Travelling (sort of) solo

[ZambeziZelda]

I've made this post a lot more generic because *reasons*.

Basically, I'm sailing with a friend, but due to reasons, I will be alone for the majority of the cruise. This makes me a little nervous, tbh. Is anyone able to share reasons why sailing basically solo is AMAZING? Or give me tips on how to enjoy myself alone?

Thanks!

 

[PrincessShmoo]

problem solved

 

[Dug720]

Sailing solo is AWESOME!!! YOU get to set your schedule - if you don't want to do something, no one is going to drag you to do it - or make your life miserable whining that they didn't get to because you didn't want to. Solo dining you get spoiled rotten - especially in Palo.

I'm so used to traveling (cruising or otherwise) solo that as much as I love my family, I feel cramped when I'm traveling with them. Yes, I'm taking my parents on the Magic in Feb - but we have an understanding that we can do whatever we want other than meals...well, dinners.

Don't be afraid to spend time with yourself! Traveling solo rocks!!!

 

[ZambeziZelda]

That's a good point. I am posting completely anonymously, but to be safe I'll just delete the thread. I'm a super lurker and have no idea how to do so, can you tell me how to do that?

 

[PrincessShmoo]

That's a good point. I am posting completely anonymously, but to be safe I'll just delete the thread. I'm a super lurker and have no idea how to do so, can you tell me how to do that?

You can't delete a whole thread. You can edit your post (click on "edit" at bottom left of your post) and remove what you'd like.

 

[Dug720]

That's a good point. I am posting completely anonymously, but to be safe I'll just delete the thread. I'm a super lurker and have no idea how to do so, can you tell me how to do that?

Just edit your post ant take out the details. Just make it asking about cruising solo.

 

[ZambeziZelda]

Thanks guys

 

[ZambeziZelda]

Sailing solo is AWESOME!!! YOU get to set your schedule - if you don't want to do something, no one is going to drag you to do it - or make your life miserable whining that they didn't get to because you didn't want to. Solo dining you get spoiled rotten - especially in Palo.

I'm so used to traveling (cruising or otherwise) solo that as much as I love my family, I feel cramped when I'm traveling with them. Yes, I'm taking my parents on the Magic in Feb - but we have an understanding that we can do whatever we want other than meals...well, dinners.

Don't be afraid to spend time with yourself! Traveling solo rocks!!!

That's awesome! Thanks Now that you mention it...when I sailed with my fiance, he was all about doing nothing and I wanted to do EVERYTHING. So it will definitely be nice not feeling like I'm dragging someone around when I do exactly what I want!

 

[Maggie'sMom]

I am in total agreement with Dug720. I've done many solo trips but only one solo cruise. I absolutely loved the solo cruise and would jump at the chance to do another one. I booked a verandah room and spent some time relaxing on my verandah with a book. I hung out in the rainforest room and enjoyed the tiled loungers. I did mixology and wine tasting classes. I went to the shows (of course) and managed to catch a movie as well. I hung out at Serenity Bay on CC, under an umbrella with a drink and my book again. I also did the snorkeling excursion on CC where they take you out to a reef on a boat. While it was fun, I later decided I would have rather just used that time to do more relaxing.

Go into it with an open mind and a willingness to try things and you'll have a blast!

 

[FigmentSpark]

Spa, fitness center, shows, Rainforest room, meet and greets (they're not just for kids, right?) Palo or Remy, Bingo, Mixologies, Pool time, aquaduck. Whatever feels right.

You may be solo, but you can meet new people. Is your friend joining you for meals? Do you have a private table or will you be sitting with others? You may meet people that way. Actually, I find it easier to strike up a conversation with someone when I'm not with people.

No matter what, don't feel like you shouldn't attend things just because you're alone and so many people aren't. Have fun, enjoy everything offered. Dress up for pirate night. Rent a bike or go snorkeling on Castaway Cay... or just pull up a chair, towel and the sunscreen. Take excursions, but maybe stay with a group, unless you're a confident traveler in foreign ports on your own.

 

[FigmentSpark]

I thought of something else.

Why not keep a journal and then add in photos and maybe save pages for autographs to make a keepsake for yourself. Of just write a journal for yourself of your thoughts. Do you like photography? Get yourself a great camera and practice using it on the ship. There's so much to photograph, from scenery to people, ports, wildlife, if you're lucky, characters, etc. Basically, whatever you do at home for relaxation, find a way to bring it onto the ship.

I once saw a woman knitting in line at Test Track (carried a ball of yarn in her purse and stashed her needles and project when it was time to get on the ride). If a person can knit in line, you certainly can bring crafts or hobbies on board a ship.

 

[Dug720]

I am in total agreement with Dug720. I've done many solo trips but only one solo cruise. I absolutely loved the solo cruise and would jump at the chance to do another one. I booked a verandah room and spent some time relaxing on my verandah with a book. I hung out in the rainforest room and enjoyed the tiled loungers. I did mixology and wine tasting classes. I went to the shows (of course) and managed to catch a movie as well. I hung out at Serenity Bay on CC, under an umbrella with a drink and my book again. I also did the snorkeling excursion on CC where they take you out to a reef on a boat. While it was fun, I later decided I would have rather just used that time to do more relaxing.

Go into it with an open mind and a willingness to try things and you'll have a blast!

I usually book ocean view, but I've discovered the loungers on the Promenade deck and can hang out there for hours reading. (Even when I got assigned a verandah through a GTY booking I went to those loungers over my own - just more comfy!!) Rainforest Room - YES! Mixology and/or tastings? YES!! (Only down side is you don't get the extra drink/part of a drink if your companion doesn't drink or like the drink... ) Shows - I go to the Disney ones. I'm not into so-called comedians or magicians so I avoid those shows like the plague. Movies - check! Especially the later at night ones when not as many people are there (obviously excluding any Premi-EAR where the place would be packed.) And big time YES to Serenity Bay!! Last DCL cruise I managed to get there early enough to snag a hammock and even though I was bundled in a hoodie with a beach towel wrapped around my legs (it was chilly and windy courtesy of the weather pattern we were calling the Polar Vortex in the US, but still...I was on Castaway Cay and Serenity Bay!!) it was heavenly!!

Again, you can do as little or as much as you want - and the best thing is no one is whining that you're dragging them around or that you're being a weight on their plans!

 

[egesicki]

Sailing solo is AWESOME!!! YOU get to set your schedule - if you don't want to do something, no one is going to drag you to do it - or make your life miserable whining that they didn't get to because you didn't want to. Solo dining you get spoiled rotten - especially in Palo.

I'm so used to traveling (cruising or otherwise) solo that as much as I love my family, I feel cramped when I'm traveling with them. Yes, I'm taking my parents on the Magic in Feb - but we have an understanding that we can do whatever we want other than meals...well, dinners.

Don't be afraid to spend time with yourself! Traveling solo rocks!!!

Spoiled rotten in Palo? How so? I have Palo booked solo and a small part of me is tempted not to go because I felt it might be awkward.

 

[Dug720]

Spoiled rotten in Palo? How so? I have Palo booked solo and a smsll part of me is tempted not to go because I felt it might be awkward.

Do you plan on eating in the MDRs? Just curious why you'd think Palo would be more awkward than the MDRs...

But either way it is not awkward at all!!

In Palo, I think every person who passed the table spoke to me, check in on me, made sure everything was fine - there were some who weren't even my server who would bring things over to me - extra antipasti, they'd notice an empty glass and come over with a new one (water or soda...they weren't randomly bringing wine I'd have to pay for), etc. And my server was always amazing as well - often times being solo they will take extra time and chat with you. Both times at dinner I've been given one of the roundish booths so that I'm not sitting out in the center of the room. But even if I was...

NO ONE cares who other people are there with!! And even if people are judgy about you being solo, that is all about THEM and not about YOU.

Go and enjoy yourself!!!

(FWIW, one time I saw a couple I'd seen in Palo at a tasting later in the cruise, and the woman and I talked a good bit and she actually said she was impressed that I'd "dare to try going alone" and how she could never do it, and I felt really sad for her because she was so stuck in "must-be-coupled" mode she couldn't imagine ever been on her own.)

 

[egesicki]

Do you plan on eating in the MDRs? Just curious why you'd think Palo would be more awkward than the MDRs...

But either way it is not awkward at all!!

In Palo, I think every person who passed the table spoke to me, check in on me, made sure everything was fine - there were some who weren't even my server who would bring things over to me - extra antipasti, they'd notice an empty glass and come over with a new one (water or soda...they weren't randomly bringing wine I'd have to pay for), etc. And my server was always amazing as well - often times being solo they will take extra time and chat with you. Both times at dinner I've been given one of the roundish booths so that I'm not sitting out in the center of the room. But even if I was...

NO ONE cares who other people are there with!! And even if people are judgy about you being solo, that is all about THEM and not about YOU.

Go and enjoy yourself!!!

(FWIW, one time I saw a couple I'd seen in Palo at a tasting later in the cruise, and the woman and I talked a good bit and she actually said she was impressed that I'd "dare to try going alone" and how she could never do it, and I felt really sad for her because she was so stuck in "must-be-coupled" mode she couldn't imagine ever been on her own.)

Thanks, that gives me a better idea. This trip DH is not going, just me and kids, so MDRs will be the three of us.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Spoiled rotten in Palo? How so? I have Palo booked solo and a smsll part of me is tempted not to go because I felt it might be awkward.

I haven't been solo in Palo, but I can tell you being solo in MDR and at a breakfast in Triton's made me feel like Belle in the castle. When I was alone, I was constantly checked on and had things refreshed. There were times when there would be a server on each side of me trying to do stuff for me. While it was unexpected and I kept thinking, "I'm Belle from Beauty and the Beast." It was completely different service than when I was dining with others.

 

[Dug720]

I haven't been solo in Palo, but I can tell you being solo in MDR and at a breakfast in Triton's made me feel like Belle in the castle. When I was alone, I was constantly checked on and had things refreshed. There were times when there would be a server on each side of me trying to do stuff for me. While it was unexpected and I kept thinking, "I'm Belle from Beauty and the Beast." It was completely different service than when I was dining with others.

YES!! Very much the same in Palo!!

 

[kiford]

My parents often did separate things on cruises for large portions of the time. My mother had issues walking (two knee replacements) and wasn't always as enthused about some of the port tours as my dad so my dad would go alone and my mom would stay on board and do her own thing for the day. My dad would go to the gym but my mom wouldn't. They'd go to the casino together but spend their time in completely different areas because each had different interests there.

DH and I will often do different things at the same time. We'll sometimes sit on the loungers on Deck 4 reading and will go a couple of hours without talking to each other. Or we'll sit somewhere reading and one or the other of us will say we're going somewhere for a few minutes (get a drink, take pictures, go into the hot tub, whatever) which then then turns into a long period of time because they got distracted or interested in something or got into conversation with someone. Unless we've got something planned at a particular time, we never worry - they'll be back eventually; sometimes we don't even really notice that we're alone. We're a couple, happily married for over 27 years but we don't feel joined at the hip so are both perfectly happy to do stuff together or not, depending on how we feel. Many of the activities allow you to interact with others, or not as you choose, whether you're alone or not.

We've had conversations with people at various activities, in the pool, on deck, at the theatre, and events who are cruising single, doing their own thing even though they're with someone, and single parents whose kids won't leave the clubs so who are effectively cruising single for a large portion of the time. It's not always possible to tell who is cruising solo and who is temporarily solo. It's what we love about cruising. You can do as much or as little as you want, with or without others, whether you came solo or are temporarily solo. You can be as sociable as you want to be or won't want to be.

What kind of things can you do solo - pretty much the same as what you can do not solo. Tastings, trivia, pool time, reading in various locations, movies, afternoon naps, port excursions, cooking demos, talks, ship tours, chatting to others, staring out at the ocean, spa, gym. The list is endless.

 

[SnowWhite2]

When I was on a business trip to Orlando I couldn't get a flight home the day the meeting ended so I had to tough it out until the next day which was a Friday. I figured why not just spend the day at WDW and then go home. I was able to go to MK and DHS by myself and it was the best day ever. No strollers to push, no one whining about what they want to do...it was decadent. BTW, my DH is a wonderful guy and took on the kids for another day alone at home. Because of that experience, I'd love to go on a cruise by myself but my family is too in love with DCL to let me cruise solo.

 

[Sir William]

...

DH and I will often do different things at the same time. We'll sometimes sit on the loungers on Deck 4 reading and will go a couple of hours without talking to each other. Or we'll sit somewhere reading and one or the other of us will say we're going somewhere for a few minutes (get a drink, take pictures, go into the hot tub, whatever) which then then turns into a long period of time because they got distracted or interested in something or got into conversation with someone. Unless we've got something planned at a particular time, we never worry - they'll be back eventually; sometimes we don't even really notice that we're alone. We're a couple, happily married for over 27 years but we don't feel joined at the hip so are both perfectly happy to do stuff together or not, depending on how we feel. Many of the activities allow you to interact with others, or not as you choose, whether you're alone or not.

We've had conversations with people at various activities, in the pool, on deck, at the theatre, and events who are cruising single, doing their own thing even though they're with someone, and single parents whose kids won't leave the clubs so who are effectively cruising single for a large portion of the time. It's not always possible to tell who is cruising solo and who is temporarily solo. It's what we love about cruising. You can do as much or as little as you want, with or without others, whether you came solo or are temporarily solo. You can be as sociable as you want to be or won't want to be.

What kind of things can you do solo - pretty much the same as what you can do not solo. Tastings, trivia, pool time, reading in various locations, movies, afternoon naps, port excursions, cooking demos, talks, ship tours, chatting to others, staring out at the ocean, spa, gym. The list is endless.

Pretty much our experience as well. DW likes to sit by the pool and read, I prefer to read on our veranda. I like to attend the shows, but she doesn't so we meet afterward in our room to get ready for dinner and enjoy a glass of wine. We've even taken separate excursions. Often we don't see each other for hours at a time but that that doesn't bother us as we are both enjoying ourselves.