Has anyone actually been on an official singles cruise?

I don't know how many companies do this, but I do know of the "big 2". Anyway, for anyone who has, how did you like it? Was it too much "forced fun" or could you do your own thing? Were the "special activities" really cheesy?

I would love to hear first-hand experiences! :D

I'm taking my first cruise with a singles group at the end of October (over Halloween.) I was actually planning on doing my first singles cruise over New Years, but the posts I was seeing on a social networking site caused me to move it up a couple months to Halloween. Like you, I was a little curious, so after reading the posts I sent an email to one of the women who was about my age and has done lots of them, and I asked her some questions. She said you can do as much or as little as you want. There are, of course, the partiers, but there are plenty of people who want to have fun but not stay drunk all week. What I am doing is selecting the things I want to do, and not signing up for the ones I do want to do. You should give it some serious thought. I am so excited about my cruise out of Fort Lauderdale on October 26 on the Oasis. Can't wait!:D

I was going to post this very question! I'm going on my first singles group cruise in January - with one of the "big two" groups. It sounds like fun but I'm a bit wary of being pressured into cheesy games. Luckily I'll have my own cabin so at least I can decompress if all the fun gets to be too much for me, lol.

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Stay away unless you're desperate! They're basically for people that want an easy hookup and can't find a date or hookup in their city. I was on a cruise that had a singles group and they were a rough looking group to say the least.

I've been on many, and they are a great way of cruising and meeting great single people from all over the world. I started doing the singles cruises because I was finding fewer and fewer single people on the cruises I had been going on. I have met lifelong friends on these cruises. The theme parties are fun, suppose some might find them 'cheesy' but a great way for people to connect with other singles, which is kind of the point, right? You'll find all kinds of people in different places in life. Most of us are not desperate, not looking for an easy hookup, or 'rough looking'. A singles cruise might enhance your cruise experience, give it a try!!

I think the experience might vary depending upon ship. Went on Celebrity Solstice when it was 3 mos. old in January. FL resident, they paired me with another FL gal a bit younger.I didnt see much pairing up.(over 40 group). Remember guys standing at opposite side of room at cocktail party staring at us ladies. Reminded me of 7th grade dance class.I didnt do any cheesy games. Pricing was halfway between double rate and usual SS. We all dined together at several adjoining tables which was enjoyable.I have noted they have even more extensive cruise selections now. Even Europe. Very conservative group; only remember one girl getting drunk nightly.

I'm taking my first cruise with a singles group at the end of October (over Halloween.) I was actually planning on doing my first singles cruise over New Years, but the posts I was seeing on a social networking site caused me to move it up a couple months to Halloween. Like you, I was a little curious, so after reading the posts I sent an email to one of the women who was about my age and has done lots of them, and I asked her some questions. She said you can do as much or as little as you want. There are, of course, the partiers, but there are plenty of people who want to have fun but not stay drunk all week. What I am doing is selecting the things I want to do, and not signing up for the ones I do want to do. You should give it some serious thought. I am so excited about my cruise out of Fort Lauderdale on October 26 on the Oasis. Can't wait!:D

Hi Ms Gal! I'll be on the same cruise as you and with the same group ... Look forward to meeting you.

I've done one other Singles Cruise (with the "other" group) back in 2005 and it was great fun. My matched roomie and I are still friends and we have cruised together again since.

I have and it is a blast!! Yes, you do get your stereotypical "looking for a hook up" or "lonely nerds looking for soulmates" or whatever someone mentioned above, but overall, most of the group is there to meet friends and have a good time. It's not 'perfect', there are annoying little things (being followed around by hopeful suitors, being embarrassed when the occasional member of your group is making a drunken fool of him/herself) Granted, I don't do most of the events "quiz game in the whatever lounge at 1pm on a sea day? no, i'll be on the lido deck, it's 12 degrees in Michigan, thank you " but it is really whatever you make it. Expect to have a great time, meet new friends and have fun. Definitely consider a singles cruise if you want to get out of town and none of your friends can make the trip; it's a great alternative to not going at all, or going alone, paying a double supplement and taking the chance that everyone on board is either 80 or in the third grade.

Great post Kristy, thanks. I'm doing my first singles cruise in January and I'll try not to be that drunken fool, lol. I have been warned about the unwanted suitors or clingons but I plan to have a great time regardless.

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what are the BIG 2 that put on these cruise's? I'm wondering if it would be easy to call local Travel agents and see if they have any they are organizing on a smaller scale

Z, we are not allowed to discuss agents or individual companies. Do a search of hosted singles tours and they should pop up. Both come well recommended. Since singles/solos as a group are a very small minority these hosted groups are rather small; maybe 40-200. One I used does these monthly on various lines.

Hi Ms Gal! I'll be on the same cruise as you and with the same group ... Look forward to meeting you.

 

I've done one other Singles Cruise (with the "other" group) back in 2005 and it was great fun. My matched roomie and I are still friends and we have cruised together again since.

It certainly appears we are sailing with the same group Halloween

This will be by far the largest singles group I've sailed with at over 500!

If I find u in the masses I'll say hello eh

Scrim

I have done 2 with one of the main travel agents and have enjoyed both. I have shared a cabin and had my own cabin. I am booked for the Mardi Gras cruise in March 2014 with a hosted group. I just got off a solo 5 day cruise without the hosted singles group. It was fun but I think after now experiencing both I enjoy the hosted singles cruises better. I am very outgoing so not afraid to talk to people and mingle. You get a wide variety of people and the size of the group can make a difference. The first one I was on had about 100 while the second was 350 peeps. I enjoyed the smaller group as I got to know more people. You can do as much or as little as you want, just like every one else. You truly can make the vacation what you want it to be, there is no pressure from the hosts. You know what events are where/when and you can join or do your own thing. It is a lot of fun and I highly recommend them!

Ok, I think I know what the BIG ONE is that hosts the singles cruises. That would be the same one that is the go-to site for comparing all cruise prices world wide. the letters in its singles division name are the same as in "Sailed Aboard Star" But I'm not sure how many others there are.

The only one I have cruised with has a name with the same first letters as "Sailed The Inside" which is where we went from Vancouver for my first ever cruise in '09.

I've found one other one that may be larger than the one I went with but it's hard to know, what with the hush-hush here the letters of the two words in it's name are simply SC .

can we come up with any more hints and still be legal here?

I'd agree that any singles group over 100 would be too much unless they divided you based on age and other factors for social events and dinner. Less than 50 and I could recognize everyone and learn names if I take notes or a list was passed around the first day.

I'm going on my first singles cruise this Saturday. I'll report back.

Reporting back:

I enjoyed it and I wasn't as active with the group activities as others were. Next time I will do more. I'm shy around strangers and by the time I started really getting to know people, the trip was over! It's important to go to at least some events right at the start because people do get to know each other quickly (and yes, there were hookups from what I heard). I spoke to a lot of people who had done many singles cruises and they said there are always a few people who are drunk pretty much the whole week - needless to say they're the ones who buy the booze package.

I skipped most of the dinners with the group because it was the late seating (8:30) and I hate eating dinner that late. Unfortunately, from what I've heard, the singles cruises always have the late seating. I'd be curious to know how they do it on NCL which has no assigned seatings.

There were about 120 of us and I think that's a good number. The Halloween cruises attract 400+ and I would avoid those, but that's me.

I agree that the hosts don't pressure you at all and I appreciated that.

I've done a couple of singles cruises aboard NCL and I recall the group dinners in the MDR were 7pm

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Reporting back:

 

I enjoyed it and I wasn't as active with the group activities as others were. Next time I will do more. I'm shy around strangers and by the time I started really getting to know people, the trip was over! It's important to go to at least some events right at the start because people do get to know each other quickly (and yes, there were hookups from what I heard). I spoke to a lot of people who had done many singles cruises and they said there are always a few people who are drunk pretty much the whole week - needless to say they're the ones who buy the booze package.

 

I skipped most of the dinners with the group because it was the late seating (8:30) and I hate eating dinner that late. Unfortunately, from what I've heard, the singles cruises always have the late seating. I'd be curious to know how they do it on NCL which has no assigned seatings.

 

There were about 120 of us and I think that's a good number. The Halloween cruises attract 400+ and I would avoid those, but that's me.

 

I agree that the hosts don't pressure you at all and I appreciated that.

The Halloween cruises should attract fewer this year. There are officially 5 different options for Halloween. SC has one, a former employee of SC is doing one and the other Vacations 1 has 2 officially listed on its site but has a 3rd one for people in their 20's to 40's. I'm guessing with so many options and the pricing for the ships this year that the biggest groups will be 250. (I'm currently booked with the 20's to 40's crowed which has @ 130 booked at the moment).

My friend and I recently went on a RC cruise -- had a total blast, but did feel very fish out of water as the majority of the boat seemed to be much older, retired couples. We talked about singles cruises, but I was not aware that there were such things offered -- unless you got a group together to do a cruise.

Y'all have mentioned the "two groups." Can someone e-mail me the names of the groups so I can have a look at them? My e-mail address is paula414@gmail.com. I would so appreciate it.

Thanks in advance!!

My friend and I recently went on a RC cruise -- had a total blast, but did feel very fish out of water as the majority of the boat seemed to be much older, retired couples. We talked about singles cruises, but I was not aware that there were such things offered -- unless you got a group together to do a cruise.

 

Y'all have mentioned the "two groups." Can someone e-mail me the names of the groups so I can have a look at them? My e-mail address is paula414@gmail.com. I would so appreciate it.

 

Thanks in advance!!

Just sent you a e-mail entitled "Singles Cruises"!

A couple of years ago at age 59, I went on the NCL Epic with one of the large singles groups. It was great fun. Only a small percentage of folks "hooked up" and in my opinion they miss a lot of the fun. As with other areas in life, water seeks its own level and there will be people that you click with. It was a small group of about 30 and that was nice. I had one of the single studios, which was crazy small and I would not ever book that room again. Only a couple of people went the roommate route and there were some issues. Maybe it was because of the age of the group.

Go for it.

Stay away unless you're desperate! They're basically for people that want an easy hookup and can't find a date or hookup in their city. I was on a cruise that had a singles group and they were a rough looking group to say the least.

LOL... really?? are you still living in the 70s or 80s? taking your cruises on the Love Boat? it's no different anywhere there is a group of people. some will 'hook-up' (but, wouldn't they even at a bar?), some will complain about everything, some will skip dinner because it's too late - (really?? 8pm is too late - you get to sleep in) some will not like the activities the hosts put together (have you ever tried to please 150/250 folks and get it right with everyone?)

you know - those folks might have thought you were a little rough around the edges too.....

I have been on 2 singles cruises and had a great time on both. Great way to meet people from all over the world. Not only can you save money by sharing a cabin on the cruise, the pre cruise forums allow you to share expenses before and after the cruise as well. I shared hotel rooms pre and post cruise with other singles of my same gender. Shared rides to and from the airport. Best of all I had new friends to go out with pre and post cruise. Yes, single cruises cost more then booking your own cabin, but the perks are worth the extra cost, IMO. Happy cruising to all...Yamaha dancer

My friend and I recently went on a RC cruise -- had a total blast, but did feel very fish out of water as the majority of the boat seemed to be much older, retired couples. We talked about singles cruises, but I was not aware that there were such things offered -- unless you got a group together to do a cruise.

 

Y'all have mentioned the "two groups." Can someone e-mail me the names of the groups so I can have a look at them? My e-mail address is paula414@gmail.com. I would so appreciate it.

 

Thanks in advance!!

I sent an email just now for the info, if you don't mind sharing? Thanks!!

I sent an email just now for the info, if you don't mind sharing? Thanks!!

Post your e-mail and I can send you the company names/ websites. I've cruised on the 2 major ones.