I love my family but cruising solo on the Legend last month was a BLAST!

[Silent Penguin]

 

It's been almost 3 weeks since I got home from my first solo cruise, and I'm still smiling.  This cruise recharged my batteries in a way that no vacation ever has.  Now that's relaxation!  It was also an unexpected level and  undeserved amount of fun.  

 

While Carnival doesn't get all the credit for this glowing trip report since fun times are more about the people you are with and how you spend your time with them, Carnival did provide everything I need to absolutely relax and chill out.  I had a wonderful dining team, an attentive room steward, and a super comfortable room and bed (with lots of pillows and space I didn't have to share).  As a result of the reduced guest capacity, I rarely had to stand in a line (even to get into Punchliners) for more than a few minutes or be concerned about getting a deck chair or clamshell lounger on at-sea days.  Even though we did have to wear masks-which was a pain because I'd have to backtrack to my room every time I for got mine (9 out of 10 times)- there were no strident social distancing policies.   What suprised me the most? Fast room service!  You better believe I tipped well for coffee and cookies delivered to my room in less than 15 minutes.  In total, all smiles, no frowns.  Okay, there was a little bit of frowning the first night at dinner when I was sooo hungry and no one gave us drinks or bread or took our order the first 30 minutes we were at the table.  After I flagged down the crew member who turned out to be our head server and informed  him (politely, I promise) that my tablemate and I were heading to the buffet because we were really hungry,  everything happened very quickly and that was the last time I frowned.

 

 

For me, fun times on a cruise are not about the fine weather (not a lot of sunshine on this cruise but at least it didn't rain but for a quick downpour shortly after we arrived on Half Moon Cay), the luxury of the ship (questionable given how many people either froze or roasted or had no hot water the first night or two), the attentive care and service (high marks for me personally but some people had complaints, especially about the dining service the first night) or the quality of the food (kind of hit or miss) but about, as I said before, how I spent my time.  I'm a social person, not someone who is happiest sitting in a quiet spot reading a book or doing a craft or gambling at a machine. I like to meet people.  Prior cruising experience taught me that joining a roll call always enriches my cruising experience, but as a solo cruiser, I knew it was going to be even more important.  I hit the jackpot on this cruise.  The FB roll call group with which I was most active (there were two) for this cruise was fantastic!  They were the most down-to-earth, fun loving people I've ever met on a cruise.  We had 6 different planned events -all well organized- during the week-long cruise: a meet & greet, a state-themed slot glass exchange, a slot pull, a state-themed gift exchange, a Christmas ornament exchange, and goodbye meet.  In 12 cruises, I've never seen such drive to have a good time!!   The bonus: besides the friends we made and the great times we had, we also won a little extra money at the slot pull.  And...I was able to enjoy a bungalow at Half Moon Cay because a sailing group of 3 snagged a bungalow and wanted one more person to split the cost with them!  Oh, yeah.   Thankfully, they turned out to be awesome, funny people who I hope to meet up with again. 

 

That isn't to say Carnival doesn't get any credit for providing this solo cruiser with opportunities for fun.  For instance, all the people assigned to my early dining table were solo cruisers.  There were 4 of us, and we got along like a house on fire, often leaving the table reluctantly because it would have been a hardship for the serving team if we stayed any longer since they needed to get ready for the next rotation.  This fortutious arrangement benefited all of us outside of the dining room, too.  The youngest of our group befriended the oldest of our group and had someone to hang out with in ports and to go shopping with.  I was able to experience the Nouveau Restaurant, which I wasn't willing to do on my own, because one of my tablemates volunteered to go with me.  (Bonus: I didn't know this at the time we arranged to go, but this person was comped the entire cruise including restaurants so I went for free. )  There were also meet-ups for solo cruisers listed in the Fun Times, but I didn't go to any of these.  

 

Who else gets the credit for this unforgettably fantastic cruise? My husband.  He's not vaccinated and can't cruise right now.  But, when I half-joking told him about a last-minute, rock-bottom price cruise leaving out Baltimore (an hour from us) and asked him how he felt about me going alone, he said, "Go for it!"  So it wouldn't have happened without him.  

 

I would like to share some photos with you but I'm  having trouble uploading pictures.  I'll be back with those later.  

 

[Joe817]

What a great story! Thanks for sharing! 👍

[natefish95]

So glad you had an amazing time! Sounds a lot like my experience on the Freedom in October. Our dining table was always the loudest and we had the best wait staff! 

[cruisingguy007]

I'd totally cruise solo if I could. Zero issues for me. I'm naturally outgoing. The Mrs. and kids would have none of it though. There would be a riot and an insurrection. The wife and kids would go full-horn Q'anon shaman crazy on me lol. Outgoing folks can make fast friends anywhere. Buying a single fare in no way means you must cruise alone. Heck, some folks don't even like the people they actually choose to cruise with. Sounds like you had a great time and made the best of it.  

Edited December 4, 2021 by cruisingguy007

[CruiseBro16]

YES!! I cruised solo for the first time last month and had a blast as well. Best part was doing whatever the hell I wanted, whenever I wanted. Met some great folks too!

[Ilovesailaway]

Op I was on the same cruise. It was awesome and I look forward to seeing the pics.

My first solo in in a month... I am so excited.

[travelplus]

I'm going Solo on the Panorama. First night I have a tradition of booking the Steakhouse no matter what cruiseline I am on. The Last night I book the Italian with a good wine and Sambuca or Specialty Coffee. 

 

Why? Because of the chaos of thee two nights. I have no flight to catch the next day at LAX due to a schedule change and a Hilton free night at a Hampton Inn due to a poor stay.

 

First night is utter chaos and plus I do not like the menu . American flare that I can get anywhere. I do all my research before .

 

I do YTD but still woe is me a 50 percent off a Caymus Cab heck I'll take 2 if I can is not too shabby . The free bottle will also be drunk 😁

 

I love traveling Solo to talk with other travellers and go on awesome shore excursions too. While I'm a single sunbather please don't judge me I am a partier who dances to Disco 70s and 80s music and Yacht Rock😁.

 

Guys Burgers and Ice Cream no one can. stop me! Cake for dinner with Ice Cream who knew cruising could be so delicious? Pizza delivered at 3 AM heck yes with a Pepsi😁.

 

When you are with travelling partners on different sleep wake schedules it's pretty much a bust. I am known to not bee much sleep. I can get by on 4-5 hours with coffee as I want to have. a Vegas style vacation on the ship.

 

Now only if they take away the single supplement. That is downright discriminating as I spend more than your average Joe onboard..

 

I don't go for Cheers but I still drink. I don't want to be limited to a per drink cost or if I can't get Cognac.

 

I choose shore excursions that happen to include alcohol whether it's a Luxury Sailboat in Cabo to Cooking Class in Puerto Vallarta with Tequila pairing or Rhtyms Of The Night with Open Bar

 

 

I also grab local craft beers whenever I get the chance or local Tequila .

 

I am a happy go lucky sailor who dies not get into fights, loves comedy R rated of course, movies, dancing, production shows, Karaoke etc. I literally don't even look at the Cruise Schedule I just peruse around and hop from. bar to bar, venue to venue. I find out that I enjoy myself more.

 

Breakfast and Mimosas on the Balcony with Cabo as my. view? Heck yeah!

 

The First and Last night's will be party nights as I will have been in Long Beach for 2 nights. There are 2 Sea Days so I can have fun late into the night as I am only flying up from San Jose CA in First Class on Alaska at $145 r/t!

 

Solo cruising will never go away . Perhaps Parents can consider booking their counterpart in separate cabins😁 Yes you too can and deserve a solo cruise when going with family.

 

 

It cost less to cruise solo as you don't have to multiply everything by the number of travellers You are actually more relaxed travelling solo not helping everyone to pack,unpack or settle in Mom I don't want to eat now! Honey we are eating as z family. I hear this all too often in the dining room. 

 

Dad I don't want to go on this shire excursion it's boring when secretly you wish you did not bring the kiddos along as you wanted to do an Adults only Adventure which is age restricted or a Spa Day.

 

Edited December 4, 2021 by travelplus

[dcwalker]

Looking forward to your pictures Silent Penguin. Thanks! I'll be on Legend next month; sadly not solo. I love a solo cruise.

[Silent Penguin]

18 hours ago, cruisingguy007 said:

I'd totally cruise solo if I could. Zero issues for me. I'm naturally outgoing. The Mrs. and kids would have none of it though. There would be a riot and an insurrection. The wife and kids would go full-horn Q'anon shaman crazy on me lol. 

If they're not vaccinated, I'd say - as my middle school students used to say decades ago- talk to the hand because the ears aint listening.  Seriously,  I know not everyone's spouse would be on board with this. I'm lucky to have a husband who ascribes to the saying: happy wife, happy life! I don't abuse that.  My kids are grown.  They are more than welcome to come along if they pay their way.  I like their company.   Good luck to you on doing that solo cruise.

 

[Silent Penguin]

2 hours ago, dcwalker said:

Looking forward to your pictures Silent Penguin. Thanks! I'll be on Legend next month; sadly not solo. I love a solo cruise.

 

Sadly not solo...that sounds interesting.  I just sat down to figure out what I'm doing wrong loading pictures.  It's not like I've never done it before, but it's been a while.  

[dcwalker]

31 minutes ago, Silent Penguin said:

 

Sadly not solo...that sounds interesting.  I just sat down to figure out what I'm doing wrong loading pictures.  It's not like I've never done it before, but it's been a while.  

I was just being mean, not interesting. I had booked it solo, but then my husband's time freed up, so I invited him to join me.😄

[sgttami]

I'll just say that I love solo cruising.

 

I've met such awesome people when sailing solo and never would have met them if I'd been traveling with others.

 

After my first solo in 2014, I realized one of the best parts was not having to hear, What are WE doing today?"

[Silent Penguin]

Embarkment Day - Outside the cruise port building, I couldn't find my printed boarding pass but I figured surely a screen shot of it on my phone will work.  No, as it turns out, showing the cruise rep the QR code on my phone was not going to work.  No biggie.  She directed me to a different rep standing nearby who has a handheld printer for those such as me.  So, if you lose your printed boarding pass somewhere between the time you stuffed in your carry bag and getting in line or someone in your party refuses to believe you actually -in this day in age - need a paper copy, don't panic.

 

I think I figured out one way to post a picture.  Here's me being very happy to actually be on board the beautiful Carnival Legend. 

 

 

[Silent Penguin]

Embarkment Day FB Roll Call Meet & Greet

Here's a picture me looking really happy at the the meet-and-greet.  Notice the red Mardi Gras beads?  Super helpful way to locate members of a group you've never met.  One of my brand-new FB roll call friends, Georgia ( It easy to remember her name because it's the fake name I gave to a customer who wanted to complain about me when I worked in retail) took this picture.    I forget the name of this drink but it was delicious and provided extra happy on top of the glee I was already feeling! ( I also hadn't eaten any lunch yet)

[Silent Penguin]

Embarkment Day - Muster Drill

This sure isn't the way I remember muster drill, but I'm not complaining.  

[Silent Penguin]

Embarkment Day - Obstructed view cabin

 

The rock-bottom price for this cruise was, of course, for an interior room, which is a no-go for me.  Literally.  Dh and I tried an interior room once because we badly wanted to go on a cruise and a balcony room was not in the budget.  We still had a good time but agreed we would rather wait until we could afford a balcony than cruise again booked into an interior room.  This obstructed-view room, stateroom 4141, which is still technically an interior room, was a 50.00 upgrade. 

 

 

This picture, taken from inside my cabin, was taken once we were at-sea.  

[Silent Penguin]

 

Embarkment Day - Dinner

I know this picture is absolutely horrible, but it captures the only time on the entire cruise when I felt sad and lonely.  I arrived at an empty table set for 6, but I had no apparent dining companions.  For fifteen minutes I sat there all by myself. Just me and my glass of water..... 

 

 

[sparks1093]

10 hours ago, Silent Penguin said:

Embarkment Day FB Roll Call Meet & Greet

Here's a picture me looking really happy at the the meet-and-greet.  Notice the red Mardi Gras beads?  Super helpful way to locate members of a group you've never met.  One of my brand-new FB roll call friends, Georgia ( It easy to remember her name because it's the fake name I gave to a customer who wanted to complain about me when I worked in retail) took this picture.    I forget the name of this drink but it was delicious and provided extra happy on top of the glee I was already feeling! ( I also hadn't eaten any lunch yet)

I knew that we had crossed paths, even if we didn't formally meet. My two sons are sitting right behind your left shoulder. 🙂

[BennyBrun]

Glad you had a great time!  It sounded like it was a blast!

[bgrmini]

The other day I booked the same cabin on Carnival Pride. Looks like it has the least obstructed view you can get out of those cabins! And I bet the drink you have is a Fun Ship.

[Silent Penguin]

2 hours ago, bgrmini said:

The other day I booked the same cabin on Carnival Pride. Looks like it has the least obstructed view you can get out of those cabins! And I bet the drink you have is a Fun Ship.

 Yes, that is exactly why I booked it.  I read that it had the least obstructed view, and it makes sense that the same cabin on the Pride would have the same view since they are sister ships! Smart move on your part. I did learn after I booked it that the French doors were replaced with floor to ceiling windows which I was a little disappointed about.   Was that what that drink is called?  I thought it would be too sweet, but it was nicely refreshing.  Enjoy your  less obstructed view room and your cruise!

 

[Silent Penguin]

I'll be back with more pictures once I finish writing my Christmas cards.  

[chumley28540]

Do they automatically seat solo travelers together for MDR?

[sparks1093]

On 12/6/2021 at 7:45 PM, Silent Penguin said:

I'll be back with more pictures once I finish writing my Christmas cards.  

Would love to see the rest of your pictures!

[d-train]

Love reading about your vacation experience! 
thanks for sharing!

Someday, in the sort of near future, I will be retired with a handful of years before my wife can retire…so looking forward to doing a solo cruise!