Solo cruising safety

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

Hi, I haven't been on a cruise yet but am considering one as a solo cruiser.  I am wondering if it seems safe to travel solo on a cruise ship as a woman.   I feel like I wouldn't want others to know I'm there by myself, but I also have no interest in lying to people I meet.  Things like the Norwegian solo cruise area kind of worry me b/c if people see me going in there they'd know that I'm solo, plus anyone else there would also know.  I am probably being paranoid, but the last thing I'd want is to go on a relaxing vacation my myself (I am a mom to many kids) and then have someone creepy hanging around.  The line I'm thinking of using is Princess, and going to Alaska.  I'm aware I won't be getting any price break there, but that's ok.  I want a balcony, and many of the inside cabins I've seen offered to solos are also too small for me.  Thanks for any advice.  

[bhsolo]

I LOVE traveling on a cruise solo, felt completely safe, and made some great friends. I traveled to Alaska on Royal Caribbean and am planning a Caribbean one, balcony - non solo cabin just regular size and have to pay for it, on Royal again. People were more impressed than anything I was traveling solo and a lot of times people are alone because the other person is doing something else. It's also A LOT easier to get a chair by the pool. I bring spray sunscreen with me and ask a kind soul to spray my back, and inevitably they are always happy to help. 

 

Whenever I travel, no matter the type of trip, I take the same safety precautions. Including, I don't drink as much, don't leave my food/drink unattended (great thing about a cruise is you can always get new food if you do), and for excursions I'll either walk around the port by myself or I'll take a cruise line excursion depending on the country and what I'm doing.

 

It's understandable to feel anxious/nervous/paranoid, especially if this will be your first solo trip. But once you do it, you'll be hooked. The best is you get to do what you want, when you want, and how you want. The only person you have to answer to is you. You want all dessert for dinner - go for it because nobody will know. You don't feel like seeing the show everyone is raving about because it doesn't interest you or you'd rather read your book, with a glass of wine, on your balcony - go for it! There is an inner strength and power that comes with solo travel.

[rkacruiser]

If one feels safe going to the grocery store, the shopping mall, the movie theater, concert, or play alone, one will feel safe during a cruise.  If one comes into contact that concerns one, it is easy to excuse yourself and go elsewhere.  There are plentiful security personnel on a ship as well as security cameras.  

 

Going ashore alone, be aware of your surroundings and if you sense you have wondered into an area (as I once did) that seemed to have the potential to be sketchy, back track at once.  Use common sense, OP, and you will be OK.  

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

Thanks!  I've been on several solo trips ranging from 2 days in a local hotel to a week abroad.  It's just the enclosed environment of a cruise that seems different to me.  I don't like the idea that if some guy starts to hang around I can't get off the ship.  I realize that this is very unlikely.  No one has bothered me during my previous solo trips.   I plan ahead a lot and try to always use common sense that I'd use anywhere etc.  

[NSnJW]

As a male I don't pretend to know how you feel.  But as a solo traveler I think at least one of your fears is not as bad as you think.  From the times I have been to NCL's solo gatherings I would think you would find a lot more allies there than potential stalkers,  They tend to look out for each other.  Also on the ship you can always ask the crew for help if you feel threatened.

[geoherb]

I just returned from a week on a Princess ship (Caribbean Princess). They don't have specific solo cabins. I had an inside cabin and thought it was plenty big for me. The best thing about going solo is not having to share shelves.

 

In August, I went solo to Alaska on the Majestic Princess, also in an inside cabin. 

 

 

[Lois R]

I have been cruising solo for nearly 20 years and I love it. It is the only way I sail and I feel quite safe.

I just returned home from 2 weeks on a Caribbean Cruise and as usual, I loved it and had a wonderful time😃.......hope you take the jump!  Alaska is fabulous!  I have been there 4 or 5 times over the years, most recently back in August! 

 

[Mo Jito]

I’ve done a lot of solo travel, including several cruises, and I think cruising is one of the safest options for a solo woman. As someone else noted, the crew (and fellow passengers) will look out for you.
 

If a persistent man were bothering me at a land resort, I am not sure that the resort staff would take adequate action to make him cease and desist. But on a cruise,  I am absolutely confident that if I reported bad behaviour from a fellow passenger, my concerns would be taken seriously. The cruise ship is its own little world, and the captain and his or her crew do not want any trouble in their world, so they will address unacceptable behaviour when they are made aware of it. 
 

Also, unlike a land resort or city hotel, when you are heading back to your room at night you are not walking down any deserted pathways or past any dark alleys; you are walking through well lit passageways with plenty of people within shouting distance who would come to your aid if anyone attempted to harm you.

[brillohead]

In addition to all the info provided already, remember that cruise ships have cameras EVERYWHERE, and everyone knows it.  

People aren't as likely to act up if they know their every move is being recorded.  

[ericfromri]

On 12/14/2021 at 2:48 PM, Kitty Ellas Mom said:

Hi, I haven't been on a cruise yet but am considering one as a solo cruiser.  I am wondering if it seems safe to travel solo on a cruise ship as a woman.   I feel like I wouldn't want others to know I'm there by myself, but I also have no interest in lying to people I meet.  Things like the Norwegian solo cruise area kind of worry me b/c if people see me going in there they'd know that I'm solo, plus anyone else there would also know.  I am probably being paranoid, but the last thing I'd want is to go on a relaxing vacation my myself (I am a mom to many kids) and then have someone creepy hanging around.  The line I'm thinking of using is Princess, and going to Alaska.  I'm aware I won't be getting any price break there, but that's ok.  I want a balcony, and many of the inside cabins I've seen offered to solos are also too small for me.  Thanks for any advice.  

unless you are an heir to the Onassis fortune, i doubt you will be robbed or kidnapped.

[chefchick]

Great info here.  As someone who travels on multiple cruises a year solo i have never felt unsafe on any of them.  I do make a point of not drinking to excess, I generally take ship sponsored shore excursions if I feel at all insecure about the port itself and I make conversations with fellow passengers and particularly crew so I am “seen” on the ship. (Getting to know a particular bartender, for example, and they will look after you). Security is taken seriously on ships and if I ever felt the least bit unsafe by the actions of another passenger for example I would have NO problem having security look into it or being escorted to my cabin.  
 

I honestly think cruising is one of the safest options for a solo woman traveler, but you have to have the confidence to try….trust me, you’ll love it.

[IRMO12HD]

@Kitty Ellas Mom I firmly echo what the others have said/typed; to me, a cruise ship is one of the SAFEST places for a solo person to be.  I just finished my first solo cruise in December (a 4-Night on Freedom of the Seas), and am hooked!  As @chefchicknoted, the crew are amazing, and will look out for you.  I had an inside cabin with a view over the Royal Promenade, and it was fine -- lots of room for just one person, and with the pricing promotion (60% off the second guest) worked out to be an amazing deal.  I sat by myself at a two-top in the Main Dining Room, and conversed with the couple at the table next to me, but could have easily dined in solitary splendor had I chosen to.  Being able to choose to do exactly what I wanted to do, when I wanted to, was an incredibly "freeing" experience.  

[zgscl]

I felt that the crew took extra special care of me as a solo traveler. I made friends with a lot of them in different areas and appreciated that. They always would make conversation and check to see things were OK (and more so than on cruises I have been on with others). I think I would definitely stick with cruise line excursions on a solo cruise. 

[Silent Penguin]

On 12/17/2021 at 10:58 PM, geoherb said:

I just returned from a week on a Princess ship (Caribbean Princess). They don't have specific solo cabins. I had an inside cabin and thought it was plenty big for me. The best thing about going solo is not having to share shelves.

 

In August, I went solo to Alaska on the Majestic Princess, also in an inside cabin. 

 

 

LOL,  I'm fine with the storage space.  I enjoy having the whole bed to myself!! 

[Silent Penguin]

On 12/22/2021 at 3:45 PM, brillohead said:

In addition to all the info provided already, remember that cruise ships have cameras EVERYWHERE, and everyone knows it.  

People aren't as likely to act up if they know their every move is being recorded.  

Speaking of cameras everywhere....here's a story for you

 

We were on a 15-day cruise to Hawaii on a Princess ship.   My daughter, although not a solo traveler,  spent most of her at-sea days and evenings enjoying the ship independently from my husband and me.  She was in her late teens.   Generally, we saw her at dinner and at bedtime.  We were at-sea about 4 days when, while getting ready for dinner, she confided in me that there was a little group of young men (too old for the teen club but not old enough to drink) bothering her and a couple gal-pals  she was going around with.  She admitted that there was some flirting going on the first time the guys talked to them a few days prior, but the girls made it clear they weren't interested.  Never the less, the guys wouldn't leave them be.  The guys seemed to be waiting for them at the gym and other places the girls liked to hang out.  On at least one occasion, the boys tried to entice them  to drink wine in their stateroom.   The other two girls were annoyed but didn't feel threatened.  My daughter did and she wanted help getting rid of them.   

 

After listening to my daughter's account of what had been going on, I went to guest services and asked that a security officer meet with us.  No sooner did I get back to my room, the Chief Security Officer rang me.  I explained why I asked her to meet with us and she said, if we had a few minutes, she would come up to our stateroom.  Which she did.

 

After  interviewing my daughter, the officer asked my husband and me how we would like this situation to be handled.  I told her that, at this point, we (daughter included) are seeing the situation as a culture clash and that we wanted her, as Chief Security Officer, to help make the young men  understand that "No" doesn't not mean "try harder".   She agreed.  She said she would look into the situation right away (review cc footage, etc) and contact us later that evening.  

 

When we met again in our stateroom  she informed us that she  had seen enough of the CC footage to  the identitify the boys as well as confirm some of the accusations against them  (e.g. lingering outside the teen club, gym,  pool deck waiting and then approaching the girls).  She was ready to move forward with a meeting with the boys and their parents.  I can't recall if she asked us if we wanted to be at the meeting, but if she did, we declined.  She said she would update us around dinner time the next day since it was the first port day and she expected we would have plans on the island all day.  

 

When we met that evening after dinner, she reported, in so many words, that the message was delivered and definitely recieved.  Her account wasn't as bare-bone as just that.  In fact,  she went into a surprising amount of detail, and every word she spoke was a confirmation and a comfort to my daughter and my husband and me.  For starters, not only the boys and their parents showed up but most of adult males in the family group.  It was standing room only.  Everyone present - with the help of a translator for the non-English speaking adults - was made aware of the accusations against the boys,  what steps (including the review of the cc footage) were taken before the meeting was called, and what would happen if the behavior continued.  One of the details she shared was how stony-faced some of the older men became as they listened to the translator tell them the cc footage showed the boys waiting for the girls outside the teen club and then following them when the girls emerged. At another point, one of the boys tried to speak out of turn to deny something (can't remember what) they were recorded doing, and one of the father's (maybe the most senior family member since, as she described him, he was the one sitting accross from her at her desk) shot up his hand in the gesture of "Stop!" and the boy stopped speaking immediately and  became very still.  

 

I doubt this situation would have been handled as quickly and definitely if there weren't CC cameras everywhere on the ship! A couple days after the sit-down with the boys' family,  I asked my daughter if she's had anymore trouble with the boys.  She laughed and said, "No, in fact,  I was getting ice cream and I saw one of the boys walk my way,  see me and immediately turn around and walk in the other direction!" 

 

 

[Lois R]

Silent Penguin, good to know the cruise line took this so seriously and handled it pronto!  

[Kitty Ellas Mom]

Thank you all for your messages.  You have put my mind at ease about this issue.

[tonit964]

I have my first solo cruise in September to Mexico and I've decided to do ship excursions rather than doing my own thing, even though I've been there multiple times, I just feel safer that way.

[eileeshb]

I’ve done a few NCL cruises solo but I’ve also traveled solo extensively for work and volunteering at sports events. Cruising is a great way to travel solo if you are at all nervous. On the cruises I’ve done I’ve done a mix of cruiseline excursions and using independent providers. Generally if the excursion involves a boat I stick to the cruiseline version but if it’s something where I’d have a reasonable chance of using public transport or a taxi as a fallback then I’ll look at cheaper options. I’d obviously be more comfortable going independent when I speak or at least understand the local language. 
I will say that almost every time I’ve done a cruiseline excursion there’s been another solo I’d already met at the evening meet-ups also on it. On my last cruise there were at least 6 solos on one of the excursions I did and four+ on another one. 
 

btw the studio cabins are not just used by solo solos, they’re also used by adult children, a solo grandparent, adult siblings or just good friends who don’t want to share a room.  So if you’re seen going into that area it doesn’t mean you’re alone. Most of the time on my cruises there was another solo I’d already met going in or out , plus there’s room stewards and other crew using the corridors so even without the cameras the chances of something going unseen are pretty remote.