Cruising Solo

Many people were surprised when I made last minute decision to go a cruise this January, not least myself. I’m unhappy on boats, dislike crowds, avoid organised fun and hate tipping culture. Winter had been tough, though, and I just didn’t have the energy for a fortnight on dirt roads with an Explore trip.

Almost at random I ended up on the Marella Voyager, doing a pair of back-to-back cruises starting and ending in Barbados. Being a late booking solo I was given one of the least swanky cabins on the ship – near the bow, down on Deck 5 and with a porthole instead of a window. Seasoned cruisers say its almost impossible for a solo to book a balcony. Still, it was comfy and being low down didn’t suffer the roll of Deck 14 way up in the sky. The MV is a mid-sized liner, not as neat as the bespoke lines but not a monster like some we docked alongside. I got the hang of the layout pretty swiftly – from my cabin everything was up and aft. As for being afloat, I got my sea legs within a day and a ship that size doesn’t move too much.

The staff were uniformly great and always smiley (what are they on? asked the guest comedian). They corralled the two dozen solo travellers in the bar so by the second night we had dining companions and drinking buddies. I fell in with a group of half a dozen to make up tables, sometimes expanding out to ten, then changing the mix as new people came aboard in the second week. Solo travellers always have a good store of stories and they were a lively and friendly bunch; the youngest was 25, the oldest 82. One of my companions was travel blogger Gary Taylor, whose @Gary Travels blog can be found here.

With 1900 passengers and 800 crew the ship had a bigger population the the island of Alderney, but was large enough that the crowd could be escaped. The pool deck was hideous in the middle of the day, packed and noisy, especially when the ‘entertainment’ began. It was term time so not many children running around. However, there were quieter areas at the very bow and overlooking the stern.

One excuse for cruising was it would allow me to do some work; with several books underway I couldn’t afford to lose over two weeks’ editing time. After a couple of days I was directed to the calm of Deck 6, starboard, under the lifeboat deck, where I could edit to my heart’s content, looking out at the ocean or harbour. And of course those lovely staff were on hand to bring a pina colada when required.

And the organised fun? I had expected the evening show to be at Hi di Hi level and was very wrong. The resident ‘Showcast’ of a dozen singers, dancers and an acrobat put on ten different 45-minute shows during the voyage including West End classics, rock anthems and an ethereal take on Shakespearean stories. They were uniformly excellent, and we tended to go for the 10pm show following pre-dinner drinks, dinner, and the solos were suitably mellow by the time we filled a row.

We’d set sail around sunset, sail overnight and dock during breakfast. Shore excursions were expertly organised but of variable quality. Rather pricey, often perfunctory and left me wanting more. With more confidence and knowing the system for docking, with an eye on the ‘all aboard time’ it would be feasible to organise our own time ashore. In fact we did that on four days anyway. What appealed to me most was the rainforest interior of the islands and I went on three good trips, plus a rubbish one – two more were cancelled but I went snorkelling instead. We had a disappointing amount of rain, it ruined a fairly dull and sludgy trip to Tortola and I have never been wetter than on a rainforest walk in Grenada.

And the tipping? One of the joys of the Marella ships is they are all-inclusive. Free basic drinks, as much as you can eat as often as you want, and no obligatory tipping (although many people quietly tipped, especially the cabin stewards). Holiday days are long, and there are only so many Rocking Ritas that can be consumed, but the ship was scattered with other distractions. A variety of musical acts rotated between the various bars and lounges, and one of the fun events was the last night ‘band jam’ where they all came together in the pub at the back of the ship. Trying to dance at close to midnight after working the cocktail menu with the deck moving in three dimensions was an interesting experience. And as for the ‘silent disco’, it was bizarre.

Will I cruise again? Probably. I can’t bank on meeting a similar group of fun solos next time, but every holiday is an adventure and the unknown is part of the appeal.

Trip Note. ‘Flavours of the Caribbean’ and ‘Paradise Islands’ on the Marella Voyager, via Tui, flying direct to Barbados. Baggage is taken straight to the ship; there is no messing about with customs, immigration, passport control on arrival if going straight on the cruise. Itinerary was Barbados, Tobago, Grenada, St Vincent, St Lucia, Guadeloupe, Sea Day, Barbados again, Sea Day, Tortola, Sint Maarten, Antigua, St Kitts, Dominica, end in Barbados. I had no need of my Caribbean Dollars as US dollars were accepted everywhere and my pre-paid cash card also came in useful.