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My First Cruise was Solo


BassettMom
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I've read a lot of threads from people who are hesitant about cruising solo. I thought I would share my experience from my first cruise, which was solo, almost 5 years ago.

 

I kept a daily journal (on my FB page for my friends and family) and have done so for every cruise I've ever taken. I recently created a cruise blog. It's still a work in progress and I don't have all my cruises uploaded yet, but I do have my first two cruises up (as well as my last two--still need to get the others posted). Here's the link to that first cruise (scroll to the bottom till you get to "Day 1" and work your way up):

http://phoenix-voyager1.blogspot.com/search/label/First%20Cruise%20%28Circle%20Hawaii%29

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I read your daily journal, enjoyed it. Going on my first solo in dec. I hope I enjoy it. Worry about eating alone!

 

Thanks. That was my worry as well, so I signed up for traditional seating so I wouldn't have to worry about that. While I've eaten alone on business trips and could do that (I take my Kindle with me), I didn't, and still don't want to do that night after night. My TA had told me a long time ago that normally early seating has more families, so I usually opt for late seating when travelling solo. She also told me I should ask for the largest table. Then if someone doesn't show up, I'm not alone, and if there is someone I really don't like, there are others to talk to. Finally, she told me that I could meet with the maitre d (or whoever is handling the seating assignments) the first day on board to see if I'm seated with other solo passengers or with a family, and if it's with a family, then I could ask to be moved (don't want to be the solo person at a table for 8 with a family of 7). I thought it was all good advice.

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Just wondering why you switched from HAL to Princess? We took 4 cruises on HAL, enjoyed them all. Then we tried Oceania and decided to stay with O. Now I'm cruising solo and have gone back to HAL ( in an inside) as O was way too much for a single. How did you like Princess vs HAL? Btw, HAL charges for cappuccino now too. Also, when I read about your South Pacific trip I looked at what Princess had to offer...it looked like all their cruises there started in Australia.

Edited by Barrheadlass
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Looking back over the years, my first cruise was also solo...that was

way back in 2003:eek:.......I was so excited:D.....I found Cruise Critic

about 5 months before I sailed...it seemed like I was on here 24/7:eek:

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Just wondering why you switched from HAL to Princess? We took 4 cruises on HAL, enjoyed them all. Then we tried Oceania and decided to stay with O. Now I'm cruising solo and have gone back to HAL ( in an inside) as O was way too much for a single. How did you like Princess vs HAL? Btw, HAL charges for cappuccino now too. Also, when I read about your South Pacific trip I looked at what Princess had to offer...it looked like all their cruises there started in Australia.

 

My parents cruised Princess so for my second cruise I thought I would try them. I like both HAL and Princess and feel they are somewhat similar. I feel that Princess is slightly more casual, the food and service on HAL are slightly better, the inside cabins on HAL are larger, the loyalty program on Princess is better, prices fluctuate as I've gotten good deals on both.

 

I haven't posted the rest of my cruises yet (still need to get those uploaded). When I do, you'll see that a lot of the subsequent cruises are with my parents, and they are exclusive to Princess and have never sailed with anyone else. Also, since Princess provides two cruise credits when booking solo cabins, I got to the point that the higher tiers in the loyalty level was within reach, so I kept with them. Since my parents don't plan to cruise next year, I'm leaning toward going back to HAL for 2016--of course itinerary and price will end up being the driving factor.

 

The Tahiti cruise I did was a round trip out of Tahiti and not Australia, although you are right that Princess now has several ships based in Australia and Asia. I did a Southeast Asia and China cruise with Princess that I really enjoyed and I'll have to get that one uploaded, as well as the Panama Canal cruise with HAL.

 

For the future, I'm looking at a World Cruise solo, but unfortunately, that won't be till I retire in about 8 years.

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Looking back over the years, my first cruise was also solo...that was

way back in 2003:eek:.......I was so excited:D.....I found Cruise Critic

about 5 months before I sailed...it seemed like I was on here 24/7:eek:

 

I found Cruise Critic just a couple of months before my first cruise. I was on here reading everything I could every spare moment I had and learned so much. :D

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