Solo Cabin's Breakaway

[Summerstravel]

On 3/19/2021 at 10:47 AM, HowardK said:

Also, please note you can get into the lounge area for the solo gatherings- depending on the cruise you can get in there during the day - sometimes the area was unlocked.

 

I always would book a studio and sometimes a week before call to upgrade to a balcony if the ship wasn't sold out- it was usually the last minute price differential between the balcony and my original studio cost. sometimes $100-$150

I may give that a try I would love to have a balcony. 

[Summerstravel]

4 hours ago, kelib said:

A few years back they changed the policy about all solo passengers having access to the solo lounge. I was told at the time that there were complaints, that people felt they had paid for the exclusiveness of the lounge and that it should be limited. 
 

The other thing that has changed the last few years is that the designated solo host now changes week to week instead of the same long term host. So you get some hosts who love the assignment and some who act like it is a punishment. 
 

Very rarely do you see people in the lounge during the day. The bar was only opened (where there was one) from 5-7

my first trip on the Getaway we met nightly at the Mojito bar.

 

The other thing that changed was making the meetups at 5:00 instead of 6. Official reason and true is that it allowed more time fir people who want to go to first show. Unofficial reason I was told was the restaurant team had issues fitting in large groups later in the evening,

 

First night meetup is a challenge since it is so close to sail away . I have had one on the Escape just stand in a designated area and told people to come to the studio next night. So unless you meet someone you could easily be on your own for dinner. 
 

I like to go to the meetups the first 2 nights if only to find people who want to go to a later dinner, which you can usually find. 
 I usually liked the fact that they had water dispensers in the lounge and also snacks. On the escape they had awesome breads like banana, pumpkin ..... I would always grab one fir the room fir breakfast if I needed to leave early fir an excursion. Never thought about that  may all going away.  
 

I
 

 

 

Thanks for sharing I enjoyed reading your post. 

[farmersfight]

12 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

Interesting! Thanks for that info. Perhaps things have changed, or perhaps they differ by ship? I ended up chatting with a lady who happened to be in a balcony cabin, but she had her key card coded for entry into the studio lounge so she did have full access. I thought that if I were to sail solo on ncl again this is the route I'd go.

 

I understand wanting to try the studio cabins. I was in the same place. After trying, I was one and done for a few reasons. Mostly because I really enjoy a balcony (even pre-covid) and found that the extra large solo balconies (with chaise lounge chairs) on the Anthem class are perfect for me when I want to sail solo. Unlike many who want the studio lounge for social gathering, I tend to meet people everywhere, and chances are if I'm sailing solo it's to decompress so laying on my balcony with a great book is often my preference. 

 

Also, the studio lounge is interior. It never feels right to me to spend time totally inside with no windows (even on land). I feel a bit caged. The lounge did offer excellent coffee, but the snacks were less than desirable and I don't expect there will be self serve snacks or coffee after covid.

 

But, I totally understand wanting to try the concept for oneself. With this particular OP, I'm hesitant to recommend because she needs the fridge and the space is going to be extremely tight. If she can get the inside for cheaper and then get her cruise card coded to enter the studio lounge I think her experience would be much more pleasant. Best of both worlds so-to-speak.

 

Hi. I think @kelibprovided our answer wrt the studio lounge (must be booked in a studio cabin). Thanks for sharing your experience & thoughts about staying in a studio cabin. It's funny, we're on the same wavelength, lol. My motto is "gotta have me a balcony, even as a solo". With that said, I decided to keep an open mind and give the NCL studio cabin and studio lounge a try (on their BA & BA+ class ships). I'm booked on the Encore, so I think having that virtual "window" in the studio cabin will help with that "closed in" feeling. Smart move by NCL imo. I'm not expecting too much from the studio lounge (not a full blown lounge/bar), but I think I'll like to have a quiet place to go with good coffee in the morning. The studio lounges on the newer BA & BA+ class ships actually look really nice inside (from the photos I've seen). If they staff up a bar (5-7 pm) in the studio lounge, I'll consider that a bonus but not something expected. I do like the idea of NCL providing a staffer (host) for the solos but kind of disappointed to read what @kelibsaid about NCL rotating these hosts. Yeah, it should be a staffer that wants the job (I'm sure the solo customer service is much better).

 

Back to balconies for us solos. Like you, I love balconies for the reason(s) you stated. I would just add that besides a book, I would have an "adult beverage of choice" out there on my balcony. As I mentioned, we're on the same wavelength. I have purposefully booked RCL's Quantum-class ships (Anthem OTS & Odyssey OTS) for those studio balcony cabins. I picked up on when you said "extra large" solo balconies because I did note that from the deck plans, the 2 most forward studio cabins had larger balconies than the 3rd in the row (on port & stbd sides). The 1st studio cabin forward had the largest balcony. On my 2 Quantum-class ships booked, I think I have a middle studio, so the balcony is a little larger. On my other booking, I have the studio cabin with the smallest (regular size) balcony of the 3. Oh well, I just feel fortunate to have booked these studio balcony cabins because I know they are sought after and hard to find available. Another point about these studio balcony cabins; they are located on deck 6 & deck 7. It appears that it would be more desirable to be higher up on deck 7 because of the tops of the lifeboats? On deck 6 (especially the aft most studio cabins) there may be a partially obstructed view (looking down) by the tops of the lifeboats? Did you encounter this when you were in one of these studio balcony cabins?

 

It is interesting, I give NCL credit for marketing to us solo cruisers with their studio cabins and studio lounges but RCL is actually very "solo friendly" as well with the studio balcony cabins on their Quantum-class (and Quantum Ultra class) ships. Not only that, RCL has been running their "60% off the 2nd guest" sale which effectively lowers the solo supplement to 40% for us solos. I have booked multiple regular balcony cabins (Oasis-class ships) with this sale. On top of that, RCL's sister company Celebrity, is "solo friendly" as well. Their Edge-class ships have those Single Infinite Veranda staterooms. The Celebrity Edge has 16 and the new Apex will increase that to 24 (indicating that Celebrity is increasing it's marketing to solos). To compare, RCL's Quantum-class ships have 12 studio balcony cabins. Btw, I'll be trying one of Celebrity's Single Infinite Veranda staterooms, as I am booked in one on the Apex.

 

Again, thanks for sharing your experience with NCL's studio cabins and studio lounge. I'm keeping an open mind. And, thank you also @kelibfor sharing your experience.

Edited March 22, 2021 by farmersfight

[hallux]

2 hours ago, farmersfight said:

I do like the idea of NCL providing a staffer (host) for the solos but kind of disappointed to read what @kelibsaid about NCL rotating these hosts. Yeah, it should be a staffer that wants the job (I'm sure the solo customer service is much better).

On my first trip in 2019 the solo host was actually a repeat from the previous sailing.  He enjoyed doing it so much he ASKED to do it again and he was EXCELLENT! 

 

As my second sailing was in a balcony and I was on the ship with others (I was single cruiser but not a "solo" per se) I didn't have as much interaction with the solo host as a solo cruiser.  The minimal interaction with her as the solo host was positive, but not as positive as on the first trip.  As a general entertainment crew member she was absolutely EXCELLENT, to the point that one of the other members of my party handed her an additional cash tip...

[farmersfight]

8 hours ago, hallux said:

On my first trip in 2019 the solo host was actually a repeat from the previous sailing.  He enjoyed doing it so much he ASKED to do it again and he was EXCELLENT! 

 

As my second sailing was in a balcony and I was on the ship with others (I was single cruiser but not a "solo" per se) I didn't have as much interaction with the solo host as a solo cruiser.  The minimal interaction with her as the solo host was positive, but not as positive as on the first trip.  As a general entertainment crew member she was absolutely EXCELLENT, to the point that one of the other members of my party handed her an additional cash tip...

 

Great example of when someone has the job (solo host) that wants the job and likes/loves the job. Thanks for sharing. As I mentioned, NCL should screen for employees that truly want the job as solo host. When you get an employee like that, the resulting service for the solos is like you said; EXCELLENT.

 

I'm sure like anywhere else, you'll have your "bad apples" but from what you said above, it sounds like overall, NCL has some excellent employees that provide excellent customer service.

[BermudaBound2014]

@farmersfight I think we are on same page in many aspects.... could be Michigan thinking 🙂

 

While I don't disagree with Kaleb about their understanding of access to the studio lounge, I suspect that enforcement is extremely inconsistent (as is the case with many things on cruise ships). I would bet my farm that as a solo sailing in a balcony, guest service would still code my card if I asked politely. If that didn't work, knocking on the solo lounge door always works (not to mention it is sometimes propped open). Since we are on the same wavelength, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that unless you are enjoying conversation with other solos you will find another quiet place for coffee as I suspect we both have a similar love of the sea.

 

I agree with you 100% about the virtual solo cabins. When they came out I did think to myself that I might try another studio cabin just for the virtual experience (if pricing is right). Smart move on NCL's part fo'sure.

 

I've had all three solo cabins you mention on Anthem. To be honest, my favorite was the middle. The largest  balcony gave a tunnel feel to the cabin and it was so large the cabin had zero sunlight. The smallest is just a regular balcony (which was fine), but the middle was just right!! I have only been on deck 7 so keep an eye out if a  balcony opens on 7 to try to avoid the glare that comes from the lifeboat tops. However, the location is terrific and you have an exceptional view of the sea from your shower (you'll see what I mean when you get there) haha.

 

 

 

[HowardK]

From experience (and especially after the last year+) I would go for a balcony and then get access from someone to get into the studio lounge. The first day gathering was held in Tobacco Road for my cruises and since I met groups of people I never even went to the lounge after day 2 or so.

 

[HowardK]

In general, I had very good solo hosts when I chose to participate. Some would keep a board of activities and were open to suggestions. One planned a birthday dinner for me one time -and many of them did TWO extra jobs on the ship. good people and I hope to see some of them again

[farmersfight]

1 hour ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

@farmersfight I think we are on same page in many aspects.... could be Michigan thinking 🙂

 

While I don't disagree with Kaleb about their understanding of access to the studio lounge, I suspect that enforcement is extremely inconsistent (as is the case with many things on cruise ships). I would bet my farm that as a solo sailing in a balcony, guest service would still code my card if I asked politely. If that didn't work, knocking on the solo lounge door always works (not to mention it is sometimes propped open). Since we are on the same wavelength, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that unless you are enjoying conversation with other solos you will find another quiet place for coffee as I suspect we both have a similar love of the sea.

 

I agree with you 100% about the virtual solo cabins. When they came out I did think to myself that I might try another studio cabin just for the virtual experience (if pricing is right). Smart move on NCL's part fo'sure.

 

I've had all three solo cabins you mention on Anthem. To be honest, my favorite was the middle. The largest  balcony gave a tunnel feel to the cabin and it was so large the cabin had zero sunlight. The smallest is just a regular balcony (which was fine), but the middle was just right!! I have only been on deck 7 so keep an eye out if a  balcony opens on 7 to try to avoid the glare that comes from the lifeboat tops. However, the location is terrific and you have an exceptional view of the sea from your shower (you'll see what I mean when you get there) haha.

 

 

 

 

Yes! It's the Michigan thinking. (Go Blue btw in the men's NCAA basketball tournament). I think you told me before but I forgot, what part of the mitten state are you in?

 

So, enforcement on a cruise ship inconsistent. Must be like how they consistently enforce the prohibition against saving deck chairs like the "chair hogs" do. I see what you're saying. If I'm ever on an NCL BA or BA+ class ship, in a balcony, I would do the same thing.

 

You are spot on, I definitely have a love of the sea (& ships). "Seas the moment". I'll probably give the studio lounge a fair chance for early morning coffee and perhaps hit the bar in the main public spaces for my 1st Bloody Mary of the morning. Then, I'll need more coffee, lol.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience about the Anthem OTS studio balconies. I'm glad you said the middle balcony was "just right" (the Goldilocks principle) and the smallest was a regular balcony and it was just fine. I have booked a middle balcony and the smallest balcony. But, both are on deck 6 (I don't think the ones on deck 7 were available). I'm more worried about any partially obstructed view from the tops of the lifeboats on deck 6 (than the glare from the lifeboat tops), especially the aft most (smallest balcony) studio balcony cabin. The next Quantum-class ship "on my radar" (pardon the electronic navigation pun), the Ovation OTS, I will be trying to book as soon as they open up o I can hopefully snag one of those studio balcony cabins on deck 7 (hopefully, with the "Goldilocks" balcony).

 

Exceptional view of the sea from your shower? You mean all the fishies will be able to see me naked?