stocktrader31707

Hi everyone. I'm new here as I was looking over various vacations for those of us who travel alone and I came across this site. I wanted to make a suggestion to everyone about booking thru a singles cruise agency and going on a singles cruise, unless of course, you're married..lol. They will usually match you up with a roommate so you won't have to pay that single supplement.

I know everyone here prefers to have their own room, etc., but the way I see it, I can put up with anyone for a week, especially when I dont plan to hang out in the room except for 5-6 hours when I sleep at night.

I don't mind traveling alone but I do prefer to at least have the best of both worlds once in awhile and have the option of other people to hang out with if I want. And other single people at that. Not a bunch of married couples, who probably wouldn't want some single guy hanging out with them anyway ..lol.

Maybe there are other single men on here who can relate to the fact that people don't seem to be as open to a single man traveling alone as they might be to a woman traveling alone, possibly thinking you're some kind of criminal. I don't know, just my experience.

I love the singles cruises and would highly recommend one to anyone who is single and wishes to travel alone, but doesn't want to pay the single supplement or be completely alone the entire trip.

suze

Interesting perspective... but I don't want to share a room with a stranger. No way!! I do hang out in my hotel room, to read, rest, relax, a whole lot more than 5-6 hours of sleep time. If I want company, it is easy enough to chat someone up around the pool or on the beach. For me to share a room would completely spoil the relaxation of a vacation, way too potentially stressful (for me).

thursdaysd

While I am willing to share, but on tours not cruises. I get totally bored on boats, and avoid cruises. But I do occasionally take a tour (Smithsonian, Intrepid, Rick Steves), and have only once had an inconsiderate roommate. Usually they turn into friends.

CubFanAlways

Welcome, Stocktrader. I’ve thought many times about going on a cruse through singlescruise.com. I think it would be a great way to meet other singles because, as you say, would married couples want a single guy hanging around? Probably not and I can’t blame them.

Roommate? I’m with Suze on this. Positively no way. I’m not a 5-6 hour sleeper, but a full 8. Plus some down time as Suze indicates. To be more accurate, if it were 30 minutes, my answer would still be “no way.” But, to each their own, so I admire your ability to more flexible than I’ll ever have any interest in being

I look at the prices at (for example) singlescruise.com and double it. If someday I decide to pull the trigger, it will be with paying double, or perhaps 170%, in mind.

Hmmm. Maybe we should arrange a cruise for us single folks? \/

toedtoes

As a kid, I was in 4-H and went to many leadership conferences where they bunked you with members from different clubs.

I found that I had about a 25/70/5 percent chance of what I got:

25% horrible
70% nice and acceptable
5% great

With the 25% being so bad that I couldn't sleep from their partying, etc., I have found it's not worth it for me to share with an unknown person.

I really like having my own room, but with the right person that I know ahead of time, I can make it happen.

Thursdaysd - how have you liked the Smithsonian tours? I get their brochures all the time and some of them sound very interesting. I'm starting to pass the brochures on to my nieces as a way to inspire them to travel.

thursdaysd

toedtoes - I only did one Smithsonian tour - my first trip to China. They're really out of my price range these days - and they are more "tour" and less independent than I like.

Good points: good study leader and tour guide, very good food, comfortable hotels, educational, interesting and well-traveled tour members.

Bad points: I felt like I was in a coccoon - the tour guide nearly had a fit when I wanted to ride the Beijing metro! The group was bigger than I like - over 30. We wore name tags (ugh!!) Too many shopping opportunities.

On sharing rooms - I'm OK with one roommate, but I discovered doing hostels in NZ (I had sticker shock after Asia) that I can't cope with more than one. Just too noisy. And really, I'd rather share the bathroom than the bedroom, but I also don't want to pay single supplements.

suze

Heck these days I don't usually even share the room with my own traveling companion! If we are in a destination we can afford a two bedroom apartment or separate rooms in a cheaper hotel.

stocktrader31707

Thanks for your replies. It's hard to find other solo travelers around, so I'm glad I stumbled across this site. CubFan: I have traveled with singlescruise.com and it was a blast both times! My first time was in 2005 and I had a roommate who drank like a fish...lol. I don't drink at all, but I do stay out late at night in the clubs on the ship. And even though our drinking habits weren't the same, we got along great. I don't think you have to be exactly like the other person in order to get along. Just respect each others' differences and have a good time.

The ship has a pool, exercise room, basketball goal, dance clubs, etc and I also enjoy parasailing, snorkeling, kayaking, etc., at the various ports of call, so I never really get bored on or off the ship. Singles cruise also has speed dating/cocktail parties where you can meet other singles who booked thru the agency. But, you dont have to attend if you don't want to. That's the good thing about it; you're not obligated to be with anyone else, but you have that option instead of doing everything by yourself or in a group full of married couples, which especially isn't fun for me.

Any other suggestions/advice for a good 1 week vacation for an active single guy will be appreciated.

suze

stocktrader, I've done that (good solo active one week) in both Waikiki and Puerto Vallarta. Just on my own, not as part of a package or anything.

toedtoes

I've done them in Canada. I think it comes down to figuring out what activities you feel comfortable doing on your own (and/or by yourself) and creating a vacation to fit.

For me, I love photography, so I am able to spend many hours tooling around outdoors taking photographs by myself. Then I add in some sightseeing, etc. to round out the trip.

Or sometimes, I do it in reverse and figure out all the sightseeing and then adding in photography time to round out the trip.

JBHapgood

stocktrader, my experience as a solo male is similar to yours. Couples, families, and groups mostly ignore me (and I almost never see any other solo travelers of either sex). They don't seem interested in conversing with me no matter how friendly I try to be in approaching them. If we're to believe the joyful accounts women write about all the friendly new people they meet, a solo man very likely is perceived and treated differently from a solo woman.

I recently took my first cruise. I went alone, and paid a 100% penalty for my own cabin. But it was a short cruise just to try it out, and the bottom line was still reasonable. As far as I could tell, I was the only "soloist" on board. As usual, the couples, families, and groups stuck to themselves and ignored me, as did the two couples at my dining room table. The only people willing to chat with me were seniors; but when I revealed that I was alone there were pained or pitying expressions followed by "You must be very brave. I could never do that." The only people who earned my gratitude for being genuinely friendly were a gay couple, who presumably "bonded" with me because they were also "odd men out," albeit in a different way from me (there was nothing remotely lascivious). But even they told me that they would never have the guts to cruise alone. Since I have lots of experience being ignored as the only solo traveler around, I still had a reasonably good time. But I was led to believe that people on cruises were unusually friendly, so my expectations weren't met. Now I know.

I would consider cruising again only if I could go with a good friend (or preferably a "special lady friend&quot who was compatible enough to share a tiny cabin. There is no way I would consider sharing with an unknown stranger as an alternative to paying double. It's difficult enough sharing small accommodations with someone I know well. I have also learned the hard way that good friends don't always make good travel companions (and good travel companions are seldom available). I know that some assigned roommates get along very well, and even become good friends who take subsequent cruises together. But I have never had a pleasant experience with an assigned roommate, which makes the risk unacceptable. That's not what a vacation is about.

A singles cruise sounds like a good idea, if only to avoid the "lost at sea" experience I had being alone on a ship full of couples and groups. But every singles cruise I've looked at offers only the usual options of "roommate roulette" or paying double. A singles cruise with single cabins at reasonable rates would indeed be "the best of both worlds." Unfortunately, the current business model for cruises (which relies on filling cabins with people who spend lots of money on extra-cost items) makes such a thing impossible.

CubFanAlways

Thanks for the information, Stocktrader, much appreciated. Maybe I will go!

Suze, here I was thinking about the unpleasantness of rooming up with a stranger, and I forgot “oh my gosh, there are people I know and love, yet I wouldn’t want to share a room with!” LOL.

JP, while I haven’t been on a cruise, I know exactly what you mean. Well written. I have got the “you must be brave” talk and I know that it’s intended as a compliment. It’s just that it places the spotlight on being alone.

I’ve even offered to pay the way for a lady friend who could not afford a vacation (just friends, and have been for years), citing that I’m going to have to pay twice anyway. No luck.

Sometimes I think it’s easier for a man to travel alone. I can walk into a bar and have a drink and lunch no one thinks anything of it. I’m guessing that’s it’s not as easy for the ladies. But I’ll bet on a cruise ship it’s the opposite. I can’t even back up my own logic on that statement, but that’s what I sense.

toedtoes

For what it's worth, we women get the "you're so brave" bit also, along with the "oh, I know just the man for you" offers. In that respect, I think we're the same.

However, I definitely understand the "man alone" stigma and due to previous posts by JPHapgood, I have been working on changing my initial instinct of "run away, and run as fast as you can!" when I see a solo man. I haven't encountered one yet, so we have yet to see how successfull I am.

thursdaysd

Single travelers of either sex traveling alone (i.e. not on a tour) are remarkably thin on the ground. I (female) have encountered a few, and actually joined up with a single guy a couple of times for a few days (in Goa and Southwest China). But in both cases they were a couple of decades younger than I am. I hear the "you're so brave" line often, although I don't think I'm at all brave, and usually say so.

stocktrader31707

Wow, thanks again for all of your responses. JB: you hit the nail on the head with the "you're so brave" comments..lol. Before I ever found out about singles cruises, I went on one by myself and constantly heard that. In addition to that, I was seated at a couples table for dinner...yuck. I have no problem traveling alone, as long as there are others around me who are also alone, be they male or female. I definitely felt like the "odd man out" on my solo non-singles cruise and I have to say I will never do that again. And yes, us men are perceived differently when we're alone than a woman who is alone, at least from my personal experience. Just because I'm alone doesn't make me a criminal..lol.

To me, the ideal vacation is one where I can meet up with alot of other single people and we can all do our own thing and/or do it as a group. That way we always have the option, yet we're not obligated to be together ALL the time. This may sound mean, but I just don't want to be around any couples on my vacation.

Femi

JB I went solo on a river cruise (in Burma), and had no lack of company. I was told by one passenger that the English try to make an effort to include everyone and this was truly the case.

I liked it so much that I've signed up for another cruise next year on the vessel 'Island Sky', hoping for the same results.

Brian

I've enjoyed reading this thread and can really relate to it. The last few years I've been going to jungle lodges in Costa Rica which include daily activities like hiking, kayaking and the like, and found that traveling alone is easier that way. During the day you are with a group on the tours and you get to know many of the other guests. Dinner is usually at large tables at a set time, so you are never dining alone. Yes, dining this way is a little awkward at first, even for the non-solo guests. However, people who go to places like this tend to be very easy-going and quite friendly. I know this sort of vacation does not appeal to everyone.

I've never really considered going on a regular cruise vacation alone, but have considered a Windjammer cruise, especially the one which sails the waters off Panama. It wouldn't necessarily have to be one of their singles cruises. They will assign a roommate if you wish to avoid the single supplement. Like most of you, I don't think I could handle having a complete stranger for a roommate, especially one who stays out all night long drinking. The alternative is to pay 175-200% of the double rate to get a single cabin, if there is one available.

JBHapgood

stocktrader, I don't look to meet a lot of single people on a vacation. For that matter, I'm not looking to meet people at all, although I'm grateful for those (very rare) times when it happens. For one thing, I've never been on a vacation with a lot of single people. For another thing, the only times I <i>have</i> been with a lot of single people were at &quot;singles activities&quot; like mixers, dances, hikes, etc. A week of that trapped on a cruise ship would be closer to my idea of Hell than a nice vacation!

I don't mind spending a vacation alone, since that's what I'm used to (although it isn't what I prefer). However, I didn't find it much fun to be alone in a large crowd of people who were clustered in couples and groups having a good time and ignoring me. That's not a pleasant experience. But I'm still glad I did it, since it lets me truly congratulate myself on my bravery!

While I can understand why you would want to avoid couples (mainly because they tend to avoid even the bravest of solo males), I would not have any problem being with a couple or a group of couples if they were friendly and welcoming to me, and included me in their activities without remarking on my bravery. The gay couple on my cruise were friendly and welcoming, after all. But the two couples with whom I shared a dinner table definitely were not. One was a young couple who were so wrapped up in lovey-dovey smooching and cuddling that they ignored not just me but everything else (and made me rather unconfortable). The other couple had little to say to anyone, except the wife once mentioned that she had never heard of anyone taking a cruise alone. I should have requested another table. I didn't do that because I didn't see any tables for six or eight with visible vacancies. But should I ever be in a similar situation, I'll definitely ask for another roll of the dice.

Femi, perhaps it's a matter of choosing the right cruise. I suspect that Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, and the other large lines are concerned only with selling overpriced extras, so they don't bother with trying to make everyone feel included. Computers should make it easy to identify people traveling alone (hint: they paid double) and seat them together in the dining room. But they don't care enough to do that. I suspect the staff of a smaller ship might be more inclined to do that.

Another possibility that comes to mind is a theme cruise. The common interest might be enough to overcome the natural tendency of &quot;normal&quot; couples to ignore or fear brave soloists. But that still has the usual problem of an exorbitant penalty for single occupancy. Either way, I think if you're interested in a cruise you have to make the extra effort to find one that's likely to be welcoming.

suze

I actually found an incredibly interesting companion to share a few meals and drinks and pool time with recently on a Mexican vacation.

We were both traveling solo, on a last-minute vacation, are single, and (shock of all shock) had similar interests. We kicked around together and it was great. But it came about in a natural way.

Femi

JB you're correct in that choosing the correct cruise makes all the difference. I would not consider going on any of the lines you mention.

Open seating for dinner also made quite a difference. Gave me the chance to rotate and get to know other people. In the end everyone had pretty much settled into a permanent seating arrangement. Far more enjoyable than assigned seating.