in the tourist village. We ziplined through Island Marketing for $70 each (including lunch) and it was lots of fun. And yes, the cigar bar was still on the dock in Roatan.

I've been on 2 cruises in the past six weeks (Brilliance and Vision) and will be back on Brilliance on Jan. 17th for my first solo cruise. On the Vision I cruised with my 30 year old son and his girlfriend and they met all kinds of people - solo and otherwise - just hanging out by the pool. By the time we got to Roatan, the first port, they already had all kinds of friends to hang out with. Although there will be a few solo gatherings listed in the Cruise Compass, I think you'll do better just discovering your favorite bar.

 

If you don't have money for a guided excursion in Belize, you might want to hang out at the Wet Lizard in the tourist village. We ziplined through Island Marketing for $70 each (including lunch) and it was lots of fun. And yes, the cigar bar was still on the dock in Roatan.

Podie,

Thanks for your advice. I'll check out the Wet Lizard. I'm starting to think I might splurge a little bit and maybe do a cave tubing expedition in Belize but we'll see. I love the outdoors and that seems right up my alley. I have some great memories with my dad in that little cigar bar - I can't wait to revisit it.

I would love to do cave tubing@Belize. Did river tubing on Dominica yrs. ago. Favorite excursion ever. On the dinner side, I have asked for and received singles tables on Celebrity. Great fun. But you gotta ask now, not when on ship when all tables are set.Call your agent or cruiseline. whomever you booked with.

Good morning:) have you gone over to the Roll Section for your cruise?

It is a nice way to meet other people on your same sailing.....usually

Royal has alot of people from Cruise Critic on all their sailings...........

Actually, here is the link for you. And over the years, I have met some

very nice people on them and we have even linked our bookings to share

a dinner table.:)

Here you go.....click on here......you will find lots of other people

chatting:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1855424

I've been pretty active on that thread. I signed up for the meet and mingle and a poker cabin crawl as well. Only three more weeks! Is it too early to pack?

Have a wonderful cruise! I enjoy traveling by myself. :D:D

The trivia contests and competitions (mini golf tournament, shuffle board, etc) are good for meeting other people and starting conversations.

If you chose traditional fixed time dining you will likely be seated at a large table with 6-8 people not a table for two. I've usually had a few couples and maybe one or two other solos. You could try to see if others on your roll call would be interested in linking reservations as to be seated together. If you chose "My Time" dining you could try to get together some people you meet on board and decide a time to meet. Everyone would have had to selected the My Time dining option though. Whichever option you choose it has to be for the full cruise. It may not be easy to move from one option to the other as the cruise line allocates only up to a limited number for each option. If you chose traditional dining and find you aren't happy with your table mates ask the Maitre 'D to relocate you. You won't know who or how many will show up at your table until you go to dinner the first night. On RCCL I find often people sign up for the fixed time dining but when they get there they decide they would rather go to the buffet instead. Many will skip the formal nights to avoid the dressing up meaning a potentially reduced number at the table those nights. I'd try to be open to socializing with people of any age. I've met many interesting and fun people both much older and younger than myself.