Senior Single Cruising

[gertz]

My husband and I did 30 cruises on Princess and he died of cancer. I'm thinking of booking a shorter cruise and test the water since I really enjoyed cruising and listening to the water while sitting on the balcony. The only drawback is Princess doesn't have any single rooms you have to pay double. I'm concerned about feeling alone in a pond of doubles. I've heard go on tours get active on the ship. Any suggestions out there. Thanks appreciate any help

[john watson]

There is a solo section on this website giving various tips.  In general, though having sailed alone on occasions I should dine on shared tables at dinner and if possible breakfast and or lunch too.  The solo travellers coffee mornings are worth looking in on.  You often find contacts to chat with from time to time in this way.  Organised games such as carpet bowls or elevator roulette on sea days are amusing.  Check the daily patter to make sure you get to bingo, trivia quizzes or whatever works for you.

 

Regards John

[mtnesterz]

Sorry for your loss.

Norwegian has single rooms for solo travellers.

Oceania offers a deal for solo travellers, but I don't know what it is.

There are two widows cruising together on our upcoming, on Princess. How they met I don't know, but I've heard there are websites where people can find travel partners.

You might enjoy reading this article.

https://travel.usnews.com/features/the-top-cruise-lines-for-solo-travelers

[skynight]

While single cabins may save you some money they will not handle the real concerns. The only way to determine if you enjoy cruising alone is to try it. With 30 cruises you know what you enjoy, so just try it. Meet people and just join up. The roll call can be helpful.

[Ellipooh]

I'm in the same boat as you (see what i did there?).  I have been on a couple of cruises since my DH died, with mixed results.  Is it as much fun? Of course not, not even close.  But it's still a cruise, it's still a vacation, and it's all part of the process.  And you'll likely find a fair number of other solo cruisers (for one reason or another) on board.  

 

The suggestion to enjoy your meals with others is a good one, with one caveat: The natural tendency of others is to ask if you're traveling alone, and that means (repeatedly) explaining why you are alone, which can be upsetting and awkward for everyone.  So much so for me, that I have started dining alone just to avoid a still very difficult subject.  Maybe I'll grow into it.

 

But meanwhile I am still cruising.  I'd encourage you to give it a try, even if you end up in a smaller cabin than you're used to.  Just go and see what happens!

[john watson]

4 minutes ago, Ellipooh said:

 

 

The suggestion to enjoy your meals with others is a good one, with one caveat: The natural tendency of others is to ask if you're traveling alone, and that means (repeatedly) explaining why you are alone, which can be upsetting and awkward for everyone.  So much so for me, that I have started dining alone just to avoid a still very difficult subject.  

 

I think the trick is to say yes I'm on my own on this one and leave it at that.  There is no compulsion on explaining why.  If they come back at you talk about the flights problem which some people have or answer a question with a question..

 

 

Regards John

[SCX22]

My experience with solo sailings is through a friend who cruises with us as a solo (in their own separate cabin, of course) on occasion.   My first recommendation is to find friends that you can cruise with. Unfortunately, post restart, there are very few cruises with reduced single supplements.  Many of the sailings out of Vancouver and Whittier to Alaska have reduced single supplements.  Drop and Go rates within final payment can sometimes yield reduced single supplements especially on long sailings (4/5/24 Sapphire Princess 32 days South Pacific RT out of LA, for example).

[walkingsoon]

"you have to pay double"

 

Not always. You might want to check out *****.com or cruiseplum.com. They both have specific pages for solo travelers seeking a cheaper solo supplement. On the Princess website's own cruise search page you can plug in "1 guest", sort according to price, and find deals that have reduced or even nonexistent supplements, though ***** might point you in the right direction more efficiently.

 

NCL has single cabins but I've found them to be no less expensive (though obviously smaller) than their corresponding full size inside cabins. I found the attached lounges for the singles area to be disappointing, so I usually just booked a regular cabin.

 

If you are indeed finding that Princess is insisting on 100% solo supplements, you might check some of the luxury lines, such as Seabourn or Silversea which seem to do better than the mass market lines when it comes to solo travelers. 

 

I believe you can interact with as many or as few other passengers as you choose. I wish you well on your planning and future cruises. 🙂

 

Walkingsoon

[Chad_O]

So sorry for your loss. I would urge you to go. There have been many great suggestions to fill your time on board. Meals would be the hardest time but i suspect that just mentioning it was your first cruise after your loss will have people rally around you. I am sure your husband would want you to go and enjoy yourself. I would suggest travelling with a small photo of you two together so he can still share the experience. A further suggestion from a friend was to follow her example and take a journal. She did this after the loss of her husband and essentially wrote him letters about her days and had remembrances of their times together. She said there were so many good memories that came to mind that it was as if her husband was there with her. I hope you are able to go and I hope you have a wonderful time.

[phabric]

I have sailed solo a few times.

- I brought my book/Kindle to read while waiting in the theater or dining room/buffet.

- In the buffet, leave something on the chair or table if you get up for more food, otherwise they think you have left and will clear the table.  

- In the theater, I would ask the person next to me, “where are you from” sometimes that would continue on to a conversation.

- I took Princess excursions, I would tell the person beside me, “make sure they don’t leave without me”.

- Join our Roll Call

[seeyouinthesun]

I have cruised solo for most of my cruises. I would look on the cruisplum web site to find low or no supplement cruises. 
 

in my case, I have found the solo cabins to be more expensive than a full size interior cabin even with the solo supplement. So always look to see if you are getting the best value and not just that you are saving the cost of the supplement. 

[gertz]

Thanks all for your reply. I remembered who we worked with on last cruise 2020 and she's still there Jeannie. Think I'll look at something familiar like Alaska and look for a balcony. After doing nothing but mini suites wouldn't consider no balcony. Nothing like sitting there with a glass of wine bundled up with a blanket listening to the water. 

[Ombud]

I am a solo cruiser 90% of the time. I never find it difficult. 1st: there's a solo group that meets each evening and often for lunch. 2nd: people are really friendly. There's mahjong, other games every morning, crafts, and trivia .... just join in at any table. 3rd: if you don't want to fine alone then tell the DR that you want to share a table. Conversation flows (I prefer to be on a 2 top next to 2 tops. We eat "together" but each table goes at its own speed)

[cruise4mom]

On 2/19/2024 at 4:06 PM, gertz said:

My husband and I did 30 cruises on Princess and he died of cancer. I'm thinking of booking a shorter cruise and test the water since I really enjoyed cruising and listening to the water while sitting on the balcony. The only drawback is Princess doesn't have any single rooms you have to pay double. I'm concerned about feeling alone in a pond of doubles. I've heard go on tours get active on the ship. Any suggestions out there. Thanks appreciate any help

Princess’ ew ship the Sun has 4 solo cabins. Look up the cruises for that boat and see if you can get one. You will also have the advantage of sailing on a brand new ship. 

[avonlady6390]

Those single cabins are more expensive than a regular inside cabin or even an ocean view plus they are smaller I would not book one of those on the Sun or Star princess I don't see how princess is thinking with those prices it's cheaper to just pay double supplement.

[gertz]

Think I'm going to go for it. Mini Suite Jan 6 port Canaveral not a terribly exciting itinerary, but the ports or good, been there done that but I'm going for watching the ocean and just swim as much as possible. Figured the Widows VA benefit will pay for this one and if all goes well I'll go somewhere new next year. One thing I can fit into my cruise clothes after two years of being care giver and favorite food half peanut butter sandwich. After that I don't eat meat anymore or drink it all tastes bad. Looking forward to it though. It will be cold here then.

[mya603]

On 2/19/2024 at 3:06 PM, gertz said:

My husband and I did 30 cruises on Princess and he died of cancer. I'm thinking of booking a shorter cruise and test the water since I really enjoyed cruising and listening to the water while sitting on the balcony. The only drawback is Princess doesn't have any single rooms you have to pay double. I'm concerned about feeling alone in a pond of doubles. I've heard go on tours get active on the ship. Any suggestions out there. Thanks appreciate any help

My husband passed in 2012.  Did my first solo cruise in 2015.  Loved it!  The freedom to do what I wanted to on the ship and on land was awesome!  I did choose to join other people at dinner.  I did walk up every night. And then and in cruises since then I've met some wonderful people.  Don't' be afraid to go.  There will be times you feel lonely, but immerse yourself in the activities onboard and enjoy!

[nasa1974]

5 hours ago, gertz said:

Think I'm going to go for it. Mini Suite Jan 6 port Canaveral not a terribly exciting itinerary, but the ports or good, been there done that but I'm going for watching the ocean and just swim as much as possible. Figured the Widows VA benefit will pay for this one and if all goes well I'll go somewhere new next year. One thing I can fit into my cruise clothes after two years of being care giver and favorite food half peanut butter sandwich. After that I don't eat meat anymore or drink it all tastes bad. Looking forward to it though. It will be cold here then.

gertz, sorry for your loss.

My wife passed in November 2021.It was around August of 2022 I decided to try and get on a cruise ship again. My first cruise solo was in March of 2023 and then again in October of 2023. I now have 7 more cruises scheduled. It was a different experience for sure. But unless you try it you won't know if you'll like it. Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

[gertz]

I am so looking forward to my cruise. I'm sick of hearing we're sorry and having to tell the same stuff how things happened. To make it worse I have two feet of snow in my front yard. Plus it's extremely heavy and still coming down through the morning. Last time we had this much was 21 years ago and I was still working. Couldn't leave for a week. It's a shame they've gone so casual on the formal nights. My husband was such eye candy in his tux. 

[Essiesmom]

For years I cruised both with my sister, and solo because, though a year younger, I retired several years earlier.  We led very different lives, but when we got together, we could finish each other’s sentences.  Before cruising took over my vacations I did some worldwide adventure travel.  And some of the greatest pleasure was coming home and sharing my experiences.  With cruising, it sort of became my mission to show her the world I had traveled and she wished she had.  Since her passing two years ago, my problem is that I have no one to share the experiences with.  I have cruised five times since, but the experience is just not quite the same.  EM

[Eric from San Diego]

On 2/19/2024 at 1:06 PM, gertz said:

My husband and I did 30 cruises on Princess and he died of cancer. I'm thinking of booking a shorter cruise and test the water since I really enjoyed cruising and listening to the water while sitting on the balcony. The only drawback is Princess doesn't have any single rooms you have to pay double. I'm concerned about feeling alone in a pond of doubles. I've heard go on tours get active on the ship. Any suggestions out there. Thanks appreciate any help

Just my two cents, but i would avoid 7 day cruises.  They tend to be filled with families, organized groups and children who stick together and don't mix much.   I have traveled on these with my husband and we usually end up talking only to ourselves.   When you take 21+ day cruises you'll find more singles and couples who are happy to mingle.  They also have a lot more 4 and 5 star cruisers who love to talk about their past cruises (and how the cruise lines have cut back on everything and not what they used to be).

Edited March 14 by Eric from San Diego

[Justpackingmybags]

As another solo cruiser, I can recommend a longer cruise! My first big cruise since my husband passed was a TA last November. With there being lots of sea days, I joined the Princess Pop Choir & made some lovely friends doing that. I ate when I wanted, with or without company. You can always take a book with you to pretend you’re reading while people watching on days when you don’t feel like talking. It’s a different holiday, but still a good one. Good luck 🤞🏻