Senior Travel – Tips For A Single Senior Cruise

Senior Travel | by admin | Comments Off

If you are planning to take a cruise, and plan on going alone, you need to carefully look into it. You will find there is a method to traveling alone. Make your experience a happy one by considering some of the following ideas presented below.

So you are a single senior and are contemplating taking a cruise on your own. First, what are some of your reasons? Are you planning to cruise alone to get away from people? Are you a loner and want to be alone? Do you just want to travel and don’t really want to make new friends? Maybe you are outgoing and want to meet some new friends and therefore want to socialize.

Large cruise ships have thousands of guests and finding solo passengers is more difficult. Even if you meet them while on a shore visit, it can be difficult to reunite with them when back on the cruise ship.
On the other hand, smaller cruise ships can make it easier to make friends with fellow solo travelers. Small ships are more social and you will find yourself seeing the same people over and over again.

So before deciding if a cruise is for you, take some time and figure out what you want from your cruise. Do you want to make some new friends or do you want to be left alone and enjoy your thoughts and take pictures. Remember big ships more anonymity, small ships more social interaction. Keep in mind, smaller ships are more expensive and have more older travelers.

Another problem if you are traveling alone is that accommodations for single travelers is limited. There are fewer cabins for singles. Most newer ships feature cabins for two. There are fewer single cabins and as might be expected, they are more expensive.

This brings up a new term you will run see, “single supplement”, which is a fancy way of saying you will be paying more if you book a cabin for two but occupying it as a single. This fee can be anywhere from 10 percent of the fare to 100 percent, or in other words you are paying the same price as a couple.

One of the ways you might be able to get around this is be flexible. If you can be very flexible on when you take your cruise and can pick up and go at a moments notice, some cruise ship lines will offer solo discounts at the last minute. Always check with your agent for any last minute solo deals.

You might consider sharing a cabin. Some cruise lines offer roommate matching. While there are fewer lines offering this service, you might check into it. They will attempt to pair you with a fellow traveller of the same sex. If this works out, you won’t have to pay the dreaded “supplement”. There are travel related message boards that are used to help match up traveller looking to share expenses.

To summarize, you can have a fun, eventful cruise by traveling alone, but it requires some planning. Take your time and look into it.

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