Solo cruising – Pre-cruise thoughts

This is part 1 in a 2-part blog on Solo cruising. I am going to document my pre-cruise thoughts and then follow up will be a combo of lessons learned and post-cruise thoughts.

One of my big concerns when I quit my job is that I would become a hermit and never leave my house. To combat this concern, I booked a Eastern Europe river cruise as a semi-retirement gift to myself.

A few things you need to know…Cruise companies can be darn right jerks to single travelers. The standard behavior is to charge a single supplement, because they were anticipating 2x the fee in the room. This sucks for singles. But it seems that the cruise industry is coming around. I have traveled on Uniworld before. I happened to look at their website and they do offer to waive the single supplement on some trips. I was looking at Viking for a Denmark trip. Their chatbot (maybe it was a human, I don’t know) indicated they sometimes offer to waive the supplement but it is rare and they’re not going to publicize it. Um whatever. Uniworld is a class act, so I booked in May for an October cruise.

And then the apprehension kicked in. BIG TIME. The images that came to mind:

1. The scene in Forrest Gump where he gets on the bus and everyone says ‘seats taken’? Was that going to be me?
2. A flashback to high school lunch room where I come out of the food line with my tray and scan the lunchroom…and don’t see any of my friends

My prior employer had user and colleague conferences every year. I dutifully made PSAs each year before those events encouraging each person to set a goal to meet someone new and sit next to/introduce themselves to someone who was by themselves. It’s hard to walk into any room not knowing a soul. For some, the fear can be so debilitating that they choose room service. I am empathetic. I am an extroverted introvert or an introverted extrovert. I LOVE people…I love hearing their stories and what makes them unique. I love making the connection. But I also need to time to regenerate my energy. And I hate rejection of any kind.

My poor sister has had to deal with my growing apprehension about being on this boat for 10 days, my fear not knowing anyone and not making any friends. I can’t tell you how many times (she might be able to) I said I should cancel the trip. But I didn’t. And that isn’t just because I’m cheap. This is a fear I have to conquer. I have conquered it before on a smaller trip I took to Hawaii.

Today, as I read about Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, and Hungary and I write up a list of possible souvenirs to bring home, I’m finally getting excited about the trip. I may eat every meal at a table by myself, but I won’t eat in my room. That is the promise I made myself. I am hopeful I can make a friend or two. I am hopeful I can create some great memories. And I’m hopeful that I can rock out on 70’s night (one of the nights of the cruise – I’ve got 2 outfits I’m bringing!)

Bon Voyage!