Here's another great post by Royal Caribbean Blog contributor Michael Poole.
Today, I come to you with some pro’s and con’s of cruising solo onboard a Royal Caribbean cruise. I have cruised solo six times now, all within the last two years. Let’s start out with the good stuff and go over some advantages of solo cruising.
Rack up the Crown and Anchor points
In 2013, Royal Caribbean introduced one extra cruise point in their loyalty program, Crown & Anchor Society for all solo cruisers. By booking a cruise just for you, Royal Caribbean will give you an extra point each night of your cruise.
If you book a junior suite or higher you already get double points plus the extra solo point per night, equaling triple points!
These points help you gain extra perks onboard, such as drinks, coupons etc. For more information on the Crown & Anchor Program, check out episode 34 of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast.
Meeting new friends
Another advantage of solo cruising is meeting so many new people; sure you can meet a lot of new people while you are with friends and family. However, there’s just something about being alone and people will just flock to you, it seems to happen every time.
I enjoy being social and talking to new people, so I find this as a huge advantage of cruising solo.
Dining solo
One of the most common questions I get from someone inquiring about solo cruising is where did you eat dinner? Surly not alone in the dinning room?
I like to request a large table in the dinning room, so I don’t have to eat alone. I prefer a table with 6-10 people, that way I get a chance to meet more people and not get stuck with one couple or even alone.
Since we are on the topic of food, one con is when you are eating in the Windjammer, if you get up for seconds the table will be taken by someone else once you return. So the trick here is to load up on the first round or leave a personal item behind.
Getting seats at shows
Have you ever been running late to a show, and you can’t find two seats together unless they are in the last row?
When you cruise solo there is always one good seat left and you can just slip right in. I was once running late to the Aqua show on Oasis of The Seas, and I noticed one open seat in the front row dead center. Same rule applies to sea days on the pool deck; I can always find a great seat by the pool.
Going ashore
One area I haven’t really explored is doing excursions solo; I generally do my own thing or have visited the location many times before.
That being said, I would only go with a Royal Caribbean excursion due to safety reasons traveling alone. This does cost more than the private options that you can often find.
Solo doesn't mean cheap
The biggest con of solo cruising is the price, Royal Caribbean charges all solo passengers 200% of the cruise fare whether you have one or two guest in the cabin.
The only way to avoid paying the full fare is Royal Caribbean will have reduced solo supplement fare to help fill cabins. They don’t advertise these discounts, so you have to go find them, which is very time consuming.
On the Quantum-class ships, there are special staterooms for solo cruisers that do not include a supplement fee.
Try it!
If you are thinking about solo cruising I would tell you to give it a chance and I’m certain you won’t think twice about it again.
If I had to leave you with some advice for the first time, I’d say be open-minded and have fun with the new experience. Feel free to post in the comments below with any questions and I’d be happy to help.
