'People were confused when I went on a solo cruise. But travelling alone was a huge vibe.'

Weekend Editor

October 28, 2023

There's a stereotype about cruising.

I know you know it. You're thinking it right now. Retirees from Florida. Families with little kids.

But friends, there's a new type of traveller coming for the cruising crown. The next-gen of cruising obsessives are just like me. They're the single girlies. The solo sun seekers.

The DI(B)Y cruising business is booming and I'm here to tell you – I get it, and I want in.

I went on my first-ever cruise earlier this year with Celebrity Cruises, and I did it all on my lonesome. (Cue Celine Dion singing 'All By Myself'.) Except 'lonesome' is not even close to the right word for it because it turns out going on a cruise alone is actually a huge vibe.

Watch: The importance of getting back to your ship on time. Post continues below.

Video via Mamamia.

I admit, plenty of people were shocked and/or horrified when I told them I was hitting the cruising scene alone. Even the guy who checked me in on Day One seemed… confused.

Him, smiling broadly: "Who are you travelling with?"

Alix Nicholson

Weekend Editor

October 28, 2023

1 Comments

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Me, also grinning: "Just me!"

Him, struggling to maintain smile: "No! You can't be alone. Really?"

Me: "Yep! Just me!"

Him, gently placing foot into mouth: "You're the only one by yourself! Nobody else is here on their own!"

Me: "Okayhahahahave a nice day then."

No but seriously, despite his deep certainty that I was the ONLY SOLO TRAVELLER on board a ship of more than 3,000 people (I most definitely wasn't), I spied a couple of other people without ~~friends~~ travel buddies as I flitted around. And even if I had been the only person travelling without a group, I would've been A-okay.

Me and all my friends 👀 Image: Supplied.

On board, there was not only a stack of stuff to do, but also plenty of opportunities to meet other travellers, hang out with new peeps and just generally have a great social time.

BUT the advantage of the solo cruise? When I needed a bit of 'me time', I could just head back to my super-lush stateroom (which was honestly so flippin' glam I could've happily spent hours on end in there) for some downtime.

Just to be clear, this wasn't a specific 'singles cruise' (nothing wrong with that, of course, but that wasn't this). But Celebrity Edge (which, just quietly, is heading to Australia and NZ for summer 2023/24) did host solo cruise traveller events on several of the eight nights I was on board, meaning that if you do want to connect directly with other people travelling by themselves, it was super easy.

I admit, I missed them because I was off checking out the other approximately 2,895 things there were to do on (and off) this floating resort. But just know that if you're heading on board alone, you're definitely catered for.

Before you even get on the ship, you can also book in small group tours for each of the ports. Here's where I made a teensy mistake, because I only jumped onto this particular offering on the final day of my cruise, meaning that, had I met the love of my life (or, you know, just someone I wanted to hang out with the next day), I only had… less than 24 hours with them.

So get in nice and early if you want to get in on the onshore tour action, both to lock down the popular trips (these things book out FAST, y'all) and to give you and your soul mate time to get... soul-y.

Of course, there is also a nightclub on board – yes, an actual, full-scale CLUB – so if you miss out on making friends during a group tour, you can always find love on the dance floor.

Image: Supplied.

For me though, it was the connections made over dinner.

Not that you're seated with randoms, god no (ick, RANDOMS, right?!), but the general vibe is just so friendly – We're all on holidays! We're all cruising the Med! We're all sipping cocktails and eating epic food! – that you just kind of can't help talking to other people who are, frankly, loving their lives as much as you are in that moment. (Shout out to the sweet British guy and his drunk uncle – druncle? – who kept me chatting for hours on the last night. I never got your names but thanks for the lols!)

Even the crew are so friendly that it feels like you're hanging out with your mates (who just happen to also be putting intricate desserts down in front of you or mixing you a cocktail or giving you a massage, which I have decided are the real signs of a true friend).

So forget the 'retirees and families' stereotype – if you're someone who loves a little bit of alone time alone time, but still wants the option of *other people*, I can't rec a solo cruise enough.

(And yes, I'm already planning my next one… I'm thinking the Greek Islands are looking pretty good for next Euro summer... 🤔).

Feature Image: Supplied.

Mamamia travelled as a guest of Celebrity Cruises. All opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own.

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Top Comments

d123 3 months ago

It could have been a bit confronting for some people being told they were the only single one on the cruise, good that you took it in your stead. Truth be told, as you said, travelling solo is the best. Not only are you forced to interact with others and therefore get to know people, people also are more likely to approach you. I made a lot more connections with people when I travelled solo.

If you are going to Greece, be aware that Greeks in Greece can be spectacularly unfriendly, I was quite shocked as I had many generous, nice Greek friends in Australia and had assumed those in Greece would be the same, but even the Greeks here confirmed that they are rude over there, even to their own. One very Greek looking guy here told me on a trip back to Greece (long before smart phones) he asked a local the time, but, the guy retorted, “Did you buy me the watch!”

So, yeah the Greeks make the French look like amateurs when it comes to arrogance. Sadly, Athens itself is really run down, and disorganised, despite it being the supposed birthplace of civilisation. I’ll never forget the noisy traffic there, it sounded like no one had mufflers on their cars. Also, be prepared for the unrelenting heat in Greece because unlike Australia they don’t have lots of big trees (at least wherever I went) so there is minimal shade to take cover under. I also recall being on one island and deciding to change my travel itinerary (everything else I had pre-booked in Australia), I spent days trying to find out from the locals the time of the returning night ferry to the mainland (pre-internet), multiple ticket sellers all gave me different times, so, when I tried to check with the harbour officials they got angry and refused to tell me. On reflection, I think it was part of a scam where they all told you different times so you thought there was multiple ferry choices. But, in reality there was only one ferry. In the end I turned up at the wharf late at night, tied my luggage to my feet, then lay down with the huge crowd of others waiting and napped under the stars till 3am when the ferry actually arrived, lol.

But, look it might have changed there as this was many years ago. One thing I found when I travelled was sometimes you can have a bad trip and everyone is rude, then years later you go back to the same place prepared for nastiness but everyone surprises you with kindness.

However, regardless of my experience I will say Santorini was in my top ten destinations in the world for magnificent scenery. I did about 8 Greek islands, (I can’t recall the names of them all) and Santorini and Mykonos were the must do’s. Santorini for the scenery and Mykonos for the people. Yes, Mykonos was the one place I found the majority of people to be friendly (though, paradoxically that was also the place where no one would tell me the ferry time). Back then it was known as the gay island and was a real party place.

But, it you go nowhere else go to Santorini. It is one of the most spectacular places on earth. Even when you are there you can’t believe it’s real. So, go to a sunny cafe and get the world’s best Greek yoghurt (as I did) and look down at the Mediterranean while meditating on the magnificence of it all.

But, before you go just prepare yourself by watching the Nia Vardalos movie, My Life In Ruins, lol, or, maybe, the classic Shirley Valentine. But my favourite of all is Mediterraneo, an uplifting foreign romantic comedy about Italian soldiers stranded on a Greek isle during WWII, where the savvy Greek islanders outfox their Italians occupiers, who are less interested anyway in enforcing rules then in pursuing a bit of amore with the local girls.