I am feeling #BLESSED, man. This March, I was given the opportunity to take a sponsored 7 day Caribbean cruise on the Norwegian Getaway. That’s right. COM. PLI. MENTARY. It was an amazing experience and I’m happy to be able to share it with all of you on the blog!
It just so happened that no one was available to tag along on the cruise with me, so I decided to be brave and do the cruise alone. Traveling alone doesn’t bother me, but I’d never been on a cruise before and I’d never been out of the country by myself before, either.
As I boarded my ship, the Norwegian Getaway, I felt nervous. I didn’t see anyone else traveling alone. Most people were with their families or groups of friends and had someone next to them to share in their excitement. All I had was…me.
The chandelier that hangs in the staircase that connects the main decks (6, 7, and 8).
Once you’re on the ship, you have an hour or two to explore while the crew finishes cleaning up the cabins from the previous cruise — the cruises sail for 7 days, return to Miami to disembark and re-embark, then set sail again! While I waited, I walked all around each deck to see all the restaurants, pools, and things to do, and my nervousness faded into excitement.
I took this as the ship set sail for the first port!
I had an amazing time on my solo cruise, so in this post I thought I’d talk about…
All the reasons you should absolutely take a cruise all by yourself!
You’re on your own schedule
I woke up when I wanted, worked out when I wanted, ate when I wanted, and went to bed when I wanted. If I wanted to take a 2-hour nap in the middle of the day because I had too many margaritas in the sun, I did.
Sunbathing and listening to my fave podcast
There are very few times in your life where your schedule is completely up to you. Even if you live alone, you probably have work obligations and deadlines. If you live with others or are in a relationship, compromise is the name of the game. On a solo cruise, none of these things apply and it’s all about y-o-u.
You get to pick what YOU want to eat for every. dang. meal.
Pretty much the same reasoning as above, but extra fun because of all the dining options there were to choose from on the Getaway.
Meals are included in the price of the cruise! Some of the restaurants on board are excluded from the all-inclusive pricing, but there are enough complimentary dining choices that if you don’t want to splurge beyond the price of the cruise, you don’t have to.
This is Savor, one of the complimentary dining rooms. It looks so fancy!
If complimentary-only is the way you decide to go on the Getaway, it won’t feel like a sacrifice at all. Your options include a casual buffet, three dining rooms that feel quite upscale (one has entertainment at dinner!), a 24-hour pub-style dining room, and my favorite — a noodle bar called Shanghai’s.
You don’t have to look cute if you don’t want to
On Norwegian Cruise Lines, there is no dress code (except resort casual in the more upscale restaurants) so what you wear is completely up to you!
There are “dress up nights” where you are welcome to fancy it up a bit and have your photo taken at a portrait station, but it’s purely optional.
The activities are fun even by yourself!
Each day, you’re given a schedule called the Freestyle Daily of all the day’s activities. There are free shows in the ship’s main theater (a barbershop quartet and a spicy dance show), interactive games in the Atrium, and live music all the time.
My room attendant left me a turndown lobster along with my Freestyle Daily
I made reservations to see Wine Lovers: The Musical for lunch one day. It’s a wine tasting, musical, and lunch all in one!
Wine Lovers: The Musical
My favorite thing to do was to come to the Atrium, grab a drink, and sit and watch the games — they hosted things like trivia, a newlywed game, dance lessons — I actually learned the Thriller dance one night — and Minute to Win It.
This is what the Atrium looks like
One of the games I sat and watched!
If you don’t always want to be alone, there are meetups for people with common interests
Meetups are also included in each day’s schedule — in particular I noticed a daily LGBT meetup and one specifically for solo cruisers.
I had some planned activities with a group of other influencers, so I did get to enjoy their company from time to time. We were invited to a margarita mixology class at Margaritaville at Sea!
Norwegian cruises offer perks for solo cruisers
You can book a studio room at a discounted rate if you’re sailing alone, including access to a lounge specifically for studio cruisers. The studio rooms have very positive reviews online from what I’ve seen, and next time I think I’ll give one a try!
My top Norwegian cruise tips:
Book a one day pass for the Mandara Spa. It’s a private spa with a hot tub, pool, steam room & sauna, heated loungers, and plenty of other things to help you relax. Napping on a heated lounger was one of my favorite things I did on the cruise!
Spring for the beverage package. It’s worth it, trust me. You’ll be able to use your keycard to get as many drinks as you want for the duration of your cruise (as long as they’re under $15).
I am so happy I got to go on this cruise, and proud of myself that I did it solo!
I would not hesitate to take another solo cruise, and if you need some R&R and are able to take some time out, I’d highly recommend a solo cruise to anyone. Thanks to Norwegian Cruise Line & Margaritaville for inviting me to participate in this amazing experience!
