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shorne

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Everything posted by shorne

  1. I spent a lot of time calling travel agencies. Every last one charged substantially more—sometimes thousands of dollars more—than Princess did through its Web site. And, yes, I was careful to make sure that the conditions (type of room, packages for drinks and such) were all the same. If this is anomalous, I'd like to know why it happened.
  2. I too had naïvely thought that those factors would favour a more mature and sophisticated clientele, but these days it seems that there is no venue that trashy people will not overrun and destroy. Years ago I stopped attending live operas here in North Uhmerica because almost invariably they are ruined by trashy people who talk throughout or otherwise disrupt them. Fortunately, the audiences in Eastern Europe, South America, and many other places are much more respectful of art and of other people.
  3. Interesting perspective. Rather than feigning ignorance of English (was machen Sie denn, wenn man mit Ihnen Deutsch sprechen kann?), you might just candidly say that you are too deep in thought or too distracted for a conversation at the moment. It isn't easy: people don't believe it, especially if they themselves never have a thought of any consequence. Perhaps «Not right now, thank you» or «Maybe later» would be easier. I too am drained by social occasions. I do best with just one or two people with whom there is a real affinity. And even that often has to be done in small doses. My biggest concern on the social front is not how to drive others off but how to avoid or endure people with whom I am incompatible. Already it is evident that this cruise will include a number of vulgarians and downright mean-spirited people. That's disappointing but not surprising in the least.
  4. An article on this site suggests, as a way to meet possibly kindred spirits, that a solo traveller seek the cruise director for possible introductions. How would that work? I wouldn't even know how to find the cruise director, and anyway that person would hardly know whom to introduce.
  5. Sorry, not the same cruise: mine leaves on 26 May. I contentedly go around on my own without caring a continental about other people's disapproval. Are you concerned about attracting unfavourable attention on land? I don't think that there's much risk of that, as long as you exercise the usual precautions. I'm concerned much more about an unwelcoming atmosphere on the ship itself, and unfortunately have already seen signs of that. But, like you, I don't need the company of anyone else.
  6. I haven't seen anything else for solo travellers on this cruise. Are you on one segment only? Mine lasts for 33 days, from late May to late June. Others have said that a gathering of solo travellers, often unprepossessing and poorly attended, is held at the start of the cruise. I expect to attend that, at least for a few minutes, so you shall probably find me there. I'm joining only a few excursions—most of them organised independently, not through the ship. The rest of the time I intend to go around on my own; that doesn't bother me, but many people do indeed feel anxious about it.
  7. I hate single supplements as much as anyone else, but I understand why they are applied. It has to do with profit. The cruise line typically makes little profit from two people in an ordinary room (let's disregard top-end suites for the moment). It may even lose money. Overwhelmingly the profits come from beverages, casinos, beauty parlours, shops, excursions, Internet service, and other things on which the captive passengers drop a lot of money. Cruise lines have abundant data on expenditures made by passengers in different categories; they know, for example, that two people travelling together will tend to spend more money on those ancillary things than two people travelling separately. For that reason (which again is separate from the fee for the cruise itself), double occupancy is much more attractive to the company than single. Something about the dynamics of travelling as a couple causes couples (broadly construed) to spend more money. From our perspective, although we occupy a room that could otherwise have accommodated two paying passengers, we don't consume the food of two people, nor do we cause so much wear and tear to the facilities or make such great demands on laundry and other services; thus it seems unfair to charge us double. From the company's perspective, even if we pay double, we still bring in less money than two passengers in the same room. We are therefore undesirable even at a 100% single supplement. One problem with that position is that it leads to discrimination. I've seen single supplements in excess of 100%, meaning that a single person pays more than two. If that is to be permitted, why not perform the same analysis by race or gender and charge higher fees to groups that tend to be less profitable? That would be unacceptable, but cruise lines get away with handling single occupancy in precisely that manner. Offsetting our undesirability as individuals is our desirability as a group. There are many more single travellers than there used to be. Now that 43% of Canadian marriages end in divorce, this should be unsurprising. That's why cruise lines have shown more interest lately in us long-disdained single travellers: we're just too large a group to neglect. So single supplements are being reduced and other overtures are being made to attract us.
  8. I'm going to take the 33-day cruise to Iceland and Norway on Princess next month. This will be my first vacation in seven years. I must admit that I am not naturally inclined to take a cruise, because so many of them (especially of the Miami-to-the-Bahamas-and-back variety) seem to cater either to children or to adults whose main interests are eating, drinking, gambling, and shopping (all in copious amounts). Princess is said to cultivate a more mature, more sophisticated atmosphere, which I certainly hope to find on this particular cruise. Despite the cost, I splashed out on a room with a balcony so that I could withdraw from company and spend time by myself in reasonable comfort whenever I wished. After so many years without a vacation, I need a chance just to rest. Most of the first ten days of this cruise will be spent at sea, and although many people would find that unappealing, I expect that it will help me to recover from exhaustion. Reading many of the comments in this section, I have been surprised by the number of people who refuse to dine alone. I have requested a table to myself for the first few evenings. Only the lack of information about activities (any shows or other events that might be of interest) leaves me hesitant to reserve dining for subsequent evenings. It seems that the schedule of activities will not be available beforehand, so I may not make more reservations yet.
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