Solo cruising – Post cruise debrief

Well I finally made it back from Eastern Europe! I’ll write another post on the trip. The focus on this post is to talk about my my solo cruise experience and the lessons learned.

I’m used to flying by myself for work, so the flight wasn’t a big hurdle for me. The flight took off at 3pm, getting into Amsterdam at 6 am. I splurged on Delta One so I could lay flat. I don’t know that I slept much but it was more comfortable than sitting at an angle. Landing in Schiphol airport so early REALLY sucked. I didn’t have to go through any customs or passport control here, so I wandered about for 3 hours and had way too much time to get anxious about the trip.

So…how was it? Surprisingly great! I found that whether you are solo or paired up or in a group, there was commonality: 1) we were nervous about meeting others 2) we were nervous/excited for the cruise and 3) we all enjoy travel/exploring new countries and cultures.

At the welcome meeting I met a delightful couple from Australia. They were celebrating his retirement with a big big big trip all over Europe. I don’t know who invited whom, but I joined them for dinner on our first night in Romania. They were friendly and it was great to find out about where they have traveled and their lives. I thank God for bringing the three of us together as this connection provided a huge level of comfort to me and relieved some of my nervousness.

The boat had 108 passengers (side note – 23 were staying on to travel the Danube from Budapest to Amsterdam with 50 other passengers joining them, so that cruise was more sparse). I did find that there were some solo travelers or traveling friends who were bunked up so the trip wasn’t totally full of couples that wouldn’t appreciate a little bit of Mary zaniness intruding on their romantic rekindlings.

I found that breakfast and lunch on the boat was VERY easy to meet people as these meals were buffet style. I got my food and simply asked if I could join someone who had an empty seat next to them. 100% of the time the answer was yes. Most people who are not morning people must stay in their cabins, because the people who I sat with were very conversational. Dinner was initially a tad daunting, but Connie and I discovered each other. Connie is the ultimate extrovert. When she heard I was soloing it, she invited me to join her trio. Martha, Charlie and I ate most dinners together. Despite different ages and background, we got along famously.

Other great solo travelers : Libby and Allison from Australia, Deborah from Australia, Jane and Sandy from Ft. Wayne Indiana, Cecily from Tucson Arizona.

I also met couples and groups that allowed me to tag along (or were my dance partners): Colin and Ritesh from Alaska, Karen and Chris from California (I met these four in the Bucharest airport when I’m sure I looked and felt my worst), Robbie and Graeme from Australia, Nora and her beloved from California (traveling in a big group), Julie and John from Missouri, Jody and Andy from DeLand Florida, Fay and her Malaysian group who took some pics of me so my pics weren’t all selfies and landscapes!

I don’t know if I’ll see any of these folks again, but I sure did enjoy meeting them and finding out a little bit about them and their lives. I especially enjoyed talking with Fay after the cruise and may try to get over to see her in Malaysia.

One of the things I intentionally did was where a necklace with the letter M on it. This was to help anyone meeting me retain the name connection. I highly recommend you do something similar or wear a distinct piece of jewelry so you can be easily identified.

The most difficult time for me was the post cruise extension when I was on my own for breakfast lunch and dinner. Luckily Julie and John were on the post cruise extension so we shared a lunch together (and shared a VERY early 3 am taxi to the airport). I also bumped into Fay at breakfast and had a very good conversation about living your best life.

My conclusion – solo traveling by cruise is definitely doable and rather fun.

I’m not sure when my next trip will be (shoot I don’t even know what time it is this week), but I’m looking forward to exploring more and meeting more people!