bhsolo

Love solo cruising - not as part of a group, just me. You get to do what you want, when you want and how you want. Want to get up and out early - go for it. Want to stay on your balcony all day and ignore everything else - yours for the taking. Feel like joining and meeting people - people on a cruise are very chatty, more so than solo traveling in general. 

I’ve met some great people by the pools, different excursions, and also had plenty of quiet time. People become very fascinated by solo travelers, makes for a good chat. 
I’ve had dinner in the MDR at a table for two with a good book. At times it was quiet and other times sit next to tables and we all start chatting. 

For me it all depends on where I am, what I am doing, and prices.

Victoria - I took an excursion to the gardens, they dropped us in town, and I walked back to the ship. Extremely safe, great place to explore, and a fabulous walk with lots of eats along the way and LOTS of people.

Ziplining in Alaska - took the excursion from the ship. Didn't want to deal with transportation, possibly being delayed getting back, etc. then walked around the port and had a great time.

Cozumel & Costa Maya, plus other Caribbean countries - I'll walk around the ports but am not a fan of getting a cab by myself also because pricewise it doesn't work in my favor. If I was with a few others I would consider it.

Once I am familiar with a port area and go back that is a different story and I may consider my own because I'll know the area, timing, and where I am/should be going. Also, the excursion sales can make it very enticing to not have to think.

6 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

I've done one solo guaranteed interior.  However, I've looked for others and realized that interior guarantees does include the studio interiors, if they are available.

 

My friend and I last year were looking at solo cruises for points.  We saw Brilliance had an extremely low price for gty interior, not knowing that there were 3 interior studios on the Brilliance.  I nabbed the reservation, but when I did it, he could not see that price and the interior guarantees was now doubled (including the solo supplement).  When i backed out and looked at the solo interiors, i found one available.  Interestingly enough, when i backed out of the reservation, he could then see the price again.

 

My theory is that if a solo passenger booked that price as a guarantee, that studio is going to be assigned and the price changed to reflect the solo supplement as all the rooms in the pool now require it.  Sure, your friend could have been put back into the rotation, but that price she got for gty, is going to be for that room if the gty price did not include a solo supplement.

@Another_Critic I got two sailings with no solo supplement last year.  A nice 28 point bump. (a 4 and 3 night cruise)

For the studio cabins, unless they are running a points promo, you only earn 1 point since you are not paying for double occupancy. Good you grabbed those interiors instead since you were looking for the points bump. 

It doesn't pay for me. I live on water (bring a refillable bottle) and unsweetened iced tea (again bring a refillable bottle), don't drink soda, no need for freshly squeezed juice, fancy coffee, smoothies, or shakes. I bring a bottle of wine, get 2, maybe 3-4 drinks, even if I did 4 drinks every day, it still comes out cheaper for me to do a la carte. 

It's all a matter of how much you think you will drink plus how many sea and port days you'll have. 

7 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

I made my MDT reservation in the cruise planner months before embarkation (Allure March 5, 22)

I did as well for my upcoming Explorer April 2022. It's not intuitive but once I saw people on here mention how to do it, it was great. But I also like for MTD you don't need to make reservations and can just show up. 

On 3/24/2022 at 6:53 PM, wildcats40 said:

We did this tour earlier this month. Was probably our favorite excursion of the trip.  Short walk to marina and took a boat to Nevis.  About 30 minutes. Provided beverages on the boat.  Then got on a bus.  Ours was an air conditioned bus.  The other was more of a school bus.  Smoothie was our tour guide and he was knowledgeable and funny.  Made several short stops on the tour and then went to the beach where we had lunch ( choice of two entrees). We had about 1 1/2 hours after that on the beach.  Chairs provided.  I will say there’s not a great changing area there so might want to wear swimsuit with coverup. 

Was there any shade or umbrellas available for the beach? It seems sightseeing intensive or was it more sightseeing of sorts on the way to the beach? 

How was the boat to Nevis? The catamaran has a warning about seasickness but this one doesn't so I'm curious. Thanks!

4 hours ago, kpgibbs said:

Update:  TA called RC.  She said she was on hold waiting for them to answer for over an hour.

 

Anyway, we did not get the balcony's.  After taxes and other fees that tack on, it was higher then what I have paid.  My son is disappointed because he has only cruised with a balcony. (spoiled)  I told him to think back and realize how much we used the balcony.  In reality, not that much.  We would eat breakfast out there and then we would sit out there at night some.  The rest of the time we aren't even in the cabin.

 

I think the only thing that is bothering me about having an inside cabin is no natural light.  My TA said that was tough on her.  You never know what time it is.  You wake up and you have no idea if the sun is up or not.  

 

Let all hope I come into a windfall of money and I can upgrade.  Haha.  

Keep checking those prices! With the kids sail free promo happening right now it doesn't work out as well. You never know what the future holds including holidays, a better sale may come along but you do need to keep checking. I did and save $200 on the same cabin, it does happen. Even if you can't go up to balcony maybe you can get oceanview.

Keep checking the price. If it goes lower, you could reprice which would help you recoup some of your solo cost now. 

59 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Enchantment had the beer card on the 1/28 sailing.

How far into the sailing did it appear? And can you use it on another cruise/ship or must be used all on that one cruise?

2 hours ago, orville99 said:

Before you call, make sure that the room category where you see the lower price is the same as the category you currently have booked. We have had issues in the past where the on line price appears lower, but that was because the category tied to that price was different. Just went through this last week where the category at the lower price had a different designation than the one we had booked. (J4 vs J3), and the only way we would have been able to get the reduced price would have been to switch cabins to a different deck and location.

Had this exact same thing, it’s all about your category. If you do call again ask them what category you are booked in so when you look online you’ll have a better idea of what to look for. 

For a tour to the ruins, I would go with Royal as that is a very long tour with too many possibilities for issues (tire blow out, traffic, bathroom delays, etc). If you are delayed with a Royal tour the boat waits for you. If you are delayed on your own private tour you are SOL as the boat does not wait. 

23 hours ago, Surfguyxxx said:

A bit off topic but does anyone know of a battery powered alarm clock that I can read from across the room instead of using my phone which I'd have to fiddle with before I see the time?   Just something simple that we can look up and read from across; that doesn't turn off, or go super dim, during the night.  Thanks.

I have a travel alarm clock, it's small and stands up that does not turn off or go super dim with large numbers. I would suggest looking for those even if you don't use the alarm function. 

For Victoria if you don't mind walking - get off the ship and make a left, walk to Fisherman's Wharf (cute area with house boats and boat food shacks - REALLY good and huge ice cream cone), then walk to Parliament House and the Royal BC Museum as I thought it was very pretty to look at and you are along the water. From there you could keep walking into Victoria itself - The Empress hotel, see the Fan Tan Alley which holds the record for narrowest street in Canada and is a central piece to Canada's oldest Chinatown, and then make your way and walk back. Could pick up an ice cream from the house boats on your way back.

Juneau was also a nice place to walk around the town and take it all in. If you want to splurge maybe the Crab Shack and split something.

Couple of tips - When I was on Ovation the Solarium Bistro had cereal boxes - take a couple of those for a snack off the ship. No fruit can be taken off but since the cereal boxes are sealed that's ok. Also, bring large refillable water bottles for every one and fill them up around the ship and before getting off at any port. 

If you are at a port in the morning, make it a relaxing morning on the ship, have lunch and then start walking around (or do a late breakfast/brunch). Just remember to be on ship time to give yourself enough time to get back.

I'm going to St. Thomas, St. Kitts, and Antigua on Explorer at the end of April. As I was researching exploring on my own I noted that a restaurant or two state you need to show proof of vaccination. For those who have been to those islands or others, can I show a photo on my phone or do they require the actual physical card? I'll have the actual card for getting on the ship but would prefer not to have to travel with it when going ashore, unless there will be an issue. 

Thanks for any insight!

On 3/19/2022 at 9:26 PM, Let us cruise often said:

Any questions pertaining to an excursion offered by RC on the cruise planner you can email them direct @ shorex@rccl.com

I have emailed them before & they were very helpful in providing the answers to the specific questions/concerns we had.  Hope this helps!! Happy cruising!! 

 

Thanks! Just sent them an email. 

Backlit clock - I like to know what time it is without turning over my phone

Towel clips for lounger - I have lost more than one towel, makes it easy to find my chair, and I use it to hold anything on the balcony

Ziploc bags and laundry bags - ziploc for hair stuff, suntan lotion, aloe, etc. and wet suits

Any med I think I may or may not need - ship is $$ for those items

I did that trip in 2019 on Ovation - fantastic time! Alaska is definitely more laid back and relaxed than the Caribbean. I wouldn't assume an older demographic as there were a lot of multi-generational families and people the usual age for Royal.

I wish I could remember about the onboard activities, I want to say there are a few less, and most likely due to the current times, as you are also getting up early to see the glaciers and getting off to explore early. Though I could be completely wrong and someone else please correct me. 

I like to be on deck 7-9 in case of choppy seas, as I feel it less down there. Also, I always take the stairs so for me it's a bit more central.

Thank you both! I'm going to do the catamaran and fingers crossed there will be a tree I can find for some shade. 

Apologies, duplicate post...

I'm debating between two Nevis excursions and was hoping for some of your Royal insight since you all were so helpful with St. Thomas and am guessing these are Royal trips but also asking on St.Kitts/Nevis board.

ST. KITTS CATAMARAN SAIL & NEVIS BEACH GETAWAY - how rough is the catamaran as they mention motion sickness being an issue? Also, with no chairs, umbrellas, or bathrooms at the beach is there any shade available if I just put my towel out? I assume there is a bathroom on the catamaran we can just use whenever?

A DAY TRIP TO NEVIS WITH LUNCH - This one seems like a lot of "sightseeing" without much beach time but I'm wondering if it's more of a talking tour on the way to lunch/beach rather than sightseeing? Any idea how much time is actually at the beach?

And how long is the trip to Nevis?

As others have mentioned, sometimes the solo cabins can be a great price and other times they are more expensive. I like to go through and do a booking for each type of cabin (regular and solo). Sometimes the regular cabin can be a better deal since there are more of them they need to sell. You also get double points for a regular cabin vs. single and the obc can also change.

2 minutes ago, DCPIV said:

Yes, they no longer automatically send the guest copy invoice. Drives me crazy. 

 

You can call to request it, but there's also an automated option. Still drives me crazy. 

They always send me a copy of the invoice right away. I just repriced my cruise today and while I was on the phone it came through. It looks like a confirmation but attached, scroll down a bit sometimes, is a pdf with all of the details. Cruise, cabin, breakdown of pricing, payment due, etc. 

A couple of thoughts but first YAY for you for booking a solo cruise.

Work - while there is wifi and streaming options on ships it can sometimes be stuck and not work like it does on land. Would that cause issues and/or stress for you in January if you were to have work to do?

Price - I do this for Royal so hopefully someone can chime in regarding Norwegian. When I book my cruise, I keep checking online and if the price goes down I call for it to be repriced, up until final payment. Then if it goes down again after final payment I can get obc (onboard credit) of the difference. You might be able to catch some good deals if you keep checking.

3 minutes ago, lola2013 said:

If you should end up at Crown Bay as we did in September (sailed on Edge), there were open air shuttles to take us to town for $4pp.  When we returned, we ran into people who took a taxi to Havensight (also our preferred dock).  

Oh great! Thought I would head to Havensight, do skyride, walk to town, and then was wondering how to get back from town to the port.